A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed and all those who story alerted and those who favorited. Thanks a million. I know that a lot of writers and readers are pretty bummed about the rumors about what's going to happen to One Tree Hill next season. I'm pretty bummed myself, but I'm not going to let that stop me from enjoying myself with the stories on this site. There are really some remarkable stories going on right now and I hope that just because OTH the show might not be as great as we'd all wish it would be that people don't abandon this section of .

Oh and I love reviews, but I won't stop writing this if I don't get any. That's not how I roll. I like reveiws because they're nice, but they're not the reason why I write.

Anyway, I think I should reiterate the fact that I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the characters on said show. I'm simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes. I'm not making any money off of this, so please don't sue me.

/end rant

Chapter 3- Enter Dan

______________________

Haley and Peyton were walking down the hall when Haley turned to go in the direction of the nearby nurses' lounge.

Peyton shot her a wondering look. "Where are you going?"

Haley laughed sheepishly before pulling Peyton close to her. "The coffee here is terrible. In fact, the only fairly digestible liquid comes from the nurses."

"You're sneaky, Haley, but also wrong. The BEST coffee in the entire hospital happens to be on the Maternity floor," Peyton informed her. "I guess it's important to keep everyone as cheerful as possible up there."

"Wow, you sure know some hospital secrets," Haley said.

"I've spent far too much time here," Peyton reminded her. She refused to let herself get carried away by the memory of losing her mother. Both Nathan and Lucas needed her to stay positive and optimistic is she was going to be any help at all to them.

"Yeah," Haley agreed. "By the way, that was some quick thinking on your part of leaving those alone together."

"I figured that they needed some time and that nothing would happen if they had an audience," Peyton told her.

"Yeah, I got that same impression," Haley said, feeling a twinge of jealousy that the other girl knew so much about her best friend and her husband.

The two of them reached the elevator and Haley reached out and pushed the elevator call button with her left hand. She smiled when she noticed how it caught the light. But the smile faded when she realized that she hadn't been the only one who had noticed.

Haley turned to see that Peyton was staring at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. "Haley James, what is that on your finger?"

"It's a wedding ring," Haley answered. She took a deep breath before continuing. "And actually, it's Haley James-Scott now."

"Are you serious?" Peyton asked and Haley nodded. Then she pulled the new wife into a firm hug. "Congratulations! Now let me see it!"

Haley shyly showed her the wedding ring on her finger.

Peyton examined the ring closely before grinning up at Haley. "It's absolutely beautiful. When did this happen?"

"Couple days ago, actually," Haley admitted. "I know it's crazy and we're only in high school and that it's Nathan Scott but-"

"You don't have to explain anything to me. Or to anyone, for that matter," Peyton told her. "If you're happy, then everyone else is going to have to get over it."

The elevator dinged and they both stepped into it. "Thanks, Peyton. That's actually something that I needed to hear."

"No problem. That's me… Peyton Sawyer, fixer of all things, great or small." Both girls laughed and Peyton cocked her head. "So who else knows?"

"Let's see, my parents, Karen, Lucas, you, probably Keith, and apparently Deb," Haley said, raising a finger every time she listed a name. "So seven in all. Oh, eight! I think that Nathan may have said something to Tim."

"So then, everyone else knows," Peyton said. "Or at least everyone will know by tomorrow. There's apparently a big party going on tonight and no doubt Brooke will catch wind of the news and from there it's only hop, skip, and jump before it's on the evening news."

Haley's face reddened. "Are you serious?"

Peyton nodded. "I'll probably have a hundred messages all from her telling me that she has a delicious piece of gossip."

"Great."

------

Karen eyed both of Dan's boys. Neither one looked particularly pleased at having been beckoned by their father. Not that she could blame either of them. It had been a particularly tough time for both Lucas and Nathan and a large part of the troubles could be linked to one man- Dan Scott.

"I guess I'll go first," Nathan said, and Karen was amazed at how much inner strength the boy had. He had grown into a remarkable young man, in spite of Dan's influence.

Lucas and his mother watched Nathan walk into Dan's room and close the door behind him. Lucas put his arm around his mother.

"Thanks for being here, Ma. I really appreciate it," he said. "And I'm sure that Nathan feels the exact same way."

Karen just nodded. "We haven't really had much of a chance to talk since you came back. How are you doing?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I'm having some serious conflicting feelings about Dan and his condition. And I'm glad I'm back, but I don't know if I should be here, though."

"Why not?"

"It's too hard," he told her. "Everyday I'm going to have to see Peyton and imagine how things could've been if I had just done things right from the beginning."

"Peyton, huh?" Karen bit back a smile. The blond girl had been her son's dream girl for years, even if he never admitted it to her. "What about Brooke?"

His face turned red. He really didn't want to disclose to his mother the reasons why he had been with the brunette. "Brooke's amazing and I like her a lot but she's not Peyton."

"So what are you going to do when you see her?" Karen asked. "Peyton, I mean."

"Get into a fight with her and make her more angry with me than she already was." Lucas groaned at the memory. At Karen's confused look, he clarified, "I saw her already. Her and Brooke, actually. In fact, Peyton drove me to hospital."

"That was nice of her."

"Yeah, but I can't tell if she did it because she was being nice or because she still cares about me," Lucas said. "I wish I knew what I could do to make things better between us."

"Just give it time," Karen advised. "If she feels the same way, you two will find your way to each other, I guarantee it."

"But what if she doesn't?"

She hugged him tight to her. "Then you find a way to mend your broken heart."

-----

Nathan closed the door behind him. He looked at his dad lying in the hospital bed and it was strange to see him so weak. It was so uncomfortable for him, that Nathan tried to keep his gaze on anything but his father.

"Nathan," Dan croaked. The father cursed himself for not even being able to sound like he used to. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course," Nathan said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just had a heart attack," Dan joked. "Actually, I'm feeling much better now. They gave me something for the pain and believe me it's working."

"That's good," the son said. Nathan was confused. This man was totally not acting anything like Dan Scott. This man was nice and Dan Scott was never nice unless there was something in it for him. What had happened to his dad?

"How's Haley? When you see her can you tell her that I'm sorry for how I acted towards her?" Dan asked. "It wasn't right for me to take my frustrations about our failed relationship out on her. Because she seems like good people."

"She is," Nathan told his dad, really freaked out now by the change in his father.

Dan nodded. "And she good for you, too. Tell her that, won't you?"

When Karen had told him that Dan was awake, Nathan had decided that he wasn't going to tell his father about his marriage for fear that the news would cause further damage to his father. But now, Nathan needed to test Dan's new attitude.

"I will," Nathan said. "And I'm glad that you feel that way about her because there's something that I need you to know."

"You got her pregnant?"

"No! Why does everyone keep assuming that I got her pregnant?"

Dan chuckled. "Because you're my son and history tends to repeat itself."

"Well, it didn't this time," Nathan said. He paused, hoping that he didn't end up killing his father. "Haley's not pregnant, but we did get married."

Dan was quiet for a moment as he allowed for his son's news to sink in. "She's not pregnant but you married her anyway. I have to ask, why?"

"Because I love her, Dad. I'm in love with her and I want to be with her for the rest of my life," Nathan explained, thinking that his father probably thought his reasoning was stupid and childish and was going to call him on it.

"I know how you feel," Dan said, calmly. "When I was your age, I was in love myself. I thought that I was going to love her forever, too."

"Karen?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah. And you know what? Seventeen years later, it's still true."

Nathan's jaw dropped. That was the last thing he had expected Dan to say. "Wait a minute, I'm confused. Are you trying to tell me that I made a mistake or not?"

"Do you think it was a mistake?" Dan asked and Nathan shook his head. "Then I don't either. I was stupid, son. I had my priorities mixed up and because of that, I let her go. And while I don't regret being with your mother, it wasn't the same. And I don't want that for you."

"Are you telling me that you still love Karen?"

"Yeah, I am," Dan replied sheepishly. "You know, I'm surprised your mother did walk into the room right then. That would have been a very Tree Hill moment."

"Actually, Mom's gone," Nathan said, hating that he to give his father more upsetting news. "She said that you signed the divorce papers and she took off."

"Good for her," he said. "Hope she finds some happiness out there. God knows she wasn't going to find it with me."

Nathan blinked. Okay, that was too much. This man was obviously an imposter because there was no way that Dan Scott would have said that.

----

Haley and Peyton made their way back to the waiting room to see Karen and Lucas hugging. The two girls came closer and Lucas pulled away from his mother, embarrassed to have been caught in his mother's embrace by Peyton.

"Where's Nathan?" Haley asked as she handed a coffee to Karen.

"He's with Dan right now," Lucas informed her. "He's awake and apparently he wanted to see him. And me, too, supposedly."

"Oh," Haley said. She wasn't sure how to react. She was concerned for her husband and how he was feeling but also knew that her best friend was probably having a hard time figuring out what Dan wanting to see him meant.

"Are you going to go see him?" Peyton asked, her voice soft.

"I don't know, maybe," Lucas said. "I'm undecided at the moment. I don't want to deal with him if he's going to be an ass to me."

"Actually, the doctor told me that Dan… well, he's different. There's this thing called the Phoenix Effect, that's not uncommon in cardiac patients," Karen explained. "People who almost died sometimes realize their mistakes and try to correct them. Apparently Dan's been affected by that and is acting very unlike himself."

"Is it permanent?" Lucas asked.

"Not always, no. But it's pretty much up to the person in question," Karen told him. "Then again, it's Dan we're talking about, so nothing's a given."

"Temporary or not, I can't imagine Dan being a good guy," Lucas said. The last few months had taught him that he was not a good man.

"I can," Karen said softly, remembering the man she loved. The three teenagers turned to her in surprise. She let out a small laugh. "He wasn't always like the way he is now. He used to be different, but after a while, his father just broke him down."

"Oh, I actually can see that," Haley said. At Karen's look, the new wife shrugged. "When you were in Italy, Nathan's grandparents came into town for Dan's birthday. Meeting Royal Scott gave me insight as to why Dan's the way he is."

Lucas looked up to meet Peyton's eyes. He wondered if she remembered that it was that weekend that they had kissed each other in the motel. Peyton blushed slightly and Lucas had his answer, she did remember and she was thinking about what almost happened between them.

Peyton, eager to push the memory out of her brain, turned to Karen. "So do you think Luke should go visit Dan or not?"

Karen tried to bite back a smile. It was so obvious to her that the curly blond still had feelings for her son. "I don't know, it's not my decision to make, obviously."

"But still," Lucas interjected. "I would love to know what your opinion is."

"In that case," Karen said, pausing for a second to make sure she said the right words. "I would encourage you to see him. At least once. But if you're so dead set against it, then that's fine, too. This is your decision, Lucas, and you're the one that's going to have to live with the consequences. So you should do what you think is right."

Lucas nodded. They all heard the squeak of a sneaker on the hospital floor and they all turned to see Nathan coming towards them. Haley ran to him and hugged him. Nathan looked emotionally exhausted and nearly collapsed in her arms. She squeezed him tight and gave him a quick kiss. She pulled away from him and stroked his face.

"Are you okay?" Haley asked, her voice barely loud enough for the rest of the group to hear her. It didn't matter, because he had heard her.

He nodded slowly. There was so much he wanted to talk to her about, but it was going to have to wait. "He wants to see you, Hales. Would you come with me for a minute? I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay."

"Let's go," she said as she took his hand. She didn't want to go see Dan, but it was obvious that Nathan wanted her to, so she was going to do it. For Nathan.

The remaining three watched the newlyweds enter Dan's room and disappear as Nathan closed the door behind them. All of them hoping that Dan's Phoenix Effect lasted long enough for the couple to finish their visit.

"You know," Peyton started. "After that, they're going to need a party."

Lucas's eyes widened. "You're right!"

Peyton and Karen shared a look. Why was the boy getting so excited?

"We need to throw them a wedding reception." Lucas looked at his mom. "Cause they got married a few days ago…"

"I know," Karen informed him. "Haley told me."

"Oh good," he said with a sigh of relief. "I thought that Haley was going to kill me when she found out that I had spilled the beans to you."

"You know, that sounds like a great idea, Luke!" Peyton told him. "They need to know that we totally support their decision."

"We should keep it a secret, though. From Haley and Nathan, I mean," Lucas clarified. "I know Haley would be all sensible and say that it wasn't the right time for a party and I think she and Nathan really need one."

"You're a good boy, Lucas," Karen told him, visibly swelling with pride. At Lucas's dark look that he shot her, "Man, I meant man."

Peyton giggled at that and Lucas shot her a dirty look, too. "What?" Peyton asked, shrugging. "It was funny."

"Anyway, we should probably get started on it at soon as possible," he continued, ignoring her. "We should…"

He trailed off. Truth be told, he had no idea how to throw a party, much less the kind of wedding reception that his best friend deserved.

Peyton easily picked up on that. "Don't worry about that. You can talk to Brooke, who is a master at throwing parties."

Lucas swallowed hard. Of course, Brooke should be involved. It made perfect sense, but he hadn't thought of that when he had suggested the idea of the wedding reception. It was going to be awkward for him to be working with the girl he wants to be with and his ex-girlfriend. But this is for Haley, he reminded himself, and he would do anything for her.

"So, you'll talk to her?" Lucas asked.

He was being a coward and she knew it, but Peyton realized that it wasn't the right situation to call him on it. "I'll go talk to her right now. If I can break the news before she hears it from Tim at the party tonight, she might be more receptive to help."

Mother and son watched the curly blond excuse herself and make her way to the elevators. Karen wrapped an arm around Lucas.

"You have nothing to worry about," she told him.

He felt the joy spreading through his body, but tried to remain skeptical. He couldn't handle getting his hopes up over nothing. "How do you know?"

Karen smiled softly. "Call it mother's intuition."

----

Haley and Nathan stepped into Dan's room. She was nervous and Nathan could feel it coming off her in waves. He squeezed her hand, letting her know that he was right there with her. She gave him a grateful smile.

"Mr. Scott?" Her voice was soft. Dan's eyes had been closed when they had come in and she was hoping that he was asleep.

He had just been resting, however. At the sound of her voice, his eyes opened and he smiled at his new daughter-in-law. "Haley. Thank you for coming."

Wow, even after preparing herself for it, "Nice Dan" was a shock. "No problem," she managed to get out. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great," he admitted. "But it makes me feel better knowing that my family is doing well. Which is why I wanted to thank you in person for coming into my son's life when you did. You're turning him into the sort of man, I always wished I could be. So thank you for that, Haley."

Haley was flabbergasted. How was she supposed to react to that? What was the protocol for this type of thing. She just laughed uncomfortably and shrugged her shoulders at him. "No thanks are necessary, really."

Dan smiled at both of them. "I know I gave you some trouble during your relationship, but I'd like to make it up to you. Obviously, I can't go to work, so I'd like you to take over for me at the dealership, Nathan."

"I can't do that, Dad," Nathan told him. "I have school."

"I know that," his father told him. "But basketball season is over, so you can work a few hours after school. The day manager can take care of things during school and at night you and your brother can take over."

"My brother?" Nathan repeated. "You mean, Lucas?"

"Do you have any more brothers running around that I should know about?" Dan joked. "Of course I mean, Lucas. The pay is pretty good, much better than what they're paying you at that pretzel place in the mall. What do you think? Want the job?"

Haley and Nathan exchanged a look. They both knew that they would need all the money that they could get. She nodded at him, giving her husband her blessing. He nodded back at her and squeezed her hand, thankful he had gotten himself a great woman.

"Yeah, that'll be great," Nathan said. "Thanks, Dad. But you know, I can't speak for Lucas. You know that, right?"

"I know," Dan said, growing serious. "That's why I plan on asking him myself… if he decides to come and visit me."

He looked so remorseful and broken that Haley's heart went out to him. She prayed that this change wasn't temporary for him because it would fix a lot of things in Tree Hill.

"He'll come," Haley promised.

Dan nodded, looking entirely unconvinced. "Anyway, at least you two came. So thank you again for that. But now you have to leave."

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Go!" Dan demanded even though his tone was jovial. "The hospital is no place for a newlywed couple. Go home and enjoy being together. I don't want to hear that either of you stepped foot in this hospital for at least two days, you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"I get it, Dad."

"Good," Dan said. "Now, on your way out, will you tell Lucas that I'd like to see him?"