Haley glanced around again for the hundredth time. She still couldn't believe her eyes and ears. The Quicken Loans Arena, located in the heart of Cleveland, Ohio was massive. Filled to capacity, the crowd was deafening as all the noise made Haley's chest vibrate. She had never been much of a sports fan. She wasn't one to watch a game on television, much less go to a live event. Now it was a part of her daily life and schedule. Sitting courtside behind the visiting Boston Celtics, Lucas was to her right, and Dan beside him. A few feet away in front was the empty seat on the bench that belonged to Nathan Scott.

Not that he had seen much of it that night. He had been on his feet the entire game, playing every second, leading his time on the offense and defense. For Haley, it was exciting to watch. His presence was commanding. Every eye was on him but it didn't seem to matter. He had a job to do and he did it well, always ready for every point, every rebound, every steal and every assist. The intensity on his face and his game was unmatched but the story told on the scoreboard was a frustrating tie. Nathan had been growing particularly aggressive as the seconds ticked away.

"Is that legal?" Haley asked, nudging Lucas just as his brother blatantly pushed another player. "Can he do that or is it a foul ball?"

Lucas couldn't help but smile even as Dan made a wretched face and shook his head.

"In basketball it's just called a foul and yeah that's what Nathan did. It's actually a Type 1 flagrant foul, which isn't as bad as a Type 2 but it's still pretty bad. It's illegal personal contact and if he gets another one, they'll eject him from the game", he explained.

"As a traveling nurse in the field of sports medicine, I assumed you would be more familiar with the rules of the game, Miss Webb", Dan raised an eyebrow.

"Leave her alone, Dan", Lucas warned. "It's her job to take care of the players' medical needs behind the scenes, not manage the play by play on the court."

Haley gave him a grateful smile.

"Nathan looks so focused", she observed.

"It's game time. He takes this very seriously", Lucas looked on concerned.

It was going on Haley's second week of the job. Things had progressed rather smoothly. Although she had not found anything of interest and relevance to her investigation, she had simply taken out more time to familiarize herself with the Scott family. She was beginning to fit in as Haley Webb, RN. The first game she worked had been at home in Boston at the TD Banknorth Garden, formerly known as the Fleet Center. In the VIP section she had sat with Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Dan and Deb and watched. It had been uneventful health wise for Nathan and an easy victory over the Golden State Warriors. Haley had simply been paid to enjoy an entertaining sporting event. Afterwards, it was part of her duty to give Nathan a quick look over, obtain vital signs and massage any areas of his body that needed it. Instead he had rolled his eyes and brushed past her, leaving Peyton to apologize for his rudeness.

After their first encounter, he had let her remain on the payroll and continue to live in his house but his overall annoyance and general disdain of her very presence was hardly a secret. Haley had tried to follow Peyton's advice and stay out of his way for the time being. When they'd all had to leave for the away game, Haley and Lucas had flown first class on a commercial flight, joining Dan and Nathan who had traveled with the team. She'd had minimal contact with him even as he had once again refused to let her check him out, this time pre game.

Haley continued to watch Nathan from afar. In a striking contrast to the angry, powerful force dominating the court, she had seen a hint of another side to him earlier. Right before warm ups, a male fan had managed to get past security to ask Nathan to pose for a picture with the fan's young son. The boy, around, seven was confined to a wheelchair. Nathan readily agreed, posing for pictures and signing autographs, even taking the time to kneel down and speak softly to the youngster. It warmed her heart and peaked her interest as well. She had made mental note of it to later add to his psychological profile in the case files. Haley had even thought she saw a hint of what might actually be a smile.

"Holy shit", Lucas stood up, breaking Haley's trance.

She rose to her feet as well, following his gaze. From what she could see, there was an intense battle for the ball between Nathan and an opposing team member. Angry words were passed and some of the Celtic team members broke up the altercation before it grew worse.

"Time!" the head referee yelled. "Scott, go over to your coach. We've got blood."

There was a murmur throughout the crowd as an irritated Nathan stormed over towards the bench. Bright red blood oozed onto the lower half of the green Celtics away jersey. Haley nervously played with her fingers as the coaches and trainers discussed the issue.

"Scott, we're taking you out of the game."

"No way!" Dan Scott yelled from the stands.

"Come on, Coach! Let me back in, those jackholes are up by a basket."

"It's blood, son and my hands are tied. Besides, you're opened up."

Clenching his fists and cursing, Nathan looked around.

"She can help me", he pointed to Haley.

"Me?" she repeated as every eye in the building seemed to be on her at that very moment.

"You are the nurse, Miss Webb", Dan reminded her. "That is why my son pays you the big bucks."

Haley swallowed hard.

"Can you help him?" Lucas asked with sincere, pleading eyes.

She tried to get herself together.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I can."

"What the hell are you waiting on, Christmas?" Nathan impatiently asked as the game resumed without him. "Let's go."

Legs shaking like a mass of jelly, Haley led by Lucas, Nathan, and Dan followed security into a large back room of the arena that served as a medical center. Haley was equipped with her little black bag, as well as a host of supplies already set up, including a defibrillator and oxygen machine.

"You got this?" Lucas asked again.

Haley swallowed hard. For someone that used to pray for attention, now that the eyes of a security guard, trainer, assistant coach, and the Scott men were upon her, she just felt like fainting.

"Yes", she answered quickly, hoping they wouldn't notice her hands quiver.

Nathan took a seat atop the table and removed the bloody jersey. She took another gulp when she turned around and got a good look at his shirtless body. And what a body it was. Toned pecs and abs, smooth, hard muscles that went for days and a killer tan all over.

"Hurry it up, I've got to be out there by the start of the fourth quarter", Nathan grunted.

"Huh? Oh. Oh yeah. Um, sure. I, we'll have you fixed up in a jiff", she tried to sound confident.

Leaning down to examine the wound, she felt like she might throw up. It was a lot of blood.

"Haley, are you okay?" Lucas asked.

She looked around as Dan Scott shot her an exasperated look.

"For Heaven's sake, can we get on with this? What exactly is it you haven't seen before? Blood or a half naked man?"

"Dan", Lucas warned him.

Haley chewed the inside of her lip before looking up. She had felt his gaze the entire time, now they were face to face, brown eyes staring directly into blue ones.

"Can you do it or not?"

No! She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to vomit. Haley wanted to run and hide. She longed to be vegged out on one end of her couch with Mouth on the other and Tobey in between. She wanted to be anywhere but where she was. She couldn't do it. She didn't want to. She couldn't handle it. It was a moment of truth. She closed her eyes. It was okay. She just had to breathe. Haley Webb would have it all under control because Haley James had had the experience. She had been trained as an EMT and had worked briefly as a Paramedic. She had seen it all for gunshot wounds to the grotesque aftermath of deadly automobile crashes. What was a minor laceration? Blowing out a breath, Haley washed her hands and donned a pair of gloves. She touched his hard torso, watching him wince with discomfort as she applied pressure to and then sterilized the wound.

"I'm gonna give you a shot of something called Lidocaine. It might burn or sting for a second, then it will go completely numb. Once you can't feel anything, I'll stitch you up."

"Whatever just hurry up."

After administering the injection, she began the process, willing her hands to remain steady on the long vertical wound.

"What happened?"

"Surgery", he muttered. "It was from an accident."

Haley nodded. Accident. What kind of accident? She couldn't tell how fresh the scar was. Could it have been a result of a violent confrontation with Daunte Johnson?

"What kind of accident?" she asked casually.

"Look, I don't have time to chit chat. It's not important right now. I'm kind of in a rush. I have a game to go win."

"Calm down and let her do her job", Lucas added.

She placed the first stitch interrupted, tying but not cutting it. It looked pretty good so she continued, evenly distributing them along the suture line, holding her breath until the last one when she finally tied her knot. Inspecting her work, she couldn't help but grin. It looked good. In fact it looked damned good.

"Kick ass", she said out loud.

"What?" Nathan frowned.

"Sorry", she blushed. "It's just that I did a good job. I mean, it's gonna hold. You'll be fine. You can, uh, you…you can go play now."

"Weirdo", she heard him mumble as the rest of the entourage helped him into a fresh jersey.

"Would you believe me if I told you that's his way of saying thanks?" Lucas gave her a sheepish smile.

"No but nice try."

"Well, I'm thanking you and believe it or not, Nathan is grateful even though he has a hell of a way of showing it."

"It's okay."

"Actually it's not. He isn't a bad person but I hate the way he's been treating you."

"I appreciate it but I'm a big girl. Besides, this isn't so bad."

"That was a good job you did sewing him up like that."

"Thanks."

"You saved the day. How does that feel?"

"I doubt I saved the day but…"

"What do you mean? The clock is ticking and Boston is down by 13. There are approximately eight minutes left in the final quarter and my little brother is about to go out there and win the damned thing. If it wasn't for you, he couldn't do that."

Haley smiled.

"An unlikely hero, huh?"

"Thanks. And maybe Nathan can't say it but I sure as hell can. We're glad you're here, Haley. Welcome to our family."