What Happens Next
Chapter 11
Two weeks later…
Nathan was surprised to see Lucas standing in his apartment when he arrived home with Natalie after school and work, "Hey," he looked around, "what's going on?"
Lucas gently took Natalie from his brother, "baby sitting. Haley called an hour ago, begging me to watch Natalie and ask you to meet her at this," he handed Nathan a piece of paper, "restaurant in 30 minutes."
"Is she okay?"
"I think so. She wouldn't elaborate. But, I talked to her again last night, and maybe she's ready to come home.
The moment Nathan exited his apartment, his mind went into overdrive. He'd tried to hide his nervousness from Lucas, not wanting him to see how scared he was. Things had been great the last two weeks. Haley would stay with Natalie during the day, and then she'd work evenings at the café. Afterwards, she'd come over and they'd talk about their days while he got Natalie ready for bed. They would laugh, sometimes cry, but mostly they would smile, enjoying being together. But, they always avoided the topic of her moving back in.
He just wanted to know what was so important that she begged Lucas to baby-sit, instead of just talking tonight.
Nathan walked into the restaurant, scanning for Haley.
The hostess, a girl he recognized from school approached him, "Mr. Scott. Mrs. Scott is waiting for you, please follow me."
Mrs. Scott. He loved the sound of that. He spotted her, nervously twisting her napkin and thanked the hostess. He approached Haley and lightly kissed her forehead, "Hi." Sitting he asked, "Am I late?"
Haley set down her napkin and tried to smile, "Nope. Right on time," she started to play with her silverware.
Nathan reached across the table and placed his hands over hers, "Haley. Stop. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," she said with a quiver, "I just thought we should talk."
Nathan wasn't convinced, and it worried him, "Okay Hales. What did you want to talk about?"
"What are your plans after high school Nathan?"
Nathan looked at Haley in surprise. Just the day before she'd avoided such conversation with all of her efforts. "I've talked to Keith, and he's going to give me a raise, full-time hours, and benefits for me and my family. He also wants me to go to the community college and take a few auto body classes."
"That's great Nathan," her heart swelled, knowing how much he wanted to be there for her and Natalie, "and I'm glad you're going to take classes too. But, what were your plans before I came back and you found out about Natalie?"
"Work for Keith."
"Nathan…"
"I swear I'm telling you the truth. I love it Haley. I found something I'm good at and enjoy. And I love working for Keith. He's so different from my dad. I understand why Karen and Lucas love him so much." He saw a tear trickle down Haley's face and reached up to wipe it away, "What's wrong Hales?" He thought things had been going so well.
"I want to come home," she sobbed.
Taken aback, he stood up and walked over to her, hugging her tightly, "You don't have to cry," he whispered, "You know I want you there." Seeing people watching them he whispered, "Why don't we go home and talk about this."
Haley simply nodded in agreement.
Once he had her situated in the car, he gave her one last worried look before calling Lucas, "Hey man, um, look, Haley's not feeling so hot." He paused, "I don't know yet. Could you possibly take Natalie back to your place tonight?" Listening to Lucas respond he then said, "Thanks. Oh, could you have someone go get Haley's car? Thanks. I owe you."
Nathan was glad to see Lucas already gone as he escorted Haley into the apartment. Leading her to the sofa they sat down. He watched Haley; she'd been in the same sort of trance since leaving the restaurant. "Are you okay?"
She shook her head.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
Haley nodded this time.
Returning with water he handed her the glass and sat down, "Please talk to me Haley."
"Tell me I didn't ruin your life Nathan."
Nathan gently lifted her face towards his, "You saved my life Haley. Don't, even for a second, ever think otherwise. I never would've walked away from my dad. I never would've known what it meant to love. I love you Haley, and nothing's ever going to change that."
"I'm pregnant Nathan."
"What?"
"I'm pregnant. I just found out today."
"Is this why you suddenly want to move back in?"
"No," she shook her head, "Maybe a little. Is that wrong?"
"No, it's not. But why didn't you tell me you thought you were pregnant?"
"Because I didn't know. I was going to surprise you," she flashed a small smile when he grinned, "Not this surprise. I had it all worked out. I was going to have someone watch Natalie, and show up on your doorstep with my suitcase. That was going to happen in two weeks."
"Two weeks? I'm happy not to have to wait another two weeks."
"Shut up," she hit him playfully, "I was at the doctor because I wanted to go back on the patch. I remembered that last time the doctor told me to wear it for two weeks before relying on it alone. I'd forgotten about the mandatory pregnancy test if you've been sexually active, since it wasn't necessary last time." She rested her head on his shoulder, "I couldn't believe it when the doctor told me."
Nathan stroked her hair gently, "We're going to be okay Haley. I promise."
"Still have the same opinion that I didn't ruin your life?"
"Of course Haley."
The couple sat in silence for a while before Nathan spoke again, "Everyone's going to be so excited. When can we start telling people?"
Haley rubbed her thumb over the top of his hand, "We can tell the gang tomorrow."
"Oh."
Haley tried not to laugh, "Who do you want to call?"
"My mom."
"Go ahead." Haley sat silently and smiled as she listened to Nathan's end of the conversation.
"Hey mom. Good. How are you? You can tell? Yeah, I am happy," he flashed a smile at his wife, "Haley moved back in tonight mom. Yeah, we're both pretty excited. But, I have even better news." He sat down on the sofa and took Haley's hand in his, "We're going to have another baby. Yeah, we're going to be okay. Just a sec, let me ask her,"
"Can we make dinner at my mom's tomorrow night?"
She nodded her head, "I'm sure Jake or Lucas could cover for me."
"Yeah mom, we can make it. I love you too."
Haley smiled at Nathan as he set the phone down. She kissed him lightly, "You two have really gotten close, haven't you?"
"Yeah, we have. She's worried about us. But she's excited too." He winked at her, "I think she loves being a grandma. And now that she doesn't have Dan poisoning her mind, she believes in us too." Nathan paused, thinking of a set of parents who'd believed in them almost from the beginning, "When are we going to tell your parents?"
"We're not Nathan."
"Haley, they should know."
"Why Nathan? They turned their back on me, and their granddaughter, when we needed them most. They've never even met their first Scott grandchild. What difference will it make if they even know about this one? It won't change a damned thing. I have the only person I need. I have you." She kissed him again. Standing up, Haley took his hand and pulled him to his feet. Seductively wrapping her arms around him she kissed him yet again, more passionately this time, "I think it's time for bed."
He eyed her, "Oh yeah?"
"Oh yeah."