Nathan knocked on the door again. It was early morning but he knew she was probably awake. Haley had never been one to sleep in and with the addition of a new baby, that made it that much more impossible. He wondered what was keeping her. Finally, she opened the door, breathless.

"Hey", she smiled, removing her headphones. "Sorry I didn't hear you."

"It's cool", he peered in wondering if a shirtless Chris Keller would be enjoying a bowl of Fruit Loops at the kitchen table.

He wasn't.

"Come in", she offered. "It's pretty early. What has you all dressed and ready to go?"

"I came to ask you a favor, Hales", he twiddled his thumbs.

"Okay…shoot."

"You know how much I've enjoyed spending time with Lillian. I mean, that was my reason for coming up here and all…"

"Yeah…"

"And I thank you for being so cool about it but…"

"But what? Is everything okay, Nathan?"

"Huh? Yeah, everything is great, it's just that I want to spend more time with Lillian, you know, like on my own and, I…well, I was hoping to start trying that out…like today if it's cool."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a nice day and Central Park isn't too far away. I was hoping to take Lillian out for a few hours."

Haley sighed.

"Oh Nathan, I don't know…"

"Haley, I can handle it."

"I'm not saying you can't but…I don't know. The whole idea just makes me really nervous. I don't want anything to happen to her."

"I don't want anything to happen to her either. What, do you think I'll trade her for a cigarette to the first bum that comes along? Damn, Hales. I know you're her mother but I'm her father."

"I know that and you've been great but the truth is, you've only had her by yourself for an hour at the most and that was right downstairs in your apartment. What if something happens?"

"Nothing is going to happen."

"But what if it does?"

Nathan shrugged.

"Then I'll take care of it."

"What about the paparazzi?"

"I already checked. No one is hanging around out front. I'll wear a hat and dark glasses and take her out the back entrance. It'll be cool, Hales."

"I…I don't know…"

"I'm taking her around the block, not to China. Look, Haley, I can handle it. And I want to spend more time with her. She's my daughter, too. I know to be safe and responsible."

Haley took a deep breath.

"I know you do."

"Then just trust me. Give me a day alone with Lillian and you take the time off and do whatever you want. Go shopping or get one of those pedicure things or whatever you'd do on a day off. You deserve a break."

Haley nervously chewed her lip.

"You sure, Nathan?"

"I'm positive."

"You won't go too far and you'll call to check in?"

"Yes."

"And you'll call if anything happens?"

"I give you my word."

"Okay. Okay, okay. I can't believe I'm doing this but okay. Just let me finish getting her dressed, okay?"

"Okay", Nathan smiled.

He waited patiently but with happiness and excitement. It was a long time coming and a day he had thought about ever since he had first seen the tiny, sleeping figure in the hospital's Isolation Unit with all the tubes and needles stuck in her.

"Alright, here we go", Haley returned with their daughter clad in a pink and white summer outfit and bonnet. "Make sure you keep the sun out of her eyes in the stroller. And don't forget to check her diaper. The bag is packed with everything you need. I just fed her so she should be good for a little while. And…"

"Hales, I've got it", Nathan chuckled. "Seriously. Calm down. We're gonna be okay."

"I know", Haley nodded. "I trust you."

She leaned in and kissed Lillian.

"You just enjoy your day. Go do whatever you want."

"Thanks but I think I'll just stay here. I'll keep the front door open so just let yourself in when you get back."

Nathan nodded.

"Okay then. Well, we're off."

"Be careful but uh…have a good time", she smiled meekly.

"We will. Oh and Haley?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

She waved as father and daughter set out on their first excursion in the city alone. As planned and promised, he dressed down and had security escort them out the back. He checked his surroundings for photographers and when the coast was clear, they set out. Lillian, looking adorable, slept peacefully as Nathan pushed the carriage. When they finally reached the park, he took a seat on a bench after verifying the little girl had a clean diaper. Immediately Lillian opened her eyes and stared at him.

"Hey you", he smiled, gently lifting her out and into his arms. "What's up? I guess this day has been a long time coming. Honestly, I never thought I'd see it. I wanted to but it never seemed possible. I mean, it's weird. A very long time ago at this high school basketball championship called the Classic, well…I looked in your mom's eyes and I saw my unborn children. That sounds pretty lame, huh? But I swear it's true. We fell in love and we got married and I thought it would be forever. But it wasn't meant to be, I guess. She left me and I didn't make it easy for her to come back. Fast forward to seven years and a whole lot of loss and heartbreak later. By chance we came back in to each other's lives and that's how you came to be. You'll probably hear things and read things that might make you questioned exactly what happened. When you're a little older I promise to give you all the answers you need but for now you just need to know that I love you and your mother loves you and when we made you, in the craziest of situations, there was a lot of love there between us…or at least I'd like to think so. Anyway, I've messed up…a lot. I hurt your mom and your grandma and your Uncle Luke and a whole bunch of other people. I'm not proud of that, Lil and I want you to know I'm working to be better. It's because of you. Well, it's some of me too but it's mostly because of you and your sister. You're in my arms and Yoanna is in Heaven looking down and I don't want to disappoint either one of you anymore. I want to be someone you can look up to. I want you to be proud. I want to be better to you and for you than my Old Man was for me, which the jury is still out with that one since you seemed to be loving it in his arms. Who knows? Maybe you see the good in him we can't see. Or maybe you bring it out in him. I hope so because Evil Dan is enough. I can't have Evil baby Lillian, too. Kid, we've got enough drama in our lives, if you didn't already know. I'll give you a few years but fyi, I watched all those The Omen movies and if you try to run over Haley on your tricycle when you're like three so she'll fall over the banister and break her neck…then you're definitely going to an orphanage, or at least you'll get grounded. Anyway. What else can I say about your mom? She's pretty amazing or I guess you know that already. It's complicated between us. I have never loved or hated another human being with such passion. She made me happier than I've ever been, she made me sadder than I've ever been. At times I wanted to give her the world and other times it took all I had not to wring her neck. No matter what, she'll always be a part of me. They haven't invented words yet for how much I care about that girl. And because of her, I have you and you're about the best thing going on in my crazy life, that's for sure. Look at you. You look bored as hell. Didn't know it was possible to bore a three month old but hey…I guess you learn something new everyday. Sorry if I kind of poured my heart out to you but it's easier talking to you than to your mom or to your Uncle Luke or just anyone. Thanks for listening…and thanks for being born."

Lillian stared up at her father and cooed as he saw a small smile. He tickled her tummy and just sat there enjoying a beautiful day in the park and the New York City sunshine.

"Alright, Stinkerbelle", he said to her after a few hours. "Your mom probably has the FBI out looking for us. We should head back now."

He deposited her back into the stroller and headed back to the apartment. He stopped along the way for a hot, soft pretzel and honey mustard. He felt good. He'd had a pleasant day out with his daughter, uninterrupted by the prying press. And he was in the best mood he'd been in in weeks.

"Nice walk in the park, Mr. Scott?" Alvin the doorman nodded.

"It was good, man. Thanks. Absolutely no problems."

Nathan entered the elevator and changed Lillian's wet diaper, extremely proud of himself that it was his first attempt that hadn't ended up with it being on backwards. She was still wide awake and apparently in a good a mood as her dad. They rode up to Haley's door and Nathan carefully maneuvered the carriage.

"We're back", he announced as he entered with a knock. "Hales, we made it one piece!"

There was no answer.

Nathan smiled at Lillian.

"That's odd. I had to rip you away from her arms this morning, now she's nowhere to be found and she didn't blow up my cell with calls. What's really going on here? Mama must be busy."

He went to pick up Lillian but was distracted by a noise.

"Hello! Haley?" he called out.

Again no response.

He shrugged until he heard it again. It wasn't just any noise but it was a distinct moan. It was a moan of pleasure to be exact.

"What the fuck?" Nathan whispered out loud.

The sounds were coming from Haley's bedroom. Forgetting himself and the situation, a fury induced rage began to build in Nathan. He charged over to the door and barged in. What he saw, he would never forget.