Hi! I'm so sorry it's taken me a very long time to post an update, I had so much work to do for uni, and a few months had passed before I knew it. I had a few chapters prepared to post but I wasn't 100% happy with them, so I didn't think it was fair for me to post them. Anyways, I'm back now, for the next few months at least, and I can't wait to get updating the story again!
This chapter was originally longer, but I decided to split it into 2 chapters, so hopefully the second part of this will be up later this week! :)
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Chapter 10 - An Unexpected Arrival
"Stupid thing never works round here" Dan muttered to himself, trying to tune his radio back into the commentary of a basketball game. He continued pressing buttons, while keeping one hand on the wheel, glancing back and forth between the sound system and the road. He continued to do this for a few moments longer, before giving up. Annoyed, he slammed his hand onto the array of buttons, causing the radio to lose its saved settings and become stuck on a country music station. Just great, he thought to himself, the one thing he relied on to make the last leg of the long journey bearable had practically given up on him.
He returned to driving with both hands on the wheel, keeping his eyes trained on the road, knowing that up ahead the road became narrower and a bit trickier to drive along. Trees lined both sides of the road, giving the road a closed in feel. Occasionally a break of sunlight could be seen among the trees, but this was mostly a blur as Dan kept up his fairly high speed.
Maintaining a constant speed as he continued along the road, despite it becoming narrower, he began contemplating what his stay at the James' would bring. He had begun to see more of his family recently, often spending Sunday dinner with Keith, Karen and the kids. He knew that this was Keith's attempt to repair his broken relationship with both Lucas and Nathan, and for this he was grateful. It had been a while since he'd seen the Smiths however, and he wasn't particularly looking forward to it, with Jim and Shari pretending to be interested in whatever he had to say. Dan sighed, shaking his head slightly and chuckled at the thought of the typical behaviour of the Smiths. It was always the same. Yet again they'd probably just be after a discount on their latest car or a free ticket to the annual basketball gala.
Ascending the steep slope towards the cabin, Dan felt a familiar sense of nervousness in the pit of his stomach. He was not one to admit he got nervous often, if at all, but then he was good at hiding his emotions. He was unsure as to whether his apprehension was because he'd be spending time with his boys, no doubt doing an activity Keith had arranged, or whether it was being so far from everything so familiar. He would be exactly 4 hours and 27 minutes away from Tree Hill. Here there would be no easy exit, no chance of a swift goodbye before heading home, if any tension was to arise.
Dan glanced in his rear view mirror, the last sign for the nearby town disappearing as he continued to make his way towards the cabin. He had a bad feeling about this, as if something unexpected was going to happen. He took a sharp intake of breath, before exhaling through his nose, something his counsellor had taught him to do when nervous or angered. At least he'd gained one thing from the ridiculously expensive sessions, he thought.
He slowed as he noticed the gateway to the drive of the James' cabin, and turned into it, travelling the short distance from the road to the parking area. He emerged through the trees, catching a glimpse of the top of the cabin first, before the rest came into view. There on the porch was his brother and Jimmy, both sipping a beer, no doubt already cooking for the celebrations that evening. He stopped the car and got out, taking in the strong smell of the pine trees.
"Danny!" Keith shouted, descending the steps towards him. "So glad you made it, I was starting to think you weren't coming." Keith placed a hand on Dan's shoulder.
"I told you I was coming, so I'm here. I just had a few things to sort at the dealership before I left for a couple of days, you know how it is."
"I sure do, never one to leave work unfinished. Here, let me help you with your bags."
Dan pulled a leather weekend bag from the boot and placed it on the ground. Next he pulled out a cardboard box, containing a diary and a couple of files and assorted paperwork. He handed it to Keith, before taking out a parcel, wrapped in pink paper.
"You didn't seriously bring your work with you did you?" Keith questioned, raising an eyebrow before making his way towards the door.
"Just a bit of bed time reading, nothing too serious" Dan replied, chuckling to himself. He locked his car and made his way into the house, following Keith closely behind.
Keith placed the box of paperwork at the bottom of the stairs, before making his way into the kitchen. Dropping his bag on top of the box, Dan continued to follow him, unsure of the reception he would get should he walk in on his own.
"Look who I found outside!" Keith shouted, as they both entered. Inside the kitchen was Karen, Lydia, Clay, Lily, Logan, Quinn and Jimmy, who had moved inside upon Dan's arrival. The adults moved to greet Dan, embracing him, or a handshake where appropriate. Dan passed the present he held to Quinn, who gratefully accepted.
"Happy Birthday Quinn, and might I say what a beautiful young woman you've grown to be from that little girl I once knew" Dan said. "I see you're already dressed for tonight!"
"Thank you Dan! You really didn't have to get me anything, it's so thoughtful of you to do so! Yep, Clay bought me my dress and I just couldn't wait to get it on!" Quinn replied, taking the parcel towards the table, while smiling lovingly at Clay. "I hope you don't mind, but I won't open this now, I'll put it with all the other gifts."
"Well the man has good taste! Of course, I hope you like it!" He replied, smiling at both of them.
"Do sit down Dan, can I get you a drink, something light to eat? I'm sure you must need something after travelling" Lydia said, fussing slightly.
Dan pulled out a chair, sitting down at the table. "A coffee would be nice, I could do with the caffeine!" he laughed.
Lydia chuckled. "Of course, I'm sure I've got a few biscuits somewhere too."
She moved away towards the kettle, leaving Dan among numerous conversations. He turned to Lily who sat hunched over a colouring book.
"Now then, how's my favourite niece?"
A couple of hours later and the party was in full swing. Everyone had freshened up and was dressed in their party attire, the buffet table was laid out with a beautiful spread of food and decorations adorned the downstairs of the house. Lily and Logan were playing in the living room, with a few other children that were attending with their parents, while the adults circulated between both the living room and the dining room.
The buzz of chatter was drowning out the low music, with different conversations happening all around. Nathan, Lucas, Tim and William all stood in one corner of the dining room, with a beer in their hands, talking about sports. Every so often Nathan would glance around the room, searching for Haley.
"So Nate, Tim tells me you're applying for Duke" said Will, looking at Nathan in admiration.
Nathan smiled to himself, sometimes it seemed as if Will looked up to Nathan as more of a brother than Tim, but then again Tim was hardly a role model. "Yeah I am, hopefully I'll get a place, but if not there's plenty of colleges that will be fighting over me. Isn't that right Luke?" He looked sideways at Lucas, who suddenly snapped back in to the conversation.
"Huh? Sorry man, I was just thinking about something…" he trailed off, looking down towards is drink.
Tim laughed goofily, "Luke's drunk already, better not challenge him to a drinking contest, he'll probably be on the floor after another bottle!"
"Well at least I can get a girlfriend… Let's see, who exactly have you dated again?" Lucas spat back, glowering at him. William began to shift uneasily, looking at the two boys. It was obvious that this could blow out of proportion if it wasn't dealt with soon.
"Luke, calm down, he only meant it as a joke. You know what Tim's like. Why don't you go and get some air?" Nathan said, placing his hand on Luke's shoulder. Lucas nodded, and retreated to the safety of outside. Nathan glanced around the room again. Half the people here he didn't recognise, he was sure he hadn't met most of them before. Swigging his beer he thought hard as he studied the remainder of the numerous faces; some he had seen on photos, some he recognised from around Tree Hill and some were part of the James' family.
He continued to search through the mass of people, looking for Haley. He finally spotted her, stood talking to her Aunt Florrie and Uncle Joe. He watched her interacting with the couple, charisma and beauty just oozed from her. Damn she was looking beautiful tonight! He smiled to himself, before scanning the doorway. He made eye contact with his father, who was stood in the hallway, and they shared a simple smile and nodded. This was better than it had been for the last few years. Sure their relationship wasn't perfect, but they were working on it and Dan was trying with both him and Lucas, something which Nathan admired greatly.
"I'll be back in a minute, I'm just gonna' go say hi to my dad" he spoke, walking away from Tim and Will, who were engrossed in a conversation about which of the women was the hottest. The two boys nodded in acknowledgement, and Nathan pushed his way past groups of people. Just as he reached his father he heard a shrill, familiar voice.
"Karen! How lovely to see you! How kind it was for you to invite us!"
Nathan glanced at his father, who had become rigid and had abruptly ended his conversation with Jim Smith. Dan turned and faced the woman standing in the doorway, currently hugging Karen.
"Well, well, if it isn't the local whore!" he spat. A few bystanders turned to look, most probably hoping for some drama to fuel their conversations with gossip.
"Hello Dan. I'm surprised you're here, especially in such close proximity of both your sons. But then I guess there's a first for everything." Deb smiled, removing her fur shawl, revealing a stunning red midi dress. She handed the shawl to the man behind her, who hung it on the already full coat stand. Deb stopped and turned, holding an outstretched hand to the man, and started walking towards the others. The buzz in the hallway had died to quiet murmurs, creating a tense atmosphere. Dan gritted his teeth, anger starting to rise through him.
"I'm a changed man, but then I guess you have to change when your wife has an affair with her PA and then abandons her husband and son for a new life."
"Oh grow up Dan, I didn't abandon you, you were more than capable of looking after yourself, as you reminded me numerous times throughout our marriage. And as for Nathan, you had too much control over him that I couldn't have taken him with me, you never would have let me!" Deb moved closer to Nathan.
"Sweetie, don't listen to what your dad says, I didn't abandon you." She reached around her son, attempting to embrace him. Nathan kept his arms by his side, his eyes trained on the man stood behind Deb, looking rather awkwardly at the three of them.
"Mom, you did. I went to bed and you were there, I woke up and you'd gone. You didn't even say goodbye! You left your husband, you left your home, you left me! All for what? A quick fling with a guy you barely knew." Nathan had begun shouting, the hurt thick in his voice. Silence filled the hallway, and quite a few of the guests in both the living and dining room were trying to see what was going on.
"Nathan, you know I had my reasons for doing what I did, I wasn't happy and Nicholas made me happy." Deb took the hand of the man behind her. He looked at both Nathan and Dan, with a slight element of fear in his eyes.
Dan scoffed. "You weren't happy? You had everything you needed, everything you wanted and more, yet that still wasn't enough. You still walked away from your son, your marriage, your home and your life."
A few family members had joined the hallway, while Keith and Jimmy ushered some of the guests back into the rooms. Lydia, Haley and Lucas had joined the group of people in the hallway during the argument and remained by the kitchen door, just in case their help should be needed.
"Well you'd know all about walking away from your son wouldn't you Dan?" Deb sneered, shooting a glance towards Luke.
Keith interrupted. "Deb, I don't think now is the time nor the place for this, and it certainly isn't fair bringing Lucas into this."
"Oh shut up Keith, you always were the martyr." Deb glanced back at Nathan, reaching for him once more. "Nathan, you have to understand."
"No Mom. You don't get to do this. You don't get to walk in and out of my life when you feel like it. I've not seen you in over 3 months, after you turning up at one of my games with him" Nathan replied, gesturing towards Nicholas.
"Nathan please.."
"No." Dan interjected. "You might have been unhappy with me but you shouldn't have taken it out on Nathan. I think it's best if you leave."
"Why should I? Just because you tell me to? Well guess what Dan, those days are long gone."
Nathan looked at his mother, with sadness in his eyes. "No, because I want you to." He moved past his mother and retreated upstairs to his room.
Deb's eyes followed her son. She shook her head and turned to Dan.
"Well, you've poisoned him against me, I hope you're happy!"
"You did that all by yourself Deb. You only have yourself to thank for the mess you created." Dan replied. He met Nicholas' gaze. "I suggest you take her home before she wrecks everybody else's lives."
Nicholas began to lightly pull Debs towards the door. "Come on, I think its best we do go, we'll find a nice restaurant or something instead." He hesitated for a moment, nodding towards Keith. "This gentleman is right, this isn't the time nor the place for this."
Deb huffed and turned, strutting towards the front door. "Don't you think this is the last of this Dan, it's far from it. I'm going to make sure I bring you down!" She turned on her heel and left. Nicholas apologised and thanked Karen for the invite, before quickly exiting himself.
Karen walked towards Dan, who was evidently fuming.
"I'm so sorry Dan, I didn't realise inviting her would cause such trouble. She led me to believe that you had both spoken and had agreed to be civil for Nathan's sake."
Dan smiled weakly at Karen. "It's not your fault, you weren't to know. She's got a gift for deceiving people."
They all hesitated for a moment, none of them quite sure what to do.
"Anyway," Dan started, "Let's get this party going again!" He smiled at his brother and the two entered the dining room, followed by the rest.
The atmosphere had changed, with people mostly gossiping. Dan caught everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to apologise for what you've just had to witness from my crazy ex-wife. That should not have happened, especially on such a special night for Quinn," he said, gesturing towards the birthday girl.
Lucas leant closer to Haley, as Dan continued. "Are you going to go see if he's okay, or do you want me to go up?"
Haley bit her lip, obviously anxious about what would happen next. "I probably should go up. If I need you I'll either come and find you or text you."
Lucas smiled and nodded. She hesitated for a moment before turning and walking towards the stairs. Lucas moved closer towards Keith, in an attempt to hear the last of Dan's speech.
"So ladies and gentlemen, I hope you'll all join me in a toast. Quinn, you've grown into a strong, beautiful, intelligent young lady, and I hope you'll forgive me." Dan rose a glass of champagne. "Happy birthday Quinn, here's to many more happy years!"
Everyone joined in the toast, before Jimmy started. "Now I have a speech prepared, but not until we bring the cake in, so I'd like to just thank Dan for his lovely speech and wish my amazing daughter a very happy birthday, and I hope you will all continue to join in the celebrations, so let's party!" A few cheers were heard, alongside the clinks of bottles and glasses, as the buzz of the room regained its previous state, everyone getting back into the party spirit.
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So that was Chapter 10! As I said at the top, the second part to this should be up later this week and hopefully you'll like the major Naley scene in it! Please let me know what you thought of this part, or if there's anything you'd like to see happen in the story and I'll try my best to make it happen. I am still taking suggestions as to the Brucas or Leyton pairing, so let me know which one you'd prefer!