A/N: To everyone who has read this story and was waiting (forever) for an update, I owe you guys a huge apology. I'll admit that I did kind of forget about it due to time and lack of motivation, as awful as that is, but thank you so much for hanging around. I really appreciate your comments, and hopefully now I'll be able to finish what I started. I hope you enjoy this chapter! )

"You didn't have to do that, you know." Haley glanced over at Nathan as he maneuvered the golf cart along the paved roads over the course. His jaw was tight, his lips pursed together tightly so they appeared thin. It was obvious that the altercation with Dan was digging deep for him.

"What do you mean, I didn't have to do it? He was picking apart every fucking thing we did, Haley. He's been doing it the whole time he's been here and he'll keep doing it unless someone says something to make him stop." Nathan's hands tightened around the steering wheel and he forced himself to relax them while he let out a long breath. "I'm sorry."

She studied his profile and found herself wondering what, exactly, had snapped in him. "You're not the one who needs to apologize, Nathan. You didn't do anything wrong. I… thank you for standing up for me. I just wish you wouldn't let him get to you."

Nathan didn't understand why she was thanking him. It was his fault that Dan was there terrorizing her in the first place, and hearing his father lay into his wife so brutally had really pissed him off. Who did the guy think he was, anyway? He had no right to belittle Haley like that. "I don't get how you stay so calm when you're sparring with him," he admitted.

She shrugged, smiling in an effort to lighten the mood. "Lots of siblings—I had practice growing up. Besides, Dan wins when people lose their cool. When you shoot back something like you just did… that's when we win."

"I wish I could keep that in mind. Every time he pulls shit like that I just want to hit him."

That pleasant image flashed through her mind before she could reject it or the smile that crossed her lips, but she quickly threw her mind back in gear. "You do pretty well with him. You'd be surprised."

He looked over at her and smiled. It was a simple thing for her to say, but the compliment inexplicably meant a lot to him. "Thanks."

Haley held his eyes a moment too long, then had to look away. "Uh, I think the ball should be somewhere over there." She pointed to a group of bushes and trees not far off the road, glad for the distraction. It was with a weird sense of foreboding that she saw the large pond that was just beyond the trees. "I just really hope it didn't go into the lake."

"That makes two of us." Nathan pulled the cart onto the grass and stopped it, and they both climbed out to search for her golf ball. Normally he would have teased her about it—the fact that she made them do this because she just couldn't stay on the green—but his father's insults were too recent in his mind, so he stayed quiet while he looked.

After traipsing around in the dirt and greenery for a few minutes, it because fairly clear that they weren't going to have a successful trip.

"I found two white balls and a duck," Haley announced as she emerged from between two bushes, holding up the golf balls. The duck she had merely scared into waddling back to the water.

"Maybe it did go in the lake," Nathan murmured, his gaze drifting toward the water. "I think we'd be able to find a red ball if it were here."

Haley hated to admit that her red ball policy had been outsmarted. She looked from the water to Nathan suggestively, and wasn't surprised when his eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Oh, no. I'm not going in there after it. You can color one of those balls red and say we found yours."

Haley grinned and reached for her purse. After all, his idea was much easier than convincing him to wade through a golf course pond in search of one ball. "I like the way you think." She quickly spread color over the entire ball and tossed the marker back in her purse triumphantly. "All done. I guess we should go meet up with them again?"

He frowned at the idea. "Do we have to?"

She bit her lip as she considered that. "I suppose we could hang around here with the psychotic duck, but I'm sure your dad will hunt us down eventually."

"You think we could take him?"

"Oh, without a doubt, but then we'd be doing prison time."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Nathan took her hand in his without thinking and began to lead them back to the golf cart.

Haley froze momentarily but quickly regained her senses and walked beside him. Her heart did a cartwheel in her chest despite her best intentions and her mind was instantly shrouded in mist. Nathan's hand, so much larger than hers but gentle regardless, slid over hers in a caress before his fingers laced with hers. She waited for the next movement and wasn't let down—she didn't have to wait long. His thumb lightly traced circles over the back of her hand, just like it always had before.

And it sent a shiver down her spine, just like it always had before.

She forced herself to look around, to see if Dan and Deb were within sight, but didn't see anyone. They were alone; the damn duck didn't even see a thing.

So why had he taken her hand in his? It was indisputably an affectionate thing, but maybe he had done it just in case. Maybe he was getting so used to acting for his parents that it didn't seem like anything to him.

When they reached the golf cart and he easily released her hand so she could walk around to her side, Haley convinced herself that it had been precautionary. He was worried about being caught, worried about the bet.

That was all.

"Nathan, can I talk to you?"

Nathan paused his journey down the hall to turn and lift one shoulder in a half shrug. It was late and he was tired, more than ready to join Haley in bed, but at least it wasn't his father asking for his time. His mother had tried to play peacemaker all day long and he knew it wasn't an easy job; she deserved his time. Besides, he generally enjoyed talking to her as long as Dan wasn't around. "Sure. What's up, mom?"

"Let's go outside," Deb suggested gently, thinking wearily about how far words could travel when Dan Scott was around. He had a habit of picking up on what others least wanted him to hear, something that had annoyed her to no end throughout their marriage.

Pushing aside the fact that they were both in their pajamas and it was almost midnight, Nathan did as she asked and followed her through the doorway and out into the back patio. When Deb turned to face her son, Nathan could see even in the dark night that her face was painted with anxiety. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"I… I know about you and Haley, Nathan," Deb stated bluntly.

She knew. The words and tone in which they were spoken made his heart jump in his chest because he could tell it was true, but he gave a valiant effort at looking confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I know that you two are separated and I know about the bet with your father. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell him about you—this isn't a bet I want him to win," Deb hurried to assure him when she saw the familiar look of panicked disturbance fill his eyes.

"How did you find out?"

"That's not important." Deb shook her head dismissively at his question, sure her hot-headed son would get upset if he knew she'd overheard Haley, but her eyes were compassionate as they met his. "What's important is your relationship with Haley. What happened, Nate?"

That was a question he'd been asking himself a lot lately. Having Haley back in the house and them being together again—if only for show—felt right. It was the way things were supposed to be. "Mom, I don't want to talk about this, okay? Just please don't tell dad about it."

Don't tell dad? Was that all he had to say? How could he be so flippant about it? "Nathan, this is a lot more serious than some bet with your father. This is your marriage we're talking about."

"My marriage will be fine, mom. We're just having some trouble right now."

"Trouble?" Deb repeated incredulously. "Haley's not even living in the house anymore and you don't think this is something more serious than just a little trouble?"

He took a step away from her, feeling even her softened voice like a punch to the gut. "Mom—"

"No, Nathan, listen to me. I know that you love Haley and I know that she loves you, but that isn't necessarily enough to make a marriage survive. You need to work on it. Now something must have happened between you two if you're separated, and you never know how long you have to fix things before one of you just decides to give up."

"That's not going to happen."

She shot him a meaningful look, all the while silently praying that he was right. But she had seen resignation in Haley's eyes, a sign that something needed to be done soon. "No woman is going to be happy while her marriage is in limbo. Eventually, she needs a decision to be made. How long do you think Haley is going to wait? Until the bet's over?"

He couldn't force himself to respond.

"Nathan, whatever went wrong, you need to make it right. And trust me, you need to do it soon because that girl is on the point of breaking."

"Did you talk to Haley about this?" he asked quietly.

Deb shook her head and moved to go back into the house. She knew that he needed some time to think about her words and their situation. She had planted the seed of thought in his mind, which was all she could do at this point. "I didn't have to. The pain in her eyes says it all." She went back into the house, laying a tender hand on his shoulder as she did so.

Nathan wanted to go after her, ask her what he should do, but he couldn't seem to move. He knew she was right—Haley wasn't happy. She hadn't really been happy in a while. He tried to think back in time and find out exactly when things had started going downhill, but he couldn't. What if his mom was right and Haley was truly about to give up on their marriage?

It wasn't possible. But if she was… he would have to change her mind.