*Looks around guiltily* Ummmm, hey, guys! Sorry it's been awhile. Yes, the update's a surprise to me too. Believe it or not, I started writing this chapter months ago. And then I rewrote it. And then I rewrote it again. This is what is finally being published though. Thank God. I do hope you enjoy reading it!

Thanks ReeseHolden, pam211, lift-me-up and oth4evernaley for the reviews! Always nice to hear opinions! Sorry if I missed anyone.

-9-

"Do you think we should check up on them?" Nathan asked his wife. It had been about a half hour since Chris and Taylor had left and the group was waiting on their dinner to come.

"Are you kidding me?" was all Haley said. She didn't want to give her true thoughts on the matter in front of two children. Her imagination was giving her thoughts to fear what was going on in that hotel room. Both of them had promiscuous reputations and, apparently, a past together. Haley remembered Taylor calling Chris attractive back when she was in an insecure stage of her relationship with Nathan. Chris was the home wrecker in that time, and Taylor seemed to disapprove. What could they both be doing knowing each other and Leila in the way they seemed to?

"Okay. How about we wait a half hour and then go check on them?" he proposed.

What, was a half hour the amount of time it took you and Taylor when you were- she had to stop herself from her thoughts. That wasn't fair. "Well, okay. If you watch the kids, I'll do it alone." She really hoped she wouldn't catch them doing anything.

"I can do it if you—"

"No, it's okay."

He nodded. After forty minutes passed (the extra ten to be safe), Haley got up, now done with her dinner, and headed to find Chris and Taylor in Chris' room. Once there, she knocked, but feared what she might be walking in on.

Chris answered the door and greeted her. "Hey. Sorry, we were going to come down soon, but got a little caught up… I—" Haley took sight at Chris' current wardrobe. His shirt was unbuttoned, he had one dress shoe on and he was currently doing up his belt buckle. Disappointment quickly showed on Haley's face.

"Chris, this isn't a game. What are you doing here? I have to ask you to—"

"Leave?" Chris looked disappointed. He looked down at his wardrobe, realizing how he must look. "Haley… this looks really bad. I know, and I'm sorry, but I have to—"

"You have to what, Chris? Hm? What on Earth could you have to—"

"I have to go. Now." This was all Chris said before he slipped on his other dress shoe and was out the door, quickly walking towards the elevator. Haley was outraged and quizzically watched Chris leave the hotel floor. Had Chris and Taylor actually done what she thought they'd done? It was a bit ambiguous. Chris did seem disappointed with himself and the shirt he was wearing was not the one he wore to dinner. It was quite possible that Chris was just changing, and the outfit he was changing into was more formal than his usual attire. The question was, "why?" What did he have to be changing for? Also, where was Taylor?

Haley knew pondering this while Chris was well on his way to God-knows-where was inefficient, and decided a chase after him would be much more appropriate. The floor was too high for the stairs to be a quicker option, and so she pressed the elevator down button in hopes that it would be quickest. She made her way down to the main floor where she could only guess Chris was going.

When she got there, Chris as well as Taylor were nowhere to be seen. She quickly noticed the lobbyist and decided to ask him if he'd seen a tall, spikey haired man hurriedly leave the building. The lobbyist said he had, and that triggered Haley to run outside into the parking lot. When she got there, she couldn't see Chris's car anywhere. Nor could she see her own. Her confusion was interrupted when the sliding doors of the hotel opened for a little six-year-old boy that called for her.

"Jamie!" she ran up to him. After hugging him at once, she questioned, "Where is your father?"

His response was that Nathan followed Chris' car, and that Taylor and Leila had both gotten in the car with Chris. This didn't make any sense to her. She decided calling Nathan would be her best bet in finding some answers.

"Haley!" he answered. "Listen, sorry I left you without saying anything. I just saw Chris headed for the door with Taylor and Leila following and knew something was up. I asked them where they were going, but they said they couldn't say. So, I thought I'd get Chris back for following us earlier and see what really is up with—"

"Nathan!" she responded. "You're crazy. Don't you think it's a little mu—"

"Hales, I'm gonna do what I have to do to make sure letting Chris stay around my family is worth it. Now, I'm not gonna stay on my cell phone because it's dangerous, especially when I'm following Chris who's speeding. So, I'll call you when I know what's up."

"But—"

"Hales, relax. Take care of Jamie tonight. I love you both. Goodnight."

Nathan had hung up before Haley could respond, resulting in Haley sighing. She felt powerless, but she was happy to be with Jamie.

It was twelve twenty-three when Nathan passed the sign that said "Welcome to Columbia, South Carolina." He was exhausted and had no idea where he was headed. The city traffic, although not at it's heaviest, made it hard to continue following Chris' car. About ten minutes after passing the welcome sign, Nathan had lost them. Tired from the day, Nathan decided to check into a hotel before it was too late to check in. He finally found one, and before falling asleep decided it was best to leave Haley a text: "Im in a hotel in columbia sc. Lost Chris and Taylor. Love you."

Nathan awoke the next morning slightly frustrated. He had no idea what he was doing. He texted and called Chris and Taylor several times, but of course neither answered. Haley said it would be best to just come back to Charlotte so that he, Haley and Jamie could all make their way back to Tree Hill. Nathan agreed, and checked out of his hotel so that he could make his way back to his family. However, on his way out of the city, Nathan got a call. It was Chris.

Chris apologized for the night before and gave him an address to go to in Columbia. He said he knew Nathan was following them last night, and that he didn't mind. He didn't say much more and didn't make any small talk with Nathan. In fact, Chris sounded more exhausted and tired than Nathan did. Nathan texted Haley about his new destination and that he didn't know when he'd make it back to Charlotte.

The address Chris gave him was now in Nathan's GPS system, and was leading him to a suburb. The houses looked like they were made in the 70s and were all in mixed conditions. Most were well kept and groomed, but a few more rustic houses intruded on the neighbourhood. The address of Chris' led him to a brick bungalow that was one of the less groomed lots in the area.

He wasn't sure what Chris or Taylor would be doing here, but he knew that he was in the right place when he saw Leila sitting on the front porch. She was watching two other children play with a puppy on the lawn, but rather disconnectedly.

"Hi, Leila," Nathan started as he walked up to her, "How are you today?"

She didn't look up at him. "I got a new puppy," she responded unenthusiastically.

"Oh, really! How about that? What did you name it?" asked Nathan. The girl, however, still didn't look up, and this time she didn't respond either. Nathan tried getting the girl to talk again, but was interrupted when Chris came out of the screen door at the top of the porch.

"Nathan, hey," he said with melancholy.

Nathan didn't expect Chris to be acting this way. It was more than unusual, and the unfamiliarity was uncomfortable for Nathan. "Chris? Are you okay—"

His cliché question was interrupted by Chris saying "I'm glad you came." He then directed his attention at Leila. "Leila, dear, Uncle Chris is gonna go inside, is that okay?"

She didn't respond, she only continued to watch the two children play with her new puppy. Chris motioned for Nathan to follow him inside, and so he did.

"So how is she your niece?" Nathan asked, trying to make small conversation as they walked through the living room of the unfamiliar house.

"Good question, Nate," Chris responded. With that response, Nathan gave up asking questions before following him into a dated, wood-paneled walled kitchen where Taylor sat at a table. Taylor looked up from her cell phone and smiled tiredly at Nathan before looking back down. Nathan couldn't help but notice how red her eyes were. They looked as though she hadn't gotten sleep and that she had recently been crying. Chris also had the same look, he noticed.

Chris offered Nathan a glass of juice or milk, but he rejected as he figured Chris really didn't need to be helping him in his current state. As Chris sat down at the kitchen table, Nathan took notice of all of the pictures on the refrigerator. In one of them was Taylor and a female he didn't know. The unfamiliar girl was dressed in a wedding gown, holding a bottle of opened champagne. Taylor was wearing a beautiful, baby blue gown, holding an empty champagne glass proudly. The two females had an arm around the other, obviously posed for the camera.

"Nathan," Chris started, tiredly and not minding Nathan's curiosity. "We know this is strange, but I thought you should know what's—"

Nathan was taken aback when Chris burst into tears. Taylor tried comforting him, rubbing his back while also showing signs of pain.

"Chris, Taylor, I—what happened?" Nathan tried.

Taylor got up from her chair and walked over to Nathan by the refrigerator. She pulled a photo off of the fridge as she wiped her eyes.

"These are Leila's parents," she managed to say. She showed the photo to Nathan who recognized the female in the photo as the bride from the other photo. The man in the picture wasn't recognizable, however.

"I—okay," said Nathan, confused.

"Were," Chris commented, quietly. The quiet comment did not go unheard. After hearing it, Taylor instantly started crying and ran out of the kitchen into a nearby bedroom. "Sorry," he said, regret apparent in his voice as he looked up in the direction Taylor had left.

Nathan didn't know what to say. "Chris, I'm sorry. This is all—"

"I know," he said. "Listen, you asked how I'm Leila's uncle? Well, I'm not."

"Oh."

"Not biologically," he said with a raspier-than-usual tone. "We just call me that. Same with "aunt" for Taylor. We figure we're family enough; Braden, Diana, Taylor and I—sorry," he sighed, "you don't even know who I'm talking about." Chris got up with that statement, unenergetically, and headed towards outside, leaving Nathan confused as to what to do. Nathan felt unwelcome all of the sudden, not that he'd ever felt part of what was happening before. He decided to look for Taylor to see if she was alright, but when he found her, he walked in on her being held by and older woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" said Nathan. The older woman looked up at Nathan and gave him a welcoming, but worried smile.

"Hi," said the old woman, frowning empathetically as she looked down at Taylor. "My name is Daniella," she said while Nathan walked over to sit next to Taylor.

"Nathan," he responded, smiling gently and cautiously at the old woman for a moment before turning his attention to Taylor. He sat next to her for a moment, rubbing her back soothingly while she cried.

"Interesting circumstances to meet in," Daniella commented. "Sorry—"

"DADDY!" the three could hear Leila yell as she ran down a hall. When she became visible through the bedroom door, she was smiling expectantly. Shortly after, Chris tiredly appeared behind her.

"Daddy's not coming back, Leila," Nathan could see the heart-broken expression on his face.

"—Yes he is!" she screamed. "Yes, he is! He was just here… he was just here…" Leila's words caused her to start crying uncontrollably. Chris joined in also while he picked Leila up to hug her. Taylor surely didn't stop, and Daniella shook her head while beginning to produce tears of her own. Nathan felt tears in his eyes as he looked at the family around him.

A few more moments passed. Nathan finally stood up to gently declare that he should call Haley. Taylor looked up at him, looking like she wanted to say something, but instead just smiled sadly.

Neither Nathan nor Haley knew what was going on. Haley offered her best wishes and told him to watch out for all of them, and that he should call if he needs anything. Nathan noticed the puppy was barking in the back yard and headed to the door to help him inside. On the way there, however, he ran into Chris.

"Sorry—okay, I never told you…" Chris started. "Let's talk in the living room."

Nathan followed him and sat on a couch that was parallel to the chair Chris sat in.

"Chris, whatever happened, man, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah," Chris responded, distractedly. "Nate…" he started before pausing for a moment. "Leila's father—Braden—well, he just passed away last night. Alcohol poisoning. Apparently he's an alcoholic… was," he paused again.

"Chris…" said Nathan, concerned.

Chris started laughing bitterly. "Of course he was an alcoholic!" he frowned, tears welling in his eyes. "You know, I wasn't around him as much after… oh God. Nathan, you gotta understand the real Braden. The Braden that couldn't wait to have Leila born, the Braden that… well, Diana thought—knew—was special." Chris laughed once, this time more reminiscently.

Nathan wasn't sure if he should ask who Dianna was, he wasn't sure what to do at all really. He just sat there, listening, trying to give support. They sat in silence for awhile, both men looking thoughtful and to themselves. Nathan thought it made most sense for Dianna to be the bride in the photo.

"Nathan," Chris began, "you should probably go back to Haley. I'm not sure how long this is going to go on for here."

"Are-are you sure?"

He nodded, thankful for his concern.

A week had passed since Nathan left that unfamiliar house. Nathan still wasn't sure who it belonged to or really what was going on. He, Haley and Jamie went about their business, calling Chris and Taylor to make sure things were okay. The latest call between Nathan and Chris was from Chris this time. Nathan always had to call him. Chris told him to meet him at an address, and so Nathan agreed.

The address took him to a house; a giant, excessive house. It was in town, close to Brooke's old neighbourhood where she grew up.

"So, tell me, Nate, do you think there's room for a dog in here?" Asked Chris. He was appearing happy, but Nathan felt like it was just Chris coating himself with a fakeness.

"What happened to Leila?" asked Nathan. "Shouldn't she have the dog?"

Chris looked at him for a moment, grinning widely. "Oh, she'll be here soon enough."

** AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't drive and talk on a cell phone people!