Chapter Three

Nathan sighed. Haley was sound asleep and he was no where near ready to go to sleep yet. Lydia and Jimmy had gone back to Atlanta. They said that they were going to come back, but Nathan told them to take how ever long they needed. He promised that he would not leave his wife's side and that they needed to go home for a while. Lydia had promised to call later to see if there had been any news about Haley and she had. Nathan had told her all about the spinal cord injury and he was about to tell the others. He stood up from the chair and stretched. He quietly closed the door and made his way to the waiting room, expecting to find Lucas still there. Well, Luke was still there, along with Brooke, Peyton, Jake, Keith and Karen. Peyton was the first one to notice that Nathan was there. She looked like she had barely been asleep. "How is she?" Peyton asked. Nathan could tell that she was almost afraid to ask.

"She's sleeping," he replied. Peyton looked disappointed. He knew that she was expecting a better answer, but Nathan felt that he needed to wait until every one was awake to tell them the news. He walked over to Karen and Keith and nudged them to wake them up. Keith was awake within one second. He saw that it was Nathan and he began to wake up his soon-to-be wife. Nathan shrugged and walked over to Lucas and Brooke. They were sitting in two chairs that had no arms so it was almost like a two-seater couch. Brooke was snuggled up against Lucas while Lucas had his left arm wrapped around her shoulder. Nathan tapped Luke on the shoulder. Lucas' eyes opened slowly. His eyes registered recognition and then they opened and took in the surroundings. He seemed to remember why they were all there and began to wake Brooke up. Nathan sat down and took a deep breath. They were all awake and staring at Nathan. He could tell they were trying to read his expression to figure out whether it was bad or good news.

"Nate, can you just get it over with?" Peyton begged, sounding close to tears.

"Haley is out of danger. The doctors said that since she woke up, they're certain she's out of danger of dying," Nathan said.

"Then, why do you look so concerned?" Karen asked.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Lucas asked. Nathan nodded.

"There was damage done to Haley's spinal cord," he started. He took a deep breath. "While she can move her left leg and feel it, she's lost all mobility and feeling in her right leg," Nathan said. Jake's face was scrunched up in confusion.

"Are you saying she's paralyzed in her right leg?" he asked, making it sound preposterous.

"The doctors said it's hard to predict with spinal cord injuries," Nathan said.

"So, is the paralysis permanent?" Keith asked. Nathan shrugged.

"I hope not. The doctors said that it's probably that her spine is still swollen. They gave her stuff to make the swelling go down. They say we have to wait and see," Nathan said.

"How is she doing with all of this?" Karen asked.

"She's scared," he replied.

"How are you doing?" Lucas asked. Nathan sighed. He honestly didn't know how he was. It was hard to believe that only yesterday he was furious with Haley. He had heard that when something tragic happened to loved ones, it makes people reexamine their priorities. He always thought it was a load of bull, until Haley that had been hurt. When he saw her battered body in the hospital bed, he realized that all of the stuff that had happened between them- all of the nonsense that had kept them apart- didn't really matter anymore. He thought he was going to lose her and he was so thankful that she was alive and out of danger of dying.

"I'm glad she's alive right now," he said. Lucas nodded in understanding.

"Can we see her?" Brooke asked. Nathan sighed.

"She's asleep right now. I think it might be best to wait until after we see the doctors again," he said. Brooke looked a little disappointed but nodded in understanding.

"Mom, don't you have some stuff to do tonight?" Lucas asked Karen. Karen shrugged.

"It can wait," she replied. Keith nodded in agreement. Nathan shook his head.

"No, if you have things to do, you can go ahead and do them. The doctors probably won't see Haley until later tonight," he said.

TWO HOURS LATER

Haley opened her eyes slowly. She looked around and saw Nathan asleep in the chair right beside her bed. She looked down at her left hand and saw that Nathan held it in between his hands. She smirked. She missed his touch and she couldn't believe that he was there with her now. In a way, she was almost thankful that the accident happened. Of course, she was loaded with morphine right now. She wasn't thankful for the physical pain. But the accident made her realize her mistake of leaving to go on tour. She wasn't even a singer anymore. She sang and wrote music, of course, but it wasn't what she wanted in a career. When she went to university in New York, she realized that she wanted to become a teacher now. She had loved being a tutor and she couldn't think of a thing to do than helping people learn. She might even become a music teacher, but she didn't want anything if Nathan wasn't by her side. She had missed him so much while she was in college and on tour. She shook her head to stop these thoughts. She could be paralyzed in one leg forever and she was thinking about not having Nathan in her life. Just then, the door to her room opened and Dr. Lockhart and Dr. Rasgrotra walked in. Haley squeezed Nathan's hand. "Nathan, wake up," Haley whispered. Nathan jolted awake. She nodded her head towards the doctors. Haley looked at them and said, "Just tell me whatever it is."

"Well, the swelling is down and you still can't feel or move your leg," Dr. Rasgrotra said.

"But there is a way that we might be able to fix it," Dr. Lockhart added. Nathan looked at him with hope in his eyes. "It would be through surgery. We think that the surgeon might be able to repair the damage done to the spinal cord," Dr. Lockhart said.

"Might be able to?" Haley repeated to.

"Well, nothing is certain when it comes to spinal injuries, Haley. The surgeon won't know for sure until he can actually see the spine," Dr. Rasgrotra explained.

"When would the surgery take place?" Nathan asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon," he replied.

"Are there any risks?" Haley asked.

Dr. Lockhart sighed as she said, "No more risk than any other surgery."

"Then, I would like to have the surgery," she said. They nodded.

"We'll see you after your surgery tomorrow," Dr. Rasgrotra said as they turned to leave. When the door closed, Nathan sighed heavily and smiled at her.

"Thank God," he whispered, gathering her hand in his hands and kissing it.

"There's no guarantee that this will work, Nathan," Haley reminded him.

"Oh, come on, Hales. Living in New York has made you a skeptic," he said. She smiled. He leaned forward and brushed a kiss lightly on her forehead.

"I just don't want to get my hopes up, that's all. It has nothing to do with being skeptical," she said.

"Fine. I'll keep my hope for the both of us," he joked. She laughed. "It's been a long time since I've heard you laugh. I missed it," he said. She nodded.

"I've missed you too. More than you could ever know," she said.

"I've missed you more. Haley, I want to say how sorry I am not trusting you and telling you not to come see me when I had my accident. I regretted that. Whenever I woke up, I was hoping to see your face," he said. She smiled and tears started spilling out of her eyes.

"Hales, what's wrong?" Nathan asked, suddenly concerned. She smiled as she wiped her tears away.

"Nothing. Haven't you ever cried when you're happy?" she said. "Choosing to go on tour was selfish of me. I never should've gone," Haley said.

"You were pursuing your dreams," he said.

"My dream was you," she corrected him. He smiled as he came and sat on her bedside.

"Haley, it was a long time ago. We both made mistakes back then," he said. Haley's brow furrowed.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

Nathan just sighed. He couldn't tell her. It would kill her if she knew. "I made you choose between me and music. That was wrong," he replied quickly. She shook her head.

"There was never really a choice. I just can't believe I didn't see it then," she said, shaking her head in regret. He grabbed her face lightly and cupped her cheek. He raised her head so it was level with his and they were looking in each other's eyes.

"Listen to me. It doesn't matter what choice you made or what choice you didn't make anymore. The past is in the past and I think we should leave it there. What matters is that you're going to be okay, especially if this surgery is successful. I was so worried that I was going to lose you," he said. Haley smiled. She leaned forward and kissed him softly. This kiss grew more passionate.