Nine Years Later…

Haley glanced at the time and waited to hear thundering feet come downstairs. There was none. She called up the stairs. "Kids, hurry up. The bus is going to be here any minute." She listened for footsteps and she finally heard a pair of shoes coming down the stairs. She hoped to hear the second pair, but it was only Jamie who appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Where's your sister?"

"She says she's not coming. I told her she would like kindergarten, but she didn't believe me," Jamie told her.

Haley gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks for trying. Why you go and wait outside for Aunt Quinn and Logan? I'm sure she'll want to take first day of school pictures of you guys. I'll see if I can try and convince her." Her son nodded before Haley held out his lunch. However, he didn't take it. "What?"

Jamie gave her a look. "Mom, I'm in fourth grade now. I think I'm a little too old to bring a lunch from home. May I please have lunch money?"

Haley pretended to be disappointed before she grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter. "Just promise me you will only use this money for lunch. No baseball trading cards or anything like that, okay?"

"Mom, you can trust me," Jamie assured her. Haley had no doubt she could trust her son and gave him some money. "Alright. Go wait at the bus stop with your cousins. And if it gets too late, tell the bus driver not to wait and I'll take your sister to school." Jamie nodded before he headed out the front door.

Haley let out a sad sigh as she realized her son was growing up. It seemed just like yesterday when she was holding him in her arms after delivering him. Now he was nine and he didn't want to her to hold his hand anymore. Although, he was still willing to look after his little sister and younger cousins. Haley was grateful he wanted to take that role of protecting his sister from anyone who would bully her.

Haley went upstairs to her daughter's room where she had her door opened. Her daughter was at her little table surrounded by her favorite doll and her stuffed animals. She was so busy having fun with her toys that she didn't even know her mother was in her bedroom until Haley spoke. She pretended to have a stern voice. "Lydia Charlotte Scott, what is this I hear about you not going to school?"

Lydia froze as she stopped her playing. "I don't want to go to school. I want to stay home with you," she pouted. "You can teach me."

Haley gave her a gentle smile as she gestured her to sit down with her on the bed. Lydia did what she was asked. "As much fun as that would be, I think you would even have more fun in kindergarten. We've met your teacher, remember? Ms. Lauren?" Lydia was quiet, but she nodded her head. "She's the same kindergarten teacher Jamie had and Jamie really liked her. She's really nice and she was looking forward to having you in her class. Now I know it's scary when you don't know anyone, but everyone is going to feel like that on the first day. Just be yourself and you'll make friends soon enough, okay?"

There was silence before Lydia finally nodded in agreement. "Now do you think you're ready to go to school?" Lydia was still quiet. Haley gave her an encouraging smile. "Come on. I'll even take you to school?" she offered. That cheered the little girl up and she quickly finished getting ready for school.

When they arrived at their destination, Haley could see Lydia was still apprehensive. She took her daughter's hand and led her into the building. She walked her down to her classroom and they stood in the open doorway. Lydia took one look at all of her classmates and hid behind her mother. "Don't leave me."

"I promise I won't leave you until you're comfortable," Haley promised as Ms. Lauren came over to them. She shook hands with Haley and then began talking gently to the scared little girl. As Haley watched the interaction between teacher and student, she could see her daughter was getting more relaxed. There was a connection forming and Lydia was soon ready to leave her mother's side. Not before she embraced her mother in a loving hug. Haley almost didn't want to let her go. "I love you. Have fun."

Lydia nodded before Ms. Lauren led her away. Haley watched her for a few moments as her daughter made a new friend and knew she was going to be just fine. She and Ms. Lauren exchanged smiles before she headed back towards the parking lot. She was tempted to check on Jamie, but it was obvious he didn't need her anymore.

Haley drove to the café. Parking was a nightmare, but that was also a good thing. That meant the café was full of customers wanting to be served breakfast. Haley walked into the café. She smiled as her customers greeted her. She went behind the counter where a relieved Brooke was waiting for her. "Where have you been?" she asked. "We've been swamped since we opened up."

"I'm sorry. I had a little kindergartener to take care of," Haley replied. "Unlike her brother, Lydia was terrified to go to school and she wanted to stay home with me. And before I had to deal with that problem, Jamie informed me that he was too old to bring his lunch from home and insisted on lunch money. Where did my little boy go?"

Brooke gave her a smile. "That's nothing compared to my problems with Kendall. She's only in fifth grade, but she's already acting like a teenager. I didn't think I would have to deal with a teenage drama queen for a couple more years. I suppose it doesn't help that I'm having another baby," she said as she touched her bulging bump. "Kendall is absolutely mortified that her parents are having another baby. She thinks we're too old. Why can't she be like Jamie? He was so excited when you and Nathan announced you were pregnant."

"Jamie was four, not a ten year old trying to fit in with her peers," Haley reminded her. "And she already has a little brother so she probably doesn't want another brother. My mom used to tease me about how my sister Vivian was not happy when she found my mom was pregnant with me. In fact, the only sibling who seemed happy about another sibling was Quinn."

Haley was quiet as she thought of her mom and the stories she used to tell about her childhood. She missed her mom, but thinking about her was easier than it had been after her mother's death. Lydia James had passed away seven years ago from pancreatic cancer. Haley had been devastated and she went into a deep depression. Nathan and the rest of the family did their best to comfort and support her through her grief, but nothing helped. It affected her mood at work and she was pushed to her breaking point. She was fired and she didn't care. She had lost her will to teach and Nathan realized she needed more help than what he could give her.

After a lot of counseling, Haley was able to move on from her mother's death. As she was recovering, she found out that she was pregnant again. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to name the baby after her mom. Nathan had no problem with that and they decided to have the original name they had chosen for their daughter as her middle name. And it fit her perfectly.

Haley came back to reality as she heard Brooke's voice. "I can just imagine your mom giving me all sorts of advice to handle a preteen. Or even three kids. I'm not sure I'm ready for this. Lucas and I could barely take care of one and that's why we waited so long to have Adam. And now we're going to have another child."

Her friend knew exactly what she was going to say next and she stopped her before she could even get the words out. She pointed a warning finger. "No, don't say it. Don't even think it. You and Lucas are doing a great job. All parents knows there are ups and downs in raising kids. Do you really think I wanted to lose my teaching job? No, but it gave me a chance to take care of myself. I needed to take care of myself because I wasn't being a good wife or mom. If you need time off from your husband or kids, just say the word and we'll go away for the weekend, okay?" Brooke nodded as Lucas made an appearance. He and Haley greeted each other before they got back to work.

As the school day ended, Haley waited anxiously for the kids to arrive at the café. She was dying to hear about Lydia's day. "It's Peyton's turn to do carpool, right?" she asked Brooke. Brooke nodded happily. "You are loving this way too much, aren't you? Everyone waiting on you hand and foot. You aren't going to be pregnant forever."

"True, but Mrs. Jagielski loves doing it. She seems a lot happier since she quit her teaching job and she's managing the club. It was really nice of Nathan to give it to her," Brooke replied. "I still don't know how she manages to find the bands."

After several months of discussion with Jake, Peyton resigned from her teaching job. She realized she wasn't happy with teaching and it was time to move on. It seemed to happen at the right time since Nathan realized he couldn't manage the club and coach his basketball team. It was too much and he decided to turn over the club to someone he could trust to run it. And he knew he could count on Peyton. She and Jake managed the club together, but it was Peyton who was in charge.

"I think Dan and Deb have connections," Haley replied as they heard the front door open. The kids came into the café, looking for after school snacks. They spotted the plate that held the homemade chocolate chip cookies Haley had just baked and dove for them. Haley left the other parents to deal with them as Lydia rushed over to her. She embraced her in a tight hug. "How was your first day?"

Lydia gave her a wide smile. "I loved it!" she exclaimed.

Haley smiled in return. Every time she asked her daughter a question about school, Lydia answered proudly. She talked to her for a few minutes before she let her go and eat her snack with the rest of the group.

"I ran into one of your old friends today," Peyton told Haley once she was free of Lydia. Haley looked at her curiously. Who could it be? "I ran into Julian Baker." Haley raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He was at the school, picking up his son Jude from kindergarten. It turns out he's in the same class as Lydia."

"Wow, I didn't even know Julian got married or moved to Tree Hill," Haley said. "But I'm glad he found someone else."

"He asked me about you and Nathan," Peyton told her. "I told him you guys were still going strong. And he told me to call him if his son ever gives Lydia a hard time and he will straighten him out. Or if you want to get a cup of coffee."

Haley laughed. "I will definitely take him up on that." She then lowered her voice. "Don't worry about the cookies. I made an extra batch just for the adults." Peyton smiled as Brooke let out a groan. "What's wrong?" Haley asked concerned.

"It's Sam, my client. She has just been caught shoplifting. I have to go down there and talk to the manager to see if he will drop the charges against her," Brooke said as she put her phone in her purse and pulled out her car keys. "You can manage the café, right?"

"Don't worry about the kids or the café. We've got this," Haley assured her. "Go take care of Sam." Brooke thanked her before she headed out of the café. She had a thoughtful look on her face. "Why does it feel like déjà vu?"

"Because Lucas had to go rescue Brooke when she got caught shoplifting," Peyton replied. "Now Brooke's a social worker, trying to do her best to help kids who are stuck in the same situation she was. It's nice to see she's willing to use her experiences to help other kids to realize they aren't alone in this world."

"Yeah, but she also had the tough lesson that she can't save everyone," Haley replied. "According to her, Sam's a tough case, but I know Brooke will be able to get through to her." The conversation was interrupted by the sound of the bell above the front door ringing. Haley gave a wide smile to Nathan as he came into the café. They shared a passionate kiss before Lydia came running over to them.

Nathan picked her up and they embraced in a tight hug. "Daddy, I want to be a teacher like Mommy was," she declared.

Nathan smiled. "Really? After one day in kindergarten, you already have decided on your career? Good for you. I'm sure you'll be a great teacher." He gave her a kiss before he put her back down. He turned to his son. "Did you hear that? You'd better get going on your career choice. Your sister is way ahead of you."

"I'm only in fourth grade. I have plenty of time to figure it out," Jamie replied as he came over to his parents and sister. "In the meantime, can I just go and play basketball with my friends?" Nathan and Haley exchanged glances before Nathan nodded his head. "Thank you. Love you." He hurried out the door as Kendall, Ryan and Jenny looked at their parents. They soon disappeared and there was only Lydia and Adam left.

They were happily coloring next to each other under the watchful eyes of their parents. Nathan and Haley were able to sit down at a table and catch up with each other. "Peyton told me she ran into Julian this afternoon. His son Jude is in Lydia's kindergarten class," Haley said. "Julian wants to meet me for a cup of coffee sometime and I would love to take him up on it."

"If you want to meet with Julian and catch up with him, that's fine with me," Nathan replied. "I know you two are just friends now, just like me and Rachel. Although, I'm still surprised she and Owen are still together, but that's none of my business." He quickly changed the subject. He knew this was the perfect opportunity since they were alone. "By the way, I was wondering if you could help me with one of my students. His name is Quentin Fields and he's very arrogant. I was wondering if you could work with him to make him care about more than just wanting to be the star of the basketball team."

Haley frowned. "Me? Honey, you do realize it's been over five years since I was a teacher, right?"

Nathan nodded. "You wouldn't be teaching though. You would be tutoring. Come on. It's only the first day of school and he's already showing attitude. I believes he just needs extra tough love and I know you're the one who can give it to him." Haley was quiet for a moment as Nathan gave her an encouraging smile as he reached out for her hands. She put his hands in his. "Together, we can help make a difference in his life."

Haley let out a sigh. He was right. As much as she loved working at the café with Lucas and Brooke, she still wanted to help people. She felt this student needed her just like Lucas and Brooke did. She finally managed a smile. "Let's get started then."