Chapter Thirty Three

News of Haley returning to her teaching job at the high school spread quickly among the Tree Hill residents. Her former coworkers and students couldn't wait for her to return. The winter break couldn't end fast enough. As Haley adjusted to her new job, Nathan was trying to deal with Rachel and his upcoming divorce.

Rachel and Nathan both told the judge about their other relationships, but neither of them wanted to sue each other for adultery. They knew what they had done was wrong so there was no need for punishment. They just wanted it done quickly and quietly without any drama.

"Do you and Nathan have any plans for Valentine's Day?" Peyton asked Haley one evening as they hung out at the club with their dates. "Because Jake and I were hoping you would be willing to give the grandparents a break and baby-sit Ryan for us."

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "Give the grandparents a break? Grandparents never want a break from taking care of their grandchildren. At least that's what I've been told. Or are you trying to stop us from dating until we're allowed to date?"

Peyton gave him a look. "Nate, you know we've been supportive of you two since the beginning. And would you believe us if we treated both sets of grandparents to a weekend getaway?"

"Yeah, we thought they deserved a weekend getaway before they become grandparents again," Jake added, hoping their friends would get the hint. They had been wanting to tell their friends for a few days and thought that this was the perfect time to do it.

Nathan and Haley both got it right away and congratulated their friends with hugs. "Wow, Ryan is barely a year old and you're already pregnant with baby number two," Nathan said. "Good luck trying to handle two children under two."

"We're already trying to prepare Ryan for his baby brother or sister," Jake replied. "But we're not sure how much he understands."

"I don't want to jinx anything, but I have a feeling that it's really a girl this time," Peyton insisted. "Jake doesn't believe me though."

"That's because you were wrong last time," Jake reminded her. "Although, it would be nice to have both a boy and a girl."

"Hey, that's my dream," Haley replied with a smile. "I would love to have just a boy and a girl." Nathan was happy to hear that she wasn't going to stop her dream of having a family because she'd had a miscarriage. "When is the baby due?"

Peyton laughed as she knew what she was referring to. "Don't worry. This time, I'm not going to wait until my due date before I go on maternity leave," she told her. "Of course, the baby will be born in August before school starts. So we'll have to see how long I'm going to be out of commission. Speaking of out of commission, will Brooke be able to finish her classes and graduate?"

"Why wouldn't she?" Haley asked in confusion before she realized why Peyton was asking. "Their baby is due in May and graduation isn't until June." Peyton nodded. "I'm sure we can arrange it where Brooke finishes out her classes at home and will be able to attend prom and graduation." Haley wasn't willing to let Brooke miss her prom or high school graduation. "I'll fight Principal Turner if I have to. Brooke has come too far not to graduate."

"I'll be right there with you," Nathan agreed as he and Haley exchanged smiles. "You're right. She deserves to walk across that stage and get her diploma like everyone else. And who knows? Maybe my niece will wait that long." Haley and his friends laughed, knowing that it would be impossible for the baby to wait that long. Nathan laughed along with them. "Yeah, you're right. It's wishful thinking."

"To tell you the truth, I was hoping that we wouldn't get pregnant with our second child until you two got married," Peyton said. "That way, we would be able to raise our babies together and would have become friends."

"Maybe we can take a shot with our third one," Jake joked. "And I don't blame you for wishing for that. I had the same dream once I heard Rachel was pregnant. I thought it would be nice if our boys could have grown up together." Nathan nodded in agreement. "But it looks like we'll have to settle for our third child."

Peyton tried not to laugh. "Would you stop with the third child already? It might be awhile before they take that step in their relationship, especially since Nathan hasn't even divorced Rachel yet."

"How is that going by the way? Is the judge going to let you two divorce right away since neither decided to press charges against each other?" Jake asked.

Nathan didn't get a chance to answer since Peyton spoke up first. "I still think you should have pressed charges against Rachel. After all, she was the one who cheated on you with Owen even if you found out after you two were separated. And how do you know if she didn't continue the affair after you two separated?"

"If I had done that, then she could have charged me with adultery," Nathan replied. He didn't know how many times he had to explain it. "And that would have made the divorce proceedings longer and I didn't want that. I just want the divorce to be final and I can move on with my life with Haley."

Peyton could tell that he was getting annoyed with her and decided to drop it. "You two never answered my question. Do you two have any plans for Valentine's Day? It's okay if you guys do. We have a backup baby-sitter just in case you can't do it."

Nathan looked at Haley and could tell from the look on her face that she wanted to baby-sit Ryan. There was no sense in arguing with her and he really didn't make any plans for them for Valentine's Day yet. He let out a heavy sigh before he answered the question. "We would be happy to do it for you, but this means that you'll treat us out to dinner the next time."

"You've got a deal," Peyton promised. "Now if you would excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom."

Haley was right behind her. After they did their business, they came out of the stalls and met each other at the sinks. She shook her head in disbelief. "You know, I should have known that you were pregnant by the way you've been glowing. But I thought you were just happy that I was back."

Peyton laughed. "Well, I was happy that you were back, but it was more than that. I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but I was in denial about it. I was really hoping that Jake and I could hold off on having another baby for a couple of more years, but I guess fate had other plans."

"I'm sure you and Jake will be able to handle it," Haley assured her. "If not, you can always drop the new baby off at my house and you can keep Ryan."

The two women laughed at the joke. "You would like that, wouldn't you?" Peyton asked. "What are you going to do if we find out that I'm wrong? And what you do want my baby for? If you want a baby, steal Lucas's and Brooke's baby. They are going to have a girl for sure."

Haley thought for a moment as she considered the idea. "Maybe I should stay away from taking babies. I don't want to be put in jail again for another kidnapping charge."

Peyton nodded in agreement. "Good idea." The two women exchanged smiles and laughter before they left the bathroom and returned to their seats. "Are we going to get to hear you sing tonight?"

Haley shook her head. "No, that was a onetime deal for Nathan's birthday. I'm not doing it again unless it's during the Christmas holidays."

Peyton could tell that she shouldn't push it and changed the subject. She looked at the time and gave her friends a sympathetic look. "It looks like it's time for us to relieve the sitter." They exchanged good-byes before Nathan and Haley decided to head home to have some dessert.

"Did you have any idea that Peyton was pregnant again?" Nathan asked Haley as he drove them home. Haley shook her head. "Man, that is the second time where I couldn't figure out that someone was pregnant."

"To be fair, I had no idea either," Haley replied. "And I saw her more than you did. But it's nice that Ryan is going to get a little sibling to play with and I'm sure your niece will be friends with the baby too. After all, they will be around the same age, just a few months apart."

Nathan nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. "I'm sorry Rachel and my divorce were brought up."

Haley gave him a comforting smile. "It's okay. I know people are going to ask you about it," she said. "And they probably will continue to until the whole thing is settled. So I'll deal with it until you can finally be free of her."

Nathan couldn't believe how patient Haley was, but that was part of who she was. And he loved her for it. They shared a quick kiss before he turned his eyes back on the road. "Why don't we forget about it for the rest of the evening with ice cream and a movie?" he suggested. Haley nodded in agreement and the subject was instantly dropped.

The next morning, Nathan met Lucas at the River Court after he had received a message asking him to meet him there. It worked out since Haley was helping Quinn and her mother with wedding plans. Sure enough, Clay had asked Quinn in private to marry him and she had accepted his proposal. Now her mother was pushing them to set a date and everything. Nathan was glad that he was going to miss that argument between mother and daughters.

Yet, he was curious to see what Lucas wanted to discuss with him. When he arrived at the basketball court, Lucas was already there waiting for him. Nathan gave his brother a smile, but there was no response from Lucas. He could tell that something was bothering him. "Is everything okay?"

Lucas didn't answer for a moment as he stopped playing and turned to him. "Nate, would you be mad at me if I didn't go to a university right away?" he asked. Nathan wasn't able to respond as Lucas continued with his worries. "Brooke doesn't think that she will be accepted to Duke and I don't want to go to Duke without her." Nathan understood how he felt and would do the same thing if he was in his position.

"We thought about asking you and Ms. James to take care of the baby while we were at Duke, but we don't want her to become a burden. Or grow too attached to her that you wouldn't be willing to give her back." Nathan could imagine that happening.

"Even though the café is going to be mine someday, I don't want to lose my job there. So it's just best for both of us to attend community college right now and put the baby in daycare or something."

Nathan stopped him right there and gave his brother a comforting smile. "Luke, I appreciate you considering my feelings, but I'm not your guardian anymore. You're a married man with a wife and a baby on the way. It's your decision about where you want to go first and I'll support you. I know it's not easy because you're sacrificing something either way."

Lucas nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but I would rather choose Brooke and my daughter than college any day. Did I tell you that we've already picked out a name for her?" Nathan shook his head. He would have remembered if Lucas had told him his niece's name. "Her name is going to be Kendall Marie Scott. I wanted to name her after Mom somehow and Brooke knew how much she meant to me. So she came up with Kendall and I chose Marie as her middle name since that was mom's middle name."

Nathan nodded in approval. "Kendall Marie Scott sounds perfect for my niece. But I suggest that you don't let her out until she's thirty, maybe forty. I know that's what I would if I had a daughter."

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, I'll have to run that past Brooke. She is already going crazy with buying pink outfits now that we know it's definitely a girl. I've tried to tell her that the baby is going to need more than just clothes, but she is just too excited about the baby to listen to me."

"Yeah, expectant mothers can be that way," Nathan agreed. "When I found out that I was going to get a brother, I was so happy. Even though I was several years older than you, I was ready to take on my big brother responsibilities."

Lucas smiled happily at his brother's words. "Glad I didn't disappoint you." He then changed the subject. "That's not the only thing on my mind. Now I have Millie asking me about throwing a baby shower for Brooke. I told her to ask Ms. James or Mrs. Jagielski about it. They are the experts, not me."

Nathan couldn't argue with that. "Don't worry about the baby shower. Let the girls worry about that. I want you to concentrate on your studies. I know you want to take the team to State, but I really want you to graduate on time."

Lucas nodded as they heard another car pull up next to the basketball court. Lucas groaned as he recognized the car. Nathan frowned as he also recognized the vehicle and turned to his brother. "What the hell is Daunte Jones doing here?" he demanded.