Haley's heart raced. It was scary just how easy role playing had become. Some times she could close her eyes and actually be Haley Webb. It was like she was a nurse from Florida, really working for and dating NBA hot shot Nathan Scott. Sometimes it was even easy to forget the wire tap taped to her skin. And for one heart stopping night she had forgotten. The team had traveled down to Philadelphia for a game against the 76ers. An intense and heated rivalry between the two East coast teams had made for lots of anticipation for an eagerly awaited and exciting game. From the first second to the last, the action had been non stop. Every shot, every block was met with gasps from the crowd. And Haley had been no exception. Never before had she been that in to a game. With Nathan on the court the entire 48 minutes, from the Celtics bench, she had been his loudest and biggest cheerleader. Her new behavior had raised more than a few eyebrows, especially from Dan Scott who watched on from the VIP box. And nothing was left to the imagination following the Boston victory when an exuberant Nathan celebrated with his teammates and a playful pat on the behind to his private nurse, for all to see. She waited happily and patiently after the game for the normal routine of showers and post game interviews. An hour or so later, casually dressed with a gym bag over his shoulder and a ball in his hand, Nathan joined her outside the locker room. Their eyes met and both smiled as he greeted her with a kiss.

"Awesome game, Scott," she grinned, gently rubbing his back.

"It was pretty good. I'm happy with it."

"54 points. That wasn't too bad, huh?"

Nathan couldn't help but chuckle. When it came to sports, Haley was definitely challenged. She did an excellent job on the medical side of it but she was still learning when it came down to the rules of the game.

"54 points definitely wasn't too shabby."

"Good deal. I'm proud of you."

There was something about the warmth in her eyes when she said that and it made his whole body tingle all over.

"Thanks."

"Where to now? Want to grab a bite to eat? I am absolutely starved."

Nathan made a face.

"Yeah, um, in a few minutes. I, uh, there's actually some stuff I have to take care of right now."

"Oh," she stated.

"It's…well, it's kind of private."

Haley swallowed hard.

"I see."

She looked confused and disappointed and immediately Nathan felt bad.

"It's not like last time, it's not what you think."

"Is everything okay?"

His eyes darted around.

"It's just something I have to do whenever I come to this city."

And for a second it was like the trance was broken and Haley James, FBI Special Agent, came tumbling back into the picture.

"What do you mean? I…"

He took a deep breath, looking into her eyes as he rubbed her arms.

"Can I trust you?"

"Of course. Nathan…"

"There are some things I do and it's just not good to have a whole lot of people in my business."

"Okay."

"Come with me," he motioned.

They walked a long ways into the bowels of the First Union Center. Finally they happened upon a large room where a few people already were. The door was halfway ajar and Haley peered inside. Sitting was a little boy who looked very sickly presumably accompnanied by his mother. A couple of others were there as well, including a man asking the child a series of questions.

"Josh, what makes you so sad all the time?"

Haley felt her heart breaking as the child began to cry softly.

"I'm real sick so sometimes the other kids make fun of me and don't like to play with me," he said in a weak voice. "I don't like being different. It makes me sad."

"Josh, you don't have a whole lot of friends and that makes you sad. Tell me bud, what things do make you happy?"

"I like to draw and watch cartoons and watch basketball!" he announced with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Basketball, huh? Wow! That's pretty cool. Did you and your mom get to see the game tonight?"

The little boy sadly shook his head.

"It was sold out and we couldn't get tickets in time but we got to watch it here on the big monitor."

"That's neat. Tell me, who is your all time favorite player?"

"Nathan Scott!"

His mother smiled.

"We love our 76ers but Josh has always been Nathan Scott's biggest fan. He has the posters and the lunchbox and the shoes and of course the number 23 jersey. He never misses a Celtics game on TV. Maybe one day we'll get lucky enough to get tickets to see Nathan play live."

The interviewer continued.

"Josh, what's so cool about Nathan Scott?"

"Um…because he's strong and he gets all the rebounds and blocks and when he does his free throws, sometimes he doesn't even look at the basket and the ball still goes in!"

"Well, Josh, your mother called our radio show and told us how much you love basketball and let me tell you, I have quite the surprise for you. Somebody very special is here tonight and they want to meet you and give you a present."

Nathan looked over at Haley and gave her a shy smile. He put his bag down and for the first time she noticed the basketball he had been carrying was from the game. Every single Celtics and 76ers player had autographed it, with Nathan's large, messy signature in the middle. He let go of her hand and walked into the room. As long as Haley lived, she would never forget the look on that boy's face when he saw Nathan Scott walking towards him.

"Hey, Little Man," he smiled. "Somebody told me you were my biggest fan. I heard you couldn't get tickets tonight so I thought I'd come by and bring you the game ball."

Josh, overwhelmed and shocked, seemed petrified and speechless.

"What do you say, honey?" his mother asked, through tears of joy and surprise.

"Thank you," he meekly began with a smile.

"Josh, man, sorry you didn't get to see me play tonight but next time Philly plays Boston it'll be in Boston. What about you flying up to hang out, plus some court side seats? We could hang out afterwards, you can meet the rest of the team and stuff. Is that cool?"

Josh nodded happily as he and his mother both hugged Nathan. The three of them engaged in a few minutes of private conversation before Nathan exchanged a few words with the deejay who had set everything up. Then he returned to a waiting Haley, who was dabbing at her eyes.

"Oh Nathan…"

"You ready to go eat?" he asked as they began walking.

She stopped him.

"Nathan…"

"What's up?"

"What just happened…I mean, how could you be so nonchalant about it?"

"It's cool," he tried to blow it off. "It's nothing."

"It's something. Nathan, that…that was so sweet. It was amazing. It was like the nicest thing I've ever seen you do. That just seriously blew my mind. You went above and beyond. He and his mom are so happy."

Nathan shrugged.

"I like doing stuff like that. It's no big deal. That guy in there works for one of the local radio stations. I met him a while back. There was this kid who had leukemia that really wanted to meet me so we set it up. I thought it was pretty cool. Anyway, we try to hook something like that up every time I play in Philadelphia."

"And you think that's no big deal?"

"I know it means a lot to the kids and that's what's important."

"But why be so secretive about it? It's such a good deed."

"It's important and it comes from my heart. I'm not my dad. I don't do good things for people and call in the national media just so they can praise me for it. All that shit is unnecessary. When I do things like that, it's because I mean it. It's real."

"You're really something else, you know that, Nathan Scott? I mean, how many other big celebrities would go out of their way to do something like that? I think that's pretty darned special."

"I think it's cool that I even have fans in the first place and that these little kids think enough of me to want to go out and buy my jersey and stuff. I'm nothing special. I'm just blessed to be in the position to do something nice for these kids. If I don't do it, Hales, then who will?"

Another tear slid down her cheek.

"Sorry," she smiled, embarrassed.

"You okay?"

"I'm great. It's just that, I don't know, every day you surprise me a little more."

"Is that a good thing?" he smirked.

"It's a wonderful thing. I know Nathan Scott the superstar. I've known that guy for a while. Everyone knows that guy. Now I feel like I'm getting to know Nathan, the person, the man."

"I'm glad you're here," he said softly.

"What's it like?" she asked.

"What?"

"To be him?"

Oddly he knew exactly what she meant.

"I don't know. Sometimes it's hard to just be, you know? Sometimes it's like you can't be normal even though you want to. They won't let you. Fame is fickle. It's like being high from a drug. It paints this illusion that you're happy and that you have it all. So you figure it must be the greatest thing in the world to have all these people love you and yeah it does have its good and bad points. It's like living in a giant fish bowl with all these people staring at you and wanting a piece of you. They feel like they deserve to know everything about you."

For the first time Haley understood.

"Like with what happened tonight? With what happened that night in Boston we tried to go out?"

"Tonight was great but it's still crazy. When people cry when they meet you or get too nervous to talk, when you have the ability to literally change people's lives…I mean, that's insane. It's a great feeling but it's still weird to me. I mean, my favorite rap artist is Tupac. The guy was a genius. I loved him growing up. If he was still alive and I got to meet him I'd probably break down and sob like a little bitch, I'd be so excited. But that's Tupac. When people do the same thing to me, and they've been doing it all my life, I never got that."

"What a price to pay, huh? I mean, it has to be the coolest, most kick ass, adrenaline pumping, orgasmic feeling in the world but I guess it takes getting used to. I don't know if you ever get to that point. But you were made for it. You're a complete natural and you love it. Even though it can be annoying some time, I know you love it. You love the game and you love the fans."

He nodded with a far away look in his eye.

"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I love the game. I love the fans. It's the other stuff…the tabloids, the drama, the bullshit…the bad stuff that sucks you in and under. I get to play the game I've loved since I was a kid for a living. I guess there's a price for everything."

That she could certainly relate to. Haley closed her eyes as she jutted back to reality.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I know."

"This is cool," he put his arm around her, as they walked towards the waiting limo.

"What?"

"This. You. Us. I like being here like this. I like having someone to talk to. It's different, I guess. Most people don't talk to me like a person. They don't talk to me at all, they kind of talk at me. You understand."

She stopped and looked into those baby blues, staring at a sincerity she had never seen before from him. The more time they spent together, the more she got to know him, the more she had a harder time believing he was the monster the feds were trying to make him out to be. Not him. Not Nathan. He flashed her a smile that melted her heart and instantly she knew. Not her Nathan.