Nathan and Brooke walked into the house, each carrying a present for Deb. She had been released earlier that day, and they had promised to come over and visit with her while Dan was at work. They walked back into the master bedroom and knocked.

"Come in," Deb said, begging for company to ease her boredom.

"Hey, mom," Nathan said as he led Brooke into the room.

"Hi, Mrs. Scott. How are you feeling?" Brooke asked, sitting at the foot of the bed.

"I'm doing great, thank you. It's so good to see you two," Deb replied, turning off the television.

"Good to see you, too, mom," Nathan said, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "We brought presents."

"Oooh, what'd you get me?" Deb asked, excitedly.

"Well, open it and see," Nathan said, handing her a bag.

Deb pulled out what was inside. Nathan had given her a deck of cards, a couple small puzzles, a bottle of Dasani, a teddy bear, and some head phones. "Nathan, this is great. Everything I'll need while I'm stuck in bed. Thank you, honey."

"Here. Open mine now," Brooke said, shoving her gift bag towards her boyfriend's mother.

She pulled out the contents, to find: a few mix CDs, some bottles of nail polish, a few romantic comedy books, a few fashion magazines, scented lotion, and some homemade chocolate chip cookies.

"Don't worry. I had Peyton help me bake the cookies," Brooke assured the older woman.

"Well, thank you very much, Brooke. This is definitely going to come in handy this week," Deb replied with a smile. The three of them sat in the bedroom and talked until Dan came home from work. Nathan and Brooke left, saying they needed to get a start on their homework.

Brooke walked into her empty house and ran up the stairs to her room. She collapsed onto the bed and sighed. Even though she had just spent an hour making out with Nathan on his bed, she still felt something tugging at the back of her head. She needed to know what Peyton had been talking to him about the other day at school. Brooke stood back up and ran outside to her car. She started the drive back to Nathan's house.

Haley was sitting outside on her front porch, reading a book. She was happy with how everything had been turning out since she had returned to Tree Hill. She had managed to not push everyone out of her life. Even though her and Nathan were now divorced, she was satisfied. She had realized too late that she wasn't old enough and mature enough to be married.

"Haley?"

She looked up as she heard her name, a smile gracing her face. The smile immediately disappeared when she saw who the voice belonged to.

"Chris. What are you doing back in Tree Hill?" Haley asked, putting her book down.

"I came back for you, Haley," Chris answered, walking up the steps onto the porch. He stopped before walking too close to the swing that Haley rested upon. "Look, I know that I cannot apologize enough for my actions, but I want to try."

"Chris, just stop. You don't even have to continue this conversation. There is nothing you can say to make me want to be with you again," Haley said. When Chris only looked at her in desperation, she continued. "Do you have any idea what I gave up to be with you?! I walked out on my husband! I ran away from my home town to go off with you. Then you are actually selfish enough to run off with some other random girl. Do you do this in all the towns you visit or was I just special?!" Haley asked, tears falling from her eyes.

"Of course I don't do that a lot. When I came to Tree Hill, I didn't expect to meet someone that I would end up falling in love with. Then I met you. And I fell in love. I totally fell for you, Haley. I never thought you would agree to come away with me, but you did. When we ran off, I was so happy. I've never been that happy. It scared the hell out of me, Haley. I know what you gave up to come away with me, baby. I know that that was probably the biggest decision in your life so far. I know it must have been hard, and that scared me. You gave up so much to be with me. I didn't give up anything. I was scared that I would never have enough to offer you. I was scared that I would never be enough for you," Chris rambled, explaining his actions to the woman he loved.

Haley just sat there, not knowing what to do. She looked back up at Chris and felt her head spinning. She got up and ran off the porch. She just ran, running to the only person she knew she could talk to.

Nathan opened the door and let a shocked expression cross his face.

"Haley... What are you doing here?" he asked, stepping aside to allow her entrance.

"I am so confused, Nathan. I know that you're still uncomfortable around me, but I didn't know where else to go. I don't know what to do," she said, shaking with sobs.

Nathan pulled her into a hug and held her while she calmed herself. Once she did, they sat at the kitchen countertop to talk. "What happened, Haley?"

"Chris came back to town. He stopped by my house just a little while ago. I don't know if you heard about what happened in New York, but... Let's just say that paybacks are hell and karma is a bitch," Haley answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Chris left me in New York. He ran off with another girl from another town. So I got what I deserved, I guess," Haley replied, not letting the tears that threatened to fall come out.

"Haley, he didn't leave just so you would get what you deserved," Nathan assured her. "There must have been a reason. What did he say to you tonight?"

"He told me that he left, because he was scared of what he was feeling for me. He said that he wasn't sure he could offer me enough. Nathan, I don't know why he would think that. I'm not a shallow person. I don't expect something from the people I love. I thought he knew me enough to know that. I just don't understand."

"Haley, I know that you're not shallow and greedy. You have to understand how it is for guys, though. A lot of us are really old fashioned when it comes to relationships. We want to be able to give everything to the woman we love. We don't want her to ever have to want something. We want her to have it before she realizes she wants it. Guys have insecurities about a lot of stuff concerning relationships. Sometimes they get the better of us," Nathan explained.

"I get that, Nathan. What I don't get is not being able to talk to the person you love," Haley explained.

"You mean, like you talked to me," Nathan said, using her mistakes as an example to make her understand. "Just think, Haley. If you would've talked to me, you could've saved everyone a lot of pain. You could have told me the truth about your feelings for Chris before it got out of hand. You didn't, though. And that's okay, because I'm over it now. But you have to see where he was coming from, because you have been there yourself."

Haley thought about that for a minute before replying. "You're right. You're completely right. Thank you, Nathan. Thank you for listening to me and helping me understand where Chris is coming from. I know it's still weird, but I really appreciate it," Haley said, leaning over to give her ex-husband a hug.

"No problem, Haley," Nathan said. "I'm glad that we're still friends, because I would never want to lose that. You can always come to me for help."

"Thanks again, Nathan," Haley said, kissing him on the cheek. She didn't stop there. She moved her head slightly and kissed his lips, teasing them with her own. She held his head to hers for a minute, before Nathan was able to pull away from her.

"Haley! What the hell?!" Nathan yelled at her, standing up from his chair and walking away from her.

"I'm sorry, Nathan. I don't know why I did that. I just got caught up in the moment, you know. So much has happened between us, and I just let it all come back for a second. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Haley tried to explain.

"Look, I know you didn't mean for that to happen. But I also know that I'm with Brooke now and I'm happy with her. Really happy. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize our relationship. Haley, I am falling in love with her, and I won't ruin that," Nathan explained to her.

"I know," Haley said, smiling. "My God, Nathan, you should have just seen your face. I have never seen you smile like that before. Your eyes even glow when you're talking about Brooke. I am so happy for you. And her. She's an amazing person, and so are you. I am glad that you two are doing good. Well, I should definitely be going. I have to find Chris and talk to him. Thank you so much, Nathan. I'll never forget this."

"No problem, Haley. I'll see you in school. Good luck with everything," Nathan said, walking her to the door. Just as he was closing his door, he saw a blur of silver pull out of the parking lot and squeal tires down the street. "That's weird. That looks like Brooke's car," Nathan mumbled to himself.

Brooke ran into her room and collapsed onto her bed, her face streaked with tears and her body shaking uncontrollably with sobs.

She had just drove about sixty miles per hour to get home from Nathan's house. Seeing him kissing Haley had confirmed that her fears were true. He was cheating on her. It wasn't with Peyton, though. It was with his ex-wife.

"I should have seen this coming," Brooke said to herself. "They were married. Of course they still love each other. How could I be so damn stupid?! Brooke Davis. Cheated on again. Broken-hearted for the third time in one year. That has got to be some type of record." Brooke continued to sob into her pillows until sleep finally found her late in the night.