Chapter Three

TAKES PLACE RIGHT WHERE CHAPTER TWO LEFT OFF

She looked at the permission forms that Nathan had just put back down and smirked. "An away game coming up?" Haley asked. Nathan nodded. He stared off into space and Haley was afraid because he was being distant. "Nathan," she said. He looked up at her. "Is everything ok?" Haley asked.

Nathan shrugged as he said, "I don't know what you mean." Haley cocked her head to the side and gave him a knowing look.

"I don't buy it. Tell me what's going on," she said. Nathan sighed.

"I don't want to upset you," he said. Haley shook her head.

"You're being distant, Nathan. That does hurt me, so it's a little late for that. Just tell me," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. He put his head down on her shoulder. This worried Haley because right away she knew that whatever was bothering him was obviously big. He lifted his head and she saw the hesitation in his eyes. She took a deep breath as she braced herself for what he was about to tell her.

"Do you remember me telling you about the girls I dated while in college?" he asked. She nodded slowly unsure of where he was going with this. "Well, the second girl I dated- Rachel Moore- I told you about her," he said. Haley nodded. She remembered him explaining to her that they had dated during his third year for about three months. She also remembered him explaining that she had a lot of problems and was really messed up. "She is in Tree Hill," he said. Haley's eyes widened.

"I thought she lived in New Jersey. What is she doing in Tree Hill?" Haley asked, keeping the panic out of her voice.

"I told you that she was a little messed up. Well, she also tends to live in her own mind and she doesn't always take 'no' for an answer," he said. Haley was always very perceptive and smart.

"She didn't come here for you, did she?" Haley asked. Nathan closed his eyes as he nodded. A tear started to trickle out of Haley's eye. He took her hand in between both of his hands. He brought it to his face and started kissing her fingertips.

Then he lowered their hands and said, "It doesn't matter what she wants, Haley, because I don't want Rachel. I want you. My relationship with her was based on lies and some misguided feeling that I mistook for love. Our relationship is based on truth and love. Rachel and I have a past together and that's it. You and I have a past too. But we also have a present and a future together and I don't want Rachel coming to Tree Hill to get in the way of that. I already told her that I was married and I made it clear that I'm happy with what I have right now," he said. Haley smiled.

"Nathan, I don't doubt that you love me. I know that you do and I know that you would never leave me. It's just hard for me to just accept that Rachel has just come back," she said. She got up and smiled at Nathan. "I have to go. I have an on-call," she said. Nathan sighed and nodded.

"I'll see you at home," he said. Haley smirked reassuringly and nodded. She came over and kissed him lightly and then left.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON (END OF THIRD PERIOD, BEGINNING OF FOURTH)

Nathan sighed as he and Jake went into the gymnasium. He was glad that this was a leisure class. They were so much easier to teach as he just had to supervise, but sometimes, he, Jake and Luke all played with the grade elevens. He let Jake explain to everyone that they were playing floor hockey this period. "So, Luke tells me that this girl from college is back in town," Jake said. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Well, Luke has a big mouth," he said.

"So, it's true?" Jake asked.

"It's not a big deal. An old girlfriend that I dated in my third year has come back to make my life miserable, that's all," Nathan said.

"How's Haley handling all of this?" Jake asked. Nathan sighed.

"She's handling it her way," he replied.

"So, you told her everything?" Jake asked.

"I told her that Rachel was in Tree Hill and that she might be hanging around for a while," Nathan said.

"Does she know that Rachel used to be your girlfriend?" Jake asked. Nathan nodded. "Does she know what you asked her?" Jake said. Nathan sighed. He shook his head. Jake made a "tsk tsk" sound.

"Look, Haley's already upset about this and I don't want to hurt her anymore than I have, so I'd appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut," Nathan said. Jake put his hands up in surrender.

"I won't tell her a thing unless she asks me if you proposed to her, but I feel that I should give you some advice," Jake said. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"If you have to," he said.

"I think you should tell Haley the rest of the story. It will hurt her, sure, but, if she finds out from someone else, she might hurt you," Jake said.

"So, is Peyton back yet?" Nathan asked, changing the subject. Jake smiled.

"Ok, fine. I get it. You don't want to talk about it anymore. And, no, she isn't. She doesn't get back until tomorrow," Jake said.

"Do you miss her?" Nathan asked. Jake laughed.

"Do you miss Haley when you're not around her?" he asked in an amused tone. Nathan nodded. "Then, why would you ask me if I miss Peyton? She's my wife. Of course I miss her when she's gone," Jake said.

"How are Chris and Elizabeth?" Nathan asked.

"Elizabeth is an angel. Hardly fusses at all. Claire keeps saying that she's the type of baby every one would want to baby sit. Chris, however, is now in his terrible two's," Jake said.

"That bad, huh?" Nathan asked.

Jake laughed as he said, "Let me put it to you this way. You know how defiant Peyton can be, right?" Nathan smiled as he nodded. "Well, guess what? It seems that Chris inherited that defiant gene from his mother," Jake said. Nathan laughed.

"That's got to suck, Jagielski. What about Jenny? How is she liking kindergarten?" Nathan said.

"Oh, she absolutely loves it. She says she wants to bring Elizabeth and Chris to show and tell," Jake said. Nathan laughed. Nathan lifted his head to make sure no one was hitting anyone with their hockey sticks. He remembered last time they played, two of the girls that were also on the Girls' Field Hockey Team that Nathan and Lucas coached had gotten into a fight because one claimed that the other had made an illegal shot. "John, you're a part of a team. Act like it and pass to all of your team mates. Not just Sam," Jake yelled. John then passed it to Lydia Norman, who then whacked it into the net and scored a goal.

"Good one, Lydia," Nathan said.

She nodded and said, "Thanks, Coach." Nathan liked the fact that he was called "Coach" and not "Mr. Scott". He hated that. Just then, he noticed his father waving an arm to him. He sighed.

"What?" Jake asked.

"That guy who fathered me is here," Nathan said. Jake turned to see Nathan's father.

"Go ahead. Just make it quick," Jake said loudly so Dan would hear that Nathan didn't have a lot of time. Nathan mumbled a thanks to Jake as he walked into his office. A few minutes later, Dan Scott opened the door from the hallway and walked in.

"Nathan," Dan said.

"Dan," Nathan mocked. His father looked at him with a warning in his eyes. "What brings you here?" he asked.

"Just wanted to make sure the coach is prepared for tonight's game," Dan said. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Well, seeing as how I'm the coach, I think I can tell you on pretty good authority that I'm fine. Besides, we're playing against the Bear Creek Warriors tonight. It should be a slam dunk," Nathan said.

"Nathan, this is serious. It's the beginning of the season and some scouts will be there," Dan said.

"What do you care? No one from your family is on the team," Nathan asked.

"No, you're the coach of the team and the way the players play depends on how their coach coaches them and you're my son. That's how it reflects upon me," Dan said.

"You're unbelievable, you know that? You're retired now, Dad. How about you enjoy retirement and take Mom on a vacation to Florida or on a cruise and stop worrying about basketball for once?" Nathan asked.

"I just want to make sure that you're focused on the team and not your ex-girlfriend's sudden reappearance in your life," Dan said. Nathan snapped his head up at him.

"How did you know about Rachel?" he asked.

"Well, she called the house, looking for you. I told her that you lived at the beach house and gave her directions. You should really call people and tell them that you moved. Then, I won't have to take time out of enjoying retired life to tell your friends where you are," Dan said.

"So, that's how she found me, huh? You led that 'hurricane' right to me and back in my life, not to mention in Haley's life," Nathan said.

"Well, if Haley is really so insecure that she gets upset about a girl that you dated four years ago comes back into your life, then, it makes me wonder how much trust your wife really has in you," Dan said.

"Haley does trust me, Dad. She just doesn't trust Rachel and she shouldn't. No one should. You'd know that if you even bothered to talk to me before you gave her directions to the beach house. I'm surprised she found it, though," Nathan said.

"Why does that surprise you?" Dan asked in confusion.

"Well, when I last saw her, she was so messed up, she needed directions to get to a point on a map," Nathan said.

"That's a pretty terrible thing to say," Dan said.

"Well, what do you expect? I am my father's son," he said. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Nathan said. The door opened and Haley walked in. "Hey," Nathan said brightly. Thank God! He needed her right now. His father was starting to really get on his nerves. He needed someone here to referee.

Haley looked at Dan and said, "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you had company." She started to leave but Dan stopped her.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Haley. I was just leaving," Dan said, starting to move past her.

"Bye, Mr. Scott," Haley said. Dan stopped and turned around.

"You know, Haley, we're family. You really should start calling me 'Dad'. I pretty much am the closest thing you have to a father these days," Dan said, leaving.

"Now, there's a scary notion," she said as she closed the door. Nathan laughed.

"Hey, Hales. You have no idea how happy I am to see you," he said. Haley smirked.

"Look, I just came to tell you that I'm heading home now. I'm done for the day," she said. Nathan nodded.

"Are you going to come to the game?" he asked. She nodded.

"I might be a little late, though. I have a ton of papers to grade and I want to get them out of the way. I promised I'd give them back tomorrow," she said. She came a little closer and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. Nathan reached up and Haley let out a little squeal as he brought her down and kissed her on the mouth.

He broke the kiss and said, "I'll see you tonight." Haley opened her eyes and nodded.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER

Haley yawned as she read the last page of one of her students' papers from her grade twelve U.P. (University Prep.) English class. It was probably the best one out of the ten she'd read so far. She only had seven more to go. As she finished she started marking it, giving it a mark of 92 overall. She wrote a comment on the bottom of the page, basically saying that it was a good job and an interesting take on Romeo & Juliet. She decided that she'd make a snack before she started reading the other ones and went into the kitchen. She screamed when she saw Brooke in the kitchen. Brooke jumped and dropped the glass of juice she had in her hand. "Holy crap, Haley! You scared me half to death!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Well, good. Now you know how I feel," Haley said. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Brooke rolled her eyes.

"My Goodness, forget being hormonal. You're forgetful when you're pregnant," Brooke said. Haley looked at her in confusion. Brooke shook her head in disbelief. "Allow me to refresh your memory, Tutor/Teacher Wife. I called and said that I finished some more clothes for you. You said that I could use the key you gave me and Lucas and bring them over and hang them in your closet while you and Nathan were at work," Brooke said.

Haley smiled as she said, "Right. I forgot." Brooke winked at her.

"Well, what a surprise," she said sarcastically. Haley laughed at her. Brooke just shrugged.

"You know, maternity leave rocks. I get so much more work done now that I don't have to go down to the store every day," Brooke said. Haley smiled.

"Well, I'm dreading it," Haley admitted. Brooke looked at her as if she had three heads.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I just started getting a routine down for my students and the grade tens in my vocal class are just starting to get that trust and are now singing with their real voices. The last thing I need is a new teacher coming in and screwing everything up," she said.

Brooke laughed. "Well, you can always bring the new teacher in early while you're still there so they can get used to singing in front of a new person but at the same time, still feel comfortable because you're still there," Brooke said.

"That's not a bad idea," Haley said. Then, the doorbell rang. Haley followed Brooke to the front door. Brooke opened the door wide and on the other side stood a blond-haired girl no more than twenty-three years old.

She smiled mockingly at Brooke as she said, "You must be Nathan's wife."

Brooke burst out laughing as she said, "That's a good one." The girl looked confused.

"I'm Nathan's wife," Haley said. Brooke caught Haley rolling her eyes at her.

"Oh. I don't know if Nathan told you I was in town or not," she said. Haley looked at her in confusion. So did Brooke.

"Are you an old friend of Nathan's?" she asked. The girl laughed. Brooke frowned.

"Oh, I'd say I'm a lot more than that. I knew Nathan while he was in college. We actually dated for a while," she said. Brooke looked at Haley as the smile vanished from her face and was replaced by a frown.

Her eyes blazed as she said, "You're Rachel?" Rachel nodded. Brooke bit her lip as she saw the triumphant smile on Rachel's cocky little face and how angry and upset Haley looked.