Chapter 19: The Ups And Downs

"Mr. and Mrs. Scott!" A nurse squealed from the front desk as she reviewed a form that had just been submitted to her. Haley and Nathan had been sitting on a sofa which was now becoming as familiar as the one in their living room, filling out some more forms. The both turned their heads to study the nurse, her face was lit up with enthusiasm. Haley laughed.

"Angela, how many times do we have to say it... Haley and Nathan... not Mr. And Mrs." Haley smiled, "It makes us sound so old." Nathan laughed then moved his hand along the small of Haley's back to motion for her to get up. The got up and walked to the nurse who was too excited to even speak.

"What is it?" Nathan asked, keeping his hand on Haley's back. Haley noticed this. With everything that had been going on with Natalie, they never got a chance to concentrate on getting back together, if they were going to at all. Now Nathan was showing her a small hint of intimacy in such a simple way, it was nice.

"AH!" The nurse was still young, she was new. And she had become a good friend of Nathan and Haley's. "Look!" She said as she bounced around the desk and went to them, holding out a list of names. Natalie's was on top.

"So..." Haley and Nathan had no idea what this was all about. What was the big deal? They both just looked at her as if she were insane. "What is this?" Haley asked. Haley leaned into Nathan's arm, sliding it around her shoulders and Nathan smiled down at her. Sure, they had been acting as though they were together, but there was something different in the way that they were acting today, it felt different, like old times.

"The list! The donor list!"

"Oh, but Angela! Sweety..." Haley sighed. "We don't have a donor yet. When they get one, Natalie will be the first to get it, but we don't have one."

Angela bounced around again and squealed. "That's not a good thing Angela." Nathan said, becoming annoyed with her enthusiasm.

"But it is!" Angela shuffled the papers in her hands and finally pulled out another. Her hands were shaking as she handed them to Haley and Nathan. Nathan grabbed the paper from her hand and leaned in to let Haley read it as well.

"Oh my God." Nathan breathed.

"What?" Haley asked, Nathan hadn't realized she couldn't see it, as she stood on her tippy toes to see the paper which he had been holding up so high without realization. "Nathan! I can't see!" She whined.

"We have a donor!" He smiled, dropping the paper and grabbing Haley as her eyes filled with tears. We swung her around and Angela stepped back to avoid colliding with them.

"I can't believe this!" Haley squealed as she pulled her self out of Nathan's arms and ran to hug Angela. Angela hugged her back, then walked away to let them enjoy the moment before discussing the procedure.

Haley walked back to Nathan quietly. She bit her lip and stared at him. A smile spreading across her face. Reaching down she tangled her fingers through his, pulling him closer to her. He just stared at her, searching her eyes for sincerity. Was she just doing this because she was so overwhelmed with happiness, or did she truly want to be with him again. He didn't want to take advantage of this situation, unless she was really sincere about it.

"Haley..." He whispered, stepping back when she stepped forward. She gave him a questioning look, as he reached out and smoothed his hand through her hair. "We should talk to the doctors now." He said, he leaned in and kissed her cheek, and walked to Natalie's room. Haley just stood there, not sure why he was pulling away, it almost discouraged her.

"Brooke!" Haley shouted as she barged through the door. She threw her coat and purse on the bench in the hall and dashed into the kitchen to find Brooke and Lucas. The kitchen was empty and dark as the sun began to set. "Luke?" She shouted again.

"Looks like they're not home." Nathan said as he approached the kitchen from behind her.

"Yea..." She walked over to the counter and scanned through the mail which had been delivered, finding one with her name on it. Before she could open it, she heard footsteps creeping downstairs. They both dashed into the hall and looked at Lucas and Brooke coming downstairs, motioning for them to be quiet.

"Sorry..." Haley glanced up at the clock. It was a little early for the kids to be going to sleep.

"They're sleeping already?" Nathan asked as if he were reading Haley's mind.

"They were kind of upset...with you two." Brooke raised an eyebrow and walked past them. This had been a long hard day, the last thing they needed were two sad and disappointed children.

"Us?" They both said in unison. They just stared at each other, growing impatient about telling them the big news.

"Yea... you were supposed to take them out today... remember?" Luke said, he too walked past them.

"Oh crap." Haley said. "But listen!" She smiled excitedly.

"We've got big news!" Nathan smiled. Brooke and Lucas were obviously upset with them too, after having to deal with the Peyton situation, they didn't have the time to listen to their crap.

"What!" Brooke snapped.

"We've got a donor! The procedure's tomorrow!" Haley squealed. Brooke ran over and hugged her and they all exchanged hugs. Brooke then glanced down at the mail in Haley's hand.

"Haley, they told me to give that to you ASAP, they say its urgent." Haley was breathing heavily and smiling as she opened the letter. He smile faded and tears glistened in her eyes as she skimmed through the mail.

Nathan leaned in to read it as well, placing his hands on her shoulders and this time she was the one to pull away. "What is it?" He asked. "Come on, Im your husband you can share these things with me." He encouraged her. She slammed the mail against his chest and he grabbed it as she stepped away. He watched her as her face filled with a certain sadness.

"Ex-husband." Nathan gave her a questioning look. "The divorce is final, they managed to get it over with early." She whispered and walked away. Nathan just stared at the paper. It was true.

The night grew short as Nathan sat in a fading living room, staring at the papers in front of him. This wasn't possible, divorces were never supposed to be final until a year after being filed. There had to be some sort of mistake. But he stared at the papers and remembered when him and Haley had decided to put a rush on them, coaxing their lawyer. And now here they were, together, but divorced. This could mean a lot, would Haley actually feel as if they were strong enough to try and get things back together, get remarried and be a family again, a real one. He doubted it.

"So why was Peyton here today?" Nathan asked, trying to put his mind on something else. Lucas glanced over, eh too had been zoned out on the opposite couch.

"To get her daughter." Lucas whispered.

"You mean your daughter." Nathan laughed. "She isn't Erica's mother."

"And Im not her father." Lucas sighed as he turned his head to look at Nathan.

"This day sucks." Nathan whispered, "But... my daughter's going to be fine! I hope..." He smiled, trying to put a positive end to a weird day.