The Search For Something More
Chapter 26 – Lifetime Piling Up
Thank you all for reading last chapter and leaving a review. I always planned on having Haley say no when Nathan asked her to marry him. I think it's right given everything that's happening plus it gives Haley time to consider her feelings and what she wants. Gosh I have so much to say but I'm just going to let the chapter do the talking. I was suppose to update last night but I got home too late. There's a lot that happens in here and I ask you to just read through it all. I already got most of next chapter written up so drop me some love and maybe I'll update sooner rather than later.
P.S. New OTH tom yay!
Enjoy and please review!
Despite herself, Haley couldn't suppress her laughter as her and Nathan entered the house. They just came from one of their baby parenting classes Haley signed them up for and Nathan had been non-stop complaining ever since they left.
"I tell you that instructor has it in for me."
"Nathan.."
"And what the hell is up with her name.. Carrie?" Nathan rolled his eyes. "I'd like to carry her up against my fist." Nathan mumbled under his breath.
"Nathan, you put the diaper on backwards, she was just correcting you."
"More like being condescending." Nathan quickly replied. "Did you see the way she looked at me when she realized who I was?" Nathan headed for the fridge to get a bottle of water.
"It's not my fault she went to Pontiac and we … no I beat them for the state championship five years ago."
"And she's probably not a Sonics fan either." Haley quipped.
"Exactly, you see it too."
Haley laughed. "Nathan, she was just making a comment."
"Like the comment she made about how I held that stupid cabbage patch doll."
"Nathan, baby's necks are fragile, you have to support it."
"I was supporting it."
"Like you were going to dribble it and make a free shot."
"Free throw." Nathan corrected.
"Oh whatever." Haley grabbed a bottle of water from Nathan's hands.
"So great, you also think that I can't change a diaper or hold my own son." Nathan sighed in frustration.
"I didn't say that."
"But you think that too." Nathan replied. "I mean you were the star pupil of the class. Don't think I didn't see you give the Henderson's help with their diaper when I left to go to the rest room."
"Nathan, did I not tell you how many nephews and nieces I have."
"Well at least one of us will be competent."
"Nathan, it was just one class. You did fine. If you need help, I can help you out next time."
"Great, you tutored me in high school now you're tutoring me all over again."
"Nathan." Haley said in a stern voice and put her hands on his arms. "Listen to me, you're doing great. You've had no experience with kids before, it's only natural to make mistakes, that's why we took the class.. believe it or not, I'm not perfect either."
"Not.. by the way." Nathan gave a small smile. "Thanks by the way.. I guess I'm just nervous."
"You have nothing to be worried about Nathan, you're going to be a great father." Haley said warmly.
"How do you do that?" Nathan asked.
"Do what?"
"I don't know.. you just make me feel.." Nathan's voice trailed off as he gave her a warm smile. How could he put into words how he made her feel, there were no words.
Haley blushed under his intense gaze.
"Makes me want to ask you to marry me all over again." Nathan joked but his smile fell when she saw her tense up.
"Too soon?"
Haley gave him a tight smile.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"Nathan, it's okay." Haley tip toed up and gave him a kiss on the cheeks. The last thing she wanted was for things to be awkward again. When Nathan came back from Florida, he made a better effort to not let the failed proposal weigh down on him. Things were finally getting back to normal with them but if Haley were to be honest with herself, she knew that things were definitely not "normal." With Nathan, it's never as simple as that.
Haley still wasn't sure how she should feel about the ring and the fact that Nathan had gotten it while they were in high school. On one hand, she was thrilled, the other got her confused and angry. Nathan had the ring this whole time yet he still left her. She's been trying to move on from her past but the past keeps resurfacing. While she had forgiven him, there was a part of her that will never forget, a part of her that continues to cast doubts into her mind.
"So how long do I have you?" Haley cleared her throat and her mind.
"I got to get packing now and then Clay is going to pick me and Lucas up."
"It's nice that Lucas is joining you."
"And you're fine with us road tripping it to Atlanta?" Nathan asked.
"I'll be fine, besides Clay seemed really excited to drive that new car he got."
"It's some vintage sports car, it better not break down on us." Nathan replied. "Maybe we should just fly there."
"It's fine Nathan, plus Lucas seemed excited about it. Luke's also had a lot going on too. I think it's a good idea. And Brooke will be here so I won't be alone."
"Okay." Nathan nodded.
"But you are not allowed to be late for your own baby shower."
"Umm.. baby shower?" Nathan tried to play it off.
"Don't act dumb Scott."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please, with the way Brooke has been hounding me to keep Friday free, as if I had plans on Friday, and then talking about taking me shopping in the morning for a new killer outfit, it doesn't take a genius to know what's going on."
"But that's just Brooke Hales."
"Plus I totally peeked into Karen's calendar and saw this Friday marked off as Nathan and Haley's Baby shower."
"That's cheating Hales."
"I promise I will act surprise." Haley replied.
"Yeah, Brooke's been hounding me about it too. Apparently if I'm late from Atlanta, my kid will grow up father-less."
"Well that's Brooke for you." Haley laughed.
"But isn't a baby shower a chick thing anyways."
"Nathan, we get to open a bunch of presents."
"Right." Nathan replied dryly.
"And with whatever Brooke has planned, I'm not suffering through it alone. Don't forget that this is your fault." Haley teased as she rubbed her belly.
"Don't worry, I'll be there. But the gift part should be fun. We still have a lot of things left for the baby room."
. . . . . . .
Nathan went through his suitcase to make sure he had everything he needed. He packed light because they should be in Atlanta tonight, tomorrow they'll have the day to themselves and then they are driving straight from the charity function back to Tree Hill to make sure Nathan was back for the shower. He looked at his watch and noticed that Clay should be coming in a couple of minutes. He zipped up his suit case and reached into his pockets. He looked at the dresser and the top drawer on his night stand and couldn't find his wallet.
"Hales, have you seen my wallet?" Nathan called out. "I gave it to you right?"
Haley was in their bathroom brushing her teeth. Haley took out the tooth brush from her mouth. "Yeah, I put it in my bag."
Nathan looked around and saw Haley's purse on a nearby chair. He opened it up and started rummaging through it. He passed by keys, her wallet, check book.. damn what else does she have in here? He thought to himself. He finally spotted his wallet at the bottom of the large purse but that's not the only thing he spotted.
Haley stepped out of the bathroom, "Did you find it?"
Nathan whipped his head around and had the wallet in one hand and the box for the ring on the other.
"Guess you found it." Haley mumbled as she took a seat on the bed.
"Among other things." Nathan replied back. "I've been meaning to ask what happened to it." Nathan said softly as memories of that night came back to him.
"Are you okay Nathan?" Haley inquired. She could tell that he was in deep thought.
"You love me right?" Nathan asked.
"Of course I do Nathan. I told you, me saying no doesn't mean that I don't."
"I know.. I just.. I'm just trying to move on from it." Nathan replied and handed the small box to Haley. "It's your's Hales, whether you say yes or no.. this belongs with you."
"Nathan." Haley cleared her throat. "How come you didn't tell me you bought the ring when we were still in high school?"
"Didn't think it mattered." Nathan replied back.
Haley looked down. "I wish you would've told me." Haley replied a moment later.
"Would it have made a difference?" Nathan asked.
"…"
"Yeah, thought so." Nathan got up. "Clay should be here any minute."
"You know Nathan, I've been wrestling with myself ever since I found out about the ring. Part me wants to kiss you senseless.. the other part is .. hurt."
Nathan raised an eyebrow.
"Nathan, you bought a ring but you still left me." Haley looked up to him.
"I thought we went through this."
"We did, I just didn't know all the facts."
"Hales, I made a mistake.. I thought I was doing the right thing."
"I know that but you had this ring and you still left. It's so easy for you to commit yourself over to me but just as quickly, you can cut me off."
"Haley, don't think that leaving you five years ago was anything but easy. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do."
"I know that and I'm really trying to get passed it Nathan. I really am but I can't help what I feel." Haley sniffled. Haley had the box in her hands and Nathan kneeled down in front of her and placed his hand over her's, clenching the box. He looked up at her in the eye.
"Hales, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I've wanted to do that since the night I first asked you to marry me. Nothing has changed. I left you because I thought I was doing the right thing by you, you already gave up Stanford to go to Duke and I couldn't let you do that again and follow me to Maryland but you know all this already. I know now that it was wrong. I'm sorry I don't know how many times I can say that.. or show you how sorry I am .. or show you that I won't leave you, that I love you and I want to spend my life with you and our son… I'm not offering you a ring Haley, I'm offering you a lifetime together." He took her hand and brought to his lips and then placed it over his heart. "You have my heart Hales, you have all of me… the good.. the bad .. and if that's not enough for you.. then maybe I'm not enough for you."
Haley blinked away the tears that were threatening to escape. Nathan's cell phone started going off and they heard the sound of car honking it's horn.
"Clay's here." Nathan got up and let go of Haley. "I love you Hales… I'll see you Friday." Nathan kissed the top of her forehead and gently rubbed her belly before taking off.
Haley heard the front door slam shut. "I love you too." Haley said softly.
"Enjoying yourself?" Clay asked as he came up to Nathan and handed him a drink.
"Oh thank God." Nathan took the drink and took a hefty gulp.
"Easy there, Nate." Clay warned softly. "Don't want to get thrown out of a window tonight."
"Well at least, we're in a room full of surgeons." Nathan replied. Nathan tried his best to get in the spirit of things. This was actually a charity that was near and dear to his heart. If it wasn't for the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Nathan would probably still be in a wheel chair. They had their annual gala a few months ago where Nathan showed up with Alex. Tonight's event wasn't as fancy, no black tie required but everyone was still dressed in suits and dresses. Tonight was a silent auction and dinner. Nathan contributed a couple of autograph memorabilia. He was genuinely happy to be hear but like always his mind drifted back to Haley and his unborn son.
"Too bad none of them are plastic surgeons to make you look sexy like me." Quentin came up to Nathan.
"Q? I didn't think you were coming." Nathan smiled and hugged his old friend and mentor. "Where's Faith?" Nathan asked as Clay and Q also exchanged pleasantries.
"She's back home. Andre got sick and then so did she."
"Oh that sucks." Clay replied.
"Yeah tell me about it, I missed my flight because I was waiting for Faith's sister to come take care of them."
Just then Clay's phone started to ring. Clay looked down and saw who was calling, "If you excuse me." Clay excused himself to get some privacy.
"So how you doing playa?"
"Good." Nathan replied.
"You don't sound so good."
"Just dealing with stuff."
"Oh I know." Q replied. "Believe me, when Faith was pregnant with Andre I was scared shit. Don't worry man, it's going to be fine."
"Yeah.. you're right."
"What's wrong man? I thought you and Haley moved in together."
"Yeah but we sort of took a turn for the worst.. I think."
"What you mean?"
"I asked her to marry me.. she said no."
"Ouch." Q felt bad. "I'm sorry man."
"Thanks, I mean she said she's not ready.. whatever that means."
"Look from what you told me, you guys will get through it."
"Thanks." Nathan replied. "Oh I completely forgot. Have you met my brother?" Nathan changed topics. He didn't feel like getting into this now.
"No I haven't. You know Scott, one minute you're this single bachelor, next thing I know, you got a girl and a kid on the way, now you have a brother.. you're like a whole new man."
Nathan laughed. "I was hiding from my past.. but now."
"Now what?"
"I'm not hiding." Nathan smirked and motioned Q to follow him. Nathan looked around and saw Lucas talking to a group of people. Lucas spotted Nathan and instantly recognized Quentin Fields. He was a Sonics legend and one of Lucas' favorite players.
"Thank you so much for talking to me Dr. Riley."
"No problem and here's the card to that cardiologist I talked to you about." Dr. Riley handed him a card.
"Thanks so much." Lucas replied politely and excused himself before making his way over to his brother.
. . . . .
"There you are." Nathan stepped outside and saw Clay leaning over the balcony. "You should see Lucas, he's like star struck right now. I think he developed a crush on Q."
Clay turned around with a serious expression.
"Clay, what's wrong?" Nathan asked.
Clay looked around to make sure no one was around. "Look, I just got off the phone with Charlotte."
"Oh. What happened?" Nathan asked.
Clay shook his head.
"They just signed Derick McDaniel, apparently it was a back door deal the Bobcats were doing, which was why they stalled in giving us an answer. They capped out Nate. Their roster's locked."
"Shit." Nathan gritted through his teeth and put his hands on the ledge.
"Nate, I'm so sorry."
"Look, it's not your fault. You didn't know. So what now Clay?"
"We still have a contract with the Sonics."
"I don't know what to do." Nathan replied honestly.
"Look you said it yourself, Haley is fine with you going back to Seattle. I know you don't want to go back but this is your only option."
Nathan sighed and looked up and saw that the once clear sky was now cloudy. Even dark, Nathan could tell that a storm was coming. Nathan sighed, it felt very fitting at the moment.
"You still have the contract I signed with the Sonics?" Nathan asked after a minute of silence.
Haley lied awake for the second straight night in a row. She turned to her side and her eyes landed on the small velvet black box. Nathan's words from yesterday kept repeating in her mind. Maybe she wasn't completely over it. She may have forgiven Nathan for leaving her but she was still scared that he would do it again. There was a part of her that still believed it, even if it was only a small part of her. Nathan had proven himself over these past few months and opening her heart back up to him was like coming back home. For some reason the thought of marriage was just too much. Keeping Nathan at arms length was much better than letting him all the way and breaking her again. She was plagued by her thoughts but soon exhaustion took over and she started to drift asleep.
Fifteen months later . . . .
"Are you excited to see Daddy?" Haley cooed and her little boy just laughed and continued to put his toy truck in his mouth.
"Don't do that sweetie, you know how dirty it is?" Haley took the truck away and then took out a small orange basketball.
"Ball!" The little boy proclaimed.
"That's right." Haley handed him the ball. "We're going to see Daddy. I know he's missed you so much."
"Ready to go?" Lucas called from the doorway.
"Yeah, can you put him in the car seat?" Haley asked.
"No problem." Lucas went over and picked up his little nephew. "Come on buddy, we're going on an adventure today."
"Ball!" The little boy held it out for Lucas.
"Yeah, buddy." He laughed. He turned to Haley, "He is definitely, Nathan's son."
They both laughed and proceeded to head out. The drive wasn't that bad and they arrived at the arena with plenty of time to spare. It was the Bobcat's home opener and they just so happened to be playing the Sonics, where Nathan still played. A year ago, Nathan made a play for joining the Bobcats but unfortunately, it didn't go through. Nathan ended up re-signing for the Sonics. He spent all last season in Seattle, going back and forth between Seattle and Tree Hill as much as possible. Haley took some trips out there by herself while her mom or Lucas watched the baby but their son their son was still too fragile to fly.
"You have the tickets?" Haley asked as she pushed the stroller, her baby boy already asleep in it.
Lucas pulled out his cell phone and read a message from Nathan. "He told us to go around back to the VIP entrance.
A few minutes later, they made their way to the private VIP entrance.
"The entrance is that way." The security guard pointed back to where Lucas and Haley walked from.
"We're here to see Nathan Scott.. I'm his brother Lucas and his girlfriend Haley James with their son."
The security guard looked down on the list. "Ah yes of course, Lucas Scott and Haley James, come in." The security let them pass and handed them VIP passes.
"There you are!" Nathan beamed as he saw Lucas and Haley step out of the elevator. He gave Haley a quick kiss on the cheeks before swooping down and taking their son in his arms.
"I've missed you so much." Nathan held his little boy tight. "I know it's been only a week since I saw him but I swear he looks like he's gotten bigger."
"He probably did." Lucas commented.
"Did you guys make it in okay?"
"Yeah, there were no problems." Haley remarked.
"So you excited about the season opener?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah." Nathan shrugged as he held his little boy in his hands. He was currently sleeping but Nathan couldn't keep his eyes off him. He was perfect blend of him and Haley.
"I hear that…" Lucas was about to say something when the baby started crying.
"Whhaaa..whhaaa!"
"It's okay." Nathan held him tighter and started rocking him back and forth, but the boy kept crying.
"Maybe he's hungry." Haley went for the baby bag to grab a bottle. Meanwhile, the young boy spotted his uncle and he immediately squirmed in his daddy's arms to get out. Nathan saw this and reluctantly handed his son over to his brother and he immediately stopped crying. Haley offered a bottle but he wasn't interested in it and he curled up against his Uncle Lucas and started to go back to sleep again.
Haley saw the flash of disappointed that graced Nathan's face. She knew he felt bad for not being there as much as he wanted to be. She was about to say something when Nathan mumbled something about getting ready and that he'd see them after the game.
. . . . .
"Aww come on Nate." Lucas mumbled as he saw Nathan struggle to make another shot.
"Damnit." Clay muttered next to Lucas when they saw Nathan miss the shot. It was nearly half time and the Sonics were down by 19 points points. Nathan was playing poorly much to the delight of the Charlotte fans. The buzzer rang, signaling the end of the first half and now the Sonics were down 23 points.
Haley rocked her boy on her lap. She felt so bad for Nathan. "They can still come back right?" Haley asked.
"Yeah but it'll take one big rally."
Haley nodded. "Hey can you watch him, I'm going to go to the bathroom." Haley handed her son over to Lucas.
A couple of minutes later, Haley was hanging outside the locker room. There was a bunch of people around and Haley wasn't even sure if she was going to get to see Nathan. The doors pushed open and Haley got her wish as she saw Nathan stepping out.
"Nathan!" Haley called out and Nathan whipped his head. He told his team mates he would catch up with them and sprinted over to where Haley was.
"Hey, what're you doing here?" Nathan asked as he hugged Haley.
"I was worried about you. What's going on with you?"
"I guess my heart isn't in it tonight." Nathan sighed. "I'm just tired. Training camp was hell, the season is already starting off on a bad note, and I even had to leave early to my own son's first birthday because of basketball."
"Nathan, I know it must feel like you're missing out on a lot."
"It's because I am." Nathan pointed out.
"He knows his daddy loves him."
"Does he?"
"He does and one day he's going to tease his dad about playing like crap during the first game he ever saw live."
Nathan chuckled a bit.
"SCOTT!"
Haley was about to say more when a very angry Sonics coach yelled at him to get with the rest of his team.
"Duty calls." Nathan gave her a quick peck on the lips and ran off to join his team.
"I love you." Haley called out but it was too late, Nathan was already gone.
By the time Haley came back, the third quarter had already started and the Sonics were now only down by 18.
"You went to see Nathan didn't you?" Lucas asked as he handed his nephew back to Haley.
"Maybe." Haley smiled.
"Well, whatever you said to him worked Hales, Nathan's on fire right now." Clay replied as they all continued to watch the game.
"Well, we're going to see a lot more games.. especially now that I'm moving to Seattle."
"What?" Both Lucas and Clay whipped their heads to Haley.
"Actually, were are moving to Seattle. The doctor gave us the green light, he's good to fly now." Haley looked down at her son and bounced him up and down on his knees. "We got cut off when we were talking but I'm going to tell him as soon as the game is over."
"Hales, that's great!" Lucas replied and leaned over to hug his best friend. The three of them chatted here and there but most of the time their focus was on the game. It was now the fourth quarter and the Sonics were only trailing by two points with less than 20 seconds on the clock. Nathan had a stellar third quarter and fourth quarter but with the clock winding down, they could tell Nathan was getting fatigued. The coach just called their last time out to let Nathan sit and rest.
He sat down drinking Gatorade while people padded him down with towels and he listened to the coach talk about their next and final play. The whistle blew and Nathan got up and joined the rest of his team. Nathan felt so tired and his heart was beating a mile a minute but he had to push on, only a couple of seconds left in the game. The Sonics had possession of the ball and Nathan faked out one of the defenders and took a step behind the three point line. One of his team mates saw he was opened and passed the ball to Nathan.
The pressure was on and Nathan felt the air go out of his lungs. Still he pressed on as the clock ticked away. A sharp pain came coursing through his left arm but he ignored at he took the shot. Everyone held their breath as the buzzer sounded and the ball went in. Clay, Lucas and Haley all got up and cheered as did the Sonics bench. However silence engulfed the arena as they looked down and saw that Nathan had collapsed on the court.
Everything after that felt like a blur. Haley, Lucas and Clay rushed down to the court while the local EMT were administrating CPR. They dragged him out on a stretcher soon afterwards and Haley tried in vain to get into the ambulance but only family was allowed. Lucas went in his place and it was Lucas who came into the waiting room to deliver the news to Haley and Clay.
Haley paced back and forth across the room. He just had to be okay, she thought. When Lucas walked in, she already knew what happened, his face said it all.
"NO!" Haley cried out as she buried her head into Lucas' chest. Lucas held her for a good five minutes before he finally spoke.
"He had HCM." Lucas muttered. "Apparently the medication he was taking for his back interfered with the test we took last year. It gave a false negative." Lucas choked out.
"No.. no." Haley shook her head as the tears flowed from her eyes. "I need to see him!" She looked up at Lucas.
"Hales.." Lucas held her tight.
"Luke please." Haley begged.
"Go on." Clay nodded his head as he carried Nathan's son in his hands, the little boy asleep, oblivious to everything that was going on.
Lucas held onto Haley tight as he guided her through the scores of press that was waiting in the hospital lobby, through the guards who let her inside Nathan's room. Lucas stood at the doorway as Haley stepped inside. The doctors tried their best but couldn't resuscitate Nathan's heart. He was declared dead shortly after reaching the hospital. Haley lifted the white cold sheet over Nathan's face and stared at his lifeless body.
The first time Nathan saw his son crawl was over a video email she sent to Nathan. When he started to walk, Nathan could only watch over the webcam and the only time he told his boy a night time story was over the phone. There were so many missed moments and now Nathan would never get to see that. Nathan would never get to see his son grow up. Haley would grow old and gray alone. She knew that now.
While trying to keep her heart safe and playing it cool, Haley only wasted time, valuable time with her one and only love. Now he was gone and a part of Haley was gone with him. Her son would grow up father-less and Nathan's absence will forever be a reminder of a life she missed out with Nathan. Everyday will always leave her asking, what if and instead of a lifetime of kisses and memories, all she would have is regret and a hole in her heart that could never be filled.
Dropping to her knees, Haley could only cry out.
"Nathan! Nathan!" Haley's voice crack. "Nathan.. come back to me.. Nathan!"
"Nathan!" Haley shot up from bed, a cold sweat formed over her forehead. She looked around and saw that she was in her's and Nathan's bedroom. The sun was shining through the windows and Haley looked down and saw her pregnant stomach. She rubbed it and felt her unborn son still inside. It was a dream, Haley told herself as she tried to catch her breath. She sighed in relief, it was all a dream she kept repeating. She dropped back down onto the bed to calm herself. It had felt so.. real.
She turned to her side towards the nightstand and saw her phone next to that black velvet box. She took a hard look at it before grabbing her phone, her mind already decided. Haley's nerves were still on the fritz but she managed to press the buttons and dial Nathan's number. She waited as the phone continued to ring but in the end all she kept getting was his voicemail.
Nathan's eyes fluttered open and he looked around and saw that they were parked at a small gas station. There was no sign of Clay and Lucas was in the back sound asleep.
"Hey man." Clay got back in the car, a coffee in hand.
"Morning… where the hell are we?" Nathan rubbed his eyes. "We left that Charity event early to get to Tree Hill by morning."
"Yeah.. after you fell asleep last night.. after you and Lucas went to sleep.. by the way, you two can sleep through anything.."
"Clay." Nathan warned.
"Well, it started raining."
"Yeah?"
"Really hard."
"And?"
"One might even call it a deluge."
"Clay." Nathan warned again.
"I missed the highway exit and drove a few hours in the wrong direction.. but the good news is that we're only a few hundred miles outside of Tree Hill and we're driving a corvette. We'll be home faster than you can say, Yao Ming." Clay said cheerfully.
Once Clay put the car in gear though, he ran over some spikes and he and Nathan felt the tires go out.
"Yao Ming." Nathan replied bluntly.
"What happened?" Lucas woke up from the back.
. . . . . .
Nathan was beyond annoyed as he and Lucas waited outside the small store that was next to the gas station. He was glad the shower was tonight and they still had a chance of getting back in time. It was then that Nathan felt his phone vibrate from inside his jacket pocket.
"Hello." Nathan answered.
"Nathan, it's your father."
"Hey Dad."
Lucas whipped his head around at the mention of Dan's name. Seeing his brother on the phone reminded him to check his own messages. He forgot his cell phone in Tree Hill and Lucas made his way over to a nearby pay phone. Using the last bit of change he had in his pockets, he dialed his cell number and began to check to see if he had any messages.
. . . .
"I wanted to let you know I got a lead on this Rachel girl you told me about." Dan spoke into the phone.
"Oh what do you have?" Nathan asked.
"Turns out that's her middle name, Daneel Rachel Gatina and don't worry I'll make sure she won't bother you again."
Nathan sighed in relief, at least one thing is going right today he though. "Thanks Dad." Nathan was about to say more but he heard his phone beep.
"Hey look, my cell is going to die. I'll talk you to later when I'm back in Tree Hill, we're having a shower for Haley at the Café."
"Okay, I'll talk you then." Dan hung up and looked back at the various photos he had of Rachel. There were a couple of pictures of her and Renee, her outside Renee's apartment, her and Renee inside Rachel's car. He took a couple of days to gather information, not wanting to confront Renee until now.
"Renee, can you come here." He spoke over the intercom in a calm voice. A second later, she showed up.
"What do you need?" She asked.
"Sit." Dan motioned and threw the photos over the desk.
Renee was confused and she sat down across from Dan. She looked down and her stomach dropped once she saw the photos.
"Care to explain." Dan cracked his knuckles.
. . . .
After talking to his dad, Nathan looked through his phone and saw he had a couple of miss calls from Haley. He hoped she was okay. He dialed her number, hoping that his phone wouldn't crap out on him.
"Nathan!" Haley eagerly picked up the phone.
"Hey Hales, sorry I didn't get your call."
"Where are you?"
"At some gas station, we're on the road right now, but we're having a flat tire issue, we'll be …(BEEP)… back by tonight.. (BEEP)."
"Nathan, what's that?"
"Sorry Hales, my phones about to die. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed to hear your voice and that ..BEEP.."
"What?" Nathan asked.
Haley sighed in frustration when she heard another beep. "Look get home soon. I love you."
"I will, I love …" Nathan groaned when he saw his phone die.
Nathan turned around and saw Clay walking towards him. "What's the update?"
"According to them, they aint got no fancy tires. They have to tow the car over to the next town and it'll be ready by tonight."
"Tonight? I can't believe this!" Nathan shook his head. "Let met get your phone, I think Haley was trying to tell me something."
"Yeah." Clay checked his pockets. "It's in the car…" Clay trailed off as both he and Nathan watched the tow truck tow Clay's car away.
"Crap, I got to talk to Skills, he has your contract with the Sonics." Clay turned to Nathan and was about to open his mouth again but Nathan pointed his finger at him.
"Not a word." He warned. "Now where the hell is that idiotic brother of mine, he better have his phone." Nathan looked around and found Lucas at a payphone.
Lucas punched in his pin code and saw he had three messages. One was from his mom and the other was from Brooke. The last message though was something he'd been waiting to hear for a while now.
"Hello this message if for Lucas Scott. I want to let you know we got the results back from the HCM test….."
Lucas took a big gulp and listened to the rest of the message. It was a few seconds later that he finally hung up and he found Nathan standing in front of him.
"Great, I forgot you left your phone." Nathan groaned out.
"Nate.. there's something I need to tell you." Lucas said softly.
. . . . . .
Before Brooke could even ring the doorbell, Haley had already opened the door.
"There you are!" Haley beamed.
Brooke was surprised to see Haley already dressed. The last time she spoke to Haley, she didn't seem to excited to go shopping with her. "I see you're ready to go."
"Yes, let's go." Haley closed the door behind her. "We have lots to do."
"That's the spirit." Brooke followed Haley to Brooke's car.
"Peyton's coming too right?"
"Umm.. she said she's busy." Brooke alluded.
"Tell her that Karen can decorate, she's coming with us."
"Decorate?"
"Brooke, I know all about the shower."
Brooke was about to say something but the look on Haley's face told her that it was no use.
"I'm going to kill Nathan."
"You better not!" Haley warned.
Brooke gave Haley a curious look.
"Speaking of which, I spoke to him this morning before his phone died, I think he and Luke are going to be late. They had a flat tire or something like that." Haley waved her hands about and reached into her purse and pulled out a magazine. She held it up for Brooke to see.
"Now, I love the color, I think it'll go great with your's and Peyton's complexion. But I was thinking that it should be strapless."
"Haley what're you talking about?"
"And the hem should be shorter, I mean I'll be big as a house, I might as well let my brides maids look sexy."
"Brides maid?" Brooke gasped. "Wait.. does this mean?" Brooke was struggling to find the words.
Haley couldn't hold back her smile.
"I'm going to ask Nathan to marry me tonight!"
To Be Continued . . . . .