*SPOILER ALERT* - Alright, everyone, this is a random "list" of things / ideas I've been having for this story. I'll post this here now simply coz I don't know whether I'll ever get around to write this all into the story. So, if you want to, feel free to read, to comment, make suggestions. But if you'd rather wanna wait till I actually do manage to turn this into actual chapters of this story, don't read any further.

Oh, and this is unedited and by no means complete.

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Dan will have to go to prison for what he did to Nate. In a lawsuit Nate is forced to talk about what Dan did to him all those years. It's very hard for him and at first he really doesn't want to do it, but some cajoling from Luke and Keith finally persuade him that it HAS to be done.

Deb is shocked to learn all this, coz she never really knew just how bad things had been. She tries to get sole custody of her son. But it is Keith who steps in, when he sees how upset Nate is about it all. Deb's addiction is fully revealed when she doesn't want to relent. The judge recommends she go get treatment when she makes a scene in the court, upsetting Nathan even more.

She finally agrees to get help, when she is assured that Dan won't get away with what he did and will actually have to go to prison. When the judge and child services consider placing Nathan in a foster home, Keith offers to take in his nephew. He is told that it is not an easy task to be there for a teenager and that child services would drop by unannounced regularly to check on Nathan. He is told that his history of drinking might be a problem, but then Karen tells everyone her plans of moving in with Keith, much to his surprise, and the authorities agree on letting Nathan stay with his uncle and Karen, if he so wishes.

Though Nathan is reluctant, feeling insecure and awkward about moving in with his brother and Karen, it is his best option, and he agrees.

It's when he's finally living with them that Lucas learns the full extent of the damage Dan did, when one day he accidentally opens the bathroom door to see Nathan standing with his bare back turned to him and he sees old as well as new scars on the skin. Nathan turns around, challenge in his stare, but Lucas doesn't say anything other than, "To think that I was ever jealous of your relationship with Dan… Man, I just didn't know…" Nathan just shrugs in response and that is that. He doesn't get angry, doesn't use any other form of self defense against his brother. That instant marks the moment their relationship finally changed into a real brotherly one.

After that point, it is clear that Nate and Luke developed a more brotherly relationship, with Lucas always looking out for his brother. He's very protective of Nate, always wanting to make sure that nothing bad ever happens to him again. He won't have anyone mess with his brother ever again. If people look at him weirdly, Luke will be there. If at a game someone so much as shouts at him, Luke will get angry, up to a point where it's actually Nate that has to calm down his brother to prevent him from getting himself into fights.

Nate will continue to fall back into defensive "jerk-behavior" around other people, but Luke will be there now to make it better and to help him get over it. Keith will be there for him, too, even though the two are awkward around each other, Keith always overly worried he might hurt Nate in any way.

When Nate does something stupid once, getting himself suspended from school, and Keith gets angry, he shouts at Nate and gets very close to him physically, though without any intent to hit him. Yet Nathan doesn't know how to read his uncle's gestures and feels threatened, shying away from the other one. It is then that Keith is really shocked and worried and tells Nathan over and over again that he would never hurt him. Ever.

Later, he talks to Karen about the incident and he gets a little teary eyed thinking that his own brother screwed Nathan up so badly that he could think Keith could ever hurt him. Karen consoles him.

At the same time, Lucas assures Nathan that Keith would never hurt him. Nathan has a hard time trusting anyone, but by then he has learned to trust his brother and his brother's judgment of their uncle. So he agrees to talk with Keith the next morning, and together with Lucas and Karen they all sit down together and talk about it. They promise each other to work on their relationship and Nathan is assured once more, that no one is gonna mess with him any more.

In school, Nathan and Lucas have started to hang out together, even though Lucas is no longer part of the b-ball team, coz he won't ever get back the use of his leg. They all hang out together, Jake, Skills, and the girls.

Sometimes, Nathan is in a funk and it's hard to get him out of it again. What with his best friend dead, his dad in prison, his mom in rehab, he has a hard time dealing and is eventually diagnosed with depression. At first he refuses to take any medication, especially since his mom is an addict. But when one day, after he has barely been able to get out of bed in the mornings and do anything all day for weeks, Lucas begs him to go see Dr. Everard with him, he finally agrees to get help and try taking the medication.

Nathan and Haley continue dating, though they go through a dark patch when his depression is at its worst. And Lucas and Brooke will continue their way together, too. Haley won't become a cheerleader, and she won't become a great friend to either Brooke or Peyton, which sometimes makes it a little difficult for Nate and Luke.

And Peyton? She'll actually hook up with Paul for a while before she finally takes an interest in Jake and leaves with him and his baby on the boat…