Recap:

That smell. He had smelt that scent before. It took him a few seconds to figure it out, but when he did, his heart began to beat faster again and despite his best efforts to suppress the feeling of hope, he found he couldn't. The overwhelming sense of hope, fear and love crashed down on Nathan in that instant and all he could do was whisper,

"Jasmine and Honey," as he felt a pair of small hands find their way around his waist, hugging him from behind.

3. Listen to the Beat of Your Heart

"Home is where the heart is."

She drove towards the small town that she called home. Flashes of green passed her in the form of trees and the heat emitted by the circle of fire in the sky could be felt by all. The cold air hit her harshly as she switched the air conditioner on and she accelerated past the 'Welcome' sign and into Tree Hill. Children played by the sidewalk while their mothers chatted to each other. Couples walked into familiar cafés and wore smiles on their faces, their eyes twinkling with happiness. This was the life she had seen for most of her life. This was the life she had lived for most of her life. What was it all for? Why should she be happy? What would she gain? They were all going to die in the end. Nothing lasted, especially emotions. There was no purpose to life anymore; she had nothing to live for. In the end, pain and suffering would always haunt you, no matter what kind of life you lived, the end was always near, lurking behind you as your shadow.

She had spent the last few months in Charleston. It wasn't too far from here, but just far enough to get away from all the drama without being found. She hoped he'd give up trying to find her eventually. She hoped he'd come to some sort of understanding.

All she wished for was that he didn't resent her for it. She hoped he didn't hate her for leaving him. She left because she needed to know that she didn't need to depend on anyone. She had enough money to last her for a short while and until then she would learn how to deal with everything alone before she returned to Tree Hill. As she reflected upon this, she saw his muscular body run up the Rivercourt continuously dribbling a basketball up and down the court. She parked the Jeep behind some trees and watched him play. And she sat there watching him for what must have been more than an hour until she saw Lucas' familiar truck pull up on the other side of the Rivercourt.

Through the foliage, she then witnessed the true effect of the recent hurricane of pain. It had ravaged their town and hurt them all, but what she didn't know was how broken Nathan was. She didn't know the effect it had left on him – and for the first time Haley James truly saw Nathan Scott as a broken man.

"Nathan, you've been here since six in the morning!" Lucas shrieked. Haley glanced at her wrist watch; it was now a little after one in the afternoon – had he really been here all that time?

"Why do you care Lucas?" Nathan bit back. He didn't want to deal with his brother right now.

"Because I'm your brother and you need my help."

"No, you're wrong, I don't. Now get out of my way and let me play basketball." Nathan shot out, trying to convince himself more than Lucas.

Instead, Lucas grabbed the ball from him and threw it to the foot of the bleachers.

"You know you're going to have to talk to me soon. Why not now?"

"Because I don't need you." Nathan replied in a less hostile tone now.

"I know that, but you do need Haley." Nathan's head whipped around at the mention of her name and his heart began to beat wildly inside his chest. He knew Lucas was right, but to hear it out loud made everything too real. Defeated, he walked over to the bleachers and sat down.

"You're right." He whispered.

Lucas didn't respond, he simply sat next to his brother and waited.

Nathan took a deep breath and looked around. Haley froze - what if he spotted her?

However, he simply looked to his left at Lucas and said,

"I miss her." After pausing for a moment, he spoke again, "and I'm scared." Just then did he break down, tears

And in that instant, Haley's heart broke all over again. It didn't matter how hard it had been to continue life after the incident anymore, it didn't matter how hurt she was, it didn't matter how crushed she had been. The great Nathan Scott of Tree Hill had finally fallen – and Haley James was the cause. So she climbed back into her car and quietly pulled out, going unnoticed by the Scott brothers.

She drove down to the beach and halted abruptly. It was then that her hands began to trembler and her lips quivered ever so slightly. Tears filled her round, hazel eyes and as she closed them a teardrop rolled down her face sparking a sudden outburst of uncontrollable cries. Her sudden eruption of tears caused her mind to go back to the very first time they met.

She came out of her new home dressed in sports attire trying to explore the town. Just as she stepped onto the sidewalk, a large shadow blocked the brightness of the sun that was beating down on the quiet town.

"Can I help you?" The shadow turned out to be a man. 'A man with astonishingly deep, blue eyes...' Haley thought. Realising she was drifting off subject, Haley spoke,

"And you would be?"

"Nathan Scott." He replied smirking. A small 'o' formed the shape of Haley's face as she recalled what she had been told about him. Seeing this, Nathan became defensive.

"Oh, I see. You're going to judge me on what you've heard. Well you know what? I've had enough. I don't have to deal with your bullshit. You either want to sleep with me or you think I'm some kind of man-whore and want to get the hell away from me! Well I'm going to do us both a favor and back off now." He blew out.

Haley only smiled at his frustration.

"What?" Nathan snapped.

"Nothing, I just liked the way you assumed that I was going to judge you on what I've heard from other people." Nathan, still confused by her reaction, furrowed his eyebrows. Haley simply continued.

"Look, I'm not going to deny that I haven't heard things about you because I have and trust me – they're not pretty. But I'm not going to be prejudiced against you simply because others are. I think I have the right to make my own decision about you – do I not?" She asked, smirking back at him. He stuttered for a good few seconds before answering.

"Sure you do……" He said before trailing off trying unsuccessfully to remember the last time anyone – let alone a girl – made him stutter before. Haley just smiled and linked arms with him.

"Show me around town?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Sure thing. Are you hungry?"

"Starved." She replied. And so he took her to Karen's Café where she met his mom for the very first time. They chatted comfortably and when they finally sat down to eat, Nathan and Haley seemed to have their first 'real' conversation.

It started off in pure silence. The two were staring at each other listening to the endless amount of customers bustle past them in a hurry. Haley could have sworn she saw sparks fly from Nathan's cerulean blue eyes as she continued to taunt him with her eyes. She knew he had questions – and she would answer them – just not yet. Noticing her smirk, Nathan blinked and said,

"What?"

She merely smiled at him and his innocence. She knew what everyone thought of Nathan. She knew that she should be careful of him and that she should watch where she stepped with him, but a part of her enjoyed playing games with him – even though she had only met him for a short while. And if there was one thing she knew about Nathan Scott it was that he was unbearably impatient and had to be in the know. He couldn't stand unanswered questions flying around him. And he hated not knowing anything about her. Including her name. She had purposely kept her name a secret, seeing how long it would take him to finally crack and ask. And he knew this too.

"Fine, I give. What is your name?" Nathan asked, breathing a heavy sigh of defeat.

"Nah ah, you're going to have work harder than that." She replied finishing her mug of coffee.

"Work harder for your name? What kind of rubbish is that?" He questioned, baffled.

Laughing, she spoke,

"Answer three questions for me first." Getting up from the table by the window, Nathan motioned for her to follow him outside while agreeing to her demand. Once outside, they began walking slowly, their arms still linked.

"Why did you ask if I wanted your help instead of going to play basketball?" She asked, then remembering something, she added, "and don't tell me it was because I'm hot. I already know you thought that. Tell me the real reason."

Nathan, puzzled by her quick assessment of him, answered,

"Well, I came to you because you intrigued me. I have lived here my entire life and still haven't seen you. I wanted to know you. And by the way how did you know I was going to play basketball? I could have been going to library for all you know."

Haley burst out laughing at that comment.

"You? Picking up a book? Impossible. Besides my dad's knows quite a bit about basketball himself. Let's just say that he likes watching every basketball game there is and knowing everything he could possibly know about the players."

"How do you know so much about me? This is freaking me out. I mean I know I'm me, but seriously, this stalking is weird. So you're dad's a fan of basketball he can't know this much about me."

"Well, he does and anyways I'm meant to be asking the questions here. Question two; tell me honestly, where do you want to go after senior year?"

'Weird question, why did I ask that?' She thought to herself after the words had tumbled out of her mouth.

"Duke. You should know that." He replied without thinking twice.

"Oh, please, everyone says that. Where do you want to go?"

"I said, Duke."

"That's not true."

"Oh, and you know so much about me now do you?" Nathan asked, becoming frustrated.

"Why do you shield yourself? I'm not blind and I probably know more about you than most people do. I don't understand why you let people pressure you so easily." Haley blew out. 'Why I am so interested in him? I've only known him for a couple of hours if that…But you know that's not true." Her thoughts waged a war in her head as she watched him grow more and more irate.

"You know what? This is ridiculous, I don't know who you are and obviously I shouldn't continue to try and find out. You can get home yourself!" Nathan fumed and trudged off the opposite direction. Half a minute later he felt a small hand on his shoulder slowing him down.

"I'm sorry Nathan. I didn't mean to anger you. I just wanted to figure you out. I realise this approach wasn't the right one." Hearing no response and seeing no emotions in eyes, she continued,

"My name's Haley James and yes I am Jimmy James' daughter. I'm going to live next door to you for what seems like a long time and Jimmy James is in fact the basketball scout you think he is. I understand that you probably don't want to talk to me right now so I'm going to go." And with that, she ran off to her new home in Tree Hill.

Later that evening, Nathan was coming home from a jog when he saw her sitting on the steps of the house next door. Smiling, he shouted,

"You never managed to ask me your third question."

She smiled back, "Take me to school tomorrow?"

"Sure thing." Was all he said before shaking his head at the effect this girl had on him and ran up the steps and into to his own home.

Snapping back into reality, Haley looked up. She needed to find him. She needed to explain. She needed to show her love for him. She needed him and she knew he needed her. They were each other's everything and no matter what fate threw at them, they'd make it through together.

"Always. Always and Forever." She whispered to herself.

She was walking down the beach, hugging herself as the cool summer breeze became ever so slightly stronger. She remembered how she had never needed to carry a jumper with her, she would either wear Nathan's basketball jersey or simply hug him closer. But she didn't have that option any longer. Looking up, she saw the sun had set and the moon was out. At the same time she noticed the dark figure ahead of her. Her hands began to quiver and her eyes felt the warm water fill them for the hundredth time that day. All because of the same reason. The man in front of her. The man standing facing the sea with his arms crossed across his chest. The man she would never forget. The man she could point out in total darkness. The man her heart ached for. The man who would save her. The man who would become not just her hero but her angel over time. The angel who would shield her, who would love her and who would never leave her.

And so she walked up to him from behind and placed her hands around his waist, hugging him, her head placed on his back. After a few minutes of pure silence she heard her angel whisper softly,

"Jasmine and Honey."

Author's Note: Thank you VERY much for all the reviews I received. I appreciate them greatly. Sorry for the long wait but I couldn't write for several weeks for different reasons. I hope the wait was worthwhile though and that you all understood how the ending of this chapter merged with the ending of the last chapter. I put the recap there in case you guys had forgotten what was going on – I know, I'll update sooner now. Once again thank you very much for the reviews and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I'll stop babbling now. Review please!