"Everything looks so wonderful here. Do you have any suggestions?"

Nathan looked at his mother over the top of his menu and grinned. The four of them were at one of his favorite restaurants—a small, elegant Italian place not two miles from their house. He and Haley had found the place shortly after they'd moved in and had, earlier on, frequented it. He hadn't been there in a while, but he was nearly salivating just from remembering the way the dishes tasted. "You can't go wrong, mom. Everything's good," he assured her.

"So you come here often?" she asked, seeming pleased.

Nathan glanced over at Haley, who had been surprisingly quiet on the ride over, and met her eyes. She looked beautiful in the black dress she'd changed into after their shopping expedition, and the way the candlelight touched her skin made her look like she was glowing. He offered her a smile that she hesitantly returned and decided that something was definitely bothering her. It was more than likely just his father's presence. "We used to," he answered openly. "Not as much lately."

Haley noted that he didn't bother to mention that it had once been the closest thing they had to a place. They'd never had a song, but this was their unofficial place.

It was also one of the last places she wanted to be. There were too many good memories—she could distinctly remember every detail from the first time they'd been there, beginning with what Nathan had been wearing and ending with the way his arms felt around her as they swayed on the dance floor, more holding each other than really dancing.

Bringing Dan to such a special place was like asking for all those good memories to be ruined.

The waitress, a peppy blonde who freely offered both food and wine recommendations to Deb and anyone else who felt like listening, came and the four of them ordered their dinners. One of the things Haley and Nathan had always loved about the place was how quick the service was. Within minutes, the waitress returned with their steaming plates, all of which emitted tantalizing aromas.

As soon as the waitress had stepped away from their circular table, they started to eat in earnest. There wasn't much real conversation until they'd all had a chance to start their meals, and then Dan looked to his son and daughter-in-law and smiled.

"So you two seem pretty happy together," he observed, his voice giving away that he wasn't completely sure of the truth of his statement.

It was an innocent enough comment, but Nathan knew better. Wherever Dan was going with this, it couldn't be good. Feeling the apprehension growing like a pit in his stomach, Nathan reached out to grasp Haley's hand lightly in his. He gently ran his thumb in a circle over her smooth skin and instantly felt a little more in control. "We are," he affirmed.

"You've been married… what, two years?" he asked curiously.

"Around there."

Dan nodded thoughtfully. "And how's the sex life going?"

Haley choked on her wine, coughing as she quickly put the glass on the tabletop. She'd thought that asking such a thing was beyond even Dan's sleazy nature, but apparently she'd overestimated him. It was weird, because that had certainly never been a problem for her before.

Nathan wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that. Initially he felt shocked and trapped. What would be a normal reaction to that question—if things between he and Haley were normal? How long had it honestly been since he and Haley'd had sex? At least a month, but he sure as hell wasn't about to tell his father that. On the other hand, even if they were making love twice a day, it wasn't something he would want to share with his dad.

When the question had really registered in his mind, he felt angry with his father for bringing up a topic he had been trying his hardest not to think about since he realized that Haley was going to be back in the house with him. All facades aside, their relationship had hit a rough spot and they were taking a breather, which meant no sex. While his mind comprehended that, his body was having a harder time dealing with it.

He hadn't slept with anyone but Haley since they'd gotten together, and he wasn't looking for that kind of a release from anyone besides his wife. Haley was it for him, and when things between them had been good he'd never had to worry about encountering a dry spell. Now he was frustrated and the only thing he could do short of jumping her was wait for things to smooth over and avoid any thoughts that would rile him up.

Why did sex have to come up in the conversation, anyway? They'd been just fine talking about the restaurant and the weather.

"It's… uh, well—"

"Excuse me?" Haley cut in, interrupting Nathan's unintelligible sputtering. "What kind of a question is that? I don't see how it's of any relevance."

Deb was staring at her husband in shock and dismay, praying that she'd heard him wrong but knowing that she hadn't. She could feel her cheeks burning despite the fact that it wasn't her that should have been embarrassed. Where had that question come from? It was rude and, quite frankly, none of his business. She shot Dan a glare and quickly stepped in, hoping she would be able to salvage the evening. "I'm sure that just didn't come out right."

Thank you, Deb, Haley silently sighed. They needed to get away from this topic and they needed to do it quickly.

"Dan's just wondering if you two have thought about… about raising a family—if there are any plans for children soon," Deb went on. "Isn't that right, honey?"

Shit. This time Haley sighed aloud, feeling like she'd just been hit over the head with a two by four. Children? They'd moved away from one subject she considered taboo to another.

He may have been a bastard, but Dan Scott wasn't a complete idiot. He recognized that tone of voice as a warning and merely shrugged in response.

But to Deb, that wasn't enough. If that horrid question was going to be cleaned up, she wasn't going to be the one to do it. "Right, Dan?"

"Of course," he finally said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh." Nathan let out a loud breath. He didn't believe Dan for one second, but he was relieved that he didn't have to think of a way to answer that one—or see Haley and his father fight about the impropriety of the question. "Well, we've talked about it."

"And?" Dan prompted.

"We both want kids eventually," Haley stated uncomfortably.

"Maybe even soon," Nathan added with a smile.

"But not too soon." Haley blushed and smiled meekly in response to the questioning looks she received from all of the Scotts—Nathan especially. "We're just not sure we're ready yet."

"Of course," Deb responded slowly, her eyes narrowed just a bit. "It's a big step. Something you need to consider carefully."

"Exactly." Haley nodded and picked up her fork, but she couldn't bring herself to eat anything else. Suddenly, she'd lost her appetite and all she wanted was to get away from Nathan's parents.

Of course she wanted children! Even now, when things between her and Nathan were awful, she was vaguely aware of that desire deep in her heart—she supposed it could be called the ticking of her biological clock, but it felt like more than that—to have kids she could protect and raise. Since high school, when she'd first been so head-over-heels in love with Nathan that all she could do was daydream about him and their perfect life together, she's had a dream about how things would work out. They'd buy a house, get married, have a baby, and the three of them would spend lazy Saturday afternoons together at the park, Nathan supporting the giggling child upon his shoulders while she scolded them for forgetting their jackets in the car.

Now it looked like that would never be anything more than a stupid dream and the bitter realization was both stifling and disappointing.

When the soft music in the background changed to a new song, a sweet instrumental, she dropped her fork without thinking and looked to Nathan. "I love this song." She'd actually never heard it before, but that was of no importance. "Want to dance with me?"

"Sure." He stood up and helped her with her chair before leading her to the dance floor, not giving his parents another word. As he took Haley in his arms and held her body close to his, he could feel her tense up. "Relax," he murmured into her hair, dropping a kiss onto her head. "It's just me."

And that was supposed to relax her?

"You're doing great with them," he went on softly, moving his body with hers in time with the music. Only a few other couples were dancing, and he knew that his parents were watching them from their table. "I know my dad was out of line when he asked—"

"Why did you tell them that?"

"What do you mean?"

She tilted her head up so she could look him in the face and found herself flustered by their closeness. "I don't think we're on the same page here, Nathan. You told them that we wanted kids soon and we're not even close," she hissed softly.

"So?" he asked, genuinely confused. "It's just another lie to convince them that we're okay."

"The other lies weren't hurting anyone. Your mom actually wants grandchildren. Her eyes lit up when you told her that, and she'll just be disappointed."

"It's not like we're never planning on having kids," he pointed out. "She'll just have to wait a while."

Wait a while? How could he be so flippant about it? She wasn't sure they would even be married much longer and he was talking about babies? Forget about being on another page, Nathan was evidently reading a whole separate book than she was! "Nate, we're not even living in the same house," she sighed. "Unless you find a way to magically climb on top of yourself and get pregnant, she's going to be waiting for grandchildren a long time."

"While that would be a sight to see, I don't think I'm that talented." He struggled not to smile at the way she always put her twisted humor into what she had to say. "It's not that big of a deal, Haley."

Apparently it wasn't to him, but it was to her. Still, she knew Nathan wouldn't understand where she was coming from and decided to stay quiet about it.

That only lasted a few seconds. "Can I ask you something?"

"Me saying no to that question's never stopped you before."

"Why did you buy me that nightgown earlier? Honestly. Was it just to help the show we're putting on for your parents? Or to confuse me or what?" she inquired in frustration. That act of kindness had been plaguing her mind since it had happened; she didn't know what to think about it and she didn't like not knowing the reason behind it.

He sighed, not knowing how to answer her. Nathan had never been real great with words—that was her forte. He couldn't possibly explain to her that there hadn't been a purpose when he bought her the chemise, just an impulse to do something nice for her. She'd wanted it, so he bought it for her. It was simple. "I wasn't trying to confuse you."

"Then why?" she pressed.

"I thought you wanted it."

"I did, but that's beside the point."

"So you do have a point?"

She hit his arm at the teasing tone in his voice. "I'm being serious and yes, I have a point. Now why did you do it?"

He looked down at her and was surprised to see anger shining brightly in her eyes. "You're mad because I bought you something you wanted?" he asked incredulously, growing frustrated when he saw the positive answer in her expression. "I don't understand women. You're angry when I don't do nice things for you and angry when I do. Does nothing make you happy?"

"Things make me happy," she defended. "You just aren't on the list right now."

Her emotions were having one hell of a ride that day. In the morning she'd had the insane desire to kiss him and spend the entire day in bed. In the afternoon, she'd wanted to hug him for being so considerate. Now she wanted to hit him for being such a blockhead.

Thankfully the song ended before she could act on any of those desires. Instead, she freed herself gracefully from Nathan's embrace and walked back to their table, knowing that he would follow to save face when he may have otherwise just walked away.

Time to go back to being the perfect couple.

Nathan's words reverberated in Haley's head. Her reactions probably did seem contradictory to him, but it all made perfect sense in her head. She didn't like being ignored by him, but it was possible that she liked his sporadic acts of kindness in between ignoring her even worse. At least when he completely ignored her, she knew where she stood with him. When he suddenly did something so sweet and caring, then turned around and pretended like nothing happened, she didn't know what to think.

Haley supposed that what she wanted was stability. If he was going to be a jerk, he should be a jerk all the time so she could move on. If he was going to be someone who actually cared about her, he should do that all the time so they could try to fix their marriage.

She just wished he would hurry up and decide which way he wanted to go.