Author's Note: Flashback Sequences written in Italics. Dialogue borrowed from One Tree Hill, Episode 22, "The Games That Play Us"...

Haley yawned as the flight took off from Fort Lauderdale. It was the second and last stop of the trip before landing in Santa Domingo. She'd had to change planes already in Charlotte, making her total air time 7 hours and 42 minutes.

It was exhausting, traveling but Haley was used to it. She had toured all around the world. It had its perks of course. First class accommodations, seeing different cities and countries. It had its downfalls as well. Lost luggage, exhaustion, dodging the most fanatical fans and even paparazzi sometime when she looked and felt at her worst and all she wanted was what every other passenger wanted…a quick and safe flight to the next desired destination.

Slipping off her shoes, she curled up with the blanket and pillow provided. A lot was on her mind. She was nervous. Nervous about being around Nathan again. Nervous about the divorce itself. A part of her couldn't wait to get back to New York where even with the insane schedules and demands, it was her life and in a roundabout way, her only sense of sanity.

She could feel her eyelids growing heavy. Her breathing pattern lulled and her head became too heavy to even move. Before she knew it, Haley James was giving in to the calling of the Sand Man. In sleep she found a peace that had been escaping her lately during the waking hours. In sleep she could be free. Free to think. Free to dream. Free to remember…

She was so mad at him. She was so mad she could barely remember why she was mad. Then she would close her eyes and it would all come flooding back to her. The pang of jealousy and disgust she felt when she discovered her boyfriend's addiction to Internet porn. And he couldn't understand why she was mad! And Lucas! Lucas Scott of all people had the nerve to defend him!

Okay, Haley James overreacting…not exactly unheard of, huh? Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. The women weren't real so technically he wasn't cheating. And he was using the sordid images as visual stimulation to sexually relieve himself, so to speak, as not to pressure her for physical intimacies she wasn't ready for. Most important, she loved Nathan Scott with all her heart…and he loved her.

So she went over to his apartment to apologize. To reason or compromise with him. Then her nosiness once again got the best of her. His laptop was just sitting there practically screaming her name to come and search what he had been studying. No more pornography but something even worse…Peyton Sawyer. The same Peyton who had recently become her closest girlfriend, the Peyton he had dated before her. He had saved her pictures. Some of them were suggestive in a flirty sort of way, some of them just showing her smiling pretty face. Regardless he kept them and he looked at them. Did he miss her? Did he still love her? Did he miss the physical aspect of their relationship? It was too much for Haley. Peyton was a real person.

So when he arrived home, she called him on it. Nathan was not pleased. He was embarrassed and it was a chance to attack her verbally for invading his privacy, an act she was truly guilty of. They argued and she left, basically breaking things off. Haley had given Nathan her heart. Obviously that wasn't enough for him. If that wasn't enough, then how could she possibly be enough?

He was pissed. Girls came a dime a dozen in the world of Nathan Scott. His head told him to forget about her but his heart yelled otherwise. He couldn't stop thinking about her. About their relationship. She was fun! He could be with Haley for hours and not get bored. And she was funny…silly…giddy almost. Her smile was infectious and her laugh contagious. She helped him, not just with math and English homework but with life as well. No matter how bad things got at home, she was the one bright spot in his life. She believed in him. She loved him. When he felt hopeless stuck in between to unrelenting parents, Haley provided the way out. She helped him get emancipated.

And afterwards, she had spent every waking moment with him. Using her key, arriving early in the morning she would wake him, start his shower, then make his breakfast. They shared a few classes together and always managed to meet up in between classes. She would tutor him in Study Hall, then go back to the apartment to start dinner while he was at basketball practice. From seven in the morning until her midnight curfew, the pair was virtually inseparable. It was like she was his wife.

It started Nathan thinking. What was a wife? What was a marriage? The bitter, broken farce his own parents shared? Or the warm, extremely loving, committed bliss like Haley's parents? Jim James looked at his wife Lydia the same way Nathan looked at Haley. Then it dawned on him! He loved her. He knew he could love her forever. They were together all the time anyway, why not make it official? He had done all the partying and drinking and drugging and whoring most spend their youth indulging in. He was tired of that. He wanted more. He wanted Haley. It was time to settle down.

His heart pounded. As crazy as it sounded, he would ask her to marry him. At 16, he would and ask her to pledge forever. It was perfect and sweet and romantic and crazy at the same time. Only one problem…she wasn't even speaking to him. Nathan didn't care. He left his apartment and began walking, then jogging, then full out sprinting to her house. He didn't give a damn that it was raining and the drops had soaked his clothes to his skin. He knocked on the front door. No one answered. No cars in the driveway. What if she just wasn't answering? Nathan didn't care. He was determined. He would wait on that porch. He would wait forever if he had to.

Forever came ten minutes later when Peyton's car pulled up and Haley hopped out, dashing onto the porch for cover from the weather. She saw him looking like a drenched pound puppy and her heart fluttered.

"Nathan, you're soaked. What are you doing?"

"I just went for a run to clear my head, I guess this is where I ended up", he started before getting right to the point. "Look, Haley, the picture of Peyton didn't mean anything, okay?"

"It did to me", she said softly. "Clearly you still have feelings for her."

"I saved that picture back when we were still dating. The other ones too, you can go back and look. Her web cam hasn't even been in her closet for months."

"Why didn't you tell me that last week?"

"Because, I should have deleted those images a long time ago. I just felt bad because I didn't do it. Besides, Haley, I don't want Peyton. I want you."

She felt like she'd heard that song and dance before. It wasn't enough this time around.

"Is that it?" Haley asked, hands on her hips.

"You know, my pride says yeah, that's it. Just walk away and let Haley deal with the fact that she's clearly threatened by a sexual relationship. But my heart says, just forget about your pride, you idiot. You love this girl. And even if you're going to catch pneumonia, your ass is going to stand out here in the rain till you convince her to forgive you. So come on, Hales, just meet me half way here?"

"Why should I?"

This was it. No time or need for gimmicks or speeches. All that was needed was the truth. He just had to speak from his heart.

"Because I'm sorry. Because I love you. And because you're looking really hot standing out here in the rain, and I'm thinking, I have to kiss you", he smiled.

Looking into his pleading baby blues, her heart melted. God, she loved him.

"Well, if you have to", she conceded with a big grin.

He leaned and she stood on her tiptoes, soft lips and tongues passionately and lovingly crashing into one another. She knew she would love him forever. She knew she would love him more than anyone.

"Ms. James?"

Haley jumped, then rubbed her eyes as she raised to a sitting position.

"Yes?"

"Ma'am, we are preparing for landing into the Santa Domingo Las Americas Airport. We thank you for flying first class with U.S. Airways."

Haley stretched. She had slept the entire way from Florida. Now she was in the Dominican Republic. It was off to the Ritz Carlton. It was off to ending the most important chapters of her life so she could begin to begin anew.