BRIEF NOTES:

Again, many thanks for the reviews and for those who hooked me up in their favorites section. :D Means a lot.

I'm not really big on giving pre-explanations. It kind of seems anticlimactic, and defeats the purpose of writing chapters. I leave an expanded summary in the beginning and usually I just let the story flow in the clearest way possible.

I hope you guys enjoy this.

DISCLAIMER:

Nope. Still don't own One Tree Hill.

CHAPTER FOUR

"Mom?"

No movement.

"Mommy?"

Still nothing. At this point, the little boy had become frustrated. He began to shake her shoulders vigorously.

"Wakey wakey moooooooom! Morning time alreeeeeeeeaaaady!" He said in a tone unfit for the morning.

"Okay, okay! Mommy's awake, sweetheart… and mommy isn't deaf." This was not how Haley James-Scott planned to wake up on a weekend. "Ugh. And here I thought the screaming disappeared with the night feedings." She grumbled as she forced herself to get up from the bed.

The little boy with his mother's hair and his father's eyes cocked his head sideways, "You talkin'a me, ma?"

Haley shook her head in amusement. Her 4-year-old son had always been quick on the uptake. "No baby, I was talking to myself. Where's your daddy?"

As if on cue, Nathan appeared at the door. "Right here, family. Good morning." He said while picking up his son and carried him as he approached to kiss his wife.

"Eewwww. Sharing cooties!"

The parents laughed at their little boy's audacity. He was much like his father when it came to sharing thoughts – pretty much nothing was left for censorship.

Nathan put his son down and bent to his eye level. "So, champ, you should be getting ready. We're leaving for Aunt Peyton's as soon as you're done."

" 'Kay. I'll go get ready now." The child scooted towards his bedroom, doing as he was told.

She leaned in close to her husband as soon as the boy's door closed. "You sure you don't wanna stay in bed with me instead?"

"You're a tease, Mrs. Scott."

"Well, you're worth teasing Mr. Scott." She retorted.

They shared a brief, intimate kiss. "Mmm. Stop tempting me, Hales." He chuckled between kisses. "I'd love to, but I promised the boys we'd play at the river court this morning."

"You're not enslaving them with basketball, are you?" They both knew it was a joke only they would understand.

"Hell, no. We're racing boats at the river!"

Maybe it would have been better if they played basketball instead. "Nate, be careful with those two okay? You know how they are when they're together and the risks are higher especially when you'll be playing near deep waters. I know for a fact that it doesn't take more than a second to---" He cut her off with a kiss.

She kept silent as soon as their lips pulled away. "Baby, we're racing remote control boats. But if it'll make you feel any better, I promise to take care of those two. Besides, I'd kill myself if anything happened to those two."

She knew that all along, simply because she felt the same way – Her boy and Peyton's son meant the universe to the three of them. But hearing him assure her made it certain. "I know. I love you."

He flashed the famous Scott smile that her son also possessed. "Always and forever, baby."

The boy stepped out of his room. "All ready, dad!" He sauntered over to his mother and embraced her. "Bye mommy, I love you."

If she had an addiction, her little boy's hugs and kisses were it. "Alright, honey. You and be good for daddy. Tell your cousin too, okay?"

"I will, ma. Bye." He waved and turned to walk with his father.

Nathan looked at her before heading downstairs. "Bye baby. We'll be home before lunch."

She heard the front door slam shut and their car's engine rev. She went back to the bed and pulled the covers over herself.

How they stayed together all these years was something Nathan and Haley didn't try to figure out; instead, they continued to remain grateful. Even from the beginning, it was never a walk in the park – even more so when their boy came into the world. There had been fights and struggles along the way, and they both knew there would be more of that to come.

But they also knew they were luckier than most people. And that, for both of them, was enough to keep fighting for each other.

The morning mist hung heavy around Tree Hill cemetery. The silence, as always, was as eerie as it could get. The family quietly walked towards their purpose for coming over.

Kaitlyn Scott never did understand why her mom and brother were so sad, especially where her father was concerned. She knew he didn't die well, she knew a bad man took his life and blamed it on someone else, but she also knew that her Dad wouldn't want them to keep on being sad forever.

They had stopped, which meant that they were standing in front of where his body lay. She didn't know how to read words yet, but she made a good guess that this was the one. After all, her daddy's name started with the letter K, and this big rock with words on it had the same letter first.

She went ahead of the two adults and plopped directly in front of his headstone.

"Hi, Daddy. This is the first time mom and Lucas brought me here. I'm sorry I couldn't be here before; mommy said we had to go live in New York for a while because she hurt a lot when she found out what the bad man did to you. She's okay now. She says we're going to stay here until I grow up. I'm sorry I don't know how to miss you, 'cuz I never really met you. But Lucas and mom, they always miss you. Maybe they can do that for me. And even if I don't know how to miss you, daddy, I know that I love you and I know that you love me 'cuz mommy tells me all the time. I know you're keeping me safe too, 'cuz sometimes I see you when I dream." She paused to take a breath, oblivious to the tears that had been streaming down her mother and brother's faces. "Could you come to mommy's and Luc's dreams too? They're still really sad when they remember you. I know you don't want them to be sad, but I don't think that they do. Sometimes I get sad too when I see them like that. I know you just want us to be happy, daddy. I think we will be now that we're home. I'll come visit you everyday now."

She ended her conversation by hugging the headstone, hoping that in doing so she'd be able to send that hug to heaven. Kaitlyn lifted herself off the ground and latched her hand onto her mother's. "Let's go home, mom."

The words from his little sister hit a bull's eye he thought had disappeared. Now that he was back, he couldn't very well run away – it wouldn't be fair to him, or to them.

"Ma, could you drop me off somewhere before you head home?"

His mother understood. "Sure, honey. Peyton's?"

He was going to go to her, eventually, but it wasn't going to happen today. Today, he had a few questions to ask and a couple of answers to give to someone else.

"Nathan's."

Her cellphone rang just as soon as she made her way out of the office.

"Hello?"

"Hey, bestest friend." The cheery voice from the other end of the line chirped.

Brooke always had a knack for stepping in at the right time. "Hey Brooke. How's senior year at fashion college treatin' ya?"

"Everything's going great, actually. Summer started early coz they let us off the hook as soon as the stuffy classroom thingies were done. So, P.Sawyer, you have to make room in that house of yours because I'm coming home. Ooh, light bulb moment – how bout we save room and you bunk me with Derek instead?"

Peyton laughed, remembering how jumpy Derek was around her. "Nice try, Davis. You know my brother freaks out when you creep on him like that. So when will you be here?"

"Can't say I didn't try. He's still my number one hot brother fantasy. I just have to finish processing my papers for the Donna Karan internship in March, but my flight's on Wednesday at 8am. I'll be expecting you and our little man at the airport with flowers in tow." They both chuckled at her demand. "Where is he, anyway? I haven't talked to that boy in forever."

"I was just on my way to pick him up when you called. I had to be at THUD this morning for some meetings and stuff." She balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder and started rummaging for her car keys. Once they were found, she positioned herself on the driver's seat.

"Who would've thought, huh? P. Sawyer – THUD art executive-slash-TRIC CEO-slash mother. You've come far, woman." Her best friend's voice was filled with pride. Peyton felt her blush rise.

"Don't blush, Peyton."

Even with everything that's happened, Brooke Davis still surprised her with how much of Peyton she truly knew. "Seriously, Brooke, how do you do that?"

"Please. I'd feel your blush even if I was all the way in Alaska and we were talking in Morse code." Her end of the line remained quiet. "There's something else you're not telling me, isn't there?"

Now or never. "Lucas is coming back to Tree Hill, Brooke."

"About time, too. Don't be so scared, Sawyer. If you still believe the things you told me before, then you'll know how this is gonna turn out."

"I honestly don't know anymore." She had finally admitted it.

"Can't say I blame you. In any case, you've got an army behind you. We'll make it through, just like we did four years ago. Anyway, I gotta go – I've to get these backlogs done so that I won't have to bring any type of work with me there. Call me when you have our little man."

"Will do. See you Wednesday, Davis."

"Can't wait, P."

The click on the line signaled their conversation's end. She was grateful for Brooke's news. More than that, she was thankful for the comfort she had gotten from the short conversation. For the moment, all her anxious anticipations were subdued.

Her car engine started and she started for the main road. It was time to join her favorite people in the world.