SEASON ON THE BRINK

It was early Friday morning as Paige sat in her office, shuffling through papers and looking for her play book. Sinking to her chair, she rested her head in her hands. Dammit, Cooper.

He'd been in such a hurry to get out that morning, to get over to the track in Chapel Hill, that she'd barely been able to get dressed, let alone grab all of her paperwork off the kitchen table. She could clearly see the play book in her mind's eye, sitting atop the notebook paper and internet printouts she had been researching the night before.

Of course, she would have time to run home and grab the book before practice, but she would still feel naked without it for most of the morning. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was enough to put the feisty blond in a bad mood.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Checking the clock on the corner of her desk, Paige raised her eyes to see who would be visiting her so early on a Monday morning. "Nathan?" she asked.

Sheepishly, her team captain shut the office door and dropped into the chair across from Paige. "Coach, I gotta talk to you about something," he whispered. When Paige said nothing, he cleared his throat and tried to find the best way to proceed. "I'm goin' to Oakworth."

It was as if someone had shot her in the spine with a tranquilizer. Paige felt her fingers and toes going numb as her brain tried to focus on what the leading scorer on her team had just announced. He wasn't saying that he wanted more playing time or scoring opportunities. He wasn't telling her that his knee was bothering him or that he'd had pain in his shoulder. He was leaving.

"Trust me, Coach," Nathan went on, "I would give anything to stay in Tree Hill, but I just can't."

"Why can't you?" Paige asked, leaning back in her chair and straightening her shoulders. "Because your daddy won't let you?" She was unflinching as she leveled him with a glare. Maybe she couldn't stop him from leaving, but she sure wasn't going to let him go without a good reason.

Nathan shook his head and slinked further down in his chair. "It's more complicated than that," he insisted.

Pushing back from the desk, Paige stood and clenched her fists at her sides. "Then please explain it to me, Scott. Explain to me how a kid who once had no problem standing up to his father is now turning his back on a team that needs him, that depends on his leadership, to play a minimal supporting role at a school who already has a vicious starting line up!"

He was her boyfriend's nephew, and she liked him as a person. But she was still the coach of the Ravens, and she was still most concerned with the welfare of her team. She would treat any other player the same way in the same situation.

"Haley," Nathan said softly, his head hung in shame. Paige had told them time and again that their girlfriends, families, and friends didn't exist within the confines of the game. Even though she was practically family now, he wasn't naive enough to believe that she would accept his personal reasons for abandoning the team.

"What?" With her hands on her hips, she stepped out from behind the desk began to pace the side of her office. "I thought you guys were back together again," Paige said.

Nathan nodded, his eyes boring holes into his backpack on the floor. Any explanation was going to sound weak. Gathering his courage, he looked up and met his coach's eye. "The only reason she broke up with me was because my dad told her we didn't have a future, and that he would fire her father if she didn't end our relationship," he explained. "He'll leave her dad alone if I agree to play for Oakworth."

"Is it really worth it, Nate?" Paige asked, her voice softening as she stood in front of him and leaned on her desk, her arms crossed over her chest. "Is this girl really worth the sacrifice? Is she worth letting your entire team down?" she sighed, shaking her head. It was pointless to argue with a kid who still believed that love would be enough to conquer anything.

He would be the first to admit that he hadn't thought about that before he made the deal with Dan. But he had thought about it a lot since. "We're not undefeated because of me, Coach. We're undefeated because of this whole team. Yeah, I'm the leading scorer, but Lucas is right on my heels. Tim's getting steals left and right. Jake's blocks are insane. Everyone is working together. You guys can still win without me."

It was simple justification, and Paige knew it. But she also knew she wasn't going to be able to convince him to stay. Sinking back into her chair, she folded her hands on the top of the desk and considered him for a minute. He really was a good kid. "When do you leave?"

"Sunday morning." His face was devoid of any emotion. He wasn't excited. How could he be? He wasn't angry anymore, either. He could only be resigned to what he knew he had to do. "Look," he said suddenly. "I know that my dad is going to rub this in your face."

Paige looked at her computer screen and then back at her captain. "Let me worry about your dad," she winked. "You wanna make your last game as a Raven one he'll never forget?"

------

"Paige!"

Turning on her heel, Paige smiled across the sideline. She had been awaiting his arrival since the team took to the court for warm ups. "Mr. Scott," she grinned even wider, extending a hand to him.

"Well, I guess Nathan didn't tell you his big news yet," he smirked. "I'm sure you won't be smiling like that when you find out your star is leaving the team."

With a nod, Paige tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans and nodded to the end of the bench. "Oh, he told me," she assured the cocky man before her.

Dan looked in the direction she had nodded, his smile fading fast. Nathan was sitting next to one of the assistants, dressed in his warm ups while the starting line up shot around on the court. "Just because he's not playing for you after tonight, that doesn't give you the right to sit him on the bench. The coaches from Oakworth are taping this game. His play tonight could determine his eligibility in the starting line up," he insisted.

Raising an eyebrow, Paige just smiled wider. "Why should I give a damn about his position with Oakworth, Dan? The Ravens are my team. They're the ones I give a damn about."

Setting his jaw, Dan refused to show the coach how far under his skin she was really getting. "Might as well get used to losing," he shot snidely, moving into the bleachers to take his seat.

Paige just turned and called her team into a huddle. Standing beside his coach, Nathan couldn't help smiling. It had been hard, agreeing to sit out his last game as a Raven, but the look on Dan's face had helped ease the ache. "He's pissed," he assured the coach.

With a shake of her ponytail, Paige put her hand in the middle of the huddle and smiled as her team followed suit. "Not near as pissed as he's gonna be when we show him we can win without you."