For Better or For Worse (Chapter twenty-nine)
Haley sat down in the room that had been given to her, as the bride, to get ready at the Church. She was wearing a simple baby blue dress that flew down just below her ankles. It was a dress that Brooke had offered to size for her. At first, Haley had been hesitant to trust Brooke but after realizing how much she liked the dress and seeing some of her other dresses, she had decided to give Brooke a chance. Brooke's talent had surprised Haley. Haley was positive that her only talents lie in getting drunk, being bitchy and manipulating otherwise smart and intelligent guys like Lucas.
"Tutor Girl, I'm ready to start your hair," Brooke said, popping her head into the room. Haley turned around and nodded. Brooke smiled in approval at the dress. She came over and forced Haley to sit down in front of the mirror. Brooke started brushing her hair. "You're going to look great." Haley smiled in appreciation.
"Have you seen Nathan?" Haley asked. Brooke smiled and chuckled to herself as she nodded. "How is he?"
"He's jittery as hell. I swear, for someone who's usually so confident, you'd never know it. Earlier on, when Tim played a joke on him, saying he forgot the rings at the bachelor party yesterday, Nathan almost threw him out the doors," Brooke commented. Haley chuckled.
"He probably just doesn't want to leave anything to chance," Haley said. Brooke nodded and then leaned down and looked at her mischievously.
"I think that when the priest asks you if you take him as your husband, you should say no just to see the reaction on Nathan's face," Brooke said and laughed at her own idea. Haley gasped.
"That would kill him," Haley said. Brooke shrugged.
"It's just an idea," she said.
"Well, I think I'll pass on hurting Nathan not even one day into our marriage if that's all right with you," Haley said, shaking her head. Brooke moved away from Haley as she finished with her hair and stepped back to admire her work.
"You really love him, don't you?" Brooke asked thoughtfully.
"More than anyone in the world," Haley replied without missing a beat. Brooke smiled.
"I'm really happy for you two," Brooke said. Haley looked at her in surprise. "I know that when you first started dating him, I wasn't very supportive or nice, but I thought you were just going to end up hurting Nathan. But I was really wrong. I look at him now and he's happier than he's ever been and that's because of you." Haley smiled before some tears spilled out of her eyes. Brooke looked at her apologetically. "Haley, don't cry. I'm sorry." Haley shook her head.
"Aww. Oh, that's such a nice thing to say," Haley gushed. Then Haley cursed her hormones. Brooke laughed.
"You're welcome," Brooke said before leaving.
Nathan stood, pacing nervously until the music started and he took his place beside Lucas. Everyone stood up and Haley's niece, Abigail was the first one to come down the aisle since she was the flower girl. Then Haley's bridesmaids came down the aisle. Peyton was first in line as the matron of honour and Brooke and Karen came down beside each other. Then once they were all in their places, the organ player started playing "Here Comes the Bride" but it was different version as Haley had hated the sound of the song when he first played it for them. So she had taken the music home and worked on making the changes to make it sound better.
Then Haley appeared and Nathan froze. She was absolutely stunning. Their gazes locked and Nathan couldn't help but smile. She glided down the aisle gracefully which was surprising since it was Haley. He had half expected her to fall on her face by tripping on her gown or her own shoes but today, everything about her was flawless. He took her hand and pulled her gently as they walked up to the priest together. The priest ran through the usual stuff and then it came down to the vows which they had written themselves.
"You fell for me when I was a different guy; a bad guy, some might say. I wasn't dangerous or anything, but I was a jerk. But somehow you saw through all of that. You gave me the benefit of the doubt… every time," he said. Haley chuckled as tears trickled down her face. "You helped me be the kind of guy that I've always wanted to be but for whatever reason never was. And along the way, I found the one that I want to be with for the rest of my life. My wife, the mother of my children and my love. I love you, Haley." Haley held up a hand as Nathan passed her a tissue because he knew she'd need it for today. She wiped her face and smiled up at him.
"I don't have a big speech or anything like that prepared. All I can say is that I love you, Nathan. I love you more than anyone or anything in my life and that's all that matters when you think about it; love. What else do you need?" Haley said. Nathan smiled and squeezed her hand.
"You may now kiss…" the priest started but Nathan was way ahead of him. He grabbed the back of Haley's head and anchored her to him and crushed her lips with his. The priest looked shocked. "… The bride," he finished. Everyone laughed.
"And that's how Daddy and I fell in love and got married," Haley Scott finished. She looked down at her seven-month old daughter. She smiled when she realized that Peyton Marie Scott had fallen asleep. She walked back to her bed and got in.
Almost immediately she felt Nathan's arm come around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Then his arm moved up and found one of her hands and entwined their fingers. "Everything all right, babe?" he asked sleepily. Haley turned her head and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"Fine. She's asleep and I'm back in your arms," Haley whispered. Even in the dark, Haley could see Nathan smiling.
"And that's where you'll always end up," Nathan commented.
"Nathan?" Haley asked a few minutes later. Nathan groaned.
"Hmm?" he asked.
"I'm pregnant," she said. Nathan opened his eyes and looked at her in surprise. He seemed to be looking for confirmation on something. Haley just smiled. "It's a boy." Nathan responded by tightening his arm around her.
"I love you, Hales," he said.
"I love you too," Haley replied and turned around. She snuggled up to Nathan and rested her head on his chest and draped her arm across it as well. His left arm came around her back and rested on her stomach. And they both drifted off, sleeping in each other's arms like they usually did.
The End