Mouth let out a yawn as he flipped through a comic book. Out of nowhere a figure brushed past him with such speed that the pages turned on their own.
"Hales, slow it down", he couldn't help but laugh.
"Slow down?" she turned and looked at him. "Slow it down? Are you crazy? How can I when I'm this excited?"
"I know…"
"Oh I don't think you do, Best Friend. This is like the greatest moment of my career. No, it is the greatest moment of my career. In fact, it is one of the greatest moments of my entire life. This totally surpasses meeting New Kids On The Block."
Mouth raised an eyebrow as he leaned back on Haley's bed in the midst of the sea of clothing she was attempting to pack.
"You met New Kids On The Block?"
"Don't even start with me. They were cool and I was in love with Donnie, okay? Like you didn't ever rock out to Hangin' Tough."
"I was a deprived child", he quipped.
"Make all the jokes you want", she squealed as she plopped on top of him. "In a few days when you don't have anyone to pick on or watch TV with or do all the dumb things we do together, you are so gonna regret being mean."
"Whatever."
"You're gonna miss me so you might as well admit it, Mouth McFadden."
"I'll miss you a little bit."
"Yeah right. You're gonna miss me a lot. You're gonna be lost without me…or at least you better be."
"Now where are you going again?"
"Nice try", she swatted him with a pair of her pantyhose.
"I really hope those are clean."
"They're not and for the hundredth time, you know I can't tell you where I'm going."
"You tell me everything."
"I know but I can't tell you this."
"I can keep a secret."
"I know you can."
"What about the time you got drunk off of Southern Comfort and Mt. Dew?"
Haley frowned.
"That was bad."
"Or that time you lost that bet to me and…"
"Yikes. That one was even worse. Don't mention it."
"I never have. Never breathed a word to anybody. My lips are sealed."
"Mouth! This is official FBI business. I'm going undercover. The integrity of this case cannot be jeopardized in any way. Besides, why do you want to know so bad?"
"Because I'm nosy, because I need a life and because you're about to go somewhere really cool without me and I'm so jealous I can't stand it."
"Aww", she stroked the side of his face.
"I seriously need a girlfriend."
"Not until I get back", she hopped up. "You know the drill. Best friends always get first dibs on approval."
"Yeah, yeah. And when did you say you'd be back?"
"I didn't", she smiled. "You are really trying."
"And you are no fun. If you don't tell me where you're going, then I refuse to take care of Tobey", Mouth threatened as the pooch, looked up and barked, seeming to understand the conversation and annoyed that he had been dragged into it.
"Whatever. If you don't take care of my doggie, I am so gonna kick your ass, right Tobester? You'll tell Mama if old Mouth is mean to you. Now which one of these shirts should I take? The blue or the red?" Haley held two up.
"Depends…are you going in hot or cold weather."
"You don't stop, do you?" she shook her head.
"I'm like the Energizer Bunny."
"Shut up and pick."
"Haley, you're giving me a complex. Sometimes I think you take this whole Will and Grace thing too far."
"Fine, be a brat then", she tossed the red shirt to be packed.
"The blue was way better."
"Mouth!"
Haley was filled with excitement. In the week since she had been notified of her first big assignment, she had been nervously and anxiously preparing. Besides packing and making arrangements for her life to completely change, she had been studying the Scott case and each of the players, day and night. Infiltration was key and she had to know these people like the back of her hand. An entire bureau was watching her every step, some perhaps even expecting her to fail. But not Haley James. At times she could be ditzy and a tad clumsy and even a little nervous but bottom line she was qualified and capable. She had a lot to prove and failure was not an option. Haley would be damned if she was the one they would laugh at.
"Fine. Go have your fun without me", he still pretended to pout.
It was all fun and games until a cell phone rang. Haley jumped. It was not Mouth's and it was not her personal or normal work number. It was the new untraceable line that belonged to traveling registered nurse, "Haley Webb".
"Hello?" she tensely answered.
"Is this Haley Webb?"
"This is her, I mean, she", Haley cleared her throat.
"This is Peyton Sawyer calling from Boston. I'm in charge of the Scott family's Public Relations. I wanted to speak to you about your move."
"Um, yeah. Certainly. Could you, would you mind holding for just a second?"
"Sure."
Haley covered the phone.
"This is kind of private", she whispered to Mouth.
"Let me guess, work?"
"Sorry. I'll catch up with you later."
He smiled and placed a kiss on her cheek.
"I'll let myself out. And don't worry about any of this, Hales. I know whatever it is, you're gonna knock them dead."
She gave a grin and a wave and resumed her conversation once she heard the front door close.
"I apologize. You were saying, Ms. Sawyer?"
"Call me Peyton. Please. I just wanted to go over a few details with you. Your airline reservation has been taken care of and an e-mail has been sent for confirmation. It looks like you are scheduled to arrive on the tenth. I will meet you at Logan and take you to the house on the Cape."
"Okay."
"You have your own room and bathroom and yada, yada. Have you been briefed on all that yet?"
"Yes."
"Good. Makes my job a little easier. Just let me give you a quick low down, I'll brief you more in the car. Like I said earlier, I'm in charge of PR and basically everything else. I help the agents with bookings, I handle press, and I even do the fun stuff like picking up the dry cleaning."
"Wow."
"Don't worry, I know you're the nurse. You're not gonna get suckered into anything outside your job description. I'm kind of a friend of the family. I grew up with Nathan."
"That's nice."
"I'll be in and out of the house to get you settled. His brother, Luke, and his sister in law, Brooke will be there a lot of the time. They're cool. And so is Nathan's mom, Deb. And his dad…"
"Dan is it? He's nice, right?"
"Uh, let's not get ahead of ourselves but you'll get used to it."
Haley gulped.
"And Nathan."
"Nathan should be home on or about the 12th. You'll meet him then. I just want to prepare you."
"Prepare me? For what?"
"Nathan has a lot going on, a lot is expected of him. The pressure is in every direction and it's tremendous. Deep down, he's actually a good guy but sometimes, well, sometimes he comes off like, like…"
"A jerk?"
"Well…"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said."
"You're right. Just…don't let it scare you. Trust me, the barks around here are much worse than the bites. Just stick around. Promise me you'll at least give it a fair try. The benefits and pay are that great for a reason. Nathan really needs a nurse and since he, they can be difficult, well, the other nurses…"
"Bailed?"
"Yeah, except for the last one."
"Was she fired?"
"No, she had a nervous breakdown."
"Oh my."
"But she's fine now. They say the electric shock therapy really helped."
"Huh?"
"Just kidding, about the shock. Unfortunately, the breakdown is true but you'll be fine. Really."
"I'm sure I will be. Miss Sawyer, I mean, Peyton, I'm looking forward to this. Thank you for the opportunity."
"Thank you."
Haley hung up the phone and collapsed on a heap of clothes on the floor next to a dozing Tobey. She pulled the briefcase from underneath the bed and unlocked it, staring at the same files as she had been for days. Piercing blue eyes stared back from a photo.
"So you're the big, bad Nathan Scott, huh?" she said to no in particular. "Looks like you've met your match, bud."