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


Chapter Twenty Eight

Both Nathan and Haley convinced Lucas and Brooke to forget their troubles and focus on having fun since the holidays were coming up. For Thanksgiving, Nathan once again invited Haley over to his house. Despite the tension between them, he still wanted her to come over for dinner. It would be just them with Lucas and Brooke. Since he and Rachel were separated, there was no need to invite her or her mother. And Dan was going to spend it with Deb and Cooper working on exposing Victoria. It was their goal to arrest her by the end of the year.

Haley accepted the invitation before finding out that Quinn didn't have any plans either. Nathan then invited her and Clay over for dinner. They also happily agreed to go over to the house for Thanksgiving. Everyone was looking forward to the holiday since there would be no drama that year. At least, they hoped so.

"What happened last year that made it full of drama?" Quinn asked as she and Haley walked through the store to gather the food items they needed for their turkey dinner.

Haley didn't even have to think before she answered the question. "Well, that night wasn't really full of drama unless you count Charlene hounding me with personal questions about my relationship with Julian. Or Nathan finding out that his dad was dating his boss. But the next day was when I found out that Rachel was pregnant and she wasn't planning on telling Nathan about the baby. And then the drama just continued from there."

Quinn shook her head in amazement. "I'm not sure if I would have been able to handle the news about Rachel and Brooke at the same time."

"I almost didn't, remember?" Haley reminded her. Quinn had forgotten the time that she had passed out because of all the stress with Victoria, Brooke and Lucas. "Who would have known that Tree Hill is full of drama? Maybe it's good that I'm moving to Charleston. I won't have to worry about dealing with any of it anymore."

"I take it that Nathan wasn't happy with the news that you're moving to Charleston?" Quinn guessed.

"Of course he wasn't," Haley replied as she grabbed some items that they needed and threw them into the cart. "He wants me to move back to Tree Hill." Quinn prompted her to say more. "And I told him that it wasn't the right time for me to move back to Tree Hill. I don't think I should even be here now, but I wanted to be around for Ryan's birthday and the holidays."

"To tell you the truth, I haven't heard any rumors about you for awhile," Quinn admitted. She then lowered her voice to make sure nobody could hear her except Haley. "It's all about Brooke and the possibility that she's pregnant."

"Why is that people always want to nose around in other people's businesses?" Haley asked. "I know I did, but I had a good reason. Victoria was abusing Brooke. I just wished I could have proved it. That way, Lucas and Brooke wouldn't have ran off and eloped like they did. I still can't believe that Dad married them."

"I can't believe you're still holding a grudge over them for being involved with Lucas's and Brooke's wedding. You know, I'm sure they would have done the same thing for us if we were in a situation like that. And can you really blame them for running away and getting married? It was the only thing that they could think of to get Brooke away from her mom."

Haley hated to admit it, but her sister was right. "But they are still having trouble with Victoria. I'll be so happy when the police finally find some evidence that she was blackmailing Brooke and arrest her. I've already told Cooper that I will testify against her if I have to." She then looked down at the list before turning to the cart, full of food. "Are we missing anything besides the pies?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Quinn asked her worriedly. "Look what happened when you found out about Brooke. You got fired and were forced out of town. What do you think will happen if she finds out you're planning to testify against her?"

"Quinn, I think you worry too much," Haley told her. "Once she and her cop friends get arrested, everyone will see that they had been wrong about Victoria all along."

"So will you be willing to move back to Tree Hill then?" Quinn asked. Haley gave her a look. "I'm not asking for Nathan. I'm asking for me. I miss my baby sister. It was so much fun being roommates that I wish we could do it again."

Haley finally managed to give her a smile. "You don't need me. You have Clay now. And he's great. I'm really happy for you."

"I wish I can say the same for you." Haley didn't respond as they finished up getting everything on their list before they walked to the nearest checkout register. Quinn waited patiently until they were at the car, loading the bags in the trunk before she spoke again. "If you're brave enough to stand up to Victoria, why are you not brave enough to admit that you're still not happy? And you want to be back in Tree Hill with your family and friends?"

Haley didn't respond as she heard her cell-phone ringing. Checking to see who it was, she made a face before she answered it. "Taylor, what can I do for you this time?" Haley asked, knowing that her sister never called without wanting something, usually money.

"Well, I heard from Mom that you and Quinn aren't coming home for Thanksgiving. And you are going to spend it with Nathan and his family. That sounds so much better than going to Vivian's house. So I thought I would join you guys. I'm sure Nathan wouldn't mind one more, would he?"

Haley let out a heavy sigh. "No, he wouldn't," she admitted. Nathan wasn't one who would turn guests away. "But you still should ask Nathan if you could come."

"I was hoping that you would ask him for me," Taylor replied. "Or you can give me his phone number."

"I'll ask him for you," Haley replied quickly. Taylor would never leave Nathan alone if she had his number. "I'll call you back with his answer." She said good-bye before she hung up. "Well, it looks like Taylor is going to join us. That should be fun." Quinn tried to smile, but she also wasn't looking forward to seeing her sister again. "Let's get back to the house so I can tell Nathan to expect Taylor."

"You don't think there's a chance that he won't let her come to dinner?" Quinn asked hopefully. It was clear that she didn't want to deal with Taylor either. Haley shook her head. "Great. With Taylor being there, drama will probably follow. It always does when Taylor shows up." Haley didn't respond since she agreed with Quinn.

A short time later, they arrived back at the house where Nathan was waiting for them. As he helped the sisters get the bags inside, Haley told him about the unexpected phone call and Taylor's request. From the look on Haley's face, it was clear that she didn't want him to invite her. "Taylor can come if she wants to. But if you really want to, you can tell her that she can't come."

Haley smiled in amusement. "And the reason why?" she asked. "It's only for people who you consider family? I really doubt she will fall for that. In fact, if I know Taylor, she is already on her way over here."

"That's a safe bet," Quinn agreed. "I'm going to unpack the groceries. You can sit down and relax. After all, you're my guest. That goes for you too, Nathan."

"Actually, I should get back to my own house," Nathan replied. "I have to work on some strategies for the next basketball game. I want to take the boys to State this year and we need to win as many games as possible." Haley couldn't tell if that was that was just an excuse or he really needed to work on the next game. But there was no chance to respond as he said good-bye to them before he headed out the door.

Quinn frowned as she turned to her sister. "Are you two still fighting? Because I thought everything was okay between you two."

"As I said before, we have different opinions of where I should be right now," Haley told her as she started unpacking the groceries. Even though Quinn said that she would do it, she still wanted to help her. "And we weren't able to finish our conversation since Nathan received that phone call about Lucas being in jail."

"So why don't you go over there now and talk to him?" Quinn asked her. She didn't understand why her sister was stalling for time. "You two really need to work things out especially if you're planning to have a relationship with him after his divorce is final."

Haley wasn't going to have this argument with her. "You know, we have a lot to do if we're going to get everything done for the dinner including getting the house ready for Taylor. We should get started." She didn't let her answer as she left the room. The conversation was over.

To their surprise, Taylor didn't get there that day. It wasn't until the next evening when she showed up at the house with her new boyfriend, who just happened to be Julian. Neither Quinn nor Haley were happy about the unexpected visitor especially Haley. She didn't want anything to ruin the dinner. And this was the kind of thing that would if Julian stayed with them.

Haley tried to remain calm as she asked Julian to follow her into the kitchen for a private talk. Taylor didn't even let him respond, knowing exactly what made her sister so upset. "He doesn't have to go with you," she protested. "So I surprised you by showing up with Julian. What's the big deal? I thought you moved on with Nathan by now."

Haley gave her a look. "That's really none of your business." She then pulled Taylor away from Julian so he wouldn't hear. "And even if I was, didn't you think it would be a little awkward between us?" she hissed before realizing who she was talking to. She then turned to Julian. "I can't believe you agreed to come here when you know that we're going to Nathan's house."

"I've tried to tell her that it wasn't a good idea, but she insisted on me coming with her," Julian defended.

Haley shook her head in disbelief. "Now you focus on what your girlfriend wants? Where were you when we were dating?"

The argument would have gone on longer if the sound of a firecracker hadn't gone off. Jewel started barking as there was another one. They grew concerned as they began to realize that they were possibly hearing gunshots.

"Was that a gun?" Quinn asked, trying not to panic. But everyone could sense that she was getting scared. They couldn't blame her since they were also nervous. "Because it's a little late for shooting off firecrackers."

Julian tried to calm her down. "You girls stay here. I'm going to check it out."

"I'm going with you," Haley insisted. She wasn't going to stand around while someone out there needed her help. Grabbing her coat, she pushed past Julian and her sisters to the door. Before she could open it, the door flew open and a breathless Nathan appeared.

He embraced Haley in a tight hug as he spoke. "Thank god you're alright. I thought I heard gunshots and was worried that something had happened to you." It was then he noticed Julian and glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

Haley didn't let Julian answer. "While you two are getting reacquainted, I'm going to go outside and see where those gunshots are coming from."

Nathan looked at her shocked. "You can't go out there. It might be dangerous." Haley didn't listen to him as she went out the door. "Wait, I'll go with you," he offered as he followed her out of the house. There was no way he was going to let her wander outside in the dark alone. Jewel was right behind them.

Nathan waited until they were away from her house before he spoke again. "So why is Julian here?" he asked.

Haley tried not to laugh. "Did you really think I would invite my ex-boyfriend to Thanksgiving dinner? Blame Taylor for that." There was a short pause before she spoke again. "And do you really want to have this conversation now?"

Nathan knew she was right and decided to keep quiet. Jewel then ran in front of them and led the way. To their horror, she began to lead them straight to Whitey's house. Picking up speed, they hurried to the dark and quiet house. It didn't seem like they could get there fast enough. As the two got closer, they saw that the front door was ajar.

Before Haley could hold Jewel back, she went through the front door and into the house. She wanted to go after her, but Nathan stopped her. He really didn't want her to go first. Stepping cautiously into the foyer, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Hello, is anyone home?" Nathan called out as Haley entered the living room.

There was a bark in response and they followed the sound to the kitchen. Haley gasped in shock as she saw Jewel standing over two unconscious bodies lying on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding them. It was clear that it was Whitey and Deb. "Oh my god!" Haley exclaimed. "I'm going to call an ambulance."

As Haley was doing that, Nathan bent down next to Deb to check her pulse. Suddenly, she managed to open her eyes. "Deb, it's Nathan and Haley. You're going to be alright." Nathan then checked on Whitey to see if he was breathing. To his relief, he was. But he looked in worse shape than Deb.

Deb tried to speak, but it took her a couple of attempts before she finally managed to get her words out. "You need to get to Lucas and Brooke. Victoria found out the truth about Dan." Nathan was confused before he realized that Victoria knew that Dan had been trying to get Brooke away from her. "She's after Brooke and the baby."

"The police and ambulances are on their way," Haley told them as Nathan pulled his cell phone and tried to call Lucas. Haley did the same thing with Brooke. However, there was no answer for either of them.

Nathan got up from the floor and looked at Haley. They both knew that they had to act fast if they wanted to save Lucas and Brooke. "Hales, you stay here with Whitey and Deb. I'm going to go to the café and see if I can find Lucas. He should be working tonight, but Andy might have let him off early."

"What about your dad?" Haley asked. Nathan had completely forgotten that his dad and possibly Cooper were also in danger. There was no time to think since too many loved ones were in trouble. Haley knew what he was thinking. "Don't worry. We'll have Quinn and the others stay with Deb and Whitey. We'll get Andy to check up on your dad and we'll find Lucas and Brooke."

Nathan instantly agreed. "I just hope that we're not too late."