Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Makes a girl motivated to continue. Forgive me if this chapter seems kinda blah, I typed this up in about an hour or so. Hope you guys are liking it so far. And if you haven't already figured it out, I've added Dean Winchester from Supernatural. Because, well, he's Dean and he's hot. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Two: Ghost From Lover's Past

Her bedroom looked just like it did before she ever left Tree Hill. Walking in there, memories of being with Nathan flooded her mind and she blinked away the tears that gathered in her eyes.

"Mama?"

The innocent voice of her daughter filled the quiet room and led her to sit next to the child, pulling the blanket higher to her chest, "Mama, are you okay?"

"Oh, sweetie," she began, kissing her on the forehead, "Mama's just feeling a little sad right now.

"Is it 'cause you miss Daddy?" She looked up at her mother with wide eyes, the same eyes that Haley had lovingly looked at for so many years, reminding her of him.

"Yeah, I miss Daddy." She sniffled through words, running her fingers through the child's hair, "I miss Daddy a lot."

"Don't worry, Mama. He says he'll be home soon, remember?"

A chuckle escaped from Haley's lips, her thoughts looking back at the moment he looked into the screen and declared he was coming home to his family soon. Closing her eyes, to conceal the sadness from her daughter, she gave her one last kiss on the forehead, "I know, sweetie. I know. Daddy's gonna be home really soon."

Nathan Scott settled into the bed he shared with his wife, taking off his shirt and revealing a chiseled torso. Next to him, Brooke was decked in a red, satin nightgown that fell just below her rear-end, and she'd found peace within the novel she held in her hands. Noticing her husband's gaze, she turned to him, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Nathan inched closer to her, placing his arm around her shoulder and bringing her closer to him, "It's just been a really long day."

"Tell me about it," she sighed, bringing the book down to focus her attention on him, "Crazy thing Dean being back, right? It's like seeing a ghost."

Nathan's lips tightened but nodded in agreement to conceal his anxiety from his wife. Brooke sensed Nathan being tense and looked up at him, "Nathan, what's the matter? You've been quiet since Lucas showed up. Did you guys fight or something?"

"No, no," he let out a nervous chuckle, "It's nothing like that. I was just thinking about some stuff."

Brooke made a face at him, "O-kay, are we gonna play twenty questions or are you just gonna tell me?"

"It's just family stuff. He says my mom's been feeling down since my dad went back to California to see my grandparents for a bit. I guess I thought I would drop by and see how she's doing."

Brooke raised an eyebrow, "Wow, Deb misses Dan? That's something I never would've imagined when we were younger." She looked back down and nestled her head into the space between his shoulder and chest, "But I thought she went with him?"

"She came back early for a work thing." He quickly replied.

Brooke shrugged, "It doesn't hurt, I guess. You can harass her for not showing up today like she promised."

Nathan sighed at his mother's absence, "She said she was sorry. You know she wouldn't miss this for the world if it wasn't important."

"What could be more important than celebrating her grand-daughter's first birthday?!" She replied in annoyance of the situation.

"She had to work!" Nathan shouted, defending her, "Besides, I don't see you whining about your mother not being here."

"There's a difference, Nathan," she pulled back from him and returned to her previous upright position, "I don't like my mother."

Nathan shook his head, calming himself down from his minor outburst, "Sorry, I'm just tired. I'm gonna get some sleep." Turning over away from her, he made himself comfortable on his pillow.

Brooke nodded and resumed to the chapter she had bookmarked with her thumb, "I know. Don't worry about it. Good night." She slapped his back playfully with the back of her hand and he instinctively sat up and turned to face her, "I love you." And planting a kiss on her lips.

She chuckled at his obedience, "Love you, too. Punk." She placed her hand on his cheek and pushed him away softly as he returned to his position.

Laying there, Nathan Scott stared off into space, too many thoughts in his mind prevented him from anticipating peaceful slumber. In the background, he could hear Brooke's husky chuckle as she turned the pages of her book, but sound of Lucas's voice deafeningly pierced his ears… Haley's back in town.

The conversation with his older brother earlier in the day never ceased to leave him. Lucas had convinced him to stay away from Haley, assuming her return may not have anything to do with him at all. But Nathan knew better. He knew Haley had intentions that weren't pleasing, and he didn't want Brooke to have any part of it. He didn't want Haley James near his family.

The weekend had flown by and it was back to another dreadful Monday. For Brooke, it usually meant nothing but staying at home with the baby. But with the boutique so close to not having a manager to watch over it, she was in her office digging through her files of applications submitted in the past month, prospective employees dying to be even the slightest bit a part of the C/B clothing line, hoping she'd come across someone able to run her store.

Too Victoria-like; not enough experience; never had a job…what? She shook her head, her hours aren't flexible; her hours are impossible…She let out a frustrated grunt as she slammed the papers on her desk, putting her head in her hands and massaging her temples.

Nathan's voice appeared in the doorway, carrying Sophie in his arms, "Mommy needs to relax before she has a nervous breakdown."

Brooke sighed and looked up at him, smiling at the little girl who was teething on a Michael Jordan mini-figurine, "My god, Nathan, she'll choke on that thing!"

"No, she won't," he defended, pulling it away anyway to relieve Brooke of any worries, "but I'm serious. You should relax. I'm gonna make some breakfast. Dean and Rae are coming over."

Brooke blinked several times, trying to process what he'd said, "Oh, um," she ran a finger through her messy hair and glanced at the clock that read 9:30 am, "I didn't even realize I skipped breakfast."

"See, I told you to relax."

Brooke stood up and made her way upstrairs back to the bedroom, "I'll take a shower then. Don't forget to turn off the coffee machine when it's done. You have a habit of leaving that on and little things like that can add up to the electricity bill. And use the eggs on the top shelf of the fridge because the ones on the bottom shelf are for these desserts I'll make for Karen, and the sausages should be in the kitchen fridge, but if not they're probably in the garage fridge. And don't forget to feed Opie and the baby."

Nathan widened his eyes in tune with a mocking grin, "Well. Okay."

She laughed and retreated into the bathroom, turning on the shower.

Sophie giggled in his arms as he bounced her with each step he took to the kitchen, "Mommy's just a little neurotic when it comes to some things, huh? Yeah, don't tell her I said that. She'll beat me up." Sophie didn't react to his joke--naturally--and continued to place the toy back in her mouth as Nathan sat her in her high chair.

"So, Rae, what exactly do you do? We didn't get a chance to talk much the other day what with Peyton talking about her new artist." Brooke asked, as she sipped her coffee.

"Actually, I'm a respiratory therapist," she paused as the impressed 'Ohs' were passed around, "Only been doing it for a couple years. Before that, I worked at a law firm, holding down the fort most of the time."

Nathan smiled, "That's awesome. So how'd you guys meet?"

"Well," Dean exchanged looks with his fiancee, who was trying not to laugh, "It's actually pretty simple. Boy meets girl, they fall in love--boom! Here we are."

Brooke arched an eyebrow, "Riiight. From the looks of her face, it didn't look that simple."

"She's just being weird." Dean shook his head, trying to avoid the topic.

"Come on, tell us," Nathan urged Rae, "we could use a laugh."

"Okay, okay," she held up her arms and Dean shot her a "DON'T" look, "Back when I was working at that law firm, it was located in downtown L.A. So I always took my lunch breaks at this great Greek sandwich shop down the street, which isn't too far from where Dean worked."

"At the LAPD," Dean clarified.

Nathan made a face, "Yeah, I got that. Thanks." Brooke shaking her head with a grin.

"So anyway, I was standing in line waiting for my order when I notice him next to me staring, not even the least bit subtle with his approach. The guy comes with my order and as I pay him, Dean says 'So, you like sandwiches?'" With that, she deepened her voice and imitated him.

Nathan and Brooke burst into laughter as Dean rolled his eyes and glared at Rae for embarrassing him. She shrugged and put on an innocent face as she joined the two in laughter.

"Smooth move, Winchester." Nathan teased.

"Don't worry, Dean," Brooke assured him, "Nathan's not exactly the king of pick-up lines either.

"Hey! I resent that. Besides, why would I use a pick-up line on you when I've known you for years?"

Brooke shook her head and smiled at the other couple, who was laughing. The rest of breakfast was spent talking about basketball, Dean's job, their wedding plans, and C/B.

"It's just a little stressful right now, with my current manager quitting this week. I need to find a replacement, pronto."

Rae nodded and Dean turned to Nathan, obviously not interested in their conversation. Nathan laughed as the two men continued to talk while the ladies reveled over the horror of not having anyone running the boutique.

"Maybe I can fill in until you can find someone permanent." Rae offered.

Brooke's mouth slightly opened in surprise, "Oh, um," she exchanged looks with Nathan who heard the same thing, "you know, thanks for the offer but um--what about you? You're a freakin' respiratory therapist. That's like a step down in salary."

"More like 10 steps down." Dean pointed out.

Rae rolled her eyes at him, "It's not a problem. I haven't found really started looking for jobs at the hospitals, so I guess I'm in a rut too. Look at it this way, we're helping each other out."

Brooke contemplated the offer, with Nathan and Dean staring at her as she did so, and she gave in. "Okay! All right, great. Wow. That was easy."

Dean laughed, "You're not even gonna run a background check on her? She might be a drug addict or has a criminal record."

"I highly doubt that." Brooke retorted, "Besides, you're a detective. If she gives me any trouble, I'll give you a call."

"Nice," Dean smirked, "And I'll be here to punish."

The other three made a disgusted face at him and they resumed their breakfast. After much catching up on Nathan and Dean's part, and Brooke and Rae getting to know each other, they parted ways by noon. Dean promised to come back and play ball with Nathan as soon as he gets a day off, and Brooke promised Rae she'll give her the rundown of C/B the next day.

Closing the front door, Nathan began to walk upstairs, leaving Brooke with Sophie playing in the living room. Upon entering the bedroom, he searched for a towel and made his way into the bathroom to take another shower. Looking at himself in the mirror, he shook his head, as if he was ashamed of the man that stared back at him. Stepping into the shower, his mind filled with thoughts of what the rest day had in store for him.

Noticing her husband's feet shuffling in the hallway, Brooke turned her attention to him, "Where you going?"

"Just gonna meet up with Luke for a bit."

Brooke nodded, "Oh, well, I'm gonna bring Sophie to the park later. You wanna come?"

"Hmm," Nathan appeared like he was in a hurry, checking his watch every now and then, "If I'm back in time, then yeah. If not, go on without me."

"Well, that defeats the purpose of the family time I anticipated."

"Then why'd you invite me?" He shot back at her, which resulted in Brooke rolling her eyes and looking away from him, clearly upset at his outburst, "Look, I'm sorry."

He waited for her reply and expected something like 'It's okay' or 'Don't worry about it,' but she'd kept her attention the little girl in her arms as one hand held a toy rope to play tug of war with Opie. Receiving no response, he muttered another apology before exiting the house.

Brooke kissed the top of her daughter's head, thinking about Nathan's odd behavior. As her dog won the game, she chuckled and petted him on the head, when the phone suddenly rang. Rising from the floor, she reached next to the couch, "Hello?"

"Brooke!"

"Deb?"

"Hey, I'm so sorry about this weekend. I wish we would've been able to make it for the party but you know Dan, he was challenged to a golf tournament and he wouldn't say no. I hope you understand."

Brooke's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion as her mind drifted back to the night of the party, "Oh, um, where are you anyway?"

"We're still in California."

Brooke paused, unsure of what to say. Either Nathan had misunderstood Lucas or worse…Nathan lied to her. Shaking it away from her thoughts, she tried to play it off, "Oh, that's right! Sorry, just a little tired. Don't worry about it, Mom. We missed you though."

"Aww, I missed you guys too. Anyway, give Sophie kisses from me. And we should be home soon, okay?"

"All right, have fun out there." Her mother-in-law ended the conversation and Brooke set the phone back down. Standing up, she brought Sophie with her upstairs for her nap before heading to the park.

Leaning back on the park bench, she bounced Sophie in her lap as Opie rested himself beside them on the grass. Since it was summer vacation for children, the park had its fair share of rambunctious kids chasing each other, racing down slides, swinging, and throwing sand everywhere.

Sophie giggled as Brooke made cooing noises at her, periodically giving her kisses on the face. Nowhere to be found was Nathan, whom she tried to call thirty minutes before she planned to head to the park, but he didn't answer. Her mind wandered back to conversation with Deb, not forgetting to keep her leg bouncing as Sophie enjoyed the turbulence of it. Just as she was replaying in her head the conversation with Nathan the other night and the phone call with Deb, a small voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Is this your dog?"

Brooke looked down to find a little girl staring back up at her, a hand on Opie's head, petting him softly. Brooke didn't even see her approach but replied with a smile, "Yeah, honey. His name's Opie."

"Opie." She repeated, saying the dog's name in a playful manner as she continued to pet him.

Bewildered at the sudden appearance--and trusting--of the child, she looked around the park for a parent that may be looking on. Looking from left to right, no particular person caught her attention.

Until her eyes landed on a familiar face from across the playground. The face was too far and seemed blurry to figure out, but she was sure that the person was staring back at her. Squinting her eyes, adjusting it to the sun's rays that obstructed her view, she leaned her head forward slightly to get a better view.

In the sudden realization of the familiar face, she let out a quiet gasp. Holding Sophie closer to her, she held a steady gaze on the person, as if waiting to see if she'd vanish like a ghost would. Because right now, it definitely appeared like she was seeing a ghost.

Right now, she was definitely looking at Haley James.