A/N: Thanks for all those who reviewed the first chapter. Sorry it took so long for an update. hopefully the next one will be soon. Enjoy and leave me some reviews; they inspire me :)

Burning In the Aftermath

Nathan's eyes fluttered opened briefly before he allowed them to shut once more. He felt so tired, and his eyes were so heavy. He struggled to remember something, anything but nothing came to his mind. Suddenly, everything came rushing back and immediately is his eyes popped open and he looked around, studying his surroundings.

Clearly, he was in a hospital. It the bland white walls and sterile environment wasn't a clue in, the various machines he was hooked up to was. He pushed himself up, readjusting his pillows to prop against and groaned in pain as he did so. He fingers went down to his abdomen that felt tender to his touch. Upon further inspection he found a gaze cloth soaked in blood covering a spot almost near his heart.

He had been shot.

The first thing he thought of was the pregnant girl he had thrown his body in front of to protect. Was she okay? Was her baby okay? He promised her he would protect her. How long had he been in the hospital? Hours? Days? Longer. Panicked, he searched around to call for a nurse when his eyes rested on the chair beside his bed.

There she was, in all her beauty. Her hand was rested firmly on her swollen stomach, protecting the precious cargo she carried. She was asleep, breathing evenly, with her head propped up on her other hand. Nathan noted she was still in the clothing she was wearing that fateful night. His heart warmed at the thought that she was worried about him.

He was worried about her too though. As he watched her sleep, he wondered where the father was. He didn't understand what a pregnant teen was out so late and by herself. He didn't know her, not by name, only by face but she was a curious figure. Mystery surrounded her since she had arrived months before, barely showing.

He didn't know her and yet he had saved her. He threw his life, his future, his career, in front of a practical stranger. He had only known her name moments before doing so and besides that fact, knew nothing else about her. But he felt almost a bond with her; he knew he had felt quite a sense of urgency to protect her.

She stirred, stretching out and yawning and he was smiling when she finally opened her eyes. They widen for a minute before she jumped up as best she could throwing herself into his arms. He grinned through the pain, stroking her hair as he felt tears dampen his shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She whispered in a shaky voice in his ear.

"And I'm glad that you're okay." He responded loosening his grip on her as she sat back down in chair. He studied her for a moment before continuing. "You are okay aren't you?"

"No more shaken up then the next person." She shrugged, joining her fingers together over her bulging belly.

"And the baby?"

"Baby's good." She smiled clearing her throat. "I should; um, you're mom's outside waiting for you to wake up. I'm going to go get her."

"Wait." Nathan commanded gently placing his hand on her wrist. She gave him a questioning look as he let go and she sat back down. "My mom can be a bit overbearing."

"I'd be overbearing too if my little guy started jumping out in front of speeding bullets." She responded rubbing her tummy slightly as he laughed uncomfortably. "Right. I probably shouldn't make you laugh too much."

"So it's a boy?" he asked and she nodded. "You're going to have your hands full. But hey, at least he's already got a hero."

"Mighty cocky of ourselves aren't we Mr. Scott?" She laughed as he pointed to himself.

"Eww." He winced. "My father is Mr. Scott. I'm Nathan."

"Nathan." She repeated as she looked directly at him. "You nearly died Nathan."

Nathan wasn't sure how he felt about that. He had never been a big believer in God and death was something completely foreign to him. He thought that maybe this was some sort of sign that everything happened for a reason. Maybe this was finally a wake up call to go out and do something great with his life. To go out and be happy for once.

"You lost a lot of blood." She continued getting up and walking in front of his bed. "Most of it, ending up on me." She motioned to her blood soaked clothes.

"I'll buy you some new clothes." He quipped and she stopped pacing to look at him. She was biting her lip and struggling to keep her emotions in check.

"I really just wanted to thank you. That was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Things are going to get really crazy…"

"How so?"

"You're a town hero. You're father is already calling for a parade." She explained much to his dismay.

"I don't want to be a hero." He grumbled throwing his head back on his pillow.

"You're my hero." She told him, her voice finally cracking.

In an instant she was crumpled in the chair and started sobbing. Nathan stood frozen for a few seconds before he lifted his head and forced himself through the pain to sit up. He carefully swung his legs over the bed and put all his weight on his arms to get up. She looked up just in time so see him nearly fall and stood up quickly, allowing him to wrap his arms around her shoulders.

"I was going to try to comfort you." He admitted looking at her sheepishly as she gingerly set him on the bed. "And you ended up helping me."

"I don't mean to be such a mess." She said taking a seat beside him on the bed. "When I first got pregnant I went through the different emotions. Denial and anger and sadness and acceptance and then happiness. I thought for a little while there that I was going to get an abortion or give him up for adoption."

"And now?" he prodded gently squeezing her hand.

"When that gun was pointed at me, I couldn't think of anything but how I wouldn't be able to live if anything happened to my baby. He's pretty much all I have in the world. But you saved me; you saved him."

She watched as he fiddled with his hands.

"I didn't do anything great. I think just about any normal decent human being would do the same thing in the same situation."

She flung her arms around his neck and he held her, softly rubbing circles on her back. She hadn't felt safe in a really long time, and even though the previous night have probably been the most terrifying experience of her life, this stranger, the school hot shot nearly died to save her.

"Don't be so modest." She chuckled through her tears. "It wasn't just any normal decent human being. It was you."

"How long have I been here?" he asked releasing her, effectively changing the subject.

"Several hours. It's almost morning." She answered yawning. "You had to have surgery. The bullet nicked your heart."

"Wow." was all he could manage to muster up. His fingers lightly touched his wound once more before looking up to meet her gaze. Realization suddenly dawned on him. "What about the shooter?"

"He's here…" she started, unsure of how exactly she was going to tell him. "The glass, it ended up in his eyes. That's why he shot at me; he couldn't tell who had shot at him."

"That doesn't change the fact that he shouldn't have been there robbing the place." Nathan grumbled much to Haley's dismay.

"I think people do what they have to do sometimes." She responded much to Nathan's dismay. "And he'll pay for it for the rest of his life. They couldn't repair his eyes; he's blind now."

For the umpteenth time in the last several hours, Nathan wasn't sure how he felt about that. The kid was just that-a kid. He couldn't have been much older than Nathan himself. He couldn't imagine being so desperate that he would have to rob any one much less hold up a convenience store at gun point. At the same time though, he couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry that the guy was going to have to suffer for the rest of his life.

"They're going to arrest him on attempted arm robbery, attempted kidnapping, and attempted murder. There are some other small things they have him on, but those are the big ones. " Haley continued, trying to decipher Nathan's reaction.

"You should go home and get some rest." Nathan said quietly, still not sure how to react to any of the events that had happened to him within the last several hours. "You look exhausted and I'm sure the stress isn't good for the baby."

"They wanted to admit me, you know in case my water did break from the stress. I told them they were out of their mind."

"Why's that?" Nathan laughed lightly.

"Because I'm not going to sit around and wait for my water to possibly break. I've been waiting eight and a half months for this little guy to make his appearance and when he does, I want it to be somewhat memorable."

"You really start to glow when you talk about him." Nathan smiled, eliciting one from her as well.

"Nathan?" both teens looked up to see Nathan's mother coming into the darkened hospital room. Haley slipped off the bed giving Nathan's hand a squeeze and moving out of the way. The mother rushed up her son, taking him into her arms and causing him much discomfort. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

"Yeah Mom, I'm fine." Nathan responded, nudging her off of him and giving her a tight smile.

"I was so worried about you and your father's doing everything he can to make sure that awful boy pays for what he did to you. You nearly died!" his mother exasperated pulling her son into yet another hug. He rolled his eyes are her antics and searched the room for any signs of the pregnant brunette.

She was gone.

X-x-X

Peyton lifted her head up from her knees removing her hands from her tear stained face. She blew out her breathe and struggled to keep her emotions in check as she watched the bed in front of her. Her face contorted as more tears began to fall as she watched a machine breath for the guy she loved most in the world.

"Peyt." Her father placed his hand on her shoulder and she was instantly up and in his arms.

"Daddy look at him!" she wailed, crying into his shoulder as he gripped her tightly. "He's going to die!"

"Everything's going to be okay baby." Larry Sawyer soothed looking over her shoulder at the boy in front of him.

"He won't wake up, he's not moving. He can't even breath on his own!" she continued to sob. She let go of her father and let her tired body sink into the chair. "It's all my fault."

"How baby?" Larry asked, squatting in front of her. She looked up, wiping away the tears from her face and sniffled loudly.

"The bullet that the cop shot into the store- it missed the shooter. It ricocheted off the wall and it would've hit me but Jake, " she began crying once more, fighting to get the words out. "Jake, he turned around to block it. He just looked at me and he didn't look like he was in pain. We fell, and there, there was so much blood."

"I spoke with the doctors baby, he's going to live."

"He is?" Peyton asked, hopeful yet weary at the same time. She wasn't about to get her hopes up for no reason. Larry sighed knowing this was going to be difficult to say. She immediately picked up on his hesitation. "Daddy what aren't you telling me?"

"The bullet severed his spinal cord." Larry broke gently, waiting to gauge her reaction. Her expression was blank. "He's at least paralyzed from the waist down, possibly from the neck down."

"But he's going to live?" Peyton nodded as her father did the same. "That's all that matters."

"Where are his parents?" Larry questioned standing up and taking a seat beside Peyton.

"They're on there way. They were in Savannah visiting relatives. How am I supposed to tell them?"

"If you want, I'll handle it Peyt. I know this is already hard enough as it is."

"No, no. I can do it." She assured, squeezing his hand. "As long as he's around, I feel like I can do anything."