Picture

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to OTH, or the song Picture by Sheryl Crow & Kid Rock.

Backround Information: Nathan/Haley never got married, they broke up junior year and then Brooke and Nathan got together on the summer before senior year. At the end of their senior year Nathan found out Brooke was pregnant with his child, he left her. Now 2 years later they find themselves in two different states of mind remembering each other when they find a picture from the past.

I saw you yesterday with an old friend.

Brooke woke up that morning and got Natalie dressed, they were going shopping, and Natalie loved to look at the clothes even if they were 10 times bigger than she was. She had Brooke's love for shopping, even at the age of one and a half she was running around the stores grabbing clothes. Brooke suited Natalie up in her winter jacket, which had fur around the neck and hood. Natalie slipped on her own boots and then smiled at Brooke proudly, Brooke hugged her baby girl and put on Natalie's gloves. After Brooke had her own coat on and purse in hand they made their way down the cold icy streets of Tree Hill. Brooke pushed Natalie in her stroller, Brooke looked in the direction of Karen's Café which was now run by Deb Scott and Karen Roe. She never really went in there, seeing Deb reminded her too much of Nathan. Even the guy across the street talking to...Brooke tried to get a better look at the person the Nathan-look-alike was talking to...she knew her from somewhere. It's Haley, then that must be Nathan, Brooke's mouth dropped open, he was standing right there across the street.

It was the same ole same "how have you been".

Nathan smiled at the girl who stood before him, it was his ex-girlfriend, Haley James. "Hey." Was all he could say, he hadn't seen her for two years, he didn't know what to say other than that three lettered word.

"Hey, how have you been?" She touched his arm looking into his eyes, she looked like she was genuinely interested.

"Not good." He bit his lip, he never bit his lip unless he was really sad about something. He stared at the ground and then turned his head to the right and there she was with her mouth hanging open. A baby stroller attached to her hands, he ran across the road, dodging cars to get to her, and leaving a confused Haley behind, but as soon as she saw Brooke she understood.

Since you been gone my worlds been dark & gray.

When she saw him everything came into color, everything made sense again, nothing was gonna be the same. She thought he wasn't real for a minute, she had to touch his cheek to make sure she wasn't fantasizing. A smile crept onto his face as her soft gentle hand came into contact with his face, seeing the disbelief in her eyes made him sad. He never wanted to leave, it was just the first thing that came to his mind, even though he wanted to come back he was afraid that she would hate him and never love him ever again.

You reminded me of brighter days.

Her bottom lip trembled as she realized he was really standing there and sharing this moment with her. But she needed to be sure, sometimes she had these dreams where this sort of thing would happen and then she'd wake up in a cold sweat. "Are you real?" Tears glassed her eyes, making them shine even brighter.

He placed his hand over her hand that was still planted on his cheek. "Yes Brooke I'm real." When she heard him say her name like he used to, she just broke down in tears and pulled her hand away. He looked behind her and saw a beautiful baby girl with big brown eyes and a full head of brown thick hair, he smiled she looked a lot like Brooke and a lot like him.

I hoped you were comin' home to stay,

I was headed to church.

"Nathan..." She picked up her baby girl who was smiling from ear to ear, Nathan noticed she had Brooke's dimples, he's always loved those. Every time he complemented Brooke on them she'd blush and say she hated them. "This is your daughter..." Brooke passed Natalie to her father, she played with his fingers and giggled. "Natalie."

"Natalie?" Nathan looked at his ex-girlfriend, Brooke nodded her head while biting her lower lip. "Hey Natalie." Nathan cooed to his young daughter, she looked up at him and smiled

"We better be going." Brooke sniffed, drying her cheeks and eyes. She couldn't just let Nathan walk back into her life as if nothing happened. Nathan strapped Natalie back into her stroller and turned his gaze back on the broken woman in front of him.

"I'm sorry."

"I know but it doesn't change what you did." She walked away and went home, she put Natalie down for her nap, and then she cried. She cried for hours, how could he just assume that she'd forget all the pain he put her through?

I was off to drink you away.

Nathan walked into the local bar ready to drink away all his sorrows like he always did. After seeing his daughter and how bad he'd messed Brooke up, he couldn't stand feeling this way. He ordered a beer just as he was about to take a sip of it, he realized he couldn't do it. He'd had his share of alcohol and drug problems in the past but he had a family now. He had a small daughter who with out him wouldn't know what the term father meant. He left the bar leaving his beer there, he wanted to be a father and he wanted to be with Brooke. He wasn't gonna run...not any more.

Please Review! Tardychick06 I'm sorry about your arm! I hope you feel better! I'll update really soon with the last chapter will that make you feel better?