Chapter Forty Eight

As much as Nathan and Haley wanted to take Jamie home right away, he would have to stay in the NICU for a few days to be monitored. However, Dr. Copeland assured them that the baby was still doing well and he should be out of the NICU in no time. The new parents were relieved, but Haley still wanted to stay by his side. Nathan couldn't blame her. He felt helpless, but he knew his son was in the best place possible. Yet, it wasn't long before Dr. Copeland told the new parents that Jamie was ready to come home.

The day before, Haley cleaned the whole house since they were going to have a lot of guests coming over to see the newest Scott. Nathan made sure everything was ready with the nursery. The next morning, Nathan and Haley both woke up early. They couldn't contain their excitement as they drove to the hospital to pick him up.

The realization didn't hit Nathan until the nurse put Jamie in his arms. This was their baby. He didn't have to take care of a baby for a couple of hours and hand him back to his parents at the end of the day. He didn't have to watch little kids at the park, wishing one of them were his. This little bundle of joy was his. He and Haley were going to care of this little one for the next eighteen years. Nathan glanced at Haley for a moment. She was thinking the same thing. They were grateful they were able to take their son home.

Nathan happily drove his wife and the baby home. They were able to spend a little bit of time with Jamie by themselves before guests arrived. Haley's parents, Taylor, Lucas and his little family, Clay, Quinn, Jake and his little family, and Whitey were all there to greet him. They couldn't wait for their turn to hold him. Quinn kept snapping pictures as the baby was passed around from person to person. Kendall was just enchanted with her little cousin and she kept looking at him.

"You are going to have a hard time letting him go when you're off maternity leave," Peyton warned as she took her turn holding the baby in her arms. "I almost thought of leaving teaching for good and becoming a full time mom after Jenny was born, but I knew the grandparents would spoil them to death." There was a short pause. "Nobody loves teaching as much as you do, but you can't compare your students to your own child."

Haley nodded as she looked at her sleeping son. The party was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Haley excused herself to answer the front door. She wondered who it could. As she opened the door, she was surprised but pleased to find Dan and Deb standing on the doorstep. They embraced her in tight hugs. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Haley asked with a smile.

"As soon as we heard about our grandson, we came back as soon as we could," Dan told her. "We didn't want to miss another minute of Jamie's life. Where is he?" he asked anxiously. Haley led them into the living room. This time, Lydia's arms were full. Everyone turned to the unexpected guests. Dan and Nathan exchanged wide smiles as Lydia passed the baby over Nathan.

Nathan stood up and gently handed the baby over to the new grandfather. "Dad, Deb. I would like you to meet your grandson: James Lucas Scott," he announced as Dan looked at his grandson. Deb gushed over him as she waited her turn and embraced Whitey in a hug.

"Nathan, he's so beautiful," Deb told him as she embraced him in a hug. Both Nathan and Haley smiled proudly. "And I love the name. I know you had the name planned for awhile, but it certainly suits him."

"Your mother would be so proud of you," Dan told Nathan. "I wish she was here to share this moment." He turned to Lucas. "I know she would be proud of both of you." Lucas smiled at him gratefully. "Deb, why don't you get the presents out?"

"You didn't have to get us anything," Haley told him. Dan just had a twinkle in his eyes as Deb carried in several gift bags. Everyone looked at them in surprise. "Is that all for Jamie?" she asked as Ryan eyed the gifts.

Dan and Deb laughed. "No, we have a few things for Kendall too," Deb told her as Peyton gently pulled her son away from the gifts. Deb gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry buddy. There's nothing in there for you." She turned to Dan. "We should probably get the gifts out later when everyone's gone."

Lydia gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't mind us, Deb. We know who those presents are for and I don't mind seeing what the competition brought for my grandson and honorary granddaughter." Haley gave her a look. "You know I'm teasing, Haley Bob. I know there's enough room for everyone in Jamie's life. Now let's see what Grandpa Dan and Grandma Deb brought for Jamie and Kendall."

After all the presents were opened and dessert was served, people started to leave. Jake and Peyton left first. They had to get the little ones home to bed. They were followed soon by Jimmy, Lydia and Taylor. Soon, it was just the Scott family with the exception of Brooke who took little Kendall home, along with her new teddy bear that Dan and Deb had given her.

The two brothers headed to the River Court for a little late night basketball while Dan and Deb stayed with Haley and their new grandson. However, Nathan couldn't concentrate on his game. His focus was on his son. The shock from his birth had long wore off, but now he was facing reality. He no longer had a responsibility to himself, but now it was all on his newborn son.

Lucas took notice of the distraction and suggested they should just take a break. Nathan nodded in agreement. They sat down on the bleachers and Nathan stared off into space.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked him, snapping him out of his reverie. "Are you trying to get over the shock that you're finally a dad?"

Nathan laughed. "Yeah, I guess so." He shook his head in amazement. "Dude, I'm a father." He realized how much he enjoyed saying those words aloud. "I'm a father. I have a son."

Lucas gave him a wide smile. "It feels amazing, doesn't it? And I assure you the best is yet to come."

"Who ever thought you would have the family first? Especially since you were in high school," Nathan asked. "What was I thinking? I should have locked you in your room until your high school graduation." Lucas knew he was teasing. Nathan's voice became serious. "There's a lot of things I should have done with you. Like listen to you as a brother more than act like a guardian. But I guess it gave you a lesson on what you don't want to do with your own kids. Or even mine. You have no idea how hard it was to play good cop and bad cop."

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, I have a feeling Brooke is going to be the good cop. She wants to make sure Kendall has the best childhood ever. I don't blame her though." There was a long pause before he spoke. "I'm just glad we don't have to worry about Victoria anymore. Now you should really get back to your wife and newborn son." Nathan wanted to protest when Lucas was firm. "Come on, bro. You and I both know your head is in the clouds. Besides, you should spend some time with your dad and Deb."

Nathan knew he was right. He got up from the bleachers and he was ready to walk to his vehicle. They said their goodbyes. "Call me if you need anything. Those late nights aren't fun," Lucas warned his brother. Nathan nodded before he walked off the River Court.

When he arrived home, he was relieved to see his dad and Deb were still there. They were sitting on the sofa in the living room. However, Haley was nowhere in sight. Nathan gave them a questioning look. "Your wife won't leave your son's sight," Deb told him. "She's upstairs watching him sleep."

Nathan let out a sigh. "Yeah, she did the same thing in the hospital. She was really worried something would happen to him if we didn't keep an eye on him every second. I'll go see if I can pry her away from him."

"Would you be surprised if I said your mother did the same thing to you?" Dan asked. "I'm surprised you're so calm. Especially since you were the one who has been waiting for a baby in the first place."

"Are you kidding? I couldn't concentrate on my game tonight because my focus was on Jamie," Nathan replied. "I'm not only a husband, but a father. To a little boy. I know I had nine months to prepare for this, but it still doesn't feel real." Deb was about to speak up when Nathan stopped her. He knew exactly what she was going to say. "Thanks for the offer. Lydia made the same offer, but Haley and I want to do it ourselves. Maybe once Haley gets off maternity leave, you can start taking care of him. But right now, we don't want any help."

"Alright, but you know we are here for you two if you need us," Deb said. She got up from the sofa. "Well, we should probably get going. It's getting late and you should probably get some sleep. You are going to need it." She embraced her stepson in a gentle hug. "Congratulations again. Please call if you need anything. I'm available day or night."

Nathan smiled. "We will keep that in mind," he promised as he turned to his dad. They embraced in a hug before he walked them to the door. They said their goodbyes before Nathan went upstairs to check on Haley.

It wasn't a surprise to find that she was in the rocking chair with a sleeping Jamie in her arms. However, she gave her husband a smile as he slowly walked into the nursery. "We are officially alone," he whispered to her. Haley let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I think this is only the beginning of the flood of visitors we're going to have. We still have the rest of your siblings, our coworkers and your students. But I don't blame them."

"Me either," Haley whispered. Nathan offered to take Jamie from her, but she shook her head. "I don't want to wake him." Nathan nodded understandingly. He gently kissed his son and then he kissed his wife. "Give me a few more minutes." Nathan shook his head. To him, there was no hurry. He smiled fondly as he watched Haley rock the sleeping baby. He waited patiently until Haley gently put Jamie in the bassinet.

They returned downstairs where Nathan volunteered to clean up. However, Haley just told him to leave it. "I haven't had my husband to myself all day," she told him as she pulled him closer. They shared a passionate kiss. "And I'm not going to have him alone again for the next six weeks. Do you know why?"

Nathan pretended to think for a moment. "Because we now have a baby?" he guessed. Haley nodded as she gave him a smile. "Can you believe it, Hales? We're parents. This is our first night with our baby." He couldn't stop saying it.

"Our baby. I like the sound of that," Haley replied as they shared another passionate kiss. "You know we should really get some sleep. Jamie is going to probably be up in a couple of hours." She barely got her words out before they shared another hard passionate kiss. They embraced each other in a tight hug before they returned upstairs. They checked on their son one last time before they got ready for bed, knowing their son would only wake them up in just a couple of hours.