Thank you SOOOOO much for the excellent reviews. I've recieved a lot of feedback and replies. So, enjoy this new chapter!

What Happens Next

Chapter 5

Haley walked into the living room after putting Natalie down on Nathan's bed, "She's sound asleep. We've got a good hour, at least, before she wakes up."

"Aren't you afraid of her rolling off the bed?"

Haley smiled and shook her head, "Nah, not really." Seeing the look on Nathan's face she laughed, "But you are, aren't you?"

Nathan frowned, "so what if I am. I'm not used to this." He paused, "I talked to my mom, she said we could go pick out furniture and stuff for Natalie and she'd pick up the bill."

"That's really sweet babe, but we don't need that."

"But we need stuff for when she's here," Nathan took her hands in his and looked at her, "You're not going to be at Lucas' forever."

Haley gave him a soft kiss, "I know, and that's not what I meant. I have basically everything our little sweetheart needs back in Vermont."

"Vermont? That's where you were? Why so far away?"

"It's gorgeous there Nathan. And it gave me peace of mind, knowing I wouldn't run into the husband I thought hated me."

"I guess it doesn't matter where you were, as long as you're here to stay."

She kissed him again, "I am."

"Maybe we can borrow Keith's truck and drive up there next weekend."

"There's no way we could do it in two days."

"Then I'll take Friday off of school."

"Nathan, you can't do that."

"Actually, I can. I'll tell them I'm going on a college visit."

"Nathan, that's so wrong."

"Who cares. I'm a senior."

"So your parents are okay with me being back, and us having a baby? They weren't the most supportive before I left," Haley leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Mom's great with it. We talked a lot after you left. She gets us now. And she's excited about being a grandma."

"And Dan?"

"He's not a concern."

"Anything to do with the fire Lucas mentioned?" Haley didn't know how she knew that the two were connected, but something inside just clicked.

Nathan looked at Haley with a glimmer of fear in his eyes, "He told you about that?"

"Are you okay Nathan?" he nodded his head, "He didn't tell me much. He mentioned it in passing when we were talking about Keith. When I asked him about it he said I needed to talk to you. Is the fire connected to Dan?"

Nathan scooted away, "It was a couple weeks after my accident. Dan was working late, and someone set the dealership on fire."

"Oh my god Nathan. Is he okay? Who did it?"

"Dan's dead. And the police never figured out who did it."

"He's dead." Haley looked at Nathan with shock, "And they don't know who did it? Are you okay?"

"It's been 9 months Haley, and there's been a strange sense of peace. Not happiness, but peace. And I don't think the police really cared. Especially since we didn't."

She took his hand, "What aren't you telling me?"

"What ever do you mean Hales?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Nathan. You were freaked when I mentioned it. What's going on?"

"I said the police don't know who did it," Nathan whispered, "But that doesn't mean that I don't."

"What are you talking about Nathan?"

"Until today, there were only two people who knew the truth."

"You and Lucas."

"Yeah," Nathan paused.

Pulling him close, Haley kissed his forehead, "You know you can tell me anything, right."

"Lucas and I know the truth because, well, because we're the ones who did it," he paused and looked into her eyes. "We felt there was no other choice. He's always been an ass, but lately it's just gotten out of control. He made life hell for everyone around him, and we saw no other way out. He was laundering money, and when we confronted him, he threatened to take mom down with him. He set up Keith. He told me mom's substance abuse problem was my fault. He tried to destroy our marriage. He told mom it was because of you that we'd never be a family again. We had to stop him."

"So you killed him?"

"Yeah," Nathan nodded his head, "And I don't regret it. It's the best decision we ever made."

"I'm proud of you Nathan. Well, not for killing someone," she smiled, "but for taking charge of your life."

"You taught me to do that Hales."

"Nathan,"

"No, I'm serious. Before you, I never knew I had it in me. But this," Nathan stood and pulled Haley up with him, "this I've always known." He placed one hand on the small of her back and laced the fingers from his other hand in her hair, pulling her in for a kiss.

His lips brushed hers and his tongue danced across the surface, silently asking for permission to enter. She nibbled gently on his top lip before granting him the access they both desired. Their tongues met and a low moan escaped from Nathan's throat.

Hearing a soft cry in the background Haley pulled away, "I love you Nathan."

"I love you too Haley, I always have," he looked towards the bedroom where the cries were quickly turning into wails. "Why don't you go get her, and I'll call Keith about borrowing that truck."

Haley smiled and nodded her head.

Haley sat on the end of the sofa, watching Nathan feed their daughter. The sight warmed her heart. Deep down she knew this was the life she was meant to live. Haley looked away when there as a knock at the door, "Expecting visitors?"

Nathan shook his head, "Nope."

Haley stood up, "Well you stay put, I'll get the door." Pulling it open she was greeted by Brooke, Mouth, Lucas, Peyton, and Jake. "Hi guys."

Brooke breezed past her into the apartment, "I had to see it to believe it," now looking at Haley she smiled, "You really did run off and have a baby, huh Tutor-Wife."

Lucas looked at Nathan and Haley and mouthed, 'Sorry.'

Brooke sauntered over to Nathan and Natalie who were now standing behind Haley, "She's adorable, you were right Luke." She shook her head, "That aside, we're here to help."

Haley raised an eyebrow, "Help? How are you going to help us Brooke?"

"I'm glad you asked. I was sitting at the café having dinner with my wonderful boyfriend, and the non-married married couple over here and Lucas walked in, telling us of the return of our favorite tutor-girl. Then he told us about her decision to not live with her husband, even though she secretly had his baby, when Keith got a phone call."

Nathan nodded his head, "Yeah, we're going to borrow his truck next weekend," he looked from Natalie to Haley, "call it a family road trip."

"Or not," Brooke reached for Natalie, "Can I hold her?"

"Yeah, sure. What's going on here?" Nathan eyed his brother who shrugged his shoulders and motioned to Brooke.

"We're all in agreement that you two belong together. And we think you know that too. But we also think you need time alone. So, we're going to be your free babysitting service. Starting now. We're going to take sweet little Natalie back to Lucas'. And between the five of us, Karen, Keith, and Deb, she'll be safe while you two take your weekend road trip."

"But…" Haley began.

"No buts. Oh, and the plan gets better. Don't roll your eyes at me tutor-girl. I'm doing this to save your marriage. We're going to take her one night a week, whether you like it or not, until the three of you are living under one roof."

"That's a nice offer Brooke, but we need to learn how to work as a family."

"We get that too tutor-girl, but that's what the other six nights are for. You still need Nathan and Haley time though, and that's what we're here for." She handed the baby to Peyton and whispered, "Isn't she cute?" Turning back to Haley she said, "Before we leave, are there any special toys or anything we should know about?"

"Um, yeah, there's this blanket. It's back on the bed," Haley turned to walk back that way.

"Mouth, honey, will you go get Natalie's blanket?"

"Sure babe."

"It's alright Brooke, I can get it," she followed Mouth into the bedroom. "Is Brooke serious about this?" Haley whispered to him.

"You know how she gets. She said she'd do anything to help you two get back together. Something about restoring peace to the universe or something," he shrugged his shoulders, "I just go along with most of her hair-brained ideas. They always have a way of working out. But don't work about Natalie. I'll always be with Brooke when she baby-sits." He hugged Haley, "It's great to have you back."

"Thanks Mouth."

Back out in the living room Nathan and Haley stood together, her head resting in the crook of the arm he had wrapped around her, watching their friends leave with Natalie.

"Wait," Haley broke the silence, "Let me give my baby a kiss."

"Say bye-bye mommy," whispered Jake who was now holding the giggling baby.

"Bye-bye Nat. Mommy loves you. Be a good girl."

Nathan stepped up beside her as the door shut, "It's okay Hales. She's in good hands."

"I know," a tear trickled down her face.

"Are you okay?" He kissed her forehead, "You've left her with someone else before, right. I mean, you left her with Lucas just yesterday."

"Well, yeah, but she was sleeping."

""But you worked, right?"

Haley blushed, "Yeah, at the daycare where I took her."

"If this is tearing you up so much, how would you have ever left her on my doorstep?"

"What?" Haley asked in shock.

"Lucas told me this morning," Nathan held her close.

"That snitch," she mumbled.

"He also mentioned that you were wearing my pants to bed last night," he smiled.

"He can't prove they're yours. Maybe I bought men's pants because they're more comfortable," she couldn't believe what a rat her brother-in-law was.

"Actually Hales, he said the TH 23 was a dead giveaway."

"Argh," Haley groaned, "Fine. So what if I did take them wives sleep in their husband's clothes all the time."

Nathan was trying to hide how humorous he found all of this, "Yeah, but they're normally living together, and the husband gets to se how sexy his wife looks in his clothes."

"Oh shut-up," she swatted his chest and turned away, embarrassed.

"It's okay Hales, I don't care. But I have to ask," he pierced his lips together briefly to stop laughter from erupting, "did you take my CDs too?"

Haley spun to look at him, "Maybe. Fine, yes, I took your stupid CDs too."

"Why? You were constantly complaining that what I listened to wasn't really music."

"Promise you won't laugh."

"I promise."

"I could listen to it and feel like you were just in the other room. That if I wanted to, I could just walk into the room and tell you to turn down…"

"…or turn off that crap," Nathan finished for her.

"It's dumb, I know," Haley his her face.

"That's not dumb Hales," he took her hand in his, "come with me."

Haley followed him, curious.

"Now, I put all of your stuff in storage. I didn't know if or when you'd ever come back and it was too painful," he dropped her hand and opened a drawer in his dresser, "Here."

Haley looked at the three CDs he'd just thrust into her hands, "Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, and," she looked at the unmarked one, "a blank CD."

"Yeah," Nathan sighed, "I had to listen to every one of your CDs to find the song, but I finally found that first song you ever sang to me." Smiling he looked at Haley, "Elsewhere by Sarah McLachlan," he knew she would be proud that he knew that. "And then the Sheryl Crow CD because it reminds me of the time you desperately tried to get concert tickets, and then she stopped into the café for coffee."

"Yeah, that was a great night," Haley smiled at the memory, "And the last one?"

Nathan took it from her and popped it into his CD player, "I didn't know how to label it."

Haley gasped as she heard her voice stream from the speakers, "Oh Nathan," she hugged him, tears flowing down her face.

"There are only a few tracks, but there are days when I put it on repeat and get lost in the sound of your voice for hours." Nathan set the CDs on the dresser then wiped the tears from Haley's face, "Okay," he said, deciding to change the subject, "we have the evening to ourselves, what should we do?"

Haley looked at Nathan and rose an eyebrow.

Nathan smiled, "Really? You want to do that?"

"Of course, it's our thing. I've never done it with anyone else."

"I hope not," he smiled again.