The flat Nathan had visited so often had little in common with Brooke's childhood home. He glanced around the large sitting room, looking for any sign that people had once lived here, that a child had been raised here. The room was dull. The color scheme looked bland, with just beige and black, and it stuck him how impersonal it felt. There were no pictures hanging on the walls, no mementos on the spotless shelves.

It was like a museum. Nathan tried hard to remember any run-in he'd had with Brooke's mother, but aside from the occasional country club event or fancy party from his childhood, there was nothing to remember. Mrs. Davis had kept to herself, hardly home and unlikely to leave the house when she was.

"Hey Christopher Robin! Have a good night's sleep?"

Brooke's perky voice drew him from his thoughts as she plopped down next to him, handing him a cup of coffee then squeezing his shoulder in a hug-like gesture. "I didn't expect you to be up. The sun's still rising."

"Yeah, well, it's my only free time. Being a mom's a full time job, you know." Brooke said, studying him. "What are you doing up?"

Nathan stared out the window as the sun started to peek over the trees, imbuing the sky with brilliant yellows and oranges. "Thinking." He heaved a great sigh. "I've seen it coming for a while now, you know. But it's still weird to think Haley's actually leaving me."

Brooke was silent, but Nathan could feel her eyes trained on his face. "There's nothing you can do?" she finally asked softly.

"No," Nathan shook his head to emphasize his response. He paused, for once uncertain if he should tell Brooke everything. "I don't know if I want to," he said quietly, the words slipping, unbidden, from his lips.

Brooke made a small sound, but Nathan was unable to understand it. "What do you mean?"

"We're not teenagers anymore, Brooke," he said resignedly, his voice surprising him with its strength. "I'm not the same person, and neither is she. I can't keep fooling myself into believing everything's fixable, that everything will be all right. I'm not the same naïve kid I was at sixteen."

"You were never naïve," Brooke offered. "No naïve teenager files- and wins- a petition for emancipation from his parents."

"Case in point," Nathan responded. "Where was I a year later?"

Brooke pursed her lips. "Married."

He nodded, turning to look at her. "No realistic teenager gets married in high school."

Brooke sighed, placing a hand gently over his. "Well, then, I was in the same boat as you." She offered him a half-smile, adding, "What realistic teenager gets pregnant at sixteen and figures everything will work out okay?"

"Everything did work out okay. For you."

"Case in point," Brooke mimicked. "It was hard, Nathan. But I made it work. And you can too."

Nathan sighed, kissing Brooke lightly on the crown of her head. "I'm not you, Brooke. And Haley… well, she's not you, either."
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"My feet hurt," Elissa complained for what felt like the thousandth time in the last ten minutes.

Nathan looked down at her. The nine year old was wearing a pair of loose fitting black pants and a purple tank top, with black platform sandals. The large sunglasses perched on top of her dark chestnut hair added to her sophistication. The pink backpack he'd bought for her moments ago was the only sign of her true age. "Your mom told me you were just like her," he responded.

Elissa rolled her eyes dramatically, narrowing them to slits as they fell on him. Well, she certainly got that from Brooke. "Mom doesn't walk so fast. I have to take two steps for every one of yours! My feet are going to fall off!"

"I doubt that," Nathan said, nevertheless slowing down. "Tell you what? We'll go get ice cream to reward you for your suffering."

Elissa nodded, but her eyes were still narrowed. "Reward me for being in pain? Unbelievable."

He held her gaze as they continued to walk, trying to figure out if she was really upset. Her eyes slowly opened wider, a mischievous glint becoming evident. Against her will, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards, until she was smiling. Blue met blue.

"Fine," Elissa said dramatically, loosing all pretense of anger. "But you owe me big time!"

Nathan smiled. "To be paid in the form of a large chocolate ice cream cone, right?"

She nodded, grabbing his arm to slow him down more. "Yep. How much further?"

Try as he may, he couldn't keep his smile from becoming a full-fledged grin with Elissa's tiny hand in his. He'd expected her to be colder toward him, at least at first. "It's just around the…"

His words drained off as his head snapped back up, landing on a familiar face. Reddish hair and wide brown eyes. "The, uh, corner," he finished lamely, staring at her. "Uh, hi, Haley," he said, instinctively pulling Elissa closer.

Haley's eyes flickered on Elissa, and her gaze turned sad. "Nathan," she said, her voice surprisingly devoid of emotion.

Nathan bit his lip, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Haley, this is Elissa… Elissa, Haley."

Elissa paused, picking up on the tension. "Hi, Haley," she said shyly, sticking out her hand.

Haley blinked slowly, then seemed to pull herself together. "Hi, Elissa," she said, taking Elissa's hand and shaking it hesitantly.

There was an awkward silence, and Nathan grew more restless. "I was, um, taking her for ice cream," Nathan offered quickly, yearning to break the silence.

Elissa nodded, looking up happily at Nathan. "He took me to get school stuff, too!" She squirmed out of the backpack she'd been wearing, holding it out for Haley to see. "Isn't it pretty? Look at the flowers!"

Haley nodded softly, bending over to touch the bag's purple flowers with the tips of her fingers. "Very pretty." Her eyes met Nathan's and she stood up. "Well, I have to go," she said quickly, shooting Nathan a pained look.

Nathan opened his mouth in protest, of what he wasn't sure, but she'd already brushed past him.

Elissa bit her lip, studying Nathan's face. "Uncle Nate?" she asked quietly, "Who was that?"

Nathan gave her his fake smile, the one he hadn't used since Dan had walked out of his life four years ago. "My wife," he answered, his voice almost as quiet as hers.
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For the last six months, Lucas Scott had spent his days sitting in the café and attempting to write his third novel. So it was not hard for Haley to find her best friend when she desperately needed him.

She plopped down into the seat across from him with a dramatic sigh, and Lucas looked up. Her entrance had obviously surprised him.

"Bad day at school?"

"No, my students were all good today," Haley replied. "I swear, kindergarten is the best grade ever! They just play together and sometimes the boys and girls have little crushes but that's all it is! And they have play-dates and they can just eat their chocolate ice cream in peace! If they want to go to the mall for a little cup of ice cream, they can have it in peace."

Lucas looked at her strangely. "You lost me at the ice cream."

"I stopped by the mall after school today to pick up some more markers for tomorrow's art project. He was there, Luke! Nathan brought his…daughter for ice cream. He even bought her some school supplies. She had this adorable pink backpack with this purple flowers…and…and she was so proud of it, you know? She was so happy that he bought her this backpack." Haley's eyes were welling up with tears and Lucas wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"When I saw her with him there, I just felt so empty…Lucas. It felt like he was an entirely different person. I wanted to hate her but I couldn't. She's beautiful. She has the same brown hair as Nate and Brooke and these huge blue eyes. Elissa Natalie." Haley shook her head angrily.
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Brooke grabbed her car keys and address book off of her desk and walked down to her car. Revving up the engine, she quickly retrieved the address to Nathan and Haley's house. Nathan had been moping ever since his fight with Haley, and Brooke hated to see him so miserable. She felt responsible for the pain she was causing him and Haley and desperately wanted to fix the situation.

She nervously shut off the car when she arrived at the destination and slowly walked to the door. Haley answered the door and her face turned to shock when she saw Brooke on the porch.

"Brooke Davis," she said slowly, the anger evident in her tone. "What are you doing here? My husband isn't enough, you want my home, too?"

No," Brooke insisted. "I'm not trying to steal Nate from you. It's not like he had to be a part of Elissa's life! I told him that from Day 1; I was perfectly confident raising her on my own. "

So why did you come back here? Or is it just some strange coincidence that you come back when my marriage is having problems?"

Brooke bit her lip. She knew Nathan and Haley were having problems, and, yes, that had been part of the reason she came. But she wanted to help them work through their issues! She didn't want to break them up!

"My Mother died," Brooke replied softly. "She left me the house, and I came back to settle her affairs."

"Oh." Haley's face softened.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Haley. Don't start being nice to me just because she's dead. I hadn't even spoken to her in nine years. She wanted to kill my daughter. No way in hell would I let anyone hurt Elissa."

Haley's anger flared at the mention of the child. "That little bastard. I can't believe you, Brooke. Keeping a secret from me? Nathan's wife? You knew we were married and you still carried on behind my back?"

"No! It's nothing like that. Haley, please. Let me explain?"

"No," Haley replied. Her voice sounded sad and distant. Brooke suddenly felt even more sympathy for Haley. What was Brooke doing here? "You've done enough explaining. Bye." She softly shut the door and Brooke collapsed against it, feeling defeated.

Haley had no idea.
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