"Nathan!" He turned around after hearing someone call out his name.

"Mom?"

"Sorry sweetie, I forgot to give this to you." She handed him what appeared to be a present, wrapped and everything. "Put it in your carry on, and don't open it until you get there. I want it to be a surprise. Now have fun! Love you!"

"Thanks mom." For the second time, Nathan picked up his bags and headed for the boarding gate. This time, there were no interruptions.

Lucas finally made his way to the café late in the afternoon. It was dead there.

"Hey stranger," he greeted Haley with a cocky smile.

"No stranger than you," she stuck her tongue out at him. "Umm, how did things go at the airport."

"It was depressing, won't get to see him for the whole summer. I guess I'll miss—Oh I'm sorry Hales," he stopped mid-sentence noticing the look of hurt on her face. "I know this is hard on you too."

"No, not really," she replied back, a little too brightly.

"Haaaales, it's me Lucas, your best friend remember? Unless... there's someone else! I knew it! All these years you were just my friend because you pitied me! You have another best friend hiding out in Charlotte or something don't you?"

"Oh Luke, stop it!"

"I'm just playing, you know that. My point is that I'm your best friend. I know you probably better than I know myself. So that's why I know you're upset. Tell me what's going on."

"I screwed up. Plain and simple. I left him, but I came back. And he doesn't want me back. So now he is in Florida probably fucking anything that has a vagina."

"Wow Hales, jealous are we?" She threw a piece of leftover bread at him. "Gross, again, I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I think he was disappointed when you didn't show up at the airport."

"I should get back to work, I'll see you later okay?"

"Are you going to be alright?"

"I'm a big girl Luke, I can take care of myself."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure. Now go," she said kind of harshly. Lucas had a look of surprise on his face, but he left reluctantly. Once he was gone, Haley took some dirty dishes to the back and then went into the bathroom. Immediately, she burst into tears. She couldn't take it anymore. The constant arguing with Nathan and yet the constant longing for Nathan. To kiss him again, to be one with him again, is all she ever wanted. She continued crying until she heard a knock on the door.

"Honey are you ok?" It was Rose, an older woman whom Karen had hired to help out at the café awhile ago.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a second." She sniffled.

"Ok, well I just wanted to let you know there is someone here to see you," Rose gently said. Haley wiped her eyes and then walked out like nothing was wrong. She went back to the front counter.

"Peyton?"

"Hey Haley, what's up?"

"Just working.. what are you doing here?"

"There's this new club in Raleigh that is looking for strippers, I thought we could try out." Peyton laughed at the shocked and horrified expression on Haley's face. "Whoa Haley, I was just kidding." She continued laughing. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well, I'm married and my husband hates me so I'm living in my best friend's house while running his mom's café since my husband's mom is too busy because she is at the hospital looking after my father-in-law who is in a coma," she got it all out in breath.

"Dan?" Haley nodded. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not. Doctor's say he'll be fine though."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Peyton chuckled. "But how are you doing?"

"Been better."

"We've all been better. What's going on with you and Nathan?"

"Honestly Peyt, and you know I love you but I don't really want to talk about it anymore. Bottom line, I love him, he hates me."

"But underneath all that hate, you know he loves you."

Haley just shrugged at that. "Don't want to be a subject changer but have you seen your stalker mom lately?"

"Yes you do want to be a subject changer and no I haven't seen her. My dad's coming home tomorrow so I guess I'll find everything out then. I'm expecting the worst and I just wish Brooke was here. She would make some comment about my dad being hot just to gross me out and get my mind off the situation."

"Best friends are great like that. And you always have me, you know that right?"

"Of course I do Haley, I just don't want to have to pile my issues on top of yours."

"Your issues would be a nice distraction from mine." She laughed. And for once, Peyton could tell she meant it.

"Well I guess I better go. I have a strip due later and let's just say I'm a procrastinator. Talk to you later?"

"Sure, see ya!" Haley waved as the blonde cheerleader left.

"To Nathan, Love Mom & Company," Nathan read the tag on the package aloud. He had gotten into Florida just hours ago and was now in his room ready to open the package. "And company? What the hell does that mean?" He quickly ripped open the package and gasped at what was inside. "Nathan and Haley: Keeping The Faith," he once again read aloud. It was a photo album. Carefully he began turning the pages tearing up more and more at every page. Pictures from their wedding, to the reception, to parties, picnics, basketball games, and everything in between lied in the pages of the book. On the second to last page was a quote: "He was the most popular boy in school. She was an outsider who had no desire to be a part of his world. When their paths crossed it was the last thing either one of them expected and the best thing that ever happened to both. She sees the good buried deep inside him and he can't force himself to not care about her." Below it was a picture of Nathan and Haley on the beach after a day spent with the gang.

-Flashback-

"Nathan Scott if you throw me in the ocean so help me God I don't know what I'll do to you." Haley screamed when Nathan picked her up. It was a beautiful spring day and they, along with Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Jake, and Tim had all gone down to the beach.

"What are you going to do?" He taunted as they got closer to the water.

"Let's just say you won't be getting any sexual gratification from me for awhile."

"Hm.. I'll live," and with that, he threw her in the ocean.

"Ahhhh! It's sooo cold! I hate you!" She screamed at him.

"Yeah, but you love me," he replied as he began to walk towards her.

"Yes I do," she said seductively pulling him close and at the last minute, dunked him under the water. "Gotcha!"

"You're gonna get it now!" It was his turn to scream at her.

"You're going to have to catch me first!" Haley took off running back towards the sand. Nathan took off after her and it didn't take long before he was able to grab her and swing her around.

"Nathan, stop!" She squealed.

"Come here," he said and began to kiss her. The kiss became heated after seconds neither wanting to stop, both forgetting where they were. Their passion for each other kept building until they were interrupted.

"Ok Britney and Kevin, enough with the PDA already," Brooke rolled her eyes. Haley blushed furiously and her and Nathan took a seat on the blanket that was spread out. Everyone began talking about their plans for the summer before senior year. Everything was going to be perfect. Nathan and Haley, Jake and Peyton, Brooke and well no one knew what was going on with her and Lucas, but there was some serious sexual tension between them. No one knew what was going on in Tim's love life either. He didn't do so well with the ladies. Everyone was supposed to be in Tree Hill this summer. Brooke defined it with the 3 S's: shop, swim, and sex. 'Only Brooke,' they had all thought. They continued talking and had fun the rest of the day. Eventually, Haley had fallen asleep with Nathan's arms wrapped protectively around her. And that's when the photo had been taken. A loving husband protecting his wife, the way it should be.

-End of Flashback-

As Nathan thought back to that day, he realized how everyone's plans turned upside down. Just weeks after that day on the beach, Haley left for the tour. Now Jake was gone chasing after Nikki, and Brooke was in California not knowing if she was coming back. Nathan had gotten back into High Flyers leaving Lucas, Peyton, and Tim alone for the summer. Until Haley came back. That's when it all became too much for Nathan. The tears began to fall. Then his roommate walked in and he immediately stopped. Nathan had already met his roommate, Mike. He seemed like a cool guy, could have gotten worse for a roommate he thought.

"Dude, are you alright?" Mike sincerely asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Nathan didn't want to meet his eyes, did not want to show evidence of his weakness.

"What do you have there," he inquired, pointing to the photo album in Nathan's hands.

"Oh it's just something my mom sent me, nothing important."

"Whatever it is, must be pretty important to get you this worked up over it."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone right now, I have a phone call I need to make."

"Sure man, just let me know if you ever need anything." Mike headed back out the door, giving Nathan some privacy. Nathan picked up the phone and dialed the number waiting for someone to pick up, someone that would have answers.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom, it's me."

"Oh it's so good to hear from you Nathan! Did you get there alright?"

"Yeah everything was fine. There's something else I wanted to ask you about."

"I'm guessing you opened up your present?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "What does mom and company mean? And where did you get all these pictures?"

"First of all, don't pretend like I don't know about the stash of pictures you have hidden under your bed. I used some of those, some that Karen had given me. I called Haley's parents and Haley's sister Taylor even sent me some pictures."

"Taylor helped?"

"Yeah, she said she would do anything to help and that if you guys couldn't make it, she wouldn't have anything to believe in anymore."

"Wow," Nathan was speechless.

"That's not all though. Lucas had some pictures, as did Brooke and Peyton. Peyton is also the one who did the drawing."

"Drawing?"

"The drawing on the very last page of the book." Oh, he hadn't made it that far yet. He turned the page and there was a sketched portrait of Nathan and Haley's wedding picture. At the top it said, "People always leave." And at the bottom it said, "But if they love you, they'll come back." Nathan couldn't help himself and once again began to cry.

"Aww sweetie, it's ok." Deb tried to comfort her broken son.

"I'm fine, I'm fine.. So what's with the Mom and Company on the bag?"

"Well that's basically everyone that helped. Everyone that contributed pictures had something to say about you two. Everyone has such faith in you all. Even Whitey contributed. That one picture of you and Haley at the basketball game was a picture he gave me. He said to me, 'Deb, these young'ns remind me of myself and Camilla back in the day. They put everything else aside for love.' " Nathan laughed at the voice she made when imitating Whitey. "You see sweetie, everyone believes in you, even when you don't. And I know Haley loves you, but you already knew that. You guys took a chance by getting married and you knew going into it, it wasn't going to be easy, but you did it anyways, out of love. I think it's time to look past all the hurting and move on, together."

"Wow, um thanks mom. Listen, I gotta go so I'll talk to you later."

"Think about what I said! Love you."

"Love you too, bye." After he hung up, he carefully placed the book on the stand next to the bed. No matter how he felt about Haley in that moment, one thing will always be true, they had many good times together. Nathan didn't have anything until 6:00 that evening, so he decided to take a walk to clear his mind.

It was a gorgeous Florida day. The water was clear, and the sand was white. 'How much would Haley want to be here right now,' he thought to himself. Little did he know, she was thinking the same thing.

"I wish I was in Florida," Haley sighed, saying it to no one in particular.

"But then you wouldn't get to see me anymore," a voice came up behind her.

"Karen! What are you doing back so soon?" The petite women hugged.

"Well, Andy's mother is doing great, better than expected. He'll be able to come back within a week if Dan doesn't try anything, so he told me to go back home where my life was."

"That's great. And you won't have to worry about Dan right now. From what Lucas told me, someone tried to set the dealership on fire, with him in it, and now he is lying in a coma in the hospital."

"Wow, have you seen Deb?"

"We went to the hospital a couple days ago and she seemed to be doing okay. The doctors say he'll be fine when he wakes up."

"I see, I guess that's good for her. So what's this about you wanting to be in Florida? Tree Hill isn't good enough for you anymore?" She chuckled.

"It's Nathan. He went to High Flyers." She sighed.

"Aww Haley, come here," Karen hugged her again. "It'll all work out." Then Haley's cell phone rang. "You get that, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

"Thanks Karen." Haley pulled out her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Nathan? Is everything okay? Why are you calling?" She figured something was wrong, why else would he call?

"Can't a husband just want to hear his wife's voice?"

"Oh, um well I suppose. Unless that husband is still mad at his wife." She almost said it like a question, hopefully waiting for the answer she wanted all along.

"He's not." Haley practically screamed with excitement. "He wants his wife to come visit him though."

"Oh Nathan I don't know. I have to work and Karen just got back, and I don't want to leave your mom alone while she's dealing with Dan, and would it be okay? I mean are we okay? Just like that? And what— Oh sorry, I'm rambling."

"It's okay Hales. I guess it isn't fair for me to ask you to pick up and leave right now with everything going on. And maybe we don't have all our issues resolved, but we need to do it face to face, not over the phone."

"Of course. Well there are some customers here and I have to get back to work, call me later?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure, I love you," Nathan said with such sincerity in his voice. Haley practically melted. This is what she had been waiting for all along, and although she would rather have been with him in this moment instead of over the phone, she'll take what she can get.

"I love you too." After they hung up, Haley was in such a good mood, practically skipping around the café. After her shift was over, she decided to get Peyton. She couldn't live with Lucas forever and Peyton could paint the walls of her apartment and do the whole artistic thing which Haley could not do.

After Nathan got off the phone with Haley he went back to his room to get ready for tonight. There was an opening dinner and meeting. He showered, got dressed, and headed down, barely making it in time. He was in such a rush he didn't notice the waiter he nearly ran over.

"Whoa watch it buddy! Nathan? How's it going man?" He stuck out his hand.

"Jake! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm down here trying to get Jenny back. It's only a matter of time before I have sole custody of her because Nikki lied in her testimony. Until then though, I gotta make some money to keep afloat."

"That's great about Jenny. I know Peyton was crushed after you left. Are you going back to Tree Hill once you get her?"

"I wouldn't go anywhere else," Jake grinned. "I miss Peyton, and all of you guys. Hopefully the summer won't be too ruined."

"She'll be so excited man. Anyways I gotta go to this dinner thing, but just give me a call if you need anything!"

"Ok, thanks Nathan. See you later." With that, Jake went back to his work and Nathan headed to the dinner. 'How weird is it to see Jake here? The whole gang will be back in Tree Hill except for me. Some summer this is turning out to be,' he thought to himself as he took a seat next to Mike. "And so the fun begins," he whispered.

What parts did you like/didn't like? Suggestions are welcome!

Bet you all thought that would be Haley at the airport, didn't you? Yeah I wanted it to be her too but I had to drag it out a little longer. It's killing me though, making Naley argue, so I had to have some goodness in their with that phone call, it doesn't mean everything is peachy though! Was the Jake thing okay? I was really at a loss to figure out how to get him back, but I think I've got Brooke figured out so maybe we'll see her soon! Again, I'm not sure about what I want to have happen with Dan. I think I know who I'm going to go with on killing him though. I want to start straying from the other character's storylines and start making it more Naley. Maybe after senior year and they all go to college? I don't know but it's hard putting all these storylines together and trying to make it as Naley as possible. Hopefully some fluff coming up, no drama, just the gang. Maybe a love interest for Tim? Who knows? If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment. I get stuck sometimes and could always use your help.

And thanks to everyone who leaves comments, I really do appreciate them. Your support motivates me to write! When I know people are reading, I want to get chapters out quicker so you all have something. The next few weeks though, I don't know how much I'll be writing. I have this class thing on the weekdays and its time consuming. I'm trying to go for a chapter a day but it might be longer, so bear with me. Hopefully I can get caught up this weekend and write a lot so I can post chapters without having to finish writing them in 10 minutes.

Wow, what a long author's note! Again, comments/suggestions are appreciated and thanks everyone for reading!

-Nicole