A/N: Hey I know it was a slightly longer wait than usual, and I apologize! Been caught up lately with driving lessons, and other stuff. So, hopefully this chapter was worth the wait, it's also longer than my average submissions, so enjoy! And thank you to all of myreviewers, for the wonderful feedback thus far. Big thanks tomary-023, LiasonFan2, clemsontigerschic, flirts2much09, imaslacker, bklyangel, dancedude09, lindsay e., BrennaBing, oxceejayxo, and van332.I love reading what you guys have to say about my fic. So, let me know whether you like this one here below.

The full moon outside her apartment shone brightly. The red LCD numbers on her digital clock read four-thirty A.M. Haley tossed and turned in bed, flinging the covers partially off her body. Time seemed to tick by slowly, crawling even. All she could hear in her head were Dan's threats.

Forcing her eyes shut, she wondered who Nathan had fell in love with. Was she beautiful? Was she nice? Did she love him? Did he love her? Those were questions which she didn't want to the know the answer to. Part of her wanted to see Nathan again, more than ever. And part of her wanted to throw herself at him and scream at him. No matter how much she loved him, he had hurt her. He had taken away her heart at sixteen, broken it, and she'd never gotten it back.

And then there was Mike. He was a talented child, an angelic blessing. He was so full of innocence and childlike laughter. Dan was right, damn him, he was always right. He knew that she wouldn't risk anything happening to Mike. Haley bit down on her lower lip. She had finally made quite a life for herself here in Boston, she had great friends, and a career she loved. Why now? Why come back and dangle what I can never have again right in my face? Knowing that Nathan was so near, and yet so far away, killed her. I should be hating him, she thought to herself. But yet she couldn't. As much as she tried, she couldn't bring herself to.

She tossed one more time, this time lying on her side curled up. She remembered the way Nathan's body felt against hers. The way she always fell asleep in his arms, her hand enveloped by his bigger one. How she'd fit perfectly into his arms, the way he would hug her close and rest his chin on top of her head. The way he woke her up in the middle of the night by trailing kisses down her ear to her neck. The way he pulled her body up against his, every time after a fight; he would spoon his body up against her, and whisper an apology softly into her ear. The way he looked at her, his face illuminated by the moonlight streaming in at the window above their bed. The way his hand always found the small of her back, as though protecting her. The way he looked every morning after he woke up, with his eyes sleepy and his hair ruffled. These thoughts, she would never forget. She knew she should, but she couldn't. And she didn't want to. She could not have him, but she could still have the memories of how he loved her. And how she loved him.

Finally, Haley reached into her bedside drawer, pulling out a small plastic container. It can't hurt, just this once, she thought to herself. Twisting the top open, she poured two small round white pills into the palm of her hand, quickly putting them to her mouth. She swallowed and put the container away, her head resting on her pillow.

As quickly as she had swallowed them, she was fast asleep, her dreams a swirl of love and happiness and Nathan. Only, those dreams were colourless.

Peyton stopped outside Haley's door, as the sounds of her bed creaking finally stopped. She opened the door slowly, trying to make as little noise as she could, and peeked in. Haley lay there, her blonde hair fanned out around her head like a halo. Even in her sleep, she looked tired, like she had trouble weighing down on her. It had been three days since she had been up all night till the wee hours of the morning. She acted like everything was all right, but Peyton knew something was wrong, something that Haley was hiding. Peyton knew better. She always did. Shutting the door softly behind her, she sat down on the couch, rubbing her eyes, and picked up the phone.

"Luke?" she whispered when the person on the other end of the line picked up. "It's Peyton."

Lucas, on the other side of the line, mumbled groggily as he picked up. "Mmmmmph," he muttered under his breath, obviously half asleep. "Couldn't you wait till day light like another other normal human being?"

"I need your help, Luke. It's Haley."

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up in bed, immediately concerned.

Peyton frowned. "I'm not entirely sure. But I feel like something's up, you know? She's doing the thing where she pretends to be Ms. Perky and that everything's all great."

Lucas winced. "The one where she speaks in a higher pitch than usual?"

"Yeah. And she goes around, speaking in forced exclamation marks," Peyton answered dryly. "Something's up, Luke. She always gets like this when she's hiding something."

"Yeah, I know."

"Look, I know you were going to fly here next weekend for the opening," she said, referring to her branch of Tric in Boston. "But is there any way that you could make it down here earlier? I'm getting worried, Luke. I know it doesn't seem like much, and it just may be me worrying, but I really think there's something wrong here."

"I'll apply for leave and catch a flight as soon as I can," he decided, after a long pause. "Peyton, in the meantime, just try to get through to her, all right?"

She nodded, and then realised that he couldn't see her. "I've been trying."

"And Peyton?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," he said, his voice raspy. "For taking care of Haley over there in Boston. I've been worried about her, you know."

"She's my friend too, Luke. And besides, Haley's a big girl. She can take care of herself," Peyton replied. "It's just that, well, sometimes she forgets how to because she's busy trying to take care of other people."

They both hung up, saying quick goodbyes. Peyton sighed, took a deep breath, and then dialled for Brooke.

Nathan smiled, as he tossed the ball to his son. Mike missed the ball yet again, and he turned around, his short legs running quickly after the ball as it bounced away. His son. Even after five years, he still felt a short swell of pride whenever he said it or thought it. Fatherhood had scared the hell out of him, when he had first found out about it. But now, he felt lucky. "C'mon, Mikey. Get me the ball!" he shouted after his son, laughing.

"You cheat, daddy!" Mike returned with the ball, his arms going all the way around the basketball, hugging it to himself. "You throw too hard!"

Nathan grinned again. "I forget that you're only five, Mike. You seem like an NBA player to me, that's why."

Mike laughed, his plump cheeks ruddy. "I suck at ball, anyway."

"What?" Nathan's eyes widened. "Where'd you learn to say that?"

"Suck?" his son replied gleefully. "It means to be terrible at something, daddy. I heard Granddad telling it to Grandma yesterday."

"Listen, darling," Nathan squatted down so that he was eye to eye with his son. "Do not ever repeat language that you hear Granddad and Grandma saying to each other when they're angry, you got me?"

"Does that mean I can't say asshole, either?" Mike asked meekly, his blue eyes staring back into his father's.

"Absolutely not," Nathan replied firmly, his voice stern.

"Educating your offspring?" a voice came from behind him, smoothly. "My, my, we're really playing the role of daddy to the tee, aren't we?"

"Well, someone has to around here," Nathan replied, not turning around to face Dan. "Go play behind the house with Grandma, Mike. I'll be right there," he turned to his son, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. Nathan watched as his son walked away, twirling the basketball in between his small hands, before he turned around to face Dan. "The next time you have another one of your little spats with Mom, do me a favour, and make sure my son is out of the room. Either that, or watch your language."

Dan smirked. "I never watched my language around you when you were a kid."

"And looked at how I turned out," Nathan held his hands out. "A lil teenage jerk back then, thinking I was the king of Tree Hill High."

"Who cares, Nathan. You were the best player in the school. Everyone's allowed to make a few mistakes back then. But now, you're going to be playing for the Celtics. All thanks to your old dad here. You don't screw this up, got that?"

"Don't give me that shit, Dad. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you? That's ridiculous!" Nathan turned around. "I wouldn't be here I was today it wasn't for- " he paused, catching himself before his words came out. "If it wasn't for people like Mom, and Whitey, Luke, and Peyton. And little Mike."

Dan watched his son's body language, and smirked to himself again. A shame that his son was nothing like him. He knew as clear as crystal that Nathan had been going to say 'Haley'. He was so easy to read, an open book, left open to vulnerability. That would never happen to Dan Scott. To others, maybe, but definitely not to him. "Mike?" he asked. "Mike could have ruined you, Nathan. You would have worked eighteen hours a day to make a life for him. You would have dropped out of school and out of the game. Do you think the scouts would have given you a chance then?"

"Mike gave me the drive to work on, Dad. I would have made it by my own will, with or without you. I only came to you," Nathan turned back to Dan, face to face. "Because there were complications with the birth. If I didn't get the money for the operation, both mother and child would have died."

Dan's eyes widened sarcastically, his voice mocking Nathan. "You mean Mike has a mother? I couldn't have known. I don't see her around. You know what, Nathan, if I didn't know better, I could have sworn you were the one who went into labour."

"Fuck off, Dad." Nathan walked off, leaving his father behind.

"Daddy, play me the CD."

Nathan turned to look at his son, tucked neatly into bed. "Again?"

Mike flashed his father a toothless grin, revealing a small dimple. "Pweaseeeee, Daddy?"

"All right," Nathan gave in, reaching out for the white unlabelled CD he kept hidden in one of the drawers he had on his dresser. "It's going to be the last time for today, you got that kiddo?" He walked over to the stereo, slipping the CD in. Almost immediately, her clear, strong voice filled the room, accompanied by the soft tinkling of piano chords. She'd slowed down one of his favourite rock songs, doing her own cover version of it. Only then had he heard the subtle realness of the song.

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters

He smiled. Her voice was beautiful, like an angel's. He'd never forgotten her, not one bit. He just never let everyone think that he had. Only at night, in the confines of his room, and with his son, he let himself remember her. Maybe it was for the best that she had left. He couldn't have forgiven her. But she'd always taught him to look forward, for the silver lining in every cloud. And he'd found it. His son. He turned to look at him, his eyes shut tightly, fast asleep.

Nathan smiled at the vision, and turned to the stereo, keeping the CD back into his hiding place. It was the only thing that he had left of her voice, and he didn't want to lose that. He could not have her, but he could still have the memories of how she loved him. And how he loved her. All that was clear in her music. He closed the door quietly behind him, letting his son sleep.

As soon as Mike heard the door click shut behind his father, one of his big blue eyes peeked open. Quietly, he got out of bed, tiptoeing across the cream carpet to his father's dresser. He opened the drawer slowly, and reached his hand in as far as it would go, smiling when his fingers finally closed in around the plastic CD cover. He took it out, his head bobbing left and right, making sure his father was nowhere to be seen, and hid it in his toy box. Quickly, he crawled back under the covers, snuggling up tight. "Nothing else matters," he sang the song he had just heard to himself, softly under his breath, and before long was peacefully fast asleep.

"Haley!" Mel shrieked at her. "What are you doing here?"

Haley looked up from behind her computer. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You look like you're about to chicken out from the date I set you up for."

Haley frowned and squinted, trying to remember what the day was. Her nights and days had somehow merged and she had lost count of the day or time. "Is it Friday, already?"

Mel sat down opposite her, her brow creasing. "Lil, are you okay?"

"No," Haley shook her head. "I mean, yes. No." She stopped, fiddling with a strand of her hair. "Yes. No. No, I don't know."

"What's wrong?" Mel reached out across the table, squeezing her hand gently.

"Uh, nothing," Haley lied. "Just a little under the weather, that's all. Nothing a little aspirin can't cure."

"You're worrying me, Lil." Her grey eyes softened. "Look, you don't have to go through with this. I'll call him and cancel."

"No," Haley quickly said. She didn't want to disappoint Mel. And besides, it could be a good way to get her mind off the mess her life had been lately. There was a fat chance of that happening, but Haley could only hope. "I'll be fine by evening."

"Be completely honest with me, Lil. Is it Nathan again?"

"I'll be all right by then. After all, I'm not going to waste the mountain of things you made me buy for this one date!" Haley grinned weakly, dodging the question. "I'll just take time off from work early and go home to get ready, is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay. I'm the boss here," Mel replied, still not convinced.

Haley laughed. "Yeah, I do forget that sometimes."

A knock came at the door, startling them both. Liz stood there, a young boy in her hand. "Haley, this young man here wants to see you," she said, smiling. "I told him to wait, but he just wouldn't take no for an answer."

Haley stood up, a faint smile brushing her lips. That's Nathan's son, a little voice echoed in her mind. Nathan's son without you. "What are you doing here, Mike? Your lesson isn't for another few days."

"I wanted you to hear something," he said breathlessly, as though he had just run a few blocks.

"Who brought you here, Mike?" Haley asked, concerned. "Were you alone?"

He held the CD out. "No, Grandma's in the car, waiting for me."

Haley let out a breath of relief, taking the CD from his hand. "What is this?"

"My favourite CD," he said, beaming proudly. "It's for you."

"Why, thank you," Haley smiled down at the little boy as he waved goodbye.

"Bye, Haley. I better get back to Grandma. See you," he grinned, Liz taking his hand again to lead him out.

Mel observed Mike, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Cute kid."

Haley put the CD down on her desk, smiling after Mike. "Yeah, he's really talented, as well. I hope he's not in trouble for wanting to bring me this," she said, suddenly thinking about Dan. Would he have done anything to her? No, he couldn't have. She hadn't had any contact with Nathan. Just Mike. And Mike had looked fine just now; he looked happy. Letting out a breath of relief, she sat down, facing Mel. "Hope he's not in trouble," she repeated herself.

"Trouble?" Mel leaned forward, a naughty glint in her eye. "Like how you're going to be in trouble if you don't get your sorry ass out of this office right now, and go home to fix yourself up to look like a sizzling hot babe to impress that fine specimen of a man I have lined up for you?"

Haley joined Mel in her laughter, the CD momentarily forgotten. "All right, hold your horses!" she laughed, putting up both her fists, pretending to defend herself.

"Whoa, watch it. C'mon now, get going already!" Mel shoved Haley's bag at her. "Promise me you'll take his breath away," she grinned.

Haley pretended to glare at Mel, and finally got up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Only if he doesn't take mine away first," she rolled her eyes, laughing, and left for home.

Nathan frowned as he rummaged through his drawer again. "Michael Daniel Scott," he finally bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the big house. "Mike!" he shouted again. "Where the hell did you put my CD?" he yelled, forgetting about his use of language. He went through the drawer again. He very well knew that he wouldn't have misplaced it, it was too important for him. He had put it back there himself yesterday, and now it was missing.

"What are you looking for?" A woman's voice came from behind him, sounding foreign to his ears.

He turned around, his eyes not quite meeting hers. "Where were you the whole day? Mike was looking for you," his tone of voice was not soft, nor loving. It was edged with annoyance, anger, maybe even regret.

"I was out," she simply said, not offering a further explanation, when Mike came bounding into the room. "Hey, honey," she leaned down, kissing him on the cheek.

Nathan looked away, not wanting to see them. Collecting his thoughts, he finally squatted down to his son's level, holding him at the shoulders. "Mike, have you seen Daddy's CD?"

To his surprise, his son smiled. "Yeah, I gave it to my piano teacher as a present."

"You WHAT?" he shouted. "Why did you do that?"

Mike's eyes widened in fear as he backed away, into his mother.

"Don't yell at him, Nathan. I'll buy you another one," she said, her eyes cold.

He ignored her, and looked down at his son. "Why did you do that, Mike?" he repeated himself, his voice still resembling a shout.

Mike's face crumpled, and he started crying. "I wanted to give my teacher a present."

Nathan threw up his hands in the air, cursing softly under his breath, his hands on his hips. He kept silent for a long while, and then finally looked at Mike. "Michael Scott," he said firmly. "You are coming with me to that music school, and you are going to ask it back from your piano teacher, do you understand me?"

Mike stared up at Nathan, still crying, his face etched with fear. He nodded slowly, rubbing his right eye tearfully. "Okay, Daddy," he whispered.

"Sorry for yelling, buddy," Nathan ruffled the boy's hair, and after he managed to coax a smile out of him, Nathan took his son's hand, and turned around to leave the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" she called after them.

He turned back to face her. "To the music school, to see this piano teacher of his."

She sighed, turned around and got her purse. "I'll come with you."

Haley looked at herself in the mirror once again, fidgeting nervously in her new dress. Her hair shone in the light of her bedroom, glossy and wavy, falling nicely past her shoulders. Her lashes were prettily curled while there was a tinge of violet sheen on her eyelids. Her cheeks were already rosy from the crisp cool air that was coming in through her windows. She wore a little gloss on her lips, enough for it to be shiny. Little diamond studs adorned her ears, while a matching teardrop diamond pendant hung from the silver chain around her neck. The deep purple dress hung from her smooth shoulders from two little straps, ending in a low scoop neckline. It fell beautifully to her knees, the hem of the dress in a bias cut, hugging her curves gently. She smiled at the reflection, as her gaze travelled downward to her feet in delicate black heels with tiny criss-cross straps across her calves. She looked sexy, and she felt sexy. She hadn't dressed up in ages. And it did feel good. She walked out of the room, her dress sashaying around her legs. Maybe this was exactly what she had needed. A distraction. She needed to learn how to make herself feel good again. She needed to feel wanted again.

The door rang, and Haley couldn't help but bite down on her lower lip, like how she always did. Her heart beat faster in anticipation, as she walked towards the door. In her excitement, she forgot to put her eye to the peephole, and swung the door open, gently.

"Chris Keller, at your serv- " the man started to say, before his eyes finally landed on her face.

Her excitement turned to disbelief. "Chris?"

A/N: Feedback would be great, would love to hear all your opinions on where I'm going with this story, and if this fits any of your predictions (: