A/N: Hello everyone, I wanted to apologize for the late update. I know it's been a while. I have been busy with my last year of university (exciting!), my sister's wedding is finally coming together at last, as well as, moving in with my boyfriend. I had anticipated getting this chapter up in early September when I had come back from my impromptu last-minute Florida trip with my boyfriend but my life has been so hectic lately. so I haven't had time to write/post the chapters for you guys as anticipated.

With that being said, enjoy this chapter!

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
― Lao Tzu

Chapter 17

February 11, 2007

Haley pouted. "I really don't want you to leave."

Nathan touched Haley's cheek, trying to comfort her. "I don't want to leave, but I'll be back in a few days. Besides, you've been so caught up with wedding planning you won't even notice I'm gone. You can invite Brooke over and it can be like a really long sleepover."

Haley laughed. "I love Brooke, but I think one night with her is enough," she replied.

"Okay, fine. But I'll be back before you know it," he promised. He kissed her once more before leaving.

Haley sighed, looking all around at the empty, boring apartment. She needed to do something besides plan the wedding. Sure, she wanted the day to come and was beyond excited, but she couldn't stand thinking about it for one more second.

Finally, she came up with an idea and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Clay? I kind of wanted to talk to you today, if you have the time. It's about this whole surrogate thing," she said, nervously tapping her nails on the marble countertop.

Brooke watched as Rachel ate a whole stack of buttermilk pancakes. Brooke thought, enviously, that she couldn't wait until she got pregnant so she would have a seemingly valid excuse for stuffing her face full of Oreos and Chunky Monkey.

"So did Nathan tell you what this whole meeting thing was about, anyway?" Brooke asked, trying to contain the jealousy bubbling inside of her.

Rachel shook her head. "No, but I can't wait. He's been acting so secretive about everything lately. Maybe this will finally give us some kind of explanation," she said.

Brooke nodded.

"So has Haley picked out the bridesmaid dresses yet?" Rachel asked.

Brooke nodded eagerly. "They're gorgeous. Though, I'm not surprised, considering I'm the one who suggested them. They're red chiffon. The top is detailed with something that looks sort of like ruching, but not exactly. It's one-shouldered. There's this really pretty band of silver gemstone-looking things on the shoulder and the skirt flows out."

"So basically, even if I'm just about ready to give birth at the wedding, I'll look fine?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, basically."

"I'm helping you out, Clay, but I will walk out this door if you describe your ideal surrogate and she looks exactly like me," Haley warned as she walked into their old house.

He ignored her comment. "You've dragged me to enough of those romantic comedies so I know how things work when women go to sperm banks. Is looking for a surrogate like that?"

Haley was unenthused. For someone so smart, he was being so stupid. "Oh, I don't know. I'm a woman who hasn't looked into getting pregnant—nor do I suffer any fertility problems—so I don't really have the need for another woman's uterus and/or eggs."

"You don't have to get into the female reproductive system right now, Haley. I was just asking," he answered.

"You didn't let me finish. I don't have the answer to your questions, but when my sister was trying to get pregnant, she looked into getting a surrogate because she couldn't seem to be able to conceive. I asked her to give me the name and address of the agency she was using. It's just here in Tree Hill so I thought that we should go."

After a moment of looking at her in confusion, he answered. "I can't believe you're so nice to me after everything I did to you," he muttered finally.

She looked away. "Well, I…you helped me, too. More than anyone will probably ever know, Clay. I think that this would really help you mature," she said before walking out the front door.

"Are you sure that this is in the right direction?" Brooke asked as she looked at their surroundings.

Sure, this was a nice area outside of Tree Hill, probably about twenty minutes. But it looked so boring. There was nothing here except for the occasional cow or two. This was how Brooke knew she was driving through what looked like the Amish country.

"I'm sure that these are the directions Nathan gave me. Just keep driving for another mile and a half," Rachel said, glancing at the directions her phone gave her.

Brooke sighed. But things started to appear again. The trees began to get less and less like a forest. Brooke gave a small sigh of relief. This wasn't like Tree Hill by any stretch, but at least it was starting to look more like the suburbs than some tiny little down with more livestock than people.

Things were starting to look up again.

Clay opened the door and let Haley enter the agency first. Haley had made an appointment, anticipating that Clay would be willing to come here with her.

When they entered the room with one of the agents, Haley could feel the mood of the whole room change. Her stomach felt odd.

"So you're looking for a surrogate. Congratulations. Have you done your homework on surrogacy?" the agent asked after some meaningless formalities.

"A little," Clay said. Haley bit her tongue to keep from laughing at his expression. He was obviously lying, but the agent didn't realize that.

"Great. So are you looking for a traditional or a gestational surrogate?" she asked.

"Traditional," Haley filled in for him, knowing Clay was utterly clueless.

The agent raised her eyebrows, seemingly surprised. Apparently, traditional surrogacy was a lot less common than the other type. "Well, that might make things a bit easier and not quite as expensive. But you do realize what this entails, right? Not to be intrusive, but is there a problem with your eggs? The biggest concern with traditional surrogacy is that the surrogate mother may feel entitled to the child due to a genetic bond," she explained.

Haley's eyes widened when she realized what the woman was insinuating. "Oh, no! I'm not his wife or girlfriend. I'm just trying to help him here. Clay would really want a child, but I know a bit more about this than he does," she answered, not at all modest about it.

"Oh, I see. So how long have you been considering surrogacy?" the woman asked, turning to Clay.

"Well, I've been wanting to have a child for months now. I've considered adopting, but…I really want a child of my own," he explained.

The agent nodded before getting a large book. "Well, here are some potential surrogates. Now, before anything is solid, I'd really recommend meeting with your potential surrogate before making any deals just to be sure about where you stand. And after your meeting where you make some sort of agreement, be sure to go to a lawyer and have them make some sort of solid contract for your surrogate to sign. With traditional surrogacy, you can do things one of two ways. The first is to have her get pregnant the old fashioned way, which is probably the easiest, least expensive way to go about this. The other possibility is artificial insemination, which does cost a lot more and might not work on the first try, but it might make things less awkward with you and your surrogate," the agent explained as Clay opened the book.

"And these are all women interested in traditional surrogacy?" Haley asked. She was like the legal advisor to this. After all, she did grow up with two lawyer parents her whole life.

The woman nodded. "As you can see, some of them have already done traditional surrogacy, so a breach in the contract should be the least of your worries. Of course, there are others who are interested in both traditional and gestational surrogacy and more who have never been a surrogate. There are older and younger mothers, but age hasn't really changed the success rate. Some have children of their own."

"And these are their interests and facts about them?" Clay asked as he read about one mother who graduated from NYU with degrees in engineering and physics, was a piano prodigy who played since the age of four, and also enjoyed playing tennis. She was followed by another who was originally from Ukraine and earned her BA in psychology, who was now working as a child associate.

The agent nodded. She looked over the edge of the book.

"I've gotten the opportunity to meet Valeria. She's a very sweet girl," she commented, pointing towards the page with a dirty blonde.

Haley and Clay both looked over at the page. The woman was stunning. She had high cheekbones, porcelain skin, dirty blonde shoulder-length waves, and beautiful turquoise eyes. Upon reading her vitals and extra information, they learned that she was 5'6", twenty-seven years old (just seven years older than Haley and five years older than Clay), had no children of her own and was interested (exclusively) in traditional surrogacy. They also discovered that she graduated at the top of her class at NYU, had a passion for music and the arts, and was now living in Tree Hill. She was of Italian, English, and Danish descent (a rather odd mix which wasn't so odd the more you thought about it, Haley realized).

"She's gorgeous," Haley commented.

Clay couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about this. But Haley was there to reassure him. "You should give her a call, Clay," she persuaded.

The agent smiled, trying to further encourage him.

Later, as Rachel and Brooke were driving back to Tree Hill at night, they were so happy for their friends.

"I am so happy for them!" Brooke said, not even trying to contain her huge smile.

"I love Nathan's idea. Oh my God, Haley's is going to love it!" Rachel agreed excitedly.

Haley couldn't help but feel really accomplished later on that night when she got home to the apartment.

Clay had Valeria's phone number and was now going to call her, hoping to meet sometime soon. Haley was happy and hoped this would work out for him (and yes, partially for selfish reasons, like so he would stop asking her to be a surrogate).

After a very relaxing bath (which Haley oh-so desperately needed), Haley settled into bed. She was so comfortable that she could just sit there forever.

Her cell phone began to vibrate beside her. She quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I'm glad to hear that you're still breathing."

Haley smiled when she heard her boyfriend's voice on the other end of the line. "Somehow, I managed to get through the day without you by my side," she said.

"I'm sorry I had to leave, again. I'll be back by the weekend," he promised.

She nodded. "I know you have to work, I just…I want to keep you to myself sometimes," she confessed. "And besides that, you're like…a relaxant for me. You helped calm me down. I'm going to be a ball of nerves by the time you get back," she said, biting her lip.

"Well, I'll gladly help you unwind."

Haley laughed. She absentmindedly reached her hand out to his side of the bed. "You know, I'm going to get really lonely tonight without you here to hold me. I might have to sleep on your side of the bed. I might even have to sleep in one of your shirts," she said.

"It wouldn't be the first time," he replied.

She sighed. "Just please, come home as soon as you can."

"I will. I just have to finish getting some things sorted out and ready for the future owners of the house," he replied.

She thought about the new owners enviously. Nathan told them that it was a couple who were hoping to move in together before they got married.

They were probably in his apartment together, talking about their wedding. I wish he could just be here with me, she thought bitterly, drifting off into her own thoughts.

"Hey, Hales?" he asked. She snapped back into reality. "I have to go, but I love you. I'll be home soon."

"Okay, I love you, too."

Haley walked arm-in-arm with Peyton to the upscale cake shop in Tree Hill where they would be trying wedding cakes

"Where is Prince Charming?" Haley asked as they both sat down and Peyton smoothed out the cloth napkin on her lap.

Haley took a sip of water from the clear water glass. "He's coming. He had to meet someone, then he said that he and Lucas were coming," she answered.

"Have you thought at all of what kind of cake you want?" Haley asked.

Peyton shook her head. "I probably won't care as much as Jake. He's going to enjoy it a lot more than me."

"Okay. After you taste all of the flavours, you and Jake are going to go look at the displays that the store designed for me. Keep in mind the aesthetics for the date, Peyt," Haley reminded her.

Peyton was about to reply, but before she could, Jake and Lucas entered. She immediately got up to hug Lucas and Jake.

"Did we miss anything?" Lucas asked, looking around at all of the displays.

"No, Luke. You didn't miss any cake," Haley answered with a slight eye-roll.

Before any more snide remarks could be exchanged, a petite brunette who Haley assumed was one of the bakers came out with the first round of cake. She handed out four small plates to the four of them.

"This is the regular white cake," she explained.

Peyton lifted a small piece of the cake to her lips. She tasted it. It was delicious.

"What do you think?" Haley asked.

"It's really good," Peyton offered before finishing the small portion of the cake.

A younger boy who looked about in his teens came out carrying four more plates and handed them to the brunette. He took their plates as they finished.

"Okay, now the next one is the dark chocolate cake," she said.

Peyton took a bite. She thought that if heaven had a flavour, this was it. "This is amazing," she commented.

"I love it," Haley agreed.

About three rounds of cake later, they were finished.

"Which ones did you like the most?" Haley asked curiously. Peyton turned to Jake.

"I liked the chocolate and that French vanilla cheesecake one," she said. He nodded in agreement.

"They told me that they can make a layer cake with multiple flavours," Haley told them.

"Really, Hales? That's perfect," Peyton said without thinking about him for a moment. "Jake?"

He nodded again. "Whatever you want, Peyton."

"Cake is cake," Lucas chimed in from behind Haley.

"Men are so easy," Haley mumbled under her breath so only Peyton could catch it.

"Would you like to come look at the displays now?" the brunette inquired before leading the four of them to an adjacent room, where there were several displays of fake (but exquisite) cakes.

Peyton looked at all of them, and suddenly, she got this nostalgic feeling, bringing her back to when she was about nine years old, walking in front of bakeries and being amazed at the flawless, colourful displays in the front of the small stores.

Almost immediately, she was drawn to one beautiful display in particular. She led Jake over to this beautiful three-tier cake. It was covered in chocolate fondant, hand-painted with a beautiful silver design, adorned with white edible ribbon. The most marvellous thing, however, was the beautiful red rose on the top of the cake. There were small silver edible pearls near it, but the colour of the cherry red rose was the star of the cake.

"What do you think of this one?" she asked.

But really, she didn't have to ask. Her pleading, large green eyes said it all. How could he say no to her?

"It's beautiful. I think we should get it," he said, knowing that was what she wanted to hear.

She broke out into the widest of smiles before kissing him on the cheek. Haley and Lucas quickly walked over.

"So is this the one, then?"

Peyton sat, scrutinizing the bouquets and centrepieces Haley had given her pictures of. It was amazing how perfect the flowers were. She remembered there was a reason that she had put Haley in charge of this all.

Just as she was getting lost in her own thoughts, she felt strong arms wrap around her.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking at the pictures Haley sent me of the centrepieces," she answered. "What do you think?"

"I think…Haley's doing an amazing job," he answered. "And I think that maybe we can take some time off from thinking about the wedding," he said.

I looked at him with a small smile. "And how do you suppose we do that?" she asked, flirting innocently.

"I have a few ideas."

She couldn't help but smile brightly. She let him bring her back to the bedroom.

She slid back onto the bed. Jake kissed her on the cheek tenderly. She smiled before kissing him on the lips. She could almost feel the colour rise to her cheeks. She just felt so beautiful around him in a way nobody ever made her feel before.

He unzipped her dress achingly slowly. As she watched the white gauzy material fly to the ground, she felt freer.

She unbuttoned his shirt while kissing him gingerly on the lips. As she pushed the material off of his body, she began to blush at the sight of his half-naked body.

Before she could comment on anything, he kissed her on the lips. She began to pull off his pants, even though she found it rather difficult considering how preoccupied she was.

As soon as she was lying down on the bed, she pulled away for a minute so she could look into his beautiful blue eyes.

His thumb brushed her cheek very softly. "I love you so much," he said.

"I love you, too," she said before pulling him closer to her once more.

"You look horrible," Peyton said when Haley answered the door the next morning.

Haley groaned in response. Anna just trotted in, not even acknowledging Haley's appearance. Peyton walked in, following her little daughter. She looked Haley over again.

"What the hell happened to you?" she asked.

Haley sighed. "I don't think I've slept in the last two or three days due to Clay's surrogacy and planning your wedding, plus lack of sleep and wine is not a good combination," she explained before sitting down and resting her head on the counter.

"Did you eat anything?" Peyton asked.

Haley just shook her head. More she thought about it, she couldn't remember the last meal she had eaten in the last two or three days.

Peyton shook her head in disapproval. "That's not good, Hales. I'm going to make you lunch, okay? Haley?"

Peyton walked over to Haley, who looked to be knocked out cold. Peyton nudged her. Haley groaned and looked up at Peyton.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Haley said before putting her head back down.

"I think you already are," Peyton said before getting out all of the things she needed to make Haley something that would (hopefully) make her feel better. "Anna, where did you go?" Peyton yelled.

Haley yelped. "Peyton! Do you have to be so loud?" she asked.

Peyton rolled her eyes. "I'm doing you a favour."

Anna walked back out. She finally noticed Haley. "Auntie?" she asked, taking in how horrible Haley looked.

"Anna, Auntie Haley isn't feeling too well, so you and Mommy are going to be taking care of her today, okay?" Peyton asked.

Anna nodded. Peyton smiled at her little girl. Anna toddled over to Peyton as she opened various ingredients to start making lunch for Haley.

Haley on the other hand, I wasn't thinking of eating at all. She just felt nauseous and light-headed. And with everything going on…

A familiar feeling overcame her before she rushed into the bathroom.

"Haley!"

Haley couldn't really respond. She had that sickening feeling one gets when they throw up without anything actually in their stomach.

She heard Peyton enter the bathroom, little footsteps following her. "Haley, are you okay? Do I need to take you to the hospital?" she asked.

Haley woke up again to the harsh, bright lights of the hospital. She shook her head, not enjoying this sensation very much.

She sat up and saw Brooke, Peyton, and Anna there. Anna was squirming in Peyton's arms.

"What happened? Why am I in the hospital?" she asked.

"You were really dehydrated and malnourished. The doctor asked me to shove that food down your throat if you refuse to eat it," Brooke said, pointing to a tray of cold hospital food and disgusting looking Jell-O.

Haley winced. "Do I really have to eat that?" she asked.

Brooke sighed. "That is what I said. I told them that if I were you and I had to shove that green Jell-O down my throat, I'd probably puke on their shoes," she said.

"That is why we thought ahead and brought you Chinese food," Peyton said, nodding towards a brown paper bag with a plastic bag around it.

"How'd you sneak that in?" Haley asked.

"We didn't have to sneak it. They thought you'd refuse to eat the hospital food, and we told them Chinese was your favourite and you'd definitely eat it. I guess they decided that you're thin enough, so a little MSG and sodium wouldn't hurt you too much."

Haley smiled. "Thank you."

Her smile faded when she thought of something else. She began to chew her lip. "Did either of you call Nathan?"

"The doctors called him since he's your emergency contact. When Peyton called me, Luke called Nathan. Nathan said that he's coming home later to see you. He was really worried," Brooke said.

"Did Lucas tell him I was fine?"

Brooke nodded. "But you know Nathan. He's a golden retriever, so he was naturally worried anyway," she answered with a shrug.

Haley nodded as Peyton brought her the tray of food. She supposed seeing Nathan under these circumstances was better than having to wait longer.

"Thank you," Haley said to Peyton.

Haley opened her eyes to see single white tuberose and a single white Star of Bethlehem beside her. She smiled seeing it. She knew who had visited her.

"Nathan," she sighed happily before lifting them up and bringing them to her nose to sniff them.

"You're awake," a familiar voice said behind her.

She sat up, propping herself on the flimsy, irritating pillows the hospital gave her. She smiled when she saw Nathan sitting next to her bed, in front of the window.

"Hey," she said happily. "How long have you been here?"

He thought about it. "Like an hour, maybe. I've been keeping you company. You look so beautiful when you sleep," he said before taking her hand. "You look beautiful all the time. You just look so peaceful when you're sleeping."

"I'm so glad you're here," Haley told him.

"I'm glad I'm here, too. Peyton and Brooke told me about what happened. Haley, you have to eat and drink a lot of water. And sleep is always a good thing. I know you're hooked on caffeine, but it doesn't act as a substitution for sleep," Nathan scolded.

Haley sighed. "I know, but I…I'm sorry," she said finally.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you. But you can't do that again, Haley," he repeated.

She avoided looking at him. "Do you know when I can go home?"

"The doctor actually said that he just has to come back with the results of one test and if it's fine, we can go."

"So, did you get a chance to show the couple the house?" Haley asked as she started to suck the salt off of pretzels.

"Yes. They really liked the house," he answered.

She smiled, proud of him. "I knew they would. Your designs are amazing, Nathan."

"Hales," he said, rather concerned. "You know that licking the salt off of pretzels doesn't count as eating, right?" he inquired.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, I just can't stomach any food right now. Thinking of eating is making me feel nauseous," she said.

"That's not good. Why?"

She shrugged. "I think I'm just so nervous about Peyton's wedding."

That started to make him feel nervous. "You're not getting cold feet, are you?"

She shook her head. "No. Never," she assured him softly. "I'm just nervous that something is going to go very wrong," she thought aloud.

"Hey, nothing is going to go wrong. Why are you so nervous? I'm sure Peyton and Jake have loved what you've done so far. I mean I would too. You're pretty badass you know Haley James? Plus I love you,"

She nodded. "Well, you don't have to tell me twice. I know they will be happy with the final outcome it just that…I don't have a good history with weddings, Nathan," she explained.

"Well, you have nothing to worry about Hales. I'm not Clay," he reminded her.

She nodded. "I know, but…I…it's just unsettling. And the closer and closer the date gets, the more I think something is going to go wrong," she said, trying to take more deep, settling breaths.

"I think you just need to take your mind off of things for the day, Haley. It's not healthy for you to be so stressed out over the wedding. Let me take you out later," he said finally.

She looked up at him, kind of taken aback. "Kind of like a date night?" she asked.

He smiled. "Exactly like a date night. We can do whatever you want, as long as you get your mind off of things. I don't want you to get this stressed," he told her.

She finally let herself smile.

Haley sat across from Nathan. This was all oddly unfamiliar territory.

"Haley?" Nathan asked, interrupting the silence in her mind.

"Yeah?"

"I know this sounds weird, considering we've been dating for about ten months and I should know you better than the back of my hand, but I just feel like…I want to know you better now."

She was intrigued by this proposal. "What do you want to know?"

He shrugged. "Everything."

She couldn't help it; she let out a small giggle. "Well, my name is Haley Bob James…"

"I knew that," he interrupted.

"Um…my favourite colour is red, more specifically, the colour of cherry wood…I'm five-foot-three…and…I like roses?" she tried.

He rolled his eyes. "Nice try, Haley, but I already knew all of that. Tell me something you think I might not know. Dreams, fears, weird things about you?"

Haley thought about it for a moment. "I have really bad cleisiophobia, along with autophobia, which is just as bad," she explained.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "You know I don't know what that is, right?"

She laughed. "Cleisiophobia is the fear of being locked in a small, enclosed space. That started after you made me watch that Hitchcock double feature," she added. "And autophobia is the fear of being alone," she explained somewhat sadly.

Her skin tingled a little when she felt his hand cover hers in an attempt to soothe her. "Is that why it was really hard for you when I was away?"

She nodded. She shook her head, shaking out the bad thoughts. "As for dreams, I always dreamt as a little girl that I could get a kitten or a puppy, but my parents would never let me. My dad said that pets were a nuisance, while my mom said she didn't have time to keep up with a dog. But my biggest dream has always been to be a musician you know and go on sold-out tours. I don't know something about that is so liberating to me, but it's just a dream so," she said.

He nodded. "Anything else I should know?" he asked.

Haley bit her lip. "I have this condition called Synesthesia which makes me associate certain colours with certain letters."

"How come you never told me?"

Haley shrugged. "I guess that since I've been living with it for so long, I don't even notice anymore. I don't think about it. I still like reading."

"It doesn't give you a headache?"

She smiled while rolling her eyes. "Stop it. No, I'm perfectly fine when reading. It actually helps because then, I don't just skim over everything. I actually have to read all the words."

He nodded.

"Okay, so now I get to know about you," she said, setting down her glass of wine. "I want to know everything."

He shrugged. "I don't know what I haven't told you. I'm either really boring or just really honest."

She laughed. "I vote for both." She looked at him with a small smirk on her face. "Just kidding. I know for a fact that you're not at all boring," she said before taking another sip of wine. "But really? No real fears or dreams? No weird things about you I should know before we get engaged?"

"I think you know everything about me," he said.

She pouted. "There has to be at least something about you…" she trailed off. She piped up. "Not even a weird sexual fantasy or something?"

He had no words to answer.

"Hmm. I should've known you were too clean for that kind of stuff. Maybe you are too boring," she joked.

He rolled his eyes. "Like you could come up with any better," he retorted.

She thought about it. "I think I might surprise you," she answered.

He scoffed. "You? You're so clean-cut and innocent-looking. I could never picture you as—"

"People surprise you."

Haley lay down in bed on her stomach as she waited for her boyfriend to get out of the bathroom so they could go to bed. She was lying on the bed the wrong way, going across the large mattress with her feet and arms hanging off the bed.

This was strangely comforting for her.

She was falling asleep when she heard the door creak open. She barely batted an eye at it, though. Her eyes remained closed as she felt someone sit on the bed beside her.

"Are you sleeping, Hales?"

She groaned in response. "I wish I was," she answered.

She felt a hand on her back now. "Do you feel better?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, I do," she said finally.

The hand travelled lower down her back. Then, she felt lightly callused fingers inch up underneath her shirt. She felt herself tense up.

"Are you getting more stressed?"

"Nathan…stop it," she mumbled half-heartedly. "I just want to sleep," she moaned as she sat up and faced him. Then be the first time she had her eyes open since he got out of the shower, she finally took notice of how he was only wearing a towel. Water droplets still clung to his shoulders and his abdomen.

"Ugh, you're seducing me again, aren't you?" she asked, unenthused.

"I'm not seducing you!" he replied indignantly. "What is with you always thinking I want to jump your bones?"

She shrugged. "I don't know…I get that vibe from you," she said finally.

She stood and pulled back the covers so she could lie in bed. He came back out, wearing a shirt (much to her dismay).

"There, is that better?" he asked.

She pouted. "No."

"I can't win, can I?" he inquired.

She just shook her head, pulling back the covers on his side of the bed so he could be next to her. "Just come over here," she whined.

He lay down in bed next to her. Her hand quickly made its way to his skin. He felt her get the shirt off of him rather slowly.

"And you're not trying anything?" he inquired, not so convinced.

She burrowed her head into the space between his shoulder and his head. "No. It's just more comfortable this way," she sighed.

He wriggled out of her trap and rolled over to face her. He took her hand. "Twenty more days?" he asked, kissing her on the hand.

She sighed, taking a deep breath and nodding. "Yes," she mumbled quietly.

"And then you'll be done with wedding planning, and we can start planning for our wedding someday, besides I think Mrs. Haley James Scott has a nice ring to it," he added excitedly before pecking her on the lips.

She smiled. "I can't wait," she whispered before kissing him back.

What do you guys think is Nathan's secret that Rachel & Brooke know about? Okay, so on the grounds of not incriminating myself, I refuse to say anything about the state of my writing this story. I apologize for the lack of Brucas and Jeyton I am working on those chapters as we speak, this story has been time-consuming, to say the least. I also apologize for the pace of this story, and that we're still in the past but promise we'll get to the present quicker. After chapter 22, they will be an eight-month time jump just to get the story moving quicker.

Guest: Thank you that was very kind of you to say. I had a great time on my Florida trip, but as the saying goes, the home is where the heart is, so I am glad to be back. I am glad you enjoyed the little bit of Taylor we got the last chapter. I do agree that her storyline would have been a lot more compelling to watch in the later seasons. I think I would've liked to see her deal and come to terms with her mother's death, find a stable/healthy relationship, bond with Jamie and Lydia etc. Although Quinn wasn't necessarily entirely bad I just felt like a lot of her storyline with Clay and herself were boring, pointless, and filler for sure.

sandygirl: I hope things are okay with you, and you're recovering well. I do enjoy everyone as well, I think it adds a cool dynamic to the story by talking about everyone. I hope you don't hate me so much for the lack (thereof) of everyone in this chapter, more of that will be coming really soon! Lindsey is a big bitch and Clay is whiny, know it all and an idiot (not surprising, to say the least.) Those two would be good for each other!

dianehermans: thank you glad you enjoyed it!

Guest: No. I didn't take it from anywhere else. Long story short, I had a friend who reached out via PM on this site. She was interested in me writing a brucas scene for her a while ago when I had not begun writing. She had messaged my old account (Sidney4522) o get inspiration from as she was stuck on hers so I drafted that scene as inspiration let her look at it to get some ideas and see where she wanted to take the story. I find out she actually cut and paste the entire scene I wrote which bothered me a little, but she refused to credit me and the idea originally belonged to her which wasn't true. I was actually going to use this scene in a Brucas story that never got completed and now people believe she wrote it as her story was published long before mine that was a while ago. So, overall it was a shitty situation and I don't advise anyone to do this until you weren't a dumb naive sixteen years old. I hope that answered your question. BTW, I was not deleting your comments they did not get posted, and two my moderate guest reviews are on so it probably got sent to spam.

thibbs65: Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed that chapter. Yes, it was finally time for Nathan to meet the James Family, speaking of Taylor's husband you don't need to worry about who he is as his character is not relevant to this story, but if you'd like to know whether it's anyone from OTH universe it is not. It's just random, redundant, boring vanilla dude. Rachel is a good friend who always has her friend's best interest in mind. Pardon my language, but she's that bitch! A ride or die for sure! Lindsey and Clay honestly do deserve each other as they are cynical and a little bit crazy. I should have made Lindsey Clay's surrogate! That would have made for an interesting storyline, maybe I will incorporate something with the both of them soon, just got to figure out what. I agree cheating is never okay, and the worst thing to do to someone. NEVER DO IT. It only causes pain, heartache, trust and commitment issues, and anger/resentment/bitterness in the end but I am the same way with my boyfriend if he cheats I will be kicking his ass to the curb. LOL!

I'm crying now on my computer! But not really! I'm just dreading this Latin test tomorrow, I promise. With that being said, I don't know when I'll update next, hopefully, soon.

P.S, in case anyone was wondering, 3rd declension is: various, is, i, em, e, es, um, ibus, es, ibus, third declension. And 2nd (normal) is: us, i, o, um, o, i, orum, is, os, is. And 2nd declension (neuter) is: um, i, o, um, o, a, orum, is, a, is. And 1st declension is: a, ae, ae, am, a, ae, arum, is, as, is, that's first declension.

Thanks for reading! Until next time, bye!-Sidney