Hey everyone! Thank you to iftheyonlyknewthetruth, Nataliegirl1214, hybridwolf10, deli41321, Duckygirl, xSmile, lilmonkeygirl31, JeniRose, krizue, and OTHlover04 for reviewing, I really do appreciate it.

I'm trying to make my chapters longer at the moment, but I seem to have this instinctive block set around the 1400 word mark. Will try to break it, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy.

This chapter is an attempt to get closer to Nathan and Haley, without all the conflict.

A slim but busty blonde woman in her early forties stepped from the cab and headed towards the large downtown office building that housed the New York offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Slipping in through the revolving doors, she walked determinedly towards the reception.

"I need to talk to an Agent Streiker. With the FBI."

The woman behind the desk nodded, reaching for her phone and entering an extension.

"Hi Barry. Is Agent Streiker available?" There was a pause, then the receptionist turned back to the blonde woman in front of her. "What was it regarding, madam?"

The woman visibly fumbled for words. "Um . . . a kidnapping? Faith James Scott."

The receptionist's expression was not encouraging. "Madam, generally media enquiries go through the FBI's communications centre, and –"

"This is not a media enquiry. I have information that Agent Streiker may find valuable."

The receptionist eyed the blonde with scepticism, but turned back to the telephone. "Agent Streiker? There's a woman here who claims she has some information about the Faith James Scott kidnapping." She nodded in response to something coming from the other end of the phone, and then hung up.

Looking at the visitor, the receptionist pressed a button behind her desk.

"You may take the elevators over there," she indicated to her left. "Agent Streiker will be waiting for you on the seventeenth floor."

Striding to the bank of elevators, the woman stepped into one and the doors shut behind her. Pressing the button for seventeen, she waited, watching the display as the elevator rose, each new level attained seeming to take hours rather than seconds. Finally, after stops on the fifth and fourteenth floors, the elevator dinged, and the display indicated that she was at the correct level.

Taking a deep breath, the woman exited the elevator, heading for the tall, slightly stern-looking man in his mid forties who was clearly waiting for someone.

"Agent Streiker?"

The man eyed his visitor, his gaze lingering for a second or two on the generous cleavage on display.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I'm Deb Scott. I don't believe we've met."

Shock entering his face, the man stretched out his hand, which she shook.

"Nathan Scott's mother?"

Deb smiled. "That would be me. And I know why my grand-daughter was kidnapped."

Agent Streiker stilled.

"I think you should come with me, Mrs Scott."

Deb nodded.

"This probably would be better done in private, yes."

Haley looked over at Nathan, who was smiling at his daughter as he tucked her into bed with Tigger.

The day had gone extremely well, really. Haley was prepared to admit that it was maybe one of the happiest days of her life.

It was also one of the saddest.

She had recovered her daughter. But she did not know her. She knew Faith was beautiful, and polite, and friendly, but she didn't know her favourite colour, or why she named her stuffed tiger Tigger, or whether she was actually happy. She didn't know if Faith had friends, or family, that she would miss. She didn't know if Faith really wanted to be there with her.

She didn't know if Faith even remembered her.

But she did know that she remembered Faith.

And she did know that Nathan was trying. So as he backed out of Faith's temporary bedroom, leaving her to kiss her daughter's forehead, and cheeks, and whisper a teary goodnight, she made a decision.

And as she turned and left the room, looking back at Faith while turning out the light – to make certain she really was still there – she convinced herself that this decision was the right one.

"Nathan."

Nathan turned to Haley, surprised that she was talking to him. They had spent the day together with their friends and their daughter, but Haley had not talked to him. She had not not talked to him, either. She'd asked him to pass the bread rolls at lunch and the salad dressing at dinner, and she'd helped him tease Brooke about Brooke's well publicised style decision that red was the new black.

But she hadn't actually talked to him.

"Haley?"

Haley looked at Nathan, wracked with sudden indecision, and then just plunged in.

"Faith needs a home. I have an apartment in LA. We'll move there, and if you really do want it, you can be involved in her life."

Nathan was shocked, and it showed.

"Haley – "

"Don't interrupt, Nathan. I'm letting you be involved because I think you can help her, and I'm moving to LA because in theory I already live there. Don't make this mean anything more than it does."

Nathan nodded. It wasn't as if he could have said anything anyway.

He was going to get to really be a father. Not part of a family with Haley – clearly that wasn't ever going to happen, he had screwed that up far too badly to repair – but at least he would be part of a family with Faith. With his daughter.

The silence was interrupted by a ringing, and, although Haley and Nathan's eyes were locked and neither moved toward the phone, it kept ringing, persistently. Finally, Haley rolled her eyes and moved towards the phone table.

"Hello . . . Agent Streiker! . . . Of course, come right up."

Haley turned to Nathan, the fraught atmosphere forgotten in a second.

"Apparently there's been some kind of a breakthrough in the case. Agent Streiker's coming up to talk to us now."

As they stood, waiting for the knock on the door, Nathan glanced over at the closed door to his daughter's room. Whatever this breakthrough was, it would not change what had just happened.

Haley was going to move to LA. He could be a father to Faith.

And maybe, in time, he could make peace with his wife.

Haley jumped as a sharp rap sounded, and hurried to the door, opening it and then falling back a little in shock.

"Deb!"

Agent Streiker entered the room, followed closely by Nathan's mother.

"Mom!"

"Nate. Haley."

"Why are you with Agent Streiker?" Nathan queried.

Agent Streiker interrupted at this point.

"Your mother came to me with some valuable information about your daughter's kidnapping."

Two shocked faces turned to Deb. Haley was the first to speak.

"What did you know about Faith's kidnapping, Deb?"

Deb was silent, and her expression blank. Agent Streiker answered for her.

"She gave us a theory about motive and means." Agent Streiker paused. "I think it's best if you both sit down for this."

Brooke and Lucas stared at each other, shock on their faces, as Brooke hung up the phone. She turned away from Lucas, gathered the sheet about her naked body (pulling the covers off him as she did so) and stood.

"Well, this was unexpected."

Lucas nodded to the spot she'd just been lying in. "That, or that?"

Brooke tilted her head to the side, and impish smile appearing. "Both? But really, Luke, that, at least, was to be expected. It's not like we ever actually had closure. You just moved away and things – stopped. But I'm more concerned about Haley and Nathan right now, so we should probably put off any deep and meaningful conversation for a while."

"So – Dan."

Brooke nodded, saying nothing in response.

"I suppose it's not as if we shouldn't have expected it."

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