Thanks for all the great reviews guys! Loved it!
And I do think that I'll be adding one more part after this, so stay tuned!
Slower, Slower
Nathan stood up slowly when the doctor came out. He left the tears on his face. "How is she?" He asked desperately. "Please, tell me she's okay."
The doctor sighed sadly. "The car hit her. Pretty badly."
"Is she…?" Going to die, he finished in his head. He couldn't bring himself to ask that question when it came to her.
"She's really banged up, Mr. Scott." He told him sadly. "She's unconscious. One of her lungs collapsed. There are a few bruised ribs, one's broken. Her leg is broken."
"God, no." He could feel the tears crowding his eyes again. "The baby? Is the baby…?"
"I couldn't tell you right now." He said sadly.
"Can I see her?" He asked unsurely.
"Of course."
He remembered the last time he saw her…
She never could swim that good, and the cold water that felt like needles when her body hit it did nothing to help that fact. But she had to, she had a baby to take care of. She had Nathan that she had to work things out with. They had to be together. But the wedding dress was getting heavy and her attempts at ripping it off were all in vain.
Her left leg wouldn't move though. And everytime she tried to swim, her ribs would send a searing pain through her body. She wanted to cry out, in fact ,tears would be streaming down her face if the water she was drenched in wouldn't have washed them away.
Accidentally, she tried to breath. Of course she knew she couldn't, but she had no choice. She had been holding her breath for too long. But then all the water got caught in her nose and her throat and she felt herself struggling against the air supply she didn't have. She could feel her eyes rolling in the back of her head when somebody grabbed her from behind. It was Nathan and she knew it. That was the last thought she remembered before the fact that she couldn't breath shut her body down.
"Nate!" Cooper was yelling.
Nathan flew up from the water with a loud gasp for air, Haley's unconscious body rising with him. Heaving for air, he looked into her face as he struggled to swim to the small dirt area on the side. "Haley. Haley, baby. Wake up." Her head was lifelessly resting on his shoulder. He shook her slightly as he felt his feet touching solid ground. "Haley. Come on. Please." He cried, touching his hand to her cheek.
"Is she breathing?" Cooper had run to meet Nathan at the side. He fell right beside the spot Nathan had laid her.
Nathan hadn't really heard his words, he just heard his own voice and his heart thudding in his ears as he lifted her head helplessly to his. "Haley, no." He said seriously, breathing in her pale face. "You can't do this to me. You have to be here.Baby, wake up. Please." His strained voice broke as he sobbed, resting his forehead on hers. "Baby, please. We're gonna have a family." He murmured in her ear so only she could hear him.
"Move, let me do CPR." Cooper ordered, pushing his nephew out the way.
Nathan moved over with Cooper's help, holding his head faintlyNo, he thought to himself. This wasn't going right. "Haley. Wake up. Come on."
"She will, Nate. Don't worry." Cooper said guiltily as he pumped on her chest.
The sirens he hadn't heard, but he saw the paramedics running to her aid. "Watch out! Please!" One man called. "How long has she been out?" He asked Nathan, seeing he was the one who was soaked.
"Just a few minutes." Cooper answered when Nathan didn't
The paramedic noticed she wasn't breathing and looked worried. "Let's get her up there, come on!" He looked to Cooper and then Nathan quickly. "What's her name?"
When Nathan seemed speechless from shock, Cooper sighed nervously. "Uh, her…it's Haley."
In no time, there was a stretcher and she was ready to be transferred. "How old is she?"
"She's pregnant." Nathan finally spoke, though he was as quiet as a mouse as he watched her lifeless body being laid on the stretcher.
"How far along?" The paramedic asked more urgently.
"I don't know. I just found…" His voice left him again when he saw the breathing mask being put on her face.
"Hey."
Nathan turned to look in the doorway, surprised to see Lucas standing there. "Hey man." He stood up and rushed over to him, hugging him tightly.
Lucas didn't hug him back for a beat, surprised at his reaction. Then, with a slow chuckle, he wrapped his arms back around him. "You alright?"
"I'm so sorry, Luke." Nathan apologized, ignoring his question. "I'm so sorry."
"Nate, hey. It's not your fault." Lucas announced. "Rachel grabbed the wheel while Coop was driving."
Daggers of hate for her flew threw Nathan's eyes. "What?"
"Yeah. It's true." Lucas patted his back reassuringly.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you." Nathan apologetically said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I had a mild heart attack." He glanced over his brother's shoulder to see Haley. "But I'm fine now." His eyes met Nathan's gravely. "How is she?"
Nathan took a deep, shaky breath. "Uh, she hasn't even woken up yet. They don't know…" He couldn't continue and pinched the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes, trying not to cry.
Lucas pulled him into another hug, his own tears forming. "She's gonna be alright, Nate. Don't worry."
Moving out of the embrace, Nathan looked down at the ground. "Luke, the last thing I said to her wasn't how much I loved her or how happy she makes me. I didn't say anything to her. I watched her cry and I did nothing about it."
Forcing an assuring smile, he kept his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "That's why when she wakes up, you're gonna tell her how much you love her. How happy she makes you." Lucas listed endearingly. "You'll get to wipe away her tears." He reminded in a heartfelt whisper.
Nathan sniffled and wiped at his face. "If she doesn't wake up, I'll never forgive myself Luke."
"She's not going anywhere, man." Lucas assured again. "Really, would Haley skip out on us without even graduating first?" He laughed sadly, but hoping to cheer Nathan up. "She's been working on her valedictorian speech since she was eight."
Nathan smiled a little at the thought of her.
"And you know we have crucial finals this year and knowing Haley, she has to be here to make you study at least twelve hundred times." With one arm wrapped around Nathan's shoulder, he brought the other hand up and patted his brother's chest. "She's gonna be fine."
He glanced back at her, Lucas words only giving him a part of the hope he wished he had. "The baby. What about our kid? This can't happen."
"It won't. Calm down." Patting him one last time, he walked around him and walked to Haley, eyeing her slowly. Letting out a soft sigh, he tucked his hands in his pockets. His eyes never left her.
Nathan watched the agony spread over his brother's face and sighed. "I'll give you some time to…" Without continuing, he walked out of the room, his head drooping in sadness.
Lucas watched Nathan walk out before turning back to Haley. He moved closer to her and then dropped in the chair Nathan had probably been glued to for the past few days. "Hales, you…you can't do this to us." He said, his voice stubbornly shaking, the confidence he'd spoken to Nathan with wasn't so evident anymore. "You have no idea how much we need you around. Especially Nate. He's a mess." He rested his elbows on the bed, his face only mere inches away from hers. She was banged up pretty badly and the sight of her made him frown. He hated seeing her like this. He had been so helpless to stop her suffering. He'd had a heart attack at the sight of watching her go over. He'd known her for so long, seeing something so dramatic happening to her sent him in uncontrollable panic.
"You can hear me, Hales. I know it." He whispered in her ear. "Just wake up. We really need you." Smiling sadly, tears rimmed his eyes. "Your baby needs you, too. You're going to be such a good mother." Looking down to find her hand, he grabbed it. Then his eyes made their way back to her face. "Who knows, you might even have a little girl who's even more of a nerd than you are." He laughed through the pain, his brief laugh ending when she didn't respond with something quirky like she usually did. He dropped his forehead onto her bed. "Haley, come on." He pleaded almost inaudibly.
After a few drawn out seconds, his head shot up when he heard her groggy voice say, "Or a boy that's even more broody than his uncle." A sheepish smile spread out over her face but her eyes were still closed.
Lucas' eyes lit up with happy tears. "Hales?" He asked, seeking confirmation that he wasn't going crazy.
Her eyes only opened a little and she did so slowly. "Luke?" She repeated, mocking him in a way.
He leaned up and pressed a kiss to her forehead, standing afterwards. "I have to go tell Nathan that you're awake. He's-"
She gripped onto his hand as hard as she could-which wasn't really that hard. "No, Luke."
He was confused. "What? Why?" A little of his happiness faded.
"I know Nathan probably hates me right now." Her muzzy voice shook. "I've ruined everything for him." She sighed sadly. "His future is ruined and it's all because of me."
"What? Haley, no." Lucas reclaimed his seat beside her. "Nathan's a mess right now, Hales. He's so worried about you-and his child." He added to assure her.
She frowned worriedly. "You sure? I mean, he probably doesn't even want a kid right now. He wouldn't even talk to me."
"He got scared. As every guy would hearing that they're about to have a child and they're barely seniors in High School." He smiled softly at her. "But Nathan's had plenty of time to digest the news and he doesn't want anything more than to make you the mother of his children."
Looking only half convinced, she looked down at their conjoined hands. "So there's no way I could just, pretend to still be out of it?" Her half smile gave off that she was still afraid to face her husband.
Lucas laughed gently. "Trust me, Hales. Nathan's ready to be a father." He pressed another kiss to her forehead and stood up slowly. "I'll go get him."
"Fine." She cleared her throat, trying to get the scratchy sound out of her voice. "But come back with him in case he decides to pull the plug." She joked, wincing in pain as she laughed.
Lucas frowned and held a hand out to steady her. "Don't hurt yourself, Haley."
"I know, I know." She waved him off weakly and closed her eyes.
Lucas opened the door and watched Nathan as he sat against the wall across from Haley's door. He looked down at his brother with a relieved smile. "She's awake."
"What?" Nathan hopped up, his hands combing through his hair. "When?"
"A few minutes ago." Lucas let the door close.
"Should I go get the doctor?" Nathan was panicking.
Lucas chuckled at him. "No, no. You go see her. I'll get the doctor."
"Wait." He grabbed hold of his brother's arm urgently. "Is she…does she seem mad?"
Lucas shook his head and frowned at Nathan. What was wrong with these two?"No. Just scared."
"Why?" Nathan asked with concern.
Lucas sighed and looked around the hall, wondering if he should tell him or not. Looking down at his shoes, he shook his head. "She thinks that you hate her."
"What?" Nathan hissed as if that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.
"She thinks she ruined your future." Lucas spoke quietly with a pained expression. "Go see her, Nate."
With a solid nod, Nathan walked past his brother and pushed the door open slowly, peeking into the room. She looked over at him and smiled and finally, he felt his heart beat again. He walked inside and slowly made his way to her bedside. "Hey."
"Hey." Her reply was followed by a moment of silence.
"Nathan-"
"Haley-" They started at the same time.
They both stopped and Nathan waved his hand at her to continue.
"I'm so sorry." She blurted, starting to cry.
He took his designated seat next to her in a hurry and grabbed her hand. "Haley. Don't…don't say that. You have no reason to be sorry. I love you. I want this." He confessed with a blur of tears. "You have no reason to be sorry, alright?" He leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to the side of her head. "I'm so happy to hear your voice." He whispered tearfully.
Sighing in relief, she wrapped her aching arms around his neck and pulled him close. "Nathan, I love you."
"I love you so much, Hales. You have no idea." He murmured to her. "You make me the happiest person in the world, just knowing that I'm married to you and that you're allowing me to spend the rest of my life with you." When he heard her sniffling, her reared back and cupped her face, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "I love you, Haley." He leaned forward and gently kissed her, the pain he had been feeling in his chest resolved.
And then, their ache was gone.
I'll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You've been the only thing that's right
In all I've done
And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we'll make it anywhere
Away from here
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear
Louder louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say
To think I might not see those eyes
Makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear
Louder louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say
Slower slower
We don't have time for that
All I want is to find an easier way
To get out of our little heads
Have heart my dear
We're bound to be afraid
Even if it's just for a few days
Making up for all this mess
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear
