~~~That evening~~~
Haley went to answer the knock at the door. She opened it to find Nathan armed with a pizza box and a huge covered salad.
"I come bearing gifts," Nathan smiled.
Haley returned the smile and walked in with Nathan closely following.
The two sat down on the couch and Nathan set the pizza box and salad on the table.
"So, does Brooke actually live here too?" he asked. "I haven't seen her actually stay here a single night that I've been here."
"Barely," Haley said. "She calls to check on me a lot but she's been in New York more and more recently with promotion for the clothing line. So, most of the time, it's me and pumpkin here," Haley patted her round tummy.
"There was something I wanted to talk to you about, actually," Nathan said, jumping up to get plates out of the kitchen cupboard.
"....I'm thinking about buying a house here in Tree Hill....ya know, to have instead of the apartment, since most of my time is spent here in the off season anyway," Nathan said.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Haley replied.
"I want to buy a house and I want you and the baby to live there," Nathan said.
Haley looked at him, "Nathan, I couldn't..."
"Why not? Let's face it - there would be so much more room for your things and the baby could have a nice room. It would be perfect."
Haley sat there and Nathan could tell she was deep in thought.
"...and I know what this probably seems to imply, but I can assure you it does not," Nathan said. "There are no expectations from me, in terms of our relationship."
"That's not what I was thinking," Haley said.
"Oh," Nathan commented, not sure what was going on in her head.
"I guess, I just want to talk about what the doctor discussed with us earlier," Haley said.
Nathan looked down. He hadn't wanted to bring it up, for two reasons. He hadn't wanted to upset Haley and he was worried that he may lose his composure in front of her, a prospect that terrified him.
He wanted to appear as a constant force of strength to her. He didn't want to show her how much all of this truly scared him.
"I think, just like Dr. Bader said, that its only something to keep an eye on...you and the baby....you'll be fine...both of you," Nathan said.
Haley nodded, "its just frightening though, ya know? I mean, I have tried and tried to do everything exactly right in this pregnancy. I won't even drink caffeine!"
"--Haley, there's nothing you've done to cause this...it just happened," Nathan said quickly. The last thing he wanted was for her to even consider that this was her fault.
"I guess I'm tired of things 'just happening."
"What does that mean?" Nathan asked.
"I just....I am just so tired and confused..." Haley said.
"No, Haley, what are you talking about?" Nathan asked.
"Nathan -- what's really going to happen after this baby is born....the thought of how things are going to be...its the unknown and its scares me."
"I know its scary...but you know I'm here for you," Nathan replied gently.
"--you'll be here...but there will be times that you won't be here....I'll need you and you won't be here..." Haley said.
"Haley- we can work it out, I love you," Nathan said.
"Can we really work all of this out though? Will you see the baby every few weeks when you're not playing?"
"Haley, I haven't thought all of that through yet--" Nathan said.
"Well those are important things to think through before we decide to get back into something....Nathan, its not going to just be about us anymore...everything that we do or don't do is going to affect a whole other person now," Haley said.
"I know that," Nathan said quietly.
Haley had always been the realist in the relationship but Nathan knew that as parents, they would both have to share that part.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As usual, time flew and soon it was time for Lydia to arrive from Atlanta.
Nathan picked her up from the airport.
"How's my girl?" Lydia asked during the drive to Haley's.
"She's doing well," Nathan replied. He knew that Haley wanted to discuss her condition with her mother in person.
"I'm very proud of you," Lydia spoke up at that moment. "You're proving to be exactly who I had thought you were, when you were dating Haley....you're what I had hoped for her," she spoke.
Nathan smiled, "That's a nice thing to say, thank you."
"I know she's proud of you too," Lydia said. "She talks about you non-stop....when you're not around, she talks about how much she misses you."
Nathan continued to drive, feeling better by the second.
"She loves you, Nathan...she's just very scared right now...and I think she's scared at the thought of being dependent on someone. She's always been so independent....much moreso than myself."
"I know that she's scared...but I want to take care of her, Lydia. I want to be with her," Nathan said.
"I know you do, honey," Lydia said. "She wants to be with you too, just give her some time."
~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks later
The Sonics season was off to a good start - they were 3 - 0. Nathan was one of the top scorers, averaging between 25-30 points a game.
"We can get you serious money next season," his agent relayed to him.
"I thought I was getting serious money this season," Nathan laughed. He'd been getting paid more money in his five seasons with the Sonics than he could have ever imagined. If he wanted to, he could retire at the end of his contract and live on the money he made from playing for the Sonics for the rest of his life.
"Alright, this is what we need to do," Dr. Bader said matter-of-factly to Nathan and Haley at one of their weekly visits.
"Haley, you are about a few weeks from your due date, but I don't like the blood pressure rise and I think we need to deliver this baby as soon as possible."
Haley began to cry softly.
"I'm so sorry. I don't mean to frighten you. I'm keeping my word that the minute I began to feel uneasy about this, we would do an early delivery. We've closely monitored everything up to this point," Dr. Bader said gently.
Nathan put his arm around Haley's shoulder, trying as hard as he could to remain calm, "So, what do we do now?"
"I'm scheduling an emergency c-section for tonight," Dr. Bader.
"Tonight?!" Nathan exclaimed in surprise, his fears multiplying.
"Yes, the sooner this baby is delivered, the better for everyone," Dr. Bader said.
In a whirl of activity, Nathan and Haley headed to the hospital. He had called Lucas in a panic to let him know what was going on and Lucas properly panicked and said that he would alert the family and catch the first flight out of New York.
Soonafter, Haley was being admitted and Nathan was making sure to be there for her while feeling completely helpless at the same time.
A nurse gave a pair of scrubs to Nathan. He looked at her questioningly. "I can still be there for the birth?"
"Yes, of course. You're the father."
Nathan nodded and ran to find the nearest place to change clothes.
Everything happened so quickly after that, Nathan had no sense of time. Nathan was in the delivery room suddenly, holding Haley's hand as the anesthesiologist gave her an epidural.
The entire procedure had Nathan completely fascinated. He sat by Haley's side, holding her hand and watched in wonderment as the doctors worked and suddenly, there he was.
"Congratulations, you have a baby boy," the nurse held up the tiny crying infant.
Suddenly, looking at this beautiful tiny being of his own creation became too much for Nathan and he was completely overcome with emotion. He laid his head on Haley's shoulder and sobbed as she looked in amazement at the little boy who had his father's eyes.
The baby was quickly whisked away and soon they were in the recovery room.
"I love you, Nathan," Haley looked up at him from the hospital bed and wiped one of the tears from his cheek. Nathan smiled silently and squeezed her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it.
Soon, Haley was back in a regular hospital room with a large group awaiting her.
Lucas had called everyone and everyone was there.
"He's underweight due to being delivered prematurely, so they're keeping him here to be monitored," Nathan told Lucas.
He hadn't known of a day in which he'd felt such different extreme emotions. He'd literally gone from extreme stress to extreme joy to extreme stress again.
Their son's recovery would take time- he would need time to grow. In his heart, Nathan knew he would be alright. He had to be.