Author's Note: To LilAngel, who sent me an invitation to the C2...I swear I'm not ignoring you. Send a private message to my e-mail account and explain what it is and what you need me to do. Sorry, I didn't respond sooner but I was super busy. Thanks...

Closure was the word of the day. It was about gaining peace within. It was about picking up the pieces of what was left of your life. It was about somehow finding the courage and the strength to move on. That's what Nathan Scott was trying to do. That's what had taken him from New York back to Charlotte, North Carolina for three days.

He sighed as it was growing dark. The setting sun made it seem much earlier than it was but then again, wasn't that the best part of summer?

"Honey, why don't you turn on the lights?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"It's okay, Mom. I can see."

Deb nodded and let him finish his business in the living room as she returned her attention to the kitchen. She eyed the clock. Nathan's guests would be there soon. They had to be there before the sun went down completely.

Nathan looked around, wiping the sweat from his brow with the end of his shirt. He thought about cranking up the AC but instead, opened the window. It just felt like the right thing to do. Besides, he could look out the window and see the trees. He could almost see the tennis and basketball courts. He had a bird's eye view of the pool and if he craned his neck just right, he'd get a sweet glimpse of the multi colored flower garden Megan had spent so much time attending to.

For a minute time stood still. So many familiar sights. But there was one vastly unfamiliar display. It stood out like a sore thumb. It was the huge sign on the front of his property that had been stamped in gigantic letters SOLD. That was it. It was finally over. In two days new owners would come and move in.

Everything about the deal had been closed. Realtors, property brokers and attorneys handled everything. Megan and Nathan didn't have to see the new owners and more importantly, they didn't have to see each other. Still he wondered what the new people would be like? Were they old? Did they have children? Were they in love? Were they happy? Did they have dogs? Cats? Were they young newlyweds with hopes and dreams? Or a retired couple looking to spend their golden years in a Charlotte mansion?

"You okay?" Deb asked carefully.

She was worried. She had been watching her son from the other room. She knew how difficult it must have been for him to pack everything up. She could only imagine how hard it was just to return to a place that had represented both immense joy and intense pain. And even still there was one more thing left for him to do. He insisted. He had to.

"I'm fine."

"You look like you have so much on your mind, Nate…"

"Just wondering what the new people will be like. What they look like and stuff…"

"You can still meet them."

Nathan looked away.

"I'm just being curious. I guess I'd really rather not know."

"I'm so worried about you", she sighed.

"Why?"

"I'm a mother. I've said it a million times. That's what we do. You're a parent. You know that."

Nathan smiled.

"I guess I do. But don't worry about me, Mom. I'm okay, or at least I'm going to be."

He put his arms around her.

"I know you will. You're a strong boy."

"Guess who I get it from?"

She blushed and looked away.

"Certainly not me."

"Of course I get it from you. Anything inside me that is good, Mom, came from you."

Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at her only child.

"I am so very proud of you."

"Why? I haven't given you very much to be proud of."

"Yes, you have. More than you know, Nate. Since the day you were born, since the first day I knew you were coming. I love you so much. Your strength and your bravery and your maturity. You've come so far. Still there is a long way to go but I know you know that. Your eyes are focused on the prize ahead. You'll be fine, just fine. I promise."

"So will you, Mom. I mean that. Leaving Dad? I know it must have been hard. But you deserve your freedom and you deserve to be happy. It took real guts after all these years."

Deb smiled.

"Well, then. I guess we're both starting over in a sense. I guess we both begin these new journeys together."

"Okay", he grinned, bumping his mother's fist with his own. "You are officially now my new PIC."

"PIC?" she laughed. "What on earth is that?"

"Partner in crime."

She looked in his blue eyes. He was her little boy and God did she love him. For so long she had dreamt of the day when they could be close again.

"I'd be delighted", she nodded.

He placed a kiss on her forehead before checking his watch. He looked outside again.

"Mom, they'll be here any second…"

"Okay. The kitchen is done."

Nathan looked around.

"So is the upstairs and I'm almost finished in the living room.

"Megan will send for what's left of her things?"

"Yeah. The courier will deliver them to her parents' house in the morning", he answered in a quiet voice.

Deb nodded.

"Well, there's only one more thing to do."

He knew what she meant. Together they reached for a pile of neatly folded white sheets. Carefully they placed them over each piece of furniture. With the sun going down and everything covered, it gave the large house and eerie glow to match the mood inside.

Mother and son stood silent but united as they surveyed the scene before them. Then they heard the vans approaching in the drive.

"They're here", he said.

Deb let them in, extending a pleasant greeting. They made themselves a comfortable working space as the younger man, their "subject" looked on. Finally they were ready for him. An artist brushed his face with make up and an assistant fussed over his dark jeans and simple white tee shirt.

"Let's go", the director of photography called out. "We're losing daylight."

Nathan was quickly ushered outside. He'd always felt a tad silly in posed photos. Once he had done a Prada spread for GQ magazine. The guys on the team never let him live it down. There he was in full color, decked out in designer gear doing his best Spencer Tracy impression. Even Lucas, Jake, Skills, Mouth and Fergie had called to give him grief.

As much as Nathan loved lucrative endorsements, even he had drawn the line when approached to represent Calvin Klein. He had nothing personal against the label or the man behind the designs. He liked their clothes, in fact. He'd even worn their boxer briefs from time to time but he'd be damned if he'd strike a sexy pose wearing only his drawers to be put up in the middle of Times Square. The money was tempting but he was an athlete, not a pretty boy, beefcake model with socks stuffed in his shorts. Not that Nathan or any Scott man would need the extra stuffing, he thought with a proud grin.

"Nathan, don't smile. Look broody. Pout for the camera. Give us James Dean."

How did one brood and pout for the camera? Nathan rolled his eyes. It was ridiculous. He felt stupid. It was not the way he wanted the photo shoot to be. It wasn't about sexy, contrived glances.

"I can't do this", he finally spoke up.

"Nathan…"

"No. We said we would do this on my terms right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I don't want to make faces or sulk or pout or brood. I don't want to be James Dean or Marlon Brando or anybody."

"What would you like?"

Nathan thought for a bit as he looked to his mother for telepathic support. She just smiled at him and that one look was enough to provide the answer.

"You guys wanted no holds barred access? Well, that's what you get. You get me. This is my truth…if you can handle it."

The lensman seemed intrigued. For so long Nathan Scott had spent so much time and energy dodging the ever present photographer. He hated what they stood for and what they wanted from him. Now he was offering it to him, his life, his mistakes, his hopes, his dreams, his pictures, his thoughts…his truth. All that in a 10 page spread in Esquire magazine.

It was his terms alright. They completed the picture taking process. Instead of the set up shots, there were more natural photos snapped of the fallen superstar in his element. The camera captured happiness, sadness, anger, loneliness, hope, regret, confusion. In front of the lens was a boy, a man, a father, a son, a husband, a brother, a friend, an athlete, a human. And there it was, all of it soon to be on display for a waiting world to see.

"Thank you, Nathan", the photographer said after taking the last roll of Nathan inside the empty house among the covered pieces of furniture. "Confirmation for the interview tomorrow?"

"Noon."

"Noon it is. Same time, same place. The crew will arrive one hour prior for set up."

"Okay. Um, I'd like to do the interview outside on the basketball court."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Thank you for your time."

Nathan nodded and watched as they left. Deb held her son's larger hand.

"Honey, I know why you feel you have to do this…but you don't. At any time…"

"It's okay, Mom. I do have to do this. And it's for the right reasons this time. It's about coming clean with the truth. It's about the good and bad. It's about me and the things that I have done. It's my chance to tell all."

"Why on the basketball court?" she asked. "What made you choose that location?"

Nathan thought about it for a while.

"I don't know. Basketball is a part of me, Mom. It always has been and always will be, no matter what happens. I live and die on that court. That's where my heart is. I lost my soul there so there is where I have to get it back. Somewhere along the way through all this drama, I lost the kind of man and kind of person I am. I need to get that guy back…with or without Haley. So this is my penance, kind of. I put everything on the line and I do it for you and Luke and Lillian and Megan and Yoanna…and Haley, too."

Deb smiled.

"Did I tell you how proud I am of you and the person you've become?"

"About a hundred times, Mom."

"Well, make it one hundred and one…and hey! PIC is what I prefer from now on", she winked.

"You got it", he sighed. "Truth. Nothing but the bittersweet from now on."

Deb closed her eyes as the night's summer breeze blew through her hair.

"And the truth shall set you free."