A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Everything has been very hectic lately, but it's starting to calm down a little bit. Thanks for all the feedback, please keep it coming. This chapter isn't one of my best and it's shorter than normal, but at least it's a little something. I've got a horrible case of writer's block, but I was so bored tonight I forced myself to write. Here's the outcome, please comment.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 6: Everything

"Mom?" Sadie asked as she walked into the kitchen where her mother was making hot chocolate.

"What is it baby girl?" Haley asked noticing that Sadie looked a little hesitant.

"There's this open mic night at Grandma Karen's café next week and I was wondering if I could go and maybe play something?" Sadie could see the look in her mother's eyes struggling on whether to say yes or no. "If you don't want me to go, I don't have to."

"Let's sit down and talk a little bit, okay?" Haley said sitting at the kitchen counter and giving some of the hot chocolate to Sadie.

"Okay, what about?"

"When I was your age Grandma Karen had those open mic nights. I worked at the café for a long time, right up until I left to go on the tour with Chris, Michelle, and Jessica. I was always too shy and had too much stage fright to sing in front of people."

"You were? You never have a problem with it now," Sadie asked, surprised. Haley had been making CDs and playing concerts the entire time the twins were alive.

"I was. I still have a hard time playing in front of large crowds. It's part of the reason I don't really play too many concerts. But back to the story; Jake, you're music teacher that was here earlier, was one of my friends then. The first open mic night he came and sang and played his guitar in front of everyone with Jenny right there and that was how everyone found out he had a daughter."

"Did you ever get to play for one of them?"

"I played at an all age's night once at Grandma Karen's club 'TRIC', but other than that the only person I would sing to was your father."

"Why did you play for him?" Sadie asked, hating talking about her father, but still curious.

"I trusted him, he always wanted to hear me sing and I knew he would tell me the truth of what he thought about it. He loved hearing me sing, he was the one that got me on stage that night at TRIC. Chris had decided not to play and everyone was booing at the stage and he gave me the courage to get up and play after I had already told Peyton I couldn't do it."

"I can't imagine you being nervous, mom. You're always so cool, calm, and collected."

"Not back then I wasn't. Right after that night was when everything started to go crazy and everything fell apart."

"How did it fall apart after that?" Sadie asked, and Haley knew she couldn't keep hiding the events of what had happened back then from her daughters much longer.

"Why don't you go get Savannah and I can tell you both what had happened back then. I'll only have to tell it once this way, meet me back in my room," Haley replied and Sadie left the room after a quick 'okay'. Haley started making more hot chocolate so they could each have a mug. It was sort of a tradition for them to talk in the middle of the night in their pajamas in Haley's bed with a cup of hot chocolate and cookies. Haley put the cookies and four cups of hot chocolate on a tray and headed upstairs. When she got to her room she saw the twins and Taylor already sitting there.

"What are we talking about tonight?" Savannah asked as she took her hot chocolate and a cookie.

"Everything," Haley answered.

"What everything, Hay?" Taylor asked a little nervous.

"Everything from 16 years ago," Haley replied. "No secrets, close to nothing left out." She took a deep breath and started telling the story. She told them everything. The formal, all the lies, the kisses, Taylor coming back, the ultimatum, all until the night she came back which they had already heard before. All except the name of their father which they still didn't know. By the time the story was over all four were in tears huddled together in one big hug. The girls not loving their mother any less, but still not really disliking their unnamed father any less either.

"Thank you for telling us that," Sadie said as the tears slowly started to stop.

"I understand why you left mom, I just don't understand why he didn't take you back," Savannah said. Both girls now believing they should hate their father more.

"Please don't hate your father so much, you know his part of the story now. I don't hate him, you shouldn't either. You're his only daughters, he doesn't want you to hate him anymore," Haley said, hoping the girls would start being open to the idea of being around Nathan.

"How do you know that, mom? He could have other kids," Savannah said angrily, but still crying.

"Have you talked to him?" Sadie asked, and Taylor just watched the scene unfold.

"Yes, and he doesn't have any other kids, but he is realizing now that you are his and I wasn't lying then," Haley answered, and the girls didn't seem to be too shocked that she had talked to him.

"Is that why you had your song on earlier and you were crying?" Savannah questioned further and Haley seemed surprised that they had seen that.

"We followed Aunt Taylor earlier instead of going right out to the car," Sadie answered her mother's questioning face.

"We don't want you to be sad anymore," Savannah said and they all lay down on the bed.

"We love you mom, we hate seeing you this way and we know you don't like us to see you like this either."

"I love you girls too, and hopefully it won't have to be this way much longer," Haley said.

"Why don't we get some sleep?" Taylor suggested.

"That's a good idea," Haley agreed. "We can figure out everything else in the morning." The girls cuddled up to Haley and Taylor. It was a good thing Haley had a king size bed, and this was probably the only reason she had one. Other than the fact that she still hoped every night that Nathan would somehow be in it with her.

"You can play the open mic if you want to," Haley whispered into Sadie's ear.

"I'll think about it," she replied and hugged Haley even tighter before they both fell asleep, but Haley's sleep didn't last long. It never did. Every night thoughts of Nathan still managed to creep into her head. She had finally started sleeping well when the twins were five, but now that Nathan was back in her life and would be in the lives of their children, she wasn't sure she'd be sleeping very well. Hopefully she'd be peacefully sleeping back in the arms of her husband soon, but it wouldn't be easy.

A/N: Sorry it was short and unedited. I might go back later and redo parts of it since I didn't even really re-read it. Please leave feedback and I'll try to update again soon. It doesn't take long to just leave a reply so I know if you're reading, even if you don't like it.