Nathan's eyes fluttered as he struggled to keep them open to watch the remainder of the Conan O'Brien show. It was late and he was tired. Lucas and his girlfriend Brooke Davis along with their childhood pals, Tim and Jake had come over earlier in the evening for dinner. He had nixed the plan of joining them for drinks and a game of pool and instead elected to relax in bed. He had almost given in to exhaustion when he was startled by the loud and relentless barking of his dogs, Knight and Duke. He tried to get comfortable again but it was impossible. The dogs were going crazy. Instead, he pulled out an old hunting rifle and crept to the front door. He could hear noises, human noises whimpering outside. Fan, stalker, potential burglar or not, he wasn't going to take any chances. Nathan walked outside with his gun cocked and finger placed on the trigger. He could hear rustling over by the shed, the spot where Duke the Rottweiler was particularly sniffing.

"Who the fuck is there?" Nathan asked. "Whoever you are you've got exactly ten seconds to come out with your hands up. If not, I'm about to blow your ass into the next century."

"Please...", came a small voice.

Thinking it sounded like a small child, he moved closer to investigate. He opened the door and there was a girl crouched on the floor. In the fetal position, she had brownish auburn hair and she was wet and muddy and shaking. She also smelled pretty ripe.

"What the hell..."

She raised her eyes and looked directly at him. Nathan gasped as he saw her all bloodied and battered. He instantly recognized her.

"Haley? Haley James? Are you okay? What happened to you?"

She didn't verbally respond but her trembling body and facial expressions led him to quickly believe that she was terrified. She was probably in shock and he didn't want to further freak her out. He tied up the dogs and reached out her hand. After a few reluctant seconds, she took it.

Haley stood in the bathroom's full length mirror and stared at herself. What a mess. Her lip was cut and she was sporting a nice shiner on her eye. The hot shower had felt good but it had done little to wash away both the violation and humiliation she felt from Ricky's surprise attack. And now she was in a clean over size tee shirt and boxers, under clothes that belonged to Nathan Scott. She didn't even remember running in the dark the few miles to his house. She couldn't believe she had shown up covered in pee and throw up. It was still unreal how nice he had been to her.

"You dressed, Hales?" Nathan asked as he nodded. "If you are, you can come down to the living room."

Embarrassed and hesitant at first, finally she drifted down the steps and into the main part of the house. The living area was dimly lit and she gasped as she had her first good look at him that night. He was perfect in every way...evenly tanned skin, strong arms, muscular chest, flat stomach. His sweat pants hung low off those magnificent hips and his striking blue eyes were a perfect contrast to his dark hair.

"Have a seat", he offered. "Can I get you something? Coffee, tea, juice, soda..."

"I'm okay", she mumbled.

Nathan nodded and sighed, running a hand through his soft locks. "Your clothes are in the dryer."

"Thanks..."

"Look, I'm not trying to be nosy or anything, Brit, but...what the hell happened to you tonight?"

"Ricky...", she whispered.

She still looked rather traumatized and Nathan knew he would have to take it easy on her.

"Who is Ricky?" he asked softly. "What did he do to you?"

Her body immediately tensed and tears welled in her eyes. It was as if she wanted to speak but the words couldn't make their way out.

"You can trust me, Haley. I promise."

Something about his eyes made her believe him. Besides, after showing up filthy and hysterical on his private property in the middle of the night, she had least owed him an honest explanation, no matter how difficult it was to talk about it.

"My mother's boyfriend. He lives with us now", she started. "All they ever do is get drunk and act stupid. He gets crazy so when he gets fucked up. Anyway, he, he um, got mad at my mom and attacked her. He was strangling her and I thought he was gonna kill her so I jumped between him. He hit me. I got away and stuff and I went to my room. He came in and he tried to..."

Nathan's eyes closed as her voice trailed off into a sob. "Oh God, no. Did he...did he..."

"No", she said emphatically. "It didn't get that far."

"How far did it get?"

"He...oh God, I'm sorry, Nathan", she sniffled. "I'm real sorry. I had no right showing up at your place like this. You don't need to be dragged into all my problems. I'll just go, I..."

"No", he said, gently tugging at her arm. "You don't have to go. I want to help you."

"I'm so ashamed..."

"You don't deserve anything that he did to you. It's not your fault. Don't be embarrassed, Hales but you have to let me help you. You have to tell me the truth."

With tears streaming everywhere, she showed him the bruises on her back, neck, arms, and face. With shaking hands, she pulled down the top of her shirt and showed him the gruesome trail leading to her breast.