Title: Shattered

Pairing: Haley centric, undertones of Nathan/Haley, Haley/Chris friendship

Nobody understands the pain that she is feeling right now; no matter how hard they try to. Her husband is missing. And she's beginning to lose faith in him ever coming back. She knows Nathan. He wouldn't just disappear. Someone had to have taken him. But why?

Haley James takes a deep breath as she sits in the uncomfortable seat at the police station, swinging her legs back and forth absentmindedly. Why had they called her in? She felt a tear prick at the corner of her eye at the prospect of losing Nathan. It was impossible. How would she be able to go on? How would her family be able to go on?

"Haley…"

The brunette looks up to see Chris Keller take a seat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Nate's gonna be okay..."

"And what if he's not? I have a feeling that something terrible happened," Haley whispers as she intertwines her hands together.

"He's a fighter," Chris shoots her a weak smile. "Trust me, I would know, the guy packs a mean punch."

"Chris, whoever kidnapped him is probably a hell of a lot harder to fight off than you," Haley replies dryly as she closes her eyes momentarily and tries to envision her life without Nathan in it. It's impossible.

"Touché," Chris nods his head, a sly smirk stretching across his lips. "But, he's not going to go down without a fight either."

"That's what scares me," Haley whispers sadly. The last couple of years have been extremely hard on her. First she lost her mother to cancer, then she almost lost her son, and finally, two tragic events had left her sister and best friend both fighting desperately for their lives. She can't afford to lose another person she loves. It would destroy her. "I can't lose him…" she whispers to Chris, her body shaking as she speaks. She ignores the fact that mascara is running wildly down her face mixing with the sultry tears that fall from her deep brown eyes. "I've already lost so much."

Chris nods, his blue eyes clouded with concern. "You're not going to lose him Haley. He's going to come back and you guys will be a family again. He's stronger than anyone I know, other than you." He places a comforting hand on top of Haley's trembling one. "I promise."

"I'm scared," Haley whispers shakily as she buries her head in Chris's shoulder, his arm instantly wrapping around her petite frame. "I'm so petrified…"

"You have a right to be," Chris nods as he wipes a tear from the corner of her soft brown eyes. "You don't have to be strong all the time. It's okay to let your guard down sometimes."

"Funny, I used to tell Brooke that all the time," Haley mumbles through her tears. She looks up at Chris, as she attempts to wipe her eyes. "Thanks for being here Chris. I never would have expected it from you."

"Anything for you Haley," Chris shrugs, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. The two had always shared an incredible bond through music and he felt compelled to be there for her. He couldn't even imagine the pain that she was feeling right now. Because, he knew how much she loved Nathan.

"Haley James…" The thick voice of a husky cop calls as he walks into the waiting room.

"Yes," the brunette asks, prying herself from Chris and standing up to meet the cop. "What's going on?"

"We found your husband…" he states, looking back and forth between Haley and Chris.

"Oh. My. God…" Haley whispers, bringing her hand to her mouth. "Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay."

"I'm sorry… He didn't make it," the cop whispers sadly. "I'm really sorry Haley…"

The minute those words escape his mouth; she falls to the floor, numb with pain. She doesn't even try to stop the tears that spill like rain from her eyes or the uncontrollable shakes that rack her body. In one simple sentence her whole world is shattered.

"Haley…" Chris whispers as he falls to the ground beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm so sorry…"

"You promised!" she yells, pounding her fist into his chest. "You promised that he was going to come back!"

"I'm sorry Haley… I really am… I wanted to believe myself so badly when I said that…"

"Why did this have to happen to him? To me! Why?" she yells, beating her fist into his chest again just like it's a punching bag. "Why? What did we do to deserve this?"

"Sometimes bad things happen to good people. It's not fair but unfortunately it is what it is. The world can be a cruel and unfair place." Chris whispers as he rubs soothing circles on Haley's back.

As he listens to her heartbreaking cries, Chris feels a tear prick at the corner of his eye. Of all the people in this world, Nathan and Haley deserved this the least. They had worked so hard to get here, only to have it all ripped away from them. He feels his heart break for Haley because he can't even imagine her pain right now. But he's going to be there for her. Because someone has to.

AN: Last night's episode leaves us with the impression that Nathan is going to die. So this is a little piece that I made if it were to be Nathan that died. I love Haley and Chris's friendship so I wanted to throw that in there. I am also going to do a second part to this with Haley and Clay's friendship after the funeral. Although it makes the most sense that it would be Nathan that dies, I don't think it will be. I heard rumors that it was going to be an original cast mate that has been there since the beginning. Obviously it's not Haley because she is standing at the morgue. My guesses are that if it's not Nathan, it will be Dan or Brooke. Either Dan will die trying to save Nathan or Brooke will be killed by Xavier because at the end of the episode, he is standing outside of the cafe as she locks up, a little deja vu anyone? But, I will tell you, it had better not be Brooke or I am going to be pissed!