A month later

Haley walked through the door of her and Nathan's apartment. She closed the door and put down a couple of bags of groceries.

"Nathan, you home?" she called out.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute," Nathan yelled from the bedroom.

Haley went over to the fridge and got out a bottle of water and a Gatorade. She placed the bottles into Nathan's gym bag along with a power bar that was sitting on the kitchen counter. As she finished zipping up the bag, Nathan entered the room decked out in his practice gear. He walked over and wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her passionately.

Nathan and Lucas both accepted a full ride from Duke University. They wanted to keep playing ball together at a Division I school and neither of them wanted to leave Tree Hill. Duke was also the school Haley decided to attend in the fall. So the decision was quite simple.

When they pulled apart from their kiss, both were out of breath. "I missed you," Nathan whispered. "I have to meet Lucas and Coach K for conditioning practice. I wish I didn't have to go now,"

Haley smiled and gave him another peck on the lips. "Then don't,"

"I would, but I think Coach K would kill me if I left him alone with Lucas. Now we wouldn't want that now would we?"

"No, definitely not. I like my husband very much alive,"

The happy couple kissed once more before Nathan finally pulled away and headed out the door.

"Say 'hi' to Lucas for me. And don't be too hard on him,"

"I'll say 'hi' but I'm not promising anything else," Nathan grinned, "Oh and there's a letter for you. It's on the coffee table, next to your sheet music,"

"Thanks,"

Haley walked over to the square coffee table, picked up the envelope addressed to her and plopped down on the couch. She swung her feet up and relaxed. Haley then opened the envelope and pulled out a belated birthday card. Laughing at the card, Haley opened it up and read:


Haley James (oops). Haley Scott (Sorry, I'm still getting used to it)

It's me, Peyton. I just wanted to wish you a Happy Belated Birthday. I'm sorry it's late but I was on the boat with my dad for the past couple of weeks. That's also the reason why I haven't been able to write in a while.

Aside from not being on land and not having much human contact, I really am having a good time. I'm still amazed at how calm and peaceful it is out here (with the exception of a couple of storms). I can really see why my dad loves it out here.

Sometimes when we pull into port, I wish we didn't have to come back to the real world. I think that's how my dad feels too. It's like the sea is his home and who knows, it may be mine too….nah, who are we kidding? I can't fish. Heck, I can't even stand the smell of them.

We're actually moving back to land. He actually wants me to go back to Tree Hill, but I'm not ready yet. Deep down, I think my dad knows that this isn't the life for me, that's probably why he accepted a job to be Boston's Harbor Master. It doesn't start till next spring. But he says that it's so that I can go and experience "college life".

My dad and I have reconnected on so many levels. We're really starting to open up to each other, which as you know, is pretty hard for me. But it is still a little awkward talking to him about some 'girly' issues. I bet it's even more awkward from him though. I'm really glad that I took the chance to be with my dad.

To be honest, I am looking forward to living on land, permanently and going to school full time again. It also means that I'll actually be able to hear from you again..that is if you want to. I do miss you Hales and of course, that husband of yours.

Hopefully the next time I write, I'll actually have an address for you to write back to.

Happy Birthday, Hales!

Love,
Peyton

Haley stood the card up on the coffee table. Even though Haley couldn't write back to Peyton, she was always glad to hear from Peyton. Haley, being the understanding person that she is, was never really upset with Peyton for leaving the way she did, but was disappointed that Peyton never said 'goodbye'.

Haley had just gotten comfortable on the couch again when there was a knock on the door. After letting out a huge sigh, Haley got up from the couch and went to answer the door. She opened the door and was more then surprised when she saw a skinny, curly blond woman standing on the other side of the door. It was none other than Peyton Sawyer.

Peyton stood at Haley's doorway with her shoulders slouching over and her head was hung low. Peyton looked exactly the same as she did when she left; thin, but strong. Her blond curly hair was longer and unkept.

"Peyton," Haley whispered with disbelief and excitement. Recovering from her shock, Haley's face lit up with her signature wide grin. But the smile didn't last long when Peyton finally looked up. Haley saw Peyton's sad eyes that were bloodshot and had dark circles under her eyes.

"Hey, Hales," Peyton said weakly. "Remember me?" she continued, trying to smile.

"Oh, my God, Peyton. Are you OK?" Haley said, taking Peyton's hands.

Peyton couldn't answer. She knew if she answered, she'd break down crying again. So she bit on her lower lip and shook her head no. She cleared her throat. "Umm…I know I haven't been that good of a friend and all…but um…I was wondering…" Peyton choked back some tears and looked away. That's when Haley noticed a small suitcase resting by Peyton's feet.

"You're welcome to stay here, if you want," Haley immediately said with a comforting smile. "Come on, get your scrawny little butt in here,"

Peyton let out a laugh. She stepped into the apartment and Haley closed the door. Peyton set her suitcase down and looked at Haley.

"Hey, come here and give me a hug," Haley demanded. She wrapped her arms around Peyton. Deep down, Haley had so many questions to ask Peyton like why she was back and why she was so emotional, but Haley didn't want to push. Peyton will tell her when she was ready.

Peyton held on to her friend tightly. She didn't want to let Haley go just yet. It was the first time in a long time that she wasn't alone.

"Peyton?"

Peyton cleared her throat and let go of Haley. "I'm sorry," Peyton apologized.

"For what?"

"Everything. For not saying goodbye. For not being a good friend. For just showing up out of the blue expecting you to take me in,"

"Peyt, you have nothing to apologize for. You did what you had to do,"

Peyton looked down at the ground. Even though Haley understood her reasons for leaving, Peyton still felt awkward.

"Peyt, are you okay?"

Before answering, Peyton fidgeted with her hands for a bit, "My dad…he umm…,"

Haley's stomach churned as she began to suspect that something horrible happened to Mr. Sawyer. "Peyt, what happened to your dad?"

The waves were higher and stronger than usual that summer afternoon. The boat was thrown back and forth as each wave hit the sides of the wooden ship. Peyton was sitting at her desk filling out her college application forms. She had already filled out applications for schools around the Boston area, where her father would be working next spring. As she got to the last one, she saw a note attached to it.

Peyton,
Thought I'd pick this up for you, in case you change your mind.

Love, Dad

Peyton removed the note and saw where the application form was from. It was from Duke University, which was just outside of Tree Hill. Peyton shook her head and giggled.

"What the hell, why not?" Peyton said as she picked up her pen and began filling out the forms.

Just as she finished filling it out, she heard a voice yelling from above, "MAN OVERBOARD!"

Immediately, Peyton ran to the porthole to try to see what was going on. She couldn't see anything from below. Peyton immediately made her way above deck to see what was going on. When she finally reached the back of the boat, what she saw next scared her heart into stopping for a second. She had just seen her father jump overboard.

"Daddy!" Peyton screamed out in terror. She began running towards the rail, but was stopped by Pete, a fisherman on her father's crew. "What's going on? Why did my father jump ship?"

"Peyton, calm down. Jimmy fell overboard and got caught in the net. You're father is trying to get him loose,"

Peyton watched in horror as she watched her father struggle to cut Jimmy loose. The drudging net was being dragged by the boat and Jimmy's foot was tangled in the netting. The other men on the boat were trying to reel the net back in, but the net was about 40 meters out. If they had waited for the net to be pulled in, it would have been too late to save Jimmy.

Larry Sawyer struggled with the net and the crashing waves, trying to cut Jimmy free. Both men were being tossed around like rag dolls by the thrashing sea. The waves crashing down on the two men kept them underwater for a few seconds at a time. Every time Peyton lost sight of her dad, she held her breath too.

After a few tense moments, Jimmy was finally loose from the net. Peyton and the rest of the crew let out a collective sigh of relief when they saw Jimmy begin to swim away from the net. But the danger wasn't over. Jimmy was half way between the boat and the net before he realized that he was swimming back to safety, alone.

Peyton never took her eyes off her dad, that is until he was sucked back under the water. "DAD…DADDY… SOMEBODY HELP HIM. HE'S TRAPPED," Peyton cried out. Her body began to tremble with fear. Tears streamed down her face.

The crew on deck turned their attention back out to the net. Frantically they tried to pull the net back in again. Jimmy frantically began swimming back to the net to try to help Larry.

Peyton looked at Pete, "Don't just stand there, do something! If you're not going to do something, I am," Peyton began to run towards the rail. Pete quickly grabbed her and held her back. "Let go of me. I have to help him. Someone, please help him…please," Peyton begged as she cried hysterically. She felt helpless as she watched her father being thrown around in the waves.

Larry Sawyer choked on the salty water as he desperately tried to cut himself free, but he was tightly wrapped in the net from his waist down. Each time he resurfaced, he looked out towards the boat. All he saw was Peyton, yelling for him. Her arms were stretched out as if she were trying to pull him back in. Larry reached out for her. The sight of his daughter made him want to keep fighting to get free, but even he knew he wouldn't make it out alive. Every time Larry surfaced he kept reaching for his daughter.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I never spent more time with you, Peyton. I love you. I'm gonna watch over you. Both your mother and I will. We love you. Be strong, Curly. God, please help her to be strong. Peyton, I love you so much. I'll always be with you. " Larry prayed as a crushing wave came over him and pushed him into the ocean.

When Larry disappeared from view for the last time, Peyton crumbled to the deck floor. "Daddy, please, come back. You promised me you'd never leave me alone. Dad…I love you," Peyton cried out between sobs.