Chapter Five- Til Kingdom Comes

The next morning Nathan woke up before the alarm went off and as he lay in bed watching Haley sleep, he was reminded of the morning after they got married. She slept peacefully beside him, wrapped up in the sheets with a smile resting playfully on her lips. Hours earlier he had decided that there couldn't have been a better way to spend his last night in Tree Hill. Specific moments stood out in his mind and he knew it was those that would stay imprinted there for the next three months. Like when he had rediscovered her tattoo and then proceeded to fill the small of her back with butterfly kisses. He had forgotten until last night how just the sight of the tattoo was enough to turn him on. It still amazed him how she had it done before she even knew whether or not he loved her, how she had that much faith.

The alarm clock cut through his thoughts and he did his best to turn it off quickly, scolding himself for not turning it off earlier like he had planned. He had wanted Haley to be able to sleep as long as possible, but that was no longer an option considering her eyes were already starting to open.

"Hey," Nathan whispered as he leaned forward to kiss her neck. Then he whispered in her ear, "Last night was amazing."

Haley laughed and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. "It was, wasn't it?"

"I just want to stay in bed all day."

"Well as good as that sounds, you do have a plane to catch today. I think a shower sounds pretty good right about now." Haley reached next to the bed to find her robe, but before she climbed out Nathan pulled her back in.

"Hey, Hales, the other day before Peyton came you were going to say something to me. I didn't want to say anything when she was here, and then we just kind of got caught up in the past few days, but what were you going to say?"

"It doesn't matter anymore."

"Yes, it does, to me."

"Nathan, I really don't want to talk about it."

"Haley, come on, it seemed important to you so it's important to me."

"I don't want you to leave," she suddenly blurted out.

"What?"

"Exactly, I didn't want to say anything because I knew how selfish it was. I want you to go to High Flyers because I know that you need to, but I wish that you could just stay here and we could continue to be like this. Three months without you after finally being back together is just going to be really hard. But I know that you have to go and you better know that I'll be waiting here when you get back."

"I do know that, and three months isn't that long. It'll go by quickly, you'll see," he said, reinforcing himself just as much as her.

Haley slowly rolled out of bed, turning around just before she reached the bathroom door. "So, are you going to take this shower with me, or what?"

Nathan shot out of the bed, charging at Haley and lifting her up to carry her into the bathroom. She laughed and pretended to struggle, but really she was completely contempt with being carried to the shower. They quickly shed what little clothes they were wearing and jumped into the warm shower.

"Can we drop my stuff off at Lucas' before we head to the airport?" Haley asked, placing a kiss on Nathan's neck. They had decided on Haley staying at Lucas' while Nathan was gone, considering Dan would be out of the hospital soon and Haley didn't really want to stay in the Scott house when that happened. Nathan didn't blame her and knew she would be happy staying with Lucas and catching up.

"Can we not talk about Lucas until after this shower?" Nathan asked back, pulling Haley into his arms.

Haley laughed and pushed Nathan under the shower head, doing her best to enjoy the last hour or so she had with him.


An hour and a half later they pulled up in front of Lucas' house, who was sitting on the porch waiting for them. After unloading the few bags that Haley had and putting them into the spare bedroom, Lucas started to say his goodbyes to Nathan.

"Good luck with camp, man," he said, grabbing his little brother's hand and pulling him into a big hug. "But don't let it get to your head, you're still going there with a weak ass jump shot, remember?"

Nathan laughed and pulled back. "Good luck staying here. Dan's getting out of the hospital soon so you're going to need it."

"Yeah, well if I do what my guts telling me to, I'll be staying away from Dan for awhile. I'd like to think that I learned my lesson last time."

"Easier said than done, I know that. Listen, take care of this one for me, will you?" he asked, pulling Haley to his side and kissing her on the forehead.

Lucas smiled. "You know I will. Do you want me to drive you guys to the airport so that you don't have to worry about parking the car? I'll just drive around for awhile and give you two some time to say goodbye."

Haley looked at Nathan and nodded. "That sounds really good, actually. And then I can have some moral support for the drive home."

"Alright, well let's get going so that you don't miss your plane." Lucas said, walking out to the car.

"Yeah, cause that would be horrible." Haley said sarcastically.

The drive to the airport was mostly spent in silence. Lucas concentrated on driving while Nathan and Haley sat in the back seat, his arm around her shoulders and her head resting on his. She gently traced patterns on the fabric of his jeans, searching for anything to keep her mind off the fact that he would soon be gone. It wasn't working though and feelings of loneliness were already starting to come to the surface.

Before she knew it, Lucas had pulled in front of Nathan's terminal and stopped the car. After helping Nathan get his luggage out, he gave him one last hug before getting into the car. Haley took Nathan's hand in hers and followed him into the airport, gently resting her head against his shoulder as he picked up his ticket and checked his luggage. They walked slowly to the security gate, knowing that they would have to say their goodbyes when they got there.

"So, I'm going to call you every night once you figure out your practice schedule." Haley stated as they came to a stop a few feet before the security checkpoint. "And if you have a big game at the end of camp, I'm definitely dragging Lucas down with me to watch it."

"Hopefully you'll be able to come visit before then."

"Well, I wouldn't want to disrupt you in the middle of camp. You'll probably be really busy."

"Hales, it wouldn't be a disruption. I'm going to be going crazy there without you, I barely made it though last time and now here we are separating again."

"Nathan, I'm so sorry…"

"Hales," he cut her off, lifting her chin so he forced her to look into his eyes. "We're past that, I don't want to hear you apologizing anymore. What's done is done. Now, we just have to get past these next three months and then we can get back to normal. Deal?"

"Deal."

"I should probably get going or I'm never going to be able to get on that plane. I'm not good at goodbyes, as you know."

Haley nodded and stood up on her tiptoes so that he could gather her in his arms. She placed her lips on his, kissing him softly at first and then deepening the kiss. He pulled her closer to him, lifting her feet a few inches off of the ground. She laughed, and kissed his cheek and then his neck, resting her head on his shoulder and nuzzling into his neck.

"I love you, Mrs. Scott."

"I love you, too, Mr. Scott." She pulled back and kissed him one last time as he placed her feet back on the ground. "Now, you better get going before I drag you back to the car. Oh wait, I almost forgot that I got you something." She reached into her purse and pulled out a small object. Taking Nathan's hand, she placed an almost identical Cracker Jack bracelet to hers on his wrist. The only difference was that it was half blue instead of half pink. "Don't say I never gave you anything." She laughed, forcing her best smile for him.

Nathan pulled her into his arms again. "Oh, Hales, you've given me more than you'll ever know." He kissed her lips softly before pulling back and taking a few steps away. "I really have to go or I'm probably going to lose it. I'll call you tonight when I land or when I get settled."

"Okay. I'll be right downstairs in the baggage claim when you come back. I'll wait for you, Nathan."

He nodded. "I know you will, Hales. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you too." She said as she watched him walk away, pausing only right before he went through security to turn around and wave. She forced another smile and waved back, willing herself to be strong until he was out of her sight. Surprisingly she stayed put together as she walked to find Lucas outside. He held her hand on the drive home and didn't fight her when she said she wanted to be alone and went straight to the bedroom.

It was then that she gave into her emotions, falling to floor as her body was overtaken in heart wrenching sobs. At first she did her best to stay quiet as to not worry Lucas, but after awhile it all became too much.

Lucas could hear Haley crying and at first he did his best to give her space, but after about twenty minutes it was too much to take. "Hales," he knocked gently on the door. "Can I come in?" When she didn't say anything, he slowly opened the door and his heart broke when he saw her. She was on the floor, curled up in a ball and the foot of the bed. He sat down on the floor next to her, gently pulling her head into his lap and rubbing her back. "Hales, it'll be okay, he'll be back in no time."

"No, Lucas, it's not that." She tried to say through her tears.

"Than what is it?"

She sat up and did her best to wipe away some of her tears. "I finally know how he felt, or at least a little bit of how he felt, and it's horrible. I feel so guilty and I wish there was some way that I could make it up to him!"

"Haley, you already have, you came back to him. That's all he ever wanted."

"I know, it's just I don't feel like that's enough. I want to do something to show him how much I love him, how dedicated I am to spending the rest of my life with him."

"There's nothing you can do now that he's gone, Haley, except wait for him to come back. Three months will go by fast, and we can help keep each other company. I'm waiting for the summer to be over and for Brooke to come back, just like you're waiting for Nathan. We're both just stuck here waiting."

"It sucks." Haley stated the obvious.

"Yeah, it does suck doesn't it? But look, I spent all last week crying over Brooke and it really did nothing for my complexion, so I say you come to the kitchen and we cook a big dinner. I'm sure Peyton would love to join us and it would be nice for all of us to hang out."

Haley laughed and nodded her head. "That sounds good, just give me a few minutes to freshen up and then I'll start helping you."

Lucas smiled and kissed her forehead as he stood up. "I'll go call Peyton," he said as he left the room.

Haley walked over to one of her suitcases and opened it, trying to find her makeup case. Instead she found something that was just what she needed. Nathan had packed his sweatshirt in her bag with a little note attached that said, "Smile." She pulled the sweatshirt out of the bag and put it on, holding it tightly to her chest.

Not wanting to disappoint Nathan, she did just as she was instructed to and smiled. She couldn't wait for his phone call tonight so that she could tell him just how much she loved him…


Steal my heart and hold my tongue.
I feel my time, my time has come.
Let me in, unlock the door.
I've never felt this way before.

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummer begins to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know which way I've come.

Hold my hand inside your hands,
I need someone who understands.
I need someone, someone who hears,
For you, I've waited all these years.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come.
Until my day, my day is done.
And say you'll come, and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

In your tears and in your blood,
In your fire and in your flood,
I hear you laugh, I heard you sing,
"I wouldn't change a single thing."

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummers begin to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know what I've become.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,
Until my days, my days are done.
Say you'll come and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

"Til Kingdom Come" by Coldplay


I hope you all enjoyed- sorry it was a little shorter than normal, but I really wanted to post this part. I give all the credit to Britney123 who sent me some feedback tonight and it got me in the posting mood! haha- I also wanted to get started on writing the next part! Also- I wanted to say thank you to everyone for feedback. I forgot to write a little message to Jsparrowzmate13- that was by far THE best feedback I have ever received in all the years I've been writing fan fics. I hope I keep up the good work for you and you keep reading- I don't like to disappoint! Thanks again everyone!

Kylie