Nathan had been on fire all night. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, lying heavily on his heart, he had managed to block away every single distraction. His game was on point and he was looking good. Aggressive defense but enough control to steer clear of foul trouble. And his offense was on. He was sinking shots from every position on the court and he had hit 50 free throw attempts in a row.

"Scott, get over here. I need to talk to you", Coach Bickerstaff summoned.

"Yeah Coach?"

"What's up with you tonight?"

Nathan used his jersey to wipe his sweaty brow.

"What do you mean? I haven't played like this in forever."

"Exactly. And now you're shooting, rebounding, assisting, guarding and passing like never before."

"Is there a problem?"

"Hell, no. Just try to do it in actual game, why don't you?"

Nathan smiled.

"The next home game is against the Bucks. I'm gonna tear it up, Coach. Just watch. I know I've been slacking lately but I'm really trying."

"You better, son. You need to prove to me and your teammates and the press and the fans why they call you the hundred million dollar man. Now hit the showers. I'm counting on you, Scott."

Nathan nodded and headed off to the locker room for a quick shower. The water felt good. He was tired but even that felt good. What was better than actually earning the big dollars they were paying him for? He'd put in a hard, honest days work and he was more than satisfied with himself. Grabbing a tape from the Bobcats office, Nathan decided to take it home and study the team's last game against the Miami Heat. Nothing said good times like drinking cold beer and eating even colder pizza while watching one of his old games. He walked out into the parking lot not paying much attention to the stretch black limo parked close to his SUV.

"Mr. Scott", the driver rolled down the window.

"Yeah? Can I help you, man?"

"Someone would like to speak to you, sir."

"What?" Nathan questioned. "Who?"

The back window rolled down and Dan sat sipping champagne.

"Quit being such a ninny and get your ass in the car, son."

Nathan rolled his eyes and dropped his bags as the door opened for him.

"I should have known it would be you. I was having too good of a day…something had to spoil it."

"We need to have a chat, man to man."

"About what now?" Nathan climbed in, stopping short when he saw that Dan wasn't alone.

"Nice to see you again, Nate."

"Mark", Nathan said, more than a little surprised. "What brings you by?"

He knew it wasn't a good combination having the two men ambush him together.

"Just checking up on things. Your father and I thought we would pay you a little visit. Now, how's my daughter."

"She's good", Nathan shrugged.

"Good. That's what I like to hear. And see that's the thing, Nathan. I haven't been hearing that lately. In fact, I've been hearing the polar opposite. I hear Megan has been very unhappy."

"She's fine."

"Let's hope so. She is my daughter, in fact."

"And she's my wife. Your point?"

Nathan was neither feeling or showing any fear.

"My point is, my little girl has been miserable lately and from the looks of things, you haven't been too happy either. Your attitude and performance in games, unfortunate incidents with strippers…"

"That's not what it looked like. Ask my Dad", Nathan smirked. "He was there."

Dan gave his son a death glare.

"What I'm trying to say Nathan is, if you're not happy in your marriage, I am here with a solution."

"And what might that be?" the younger folded his arms.

"Divorce."

Dan sneered as Nathan's eyes widened.

"Divorce? What are you talking about?"

"Just what I said, son. No strings attached, take the easy way out."

Nathan shook his head.

"Not that I'm saying I want a divorce but I don't trust you two together."

"Listen to the man", Dan took another sip.

"That's right, Nathan. An easy legitimate, quickie divorce. You give my Megan 50 million dollars and she retains full and legal custody of the child."

"Are you on crack?"

Mark laughed.

"No. It is what it is, Nathan. You want out…that's your option. Take it or leave it."

"I'm out of here. You're both full of shit."

"Nathan, wait."

"Wait? What the hell is there to talk about? You two show up here like the fucking Sorpranos offering me some bullshit deal that I didn't even ask for, by the way, to divorce my wife, give up half my money and abandon my kid."

"We're just looking out for everyone's best interests", Dan smirked. "Wouldn't want you to be unhappy, now would we my boy?"

"Shut up. And I'm sure you're the one who came up with the abandoning the kid part since that seems to be your field of expertise."

"Don't make me knock you out, son", Dan warned, his face tensing.

"Calm down, gentlemen. No one is going to knock anyone out. Now, back to you Nathan and the issue at hand. You're unhappy in your marriage, yet it seems you're not quite ready and willing to back out. If you're going to stay with Meg, something needs to give. Something has to happen to ease your minds and make things more pleasant. Tell me what can I do. What is troubling you?"

"Nothing", Nathan muttered.

"Nothing, you say. I see. Well, I beg to differ. Could it be…oh…Haley James maybe?"

Nathan's head instantly lifted.

"What do you know about Haley? Mark, she has nothing to do with it and nice going, Dad. You're a real ass, you know that?"

"I'm just the peanut gallery", Dan smiled.

"If she is causing problems, would you like me to have a talk with her? Pay her a visit…"

"Look, you two sick bastards stay the hell away from Haley. She has nothing to do with this. And if you leave Meg and me alone, we'd be just fine, too."

"Okay, okay. Just a suggestion. Dan, you were right. This one drives a hard bargain. Nate, you don't want a divorce. You don't want us to contact your little friend. What will it take?"

"Screw this…"

"How about this?" Mark took out his checkbook and began to scribble.

He tossed it to his son in law. Nathan's eyes bulged.

"What the hell?"

"No, I really did mean to put all those zeroes. Call it an insurance policy."

"Or a bribe?"

Mark shrugged.

"That's a little harsh but…"

Nathan shook his head.

"No way."

"Want more?"

"Man, this is 2 million dollars."

"I can triple it. My daughter's happiness has no price."

Nathan laughed bitterly.

"This is cute. Really guys. Bravo", he clapped his hands. "I'll tell you what guys, I have really been entertained this evening by the North Carolina mafia slash Good Old Boy network but uh, I'm tired and the show is over. So this is the part where I rip up your check before saying good night. Dad, you go back to Tree Hill and sell cars and make Mom's life hell or whatever it is you do. Mark, earn the taxpayers money and get back to running this fine state of ours."

He grabbed his bag and opened the door, shaking his head in disgust as he headed to his own vehicle. Dan got out after him.

"Remember what we talked about, son. Remember everything I told you. Don't be a damn fool. Don't mess it all up now."

"The only about this situation that's messed up is you and sidekick in there."

"I just want to help you, Nate. Give you the life I have, give you the chance for something better. You're my son. I love you and Lucas. I have created and tried to groom you in my image."

"God save us both then. You know, Lucas was the lucky one but not so much me."

"What are you saying?"

Nathan looked deep in his father's eyes.

"Unfortunately, we're more alike than I thought."