Nathan and Haley didn't sleep in the same room that night. She didn't cook him dinner, and despite his half-teasing pleas, she didn't help him clean the house. As far as she was concerned, since his parents weren't there yet she wasn't required to play the role of the good little housewife.

Not like he'd appreciated it when it had been real anyway.

He was gone by the time she exited her room the next morning. A simple note was taped to the refrigerator, telling her that he would be home at four, early enough that there wouldn't be a chance she'd be ambushed by his parents.

She snorted at the thought. Not ambushed by his parents? Even if he was home on time, she wasn't sure he could prevent that from happening.

Haley spent the day relaxing. She had no assignments from the newspaper and wouldn't for at least the next week, so she wrote idly on her laptop. She admired Nathan's cleaning effort and finished a few things he'd left undone. She dipped her feet in the small pool in their backyard while reading a book. She planned a dinner for that night, rationalizing the action with the fact that in the past she had done so for Nathan and his parents. She even turned the TV on to see a soap opera. Within ten minutes she'd heard about a woman sleeping with her best friend's husband, who may have turned out to be her long lost brother.

It didn't take her long to remember what she hated about having nothing to do.

Four o' clock came and went with no sign of Nathan. By four forty-five, Haley was getting nervous, and by five she had progressed past the nerves and to anger. All three of her calls to his office and cell phone had gone unanswered.

When the doorbell rang at five thirty, she had a sinking suspicion that the Scotts had arrived to find her alone—and ready for the killing. "Damn you, Nate," she muttered to herself as she straightened her shirt and shuffled towards the entryway, as if her husband would magically appear in the time it took her to get to the door. "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to cut you up into little pieces and feed you to piranhas. I'm going to—"

The doorbell rang again.

"—get eaten alive," she finished grimly to herself before yanking open the door, forcing a smile.

There stood Dan and Deb Scott, looking every bit as she remembered them: both dressed casually, Deb with a pleasant and genuine smile on her face, Dan with a self-satisfied smirk on his lips. Haley's stomach tightened and she had to keep herself from dragging Deb inside and slamming the door in Dan's face.

God, did she dislike that man.

"Hi, come on inside," Haley greeted, trying her hardest to sound light and courteous. "How are you? How was the trip?"

"Awful," Dan answered simply before his wife could reply. He stepped inside and past Haley without much of a second glance, his gaze traveling around the entrance to the home. Whether he was looking for his son or something to criticize, Haley wasn't sure.

Deb rolled her eyes as she entered the house, giving Haley a warm hug. "Ignore him. Flying makes him grumpy."

Flying, living, having other people happy… "I'm sure," she said neutrally, shutting the door and praying that Nathan came home soon. How was she going to survive this? Dan had come to visit them in California only once before—Deb had come a few more times—and the stay had been brief and bearable. But then Haley had been deeply in love, enthralled in a way that often took attention away from the less pleasant things in life.

Now she didn't have that barrier and it made her feel painfully exposed.

"It's so good to see you again, Haley," Deb was saying as the three of them walked to the living room to sit down. "You look wonderful. How've you been?"

Lost. Confused. Lonely. Annoyed. "Great," Haley lied smoothly. "What about you? We haven't spoken much lately."

Deb smiled. She had always liked Haley—liked what she stood for, who she was, what she did for Nathan. This was an openly good person, and she was thrilled that her son had been able to keep a hold on her. "I know. We've been meaning to get out here to visit for a while and then Dan's big meeting was cancelled for next week so we decided to just come see you."

"Where's Nathan?"

Dan's blunt question was met by a strict look from his wife, but Haley wasn't surprised. She wasn't the one he was interested in; besides the bet, he probably didn't care whether she lived or died.

It was a good thing she couldn't care less about what he thought of her. "He's still at work," Haley answered. At least, she thought he was still at work.

"He needs to stay at the office to escape you?"

Haley bit her lip to contain the expletives ready to jump forward at her father-in-law. "He was going to come home earlier, but something must have come up." I can't believe I just made an excuse for him.

A spark of interest lit Dan's dark eyes. "So you've finally loosened the leash a little," he observed. "Good. For a while I thought he couldn't breathe without asking you first."

"Dan…" Deb warned, her voice low.

"Actually, if anyone ever had Nathan on a leash, it was you," Haley replied, her voice calm despite its contempt. "Frankly, I've never needed one. He comes to me willingly."

She shook her head, unwilling to get into a fight with him so early in their visit. They had a week together in the same house. That week would be hell if there was already bloodshed. "If you'll excuse me, I should really get started on dinner. Make yourselves comfortable."

She stood up and walked towards the kitchen, catching the slight smile on Deb's face as she passed the older woman. At least someone was having a little bit of fun.

All Haley had to say was that Nathan better get his ass home soon.