Disclaimer: I do not own OTH or any of it characters places or such. I am simply borrowing them.
AN/ Here is the last chapter. It has taken us, me a long time to get to this point, but we did it! Even though this is the last chapter please still review. I really like to hear what you guys think. I have already written the first chapter of the sequel and I will be starting on the second chapter in a few minutes. I will have the first chapter of the sequel up in a few days, it is going to be called "looking forward", make sure you look for it. I want to thank everyone for your reviews and for reading this story. It has really been fun writing it. I love the relationships that the group has together. It reminds me of my own close friends that I grew up with. No matter the distance, we are always still close. I would like to say a special thanks to those who have stuck with my during this loooonnnggg process and also those who have taken the time to leave reviews. Even the smallest ones have been encouragement and have helped me through this story. Again, Thanks guys and don't forget about the sequel. It is coming!!
The group walked in silence into the airport and towards the check in counter. John and Scott walked behind them acting as bodyguards for the group. A few people stopped and stared. There were a few whispers, but no one bothered the group. After Haley and Lucas had both checked in for their flights, the group took the elevator to the second floor. Haley and Lucas's flights would both be leaving through the same gate. They would get to walk down to their planes together, but they would have to say goodbye to everyone else outside the gate. The group stood outside the gate for a few minutes in silence. No one wanted to say goodbye. Karen was the first to move.
"I am going to miss you kids," Karen said as she walked forward and hugged Lucas.
"We are going to miss you too, mom. We will be home soon"
"I know. It never gets easier though" Karen replied continuing to hug her oldest child
"I know, mom. I know." Lucas said into his mom's hair, "Plan a weekend trip down to Charlotte if you can. It would be nice to have you and Meredith around for the weekend"
"I will do my best." Karen replied as she pulled away from the hug. "I love you Lucas"
"I love you too, mom"
Karen moved from her son to hug Haley
"Take care in those mountains. Remember there is a grilled cheese sandwich here waiting with your name on it"
"I know. Thanks Karen. I will call for our weekly chats" Haley replied as she hugged the woman back
"I know. We look forward to them." Karen replied as she pulled away from Haley and went to stand by Nathan's wheelchair.
Meredith walked up to Lucas with her head hanging.
"Hey, why the long face?" Lucas asked as he picked his sister up
"I don't want you to leave" Meredith said as she buried her head into his shoulder
"I know, Shrimp, but I will be home soon. I will call you all the time"
"Every day?"
"Well, maybe not every day, but most days. And you know if you want to talk to me, you can always ask Mom to call me. She will"
"Okay" Meredith said softly
Lucas put both arms around his sister and squeezed her tight as Meredith squeezed his neck. "I love you Meredith"
"I love you too Luke. Come back soon"
"I will" Lucas said as he put his sister down. He watched her walk into Haley's waiting arms before walking towards his brother.
"I will miss you Haley"
"I will miss you too, little girl. Remember that if you need me you can call. I will call you too"
"Really?"
"Really. I might just call just to talk to you and not to mom"
"That would be cool"
"Yea, it would, wouldn't it?" Haley replied smiling at the young girl
"I love you Haley"
"I love you too, Meredith. Take care of your mom for us, okay?"
"I will" Meredith said as she hugged Haley tightly. Haley hugged her back.
Meredith left Haley's arms and walked back towards her mom.
"Alright, man. Well, I guess I won't have to worry about any sibling rivalry on the court of awhile" Lucas joked
"Nah, I guess not. Don't forget you can still stay at the house when you guys play the Magic. I am still going to be going to most of the games. Even if I can't play right now, they are still my teammates."
"I know. Call me if you need anything. I know this is not going to be easy for you"
"No, it isn't. I will make it though. I have a goal to reach for"
"It will be good to see you walking again" Lucas replied as he bent down to give his brother a hug, "Love you man"
"Love you too bro" Nathan replied
Lucas walked towards his mom and motioned for them to give Haley and Nathan a little time to themselves. As the others walked away, Haley sat down in one of the many available chairs as Nathan wheeled himself towards her.
"So…" Haley began as tears started to fill her eyes
"Don't cry, Hales. It will be okay. We will all be together soon"
"Are you sure?"
"I am positive. You will hear from me so much that you are going to be sick of hearing from me," Nathan said as he laughed
"I can never get sick of hearing your voice"
"I know. I am going to miss you"
"I am going to miss you more" Haley replied as she smiled
"I love you Haley James. Nothing is going to change that, not distance or anything else. I love you"
"I know. I just don't want to leave."
"It is not easy, I know. Just keep your chin up"
Haley laughed as she said, "Take your own advice, Scott. This rehab is going to be rough"
"Yea, it is, but there is something brighter on the other side. I just have to get there"
The announcer came over the loudspeaker announcing the boarding of Haley's plane.
"Well, I guess this is it."
"Yea, call me when you get to Montana."
"I will" Haley said as she stood and took a seat in Nathan's lap. "I love you Nathan"
"I love you too Hales" Nathan replied before leaning in to kiss her as they pulled back he placed his forehead to hers, "Always and forever"
Haley smiled before repeating him, "Always and forever"
Haley gave Nathan one more quick kiss before standing and looking toward the others that were now walking towards them. She bent down and gave Nathan one more hug before turning to hug Karen and Meredith once more. Lucas did the same.
"Bye guys" Haley said as she and Lucas began to walk towards the security checkpoint
"Have a safe flight" Karen called after them.
"Love you" Lucas replied
"Love you too" Meredith replied back
The group stood there until Haley and Lucas could no longer be seen and than they turned to walk back towards the elevator. Karen pushing Nathan.
Lucas and Haley cleared the security checkpoint and started towards their planes. They stopped when they reach Haley's.
"I am really hating this good bye thing," Lucas said
"It is not good bye. It is see you later" Haley replied, "And we will see each other soon"
"I know." Lucas leaned in to hug Haley as the announcer called for final boarding for her flight, "Call me if you need me. I will call you when I need you too"
"Okay, I promise. Thursday nights?"
"Yea, Thursday nights. It is tradition. We can't break it" Lucas said as he laughed. He gave Haley a tight squeeze before they pulled away from one another.
"Love ya Luke"
"Love ya too Hales."
Haley turned towards the flight attendant and handed out her boarding pass. She accepted part of it back and then looked one final time towards Lucas. "BFF" she mouthed to him
"BFF" He mouthed back. Lucas watched his best friend disappear before moving to walk to his own plane.
Once, Karen, Nathan and Meredith returned to the house, they began to get Nathan's things together for his flight. Nathan would be going to the airport with John and Scott, so the good-byes with Karen and Meredith would be at home. The time seemed to creep by as Nathan sat in his wheelchair watching the clock in the living room. He looked around the room, at the pictures on the wall. There were so many memories in this room, in this house for that matter. His eyes fell on the newer lazyboy chair, the chair that no one had dared sit in all week. That chair was the last place that his dad had been sitting before he went out to get ice cream and was ultimately killed. As he stared at the chair, his mind began to wonder back to times that his dad would have sat in that chair. That was probably the chair that Keith Scott sat in as he talked weekly with all of the kids, even the ones that lived in Tree Hill. It was probably the chair that he sat in to watch every game Nathan or Lucas played. It was the chair that he sat with Meredith every night reading her a bedtime story. The chair might be new, but it still held a lot of history to it. Nathan ran his hand over the armrest and could almost hear his dad's voice. It was like he was sitting right there looking back at Nathan, telling him that he was proud of him and that everything would work out. Nathan pulled his hand back and sat staring at the chair when Karen walked in.
"Nathan, you okay?" Karen asked
"Yea, I am fine. Just thinking."
"About your dad?"
"Yea and this chair" Nathan said laughing at how silly it must sound
"Yea, the chair meant a lot to your dad. He always sat here, no where else, but in that chair"
"It has been weird walking around this house without him"
"Yea, I know it has"
"Mom, are you going to be okay here? With all the memories?" Nathan asked sincerely
"Yea, the memories are not easy, knowing that your dad is not going to just walk through the door, but they are comforting. The memories mean that your dad led a good life, he had a full life. He once told that he had everything he could ever dream of and if something happened to him that he would die happy. He was happy, Nathan. Those memories that we all have in this house are what keep him alive. He lives through each one of us, through the stories that we tell about him and the laughter we share at just how nuts your dad was."
"I am glad you will be okay, mom"
"Me too" Karen replied
The front door opened as John walked in, "Nathan, we need to be heading to the airport"
"Okay" Nathan replied as John walked back out the door, "Well, I guess this is it"
"Yea, the last one to leave" Karen replied smiling, "Be careful, Nathan"
"I will mom, I promise" Nathan replied as Karen moved to hug him
"Call me if you need anything. I will see what I can do about maybe coming down for a few days once you get your rehab going"
"Okay, I would like that" Nathan replied hugging him back
"Meredith" Karen called as she stood up, "Come say goodbye to your brother"
Meredith came out of her room and towards living room with her head hanging once again. "This stinks" Meredith said as she approached her mom and brother
"I know" Nathan said as he lifted his sister up to his lap, "I will be back soon though"
"Can we still come see you?"
"Yea, if mom says it is okay. And you can call me whenever you want"
"Okay" Meredith said as she turned to hug her brother tightly
"I am going to miss you Munchkin"
"I am going to miss you too Nate" Meredith replied
"I have to go. John and Scott are waiting for me." Nathan said as Meredith pulled away kissing him on the cheek
"I love you"
"I love you too Meredith" Nathan sat Meredith back on the floor as Karen leaned in to hug her son once more, "Bye mom. I love you"
"I love you too, Nathan"
Nathan wheeled himself towards the front door that was now being held open by John.
"Don't worry, Karen. We will take care of him," John said
"I know John. I know" Karen replied as she and Meredith walked out the front door also. They stood and watched as Nathan was helped into the car. They waved as the car pulled out of the driveway and kept waving until the car was out of sight.
After checking in for their flight and passing through security, John, Scott and Nathan sat waiting to be boarded onto the plane. Nathan was going to be the last one to board because of his wheelchair; he however would be the first one off the plane in Orlando. Nathan was silent as he watched people board the plane wondering what each of them was thinking as they spotted him. He usually didn't bother to think about what people thought, but he had nothing better to do at the moment. He watched as people recognized him and started whispering he could see the headline now. 'Nathan Scott heads back to Orlando days before he is actually supposed to. He has faked us once again'. Nathan laughed in spite of himself. He was still smiling when a young boy about nine years of age approached him.
"You are Nathan Scott, aren't you?" the young boy asked
"Yes, I sure am" Nathan replied
"Can I have your autograph?"
"Sure" Nathan said as the young boy handed him a newspaper article that had been written about Nathan's heroic acts at the café, "You want me to autograph this?" Nathan asked surprised
"Yea, you are a hero. You saved your mom"
"I am not a hero. I just did what any son would do. I protected my mom"
"You are still a hero to me"
Nathan smiled, "What is your name?"
"Jason" the little boy responded
"Well, Jason, thank you" Nathan said as he began to autograph the newspaper article. He handed the newspaper back to the little boy and smiled.
"Thanks Mr. Scott"
"Your welcome. Enjoy your flight" Nathan said as the little boy ran back to join what Nathan thought was his dad as they walked through the door.
"You are next, Mr. Scott" the flight attendant said as she walked towards Nathan and the other two.
"Thanks" Nathan said as John began to push his wheelchair through the door and towards the door to the plane that would take him back to Orlando.
After a few minutes, Nathan's chair was securely fastened and the plane was ready for take off. Nathan stared out the window as he took in the last few minutes he had in North Carolina. He had come back to his hometown this week to bury the man who had raised him, his father. Though, he found more than he bargained for. Truth, love, friendship, family and so much more. No one ever said looking back was easy and it wasn't. But one thing that is for sure you have to look back to look forward. Nathan smiled as the plane began to move backward leaving the gate. He would be home soon. And this time, he would be looking forward.