Nathan Scott maneuvered his black SUV along Interstate 40 headed east. Outside the weather was warm and the sun was shining casting the perfect finish on his newly waxed glimmering 24 inch chrome wheels. He drove well over the 70 mile per hour speed limit, bopping his head to the hip hop track in his CD player. It was that time of year again, the beginning of summer, the beginning of the annual three month hiatus from his job, the time when he could return to Tree Hill full time and more importantly to her. It was his favorite time of year but this time it would be slightly different.

He had been born into privilege and prestige, the son of a hometown basketball playing hero whose destiny had been mapped out since he had been old enough to hold a ball in his hand. The story was legend in Tree Hill. Dan Scott and Karen Roe had been high school sweethearts, the darlings of the town when Dan left a pregnant Karen for a full athletic scholarship to the University of North Carolina. It was there that he met, courted and soon impregnated the beautiful and wealthy Deborah Lee. After faking an injury, he had married Deb and used her parents as investors to return to Tree Hill and open an automobile dealership. All the while a young Nathan had been groomed for athletic supremacy.

He had grown up a sweet, thoughtful boy who had morphed into a selfish, arrogant, inconsiderate young man. He had known of the older brother who lived just across town but it was something never spoken of until his junior year of high school. It was then two brothers came face to face for what was supposed to be a battle to claim number one. A threatened Nathan had resorted to hazing and physical force to get Lucas off the team but nothing had worked. Then he had devised the ultimate plan.

Her name was Haley James. He had seen her around a few times. She was kind of mousy looking, a horrible dresser and most importantly, the sarcastic brainiac best friend to Lucas Scott. It would be the best way to get back at Lucas. Get Haley to tutor Nathan, seduce her and break her heart. Nathan knew in turn it would break Lucas' heart as well but a funny thing happened along the way. Nathan hadn't counted on falling in love.

She was the girl who changed his life and made him a man. She made him whole, she made him human. It was a beautiful, deep and abiding love that had lasted well over ten years. He had gone to his dream college, Duke University, on a full scholarship while Haley had given up her dream to attend Stanford College as to be closer to her boyfriend. The plan had always been for him to turn pro and play in the NBA. Then he and Haley would get married and live happily ever after.

But life, fate had other plans. An exaggerated injury had sidelined Dan Scott's college career but a real one had dashed any hopes and dreams for Nathan's. After multiple surgeries on a debilitated knee, he had received the news that he would never be able to play again. It was devastating but Nathan had managed to pick himself off the ground, finish his degree and accept the position for Athletic Coordinator for his alma mater's Blue Devils. It was a disappointment that had one time would have spiraled him straight to rock bottom but a previous tragedy had put life into perspective and taught him what was really important.

It was his first year of college. It was one of the most exciting times in his life. He was doing well in school and headlining the starting lineup for one of the best college basketball organizations in the country. His brother and Peyton were doing well in New York and Nathan's relationship with Haley was going stronger than ever. He had come to value personal relationships more so than ever due to his long, wavering estrangement with his own parents. All his life, his relationship with his father had been tense. He loved him and he hated him. He respected and he admired him. He wanted to be better than him but at the same time he wanted his father to be proud of him. The elder's constant berating and criticism of his youngest son and Nathan's choices had further strained their relationship and things had gone further downhill following the dealership fire.

Life hadn't been much better with his mother. At one time Nathan and Deb Scott had been inseparable but those days had long slipped away. Estrangement, arguments and a dependency on alcohol and prescription pills had driven a wedge between mother and son and the revelation of Deb's attempted murder of Dan had sent Nathan over the edge of an already dangerous emotion filled cliff. He'd often lay in bed and night and prayed that they both would just go away. Little did he know his wish would come true.

It had always been a question of first degree or second degree. Exactly how well thought out had the murder been, if any? In the state of North Carolina it could mean the difference between 25 to life or a date with lethal injection. It would be a subject of debate for years to come with many holes and loose ends but certain facts did exist. On an August morning shortly before noon, the mayor of Tree Hill had accosted his ex wife in busy downtown as she left an appointment with her psychiatrist. Calmly and coolly he had pulled a Baretta handgun from the inside of his designer jacket and fired once. Deb Scott was pronounced dead approximately three hours later of a gunshot wound to the chest.

The emotional aftermath had been torture. For months afterwards, Nathan had been plagued with indescribable grief and guilt following the death of his mother. The pain had been made worse with his father being the perpetrator. After a lengthy trial in which Scott's dream team of expensive lawyers had argued every defense from insanity to modified self defense, a jury of 12 had found Dan Scott guilty of first degree murder and the presiding judge had spared the defendant death with a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. Nathan had not seen or spoken to his father since he had seen the sheriffs haul him away handcuffed to the state penitentiary. It had been the hardest time of Nathan's life but love in the wake of tragedy had saved him. His relationship with his brother had been strengthened as the two young men grieved together, bonded by the blade of anger, pain and the confusion of their father's actions. Lucas had saved him but so had someone else.

To say he was in love with Haley James would have been the understatement of the century. Simply there were no words to capture what he felt for her. She had been his rock and although the two had not officially married, everyday they lived by the vows "for better or worse". In good times and bad she had been there. When he needed a helping hand or kind word, it was Haley who had been there to give it to him. When he needed space or to vent his frustrations, she had been there. She had held him close many nights and had dried his tears and laughed with him too. She was his everything and after nine years of dating, the previous summer, while on a camping trip, Nathan, on bended knee, had proposed marriage with a two carat princess cut diamond rare blue diamond.

Only a few miles from town, Nathan couldn't help but grin. Soon he would see her, soon he would be home. And in a few months, their relationship would be official and the love of his life, Haley James would become Mrs. Nathan Scott. The vibration and ring of his cell further increased his good mood when he noticed it was her on the phone.

"Hales, what's up?"

"Hey you. Where are you?"

"Not far. I should be there in about a half hour. What are you up to?"

Haley smiled from the other end of the line.

"Just waiting for you. I've got a surprise for you."

"Surprise, huh? Let's see, does that surprise include you naked?"

"Nathan," she giggled as he still made her blush after all those years. "Why does it always have to be about sex with you?"

"It's not always about sex."

"Whatever."

"It's your fault for being so good at it."

"Flattery gets you everywhere but the sex is gonna have to wait. We've got tons of stuff to do when you get here, honey. Cake tasting, wine tasting, menu planning, you need to schedule your tuxedo fittings and we have a meeting with the photographer."

"Okay," Nathan sighed.

"You're pissed, aren't you? You sound pissed."

"No, I'm not."

"But you hate boring wedding stuff."

"It's not that, Hales. You know how I am. I'd be happy eloping to Vegas or marrying you downtown at City Hall. I don't care about the frills or how we do it, I just want to get it done. But I know how important this is to you. It's your dream wedding and since you only get married once, it should be a special day. So would I rather watch the playoffs on TV, drink a beer and have sex all day? Hell yeah but we'll do what we have to do. I just want you to be happy."

Tears sprang to her eyes.

"You are the sweetest man in the whole world, you know that? I am so lucky."

"I'm the lucky one, Hales."

"You're making me cry."

"Don't cry."

"I can't help it. I love you so get your sexy ass down here so we can do all that boring wedding stuff then I'll see about getting to the playoffs, beer and sex all day."

"You mean I can have sex, drink my beer in bed and watch the game on the big screen?"

"Not at the same time and don't sound so damned excited about it," she laughed. "Just hurry up and get here. I miss you, babe."

"Me too."

She sighed dreamily, grin plastered all over her face long after they had hung up. With her eye on the clock, she made sure everything was in perfect order in the three bedroom townhouse located between Tree Hill and Wrightsville Beach. She loved living there but it wasn't truly a home until her Nathan was there.

They had grown up in Tree Hill and attended college in the nearby cities of Durham and Chapel Hill. They had been together through thick and thin for ten years since the age of 16. She couldn't have imagined life without him but if someone had told her the beginning of junior year of high school that she, shy bookworm, Haley James would end up with the cocky jock, Nathan Scott, she would have laughed in their face.

She could still remember the first time she tutored him. He had showed up late and in true smooth character had offered her a gift as a peace offering. Never mind it was a cheap plastic bracelet from the bottom of a Cracker Jack box. To her it wouldn't have meant more if he had purchased it from Tiffany's. For ten years she had proudly worn it around her wrist, a striking contrast to her gorgeous and expensive engagement ring. It hadn't been all smooth sailing but the two were in love and more importantly in it for the long haul. Every day with Nathan had been a blessing.

For ten years they had been their only little family unit. The day after high school graduation, Haley's parents, Jim and Lydia James, had packed up their newly purchased RV and went about a never ending road trip covering the 48 continental states and Canada. With her brothers and sisters scattered about the country as well, Haley had come to depend on Nathan and her other friends. She had been closest to Lucas and Peyton but had managed to keep in touch with everyone from her high school days, including Brooke. It had been Haley who had encouraged her and Cameron to relocate to North Carolina. Friendship had always been important to Haley and it thrilled her that her wedding would be the event to reunite everyone after eight years.

Time had changed a lot of things. Lucas and Peyton had married and at a time when all thought they would be announcing something happy like the birth of their first child, they had dropped the heartrending bombshell that they were divorcing. So many of their friends had moved away and made new lives for themselves. Take Brooke. Haley hadn't seen her since they were teenagers. When the successful, beautiful, confident brunette moved back to Tree Hill with her new man, it was like a whole other person. She was still funny and fun loving Brooke Davis but another side had emerged. It was interesting to see how they had all changed and grown up.

But for Haley, life was perfect, right where she needed it to be. She had the career she'd always wanted. Ever since her high school days as a tutor, she had been empowered by the idea of teaching and helping people. Her dream college had always been Stanford but when Nathan had received his scholarship to Duke, she had readily volunteered to remain in North Carolina close by. UNC Chapel Hill was an excellent school and at the last possible minute, Haley had decided to major in Chemistry with a minor in Pharmacology. After obtaining her Masters degree, she had moved back to Tree Hill to accept a position as a Research Chemist in the laboratory of an up and coming nationally known chemical plant. Her days were happily spent moving up the corporate ladder doing what she loved. Specializing in pharmacokinetics and the functional characterization of human and animal blood and plasma components, it had been a happy four years working towards a doctorate and teaching part time at Tree Hill University. It had been a professional dream but not without a cost.

They had never lived together full time. First there was high school and after that, college had separated them. Upon graduation, Haley had moved back to Tree Hill while Nathan had stayed on in Durham. It was only two hours away and there were many phone calls, e-mails, and visits but the many lonely and empty nights often made if feel like each was on the other side of the world. In the summer when school was no longer in session, Nathan would live in the condo with her but it was all bittersweet. The town they called home harbored so many painful memories.

She had been there with him during the worst times of his life. Her love and faith had sustained him. With Dan in jail, Deb dead, Lucas and Peyton in New York and Haley's family scattered about the country, they had come to rely on each other. Rings, vows and a license would make it official but in their hearts, they had been permanently committed a long time ago. Now there was nothing but happiness to look forward to. It was going to be the best summer ever. Soon she would be Nathan's wife and all the important people in their lives, past and present, would be on hand to witness it.