"I will always be there for you. I will always protect you, Haley"

Haley smiled as she remembered the words he'd said to her a couple days after they'd first gotten married….sixteen years ago. The morning sun shone through the bedroom window. She turned around and saw Nathan was already starting to wake up. They had moved in together a week ago the day after he proposed. Peyton, Brooke, Deb, and Karen were coming over later to help plan the wedding.

"Hey, did you have a good night's sleep?" She asked giving him a kiss.

"You were in my dreams….so, yeah I did" He said kissing her back.

"So, Brooke, Peyton, Karen, and Deb are coming later to plan the wedding"

"Yeah, I have a job interview in a few hours"

"What?"

"It's been hard enough to make ends meet with three kids. I mean I'm just a coach and a P.E. teacher. I guess now reality has finally hit me. And I want to be able to support you and pay for whatever you want"

"That's sweet, but I'm only one more person. I mean it's not like you've had trouble paying the bills, right?"

"Actually, I've had my electricity shut off ten times in the past five years. I went into debt with my credit card, but my mom paid it off for me. For the past four years Lucas and Brooke have been giving me 250 dollars a month to help pay for bills and my mom pays for all the kids' clothes"

"Wow…I never new. I'm so sorry. Well, if it makes you feel any better I'm going back to work. I have a degree in teaching, but Ben would never let me work"

"High school geometry and algebra, right?"

"Yeah, anyway, we need to think about who we want to be our best man and maid of honor"

"I don't know. Lucas, I guess. But, I have gotten closer to Jake the past few years. And Keith is my uncle…and then either Kevin or David. Are you really going to make me choose between my sons, uncle, best friend, and brother?"

"I don't know I should choose Brooke because she'll be my sister in law soon, but then again I'm closest to Peyton, but I could choose Katie. Then, of course I should consider your mom and Karen"

"Do we have to?"

"Do we have to, what?"

"Choose one person to be our best man or maid of honor. Then we're basically choosing between our family"

"Oh, my gosh, my family!" Haley exclaimed sitting up.

"What's wrong?"

"I haven't spoken to them in six years!"

"What happened?"

"After I married Ben, he always made me go to thanksgiving with his family. Ever since I was little thanksgiving has been a huge deal in my family. They were mad I never went to see them, because Ben wouldn't let them. Quinn and her husband, Zack came to visit us for a couple days and they suspected he was abusing me. I told them he wasn't and I was in love with him. They left the next day, but told my parents. My parents and all my siblings got involved and were calling me like crazy. I ignored their calls for over a month, and then I told them never to contact me again and I hated them and if they didn't believe me they weren't really my family" Haley explained. Nathan didn't say anything, but just handed her the phone and walked out of the room.

"What's this for?" She called after him.

"Looks like you have some calls to make."

Haley sighed and dialed the number that she still knew by heart.

"Mom, it's me….Haley-bub. Get the whole family together and come to Tree Hill. I have to talk to everybody but I can't do it over the phone…..Everyone's there?...Oh, right Thanksgiving…you want me to come?...really?...Nathan and I will take the first flight out!...Yes, I said Nathan….yes as in Nathan Scott my ex-husband….yes...Look, I have to book my flight, but I will explain everything tomorrow…don't worry, we'll bring the kids….yeah, they're fifteen now and Katie has her first boyfriend…yes, it's very exciting…okay I have to tell Nathan so we can book our flight….yeah, we already had plans but it's okay…bye…see you tomorrow…I'll call you with all the information later today…love you too…tell everyone I said hi…oh you're on speaker phone…that's not a surprise. Hi everyone….I really have to go now because Nathan has a job interview soon and I want to catch him before he leaves…yes we're living together….no, we did not get married without telling you…okay bye….oh and just so you know I was bringing pie and cranberry sauce to my old thanksgiving plans, so is it okay if I just bring that to you guys?...great bye…" Haley saw Nathan entering the room trying unsuccessfully to get his tie on.

"You need help?" She asked him laughing.

"Guys aren't meant to tie ties…..anyway how'd the call go with your parents?"

"Great, is it okay if we fly over there tomorrow for thanksgiving?"

"Of course, I'm sure everyone else won't mind. Do we want me to call the airport to book the flight?" He asked after she tied his tie.

"No, you have a job interview to get to. I will call and tell the kids"

Later that day

Brooke, Peyton, Deb, and Karen still came over that morning, but they just helped Haley and the kids pack. Nathan came home to see some suitcases by the door.

"What's going on?" he asked as Haley, Deb, Karen, and Brooke all came down the stairs. Peyton had left early because she had a doctor's appointment. Her due date was coming up soon.

"Well, the soonest flight I could get was in…two and a half hours so we packed for everyone. The kids are upstairs putting their carry-ons together"

"Okay, do I have time to shower?"

"No, but you smell good. So, good, I wish it was just the two of us" Haley said wiggling her eyebrows.

"Ew, that's so not a visual I need" Brooke said looking grossed out, stopping Nathan and Haley from kissing.

"Kids, we're leaving in ten minutes!" Haley called upstairs.

'Okay, then we'll get going. Tell your parent 'Hi' for me and Lucas" Karen said giving Haley a hug as she left with Deb and Brooke who did the same.

"Okay, let's get going. Everyone get your suitcases" Haley instructed.

Charlotte, North Carolina Airport

"What if I don't recognize them? What if they don't recognize us?" Haley asked worriedly as they waited outside with all their things.

"So, when you and dad get married, would that make your parents my half-grandparents or something?" Kevin asked Haley, considering she wasn't his biological mother.

"Something like that" Haley answered as they looked for the black suburban Taylor said she would be picking them up in.

"Maybe we should take our rings off. Didn't you say you wanted to tell them all at once?' Nathan asked.

"Yeah, you're right" Haley agreed putting both their rings in her purse.

"Is that them?" Katie asked, as a black suburban pulled up to the curb. A blonde haired woman got out of the car, along with a tall blond man and a baby boy who was being held by his father. She beamed as she saw her little sister and her family.

"Tay-tay1" Haley exclaimed hugging her sister tightly.

"It's so good to see all of you" Taylor said hugging the kids and Nathan.

"I'm Cody, your brother in law" The blond man said shaking Haley and Nathan's hand.

"Nice to meet you, and who's this little guy" Haley asked as Cody let her hold the baby boy.

"That's Hayden; He's five months old. Come on, we'll talk in the car" Taylor said as Nathan helped Cody put all their things in the car. Taylor told Haley to get into the front seat while she put Hayden in his car seat, then she squished into the front seat with Haley.

"Good thing we're both skinny" Taylor laughed and they shared one seatbelt.

"Okay, so who's everyone married to, how many kids does everyone have? Tell us everything" Haley said, excited.

"Okay, I'll explain everything from oldest James' sibling to youngest James' sibling. Lori is still married to Derek; you remember their daughter Cassie-she's fifteen now. Mitch is thirteen now and Dana is eight now. Lori just had a baby boy named Tommy. It was a complicated birth, though because she's forty-three now but she and Tommy are doing fine.

Second-oldest James sibling, Vivian is forty now and still married to Joey. Kim is ten now and Chris is seven now. She's three months pregnant now.

Third oldest James' siblings Brian and Evan are thirty-seven now. Brian is still marred to Lacey and Theresa is twelve now and Paul is eight now. Evan has been married to Meredith for four years and they have three kids: twins Simon and Lucy are five and Melissa is two.

Quinn is thirty-six and she and Zack have been married for seven years now. Gwen is six now, Trevor is five, Nolan is four, and Emily is two. Quinn is six months pregnant.

And then your favorite sister Taylor got married to Cody five years ago. We have a daughter named Alex who is five, Lola who is four, Chris, who is three, and now Hayden

Now, you might be wondering, what ever happened to little Haley James? Well, she's been MIA for the past six years and from the ringless wedding finger, I'm guessing she divorced her asshole husband. Now it seems she's back with ex-husband: Nathan Scott. Do you have anything to add to that?" Taylor asked laughing. Everyone else in the car was laughing also.

"Nothing, other than you are a crazy person" Haley said laughing.

"Yeah, but she's my crazy person "Cody said smiling.

"Aw, you're so sweet; if you weren't driving, I would so make out with you right now"

"Oh, Mom and Dad don't find that a problem" David joked.

"So, Katie, word around here is you have a boyfriend?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah, I thought he was a jackass at first, but he turned out to be really nice and sweet. Plus, he's a great kisser"

"I'm sure he is. Haley, you have no idea how excited mom and dad are to have you back. They've spent, like the whole day getting ready for you. All the little kids think you're like the most powerful person in the world; that's how excited everyone is" Taylor said, as they pulled into the driveway.

"I'm surprised everyone isn't mad at me" Haley said as they got out of the car.

"You're family and you can't be mad at family no matter how hard you try" Taylor said as they walked into the house.

"Mom, Dad!" Haley exclaimed hugging them. "I missed you so much!"

"Oh, we missed you too" Lydia said as everyone else came out. Everyone spent the next hour both crying and catching up.

"It's time to tell them" Haley whispered to Nathan.

"About the engagement or why you left Ben?"

"The engagement first. Then we'll send the little kids out and tell the adults about Ben" Haley whispered back.

"Hey, no secrets" Vivian teased. They were all seated at the huge table that was somehow able to seat over twenty people. Most of the little kids were on their parent's lap though.

"We have an announcement to make" Nathan said as Haley got the engagement rings out of her purse and she and Nathan put their hands under the table, while Haley sneakily put the rings back on.

"Nathan and I have been dating for the past three or four months…" Haley started to say.

"A week ago I asked her to marry me…" Nathan said.

"And I said yes!" Haley finished. They showed everyone their covered left hands. Everyone cheered and congratulated the happy couple.

Now, it was 9:00 at night and all the kids under ten were asleep. The preteens/teens were all upstairs watching movies or TV. The adults were downstairs cleaning up. When they were done, Nathan and Haley decided it was time to tell the adults about Ben.

"Everyone, we have something to tell you" Nathan announced. The adults went into the living room. Lydia, Jimmy, Vivian, and Joey all sat on one couch. Quinn sat on Zack's lap on the floor next to Lacey, who was on Brian's lap. Taylor and Cody sat on a big armchair together. Evan and Meredith were sitting on another one. Lori and Derek were sitting on another couch with Nathan and Haley.

"Quinn and Zack, you remember six years ago when you came to visit me and you saw some bruises on me and you thought they were because of Ben. I told you they weren't and I got them because I fell or something. I lied-they were because of Ben. I don't know why I cut all you out of my life like that when you were just worried about me. I think I was scared of what he would do if I told anyone. And I am so so so sorry" Haley said starting to tear up.

"Oh, sweetie it's okay" Lydia said going over and hugging her. Lori got up and moved to sit next to her dad and Lydia sat next to Haley with her arm around her.

"What made you decide to leave him?" Joey asked.

"Nathan, could you…?" Haley asked. She really didn't like talking about what happened.

"Sure. Um, Haley came home one day to find him in bed with another woman. Ben told her that he was just having fun and Haley said that she should be the only one he has fun with. He tried to have sex with her but she said no. earlier that day, Katie admitted to him raping her-multiple times. So, the police caught him trying to rape Haley and arrested him. He also hit David. Luckily he's in jail now and he can't hurt anyone ever again" Nathan said, his voice full of disgust and anger.

"What jail? I'm going to kick his ass for hurting my baby sister and niece and nephew" Brian said standing up. Evan and the other men did the same.

"I already tried; the police wouldn't even let me in the station. They said I was 'out of control' whatever that means" Nathan said.

"Well, the important thing is you're with Nathan now" Lydia said to her daughter who was crying now. The other sisters were also crying.

The next morning

"So, have you thought about who you want to be your best man or maid of honor?" Lori asked Nathan and Haley. They were the first ones up the next morning, along with jimmy and Lydia. Lydia was feeding Hayden a bottle of milk and Haley was holding Tommy.

"We were actually talking about that before Haley called you, and we honestly have no idea" Nathan answered.

"Yeah, I mean we'd basically have to choose between the people we love and I don't want to" Haley added.

"Well at our wedding we didn't have a best man or maid of honor. Whoever wanted to could give a speech at our reception" Taylor said walking in with Cody, Alex, Chris and Lola who were already dressed. They had been staying at a hotel, but they left Hayden with his grandma and grandpa.

"Hi, Auntie Haley" Lola greeted climbing onto her lap.

"Hey, girlie. Did you have a good sleep?" Haley asked the four year old as Lori took Tommy from her.

"Yea, we watch movie!" She exclaimed excited.

"I want to be with Auntie Haley!" Alex whined. The five year old tried to push her sister off.

"Nobody wants to be with me?" Nathan asked with fake sadness to get Alex to sit on his lap.

"I'll be with you Nathan" Alex said happily and stuck her tongue out at Lola. Lola reached over and pinched Alex who screamed in pain.

"Hey, no fighting girls" said Taylor, who was getting three-year old Chris something to drink.

"Jimmy's doing some yard work in the yard if you want to go help him" Lydia said to Nathan and Cody.

"Sure, I'll help him. What about you, Nathan?"

"Yeah, do you want to go for a run afterwards?" Nathan asked as they went outside.

"So, what happened last night? I heard you and Nathan arguing" Vivian asked as she and Quinn walked into the kitchen with Gwen and Nolan.

"Just money stuff. Nathan's job doesn't exactly pay. He's been having his brother and friends help pay his bills. I was telling him that after the wedding I want it to stop because we should be able to provide for our kids ourselves. He blew it out of proportion and thought I was saying he couldn't provide for his family. I got angry and told him he couldn't and he was lucky he's marrying me because I have a degree in teaching and I could probably pay the bills without his help. I shouldn't have said that and he left the house for a couple hours to go for a run to blow off steam. He was gone until one in the morning, but that's just how he deals with his anger. But we kissed and made up after he got back"

"Well, that's good to know" Vivian said.

"What's good to know?" Haley asked.

"That he deals with his anger by going away from you, instead of hurting you"

"Well, I would rather talk it out, but we all have different ways of dealing" Haley said shrugging.

"So, back to the wedding. Where are you going to have it?" Taylor asked.

"The beach, the exact place we had our first ceremony. Nathan won't tell me what he's doing for vows. He says it's a surprise so I'm sure I'll like them. We'll probably do what Taylor did at her wedding regarding the whole best man/maid of honor situation"

"Do you have a dress picked out?"

"No, I'm afraid to look at the prices though because I know whatever I like will be out of our budget"

"Mom, my wedding dress is still here, right?" Vivian asked. Lydia nodded and they all went upstairs.

"Well you're in luck Haley- I still have Vivian's dress, Taylor's dress, Lori's dress, and Quinn's dress; oh, and even my dress of course. Wow, Haley I still have the one from when you first married Nathan." Lydia said laying the dresses out on her bed. Lola, Alex, Gwen, Nolan, and Chris were all looking at the dresses in amazement.

"Which is yours mommy?" Alex asked.

"That one; Do you want to try mine first?" Taylor asked.

"Okay, Haley said. A few minutes later she walked back into the room wearing the dress. It was strapless and embroidered with beaded flowers on the bottom and top. She also wore the veil that went with it.

"What's going on?" Katie asked as she walked in with Cassie.

"Haley's trying on our wedding dresses. This one's mine" Taylor answered.

"It looks great" Cassie complimented "Which one is yours mom?" she asked Lori.

"The one next to your Grandmas"

"That one looks really nice on you, mom" Katie said.

"Thanks. It does, but it feels a little tight on my stomach"

"It's supposed to. Try mine on next" Lori instructed. Haley went to put it on.

"I don't think it looks right on you, to be honest" Vivian said.

The dress was an ivory color and long-sleeved. It had a low-scooped neck that showed Lori's cleavage when she wore it, but Haley didn't have that much cleavage. It was traditional style and fell past her feet. The dress just didn't look right on Haley.

'I agree" Katie said.

"Okay, then try mine on" Quinn said. Haley put it on. The dress definitely showed off Quinn's "different" style. It was pink and embroidered with sequins and the veil was also pink with sequins. It didn't fit her though.

"Why don't you try on the one from your first wedding?" Cassie asked.

"There's no way it will fit me now"

"You're body is still built the same way as it was sixteen years ago, we just might have to alter it a bit" Lydia said handing it to Haley. She put it on and sure enough it looked just as good as it did sixteen years ago.

"This is not possible" Haley said, looking in the mirror.

"You're taller, so it looks shorter than it was before, but we can make it longer" Vivian said.

"You should get tulle added to the bottom" Quinn added.

"I have the perfect earrings for you to wear with that, but they're at my house an hour away" Lori said.

"No shoes? Mommy says you have to have pretty shoes to go with dresses. It's call being fashionable" Alex said.

"Yeah" Taylor agreed laughing.

"My friend and sister in law to be Brooke made me promise to let her find me shoes" Haley said before going into the bathroom to change into normal clothes.

"So, have you thought about a wedding date?"

"December 28th; a few days after my divorce is final" Haley answered.

"Mom, can Katie and I go shopping?" Cassie asked Lori.

"No, today's thanksgiving"

"So? We'll be back in time for dinner"

"I'm not comfortable with letting the two of you go shopping alone in a town you don't live in. Don't argue with me"

"Mom, will you let us?" Katie asked Haley.

"I don't see what's wrong with it, Lori" Haley said to her oldest sibling. She gave Haley a look. "I mean, no you may not Katie. You never see this side of the family so we're spending the whole day together"

"You could come clean my house"

"No thanks, Aunt Quinn" Cassie said as she and Katie walked out of the room. Quinn and her family only lived ten minutes from her parents.

Back in Tree Hill

"Isn't he beautiful, Jake?" Peyton asked looking adoringly at her new baby boy.

"He looks just like his mother" Jake said kissing the top of Peyton's head.

"What should we name him?"

"Aidan Sawyer Jageilski"

"That sounds perfect" Peyton said.

"Yeah, it does"

A/N: Okay, this was definitely my longest chapter I've ever posted in any of my stories!twelve pagesand 3,791 wordsBy the way I was looking at my stats and I saw a lot of people read the last two chapters, but there weren't very many reviews…so lets keep the reviews coming I love to read what you think!