AN: Sorry it's been so long since the last update, guys. There is actually another chapter or two after this, and I'll try my hardest to make sure you're not waiting forever for the rest… thanks so much to everyone who is still actually interested in this story. Special thanks to Amy, who helped plant the idea for this chapter in my head. I hope it was worth the wait!

Haley and Nathan were huddled together at the breakfast table, laughing quietly together over pancakes and fresh fruit, when Deb walked into the kitchen a little while later. She stood in the entryway for a moment, unnoticed, and simply observed them, a smile slowly tugging the corners of her lips upward. When she and Dan had arrived at the house late the night before to find it dark, the couple already asleep, she'd wondered if it was a good or a bad sign. Now, she knew. Things had changed between them, and it made her heart glad to see them happy again.

It also told her that she was making the right choice. "Good morning," she said, walking further into the room and heading straight for the waiting pot of coffee.

They both turned to look at her, the grins on their faces no longer weighted by shadows. "Morning, Mom."

"Morning. Did you and Dan have a good time last night?"

Deb poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip before replying. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been," she hedged, reluctant to go into the sometimes boring and sometimes uncomfortable evening she had spent listening to Dan and a business associate try to verbally one-up each other in a way that bordered the edge of civility. She and the other man's poor wife had spent a great deal of time looking at each other and rolling their eyes. "How about you two?"

Haley and Nathan glanced at each other, engaging in a silent conversation that left them both with secret smiles on their faces. "We had a nice quiet night," Haley answered after a second.

"Yeah, it was just what we needed," Nathan put in meaningfully. He couldn't blatantly tell his mother that things between them were finally looking up—not since Haley didn't know that Deb was aware things had been down in the first place—but he did want her to know that they were going to be okay, and that he'd appreciated the time alone.

"Good," Deb said, smiling as she leaned back against the counter. "So, I wanted to let you know that our plans have changed a little."

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked, almost dreading the answer. Their plans had changed? God, if she told him that Dan was going to be in the house any longer than necessary, he feared there would be major problems.

Seeing her son's panic, she had to hold back a laugh. "We're leaving this morning," she announced.

Haley frowned, sitting forward in her chair. "What? Why?"

"I think it's time we get out of your hair," she replied honestly with a smile, then hurried to add before Haley could object, "And after last night, Dan's got business on his mind. He's just going to drive us all crazy talking about the ideas here when he could be actually doing something about them at home. Trust me, I know him. It'll be better this way."

It was on the tip of Haley's tongue to suggest that they fly Dan back to Tree Hill and let Deb stay for the next few days as planned, but she swallowed the words since they seemed catty. "Are you sure? We don't mind having you here at all," she said instead, meaning it. She actually liked Deb being around. Dan was the problem.

"Thank you, Haley. I've had a really good time here, too, but I'm sure," she stated gently, not wanting to offend her. "I called the airline last night to change our flight. The plane leaves at one today."

Haley tried a little longer to change Deb's mind, but she wouldn't be dissuaded. It would have been nice to spend a little more time around her son and daughter-in-law, but leaving was the right thing to do. They needed to finish patching things up, and God knew that was no easy feat anyway, much less with Dan hovering around and stirring up trouble whenever he possibly could.

When Dan joined them for breakfast, it was hard to tell how he felt about the fact that they would be leaving earlier than originally planned. He watched the younger couple intently, as if he sensed something had changed but couldn't quite figure out what it was, but didn't say anything in particular about it.

After they ate, Deb and Dan finished packing their things before everyone climbed into Nathan's car for a drive to the airport.

It had just started to rain when they arrived at LAX, and but everyone climbed out when Nathan pulled up to the drop-off area. Nathan shook hands with his father a little awkwardly while Deb didn't hesitate to pull Haley into a tight hug. "Thanks for putting up with us," she chuckled. "I had a great time with you guys."

"I'm so glad you guys came out here," Haley replied, and found she truly meant it.

Deb embraced her son, marveling over how dwarfed she felt next to him, and said quietly, "Take care of each other, Nathan."

He smiled. "We will, mom. Thanks."

When Dan moved forward to hug her, Haley had to work to keep herself from backing right into the car. She held herself stiffly even in his arms. "We'll see how things are in a couple of months," he whispered so only she could hear. The bastard was smiling when he pulled away, and there was a challenge in his dark eyes.

It was all she could do to keep herself from pulling back an arm and plowing a fist into his smug face, but she managed a fake smile in return. "Yes," she replied evenly. "We will."

As she climbed back into the car, shaking raindrops from her hair, Haley determined to forget about the creepy encounter she'd just had with Dan. In an hour and a half, he would be on a plane back across the country. He'd done his damage, and couldn't do much else now.

Nathan took her hand and smiled at her before he pulled back out into the always crazy airport traffic, and that was enough to shift her chain of thought.

She studied his profile as he drove, thinking about the drastic turn of events their lives had taken. Just a little over a week ago, she'd been sure that her marriage was about to end. Now she felt like there was nowhere she'd rather be than by this irritating, wonderful man. But as much as their talk the day before had cleared the air between them, there was still one thing that bothered her, one question that wiggled its way into her brain even when she tried her hardest to just push aside all doubts and enjoy what was happening.

He was a stubborn man. A proud man, which she personally thought was one of the few traits he'd inherited from his father. When he wanted something, he could be pretty determined about getting it, and as he'd already pointed out to her, he hated to lose. So there was still something that she honestly didn't understand. "Nathan?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something without you getting mad?"

He glanced over at her, an amused smile on his face. "I should probably say that it depends on the question, but that sounds like the wrong answer. So, sure. Ask away."

She chuckled, shaking her head at his usual charm, and directed her gaze out the window. It took her a moment to gather the guts to blurt out her question. "Why didn't you come after me when I moved out?"

The question surprised him and he didn't bother trying to hide it, but he didn't insult either of them by inquiring why she'd asked. It took a moment to find the right words, and he swallowed hard before he replied. "At first, I was pissed and thought you might come home," he confessed. "Then I realized you weren't, and I knew if I pushed you, I might never be able to get you back."

Thinking about it, Haley had to admit that she could see his point. She'd been so angry and hurt when she'd left that it would have been easy for him to think that she wouldn't have been accepting of any attempt to get her back right away.

Except that she'd been so damn lonely, and she'd wanted him so much. But he hadn't seen that, of course. Neither of them had shown the other that.

Silently, she nodded her head, and gave his hand a squeeze. Good answer. Maybe not the exactly right one, but it was honest, and that was good.

"I wish I'd gone after you," he told her.

Haley smiled a bit wistfully, thinking about the time they'd missed together. "You did. It just took you a while."

~*~

Nathan hadn't realized until Haley asked about him not following her that this would be the first time they were back at the house together because they chose to be. For the past few days, they'd had the convenient excuse of Dan and the bet hanging over their heads. Now, Haley didn't have to stay at the house anymore.

And that scared the life out of him. But how was he supposed to bring it up without sounding like he was pressuring her? The last thing that he wanted to do was back her into a corner, make her feel like he was expecting something from her. He wanted to make her feel special, make things up to her, not ruin things all over again.

He spent the entire rest of the car ride to the house trying to think of a way to broach the subject. In the end, she took care of that for him.

They'd just climbed out of the car and were walking toward the front door when he noticed that she was hesitating, looking a little tentative and standing just underneath the cover of the awning so she was out of the rain. A ball of tension formed in his stomach. "You okay, Hales?" Did his voice sound strained to anyone else?

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, I just… I need to go to the apartment," she admitted, distinctly uncomfortable now.

"Oh. Oh, yeah, sure. I mean—"

It was just too awful to watch him try to hide the flash of pain that crossed his face. "Don't," she interrupted quickly. "Nathan, your thoughts are going in all the wrong directions, I promise you."

"What do you mean?"

"I… well, I was kind of thinking of going to pick up some more clothes," she admitted, watching his expression like a hawk for any change to indicate his thoughts on the matter. "To bring back here. For a while. If you think that's a good idea." Dear God, why didn't he say anything and let her stop rambling?

He was frozen in place for a moment, and then suddenly his face broke into a wide grin. "I think that's the best idea I've heard in a long time."

"Really?" Relief swamping her, she smiled back. "Good. Okay then. Do you want to come with me?"

"No, I think I'll stay here," he replied on impulse. "I've got some things I want to take care of."

She knew that look. What was he planning now? "All right," she said, drawing out the words to let him know she was on to him. "Then I guess I'll see you soon."

He was still smiling when he leaned down to kiss her softly. "Yup. Be careful, okay?"

"I will," she promised, digging her own keys out of her purse and hurrying to get into her car before she got drenched.

Nathan watched from the doorway while she started the car, then waved in his direction before pulling away. She was coming back. It wasn't necessarily permanent—heck, they'd hardly even talked about it—but it made him feel so good that he could have jumped around with that knowledge. He wanted to give her something to show how much this meant, and how seriously he was going to take it.

And then, suddenly, he had a plan.

It took some maneuvering to achieve, and there was more than one moment where he had to wonder if he was turning into one of those frighteningly sentimental men who only should really exist in chick flicks and romance novels, but he got it done before Haley returned. Actually, as it turned out, he had four minutes to spare.

Haley walked into the house with a suitcase of clothes rolling along behind her and a smaller bag slung over one arm. She had contemplated bringing her laptop along—it had been so tempting—but it seemed like a bad idea, considering the fact that work had been one of their biggest problems. Besides, since Dan and Deb had left earlier than expected, she was technically still off for a few more days.

She got to the living room before she froze, so shocked by the sight in front of her that she actually dropped her bag, narrowly escaping a crushed toe. It was Christmas.

In February.

Set up in the living room was the fake Christmas tree they'd bought years ago—where had Nathan even found that thing? They'd started getting the real thing after only one year with this green tinsel version—complete with hastily arranged ornaments. Their decorations were set around the room: the polar bear snow globe her sister had given her one year, the nativity set her parents had sent her and she'd never had the heart to throw away, the tacky Santa bobble head one of Nathan's college roommates had given him. On the table there was a neatly wrapped present.

She was still staring at everything in wonder when Nathan walked into the room, a mug in each hand. He smiled at her awestruck expression. "Merry Christmas, Haley."

"Uh, Merry Christmas," she replied, a little dazed. There was a question clear in her eyes when she looked at him, her face lighting up despite her confusion.

"I know, I know. We're a few months late," Nathan chuckled, crossing the room to press one warm mug into her hands. "But we didn't have much of a Christmas last year, and I was hoping we could make up for that now."

Christmas last year. Haley couldn't help but wince at the memory. She'd moved into the apartment a little over a week before Christmas, and it hadn't been the easiest time for either of them. They'd run into each other on the twenty-first, and Nathan had asked what her plans were... she'd wondered if he was hinting at something, but hadn't been sure, so she'd lied and said that she was going to be spending the day with some friends. When he said that he was probably going to a party with some people from work, she'd wondered if he was lying.

In reality, they both had been. Each had spent the day alone, wondering, taking calls from friends and family and pretending to be happy. It had been a miserable day.

"I know." Nathan put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing as if he could erase the pain of the memory. "Come on. We've got hot chocolate and everything. I didn't have the stuff for the good kind you make, so we have to deal with the instant stuff, but…"

"It's amazing, Nathan. Really incredible." She took a sip to prove it, and let him lead her toward the couch when he moved excitedly in that direction.

When they were settled on the cushions next to each other, he reached over to pick up the present. "Here. I never got to give you this."

She stared at it, feeling her cheeks heat. "Oh, Nathan, no… I don't have anything for—"

He hushed her, waving away the concern and again offering her the present. This time she took it, holding it gingerly in her hands before looking up to meet his eyes. "Open it."

"Okay." She took a deep breath, unable to keep herself from smiling with childish anticipation, and slid her finger underneath the seal of the wrapping. She pulled off the bright red and green paper, and felt a flutter in her stomach when she saw the little black box inside. Her fingers were actually trembling when she opened the box and saw the earrings—sparkly, dangly things with small diamonds and gems that winked in the light. She loved them. They weren't too large or gaudy, and they had enough color that they felt warm. She liked color.

"Nathan, they're beautiful," she breathed, looking up at him over the box. "I can't believe you did this for me…" Especially when they'd been fighting.

"Do you like them?"

"I love them. Thank you."

He beamed. "You're welcome."

"They're perfect." Even as she spoke, she was reaching up to remove her old pair and slip the new ones in. Then she grinned at him expectantly. "How do they look?"

He reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind one ear. "Perfect," he agreed.

She tossed the box on the table so she could throw her arms around him, hugging him tight. "I wish I had something for you."

"Actually, there is something you could give me."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as they separated. "Really? And what's that?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Look at you, Mrs. Gutter brain. That wasn't what I had in mind. Although now…"

She poked him on the side. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, we have that piano over there… and no one's played it in a while…"

"Really?" Though the thought appealed to her, she looked skeptical that a little music would be a suitable gift. "You want me to play the piano?"

"And sing," he answered honestly. "It's been quiet around here."

Haley nodded her understanding of that and reached up to kiss him before crossing to the piano. For the next half hour, she mixed Christmas carols with whatever else she could remember the music to while rain pattered quietly against the window panes.