It never felt right leaving this story incomplete. Life happened. But here it is, the last chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Don't Give Up on Me

Silence.

Haley didn't quite know what to expect when she finally came to, but silence was the last thing on her mind. Or was it silence. Looking around she could make out the machines attached to her by various ports, machines that should be uttering murmurs and beeps, anything to indicate her heart was still beating.

But there was nothing.

Haley couldn't make out a single murmur, hum, beep, chirp. Nothing. She had almost wished for an onslaught of sound when she finally came to. It was unnerving. Silence was for the unconscious, for the dying, for the dead. Not for someone finally waking up. Someone finally realizing her importance in life, her place in this world, the role she was meant to play not the role she had been playing.

Is this another test? Wasn't the last one enough? It seemed logical. Maybe there was another trial Haley had to go through before she could finally get back to her family. To Jamie. To Brooke. But she wouldn't be getting back to Brooke. Brooke was seeing someone else. Moving on to someone else. Suddenly everything just seemed too much. The florescent lights, the silence, the scratchy sheets. With a sigh Haley closed her eyes in hopes of shutting out this cruel reality for just a few more moments.

"Hales?"

Haley's eyes shot open with a startling quickness for someone that had just been unconscious for two days. Slowly looking around, it couldn't be, could it? Haley made eye contact with Brooke, a rather disheveled looking Brooke if she was being honest, beautiful as always.

"Hales? Sweetie, can you hear me?"

Haley tried with all her might to respond but no amount of willpower prepared her for the raw feeling in her throat preventing her from speaking. She couldn't remember another time that she wanted to be able to form words so badly. They were on the tip of her tongue, I love you. I'm not giving up on us. I'm going to fight for you, fight for us. Tears of frustration slowly slipped from the corner of her eyes as she reached for her throat. Anything to indicate to Brooke how much she wanted to speak but her body was betraying her.

Jumping up from her seat, Brooke swiftly moved to Haley's bedside and poured her a glass of water.

"You've been out for two days," Brooke softly chuckled. "I'm not surprised you're finding it hard to talk. Just take your time, I'm not going anywhere."

I'm not going anywhere. Is she just talking about today? Haley was almost too scared to find out what Brooke meant. Now her inability to speak felt like a relief, if only for a moment. With each sip of water Haley could feel her voice coming back to her. Trepidation filled her as she finished off the last of her water.

"Everything," Haley rasped.

"What?" Brooke was beyond confused. This can't be good. I need to get a doctor ASAP. She went to turn and get help when a hand on her wrist stopped her motion. The love and determination that had taken over Haley's features was vibrant, but Brooke would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about what was going to come out of Haley's mouth next.

"Everything," Haley said with more assurance to her voice. "I want everything with you Brooke. I want us. I want you. I will fight for you, for us. I know you're seeing someone else, but I won't give up on us. I know I've given you plenty of reason to give up, to move on from us, but I'll never stop loving you Brooke Penelope Davis and I'll never stop fighting for us."

Now Brooke was at a loss for words. The past forty-eight hours were a blur, flashes going through her mind in an instant. The threat, Haley's accident, her own small hospital stint for a minor concussion. Through it all Brooke just wanted Haley to wake up so she could beg for forgiveness and understanding, to right the lie that she had been forced to tell. She expected anger, sadness and yelling. To say Brooke was in shock was an understatement and it must have shown.

"I respect your choice to see someone else but there won't be a day that goes by that I won't show you how much I love you Brooke. I won't purposefully…mhmmp." But Haley couldn't finish her thought.

Where words were failing Brooke, her actions spoke volumes. It was almost comical the bewilderment on Haley's face as Brooke effortlessly shut her up with a kiss. She could feel Haley pulling away, but Brooke simply cupped the nape of her neck to keep her in place. She was determined to make this kiss last as long as it needed to for Haley to realize that there was no need to fight for her, Brooke was and would always be hers.

"I love you," Brooke whispered across Haley's lips as she pulled away.

Haley's eyes slowly fluttered open at Brooke's words. She was still having trouble grasping what was happening, it can't be this easy, Brooke wanted to see someone else. "But what about?" Haley trailed off, finding it hard to even finish her sentence. The thought of Brooke with someone else forming a pit in her stomach.

"But what about nothing. There was never anyone else," Brooke let out a resigned sigh. She really didn't want to get into everything before a doctor came and checked over Haley. "I should really call the doctor in to take a look at you."

"No, wait," Haley pleaded as Brooke turned for the door. "Please just tell me what's going on."

Never truly being able to deny Haley anything Brooke relayed everything to Haley starting with Bryce's plot to get Taylor James back. "I didn't want to do it, but the thought of him hurting you to make you come back and be his meal ticket made me sick to my stomach. Little did I know that his plan all along was to get me out of the picture so you would resume being Taylor."

"How could he ever think that would work?" Haley couldn't believe what she was hearing, Bryce has some serious screws loose if he thought that would ever work.

"I don't know," Brooke dropped her head with a defeated sigh. "But her managed to scare me enough into believing it would."

"Hey, Brooke look at me," Haley implored while lifting Brooke's chin so their gazes could meet. "He used your love for me, he manipulated you. I will never fault you for that."

"You're too good to me," Brooke smiled softly while kissing Haley's palm that was resting on her cheek.

"That is definitely you Brooke Davis," Haley returned Brookes soft smile and gentle gaze. Shifting slightly Haley let out a soft groan in protest.

"That's it, I'm getting the doctor," Brooke stood and walked to the door opening it slowly.

"Hey Brooke?"

"Yeah?" Brooke turned with concern.

"I love you," Haley smiled softly.

"I love you too, always," Brooke beamed before signaling to a passing doctor.

Haley couldn't fight the serene smile from gracing her lips as she closed her eyes. The next couple of months were going to be challenging but with Brooke by her side she knew they could overcome anything that life threw at them.

~FA~

Just like she suspected it had been a grueling few months. Between doctor appointments, physical therapy, and court dates; Haley was also trying to relocate herself and Jamie back to Tree Hill. She wanted Jamie to have a stable childhood surrounded by friends and family. She wasn't completely giving up her career but stepping away from the limelight for the time being was the perfect opportunity to recover and regroup.

When news broke that Haley was Taylor James, thanks to a gossip magazine that had gotten their hands on the court papers, she finally decided that it was time to just come clean. It was cathartic opening up and telling her truth. Haley was finally free to be herself. Tree Hill's foot traffic increased in the days following Haley's announcement. Fans flocked to the small town in hopes of running into America's Rock Princess. It didn't take long for the world to put all the pieces together; Haley was quickly linked as the brunette from the paparazzi photo with Brooke. From there it was no small step to figure out that Haley was none other than NBA stars Nathan and Lucas Scott's younger sister.

"Tree Hill, America's Talent Hot Spot? Psssh, are they serious?" Nathan muttered as he read the headline of the latest gossip magazine. It was accompanied by a rather thorough run down of his family and friends. Wait! How the hell did they get that picture?! Nathan couldn't believe his eyes, there smiling back at him from the pages was himself, Lucas and Jake dressed as cheerleaders.

"Oh man! Someone dug deep to find that," Peyton laughed over Nathan's shoulder narrowly avoiding being hit with the papers when Nathan finally got over his shock.

"Someone had to have given that to them!" Lucas fumed while grabbing the paper from Nathan's hand.

"This might be their best work to date," Haley snickered while taking a glance at the picture remembering the day vividly.

"Just keep laughing little sis, wait until they…" Lucas trailed off finally taking his gaze from the paper and acknowledging that Haley had finally arrived at their weekly barbeque.

"Hales," Nathan let out a happy sigh noticing that his little sister was no longer using a cane for support. While her overall injuries were minor, considering she was hit by a car, Haley had suffered a broken leg. From bed rest, to crutches Haley was a trooper through and through. Two weeks prior she had graduated to a cane with the hopes of being aid free in a few weeks. Always the overachiever Haley had been giving the all clear by her physical therapist a few days prior.

It was all worth it. Their faces are priceless. Haley had oddly avoided her family until the barbeque, wanting to surprise everyone with her progress. It wasn't easy, Brooke was out of town with soccer, so everyone had attempted to stop by to check in on her, most likely at Brooke's insistence while she was away.

"Happy to see me?" Haley mocked with a twirl, purposefully standing on her previously broken leg.

"Brat," Nathan chuckled while getting up and greeting Haley with a hug. "Congratulations by the way, I'm sure Brooke is ecstatic about the progress."

"Brooke doesn't know," Haley devilishly smiled. She didn't want to spoil the fun of seeing Brooke's reaction to her accomplishment. "Jamie doesn't know either," at their questioning gazes she elaborated. "Jake thought it would be a good idea to take Jamie so I could have a few true days of R and R while Brooke was away. It was rather sweet of him and gave me just enough time to get the all clear from my PT! Too bad Brooke is gone for another two days."

"Yeah too bad Brooke is gone for another two days," Brooke chorused while jumping through the sliding glass door. Gracefully landing arms stretched above her head in a 'ta-da' fashion. Brooke beamed at her friends hoping to have thoroughly surprised them by her early arrival. Well I'll be damned, looks like the surprise is on me! She didn't know it was even possible but her smile grew wider as she finally took all of Haley in.

"My girl!" Brooke victoriously praised as she ran at Haley fully engulfing her, lifting Haley into her arms while twirling on the spot. "You did it," Brooke whispered in awe as she gazed into Haley's eyes. It would never cease to amaze her how strong Haley was.

The past few months hadn't been easy on their growing relationship. As they were getting into a routine amongst themselves and Jamie, the news broke of Haley's double life. Tensions were high when the trio would decide to embark on a casual outing only to be bombarded with fans and paparazzi. Jamie was quickly thrust into the spotlight, Haley being her own worst critic any time that Jamie's picture appeared in a gossip column. She was relieved that her secret was out, but at what cost? She had successfully hidden Jamie's identity for four years only to have it all go to shit because her crazed ex-manager didn't want to lose his big star.

As the days went on the novelty of Haley's identity had started to ware off. The residents of Tree Hill went from asking for autographs to polite greetings. Fans weren't as abundant in their day to day life anymore. It wouldn't be long before Tree Hill was back to its regular bustle.

Through it all Haley and Brooke were stronger than ever. They managed to balance work and life. The Olympics were fast approaching so Brooke was either in the gym or on the field vying for her spot on the team. Haley was ever supportive and understanding of the increased amount of time Brooke needed to spend training, there was nothing she wouldn't do to support Brooke achieving her dreams.

"Are you going to put me down?" Haley chuckled as Brooke continued to hold her.

"Nope!" Brooke made sure to emphasize with a pop on the p. "You're stuck with me."

"I think I can live with that," Haley kissed Brooke gently savoring being back in Brooke's arms. She could feel Brooke's smile against her lips as she wrapped her legs around Brooke's waist completely ignoring the groans in protest from Nathan and Lucas.

"Oh hush you two, they're cute," Peyton chastised the men, couple of babies.

"Mommy!"

Brooke didn't have much time to react before Jamie came crashing into her legs. Fortunately, Haley was securely in her grasp so the force from the over excited three-year-old didn't send the couple toppling.

"Careful Jamie, we don't want Mommy dropping Mama," Jake chastised with a smile. It had come as a shock when Brooke and Haley sat Jake and Rachel down to tell them about the development in Jamie and Brooke's relationship. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't know how to react at first. Shock, confusion, and fear were the prominent emotions in the beginning. He didn't want to lose Jamie. Haley was finally moving back to Tree Hill and it felt like the rug had been pulled from under him finding out that Jamie wanted Brooke to be his Mommy.

It took time but Jake was finally able to realize that Jamie gaining Brooke as his Mommy did not replace him as Jamie's Dad. Rachel was ever supportive and helped Jake work through his struggles with the changing family dynamic. She helped him realize that Jamie was gaining another pillar of love and support, that's all a father could ask for. In a world full of judgement and hate there was nothing wrong with more love.

"Sorry Daddy," Jamie pouted while releasing Brooke's leg.

Brooke happily released Haley allowing her to quickly scoop up Jamie in a bear hug.

"Hi Jimmy-Jam!" Haley beamed while kissing Jamie on the cheek. There was a small chorus of gasps from Jake, Rachel and Jamie.

"Mama! You can stand!" Jamie cheered while Haley just smiled at her boy.

"I can!" Haley replied with equal enthusiasm. "I've been working really hard so I could surprise everyone today. Mama is back to new!" Haley nuzzled against Jamie's cheek while spinning in circles loving the giggles and screeches that erupted from Jamie.

For the first time in four years Haley felt at peace. At peace with herself, her past, her future. She wasn't sure what the future held but she knew that with her family by her side she could handle anything and everything life threw at her.

~Far Away~