I can't believe this story is over! Again, thank you so much for all the love. This has really brought back a love of writing. So glad I decided to make it more than just a one-shot!
Epilogue
Things progressed quickly from the night Nathan and Haley had proposed to each other.
The wedding was planned in under two months.
Nathan had been waiting to marry Haley for 20 years, he didn't want to wait much longer.
The gold band on his left hand never seemed to lose the shine. Although his hand quickly adjusted to it (he'd never been a ring guy) his eyes never did. Even a glance would swell him with pride.
Along with a wedding, they didn't waste much time starting their family. They were married in early November, and Haley was pregnant by January, which was a little inconvenient for her school schedule, but they made it work. Although James Lucas Scott wasn't officially "planned" they said that he was.
Nathan was 29 when he was born. And he felt the same pride when he looked at his son as he did when he looked at his wedding band.
When Jamie was two they'd unexpectedly found out about little miss Lydia Bob Scott. She was a spitfire from day one.
They'd almost decided to stop at her because of the difficulty of them each having careers, while managing a three year old and a newborn.
When Lydia reached two... They'd decided they might as well go for another since they weren't getting any younger. A joke that Haley really didn't appreciate, but Nathan thought was funny.
This time, it had been twins. Twins.
Nicholas Royal Scott and Noah Daniel Scott.
Haley called naming them the worst mistake of her life because when she was yelling at one, she cycled through a few, Nathan's own name being one of them.
Despite the plan being four kids, they weren't quite sure they could handle two babies at once.
But they did it. Somehow, someway, they managed four kids, all under the age of six. It was a little bit easier once Jamie went to school, but still, three kids and two of them. The odds were not in their favor.
But there they stood. Nathan age 36, and Haley age 37, still crushing it.
Jamie was six, Lydia was four, and Noah and Nick were two.
Nathan had significantly cut down on his traveling so that Haley could still work, and the beauty of that was that Clay had done the same, so now they pretty much ran things from Charlotte.
He did travel once a month, most of the time it was only for one or two days, but occasionally it was for a whole week, depending on the situation.
Nathan was just returning from one of those nearly week long trips now.
He nodded at Clay, mumbling a quiet farewell, stepping out of the car quickly. He grabbed his bag from the back of Clay's car, waving one more time and heading inside.
"Daddy!" Lydia screamed, jumping from the couch to his arms.
He held her tightly, pressing a kiss to her head. "Hey, beautiful," He hummed, setting her down after a moment.
She looked just like Haley. Just like her.
"Where's everyone?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"We're playing hide and seek. I'm the seeker," She informed him, nodding her head.
"Oh? Well how about I go change and then I help you?" He suggested, grinning at her.
"Yay!" Lydia hummed, reaching her arms up for Nathan to pick her up again.
He quickly did so, hurrying to his and Haley's bedroom. He dropped his bag on their bed, a small smile on his face as he put Lydia down next to it.
He pulled some clothes out of the closet, stepping into the bathroom to change.
After quickly changing from his suit into a t-shirt and basketball shorts, he stepped out, tossing his clothes onto the bed as well.
"Okay, let's go find them, hm?" He suggested, turning around and crouching down slightly so Lydia could jump on his back.
"I was peeking," She whispered to him, giggling quietly. "So I know what room Jamie is in."
"Oh, do you?" He laughed, looking over his shoulder at her.
She nodded in response, pointing out of the bedroom.
Nathan followed her pointing until it led him to the kitchen. He looked at her again, raising his eyebrows.
"I think he's in a cupboard," Lydia whispered, gesturing around.
Nathan set her down quickly, smiling slightly. "You look in this half, I'll look in that."
He knew exactly which cupboard young Jamie Scott was hiding in. The cupboard that was slightly open.
But of course, he had to look through different ones before ending on the one he was actually in.
He pulled it open, seeing a surprised look on his oldest son's face.
"Dad!" He said quickly, letting Nathan lift him out of the cupboard, hugging him tightly.
"Hey Jame," Nathan said, rubbing Jamie's back.
"I didn't hear you get home," Jamie responded, letting out a deep breath.
"I brought you guys some stuff but I'll give it to after we find your Mom and brothers," He said, setting Jamie down and smiling.
"I have no clue," Lydia said, shrugging her shoulders and looking at them.
Nathan smiled, clearing his throat. "I might have an idea?"
The twins wanted to hide in the same place every single time. And had he been gone only a day or two, he would've let Lydia pull him around the house to multiple different places before he made the suggestion. But... He really wanted to see his wife now.
So he led the kids to the guest bathroom in the back of their house, twisting the door handle, and pressing his ear to the door.
He heard Haley shush their giggles, causing a wide grin to form on his face.
He glanced over his shoulder at the two children following him, offering them a small nod, before pushing open the door.
He opened the shower door quickly, poking his head in.
"Nathan!" Haley said in surprise, a smile forming on her face.
"We found you!" Lydia cheered from the other side of him.
He glanced over his shoulder at her, offering her a thumbs up.
Nick and Noah both scrambled away from Haley, hurrying to Nathan and hugging him.
Nathan smiled, picking up them both, hugging them tightly to him. "Hi guys," He said, chuckling quietly.
They both started talking to him, and he honestly couldn't make out a single bit of it, but he nodded along anyways.
Haley stood up slowly, stepping out of the shower and smiling at him. "Hey, you," She said, standing on her toes and kissing him briefly. "When did you get home?"
"Just a little bit ago. I texted you when my flight landed," He said, kissing her again.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket, looking up at him sheepishly. "My phone is dead," She hummed, shrugging.
"Of course," He laughed, kissing her forehead. He set the boys down slowly, gesturing for them to all exit the bathroom.
"The kids play on it all day," She said in her own defense, smiling at him.
"Sure, sure," He laughed, nodding at her. "Hey kids? Why don't you watch a movie while Mom and I make dinner?" He suggested, turning to look at them with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah!" Lydia cheered, grabbing onto Noah's hand, while Jamie grabbed Nick's, rushing ahead of them to run into the living room.
"Oh, I missed you," Haley whispered, grabbing onto his hand and turning him towards her.
"Not as much as I missed you," He responded, leaning down and pressing another quick kiss to her lips. "You go pick a movie for them, I'll go get started on figuring out what to eat."
He headed into the kitchen, rubbing his hand down his face and letting out a deep breath, pulling open the fridge and looking inside.
It seemed like he'd only been standing there for a few seconds, but when Haley came into the kitchen, it had actually been a few minutes later.
"You know, if you want to keep things cold in the fridge, it's not the best idea to leave it open," She informed him, smiling slightly.
Nathan whipped around to look at her, a sheepish smile on his face.
She'd hardly changed since she was twenty years old. Her hair color had changed often, but she still looked fairly young for her age. There were a few more lines on her face since they'd gotten back together, but years and kids will do that to anyone, and despite being some unique hybrid version that hardly aged, she was still human.
He, on the other hand, had proof of his age due to the salt and pepper look that he now sported. It was subtle, and if he kept his hair shirt enough, no one could tell.
"Stop looking at me like that," She told him quickly, shaking her head and holding up her hand.
"Like what?" He said, smirking slightly.
She sent him a knowing look, walking over to him and pulling him into a tight hug, pressing her face into his neck and closing her eyes.
He smiled, his arms wrapping around her with ease. "I missed you, Haley."
"Not as much as I missed you probably," She hummed, pressing a delicate kiss to his neck, rubbing her nose against the scruff on his jawline.
"Oh, I can guarantee that. It's way easier to wrestle four kids with two people," He laughed, kissing the top of her head.
"You look tired," She said, raising her hand up to brush his cheek.
"I am tired," He informed her, shrugging his shoulders. "But I think that's just because I'm old."
She rolled her eyes at his comment, standing on her toes and kissing him softly.
He smiled against her mouth, beginning to part from her after a moment, but her hand moved to the back of his head, forcing him to stay put.
Not that he was complaining.
"I was thinking..." She said after a moment, sliding her hand up and down his chest. "We could just do a pizza night tonight."
"Do our kids even know what pizza is?" He joked, raising his eyebrows, letting his hands fall to her waist.
"You're funny," She laughed, leaning against him. "What do you say? I'm tired, I know that you're tired..."
"Well, we better make a pros and cons list," He joked, turning away from her, facing the whiteboard that was hung on the fridge by magnets. He picked up the marker that was attached, beginning to write.
"Pro: neither of us has to cook dinner," Haley said, humming softly.
"Con: pizza isn't incredible for you," He joked, writing it down and looking over at her just as she finished and eye roll at his dumb antics.
"Was that an eye roll? Did you just roll your eyes at me?" He asked her, stepping towards her quickly.
"No," She hummed, shrugging her shoulders.
He quickly capped the marker, tossing it onto the counter, before hurrying towards her. "Haley James," He clicked his tongue at her, shaking his eyes. "I think we have a zero tolerance for eye rolling in this home."
"Really? With your attitude?" She asked, stepping back as he got closer to her.
"Yes," He said, grabbing her by the waist before she could get too far, backing her up into the countertop. He began to tickle her, causing her to let out a loud laugh.
"Honey, honey," She laughed, pushing on his chest lightly. "Stop," She begged, shaking her head and pressing her face into his shoulder to try and quiet her laughs. "The kids... They're watching a movie."
He looked over to the couch, shaking his head. "They're so into it, they can't even hear us," He laughed, releasing her from his grip and taking a step back. "Okay, okay. I'm done. Will you call?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes," She said, standing on her toes and kissing him again. "You should go sit with them. They missed you a hell of a lot more than I did."
"Oh, so you went from missing me more than I missed you to the kids missed me but you didn't?" He laughed, raising his eyebrows.
"Funny how life does that, hm?" She said, winking at you. "I'll get you all to myself tonight, don't you worry."
"Please, if that actually happens, I'll give you all of the money I have in my wallet," He said, making a show of rolling his eyes before laughing.
"I already took it," She joked, shrugging her shoulders. "Plus, I kinda think you just offered to pay me for sex."
"I did," He said, pulling out his phone and typing on it quickly, before raising his eyebrows at her. "In fact, I just sent you a venmo request, so when your phone is charged, might want to grab that before the kids," He hummed, heading out of the kitchen to the living room.
Haley groaned, rolling her eyes. "Did you at least make it private?"
She called after him, leaning against the counter.
He looked over his shoulder at her, giving her a shrug, before looking at the kids. "Okay, kiddos. Who wants to sit by me?"
He smiled at the chorus of 'Me! Me! Me!' That followed his question, glancing over at Haley, who had a wide smile on her face.
"I have an idea," He said, scooping Nick and Noah up, holding them in his lap and taking a seat between Lydia and Jamie.
Their night had gone fairly smoothly. The venmo request 100% did not go through, which was to be expected when they had four kids that loved their dad and didn't want to spend a second apart from him for the first 24 hours of his arrival back home.
They were crammed into bed, the four kids somehow fit in between them.
Nathan looked over at Haley, who was stroking Lydia's hair lightly while she slept, a book in her other hand. He smiled slightly, letting out a deep breath. "Haley?" He said softly.
"Hm?" She hummed, looking over at him.
"I love you," He whispered, clearing his throat.
"I love you too," She responded, offering him a small nod.
He looked across the four kids, reaching his hand over and resting it on his wife's shoulder, chuckling quietly. That would do for now.
She also looked at their four kids, before meeting her husband's eyes when his hand landed on her shoulder.
"I'm pregnant," Haley informed him after a moment of silence, clearing her throat.
He raised his eyebrows, "Are you serious?"
"Yes," She said, letting out a deep breath. "Two years apart. Just like it always is," She said, shaking her head.
He laughed, glancing down at Jamie, who was next to him, the twins, and then Lydia next to her. He got out of bed slowly, walking around it and leaning down and kissing her quickly.
"Well that definitely wasn't the plan," He laughed, raising his eyebrows.
"No, it wasn't," She mumbled, letting out a deep breath.
"You know what this means?" He laughed, leaning down to kiss her again.
"Don't say it," She joked, raising her hand up to his face.
"We have to have another one after this!" He informed her, smirking slightly.
"One more. And then vasectomy," She said, closing her book and setting it on the night stand.
"We'll talk about it later," He hummed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Five kids. Wow."
"A basketball team?" She hummed, raising his eyebrows at him.
He smirked at her comment, leaning down and kissing her yet again. "The fact that you just said that reaffirms everything I already know."
"And what's that?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"I could never love anyone the way I love you," He said, smiling at her.
She smiled, pulling him down and kissing him. "So you're happy?"
"How could I not be? I have a smoking hot wife and in nineish months I'm going to have five incredible kids," He said, grinning at her. "Are you happy?"
"We planned on these four, kind of, and you know how much I love a good plan..." She hummed, glancing down at their kids. "But I'm happy. I wanted the test to he positive."
He grinned at her, kissing her forehead. "Tomorrow night, we're locking our door, okay?"
"Deal," She laughed, shrugging her shoulders.
He kissed her one last time, before walking around the bed and taking his spot once again. He grabbed his phone off the night stand, quickly pulling up Instagram, a small smirk on his face.
He found his wife's name, scrolling to the top of their messages to find the messages from nearly ten years ago, letting out a deep breath, beginning to read over them slowly.
He felt warmth take over his whole body as he did, a content smile on his face that could only be caused by Haley and their family.
He couldn't believe how far they'd come from these two awkward people trying to figure out how to become friends again after so many years apart.
Now they were married with four kids, and another one on the way. Things had not been easy, but they had been worth it. He wouldn't trade a single moment of his life.
He looked over at Haley, who had slowly fallen asleep in the amount of time it had taken him to read their messages to each other.
He quickly typed out a new message, a small smile on his face.
'Hey Haley?'
He glanced over at his sleeping wife once again, raising his phone up and taking a picture of the five most important people in his life.
He sent that to her, a grin on his face.
'I love you.'