A/N: Hello everyone! And, no, your eyes are not deceiving you, I really have updated! I am SO sorry about the delay, I didn't think it would take this long, but my course started off with a lot of work and then it was difficult to get back into writing. I'm almost sure on how many chapters this story will have, but I will tell you for certain when I post the next chapter, and I promise that won't take as long as this one did. Hope everyone's enjoying the new season of OTH, but I won't talk about that in case there are people who haven't seen it yet; let's just get on with the story!

Chapter Thirty Nine

Haley tried not to think too hard about what she was doing as she turned off the engine of Peyton's beloved car. She continued to ignore the desire to overanalyze the situation as she picked up her purse, stepped down from the car, and locked it.

"Er…Miss James?"

Haley recognized the voice and all her uncertainties came flooding back. Taking a deep breath she turned on her heel to face Brooke. "Hi," she said quietly.

Brooke flashed Haley a smile. "Hi. I thought that was you. Are you here to see Nathan?" Brooke laughed and then answered her own question, "What am I saying, of course you are. Oh, unless someone else you know is –"

"No," Haley cut in. "I just came to see how Nathan is doing. Just to check, you know," Haley added. "I mean, I don't have any classes today until after lunch and I didn't have anything else to do – not that I'm here just because of that – I just –"

"He's on the second floor; room 2303."

Haley smiled, relaxing slightly. "Thanks." She moved to go inside before glancing back at Brooke. "You're not coming…?"

"Oh, I am, I'm just going to meet Lucas in the cafeteria first."

"Oh, okay. Um, thanks." Haley nodded at her and went inside the hospital.

It was only after she had left that Brooke realized she probably should have told her what she of Nathan's condition. However, since Miss James was already out of her line of vision, Brooke simply hoped she found out sooner rather than later and headed round the back of the hospital so she could go straight for the cafeteria.

It didn't take Brooke long to find Lucas, he was sitting in a corner brooding by himself. She smiled as she came up behind him and leaned down to place a kiss on his head. Lucas smiled immediately and looked up at her. "Hey."

"Hey you," she said as she sat down on the chair next to him. "How's Nathan doing?"

"Same as he was last night. Not any better, but not any worse either," Lucas informed her.

"Well, that's good, right?"

Lucas nodded mutely.

"And how are you doing?" Brooke reached out and rubbed his shoulder. "Did you not get much sleep?"

He shrugged. "I slept alright."

Brooke frowned. "Broody, is there something you're not telling me about Nathan? Is his condition really not getting worse or –"

"No, no. It's the same as when you left last night. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem…out of it. I know you and Nathan are close, more so now than you were before, since you live together…it's okay to be worried about him."

"I'm not worried." When Brooke gave him a look, he added, "Okay, so I am. But it's not like I've never worried about him before. He is a cop; this isn't exactly the first time Nathan's been in a dangerous situation."

"Well, then, what's got you so…out of it?"

Lucas sighed and pushed a hand through his blond hair.

"I sort of ran into my Mom this morning. She came to see Nathan."

"It couldn't have been that bad…"

"Well, no, it wasn't…Its just…It's weird, you know."

Brooke nodded. "I know. Well, I guess I don't really know since I hardly see my parents at all, but…I understand. I mean –"

Lucas smiled and interrupted, "I know what you mean, Brooke. And thanks." He put his arm around her and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "I'm glad you're here."

Brooke scooted her chair closer to his and rested her head against his chest. "I'm glad I'm here too. But I know how I can make you really glad…" she added, with a mischievous smirk on her face.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"

Brooke placed a hand on his cheek and guided his head down to hers, kissing him soundly. Lucas grinned against her lips and tilted his head to deepen the kiss, which Brooke immediately reciprocated. However, the cafeteria seats were not the most comfortable or sound chairs and as Lucas moved, his unsteady chair wobbled somewhat so he put his hand on the back of the chair to steady it. Without warning, he turned his head to check that his chair was stable, startling Brooke whose mouth accidentally landed on Lucas' Adam's apple just as an elderly nurse walked past and noticed the pair. She gave Brooke a stern glare as Brooke extricated her lips from Lucas' neck.

Once she had left, Brooke and Lucas looked at each other; their faces flushed more from their interruption than what they had actually been doing.

"Well…" Lucas mumbled just as Brooke broke out into a fit of giggles.

It didn't take Haley long to find Nathan's room, and although the door was partially open she knocked anyway. When there was no answer she tentatively pushed the door to open wider, until she could see that there was no one inside, save for the young man in the hospital bed.

From her place by the door Haley took in the sight of Nathan Scott, hooked up on machines, wires poking into him. It was hard to imagine that just the day before she had been arriving at school at this time, and her only concern then was her situation with Nathan. Less than an hour after that, she had been unsure if Nathan was even alive.

She had unwittingly walked in on the person Nathan had been trying to arrest, a student she had learnt was named Damien West, one she only knew of as someone Nathan had gotten into a fight with not all that long ago. When Damien had run out of the school building, Nathan had run after him. Haley had found Jake who had caught up with them soon, but not soon enough to stop Damien and Nathan getting into another fight where Damien ended up shooting Nathan in the side of his stomach.

Haley half-closed the door behind her and slowly walked to his bedside. Nathan seemed to be in a deep sleep, but he appeared to be breathing on his own and she drew some comfort from that. She realized that she could have and should have asked Brooke about Nathan's condition, but she had been in such a hurry to leave that awkward situation without babbling further and see Nathan that hadn't had the sense to do so at the time.

As if of its own accord, Haley's left hand came up to brush gently over the tips of Nathan's hair. They traced his hairline and came down to trace the scar on his forehead, a reminder of his fight with Damien.

Before Haley really had time to think more about Nathan, she heard voices by the door. She turned her head and as she saw the door being pushed open wider she jerked her hand away from Nathan, and moved a foot away from the bed just as the two people entered and stared back at her. She had never seen the dark haired woman before, but the other she recognized as Lucas' mother.

"Hello," Deb said, evidently having recognized her as well.

"Hi. I…just came to see how Nathan is," Haley stated the obvious.

"Hello," the other woman piped up.

"This is Lucas' English teacher. And Nathan's too…" Deb added, as if she wasn't sure.

Haley nodded.

The dark-haired woman smiled. "I'm Nathan's mother, Karen."

"I'm Haley."

Deb opened her mouth to say something, she wasn't sure what, when her cell phone started ringing. She took it out of her pocket and checked the screen. She glanced at Karen and said, "I have to take this."

"That's alright."

Deb went back out of the room, leaving Haley and Karen alone in the room with Nathan.

"So…how is Nathan doing?" Haley inquired.

"Good actually," Karen replied, moving further into the room and standing by the foot of the bed. "He woke up late last night."

"Really?"

Karen nodded and smiled. "He wasn't awake for very long, but he could talk to us for a bit. And he managed to wake up earlier this morning to take some medicine. The doctor says he'll have to be careful for a while, but he thinks Nathan's going to make a full recovery."

"Wow…that's really good. Jake said Nathan was doing better when I saw him in the evening, but that must have been before he woke up."

"You know Jake?" Karen wondered. "Oh, of course, he was teaching, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he is. Or was," she amended. "He's also dating my friend so…"

"Well, it's about time Jake found himself a nice girl. I have some real horror stories about his ex-girlfriend," Karen confessed, shaking her head, drawing a smile from Haley. "So, you taught Nathan English?" Karen verified. "How was he in his studies?"

"Oh…Well, Nathan is…"

"By all means feel free to say 'lazy'," Karen told her.

Haley grinned, completely at ease with her. "I was going to say he doesn't like to apply himself. Concentration doesn't seem to be his strong point."

Karen smiled, amused. "I'm sure you would have got him to concentrate more than his 50 year-old male English teacher when he really was in high school."

Haley laughed, but Karen didn't miss the blush that coloured the younger girl's cheeks.

Nathan woke up a few minutes before he opened his eyes. The bright light burned against his eye lids and he could vaguely hear two people talking. He scrunched up his eyes and blinked a few times before opening them wide. His gaze met with the ceiling and the fluorescent tube light, forcing Nathan to close his eyes once again. As the voices started to become more audible he opened his eyes slowly, making sure to look across from him, rather than up. The sight that met his eyes was surprising, to say the least.

Opposite from him sat his mother, and on the chair right next to her was the last person Nathan expected to find in his hospital room; Haley.

Unable to find his voice, Nathan simply stared at them, deep in conversation, for a few long moments, until Haley, upon absently glancing around the room, saw him. Karen followed Haley's gaze and smiled at her son.

"Nathan," she began as she stood up to stand by his bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," he croaked.

"The doctor said to tell the nurse when you woke up again –"

"I can go do that," Haley offered, standing up.

"Thank you," Karen said, as Haley smiled at her, then, with a final glance at Nathan left the room.

Karen moved closer to Nathan and placed her palm over his. "Would you like some water to drink?"

Nathan shook his head. "No, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

Nathan nodded.

"Okay…but if the Nurse says you have to drink something, then you're having it."

Nathan smiled faintly. "Yes, mom."

Karen sighed and looked at Nathan silently for a few moments, simply stroking his hand. Then, she began, "So…she's nice."

"Haley? She's just my teacher, ma," Nathan managed, desperately wanting not to get into that conversation with his mother at the moment.

Karen smiled. "Then why did you call her 'Haley'?"