Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm BAAACK! LOL Alright, this is the chapter where Haley and Lucas talk. Not much else to say other than I might update again today, depending on my family. Well, I hope you like it! As always, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. One Tree Hill and its characters are property of the WB.

Rating: K+ to T

P.S. – Thanks SO much for nominating me Tay!

Finding Our Way Back

Chapter 8 – The Talk

"So, how have you been," Lucas began slowly, trying to find a neutral topic. "Fine," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Your kids are beautiful, Haley, I saw them in one of your pictures," he replied. "Thank you," she replied sincerely. "So where is Nathan? How are you and him doing?" He watched Haley's face contort in anger. "How the hell should I know and why the hell should I care," she shouted as she glared at him, remembering that day at the rivercourt and what Nathan had said to her. Lucas flinched at her outrage. What he thought was going to be an okay conversation was turning out to be horribly wrong. Lucas stared at her in shock, "Y-You mean he left you? And the kids?" Haley sighed as she rubbed her forehead. This wasn't turning out the way she thought it would be. Lucas took this action as a sign of agreement.

"Oh Hales…I'm so sorry," he went to hug her, but she pushed him away and shook her head. "No," she replied. A hurt expression flashed across his face before he sighed and turned to look at her, "I'm sorry. I wish you would have told me. I would have been there for you and the kids." Haley thought as tears welled in her eyes, 'I wished you were there too.' Lucas saw the tears in her eyes and slowly raised his hand, gently wiping the tears from the corners. She looked at his hand then to his eyes, before pulling away, wrapping her arms around herself.

"He has Deb's hair," Lucas stated after a few minutes of awkward silence as they walked through town. She looked up at him, "What?" "Your son, he has Deb's blonde hair. And your daughter looks just like you Haley," he responded. Haley fought not to gawk and yell at him in amazement. How could he not see that Derek had Lucas' blonde hair, not Deb's? How could he not see that Derek looked almost exactly like him when he was little? She was brought out of her thoughts by Lucas' voice, "What are their names?" "Katie and Derek," she responded. Lucas nodded, "How old are they?" Haley began to panic again. If she told them their age, he would know. Should she lie and tell him they were a little younger or tell him the truth? She wasn't ready for him to find out yet although she was surprised he hadn't known the minute he saw Derek.

"They're five," Haley found herself saying. "Hmm, you must have gotten pregnant a couple months after I left," he mused after some thought. "Yeah," she lied, her tone soft. She wasn't really lying, she hadn't found out that she was in fact pregnant until three months after he'd left. "When did Nathan leave you," he asked solemnly, knowing it must hurt her to talk about him after what he had done to her. "We broke up the day I told him I was pregnant. He said he never wanted to see me again. I left town two weeks later," she responded as she stared down at the ground, kicking a small rock with her shoe.

"Come here," Lucas pleaded with her as he gestured her near. She hesitated a few seconds before taking a few steps forward, letting him wrap his arms around her. Haley was tense a few moments before she melted into him, burying her head in his chest as she cried, finally being in his arms after five years of separation. Lucas held her tighter to him as he began to stroke her hair and whispered in her ear, "I missed you so much…" "I missed you too," she managed to squeak out through her sniffles, "more than you'll ever know. It's been so hard without you these past five years…" "I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere," he rubbed her back in circles to try and calm her.

"How long are you back in Tree Hill for," she asked when she'd finally stopped crying. "Indefinitely," he smiled. She pulled back from his embrace, her eyes wide, "What? What about the Lakers and the NBA?" "I'm done with all that. I wasn't happy. I mean, I love playing basketball, but the big leagues and celebrity life isn't for me. I just want to play ball again, be carefree and just play for the love of the game, like back when I played at the rivercourt, you know?" "Yeah sorry, after you left Dan plowed the rivercourt down and put up a new dealership," she replied with a straight face. Lucas' eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, "HE WHAT!" Haley giggled lightly and it was then he knew she was joking. "Don't do that to me. You nearly gave me a heart attack," he responded as he placed a hand to his chest.

"So, what are you going to do? Where are you going to work," Haley asked. "I visited the high school and saw Whitey there. He offered me the coaching job and I took it. It's gonna be so great teaching those kids," he smiled as he imagined having such a major influence on them like Whitey had. "Oh that old kook. He was the one who told you I was here, wasn't he? Or was it your mom?" "No, I haven't gone to see my mom yet. I just wanted to walk around Tree Hill for awhile then I ended up at the high school in the gym and found him there. Once he told me you were here, I came to find you." Haley smiled up at him, "I really missed you Luke. I'm glad you're back." "Me too Hales," he replied as he draped an arm over her shoulders and they walked along the sidewalk.

Author's Note: I know you guys probably think that Haley and Lucas' hug and everything was moving kind of fast, and I originally hadn't planned it to be that fast, but I let my hands do the typing and that's what they came up with so I stuck with it. The next couple chapters will be Lucas and Haley building their friendship back up. I also know that you guys probably think it's awful of Haley for leading Lucas on, letting him believe Nathan is their father, but don't worry, he'll find out, eventually. LOL Hopefully I'll see you guys again today! Or read you guys later LOL.