So – yeah. You probably have a reasonably good idea of what the problem was now, right?

I didn't update yesterday (the first time I haven't updated daily since I started, actually), and probably will not be doing so quite as regularly anymore. However, I will attempt to make the chapters longer to compensate.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed: krizue, jenniea, hybridwolf10, xSmile, spikesilla, NaLeYBaBiixo, DuCksRVeRykOoL, lilmonkeygirl31, 4everdreaming, HottScott23, and Nataliegirl1214. I'm rather glad I managed to keep you in suspense for as long as I did!

And now let's see Nathan's reaction to this new turn of events.

November 27, 2011

Nathan sat at the bar next to Lucas, his head buried in his arms, his hand resting around the empty shot glass.

"My fault."

Lucas shook his head. Every year this happened, and every year was worse than the one before. It was as if every November 27th were compressed into some downward spiral of hate and self-loathing and desperation.

Lucas was afraid that eventually Nathan would not be able to survive another.

"I love her." Nathan's voice was still muffled by his arms.

Lucas sighed. "I know."

"Do you think she does?" Nathan's eyes were blurry as he tilted his head to one side, surveying Lucas's indistinct features.

Lucas frowned. Haley spoke to him intermittently, but it was nothing like it had been before her pregnancy, before this entire mess screwed up all of their lives. If it hadn't been for the kidnapping, Lucas truly believed that Nathan would've caved, and, when he realised what a mistake he'd made, would've begged, and pleaded, and somehow convinced his wife to forgive him, if not to forget. Now, there was virtually no chance that it wasn't too late. Faith was gone.

But that wasn't what Nate needed to hear. So Lucas avoided the question.

"It wasn't your fault, man. You weren't even there."

Nathan's head tilted to the side, and he looked up at Lucas's blurry face.

"No. But I should have been."

November 27, 2006

Nathan looked over at Lucas as his phone rang.

"God, man! We're supposed to be studying here! Turn your phone off!"

Lucas laughed at his brother's aggravated expression.

"No problem. I'll just check who it is," he said, matching the act to the words. He frowned, and motioned outside. "Look, Nate, I think I'll have to, uh, take this."

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Just hurry up, dude."

Nodding, Lucas headed out. Nathan waiting, fiddling with his pen, wondering what was so urgent. For some reason, he was nervous. Soft voices filtered out from the hallway where Lucas was talking, and Nathan began to sit up, alert, as he heard the tone of his brother's voice. He was getting louder and louder, and seemed almost frantic.

There was a crash, and Lucas came back into his room minus his cell phone.

"Hey – what's up?" Nathan asked, glancing past his brother to see Lucas's cell phone lying in the floor of the hall. It had clearly been hurled at the wall, and was now lying in several pieces. "I don't think that can be fixed. What are you doing throwing your phone around?"

Lucas nodded, clearly not even hearing what Nathan was saying. Instead, he advanced on his brother, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him from the room.

"We have somewhere to go."

"Why did you bring him? What is he doing here?"

"Haley – "

"Go home! Go home! You didn't want her then, you can't have her now!"

Lucas stepped towards Haley, arms outstretched. She fell into them. "She's gone, Lucas! My baby . ."

Nathan stood, silent, shell-shocked, as his estranged wife sobbed her heart out in his brother's arms, her tiny hands holding Lucas so tightly she would leave bruises in her wake. Nathan stepped forward, once, twice, and reached out to her.

He could almost feel the silky texture of her hair, a fraction of an inch below his outstretched hand. The smell of her, the need to touch her, to comfort her, was overwhelming.

Haley . . .

It had been so long.

And she was so sad.

Her child was gone.

Almost as if his thoughts had set her off, Haley wrenched herself from Luke's arms and spun around to face Nathan, knocking his hand away and making him back away from her angry figure.

"How could you?" She yelled. Her face was red, and wet with tears, and shiny. "How could you abandon us like that? Like a coward? And now she's gone and I don't know what I'll do if I can't get her back!"

"Haley – " Lucas interrupted.

"No, Luke. I don't want to hear it. I want to know what your brother thinks of himself now. Now that his daughter – the daughter he didn't want, the daughter he denied – is gone. Where were you, Nathan? What were you doing when your fourteen month old daughter was snatched by some madman?"

Nathan stood there, silent, as Haley's burning eyes bored directly into his. His child? Had it – had she – truly been his?

"I called her Faith, you know. Or, actually, I suppose you didn't. It was supposed to be symbolic. Because faith is what you have when you want to believe. When you want to trust, and you don't need a reason. I used to have faith in you."

Nathan stepped forward once more, closer to the five feet and three inches of anger embodied that stood in front of him, facing him down.

Faith had been his child. And now she was gone.

She eyed his movement, backed away.

"I'll never have faith again."

November 27, 2011

Lucas's phone started to ring, and, irritated, he turned away from Nate to check his caller i.d.

James, Haley

Lucas stepped away from the bar, flicking the phone open and patting his brother on the back simultaneously as he ducked into an alcove near the men's room.

"Haley?"

Silence.

"Haley."

"Lucas." Her voice was calm.

"They think they've found Faith."

Awww – poor babies. No wonder they are so upset, right?

Keep reading – and please review.