Nathan turned off the engine of the car after realizing that he was in the parking lot of his apartment complex. He had no idea how he had been able to drive home safely. His mind was all jumbled up with memories of what had just happened. Only 2 days ago his life was relatively normal, well, as normal as a soon-to-be teenage father living with his wife in his own apartment after being emancipated from his parents, could be. Then, just hours ago, it was changed forever.
The last thing that he could clearly remember before he realized that he was in the parking lot, was sitting in the driveway at Brooke and Lucas's house. He remembered running out of the house after hearing the devastating news that his friend was gone. He sat in his car crying. "How am I supposed to tell Haley, that one of her best friends is gone and never coming back?" Nathan buried his head in his hands and decided that he couldn't go home just yet, he needed to have a definitive plan first. His crying was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Wiping his eyes, Nathan peered down to look at the name on the caller i.d. "Hey Hales" He answered in a shaky voice. He took several deep breaths to try and control his voice. He needed to portray to her that everything was ok, even though he knew that everything wasn't ok, and that things would probably never be ok again.
"Hey, you ok?" Haley asked in a worried tone.
"Yeah, what's up? I'm just leaving Brooke and Lucas's house."
"Oh, you were there for a long time." Haley sat back in her chair. Lately, she had been having thoughts that Nathan was cheating on her. She had started to convince herself that it was just the hormones talking to her, like it was a normal symptom of pregnancy. He wouldn't do that to her, would he?
"Yeah, sorry about that. Brooke was trying to get Sophia and Sydni to go to sleep for the night. First, she grabbed Lucas away from our guys night to help, and after a half an hour, they finally got me in the war zone. Sydni wasn't too happy, although Sophia was pretty good. I ended up having to put her to sleep because apparently I'm the only one she doesn't call for. " Nathan chuckled, hoping that it would lighten the mood.
Haley chuckled along with him and for a moment, Nathan felt a wave of relief wash across his body. "Ok, I hope our baby's the same way!" Haley smiled as she touched her stomach. "And, speaking of the baby, we're DYING, for some Ben and Jerry's!" Haley said, crossing her swollen fingers hoping that he's say yes. She knew though, that when she spoke for not only herself, but the baby that he couldn't say no.
"Sure, Phish Food?"
"Thanks, Love you!" Nathan hung up the phone and headed towards the nearest grocery store.
That's all Nathan could remember. Nathan shut the car and walked towards the apartment. "Hales, got your ice cream!" Nate said as he unlocked the door. He walked into the apartment to hear only the tv as loud as possible. "Hales?" Nathan said again, placing his keys on the counter. Silence. "Haley!" Nathan shouted, panicking more with each passing minute of silence. As he walked further into the apartment, he heard soft whimpers. Nathan dropped the plastic bag with the ice cream on the floor and ran towards the rear of the apartment, frantically looking for Haley. "Haley!" He screamed as loud as he could. He knew, in its gut, that something was terribly wrong.
"Nathan!" Haley screamed as loud as she could, which wasn't very loud. Nathan ran as fast as he could into the bedroom. He found the tv turned onto friends, but no Haley. Turning off the tv, he ran into the cramped bathroom, to find his pregnant wife lying in a heap on the floor. "Nathan.." Haley whispered as Nathan crouched down next to her.
"What happened?"
Haley had been waiting for Nathan to come home from his guys night with Lucas for hours, and she was getting board and hungry. "Lets call Daddy!" She said to her belly, picking up the phone and calling Nathan's cell phone. After ringing a few times, he finally answered."
"Hey Hales!"
"Hey, you ok?" Haley asked in a worried tone.
"Yeah, what's up? I'm just leaving Brooke and Lucas's house."
"Oh, you were there for a long time." Haley sat back in her chair. Lately, she had been having thoughts that Nathan was cheating on her. She had started to convince herself that it was just the hormones talking to her, like it was a normal symptom of pregnancy. He wouldn't do that to her, would he?
"Yeah, sorry about that. Brooke was trying to get Sophia and Sydni to go to sleep for the night. First, she grabbed Lucas away from our guys night to help, and after a half an hour, they finally got me in the war zone. Sydni wasn't too happy, although Sophia was pretty good. I ended up having to put her to sleep because apparently I'm the only one she doesn't call for. " Nathan chuckled.
Haley chuckled along with him and for a moment and her fears of him cheating flew out the window. "Ok, I hope our baby's the same way!" Haley smiled as she touched her stomach. "And, speaking of the baby, we're DYING, for some Ben and Jerry's!" Haley said, crossing her swollen fingers hoping that he's say yes. She knew though, that when she spoke for not only herself, but the baby that he couldn't say no.
"Sure, Phish Food?"
"Thanks, Love you!" She said, hanging up the phone. She walked into the bedroom and turned on the tv. This was her nightly ritual. She would turn on the tv at around ten to ten and wait for the nine o'clock news to be over so that she could watch friends. She saw that still had a few minutes and she decided to take a 'quick' shower. Getting out, she looked at her watch. "Hmm. Only about 5 minutes! A new record! Nathan will be so proud!" She ran into the bedroom and turned the volume up so that she could hear in the bathroom. She grabbed her pajamas and went back to the bathroom to get dressed and brush her teeth, moisturize, do her nightly routine.
She was almost ready to get into bed when she forgot the light on in the bathroom. She went to turn it off and herd familiar music interrupt Chandler's witty banter. "We have some breaking news to report." Haley decided that now was a good time for a bathroom break. "An accident near Atlanta Georgia has left 4 people dead, one of whom is a Tree Hill Resident. Ashley Sinclair.." Haley's face turned pale as she fell to her knees, clutching her stomach.
"No, not now. Please!" She cried in pain. Her attention turned back to the TV, hoping that they had mistakenly said Ashley's name.
"Ashely was 17 and attended Tree Hill High School."
Haley lost it. One of her best friends was gone, and she was left alone in pain on the bathroom floor. "Nathan! Nathan, help me!" Haley wailed, but it was no use.
She laid on the floor for what seemed like forever until she heard Nathan calling her name. She tried to call out for him, but the pain was too intense. She heard his voice become more panic-stricken. She tried once more to call to him, and this time, her cries were heard. "NATHAN!" She screamed as loud as she could, which wasn't very loud.
Haley curled up in a ball and hoped that Nathan had heard her, she didn't have the energy to yell again. Seconds later, he was kneeling beside her, stroking her head. "Haley, what happened?"
Nathan feared that Haley had heard about Ashley, but he needed to stay calm. Tears were welling up in his eyes. What would he do if something happened to Haley, or the baby? He was quickly snapped out of his daze when haley began to talk.
'I was watching friends and the news came on," Haley said, tears streaming down her face. "They said, they said Ashely di..." She interrupted herself with a gut wrenching scream as another contraction hit her.
"Breath, Breath baby. In and out." Nathan tried to remember all the things he could from the movies that he had seen. He tried to comfort Haley, he hated to see her in pain, let alone pain that he caused. He had no idea how to make her feel better and he hated that.
Nathan placed a hand on Haley's knee as he steadied himself to sit on the floor. It was then that he realized that she was bleeding. "Oh my god. This isn't good. Something's wrong! God what did I do? What did haley do to deserve this all in one day! Please, help me!" Nathan screamed in his head. He needed to stay calm. He tried his best not to upset or worry her, acting as if nothing was wrong. This was difficult though because Nathan usually got sick from the sight of blood.
Haley noticed the paled Nathan and began to worry. "Nate, you're scaring me! You look like you're going to be si... Ahhhh! Something's wrong Nathan!" Haley cried out in pain, trying to stay calm didn't really work that well.
Nathan couldn't take it anymore. He had to do something. Picking up the phone he started to dial 911. "Baby, I think the baby's coming!"
Haley saw the blood on his hands and began to hyperventilate. "This is bad Nathan. This... isn't... supposed... to...happen..." She cried repeatedly as Nathan pressed talk and the phone began to ring.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"Hi I um, I think I need an ambulance. My wife, she's 7 months pregnant she's bleeding pretty badly, I don't..."
The 911 operator sensed Nathan's panic and tried to calm his nerves. "Ok, calm down. You need to be strong, for your wife. Now, the paramedics should be there any minute. I want you to stay on the line, ok?"
Nathan nodded his head and responded "ok"
"Now, where is your wife?"
"On the floor of the bathroom. I came home and found her there." Nathan almost lost it, but remembered that he needed to be strong for Haley.
"Ok, is her head propped up?"
"No, I can hold her head up though."
"Do that. Just keep telling her that she did nothing wrong and that help should be there soon. Ok?"
"Yes" Nathan began to follow the operator's directions and it seemed to comfort Haley a little.
"Do you hear the ambulance?"
"Yes, they're here now. Thank you. I don't even know your name."
"It's Logan. Good luck"
"Thank you Logan." Nathan said hanging up the phone and grabbing Haley's hand as the paramedics lifted her onto a stretcher.
Haley grabbed Nathan's hand as the paramedics began to get her ready. She looked him in the eye and saw the tears. "Nathan, they were wrong right. She's not dead?" If the eyes are the window to the soul, Haley could tell that Nathan's was sad and empty.
All Nathan could do was shake his head and kiss Haley's forehead. "I'm sorry." They cried together until the paramedics were ready to go.
"Ok mom! We're gonna go for a ride. It looks like your baby is gonna make an early appearance." The paramedic said, trying to comfort Haley.
"Can my husband come with me?" Haley asked trying to gain control of herself.
"No, he's going to have to drive!" the other said, closing the doors to the Ambulance and getting in to the driver's seat.
Nathan stood and watched them start to drive away. He could hear Haley screaming for him from the outside before he got into the car.
As he drove to the hospital, he was visibly upset. When he finally got there, he ran up to the all too familiar front desk. He was comforted a little when he saw a familiar face. It was the woman who had helped them before, when they came to find out about Ashley. "Sylvia!" Nathan hugged the startled older woman.
Sylvia looked at him and then into the trauma room, remembering him and the drama that he had been through in the past days. "Mr. Scott, I know that you're frightened, but.."
Nathan nodded his head and began to pace. "Where's Haley? What room?" He said interrupting her.
Sylvia looked sympathetically at Nathan and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You need to let the doctors work on her." She said before she was called away, leaving Nathan alone.
Nathan sat alone. He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out his phone. His fingers dialed the numbers as if on automatic, although they were shaking, they got the job done. He wanted, needed to hear the voice that he knew would answer. After ringing a few times, a person sleepily answered the phone.
"Hello?" Nathan could hear crying infants in the background.
"Lucas" Nathan cried into the phone.
Lucas shot up at the sound of Nathan's hysterical voice. "Nate? What's going on?" Lucas asked looking at the clock. For only being 10:45 at night, it sure felt like it was 2 am!
"It's Haley. She... She heard about Ashley on the news. I came home and found her lying on the bathroom floor having contractions." Nate spat out too quickly for Lucas to get all of the information.
"Nate, slowdown."
"She was bleeding and..." Nathan was cut off by Lucas.
"Is she ok?" Lucas asked, quickly getting dressed. Brooke was already dressed. She had woken up as soon as she heard Nathan crying through the phone.
"I don't know. They wouldn't let me go in the ambulance. They won't even let me see her. I don't know what's going on!" Nathan was sniffling and had resigned into caring about if people saw him cry. He took several deep breaths and tried to control his emotions.
"We're on our way." Lucas said grabbing a baby and getting into the car. "Brooke's calling Payton and Jake." Lucas said, starting the car and grabbing the other baby from Brooke so they could leave.
"Thanks. Bye." Nathan said, hanging up and beginning to cry again.
Within a matter of minutes Payton, Jake, Jenni, Lucas, Brooke, Sydni, and Sophie were all in the waiting room with Nathan. Nathan was too emotionally drained to pace anymore, but Lucas was pacing enough for the both of them. He claimed that it was settling Sophie down, even though she was sleeping soundly. Brooke walked over and sat next to Nathan, who's eyes were glued to the doors that led to the trauma rooms. Sydni lay sleeping in Brooke's arms, but Brooke decided to chance it. "Sydni wants to cuddle with her Uncle Nathan" Brooke whispered into Nathan's ear after placing Sydni in his arms. Brooke looked at the baby, who had woken up. Putting a pacifier into her mouth, Brooke noticed that Sydni didn't cry like usual. She looked into Nathan's eyes and went back to sleep after snuggling close to him. Brooke hoped that Sydni would distract Nathan, and for a while, it was working.
Then, a solemn faced doctor walked out into the lobby and towards Sylvia. Sylvia pointed to Nathan and the doctor nodded his head. "Mr. Scott?" The doctor extended his hand to Nathan who, after giving Sydni back to Lucas, reluctantly shook it. "Mr. Scott, I'm Dr.."
Before the doctor could even introduce himself, Nathan spoke for the first time since they had all come to the hospital. "Is she ok?" he asked, tears already welling up in his eyes.
"We had to sedate her. She was extremely upset and we couldn't calm her down." The doctor took a deep breath and Nathan took the opportunity to speak again.
"What about the baby?"
"Well, your son..."
"I have a son?" Nathan's face lit up for a moment, but after seeing the look on the doctor's face slowed his celebration.
"Yes. Your son is in the NICU. He wasn't born as early as we had though, only about 3 and a half, maybe four weeks, not 6, so that helps, but..."
"But what?"
"He has a rare genetic disorder. It's most likely that it was a spontaneous mutation rather than an inherited one. It's called AVR. AVR stands for Anti-Viral Rejection. It means that your son is unable to fight virus's that are in his body." The doctor stopped for a minute to let the news sink in. "He'll be unable to fight off virus' on his own."
"But what does this mean? Will he live?" For the first time, the doctor smiled, giving everyone hope.
"Yes, for no, he'll be fine. Research keeps helping more patients each year. The one thing is that if he gets sick, he could become extremely sick, extremely fast, so you need to be very cautious. I'm sorry." The doctor said.
As the doctor began to get up, Nathan spoke out again. "Can I see him?"
15 minutes later, Nathan looked into the window of the NICU. After being tested for every virus know to man and sterilized, Nathan was allowed in. He walked into the room and looked around. He saw many incubators with babies hooked up to machines and tubes. Then he saw a small baby isolated in a corner. 'Baby Boy Scott." He read as he laid eyes on his son for the first time. Nathan began to cry as he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lucas. "I came to meet my nephew." he said, looking at the small baby.
"He's beautiful isn't he?" Nathan asked and Lucas agreed. They stayed for a few more minutes until the nurses kicked them out.
Haley opened her eyes and remembered what had happened earlier. She remembered the ambulance, a doctor, lights, noises, cries, and then nothing. She sat up and found Nathan sitting in a chair working on the laptop. "Haley!" He shouted in relief as he ran over to hug her.
"Nathan, the baby!" Haley began to panic. She didn't remember if the baby had been ok or if he was sick.
"HE is fine. Well, he will be."
"What are you talking about? Where is he?"
"He has AVR." Nathan said, showing Haley the computer. He had been online researching AVR and had found several websites. "We can take him home next week! We just have to make sure that he stays virus free." Haley nodded and kissed Nathan.
"I love you, do you know that?" She asked him as he held her.
"Not as much as I love you." He kissed her and they enjoyed the minute alone. "Hey, come on, lets go see our son."
Haley nodded her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. She saw the look of worry on Nathan's face. "Don't worry. Happy tears." she reassured him.
Nathan pushed her in the wheel chair to the NICU. Haley sat in a rocking chair and held her tiny baby boy for the first time. Nathan cried and whispered "I love you" into her ear.
"Me too." she whispered back and smiled at him.
"SO?" Lucas, Brooke, Payton, and Jake shouted through the window.
"SHHHHHHHHHH!" A nurse yelled at them, causing the group to giggle.
Nathan took a piece of paper and wrote quickly and secretively on it. He walked over to Haley and showed it to her. She nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Nathan walked over to the window and held up the sign.
The group erupted into cheers and tears as they read the paper out loud.
AARON LOGAN JAMES SCOTT
Ok, i know it was mushy and stuff, but i couldn't give you no drama! anyway, hope you liked it! This was the last chapter. Should i do a sequal? please review and tell me! thanks for everyone! i've gotten almost 70 reviews and you've all been awsome! it's my first fanfiction ever and i'm glad that you all liked it. THanks again!
Sara