Author's Note: Hey all, thanks to that fabulous new episode last night I stayed up all night writing this so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to all for your amazing replies for the last chapter. This story only has at most 4 chapters left so I'm getting a little sad, but they are FULL of big stuff that I think you guys will love.

I never intended for this story to be as long as Timeless and honestly I even changed it completely from I had planned early on to stretch it out some because of the incredible support for this story. I wanted to give y'all more to read. ;)

But the next story I have planned will be very long and filled with so many twists and turns it's making my own head spin just thinking about writing it, but I'm so excited for you all to read it. It's called ii "Learning To Breathe"/i /i and completely AU. Hopefully you all will love it as much as I've grown to love planning it. :)

Anyway, I'll quit rambling now. I want thank Ellie for beta-ing even in her sickness. Get better girl! Oh and Jess, I'm caught up again. Haha.

Chapter Ten "Sticks And Stones"

"Oh this is just freakin' great!" Haley blew out; adjusting her teeny tiny bikini top the producers had forced her to wear. They had at least compromised in letting her wear a teeny tiny blue jean skirt. Such gentlemen.

"Quit bitching James, I don't like this any better than you." Josh bitched right back, trying to get service on his cell.

Rolling her eyes, she tried to stay calm and not rip his head off. Although, using it for a game of volleyball sounded damn good right about now. They all, including the director and staff had been at each other's throats since they arrived at this remote island off of Catalina, that most weren't aware they were filming at till the last minute.

The director felt Catalina wasn't deserted enough for the scenes so they all boarded a skiing boat and were driven at least thirty miles out into the sea to a small chain of islands that contained the one that would be their destination.

Another boat had already arrived, unloading the tons of equipment needed and makeshifts tents were set up for the actors, which for this shoot was only her and Josh, who she usually got along swimmingly with.

But somehow being trapped on a real remote island with the sun beating down and knowing it was already nearing three o'clock soured her mood greatly. At this rate she'd barely make it before tip off and they'd only shot half of the scenes needed.

"DAMN IT!" Josh's shouted, tossing his phone into the sand in front of her.

Knowing why he was upset, Haley put her own issues aside and sat down beside him on the soft sand underneath the shade of a palm tree.

"I'm sorry for being a bitch."

He smiled and bumped shoulders with her. "I'm sorry for being an ass."

"She'll be all right Josh."

"Yeah I know, but she's my little sister."

Haley smiled. "And she's also a woman, who is entirely capable of making her own decisions. Besides you like her fiancé don't you?"

He groaned. "Do you have to call him that?"

"Sorry buddy, but that's what he is now."

"I can't believe she leaves me a voicemail at five am right before I'm out of range, it's like she planned it just so I wouldn't yell at her."

"Oh stop it. She will always be your baby sister no matter if she gets married and has a million kids."

Seeing that they were being waved over to their spots, he stood and held out his hand to her. "I guess you're right."

Taking his hand, she let him pull her up. "I always am." She grinned, ignoring his scoff at her statement.

Standing on their marks they were all set.

"Action!" The director yelled.

Within a second the two were locked in a heated argument as their characters had it out. Screaming, name-calling, arms flailing, everything you needed to make it appear as real as possible, they were doing.

"Would you just shut the hell up!" Josh pleaded with her character.

"No, I won't. In fact, let me list all things you suck at. Steering a boat. Obviously since we're damn well ship wrecked now, building a fire, finding water, fishing…"

Her words were cut off by his lips on hers and the heated argument turned into a heated make out session.

"Cut! Brilliant. Take a break you guys while we set up the next one."

Josh touched his lip. "I think you drew blood Haley."

She shoved him playfully as she checked her watch near her bag. Great almost four, not three. "I'm going to miss it. This is such a big game for him and I'm going to miss it aren't I?"

"You might be late, but you'll make it. All these last scenes are of you and me arguing even more before the kiss and we'll blow through those easy. I promise I'll do my best to get you there."

She gave him a small smile telling him he'd made her feel better even though the knot in her stomach remained ever present.

…

"Still not answering?" Lucas inquired as he started to change into his warm ups along side his brother.

"It's not even ringing." Nathan clicked the end button laying his phone down beside him on the bench.

"She'll be here Nate."

"Yeah, I know. Anyway how's the wedding crap going?"

Lucas chuckled. "You have such a way with words and it's going fine. I finally talked her into actually having a ceremony. She wanted to go to City Hall, can you believe that?"

"Believe that you're the girl in the relationship? Yes." Nathan joked, pulling his jersey over his head.

"Yo Nate, you're wife is bangin'," One of his teammates, Mike, called out to him.

Another guy agreed. "Hell yeah. I knew she was fucking hot, but damn."

Turning Nathan noticed Mike was surrounded by at least ten others gawking over something in Mike's hands.

Taking quick strides, he snatched, what turned out to be a group of printed out pictures, out of Mike's hands, his eyes going wide once he saw what they were.

There Haley was in all her naked glory for the world to see, the words America's Sweetheart above her with a question mark. It must have been shot just before she jumped into the water the night before. He couldn't believe they had already hit the net. He'd made a call to Chris that morning hoping that he could track them down and stop something like this from happening and obviously he had failed.

Flipping through the pieces of paper, he saw that there were more photos of them together in the water, some of their wedding, and a few blurred out photos of their honeymoon.

The last two pages were an article that must of come with of the some of pictures. At the top were two photos, in a split screen affect. One was of Haley down home at her parents ranch playing on the floor with some of her cousin's babies, the other of them making out slash groping each other in the jewelry store in Vegas, where'd they bought their rings, obviously not caring they were in public. It was clear this magazine site was stating that ever since she'd married him, she had changed and not for the better.

There were even quotes from so-called friends calling her a whore, who is addicted to sex. That her and Nathan have threesomes and she's getting a sex dungeon put in her basement. Going even further to claim she's been dipping into the drug world, experimenting with ecstasy and cocaine and that she was becoming just another Lohan and Spears.

Nathan was livid, his blood pressure surely spiking as he ripped the papers to shreds, tossing them into a nearby trash bin as he stormed out.

Running after him, Lucas caught him just before he reached the exit. "Where are you going?"

"Did you see that shit?" He fumed.

"This morning, on some show, they mentioned it. Look, Nathan this is all bull shit. They have zero proof because there is none. It will go away."

Nathan finally turned and faced his brother. "Will it Luke? Because it seems like it's only getting worse She doesn't deserve this Luke and if it weren't for me she wouldn't have to go through it.

Trying to comfort him, Lucas placed his hand on his brother's back. "Haley doesn't care about any of this. She cares about you, end of story. This isn't a big deal, it will all die down. Plus, even without you I'm sure they would have found some lie to print about her."

"I wish I was as sure." He solemnly muttered, lowering his head.

"Come on, there is nothing you can do about it today and you have a game to play and as much as I like to brag, I can't do it alone. Haley will be here soon and you guys will figure it out."

Nodding, Nathan followed his brother back into the locker room, wishing he could believe Lucas's words, but the mixture of guilt and anger flowing through him wouldn't let him.

…

"Jesus Fucking Christ! Get the fucking boats back!" Josh screamed at the director who in turn screamed at the production crew.

The skies above rumbled, as the blues and grays of the clouds darkened with weight of moisture. In the blink of an eye the sun had disappeared, giving way to the sudden onslaught of a storm sweeping through.

Haley was now standing under a tent, that threatened to give way at anytime, wearing a stark white terry cloth robe with her hair blowing chaotically in the wind, as she struggled to keep the robe closed and her body warm.

A production assistant passed by her and she grabbed his arm. "What the hell is going on Charlie? Are they coming to get us?"

"They can't. The storm is worse than anyone expected, it changed paths out of nowhere and all boats and planes have been grounded or docked. Is docked the right word? You know I'm not sure, I need to loo…"

Grabbing him by the shoulders, she shook him lightly. "Charlie, I love you and usually find the fact you can't focus on one thing for more than three seconds adorable, but FOCUS!"

Grinning, of course adorably, making her forget she was ever annoyed in the first place, he tried his best. "Sorry Hay Jay." And there was another helplessly endearing thing. "They can't get to us for at least a couple of hours, so we're suppose to "bunker" down as they say."

Haley jumped as a crackling streak of lightening streaked through the sky. "Bunker down? Are you kidding me?"

He patted her on the arm. "Don't worry Hay Jay, you're from Texas, you've camped before." He reassured her, then was called away into a conversation with his supervisor and Josh.

"IN A CABIN; WITH INDOOR PLUMBLING AND CABLE! THAT DOESN"T COUNT!" She yelled helplessly after him. "It doesn't count." She repeated a few decibels lower, as the tent above her finally lost its battle.

Charlie and Josh ran back up to her.

Josh grabbed her wrist. "We're going further in the island, there's room enough for two or three people and you're the only girl, even your stylist is a guy, so needless to say your ass gets a spot.

Charlie slapped Josh on the back. "And Josh gets to go because if he dies it's their ass."

"Shut up Charlie." Josh shook his head, then turned his back on Haley and crouched down. "Hop on James."

"I can walk."

"You're in flip flops Longhorn. All I need is for you to get bitten on the foot by some big ass snake and then dying because as hot as you are, I suck poison out for no one, not even with the promise of sex.

Slipping off her robe, she tossed it to Charlie, not wanting to get tangled up. "Trust me, even if I was dying, I'd never promise you sex."

Gripping Josh's shoulders, she jumped on his back, her legs circling his waist as he held her steady by her calves. "Don't be copping any feels Razorback. My husband will so kick your ass." She teased, feeling a tad more at ease knowing there would be a literally rock hard shelter in her future.

"Very cute. Are we back in junior high?" He retorted, following Charlie's lead into the trees.

"Says the boy who still has Boyz II Men on his IPOD."

"You brought this on yourself little lady." He cleared his throat. "I'll make love to you…Like you want me to…" He sang.

Charlie joined in. "And I'll hold you tight…Baby all through the nighhhhhhht "

"I'm in hell." She whimpered, as she traveled deeper into the vegetation with visions of 6th grade dances frolicking in her head.

…

Going in for a lay up, Nathan deliberately knocked his opponent flat on his ass and that was it.

For the last quarter he sat bitterly on the sidelines, the images of the article coupled with the fact his wife hadn't even shown up, bearing down on his shoulders, eating away at what little restraint he ever had to begin with.

Finally when the buzzer rang, he'd grabbed his keys and split, not giving a damn about missing the post game talk or the same fucking questions from the same fucking reporters. It never ended.

…

Throwing his keys on the table, he'd almost made it to the couch, when the persistent beeping of the answering machine demanded his attention from the small table just inside the living room.

Hitting the large silver botton, his night got even worse.

"You have forty two messages, six from contacts. Press 1 for all, 2 for contacts." He pressed 2, there was no way in hell he was talking to anyone other than the select few that made up his and Haley's family inner circle.

Message one at 7:52 p.m.

"Haley, where are you? We need to talk." Jake's worried voice declared. "The Kid's Choice Awards dropped you from hosting, as did Revlon from chairing their Breast Cancer Awareness night. It also doesn't look good in regards to Revlon renewing you for their cosmetics campaign, as well. I'm sorry, Hales. This press just makes them nervous, they'll be begging for you to come back soon. I love you and Brooke would say she loves you too but she's a hair away from literally ripping the balls from the sleaze bag editors and photographers that are printing this shit. Anyway, call me."

Message two at 6:32 p.m.

"Hello my darlings, it's mom. Haley, this message is directed at you, but I love you too Nathan and I'll leave you your very own tomorrow, a Lydia James to Nathan Scott original."

Nathan smiled.

"Now, Haley, I wasn't able to stop your Grandmother from hearing about it, you know how hypocritical those busy bodies at her church are, but don't you worry that sweet little head of yours over anything. We love you and we know you; and no matter how many lies they print, you make us proud each and every day. Oh, and Haley Bub, please don't skinny dip in the ocean anymore. Fishies might get you…you know, down there." She whispered the last two words. "And if you insist on still doing it, use a clean pool next time and if Nathan has any swelling…down there" she whispered again. "I saw this whole thing on Grey's about a penis fish so make sure you monitor him."

Only Haley's mother could say something to make damn sure he never stepped foot in an ocean ever again, even with the lure of her naked daughter.

Message three at 3:23 p.m.

"Nate, this is Jake. I got word that there is no cell service where Haley is shooting and it looks like they might not be done for quite awhile. Just didn't want you worry about Haley."

Well, at least she had an excuse for not calling.

Message Four at 12.02 p.m.

"Hey husband! We're just now about to board the boat from Catalina to some speck of an island. I might be a little late, but I'll make it. I wouldn't miss you getting all sweaty for the world. I love you.'

His heart sank; she obviously had no clue of the backlash awaiting her, all because of him. Turning off the machine, headed for the wet bar.

Scotch was definitely the drink of choice tonight.

…

"Full house!" Haley gleefully announced slapping her cards on the blanket that she, Josh, and Charlie were sitting around on in the awning of the cave.

The guys mumbled obscenities as Haley collected her winnings, which was subsequently just a pile of leaves.

Apparently, Charlie always kept a deck of cards in his pocket in case a drinking game ever broke out.

"Aw, did the itty bitty girl bruise your big manly egos?" Haley taunted in a baby voice; a little bit drunk from the rum Charlie had discovered in someone's bag and jacked.

Her moaning and whining about missing Nathan's game called for desperate measures, according to them, and she had to admit they were doing a good job of distracting her.

Taking a swig from the Captain Morgan special reserve bottle, Josh strained to hear what he thought was a boat. "Do you guys hear that?"

Charlie made a beeline out into the open, saying he'd check it out.

Taking her watch out of the pocket of her robe, she'd slipped back on, Haley's mood dropping drastically when she got a look at the time. "I can't believe it's past ten."

"It's just a game Haley, he won't be mad."

Haley flicked his forehead. "Don't be a dumbass. Saying it's just a game for him is like saying it's just a movie for us. You know how athletes are, I'm sure you still remember when you lost or won any game."

"Eight and five my senior year in varsity football."

Giving him an 'I told you so,' look, Haley peaked out and saw Charlie halt his running towards them when he spotted her and waved her towards him.

"We can go!" Haley cheered, scrambling to her feet, and then waiting impatiently for Josh to crutch down.

Obliging her, he let out an exaggerated grunt when her weight landed on his back and he stood upright. "Putting on some weight there, Hales?"

She bent down and pinched his cheek. "Cute…and just for that I'm going to tell you something I've been holding back so that I wouldn't hurt your feelings—I had authentic Tex-Mex last night."

"You bitch!"

"My wonderful, gorgeous, talented husband took me." She happily sighed throwing her head back so the now soft falling rain could fall upon her face.

Josh's unforeseen cease in movement forced Haley to pop back up and when she got her bearings, all the alcohol in her system seemed to evaporate in light of what she was looking at.

More than a dozen boats, half of which carried photographers and news crews were spread out across the shore as three news helicopters buzzed like mosquitoes above them. They weren't just here to rescue them; they were here to sell a story that was anything but necessary.

The storm hadn't even been as bad as they feared, she'd seen much worse living in Texas, even partied outside in them. Of course sometimes those parties were in pastures, to avoid being caught drinking underage and they all would get busted anyway because they were forced to call their parents when their cars got stuck in the mud, but the point was, she'd seen worse.

Nonetheless, here she was the damsel in distress being rescued from the terror of the violent storm. It was laughable, it was pathetic, and it was her life.

…

Closing the door behind her, Haley was surprised to see all the lights off. It was barely ten o'clock; Nathan couldn't be in bed already. He was always keyed up after a game, bouncing off the walls.

Taking her cell out of purse, that had died hours ago due to its constant feeble attempts at trying to find a single on the island, she plugged it into the charger on the kitchen counter.

That's when she was it, in the corner of her eye, out the French doors, a small flicker of a light shining out to her from the beach.

Pulling off the jacket someone had randomly thrown over her shoulders, she made her way out onto the deck in the scantily clad outfit she had worn for her scenes.

From there, she could make out that the light was from one of those gasoline powered torches that were sporadically spread out all along the beach and sitting nearby was Nathan with his knees up, a bottle to his lips and his sight fixed on the crashing waves.

When her feet hit the sand, he glanced back her, yet didn't say a word, just turned back to the water.

When she reached him, she touched his shoulder delicately and sat down beside him, mimicking his position sans the bottle of alcohol. "I'm sorry I missed the game. I tried calling you a million times once we got back to Catalina."

"I've been out here since I got home." He answered mechanically, his words not giving away even a hint of emotion.

Brushing off his behavior, she went on. "There was this pain in the ass storm and it took forever to get even back to civilization. I would have never missed your game if I could help it."

"I know."

Maybe brushing it off wasn't the way to go. "Nathan what's wrong? Did y'all lose or something?"

Chuckling, a tad bitterly, he took a large gulp of Scotch. "I wouldn't know I was thrown out and didn't pay attention after that."

On her knees, she maneuvered herself to sit directly in front of him. Taking the bottle from his hands she placed it beside them. She didn't miss his eyes racking over her body, in fact she reveled in it.

Nathan reached out and played with a lock of her hair as she sat back on her heels to be more comfortable. "You're too good for me, you know that?"

"And you're a little drunk." She informed him, smiling when his fingers began to stroke her cheek lovingly.

"True, but you're still too good for me, always were, always will be." His somber words contradicting his drunken state.

"I love you so much." She assured him, staring into his eyes, something scaring her when she did. "What happened tonight Nathan?"

"It doesn't matter." Struggling to his feet, he took her assistance when she leapt up to help him.

"You definitely need to lay down." She wrapped her arms around his waist from the side, supporting his weight with her petite frame and led him carefully up the stairs to their deck.

Once inside the house, she didn't think he could make it all the way up the stairs, even with her help, so she directed him to the large sofa.

He fell back against it with his eyes obviously fighting a losing battle to stay open. Bending down she picked up his feet and pulled his legs onto the couch, forcing him to lie down completely.

Quietly, she took off his shoes and grabbed a near by blanket, spreading it across his body. "I love you, get some rest." She softly instructed, leaving a tender kiss on his forehead.

Twenty minutes later she emerged from a steamy shower, warm and smelling of her favorite body wash made of orchids and coconut milk. Securing her towel around her breasts, she began to comb out her wet hair, hoping to avoid any tangles when she awoke the morning.

As she was about to remove her towel, the faint sounds of her cell phone and Brooke's obnoxiously loud ring tone sounded from downstairs. Not wanting to wake Nathan, she raced down the stairs answer.

"Hello?" She finally spoke, in an out of breath hushed tone. Taking a glimpse over at the couch, Nathan appeared to still be sleeping soundly.

"Haley, what the fuck is going on? I've left you a zillion messages."

"Brooke, I was on a damn island all day, out of range."

Brooke screamed at someone on the other line, so loudly that Haley couldn't even make out the words, before focusing on Haley. "Sorry and hello, I know you were pulling a Ginger being stranded and all, but you've been off it for two whole hours and have yet to call me back. Do you even know what's going on?"

"No, should I?" She nonchalantly asked, frowning when she heard Brooke groan on the other end.

"It's your publicity Haley."

Picking up a pen, Haley began to doodle on a random note pad in front of her. "Weren't we laughing at that yesterday? Let them print their lies, it will only draw more attention if we fight."

"Haley we need to fight this. It's bad, really bad. You've already lost two hosting gigs and now the producers of your next movie are rethinking you as the lead."

Haley's stomach dropped. "Brooke, I fought so hard for that role. I know they wouldn't even meet with me till they heard me sing at the game on the news, but then they did and said they wanted me, that I was perfect, how could they be rethinking? I know every piece of her music by heart, it's in my blood, this is my break into drama, I can feel it."

"I know sweetie. This Janis Joplin bio picture has you written all over it. Hell, you were born and raised an hour from her hometown." Brooke paused to hang up with the now scared as shit assistant to the editor of The Star. "Listen, it may all blow over, but the fact is the media has turned on you. Check out the Internet, you'll see we have to do something."

Flipping her laptop open, which was conveniently next to her on the counter, she told Brooke to wait as she pulled up the browser. Then one by one she read the stories about herself, her heart breaking at every word, every picture. The viscous lies and her body on display for all to see was bad, but what hurt the most was all the blame they had put on Nathan. Shaking, she promised Brooke she would call her in the morning. She had to think.

Setting the phone down, she broke down. She had gotten used to the media invading every part of her life, however up until now, she was their darling and now…now she was their dirty mistress, for lack of a better phrase. Some tawdry figure, they looked upon with contempt, preying on her weaknesses and spinning them to build themselves up.

Wiping at her relentless tears, she wandered over to Nathan and gently laid on top of him, needing to feel close to him, to have the steady beat of his heart in rhythm with hers.

His arms automatically wrapped around her, pressing her body more snuggly into his and in spite of everything; she smiled at the fact that even unconscious he wanted to hold her.

Her head found the crook of his neck and she inhaled his comforting scent as silent tears fell from her cheeks. As long as she had him, everything would be okay.

With that belief securely in her mind, she joined him in slumber, or so she thought.

Nathan had heard her entire conversation with Brooke; listened to her pain and felt her tears on his neck. He had never felt more helpless in his entire life. All he kept hearing in his head was that childhood saying about sticks and stones, which his mother had always taught him was nonsense and now he finally understood why.

Words may not break our bones, but in one breath they can break our hearts.

Cath