Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I own only my own mind wanderings and Jesse not OTH

Jesse stood there for a moment simply staring at his ex-fiancée and Nate. His expression flicking from surprise, and then back to anger. He felt so many words very un-Prince like bubbling up around his tongue and he knew he had to leave before he lost control and disgraced his family any more than he already had. "You're still mine Haley, you'll always be mine." And with that he left. His words however hung long after he had disappeared from the room, in the back of Haley's mind they would always remain because she could almost feel the truth in them. She knew Jesse hated to lose at anything and his ego was too big to just let it go. It was definitely not the last she would be seeing of him. However at that moment she had another guy to worry about, the one who had owned her heart for years.

"I don't know what to say to you Nathan."

"Just say that you love me." The request was a simple one but the words she wanted to speak choked in her throat. Could she trust him to trust her? Would he ever issue her an ultimatum again? Every time they were together it ended in tears, did she want to risk her heart like that again? Her heart was screaming yes, that it didn't care but her head was getting in the way of everything. All she could see was a teary end once more. "I can't…" She admitted as she looked anywhere but at Nathan.

Nathan watched her crumble before him as she admitted that she couldn't say she loved him. He felt another piece of his heart shave off but he simply held her hand tighter. Dropping to his knees next to her bed he raised his other hand and used it to clasp her tiny hand completely. "Please Hales…" His blue eyes were boring into the side of her face, as she had turned her head to avoid them. He moved one hand to turn her beautiful head and he caught sight of her deep brown eyes. Somehow he couldn't read the emotion within them. But he needed to know; he needed to know they were going to be ok in the end. Like they always were.

Seeing only confusion he did the only thing he knew how. Leaning forward he brushed her lips with his and every dark cloud that hung above his head and in his soul seemed to disappear as he felt the undeniable feeling of her kissing him back. This was what he wanted, to just have her. His life was wrapped up inside Haley so he was going to cling on to it. When he felt her begin to pull away he just couldn't let it happen. He had sworn that if he got her back for even a millisecond he would never let go again and so he didn't. Throwing an arm around her back he pulled her back into the kiss, deepening it slowly so as not to frighten her. When she welcomed him back however he felt every bone and nerve in his body give a jolt, it still remembered the taste of her, the feel of her and every corner of her was mapped out within his mind. He drank in that familiarity like a thirsty man in a desert. When finally he allowed her to pull back because air became a problem he couldn't help but smile at her. She looked so beautiful, her lips red and swollen from the intensity of the kiss.

Haley felt like she'd just taken a trip to the moon and back, light headed and the world deciding to spin wasn't helping her get her wits about her. She's forgotten how good he was at that, making her feel like he could protect her from everything and anything that was thrown by fate. Finding his smile she couldn't stop her lips turning the same way as she lifted a hand to run through his dark hair. It felt the same as it had done the last time she'd touched it. Soft and comforting against her grazed hands. She was sure she would have completely lost her senses and entered a snogging fest with him were it not for the knock on the door that interrupted the moment. She quickly drew her hand back as if she'd been burnt and she heard Nathan swear under his breath. "Fuck…"

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The knocker, also known as Brooke, had been listening from the other side of the door and when it all went silent within she turned to her companion. "He's kissed her…" This caught Lucas' attention as he pressed his ear to the door as well.

"Maybe we should go in there… You know before she does something she might regret."

"Oh let them have some fun."

"She's still weak Brooke, and anyway they need to be talking not making out…"

"Ok ok we'll knock, but we're not going in… Let them get reacquainted."

"You are so manipulating sometimes Cheery."

"And dead proud of it Broody."

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When no one opened the door Nate turned his attention back to Haley. "Hales we have to be together, that's how our story goes."

"I don't know Nate…" She once more turned her head but he simply turned it back. He wasn't going to let her run away again, not when she was so close to slipping back into his arms. "It's been so long. Do you really think we could work again after all this time?"

"Yes! Haley you're everything to me! Do you want to know how I spent the last few years? I spent it in a drunken haze because my heart and soul were missing. You were missing. I can't be without you Haley. You're my life Haley James-Scott and no matter what you say now or how afraid you are I'm not letting you go again." His speech was filled with truth and Hales didn't miss the use of her married name. The name she had signed away with those annulment papers. Her hand came up to touch his cheek and he revelled in the feeling of her warm skin against his. It was like she was soothing away everything that had happened over the years, only she had the power to do that and he knew it. That was why it was so important that he got her back, that she forgave him. He watched as she leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. "I love you Nathan Scott."

Hearing those words so softly whispered in his ear made his stomach flip like a schoolgirl and his heart do a double take before beating so hard he could have sworn it was him that had HCM. His arms got a mind of their own as they snaked around her waist and pulled her as close as was humanly possible. He knew she was still weak and in the back of his mind he was yelling at himself to ease up the tightness slightly but his arms just didn't seem to be connected to his mind. All they knew was they were holding Haley, something they had resigned themselves never to do again once those annulment papers appeared, but that didn't mean they hadn't still wanted to more than anything else.

It was at that perfect moment that Brooke and Lucas fell through the door. They had forgotten that if you leant too hard on something with hinges it was more than likely going to open. Landing on a pile on the floor the two couldn't help but laugh at the expression on the freshly reunited couple's face as they stared at them. Brooke was the first to clamber to her feet and dust herself down before she spoke, or not as much spoke as cheered. "Oh thank god you're back together now maybe Nate will stop moping," Haley laughed as she tugged herself from Nathan's embrace as much as she could before he snatched her back and pinned her possessively to her side. Brooke came to hug her but he wouldn't allow it. "My Hales," he joked like a little kid with their favourite toy before Haley playfully slapped him on the arm and he released her from the grasp he held her within so she could hug her friend. "Good to see you awake Tutor Girl… Or is that Tutor Wife?" Questioned Brooke with a cheeky smile. Haley would have tossed a pillow at her were it not for the fact she needed them to sit up straight.

The four friends sat for about an hour in their respective couples, simply forgetting the rule about the number of people allowed in Haley's room. The Doctors turned a blind eye as well the moment they realised their patient was happier surrounded by the people she cared about. It wasn't long before Jake and Peyton turned up with the kids in tow as well. The gang was back together and all seemed sunny for the group, but happiness never lasts long in Tree Hill and a black cloud was definitely setting in…

The End

A/N There will be a sequel to this story so make sure you look out for it! Please review now I am done… Might make me speed up the first chapter of part 2!