Lucas Scott yawned as he entered the kitchen. His wife and her dimpled smile had already beaten him there and she looked like she was busily preparing a dish.

"Let me guess…breakfast in bed for the world's sexiest husband," he snuck up on her, grabbing her waist from behind.

"Lucas Eugene Scott!" she pretended to scold. "You scared the hell out of me. And you ruined your surprise."

He grinned and raised one eyebrow.

"Surprise, huh? So I was right."

"Maybe," she teased.

"Okay, since I've already ruined the surprise, you may as well tell me everything. Now I don't smell anything cooking so what were you gonna make?"

"Okay, um, hot stoves and Brooke Scott do not go together so I hope you're up to a plate of fresh fruit, dry toast and cold cereal."

"Breakfast of champions, huh?"

"You're my champion," she cooed, seductively eating a piece of melon before feeding him a strawberry.

"Mmmm, that tastes good, Wife. You keep it up and we won't make it past breakfast."

"Maybe that was the idea, Husband."

They both laughed as they began to kiss but the laughter and the making out both ceased when they were unexpectedly joined by company. Wearing a hooded jacket and sweats with no make up and her hair pulled back, entered Haley Webb. Also missing was the usual smile on her face and twinkle in her eye. In fact, she looked bad. Her face was void of all color except for the large bags that loomed underneath her eyes. She was pale and gaunt and it looked like she carried the weight of the world on her frail shoulders. A curious and concerned Lucas and Brooke exchanged glances.

"Good morning," Lucas spoke first.

"Morning," she muttered, not even making eye contact with the couple.

Brooke cleared her throat.

"I just put on a pot of hot coffee. Want some?"

"Huh?" Haley looked up. "Oh. Yeah. Um, thanks."

"So," Lucas began casually. "Nate around? I haven't seen him today."

"He's putting in some extra time at the gym."

"You know your brother," Brooke mused. "Nothing gets between him and his gym time."

"I'm not mad at him. At least he works hard at something."

"Is that all you have to say?" came a small voice that made Brooke and Lucas take instant notice.

"Excuse me?" Lucas asked.

They watched as Haley dumped a load of sugar into her coffee.

"Never mind. I, I shouldn't have said anything," she turned to leave. "Just forget it."

Brooke gently grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Oh no you don't, Nurse Haley. Not so fast. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. I…"

"Haley, come on. It is something. You're not your usual self. It looks like something is really bothering you. Whatever it is, Luke and I are here for you. We're your friends. You can talk to us, sweetie."

Haley bit her lip. Could she? Could she really? It wasn't like she hadn't thought of it before. Lucas, Brooke and Deb had always been among her first choices for conversation as the only sane members of the family. But Deb only talked when she was high and her truth was always mixed in with some random mish mash of illogic. Lucas, while thoughtful and honest, was more evasive and Brooke had flat out laid it on the line that some subjects were simply off limits.

Now they were wanting to know what was wrong with her. Genuine worry seemed to fill their eyes. But could she trust them? The very thought made Haley almost laugh out loud. Trust was a funny word and it had long since gone out the window. It was a conversation that should have been carefully planned and approached but time was not on Haley's side any longer. Perhaps a final appeal to Lucas and Brooke would be her (and Nathan's) one last chance.

"Okay," she sat down as the other two followed suit.

"What's going on, Hales?" Lucas asked.

She took a deep breath.

"Okay. I know your brother works hard. I know he's a good basketball player. But that's about it. I'm his girlfriend and now things are starting to get really serious between us. There is stuff, very weird stuff, going on with this family and it's starting to creep me out. I'm no closer to knowing anything now than I was months ago when you guys hired me. I can't take it anymore. I love Nathan but I need to know the truth."

Brooke let out a nervous laugh.

"What truth are you talking about, Haley?"

"I've heard talk."

"What kind of talk?"

"I don't know, pretty bad stuff. I know the Scott's are involved in some dangerous activities."

"People talk, Haley," Lucas quickly tried to diffuse the situation. "There's always gonna be talk. People are gonna say what they want and sometimes you can't stop that whether what they're saying is true or not. There are a lot of rumors and a lot of jealousy but most of it is just talk. Scott family business is Scott family business. You should leave that to Dan and Royal…that's what the rest of us do. I mean, it looks like you and Nathan have a solid thing going on. I know he really cares about you. All that other stuff you shouldn't even worry about."

"What happened to Nathan's wife?" Haley came right out with it.

Brooke's face turned bright red. Haley had brought it up once before back when she had first moved in and Brooke had warned her then. The topic was strictly off limits and it was never to be brought up again, especially in front of other family members.

"Haley!"

"He told me, Brooke. He told me some things. He told me that she died, that she drowned. But he also told me about things that happened right before that. It just seems really suspicious, that's all."

"You think Nathan had something to do with Asher's death?" Lucas asked.

Haley was temporarily taken aback at his sudden candor.

"I don't know. Did he?"

"Asher drowned," Lucas ate another piece of fruit. "The coroner ruled it an accident, Nathan said it was an accident so that's what I believe."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he's my brother and I know him and I love him. That's enough for me, Haley and it should be enough for you."

Brooke shook her head in anger.

"I can't believe you even brought this up. Nathan loved that girl. It really did something to him when she died. Afterwards people started saying some really horrible things like it wasn't an accident and he must have done something to her. He was tired of her doing drugs and drinking. She must have been cheating on him. Some moron even had the nerve to say he did it for the insurance. It was so stupid."

"I love Nathan. I'm not accusing him of anything, I just want to know the real story, the whole story, of what happened. That's not asking too much."

"He didn't do it."

"You weren't there…or were you?"

Brooke laughed out loud.

"You are totally going off the deep end, are you kidding me? I mean, have you been sneaking Deb's pills or something?"

"I…"

"Nathan did not kill Asher. He isn't a murderer. He isn't capable of it and you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking any different."

"Then how come some people believe he killed Daunte Johnson?"

"Oh my God…" Brooke just shook her head.

"I love Nathan a lot. I am with him all the time. I believe he is a good guy. The whole thing with Asher just didn't add up and I was willing to put that out of my mind then Daunte…"

"Who told you?" Lucas looked her right in the eye.

Haley felt a chill run up and down her spine.

"Does, does it matter?"

"Yeah, Haley. It matters. In fact, it matters a whole hell of a lot. Look, you're a nice girl and I know you love my brother. I know he really cares about you, too. Why can't you just leave it at that? This isn't a game. Trust me, you're about to open up a whole new can of worms that you don't want to mess with."

"I can't help it. This is really screwing with my head. Knowing bits and pieces from here and there, trying to distinguish fact from fiction…it's driving me crazy. Of course I want to believe Nathan. More than anything I want to put all this behind me and go on with our lives but it's hard."

"Haley…"

"Look, I know there are some things I'll never know, some things you can never tell me but please. For peace of mind, I have to know if the man I love, the man I lay down with every night is capable of these things. I mean, I have seen Nathan's dark side but…"

"We all have a dark side, Haley," Lucas sighed.

She looked away, fighting back tears.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Have you tried to talk to Nathan about any of this?"

Haley nodded.

"He wasn't very happy. In fact, it made him very angry. Basically he told me to mind my own business and never bring it up ever again."

"He's right. You shouldn't be concerning yourself with all this stuff. All it's gonna do is keep driving you crazy. Some things are better off if you're not involved. It's for your own good and we should just leave it at that. As far as your relationship with Nathan? He loves you and he'll protect you. You don't have a reason to be afraid of him but if you keep this up…the questions and the snooping…God, Hales, it won't be good for any of us. Just trust me on that one."

"You're right. You're both right. I, I'm sorry, guys. I don't know what came over me. I…I've just been so tired and so overwhelmed lately and I guess it's making me paranoid. It's stupid really. Please don't be mad."

"It's okay," Lucas assured her.

"Yeah," Brooke added, a bit more skeptical. "It's okay. We're cool."

Haley gave them an uneasy nod and tried to hide her trembling hands as she exited the kitchen area. Lucas and Brooke watched until she was out of sight.

"That was…weird," Lucas looked right at his wife.

"How is she finding out all this stuff, Broody? And why can't she just learn to keep her damned mouth shut?"

"I don't know."

"Dammitt, Luke, I can't do this again. I'm tired of it. I can't go through it. Asher couldn't keep her mouth shut either and look what happened to her."

"Just let it go, Brooke," he tried to convince his wife. "It's gonna be okay. Haley's a smart girl. It's gonna be okay."

Brooke tried to let herself be reassured as she picked up an apple from the fruit basket and bit into it.

"God, that Haley sure does ask a lot of questions," she shook her head. "She should go work for the FBI or something."

Right outside the exit a quiet Haley stood. She felt like she was losing it in more ways than one. A few tears slid down her face and she frantically wiped them away. She had wanted to talk to Lucas and Brooke so they would ease her fears. Their words were supposed to wipe away the doubt but once again the shroud of family secrecy and talking in circles had only led to more confusion. Haley was still not completely convinced of Nathan's guilt. The bad part was, she was no longer completely convinced of his innocence.