It was gloomy when Haley awoke early the next morning, light gray clouds that probably wouldn't drop their moisture edging out the usual morning sun. She cast a look toward Nathan, who was fast asleep with his mouth slightly open, looking completely harmless and—she tried to note dispassionately—adorable. If for no other reason, she did enjoy being back in the house to sleep next to him.

The night before she had been laying in bed when he slid in and—as far as she knew, thinking she was asleep—snuggled up to her back, draping an arm around her waist. It had taken her almost an hour to let herself succumb to sweet sleep, and she still wasn't exactly sure how to interpret his actions.

Haley let herself lay in the bed, perfectly still, for a few minutes before a voice in her head pointed out that she was only torturing herself, after which she carefully dragged herself from the bed. There were things to take care of; the day had already begun and there were, as far as she knew, no plans of action.

When she padded into the kitchen, Haley was immediately met by Deb, who looked bright-eyed and horribly awake. "I think we should have a girl's day."

Haley blinked at her, then shook her head. "What?"

Haley was the closest thing Deb had ever had to a daughter and this gave her a chance to act like a mother as well as giving them time to talk. "I was thinking we could give Dan and Nathan some time together and we could go to a spa and get full treatments done," Deb went on excitedly.

Haley couldn't help but smile at Deb's enthusiasm, but she faced the suggestion with some trepidation. "Why, was Nathan bad?"

The half-hidden concern for Nathan wasn't planned for show, it was genuine and natural, Deb noted with pleasure. "Sometimes sacrifices must be made," she joked. "But I think Nate can handle Dan for a day. Besides, you two'll be getting some time away from us the day after tomorrow."

Knowing better than to hope that Dan was leaving so soon, Haley raised a careful questioning eyebrow. "What's the day after tomorrow?"

"Dan and I have a dinner to go to—business relations of his," she explained. "He just told them yes or we would've let you know earlier. I'm sure I could haggle you and Nathan an invitation but—"

"No, we'll pass on that one, thanks," Haley interrupted quickly, heaving an inward sigh of relief. A reprieve, however brief, from their constant performance was most definitely welcome. "In that case, maybe a girl's day out is in order. You'll definitely earn it." And surely Nathan would be okay on his own with his father for just a day… if she was helping him by keeping up the charade, he could give her a day off with his mother.

"Perfect. I'll make our appointments." Seeing movement behind Haley, Deb fought to keep her curiosity at bay. "And I'll let you tell Nathan."

"Oh, but—"

"Tell me what?"

Haley whirled around to see her rumpled-looking husband standing in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning lazily against the doorframe for support as he tried to wake himself up. A nervous smile immediately touched her lips and, very aware that they were being watched, she crossed the room to greet him with a chaste kiss. Time to act again. "Nothing. Your mom and I were just talking about our plans for the day."

Nathan dropped his hands to Haley's waist, gently keeping her in front of him. Apparently his mother hadn't told her that she knew about the bet yet. He wasn't against keeping it that way a little longer. "Okay… what are we doing today?"

"Well, see… we are going to a spa to be girly girls and you and Dan are going to do… something else," Haley said hopefully, looking at his face carefully to see his reaction. When she saw his jaw tighten, she stepped closer, her body intimately close to his, and went on in a lower voice, "But we have the night after tomorrow to ourselves. Your parents have a business dinner to attend."

He lowered his head, pressing his forehead against hers. "Please tell me you aren't kidding."

Haley shook her head ever so slightly, captivated by his eyes and their proximity. "Nope, not kidding. So you think you can occupy Dan for the day while we're gone?"

He sighed but couldn't say no, not when they were in this position and she obviously wanted it. "I'll figure something out."

Smiling brightly, she stood on her tiptoes to press another kiss, this one longer, to his lips. "Thank you. Besides, we'll probably only be gone a couple hours. And tomorrow we're going to the Huntington Library for a tour and lunch; we're not sticking you with him any more after this, promise."

Deb tried to avert her attention as would be polite, but found herself failing miserably. She watched their interaction with fascination; their love was so deep, their desire to win the bet almost as fierce, she couldn't even hope to tell where the façade ended and reality began.

Haley flashed Nathan another grin, the thought of a relaxing day at the spa getting to her, before she pulled out of his arms. "Go brush your teeth and take a shower, Nathan. You could use them both." She winked playfully at him and then flounced over to the fridge to get things for breakfast before he could reach out and exact revenge.

"I don't know how to thank you for suggesting this."

Deb looked over at Haley and laughed upon seeing the brunette's eyes closed, her face contorted with pleasure under a green deep sea mask as the masseuse worked steadily at ridding her back of its tight knots. "Coming with me was enough. I'm glad you're enjoying this."

"Enjoying is an understatement," Haley sighed in contentment, feeling her body dissolve slowly into putty. "I could die happy right here, right now."

Deb laughed. "I'm with you. No regrets."

A frown settled on Haley's face as she thought about that. No regrets? Well, maybe one or two… dying at odds with Nathan just seemed like it would be wrong. She opened her eyes to see Deb watching her carefully and quickly brought a smile to her lips. "I think I might regret leaving Nathan with Dan," she joked, saying the first thing that came to mind to cover herself. "What do you think they're doing?"

Deb's guess was that Nathan was thinking about Haley, but she wouldn't dare bring that up now with their masseuses present. Initially she had intended to bring it up—it was "girl's day" material, after all—but she had decided after observing the couple that morning that she would wait. Haley was acting on autopilot meant to look to Nathan like acting around both of his parents. Letting her know that Deb was aware of the charade could put that in jeopardy, which could be detrimental since it was more than likely that her real feelings would be exposed during their performance.

Besides, it was strictly a private conversation, one that would probably draw out emotions in the younger woman that she had repressed. At least, Deb hoped Haley would open up to her and allow her to help.

"Some guy thing," Deb said dismissively, closing her eyes to enjoy the massage. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"Your skills are rusty."

Nathan exhaled a loud breath and tried in vain to block out his father's condescending voice. He tried to concentrate on their game—not because of a real desire to play, but to beat his father and shut him up—but other things, namely Haley, seemed to keep absorbing all his thoughts. That wasn't to say that he didn't still love basketball because he did. When things had been good, he and Haley would shoot hoops in their backyard on Sunday mornings before having breakfast.

Nathan simply hated playing basketball with his father—always had and probably always would. Dan was as competitive and critical, if not more so, than he had been when Nathan was in high school. It was partly due to the fact that Dan couldn't understand why his son had passed up the chance to be in the NBA and instead gone to college and gotten married, keeping basketball as a hobby rather than a career. Apparently since Nathan hadn't gotten Haley pregnant, Dan couldn't grasp their wedding and Nathan's 'sacrifices.'

Despite what Dan thought, Haley hadn't been the reason that Nathan hadn't tried to become a professional basketball player. She had supported anything he wanted to do, but after high school he realized that he had changed. He enjoyed playing much more when it was for fun, and had found things more important to him than winning a game. Being in the NBA wouldn't make him happy like he had once been lead to believe it would.

"Your mind's not on the game," Dan stated, dribbling the ball on the hard concrete. "I suppose I understand that, given what's going on."

He knew better than to ask for an explanation, but he couldn't stop himself from asking anyway. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Dan waited a moment before answering, as if he needed to make sure that Nathan was giving him his full attention. "Well, things can't be going well at home if your wife needs to beg your mother for a women's day so she can get away from you. You've got a lot on your mind right now." He raised the ball and arched it up, smiling when it sailed cleanly through the hoop.

"Haley didn't beg for anything," Nathan argued, frozen in place as the ball bounced harmlessly onto the grass. His father was mistaken. Haley couldn't have done that—not when just that morning they had been so close…

Dan went to get the ball and set up his next shot. "That's just what Deb told me. Haley pleaded with her to find something they could do together that you wouldn't want to do."

"Mom said that?"

"Now don't be mad at her for telling me, Nathan," Dan said, trying his best to look sincere. "She was just worried about how you and Haley are doing together, that's all."

She wasn't the only one…