Haley walked around the house like a zombie, void of all feeling and emotion. She was spent, exhausted beyond belief, her mind overtaken by the task at hand. Every time she opened her files she saw a mountain of evidence against Nathan Scott on several white collar crimes. Even more disturbing was the case being built against him on two counts of murder one. She had been working feverishly on it, her time limited especially whenever the Scott's were around. But Haley would never give up. She couldn't. Even though things were looking worse and worse for Nathan, at least most of the evidence against him was circumstantial. To Haley that meant hope. And as long as there was hope, she'd never stop fighting for the man she had fallen in love with.

She couldn't do it alone though. Haley needed help. Her colleague, Agent Edmondson, had made good on his word and had been doing everything in his power to offer assistance. They were still waiting on the crime scene photos. Two heads were definitely better than one but the help they needed the most was from a person who didn't have a badge and credentials. The help they needed the most was from the accused himself. If only Nathan would open up to her.

It wasn't unheard of. He had done it before. He had let her in. Sometimes his words had seemed damning, even more so when he would clam up and suddenly cut her off. But Haley had faith. There had to be more to it. If only he could just sit down and look her in the eye and come clean about everything, minus the codes and cryptic language. If only he could trust her completely. How ironic she was wanting his trust when in reality she was the fed lying to him. But in her mind her façade was justified and her own lies would be the only thing that could save him from life in prison.

"You alright?"

The voice from behind startled her. She had been standing in the window staring blankly outside. She hadn't even heard the footsteps behind her. Slowly Haley turned around. Their eyes met. He towered over her, his blue eyes darkened and narrowed in curiosity.

"Huh? Yeah, um, yeah. I…I'm okay. Everything's fine," she stammered on nervously.

He gave her an uneasy nod as if he really didn't believe her. Brushing past her, he picked up a small load of freshly washed and folded laundry. Just hand delivered from Maria, one of the maids, it was still warm as he stuffed it into a suitcase. It was time to hit the road again, the first of a series of away games for the Celtics.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked again.

"Nathan, I'm fine."

He shrugged.

"You don't look fine. You're not acting fine. In fact, you're being kind of weird."

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"I'm not trying to be a hard ass or anything but we've got a plane to catch in a few hours. You've been staring at your empty bag for the last thirty minutes. The car will be here to pick us up soon."

Haley nodded.

"Are your parents coming?"

"No but I'm sure Dad will find a way to join us out on the road later on like always."

"What about Brooke and Lucas? Peyton?"

"Peyton is in L.A. Brooke and Lucas are flying out with us."

"Oh," she stated flatly.

"I thought you'd be more excited than that. You and Brooke seem pretty tight. I know when you're not working and I'm with the team and stuff, it can get pretty boring on the road. I thought you'd be glad to have someone to hang out with."

"I am. I mean, it's not that. It's just…"

"What is it?"

Haley took a deep breath. The "now or never" approach always made her slightly light headed.

"Nathan, we need to talk," she blurted out.

He frowned.

"Okay. About what?"

About everything, she wanted to scream out loud.

"What are we doing, Nathan?" she whispered, sitting back on the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"Us. What is this? What am I to you? What does this relationship mean to you?"

"Haley, come on. I mean, you know how I feel about you."

"Nathan…"

"Look, I don't know why you want to get into all this right now. I care about you. This means something to me and you know that…right?"

"I…"

"What, are you trying to tell me something? Maybe I should be asking you how you feel about me."

She looked him right in the eye.

"I feel very deeply for you," she answered honestly. "In fact, every single day, it's like I fall deeper and deeper for you. That really scares me but I love it. I feel like we have something special that could be really beautiful later on."

"Me too."

"But…"

"Why is there a but?"

She nervously played with her hands.

"I can't do this…I mean, it's really hard to move forward when I feel like you're not being completely honest with me."

"Hales…"

"It's not fair. It's like there is another side to you with this whole other life plastered in secrecy."

She felt like the pot calling the kettle black.

"What are you talking about?"

"There are things I need to know before we go any further."

"Things? What kind of things? Haley, where is all this coming from?"

"I want to know about your family."

"What?"

"I need to know everything."

"Haley…"

"You tell me bits and pieces of this puzzle that seems so weird and dark and frightening. Your father and your grandfather…I know they've done some bad things. I know they have dragged you into it. You talk about loyalty and blood and protection and I don't know but it really freaks me out. I mean, kin or not, these are bad men. And I feel like you're so much better than that and that you could, that you should just walk away but there's this hold they have on you. I don't get it, Nathan."

He looked away.

"Maybe it's not for you to get," he replied coldly.

"See? See what I mean? There it is. We are together and if we're gonna be in it for the long term, then don't you think I deserve to know what's going on? Sometimes this feels like a bad Mafia movie or something. I just want to know who I'm dealing with and what I'm getting into."

"Look, you are my girl and I do care about you. Yeah, I have told you some stuff but not everything. And I'm never gonna tell you everything so you might as well just drop it. If you want to be with me, that's just the way it is and you're gonna have to get used to it."

"Nathan…"

"Whatever you're worried about, don't. I'll always protect you. You're safe with me and that's all you need to know. Beyond that, it's really none of your business."

"Is it so wrong of me to want more than what Deb and Brooke have? Is it so wrong of me to want a life for us that is beyond the family ties?"

"You knew what was up when we started this thing. Damn, Hales. I mean, what do you want from me?"

"You," she reached out to him. "Us. The truth. I, I just don't want to end up like your mother."

Nathan smirked.

"You mean strung out on pills? I don't know what to tell you. That's a personal choice. You're a nurse. Just lay off the Percocet and the Vicodin and the Oxycotin and you should be good."

"That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean because this is getting kind of weird."

"She talked to me once," Haley spoke softly. "She told me some things."

"Yeah? Well, whatever it was, I wouldn't too much take it to heart. My mom says a lot of crazy things when she's high."

Haley shook her head.

"This was different. She talked about your family and what the marriage to Dan has done to her. All of it has literally broken her over the years. It's sad really because all she ever wanted was a husband and a family and a home and this normal life."

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Well, that wasn't in the cards with my dad and she should have known better."

"Don't blame her. It's not fair. And it's not her fault. All that illegal stuff…the businesses, the gambling, the points shaving…"

"Haley!" Nathan raised his voice for the first time. "You don't know what you're talking about. My mom is crazy. Whatever she said, just forget about it, okay?"

"She told me about Daunte Johnston."

Nathan's eyes nearly popped from their sockets and Haley felt her heart race as she was beyond the point of no return.

"What did she say about Daunte?"

"Not enough. Just that he was another bad man who did bad things. I know you were involved with him. I know Dan had something to do with it as well. And I know Daunte is dead now. I know he died horribly and…"

"Shut up, Haley," Nathan warned.

"And I know your wife knew things and that your family was against her and then she just dies suspiciously and…"

"That's enough," Nathan lunged for Haley, grabbing her by both arms and giving her a violent shake. "That's fucking enough! I don't know what you want or what you're tying to do but whatever it is, it stops now! Do you hear me?"

"Stop it," she whimpered. "You're hurting me…"

He finally let her go but not without one last steely eyed warning.

"I don't ever want to hear you mention Asher or Daunte's names again, you got that?"

"Nathan, I'm sorry, I…"

"Never again. I mean it, Haley. You don't know what you're doing. You don't know what you're messing with. Some things are more powerful than you could ever imagine, some questions you really don't want to know the answers to."

Tears slid down her cheeks.

"I love you, Nathan," she confessed. "I…I just didn't want there to be secrets between us."

Immediately his face softened. His first instinct was to go to her, comfort her. For a brief few seconds a part of him even wanted to share with her. But he quickly snapped back to his senses. That could never be. He had done it once before and it had only ended in tragedy. Whatever truth she was looking for, the search had to end right there, for the sake of everyone.

"Some things are better off kept secret," he said quietly, taking a much needed deep breath to regroup. "You've got to hurry up with the packing. The car will be here soon."

And with that, he was gone. She'd had one shot at the truth and she had blown it. It was crystal clear Nathan would never talk to her, never open up and help her. And as the evidence piled up, his subsequent silence was burying him one inch at a time. Unbeknownst to him, she had been his only ally putting her own career in jeopardy to save him. But hope along with her faith was fading fast. Haley knew the days were limited and that she had to work that much harder while she still believed in him. Time was running out on the quest to prove Nathan Scott's innocence.