Chapter 20

Beautiful One

I gave my word, I made a promise
And I'm gonna keep it til the end
What would I do, if I lost it
There's nothing better than what we have

Somehow in my mind
Always new I'd find my

Beautiful one, Beautiful child, my everything
Beautiful one, Beautiful child

So much you give so much to live for
And I wanna give it all back to you
And If it means pouring my heart out
To show you I love you, then I will

Beautiful one, Beautiful child, my everything
Beautiful one, Beautiful child

To be the one to call you mine
To feel the way I do inside
You're so much more than I ever dreamed
This is forever I believe

Beautiful one, Beautiful child, my everything
Beautiful one, Beautiful child
I know you're what I need
Beautiful one, Beautiful child

Johnny Lang

Nathan sat beside Haley's bed with her hand in his, unconsciously rubbing his thumb back and forth across the back of it. He had just returned from his seventh trip down to the neonatal unit to check on their brand new daughter. The doctor had told him that she would be awake by now and with each passing minute he felt the fear rise to a slightly higher level.

"Come on baby, we need you. You should see her, Hales. She already has your beautiful brown eyes and your dark hair. She's gorgeous just like you baby. Please wake up so we can go see her together"

Nathan couldn't take his eyes off of her. He needed his wife desperately. Waiting for her to open her eyes, he continued to tell her about their new daughter.

"She's going to be tiny like you Hales. She already has your fingers and your nose. I'll have to beat the boys off with a ball bat to keep them away." He smiled. "Don't worry, if I see any that remind me of myself they won't make it on the front lawn. I fully plan to invest in a machine gun" he said as he chuckled. "Wow it's a good thing your dad didn't feel that way" he smirked.

A knock came at the door and Lucas stuck his head in. "How are we doing in here?"

"Still waiting Luke. I thought she would be awake by now. I have so much I want to tell her."

"I know and you will little brother." Lucas smiled. "So, I went down to see the baby and they let me get a glimpse of her through the glass. Man, she looks just like Haley"

Nathan nodded. "She's exactly what I wished for. A little girl, just like my wife" he said as he turned his head back toward his wife.

Lucas couldn't help but smile at the dreamy look on Nathan's face and in his eyes, as his gaze returned to his wife. He knew his brother was hopelessly in love with his best friend and for the life of him he didn't know why he was surprised but he was shocked that it was even worse today than in high school.

"So what happened with Peyton?" Nathan asked, his eyes still never leaving Haley.

"We're going to take things slow. I told her I love her, well that I'm in love with her"

"Congratulations big brother. It's about time." Nathan smiled. Suddenly he heard Haley moan and he stood up. He placed his hand in her hair smoothing it back away from her forehead murmuring "Come on Hales, I'm right here. Open your eyes baby."

"Nathan?" she whispered.

"Yeah baby. You're ok. Everything is ok baby" he whispered. He turned to look at Lucas. "Can you go tell them she waking up?"

"Sure" he said as he smiled when his younger brother turned back to his best friend and kissed her forehead, still smoothing the hair away from her face.

"I missed you Haley. I love you so much. You've given me so much" Lucas heard him say as he moved out of the room.

"The baby?" she whispered when her hand reached her now almost flat stomach and realized she was no longer pregnant since the huge swell was not there.

"She's fine. They are monitoring her since she was born early but so far they say she is fine" he said as he was merely inches from her face. He leaned down and softly kissed her lips and then whispered "She looks like you Hales. She's so beautiful" he smiled as he again kissed her but this time, placing his lips against hers a little harder.

Haley was still groggy and trying to focus her vision when Lucas came back in with the doctor.

"Mrs. Scott, welcome back."

Nathan turned and Haley caught the tension between her husband and her doctor. "Thanks" she murmured.

"I've left an open prescription for pain medications in your chart if you need them. I'm sure the anesthesia will be completely wearing off soon and I expect you'll be sore from the surgery"

"Surgery?" Haley breathlessly asked as her eyes searched Nathan's.

"Hales, they had to do a C section baby. She was breech remember?" Nathan turned to look at the physician with questioning eyes. He wasn't sure what was going on but Haley didn't seem to have any memory of what happened right before they gave her the shot to place her under.

As the doctor smiled assuringly at Nathan, he turned to Haley. "Mrs. Scott its normal for you to be a little confused for the first couple of hours after you wake up from the anesthesia. I'm sure you'll remember everything perfectly, soon."

"I don't want any pain medications. I want to breast feed my child" Haley said as sternly as she could manage.

"Mrs. Scott, that's not possible for a few days. We had to put you to sleep for the surgery. All of those medications are still in your system. It's better if you allow yourself time to heal and then move over to breast feeding your baby"

As Nathan looked over at Haley he saw the tears forming in her eyes. He turned back to the doctor with a scowl on his face. "We can talk about all of that later, baby. Let's just get you better first ok?"

"When can I see her?" Haley asked.

"Probably not for a few days." The doctor replied.

"What?" Haley asked as she tried to sit up.

"HALES? EASY. Come on you just had surgery baby" Nathan turned around to the doctor who had constantly pissed him off since he arrived at the hospital. "Can I please see you outside?"

"Sure" the doctor nodded. "I'll return later to check on you Mrs. Scott."

"Lucas can you stay with her?" Nathan asked.

"Of course." Lucas smiled over at his best friend who was quietly fighting the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hales, come here buddy" he said as he tried to hug her to him as gently as possible.

As Nathan and the doctor exited through the door Nathan turned on the man furiously. "What in the hell is your problem? My wife has just given birth a month early, she wakes up and you tell her she can't see her baby for a couple of days? Couldn't you have waited to tell her that instead of just ambushing her with it? Do you have any idea what she's going through? She's scared to death for starters and you make it worse? What kind of fucking MD are you?" Nathan said as he got closer and closer to the man that helped bring his little girl into the world.

"Mr. Scott had you rather I lied to her?"

"Until she fully understands exactly what happened yes. I think you should have lied to her so she could remain calm. She's been awake five minutes and you've scared the hell out of her. I know my wife. She now thinks there's something we're not telling her."

…..

"Lucas is my baby ok?" she asked.

"Of course she is Hales. You should see her. She's beautiful. She petite like you and she has dark hair and huge brown doe shaped eyes."

"Lucas tell me the truth, is there something they are keeping from me?"

"No buddy. I promise everything is fine Haley. You just need to recuperate before you travel down to see her on the second floor ok?"

"Ok." she mumbled.

"So what's my niece's name?" Lucas asked.

"Ah…." Haley started as Nathan came into the room.

"Natalie Camilla Scott" Nathan said. "Unless you've changed your mind Hales?"

"No, I love that name Nathan" she whispered.

"Baby I promise you she's fine. Cammie is going to be just fine. The neonatologist said that even though she was born a month early she's healthy and very strong. I promise we'll work something out to get you down there tomorrow ok? Let's get you through these next few hours and when you're a little stronger I will carry you in my arms if I have to."

Haley's smile beamed. "I love you"

"I love you too. Always and Forever Hales."

……….

The next morning after Haley had struggled through a shower, Nathan made good on his promise. She lifted her tiny frame and placed her in a wheelchair and took her to see their little girl.

"Are you sure you feel up to this little trip baby?"

"I want to see her Nathan" she whispered.

"Ok but let's not stay too long this first time. I don't want you to tire yourself out ok?"

Haley nodded as the elevator doors opened. "Thank you"

"For what?" he said as he lifted her hand to kiss the back of it."

"For not letting them keep me away from her" she murmured.

"I'll never let that happen, Hales." Nathan smiled as he kissed her ring finger on her left hand just above her wedding ring. "Nothing will ever keep our family apart again I promise you."

Nathan rolled the wheelchair through the double doors of the Neonatal Unit. He talked to the nurse that had been taking care of Cammie earlier that day and turned to his wife. "She says Cammie has done really well since she ate an hour ago, Hales. Are you ready to see your daughter Mrs. Scott?" he smirked as he asked.

"Yeah" she nodded.

Nathan moved Haley to the incubator looking crib and when Haley's eyes found the baby, her heart broke. She was awake and alert and looking around. Haley's hand came up over her mouth, as the tears began to flow and the sobs shook her small frame.

Nathan moved to kneel down in front of her. Chasing away the tears with his thumb on each cheek and then gently pulling her over so their foreheads were meeting, he whispered "It's ok. Everything is ok. She's strong Hales and she's healthy. Come on talk to her so she can hear your voice."

As Haley moved her hand into the side of the crib and began to talk to the baby, her head turned towards her mother's voice. Haley smiled through her tears and a small chuckle escaped her, as she stroked the baby's check with her index finger. "She's so beautiful. Look what we've done Nathan. Our love has created a second gorgeous child."

Nathan smiled as he watched the bonding between mother and child. At that point there would never be a doubt in his mind that there were two important women in his life and both of them were in front of him.