A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese.


Chapter Nine

The rest of the weekend went by fast. Soon, Haley was back to teaching her students. She kept a close eye on Lucas and Brooke, who both seemed distracted. Haley was a little distracted herself. She had spent all weekend trying to figure out how to handle the Brooke situation. She hated to think that Victoria was abusing Brooke. Yet, all of the signs pointed to it.

She knew that she had to push her thoughts aside and concentrate on teaching. She continued her lesson as she heard a cell-phone ringing. She knew that it wasn't hers. Hers was on vibrate. She tried to ignore it, hoping that the culprit would turn the phone off. However, it kept ringing. She finally turned around to her class and immediately saw that Lucas was fiddling with his phone. Haley gave him a look as she asked, "Would you turn that off, please?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. James. It's my lawyer," Lucas told her. Classmates gave him confused and curious looks. "I didn't think that he would call back so soon."

Haley was amazed that Lucas had gotten a lawyer already. However, she didn't want to hear excuses. "Could you just turn it off?" she asked him. Lucas nodded. "Thank you." She then turned back to the board and continued writing her notes. She didn't want to admit it, but she was glad when class was over. She had kept making on mistakes when she was writing her lecture notes. Her students had noticed, but nobody wanted to say anything.

As the day wore on, Haley couldn't help but notice that there were a lot of excited whispers between students. She didn't have to wonder to know that it was probably about Lucas. He was a popular jock and his classmates looked up to him. She could tell that he was getting praised for the possibility of getting emancipated from his brother.

As she walked into the teachers' lounge, Jake greeted her. She was surprised to see that Nathan wasn't there. Before she could ask, Jake spoke up first. "How are you doing?" he asked her. "It must be tough for you." Haley gave him a confused look in response. "Peyton's maternity leave is almost up? So you won't be teaching for awhile?" he gently reminded her.

Haley then realized what he was talking about. "I have completely forgotten about that," she admitted. "I've had other things on my mind."

"I'll be sure to tell your students that you won't miss them," Jake teased her. "So what's up?"

Haley sighed. She really didn't want to get Jake involved until she was sure. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder if anyone else noticed the signs. "Have you noticed anything off between Victoria and her daughter Brooke?"

Jake thought for a minute. He then shook his head. "No, it's normal for Victoria and Brooke to ignore each other during school hours. After all, it's not easy being the principal's daughter." Haley knew that he had a point. "Why do you ask?"

Haley didn't want to talk about it. She quickly changed the subject. "So where's Nathan?"

Jake sighed. "He is eating lunch in his office," he replied. "I think he wanted some alone time."

Haley nodded understandingly. However, she still wanted to check up on him. She left the room and walked through the hallways to the school gym. She was surprised that nobody was in there except for Nathan. She then watched him as he shot baskets. "Well, it's nice to see the Ravens aren't the only ones who can play," Haley teased him as Nathan turned to her surprised. "It's nice to see Coach Scott gets in on the action too."

Nathan tried not to laugh. "Hey, I played basketball back in the day," he defended as he gestured her to look up at the wall. She did and saw his jersey, number twenty-three. "Soon, my son will be right up there with me." Haley kept her mouth shut. "Do you think you can do better?"

"No, I can't," Haley admitted. "I suck at sports. I stayed away from the gym when I went to Stanford."

"No wonder you don't like attending basketball games," Nathan replied. He then gave her a smile as he beckoned her over to him. "Come on over here and I'll teach you how to make a basket." Haley wasn't convinced. "At least show me what you got."

Haley sighed before she gave in. "Alright, but don't say that I didn't warn you," she told him as he threw her the ball. He moved out of the way as she went over to the lines. She bounced the ball a few times before she positioned herself to shoot. She threw the ball towards the basket and the ball soared to the side of the basket, completely missing its target.

Nathan tried not to laugh. "Was that your jump shot?" he asked her as he grabbed the ball. He then walked back over to her. "Because if that was your jump shot, I can't teach you anymore."

Haley couldn't help but smile. "I told you that I suck at this," she reminded him. She then groaned in frustration. "This is so embarrassing. I can't even make a stupid basket. So I might as well give up now. I can't do this."

Nathan gave her an encouraging smile. "Yes, you can," he assured her as he stood next to her. He then gave her instructions on the proper way to prepare to shoot the ball. She repeated his actions as he gave her the ball back. "Bend your knees," he directed her. She did as she was told. "And shoot." Haley threw the ball again towards the basket. This time, the ball hit the backboard. Haley groaned and Nathan gave her a comforting smile. "Hey, that was better than last time." He then grabbed the ball. "Do you want to try it again?" he asked her. Haley stood there for a few moments before she grabbed the ball and tried to make another basket.

Nathan continued to help Haley try to make a basket until lunch was over. Neither wanted to get back to work, but they knew that they had to. They soon agreed to do more practicing after school since Nathan hadn't started basketball practices back up yet.

After school, Haley again met Nathan in the gym. He kept giving her pointers, but she still kept missing baskets. She wanted to give up, but Nathan wouldn't let her. He wanted her to keep trying until she made a basket.

Haley gave him a look. "You do realize that it might take all night. And we don't have that kind of time. I have to work on my lesson plan for the rest of the week. And I'm sure Rachel is wondering where you are."

Nathan knew that was true. He sighed as he said, "Yeah, and I have to get ready for this whole emancipation thing with Lucas. I'm still hoping that he won't go through with this. I don't think that he knows what he is getting into."

"There is still time. Maybe you could try and talk to him again," Haley suggested. "And this time, you might want to do it as his brother and not as his guardian." Nathan had a thoughtful look on his face as Haley said good-bye to him.

When Haley arrived home, she was greeted by Jewel. She then took her for a walk around the neighborhood. As they came back to the house, she noticed an unfamiliar car was parked in front of the Scott's house. She then saw that a man was waiting on the front lawn. She couldn't help but wonder who this man was. "Excuse me? Can I help you?" she called as she walked over to him.

The man just gave her a friendly smile. "You must be Haley James. I'm Andrew Hargrove, but you can call me Andy," Andy told her as they shook hands. "I'm an old friend of their mom's."

"It's nice to meet you," Haley replied as she introduced Jewel. Andy gave her a little bit of attention as Haley looked at the quiet house. "Unfortunately, I don't think that anyone is home right now. Did you check the club?"

Andy nodded. "Yeah, but they weren't there. I decided to try the house before I head over to the café. In fact, that's why I'm here. I heard about Nathan wanting to sell it. And I want to save the café for Lucas and Karen." There was a short pause before he spoke again. "I also heard that you were interested in buying the café."

Haley turned red. "I only wanted to do it for Lucas. He really didn't want the café to turn into anything else but the café," she explained. "But I don't know anything about running a café. Besides, I love my job that I have already."

Andy nodded understandingly. "What are you going to do after your time is up?"

Haley sighed. "I haven't really thought about it yet," she replied as another car came up to the house and pulled into the driveway. To her disappointment, it was Rachel. However, she put on a smile as she watched Rachel climb out of the vehicle.

Rachel gave them both smiles as she walked over to them. "Andy Hargrove, this is certainly a surprise. Did you come to congratulate us yourself?" she asked him, completely ignoring Haley. Andy gave her a confused look. "Nathan and I are expecting a baby."

Andy was surprised, but pleased. "Wow, that is wonderful. Congratulations to you two."

Rachel smiled proudly. "Thanks. So are you planning to stick around for awhile? Because I'm sure Nathan would love it if you could make it to his birthday party in a couple of weeks."

Andy laughed. "I should be since I'm planning to buy the café."

This time, Rachel was surprised. "Really? That's great." Haley could tell that she was upset about it. "I have no doubt that you will certainly enjoy the place." She then quickly changed the subject. "Why don't you come on in while we wait for Nathan?" she suggested.

Andy turned to Haley and gave her a smile. "Actually, I have business to discuss with Ms. James."

Rachel tried not to laugh. "Andy, you must be joking. Haley isn't capable of handling a business."

Haley gave her a look. "I can speak for myself. And frankly, this isn't any of your business." Rachel was about to protest when Haley didn't let her. She was ready to put this bitch in her place. She glared at her. "The café belongs to the Scott brothers, not you. Just because you're married to one of them and having his baby doesn't give you right to claim the café as your own."

Rachel glared right back as Andy tried to calm Haley down. Her angry tone was causing Jewel to become upset. "Haley, why don't we go and talk in your house?" he suggested, wanting to get the two away from each other. Haley happily agreed and gave Rachel one last glare before she led Andy and Jewel to her house.

Haley didn't say anything until they were sitting at her kitchen table. She gave Andy an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry about that. I just lose my temper when Rachel is around. I try to be civil for Nathan's sake, but it never works when we are alone."

Andy nodded understandingly. "I know exactly how you feel. Dan was the same way with me. He always thought that I would steal Karen away from him. It's crazy how people get jealous sometimes."

Haley gave him a smile. "I can't imagine Dan being jealous."

Andy laughed. "Believe me. He was. Even after the divorce, he didn't want me to date Karen."

"At least you didn't have Rachel and her mother on your back," Haley replied with a sigh. "I don't know how many times I have to tell them that I'm not interested in Nathan. Besides, I would never do that to a married couple." She then changed the subject. "Mr. Hargrove, I suppose you want to become partners with me so we can both run the café." Andy was about to respond when she continued. "It's a nice offer, but I'm going to turn it down. I don't think that I can handle teaching and running a business at the same time. Besides, you hardly know me."

Andy nodded understandingly. "You're right. All I know is great things about you from Lucas. He says that you're an awesome teacher and that he'll miss you when Mrs. Jagielski comes back."

Haley nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to miss my students too. I almost wish that Peyton wouldn't come back just so I could keep my job."

Andy gave her a smile as he said, "Maybe a miracle will happen."


Nathan arrived at the River Court and wasn't surprised when he saw Lucas shooting baskets. Lucas glanced at him for only a moment before he turned back to the basketball court, letting Nathan know that he was still angry at him. Nathan couldn't blame him. "Can we talk?" he asked him as he walked over to the court. Lucas just ignored him. Nathan took a deep breath before speaking. "Look, I know that I've been a crappy guardian to you, ok?" Lucas suddenly stopped playing and listened. "And I'm sorry. When Keith and Mom died, I never expected that I would be the one to watch over you. After all, I was just settling down with Rachel."

"So if you didn't want me, why didn't you just say so?" Lucas snapped.

"I never said that I didn't want you," Nathan corrected him. "It's just that I didn't expect to become your guardian. But I was willing to do it because I'm your brother. And I always will be. I would never leave you out in the cold." Lucas was about to protest when Nathan continued. "I'm sorry for being more of a guardian than your brother all these years. I didn't realize that I don't have to be the parent all of the time. I should just be your older brother who you can turn to for advice." Lucas didn't argue with him on that one. "Do you think that we could start over? I wouldn't want to start a family feud with my child's godfather."

Lucas looked at Nathan surprised as he asked, "You want me to be the godfather?" He wasn't expecting that. He would have thought it would be Jake.

"You can be if you stop getting in trouble," Nathan replied. "After all, I want a good role model to be my child's godfather." Lucas was about to comment on Rachel. However, his brother knew what he was thinking and immediately stopped him. "Don't even say it."

Lucas knew that it was better to change the subject. "So what was going on with you and Ms. James in the gym today?" he asked curiously.

Nathan had a feeling that Haley was going to be brought up. He was just glad that it was with Lucas than Rachel. He knew that she would give him a hard time about it. "I was teaching Ms. James about basketball and how to get the ball into the hoop. That's all."

"Well, you must not be a good coach then," Lucas teased him. "She kept missing the basket."

Nathan laughed as another car pulled up next to his car. He gave a wide smile to Rachel as she climbed out of the vehicle. They greeted each other as she walked over to them. She gave her husband a kiss before she spoke. "I was wondering where you were. I've been trying to get in contact with you for hours. We have some unexpected company, who has some business to discuss with you. Your old friend Andy Hargrove wants to buy the café."

Nathan turned to Lucas, who was avoiding his eyes. "Gee, I wonder where he got that idea." He then turned back to his wife. "I'm surprised that you didn't bring him with you. Is he at the house by himself?"

"Actually, he's with our next door neighbor," Rachel replied as Nathan looked at her confused. "He wanted to discuss the possibility of running the café with her. I thought it was ridiculous. When I tried to express my opinion, she bit my head off."

Nathan frowned. "That doesn't sound like Haley. Of course, she hasn't been acting like herself all day. Maybe I should go and check on her."

"Why don't you let Lucas do it?" Rachel suggested. "I haven't seen you all day. Besides, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Is everything ok with the baby?" Nathan asked concerned.

Rachel didn't answer. "Can we just talk about it at home?" she asked. "I really don't want to discuss it here."

Nathan agreed before saying good-bye to Lucas. He then followed his wife back to the vehicles as Lucas called his name. He turned around and waited to hear what he had to say. "I'll promise I'll be a good role model to my niece or nephew," Lucas told him. Nathan gave him a grateful smile before he turned back to his wife.

Nathan was anxious to hear what Rachel had to say. He waited patiently until they were both in the kitchen. "Ok, what is going on?" he asked her curiously. He then noticed the familiar angry look in her eyes. He sighed. "This is about Haley again, isn't it?"

Rachel gave him a look. "Actually, this is about you and her getting a little too cozy in the gym today. And this time, I was concerned about you. I may not trust Haley, but I believe her when she said that she isn't into you. However, it's a different story with my husband."

Nathan gave her a look. "Gee, it's just like me not wanting to believe the rumors about you cheating on me and getting pregnant by your bartender." Rachel was about to protest when he continued. "Or the rumor where you don't want the baby at all and decided to abort the baby without telling me."

Rachel suddenly stopped him right there. "Where did you hear that one?"

"Does it matter? The point is that they are just rumors. So don't listen to them," Nathan replied as they heard a knock at the door. "Or you will get stressed out." He greeted Andy as Rachel just stood there lost in thought.

Just next door, Haley was starting to work on her lesson plan when she heard a knock at the front door. She got up from the couch and answered the door. She was surprised to see a furious Rachel on her front porch. She glared angrily at her as she marched into the house. "You think you are real funny, don't you Haley?" Haley didn't have a chance to respond as Rachel continued her rant. "You couldn't be satisfied with me keeping the baby. You just had to go and spread that rumor. Well, I'm not going to stand for it. Keep the relationship between you and Nathan strictly professional or I promise that you will regret it," she warned her before she stormed out of the house before Haley could say anything.

The next day, Haley was able to concentrate on her lessons better. However, she still wanted to get to the bottom of the Davis mystery. She didn't want to report Victoria to social services until she was absolutely positive. She also had a feeling that Victoria would make her life miserable if she did tell. Yet, she didn't care. Brooke didn't deserve to be abused. Nobody did.

She was suddenly distracted by Lucas when he came up to her desk. He gave her a wide smile. "Ms. James, I would like to invite you to the grand reopening of Karen's Café," he told her proudly as he handed her a flyer. "It's in a couple of weeks."

Haley smiled in return. "So you allowed Andy to buy the café, huh?" she asked him. Lucas nodded. "What about you and Nathan? Are you two ok? Or are you still planning to move out?"

"Lindsey still thinks that I should, but I don't know now," Lucas replied. "With Rachel as a mother, Nathan will need all the help he can get."

Haley couldn't argue with that. "I wish you luck then."

After school, she was getting ready to leave when she heard a knock at the door. She looked up and was surprised to see Peyton. They exchanged greetings as she walked up to her. "Where's your son?" Haley asked her, noticing that Peyton was without the baby.

"Nathan is watching him for me for a moment," Peyton told her. "He will need all the practice that he can get." Haley didn't say anything as Peyton changed the subject. "I heard that you've been struggling with the thought of leaving the school. So I thought about it and decided that you can have my job."

Haley looked at her confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Everyone loves you. So it would be a shame for you not to join the staff permanently," Peyton replied. "I've already talked to Victoria. And she agreed with me. So you'll continue your job as the English teacher. I'll become the new art teacher when I come back from maternity leave in January."

Haley was surprised, but pleased. "Peyton, I don't know what to say. And I would be happy to accept."

Peyton gave her a wide smile. "I was hoping that you would say that. So why don't we celebrate at the club tonight?"

Haley smiled in return. "That sounds nice. I'll meet you at the club in a few hours. I have some stuff to get done first." Peyton nodded as Haley gathered her things. "But first, I want to see that adorable son of yours." Peyton then told her where Nathan was before she promised to meet her there. She had to grab her camera from her car. Haley walked to the gym and watched fondly as Nathan gently rocked the baby.

Nathan gave her a smile as she quietly walked up to him. "How is the little guy?" she whispered.

Nathan showed her a sleeping Ryan. "Do you want to hold him?" he asked. Haley didn't have a chance to protest as Nathan carefully placed Ryan in her arms. She looked down at the beautiful little baby in her arms and couldn't help but smile.

"Now this is a perfect picture moment," Peyton said as she came back in. Nathan and Haley then posed as she took a few pictures. Ryan then started fussing and Haley handed him back to his mother. They then talked a little longer before Jake joined them. The two parents decided that it was time to get going. "I'll see you later tonight, Haley," Peyton reminded her before she and Jake left the gym.

"What's happening tonight?" Nathan asked Haley curiously.

"Peyton and I are going to the club to celebrate my new job," Haley told him. Nathan was about to ask when she answered for him. "I was asked if I want to become a permanent teacher here and I accepted the job."

Nathan gave her a wide smile. "Congratulations. I'm glad that you chose to stay. Where else would you learn how to shoot baskets? You kept improving every time you tried to make a basket."

Haley laughed. "Well, it helps that I had a great coach." She then looked at the time. "I wish that I could stay, but I have to go."

Nathan was disappointed. "Want to practice some more during lunch tomorrow?" he asked. Haley nodded in agreement. "Great. I'll see you tomorrow then. Have fun with Peyton tonight."

Haley gave him a smile. "I will," she replied before she took off.