Quote of the Day:

Nathan: (to Haley) Then you could've lettered in mathketball!

Chapter Thirteen –I Never Seen You Fall So Hard

Another week had come and gone. It was late Friday night. He parked his truck in his old driveway. As he got out, he started for the door. It was cold and he instantly shoved his hands into his pockets as he glanced up at the sky. It was shimmering with billions of stars. He glanced at them for as long as he could before finally making it to the front door. He walked right in.

The sooner he did this the sooner he could leave.

"Mom. Dad." Nathan called out.

He was in the kitchen a second later where he heard laughter. His mother rushed into his arms as soon as she seen him, a huge smile on her face. She hugged him tightly.

"I've missed you," Deb muttered happily.

Dan smiled before walking across the kitchen and hugging him as well. Once his father let go, his mother hugged him once again. He let his father laugh for a few seconds before he finally let her go. He had missed them.

"How was Mexico?" Nathan asked instantly.

"Beautiful," Deb beamed.

Dan nodded. "You should have come with us."

"I had the team," Nathan shrugged. When they had asked him to tag along with them for the summer it had seemed like a fun idea but he just didn't feel right leaving the team like that. The guys really enjoyed getting together and working on their game often. They needed him. He couldn't just up and leave them for fun.

And he knew it would have been fun. Partying –alone for sure if he was with the two of them –traveling from one place to another. It would have been one hell of a summer.

But he did have a good summer here.

Besides, being away from the kids and his family didn't seem like a good idea. What if the boys wanted to have a sleep over and he wasn't there? What if they wanted to go camping for the weekend? What if they needed him? What if Anna did something funny and he missed it all because he was vacationing in Mexico? He didn't want to be away from his family for that long of a time. Two and a half months was just too long to be away from them.

Plus, Lucas wouldn't know what to do without him. He smirked at the thought before turning his attention towards the countertop. It was filled with onions, peppers, seasonings, and strips of meat. He noticed the tortillas and smirked.

"Missing the food already?" Nathan chuckled. "You've only been back a few hours? Couldn't you just have stopped at Taco Bell on the way home?" Dan laughed loudly before glancing at Deb.

"I just want you to try them," Deb smiled before she went back to cutting up the onions. Dan went to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He handed it to him a second later before he went back to helping Deb. "You're going to love these Fajitas, Nathan."

Dan smiled. "That cooking class was fun."

Nathan instantly started chocking on the beer in his mouth. His hand instantly went to his mouth as he coughed loudly before looking at his father in shock. Did Dan just say cooking class? His father cooking…what?

"You took a cooking class?" Nathan asked amused.

"He was quite good at it, I'll tell you."

"Piece of cake," Dan smirked.

Nathan held up his hands. "Let me get this straight. You took a cooking class with Mom over the summer? How did you get him to agree to that?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Dan advised with a huge smile. His mother turned away shaking her head.

Enough said, he thought. He quickly looked away from the two of them as they started laughing. Gross! This wasn't new though. His parents had been all lovey dovey for years now. It was sick. They were all about PDA. It's why he hardly ever agreed to go places with them. It was just something that he didn't want to see.

"I was thinking about painting the house again," Nathan said after a few minutes of awkward silence. He couldn't stand it a second longer. He needed to change the subject and he needed to do it now. A few years ago he had told his parents not to act that way in front of him and they responded with a whole argument about how he was an adult. Screw that, he thought. He didn't want to think about his parents having sex…ever!

"Again?"

"That'll be the third time, son."

"What brought this on?"

"I don't know really."

"I think it looks good white."

"I just want a change," Nathan muttered before bringing his beer back to his mouth. He was going to need a few more beers if his parents were going to act like this all night, which he knew they would. He had stopped being weirded out by it years ago. He knew that they were just happy and in love, but did they have to play the part in front of him? They hadn't been this way when he was growing up. His mother was never home for something like to happen. They weren't happy back then. They were happy now though.

"What color are you thinking?"

"Please, tell me not black," Dan asked while shaking his head.

"Black?" Nathan chuckled. "I have a home, Dad. Not a haunted house."

"Not red or gold, either. Nothing weird. I really think it looks fine white," Dan added.

"You just don't want to help me again," Nathan chuckled.

Dan nodded. "You got me."

Deb smiled. "I think you should try like a crème color this time."

"Actually. I think I want to go with yellow," Nathan admitted with a smile. A vision of Haley in that yellow dress she wore to Keith and Karen's flashed in his mind. Had she realized how amazing she looked that night? He had been stunned and breathless after she stormed into the house. He couldn't get that picture of her in that dress out of his mind. Everything seemed yellow now.

"Pretty," Deb mused.

Dan rolled his eyes. "How's my grandson?"

"Yeah, the kids," Deb smiled brightly before turning away from the stove to look at him.

"Did Anna get any bigger?" Dan grinned. "I betcha she's still talking nonstop. We called yesterday and she wouldn't give the phone back to Lucas. He said he had to pry it from her tiny little hands."

"She loves talking on the phone," Nathan nodded.

"How are the twins?" Deb asked while placing the onions and peppers into the pot.

"Bad."

"Hasn't changed, eh?"

"They're worse," Nathan chuckled. "Did Lucas tell you what they did to their playroom?"

Dan nodded. "Playing baseball in their bedroom."

"I'm glad Hayden wasn't with them."

"You should have seen the holes in the wall," Nathan continued. Brooke had been so furious with them for that. It had been one of the funniest things he had ever seen. Brennan was scared out of his mind and holding onto Julian for dear life. Jordan of course, who had come up with the idea, laughed as Brooke all but killed Julian. He had no idea that while he was watching a basketball game the boys were throwing baseballs into the wall. They didn't even hear them.

"I can't wait to see them tomorrow," Dan muttered while grabbing another beer.

"And Sam?" Deb questioned.

"She's good," Nathan smiled. "She seems more comfortable around us now. She's something else. Girls got a real potty mouth on her. Brooke and Julian are trying to do the best they can for her. She's really happy with them."

"That's good," Deb smiled. "I'm glad."

"That's a real good thing they did for her."

"Yeah, Dad. Brooke and Julian are like that, though. They're good people," Nathan stated truthfully. His parents went back to cooking and he sat there and listened as they talked all about Mexico and all the places that they went to. He listened and smiled at their stories.

As much as he missed them he couldn't wait to leave. There was just some place that he wanted to be more and if his plan worked then tonight was going to be a good night. He glanced at the clock on the wall. He knew the boys wouldn't let him down.

~***~

He stood nervously on her porch for a few minutes. He knew in his mind that this could go one or two ways. First, was that she would tell him to get lost. And second, she would ask him to stay and help her out. If the boys were as bad as he knew they were then he was sure that she would need some help in taming them. But he also knew that Haley was different from most people. Plus, the boys really seemed to like her.

He held up his hand to knock, his fingers barely curling up before he dropped his hand altogether. He took a deep breath and said a silent prayer before nodding and knocking for real this time. He hit the door three times before he took a step back. He felt like an idiot. He reached on the ground for the bag he brought with him. He had the clothes that she let him wear for the storm.

When the door finally flew open and he noticed her distraught face he instantly thought about smiling. At least the boys were persistent he'd give them that. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could Haley was ducking down and water splashed in his face. His eyes closed as his free hand went up to wipe the water away. He heard laughing and Jordan grinned, gave Haley a high five, and then he took off running with the little water gun in his hands. What the hell?

And then he heard her laughing.

"What are you doing here?" Haley asked surprised as she stood up. She walked fully onto the porch and pulled the door with her until there was just a crack left. He could still hear the boys yelling in the background. She was smiling now. Why was she smiling? He was confused.

He cleared his throat. "Lucas told me that you were watching the boys tonight."

"Yeah, and?" Haley asked confused. "I thought I would give Lucas and Peyton some alone time since Karen took Anna for the night and since Hayden was coming over, I told Brooke that the twins could come as well so that they could have a night alone as well."

He knew all about them needing alone time. He had been the one to take the kids off their hands when any of them needed a break. He knew both Peyton and Brooke loved staying in the night with their husbands with no kids to disturb them. He wondered where Sam was.

"Yeah, I know," Nathan nodded.

She was still looking at him confused waiting for him to tell her why he was there. He cleared his throat again. He said the first thing that came to his mind.

"They can be a handful," Nathan muttered. "I figured…"

"That I couldn't handle it?" Haley finished for him before crossing her arms over her chest. The smile was gone and he knew that if he didn't answer soon she was going to be pissed.

"No," Nathan replied quickly. "Before when you answered the door…you looked…"

"We were being kind of loud," Haley explained. "I thought maybe one of the neighbors called the cops or something. So I was kind of nervous." She then laughed while shaking her head and looking around the yard.

"I just thought that you might have needed some help," Nathan muttered hesitantly before looking down at his feet. Last thing he wanted was her to get pissed at him for not thinking that she could handle three boys. Granted, they equaled to ten children, but still.

"Well, I'm doing just fine."

"I guess I should get going then. Have fun with them. They're –"

"Uncle Nathan," Hayden beamed as he moved past Haley and jumped in Nathan's arms.

"Little man," Nathan greeted. "Having fun?"

"Aunt Haley's so cool," Hayden nodded. "She's letting us play with water guns in the house as long as we don't wet the furniture! She's on my team! I soaked Brennan so bad! It's so much fun over here."

"Good, you get back in there and make sure you let the Bakers' know who's the man," Nathan grinned before placing him back on the ground. Hayden nodded.

"Can you stay and play with us?" Hayden asked with a hopeful look.

Nathan hesitated for a second before looking up at Haley. That didn't help. She was looking down at Hayden, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"Actually, I was just about to –"

"Come in and join us," Haley finished before looking up at him with a soft smile.

"Sweet," Hayden grinned before running back into the house and yelling to the twins that Nathan was there. Nathan smiled before focusing his eyes on Haley.

"You don't have to do that, you know," Nathan muttered. "It's no big deal."

"Well, they want you here," Haley shrugged.

"And what about you?" Nathan asked nervously. He held his breath as he waited for his answer. She glanced away from him before running one of her hands through her long golden locks. It was a few seconds later when she finally looked up at him again.

"Do you want to come in or not?" Haley asked shakily.

"Of course I do," Nathan answered before taking a step closer. "But if you don't want –"

"Just come inside, Nathan," Haley stated while turning around and making her away inside of the house. He followed her instantly. He was alert as could be with the boys running around with stupid water guns. He didn't want to get wet again. Once they were in the living room he noticed the boys standing around the coffee table. All the water guns were down on the floor empty.

"What are we playing next?" Brennan asked excitedly.

Haley smiled. "Whatever you want."

"Basketball!"

"No way, football!"

"Let's watch a movie!"

"Easy, knuckle heads," Nathan laughed while taking a seat. "Now one at a time and be reasonable. Haley doesn't even have a basketball goal and in case you haven't noticed it's getting pretty late."

"The guy next door has one," Jordan pointed out.

"What about monopoly?" Haley suggested.

All the boys looked at her as she pointed to the stack of board games at the center of the coffee table. Nathan held in his laughter as the boys looked at the huge stack. It didn't help matters that she had Candy Land at the top.

"Cops and robbers," Brennan offered.

Jordan shook his head. "Wrestling!"

"I get Uncle Nathan," Hayden stated quickly.

"Let's do this," Jordan grinned before glaring at Nathan. He slammed his fists together.

"Guys, I don't think this is such a good idea," Haley said nervously as she glanced at Nathan for help. He just smirked and she rolled her eyes. She then glanced back at the boys. "One of you could get hurt."

"We play all the time," Hayden replied grinning. "Momma and Aunt Brooke let us. You can play with us."

"I call her! You can be on my team. I'll protect you," Jordan promised as he grinned at her.

"Chump," Nathan muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes.

"No thanks," Haley said shaking her head.

"I'm hungry again," Brennan mumbled while rubbing his stomach.

"Um, ok," Haley nodded. "Why don't I go order us some pizza while you guys play and hopefully by the time I'm done you'll want to do something else." She left the room after that.

Jordan watched her go. He smiled dreamily and Nathan chuckled. "Nate, I'm in love."

"So am I," Nathan agreed. Nathan chuckled before kneeling on the ground in front of the boys.

"You guys were water gun fighting in her house?" Nathan whispered as he locked eyes with each of them.

"She said we could," Brennan replied quickly.

"Honest," Hayden nodded. "We told her we could go play outside but she said it was too late. We weren't being bad. Aunt Brooke said that we couldn't."

"Yeah, Momma said we would get it if we didn't listen," Brennan added.

"Whatever," Jordan rolled his eyes. "Are we playing or what?"

Nathan nodded before he helped the boys push the coffee table out of the way so that they could have an open space to play. He didn't want them breaking anything. Once they were done, they instantly started wrestling. He played carefully with each of them and before he knew it he was sweating.

It seemed like Jordan was always after him in whatever they did. He glanced over and noticed Brennan and Hayden looking through the pile of board games as Jordan pinned him to the ground before standing on his chest. He felt the weight of the little boy and he quickly gave up, which was exactly what Jordan wanted. Jordan jumped off of him before running towards Hayden and Brennan. They all dumped fists.

Nathan laid there for a few minutes trying to catch his breath. It returned to normal a little later when Haley walked back into the room. He sat up and leaned against the sofa as she sat in the chair. His eyes locked with hers and she smiled. Was he seeing things?

"Pizza's on its way."

"Uh-huh," Nathan nodded wiping his face which was covered in sweat. "I don't know how they haven't worn you out yet. They're like three energizer bunnies. They wear everyone out but they just keep going."

"Like they have you?" Haley teased.

Nathan chuckled before looking over at them. "I'm used to it."

"Let's play hide and seek," Hayden suggested.

"Ok," Haley nodded. "Just until the pizza gets here."

"Sweet!"

"I already know where I'm hiding," Jordan declared before taking off running. The other two boys quickly followed him out of the living room. "You won't find me, Nate!"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Kid has it out for me." She laughed amused.

They both stood there as Haley started counting loudly. How didn't it surprise him that she was so good at this? He couldn't help but smile lovingly at her while they waited. Tonight wasn't looking so bad. She was not only talking to him but smiling at him as well. What changed? He didn't know but he liked it.

"How was your day?" Nathan asked as they waited.

She glanced at him. "Good."

"How's the recording going?"

"Good."

"That's all I'm going to get out of you is it?"

"How was yours?" Haley challenged.

He smirked. "Absolutely fantastic."

She smiled. "Ready or not here we come!"

~***~

It was a couple hours later and Nathan laid there perfectly still and completely worn out. He searched his mind for what they had done the last few hours but the only that he thought about was what hadn't they done. After they played hide and seek, Nathan had chased the boys around the house and eventually found them jumping on Haley's bed.

Then the pizza's arrived and that gave him a little break. It wasn't a long one because they ate quickly before they were ready to do something else.

Then they played Mario Kart on Hayden's Wii. Haley got a kick out of that. She loved the game. Then Haley suggested gold fish and they ended up playing Texas Hold'em much to Jordan's delight. In the end Hayden won first place and Jordan won second, which made him out of forty bucks. Sixty really because he couldn't just leave Brennan out. Haley had smiled at him pleased after he handed the money over to Brennan and that made him feel a little better about losing again in poker to them. Why did he have to teach them how to play? They always seemed to hustle him.

Soon after that they built a fort in the living room. It was huge and the sheets covered the huge empty space between the two sofas. The boys were laid out asleep. They had finally gotten that way after Haley had told them a scary story, which they begged her to tell.

She had been so good with them and he knew that even if he hadn't of been here, she would have still had things under control. The boys seemed to really like her and that was a good thing.

She had seemed so happy tonight. He couldn't remember seeing her smile so much in his life. She was comfortable around the boys. The whole night they had been having fun. He smiled before sitting up carefully. He made his way out of the fort before walking slowly out of the living room. She was in the kitchen doing some dishes and he walked up to the counter as she noticed him there. Without even thinking about it he reached for a dry towel and started drying the dishes.

"They're officially out," Nathan smiled.

She laughed. "Finally."

"For now," Nathan chuckled. "I can't guarantee that they won't wake up in the middle of the night and have the urge to go play basketball in your neighbors' yard. It has happened. I don't know where they get all the energy."

"You seem to keep up with them just fine," Haley pointed out.

"They wear me out," Nathan muttered before taking a deep breath.

"They're kids, Nathan. They need to be entertained twenty four seven," Haley smiled before turning her attention back to the dishes. His eyes stayed on her for a few minutes before looking away. He noticed a dozen of roses on the table and he walked over to them and pulled out card.

Had fun the other night. Can't wait to see you again. Chase

He rolled his eyes. He knew all about Chase Adams. Lucas had told him that she was seeing some guy that they used to go to school with. Chase was a little older than them and Nathan honestly didn't remember the guy. It was probably because he was some skater boy nerd. Lucas told him that Chase always carried his skateboard around with him back then. Loser! No wonder he couldn't remember him.

So she was seeing some chump. Big deal. He wasn't about to let that get to him. She could have her fun, it didn't matter to him. Sooner or later she was going to realize that they were meant to be. He truly believed that. Why get worked up over some guy that didn't mean anything? He wasn't about to let it get to him. Well, he was going to try.

Before he realized it, Haley had snatched the card from his hands and placed it back where it belonged before she glowered at him.

"What are you doing?" Haley asked sharply.

"Just reading it, relax," Nathan muttered while locking eyes with her. "Seems that he really likes you, not that I can blame him. So do you like him?"

"Nathan," Haley said shaking her head. "Mind your own damn business. I don't worry about which girl you're dating this week so stop worrying about who I'm dating!"

He ignored the fact that she obviously heard about his dating tendencies. He didn't want to get into that. It was over now. No need to date when he knew what he wanted. And he wanted her.

"So you're dating him now?" He couldn't help the hard edged tone in his voice.

"Not like that," Haley gritted out. "We're not exclusive or anything! We're just friends."

"Ok," Nathan chuckled while holding up his hands. Why was she getting so worked up over this? She was still glowering at him and her eyes seemed darker. "The guy just sent you flowers, it's no big deal." He shrugged it off.

"It was to me," Haley pointed out with a satisfied smile. "It's romantic. Something that you probably have no clue about."

"Romantic?" Nathan smirked as he took a step closer. "You think some random guy buying you roses is romantic?" He shook his head with an amused smile.

"Yes, and he's not random. I've known him way longer than I've known you," Haley muttered as she took a step away from him. It didn't help matters. She hit the back of the counter and he took another step forward.

"Let me show you what's romantic," Nathan stated huskily as he made it in front of her. His heart was hammering in his chest as he reached out for her. Her eyes were on his hand as it landed on her arm softly. Her body trembled. He just smiled as he slowly trailed his fingers up her arm, his fingertips lightly brushing her skin. She was breathing harder now. His eyes, which were glued to her face, finally glanced at her arm. It was covered in goose bumps.

"I bet he doesn't do that to you," Nathan stated smugly.

She shook her head. "This doesn't mean anything."

"You're so stubborn," Nathan muttered. "You can't even admit that you like it."

"You're the one that's stubborn."

"Very mature, Hales," Nathan chuckled.

"Whatever," Haley muttered.

"You tremble every time I touch you. You always have," Nathan pointed out with a satisfied smile. He could feel the heat from her arm passing through his hand. It was spilling all over him and warming him up. This was more romantic than some stupid flowers. He could feel the spark between them. There was no way that she had something like this with that Chad guy.

"Cut it out," Haley muttered pushing his hand off of her.

He smirked. "You sure, Hales?" Her body seemed to like it.

"Stop it," Haley stated in a stronger voice. His hands instantly went to each side of her landing on the counter and boxing her in. His body was towering over hers. Her chest was still heaving and he swallowed the lump in his throat as he noticed her cheeks flush.

His eyes locked with hers. "Have you been thinking about me?"

She glared at him before looking away and crossing her arms over her chest. Instantly, he knew that she had and it made him all that more confident. He hadn't wanted to kiss her and leave her by the lake like that. It had been so hard to walk away from her. But he did. He found the will to do it. He didn't know how he did it but he did.

She had been thinking about him. Even thought she was dating that Chance guy, she was still thinking about him. That had to mean something, right?

"I've been thinking about you," Nathan admitted.

"Good for you," Haley retorted.

"There's that temper I love," Nathan chuckled.

She rolled her eyes.

"When's your next date with your boyfriend?"

She glared at him them. Their eyes locked. Her brown orbs were swirling with anger. His eyes traveled down to her lips and he licked his. They were screaming out to him. Just one little kiss…

"He's not my boyfriend," Haley snapped.

"Good," Nathan mumbled as his eyes focused on her lips. Then before he could stop himself he was leaning in. His lips landed on hers a second later. He kissed her tenderly for a few seconds before she pulled away from him. She was breathing hard, glaring at him. He smirked. "I feel sorry for the guy."

She rolled her eyes. "And why is that?"

"Because we belong together," Nathan stated nonchalantly.

"Right," Haley snorted. "Whatever you say, Nathan."

"I'm serious," Nathan continued. "I know that and if you still need to figure that out then go right ahead. Date Chase Adams all you want. We both know he'll never be enough for you. In the end all you'll do is hurt him."

"We're just hanging out," Haley stated while glaring at him.

"Whatever you say, Haley," Nathan mocked.

"Ugh! You are such an asshole!"

He smirked as she got all flustered. Did she have any idea how sexy she was right now? His heart was still beating a mile a minute as he gazed at her. Even all angry and pissed she still looked good. Fuck, he wanted her. How much would she protest if he kissed her again? He was sure if he kissed her just right she wouldn't be able to resist.

"Have you been thinking about what I told you?" Nathan asked huskily.

"What are you talking about?"

"About everything being a misunderstanding," Nathan added hesitantly while his eyes had trouble focusing on hers. They were traveling from her lips then to her eyes. He couldn't settle on one or the other. "And about how sorry I am…for everything."

"Of course I've been thinking about it," Haley muttered looking down.

"And," Nathan sighed. "Don't you believe me?"

"It's not that simple," Haley said shaking her head. "I can't just forget about what you did to me, Nathan. I can't just let that go."

"I'm not asking you to. I just want us to move forward. I don't want to be stuck in the past. How long are you going to hold onto this?" Nathan asked huskily.

She took a deep breath. "I –I don't know."

"Is there anything that I can do?" Nathan questioned with smoldering eyes. He would do anything, no matter what it was. Whatever she wanted. Anything she wanted. All she had to do was name it.

"I don't know," Haley repeated in frustration. "God, this is so hard!"

"No it's not," Nathan muttered. "It's simple. Just let it go. Why are you holding onto this?"

"Because I shouldn't have left, ok," Haley snapped while looking down.

"What?" Nathan asked confused.

She was shaking her head before slowly looking up at him. Somehow her eyes seemed lighter, softer. She didn't seem angry or pissed at him. It was the exact opposite.

"I shouldn't have left like I did, Nathan. It was wrong…I was being childish when I walked away from you that night. You told me the truth and I was so hurt that I didn't even give you a chance to explain. I didn't care about what you were feeling or what it did to you. You were right. I ran the first chance I got and I don't know why. I ran for all the wrong reasons…and I'm sorry that I didn't give you a chance to explain. I should have and I want to apologize for not giving you a chance…I just shouldn't have left like that," Haley explained in a whisper before looking away.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. She was apologizing to him? What? Was this a dream? He searched for words but there were none. He looked at her in wonder. What brought this on? Her voice was nothing but apologetic. She meant what she was saying and still he couldn't believe it.

"I shouldn't have giving you a reason to leave."

"I just want you to know that I'm sorry," Haley whispered. "It was my fault, too. It's not all on you…I'm to blame just as much as you are. Now will you let me go?" Their eyes locked and she gave him a pleading look.

"No," Nathan replied stubbornly. "Not until we move past this. Not until you forgive me. I don't care if I'm being childish. I've tried a million different ways to tell you that I'm sorry and you just won't listen to me. I'm not moving from this spot until you do. I don't care if I have to stay this way forever."

"You can't be serious," Haley muttered while glaring at him.

"I love you this much," Nathan declared. "I love you enough to stand here like a pathetic loser and beg for your forgiveness. I know what I did was wrong. I know that and I'm sorry. If you hadn't of come into my life I don't know where I'd be…I don't even want to think about it." He closed his eyes trying to get the picture out of his head.

She sighed. "You'd be just fine…probably better."

"Don't say that," Nathan said glaring at her. "Don't even think it."

"It's the truth, Nathan," Haley muttered.

He ignored her. "Say that you forgive me."

"This is so childish, Nathan," Haley muttered under her breath.

"You're childish," Nathan retorted. "You're the one that's holding onto the past and won't let it go. I'm here and I'm over it. You don't see me being pissed at you for leaving me without so much as a word. You don't see me running! You broke my heart, you know that?"

"Oh, now I broke your heart," Haley laughed cynically.

"Yeah, you broke my heart," Nathan nodded. "We broke each other's hearts. I'm over it. Come on, Hales. I forgive you for leaving, why can't you forgive me? I thought you came back to make things right? Didn't you tell that to Luke? Aren't you tired of running?"

She glared at him in defiance for a few seconds before releasing the breath she was holding in. Her face was still hard. "Fine. You're right. I need to let this go. I forgive you, Nathan."

"I want you to mean it," Nathan said looking down at her. "It doesn't count if you don't mean it."

"I forgive you," Haley repeated. "I forgive you. Now, you got what you wanted now move your arms." He let his arms fall to his sides and took a step back.

"Thank you. And from the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry for any pain that I've ever caused you. I never want to hurt you, Hales. Ever. Are we good?"

She glanced at him and before he could stop himself, he hugged her. His arms were around her waist as he pulled her into him and he buried his head into her hair. He held her tight in his arms, his eyes closed tight. He breathed in the strawberry scent of her hair.

"I know you don't trust me but you will," Nathan promised as he held her close. Her tense body slowly started to relax in his arms. "Just trust me." And then her body was tense again. He sighed.

She hesitated before opening her mouth to say something. At the same time Hayden called out for her and she quickly looked up at him. He removed his arms as she walked away from him. She was out of the kitchen a second later leaving him all alone. He stood there happy and sad at the same time –happy because they finally talked –sad because even though she said she forgave him didn't really mean that she did. But she was trying he could see that.

The fact that she took some of the responsibility of what happened between them made him feel better. It wasn't all his fault. She had said it and he believe her. If she hadn't of left then he would have had a chance to explain and she would have understood that he loved her.

He walked slowly out into the hallway and made his way towards the living room. He found Haley lying on the floor next to Hayden as she sang softly. It was the song that Peyton would sing to him as a baby. He smiled as he watched her. Her beautiful voice filled the air and he found himself moving towards her. He laid his body on the ground next to hers right where the fort ended. He glanced up at the sheets as she continued to sing to Hayden.

It was a while later when she stopped and he glanced over her and noticed that Hayden was asleep again. Her eyes were closed and he smiled before looking back up again. He placed his arms behind his head as he relaxed himself.

"We make a pretty good team," Nathan smiled.

She let out a deep breath. "They're a hand full, I'll give them that. You're really good with them, you know. They like idolize you. Well, except for Jordan…I really think the kid might have it out for you." Then she was laughing softly.

He nodded. "I told you."

"Their good kids," Haley whispered before yawning.

"You know we could make one if you want. I heard it's pretty easy and fun. We could –"

Before he could finish, she elbowed him in the side before facing her body the other way. He chuckled before rubbing the spot where she hit him. He turned his body as well until he was lying on his side facing the back of her body. Then ever so slowly he glanced down until he noticed the number tattooed right where Lucas told him it would be. Lucas also told him that if he said a word about it to anyone then he was a dead man, but still he was a man. He felt himself harden just at the sight of it.

It was a perfect imprint into her skin and he had to hold his hand back from reaching out and touching it with his fingers. It was so sexy. He couldn't help but smile. If she had gotten something that permanent then that had to mean something, right? Even though Lucas told him about it already, nothing was like seeing it in person. His numbers on her...he sighed.

"It was just a suggestion," Nathan whispered into the darkness.

"Goodnight, Nathan."

"Night, Hales...thank you for tonight."

"I had fun," Haley muttered.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"I kiss better than Brooke, right?" When she didn't answer he knew that she had fallen asleep. He kissed better than Brooke. She didn't have anything on him. His eyes stayed glued to her sleeping body until he finally fell asleep right next to her.