Haley's album was at #3 on the charts, and she was busier than ever. Between the café, Jamie, and helping at Red Bedroom, her plate was extremely full. And now, with Peyton on doctor-mandated bedrest, Haley was struggling to do it all.
Two days earlier…
Haley was at the café, working with Deb. Jamie sat at the counter, working on drawing a family picture for school.
"And he stayed in that tree house for two days without coming down," Deb laughed.
"Sounds like Nathan," Haley replied, "Stubborn as ever."
Their laughter was interrupted by the phone ringing. Haley answered it.
"Karen's Café," she said, before her expression changed, "Hey Peyton. What's going on?"
Haley listened for a few moments, "Okay, I'll be right there."
"What's going on?" Deb asked, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Peyton needs to talk to me," Haley replied, "She didn't say why, just that it was important."
"Of course, go," Deb nodded, "I can handle things here."
Haley kissed Jamie's forehead before driving to Peyton and Jake's house.
Upon arriving, she found Jake, Peyton, and Brooke in the living room, before Peyton broke the news.
"I thought that I should tell you guys in person," Peyton said, sitting on the couch, looking a little pale.
Jake gulped, "They say it's called placenta previa."
"What is that? What does it mean?" Haley asked, concerned for her friend.
"It means that she runs the risk of hemorrhaging during pregnancy or during delivery," Jake explained, "We found out at the first doctor's appointment. They said this could happen."
"But you're going to be okay," Haley questioned, "You and the baby, right?"
"If everything goes perfectly, then yes," Peyton replied, "You'll have a perfectly healthy niece."
"I knew it," Haley smiled, trying to be happy for her, while still struggling with this new revelation.
"And if it doesn't?" Brooke asked, her arms crossed as she looked to her best friend.
"Well, then we could lose her, Haley," Jake stammered, "Her and the baby."
END FLASHBACK
Although Haley and Brooke were initially upset that Peyton hadn't told them about the complications with her pregnancy, they couldn't stay mad at her. The doctor had put her on immediate bedrest. At just 20 weeks along, she was only halfway through her pregnancy. At this point, bedrest was what was keeping this baby safe inside her, for now.
It was Thursday afternoon. Nathan would be home tomorrow for the game, and after all that had happened in the past few days, she really couldn't wait to see him. In the past few months, it seemed like she was being pulled in a thousand different directions.
Peyton had said that she would call Sire Records, the parent label, and find somewhere else for Chris to record. Knowing that although having him here would be hard for her, Haley also knew that Red Bedroom really needed the exposure of having 3 great artists. She told Peyton that she would swallow her pride and help him.
So here she was, sitting outside the recording booth as Chris sang inside. She had to admit. Although she didn't respect him as a person, she had to admit, he was a really talented musician. Surprisingly, they'd been able to get along so far. No major tiffs.
Her phone brought her out of her head, ringing for what seemed like the twentieth time that day. She quickly turned down the sound.
"Hello," she sighed, rubbing her temple.
"Is this Haley James Scott?" the voice on the other end of the phone asked.
"Yes this is she," Haley answered, sitting up now in her chair.
"My name is Officer Adams, with the Tree Hill Police Department. There was an accident, and your son gave me your phone number," the man explained.
Deb had picked Jamie up from school and taken him back to her house for a few hours, to let Haley get some work done at the studio.
"Oh my god, Jamie," Haley stammered, "Is he alright?"
"He's a little shaken up," the officer stated, "Wouldn't speak, just gave me your number. Your mother-in-law, Deb, was taken to the hospital by ambulance. I can't say anything else over the phone, but you should get to the hospital as soon as possible."
Haley rushed to the emergency room, seeing Jamie sitting in a chair with a young, dark haired police officer. When he saw her, he ran to her, jumping into her arms.
"Oh baby, I'm so glad you're okay," Haley sighed, stroking his hair, clutching him tightly.
"Mrs. Scott, we have a few questions for you, if that's alright," Officer Adams asked, "Officer Farrell can stay with Jamie."
Haley walked to a corner of the E.R. with Officer Adams, worried about Deb.
"What happened?" Haley questioned, "You said it was an overdose? That's not right. Deb's been sober for three years, she wouldn't…"
"Jamie was the one who called 911," Officer Adams explained, "When we arrived on the scene, Deb was on the kitchen floor, an empty wine bottle and a half empty bottle of prescription pills next to her. She was passed out."
"Is she okay?" Haley managed to say.
"They pumped her stomach, almost lost her. She's sedated now," Officer Adams replied, "Were you aware that she'd started drinking again?"
"No," Haley answered, "There wasn't any alcohol in the house. I've been there almost every day."
"I'm sorry Mrs. Scott," Officer Adams looked at her, a glum expression on his face, "I'll be in touch, okay?"
Nathan was laying in his bed in the hotel room in Utah, shooting a basketball up in the air and catching it. Their plane left in the morning, and it would be good to get home again.
His phone rang, and when he saw it was Haley, he had a smile on his face.
"Hey baby, I was just thinking about you," he answered.
"Nath, Nathan," Haley stammered, trying so hard not to cry, "Something's happened."
"Are you okay?" Nathan sat up, concerned now.
"It's not me, it's your mom," Haley replied, "She's in the hospital. Can you get home?"
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Nathan quickly said, immediately starting to pack after he'd hung up the phone.
He was back in Tree Hill in a few hours, hurrying into the hospital.
"What the hell happened?" Nathan asked Haley, wrapping his arms around her outside Deb's hospital room.
"All I know is what the officer told me," Haley said, "Jamie won't say anything. He's really shaken up."
"I should've known this would happen," Nathan sighed, "I knew it was all too good to be true."
"Nathan, none of this makes sense," Haley insisted, "I've been with her every day. If she was falling off the wagon, I would know."
"I need to talk to her," Nathan said, pushing past Haley and going into his mom's room.
She sat in the bed, the doctor checking her vitals.
"Nathan," Deb weakly said.
"How is she?" he asked the doctor, ignoring his mother.
"She had some blunt force trauma to the back of her head, probably from the fall, so she has a slight concussion and she's experiencing some memory loss," the doctor explained, "But she's very lucky."
He left the room, leaving Nathan, Haley and Deb alone.
"What were you thinking?" Nathan growled, "Jamie was with you, and that's when you decide to get drunk and screw yourself up?"
"I didn't do this Nathan," Deb insisted, trying to sit up, "Jamie and I were playing in the backyard. I came in to get us a drink. I was standing by the fridge, and the next thing I remember, I'm waking up in the ambulance."
"It's one thing to do this to me," Nathan argued, "I'm used to you disappointing me. But doing this to Jamie, and to Haley? Tell the truth, mom, God!"
"Nathan!" Haley exclaimed, stepping to Deb's bedside, taking her hand, "If she says she didn't do anything, I believe her."
"Well then what do you think happened?" Nathan questioned, "Jamie sure as hell didn't feed her the pills, now did he?"
"Nathan, you need to calm down," Haley warned.
Nathan ran his hands through his hair, hitting the wall, leaving a small dent, before storming out of the room, "Dammit mom."
"Haley, I'm sorry," Deb whispered, her hand shaking, as Haley squeezed it, "If I did this…"
"Deb, you didn't" Haley assured her.
"Then how did I end up here?" Deb sighed, turning her head away from Haley.
"I don't know," Haley replied, "But I know someone who does."
Haley drove straight home, noticing Nathan wasn't there when she pulled him. She hadn't expected him to be after his outburst at the hospital. Brooke had come to pick up Jamie from the hospital, and she sat inside with him, a Disney movie playing on the TV. Brooke hugged Jamie and Haley before leaving.
"Hey Jimmy Jam," Haley smiled, sitting next to him on the couch.
"Is Gramma Deb okay?" Jamie asked, looking up at her.
"She's still at the hospital," Haley replied, "But she's going to be just fine. Do you want to talk about what happened today?"
Jamie's eyes widened, and he shook his head, looking down into his lap.
"Sweetie, it's really important that you tell the truth," Haley said, "We need to know what happened to Gramma Deb."
"He said if I told, I'd get in trouble," Jamie said, almost at a whisper.
"Who said that Jamie?" Haley asked, "You won't get in trouble, I promise."
Jamie looked at his mom, before saying, "Gramma had gone in to get us some drinks, but she didn't come back. So I went into the kitchen, and saw a man making Gramma drink some stuff. He kept telling her to swallow, but her eyes weren't open very wide. He saw me, and set the bottle down. That's when he told me that if I told anyone, I would get in trouble."
"Do you know who it was baby?" Haley asked, holding his hand.
"Gramma was kind of awake when the man was leaving. She said his name was Dan," Jamie replied, looking up at Haley.
Haley felt like her heart stopped for a second as Jamie said that name.
"Thank you for telling me sweetheart," Haley managed to force a small smile, "Now go wash up for dinner, okay?"
"Mama, is daddy home yet?" Jamie asked.
Haley sighed, "Not yet sweetie. But he will be soon."
As Jamie ran to go wash his hands, Haley ran hers through her hair, "I hope."
"Nathan, it's me…again," Haley said, getting Nathan's voicemail for the fifth time, "I'm worried about you. Just, please call me, so I know you're okay. I love you."
It was two a.m. Nathan hadn't come home after storming out of the hospital. Haley was in bed, Jamie curled up next to her. He'd been too scared to sleep in his own room, understandable, after what he'd been through that day.
She'd told the police what Jamie had told her, and they said they would look into it. Deb's home was being searched by a crime scene unit.
She put her arms around her son, and willed herself to fall asleep, trying to forget the events of the past few days.
The next morning, though, Nathan still wasn't home. She had only one more person she could call.
"Hello?" the person on the other end of the phone answered.
"Hey Mel," Haley said, calling the one person who might actually know where her husband was, "It's Haley."
"Hey Haley," Mel replied, "I had a feeling you'd be calling. Don't worry, he's here. I would've called when he got here last night, but it was late. I didn't want to wake you and Jamie."
"Oh thank God," Haley sighed with relief, "I've been worried sick since he didn't come home last night. He hasn't' been answering my calls or texts. Did he tell you what happened?"
"No," Mel replied, looking at Nathan, who was watching ESPN with her husband, from where she stood in the kitchen, "He hasn't talked much since he got here."
"Can I talk to him?" Haley asked, hoping he had cooled down and was ready to talk. She knew that he would have to leave for morning shoot around soon, but she wanted to clear things up.
"Hang on," Mel replied, setting the phone down on the kitchen counter and walking into the living room, standing right in front of the television to block the guys' view, "There's someone's worried wife on the phone."
Nathan leaned back against the couch, crossing his arms, "I can't talk to her right now, Mel."
"Look, Nate, I don't know what happened," Mel began, "And I know it's none of my business but…"
"You're right, it is none of your business," Nathan snapped, standing up and gathering his things, before heading for the door, "Nino, I'll see you on the court."
"Did he tell you anything?" Mel asked, mostly in desperation.
"Sorry babe," Nino replied, standing up to hug his wife, "All I know is that he was pissed off at something, or someone."
Mel made the short walk back to the kitchen, wishing it took longer when she picked up her phone, "I'm sorry, Haley. I told him you were on the phone and he got mad and left."
"Thanks for trying Mel," Haley answered, "And thank you for letting him stay there."
As Nathan warmed up on the court for the game that night against Toronto, he found himself looking to where Haley and Jamie always sat in the stands. With 20 minutes left until tip-off, Mel and one of the other wives were the only ones sitting there. He was kicking himself for acting the way that he did, running off, and ignoring Haley's calls. But he had forgiven his mom and let her back into his life. He'd let her spend time with his wife and his son. And now, she had betrayed his trust and put his son in potential danger. He couldn't believe that after all of that, Haley would believe her story.
Haley, on the other hand, was at home, with Deb and Jamie. She'd been released a few hours before, and since her home was still being processed by CSU, Haley had offered to let her stay with them.
"Shouldn't you be in Charlotte by now?" Deb asked, as Haley stirred a pot on the stove.
"I don't think Nathan would want me there right now," Haley replied, "Besides, you just got home from the hospital, and I know you need some real food, not that hospital crap."
"Haley," Deb began, leaning against the counter, "I want to thank you for everything that you've done for me. I know you played a big part in Nathan letting me back into his life, and you don't know how much that has meant to me."
"Deb, it's going to be okay," Haley tried to reassure her, looking into the living room, making sure Jamie was watching the Bobcats game, which had just started, "Jamie saw what happened, Deb. He told me that Dan attacked you, and forced the pills and wine down your throat."
Deb's eyes widened, "Are you sure?"
"He described him, Deb, and he said that you said his name before you passed out," Haley explained.
"I can't believe that…" Deb began, before changing her mind, "Actually, I can believe that he would do this. The man is diabolical."
"I wanted to tell Nathan," said Haley, "But he didn't exactly give me the chance."
"Haley, if my staying here is a problem, I'm sure Karen and Keith would be fine with me…" Deb started to say.
"Nonsense, Deb," Haley interrupted, "You're family. Nathan will come around. Now, let's eat before it gets cold."
Nathan walked out of the locker room after the game, tie hanging loosely around his neck. Everyone had already left, gone home to be with their families for the weekend. The Bobcats had almost lost the game, no thanks to Nathan. He'd had five turnovers and had missed half the shots he'd taken. Coach Irons had benched him for the last quarter, telling him to pull his head out of his ass.
He arrived at home late that night, and just as he reached to open the door, it opened for him.
Haley stood on the other side, looking as upset as he'd expected. She stepped out onto the porch, shutting the door behind her.
"Nice to finally see you," she stated, folding her arms and shivering slightly in the cold November air, "You played like crap."
"Yeah I did."
Despite Haley's protests, Nathan offered her his suit jacket, but she didn't let him put it on her.
"I'm sorry I didn't come home," Nathan apologized, "And I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls. I was just so angry. I didn't want to blow up on you."
"So you just disappear?" Haley retorted, "Nathan, you cannot just run away when you're angry. We have to talk about things. You have to talk to me."
Nathan furrowed his brow at how quietly she was speaking, knowing that Jamie's room was out of earshot of their conversation.
Haley, noticing his confusion at the volume of her voice, added, "Your mom is on the couch."
"You let her in the house?" Nathan exploded, doing what he'd just said he didn't want to do.
"Nathan, keep your voice down!" Haley pleaded, "She's our family and she just got released from the hospital. You don't know all that's happened."
"I don't have to know, Haley," Nathan replied, "All I need to know is she put our son in danger. I can't believe I let myself think that she'd changed."
"It was Dan, Nathan," Haley sighed.
The mention of his father's name caused Nathan to finally look at her, really look at her, "What?"
"Jamie saw the whole thing," Haley continued, "We've talked to the police, and they're investigating. That's why Deb is staying here. Her house is a crime scene."
Nathan was in shock, trying to wrap his head around the fact that his father attacked his mother.
"Haley, I'm sorry, I…" Nathan stammered, feeling like a complete idiot.
Haley pulled his suit jacket tighter around her small frame, "Nathan, I know you're sorry. But I can't deal with this all by myself. I need to know that you aren't going to run every time things get hard. We're married, and we have to face things together."
"Haley, it kills me to do this to you," Nathan pleaded, "But I know the pain that I've felt because of my mom. And I wanted to do everything in my power to not let Jamie have to feel that, ever. So when I found out that he'd been with her when this happened, it just took me back to when I saw her get drunk and high when I was a kid."
Haley finally gave into her emotions, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around her husband's neck, clinging tightly to him. He wrapped his arms around her, as well, and they stood like that for what seemed like hours, but was only minutes.
"I love you," Nathan whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"I love you too," Haley replied.
Sunday came too quickly. Nathan would have to head back to Charlotte, and then back on the road for away games for the next two weeks. He was grateful that he was able to talk to his mom, the morning after he came home.
FLASHBACK
"Haley told me what happened," Nathan began, as he and his mom sat out on the front porch. Haley and Jamie were inside, making cookies, "Mom, I'm really sorry for how I acted at the hospital."
"You had every right to be upset, Nathan," Deb replied, "You were protecting your family."
"You're my family too, Mom," Nathan continued, "And I should have listened to you, heard you out. But I want you to know that I believe you. I know that Dan is capable of what he did, and I want to see him pay."
"Well, we'll see about that," Deb answered, "But I'm just glad that you came home. I know Haley and Jamie were worried."
"I messed up there too," Nathan sighed, running his hand through his hair, "I just get so angry, and I walk away. I don't want to hurt them, Mom."
"Nathan, you didn't exactly have the best example of a stable home life," Deb admitted, "But you are a good man. And a good husband. And a good father. I know that you'll do the right thing. You just have to remember what you learned in your anger management. I know that that's helped me."
"Thank you, Mom, for forgiving me," Nathan said, "And for coming back."
The two shared a hug, as Haley peeked through the curtains, smiling to herself.
END FLASHBACK
"So, what do you have planned for the week?" Nathan asked, as he and Haley sat on the couch, his arm around her.
"Spending lots of time at the studio and the café," Haley replied, "Business as usual."
She'd told Nathan about Peyton's condition, and having to spend more time at the studio, but she hadn't mentioned working with Chris. He would only be in town for one more week, and then they would be rid of him, for good. She didn't want to upset him any further.
"You'll call me and let me know what happens with the investigation, right?" Nathan questioned.
Haley had managed to keep him from hunting down Dan himself, urging him to let the police handle it.
"The detectives said they would call when they knew something," Haley nodded, "But I'll probably call them tomorrow, just to check in."
Nathan, Haley, and Deb were all anxious to hear if the police had found any evidence to suggest that Dan had been in Deb's house: fingerprints, DNA, an outside witness, anything. However, they all knew that Dan was smart, and this made them all the more nervous that he was able to cover his tracks.
Sorry if this chapter moved rather quickly, but I had a lot of plot points that needed to be addressed in order to move this story along!
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
Please review or PM me and let me know what YOU would like to see happen in this story! I love ideas and suggestions!