Hi guys. Sorry I'm a bit late in posting this chapter. And I'm sorry that it's a bit shorter than usual. Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this one okay. Cheers! :)
Chapter 24
The next morning found Haley in her office, her head buried deep in the piles of paperwork begging to be looked at. Despite Nathan's protests that she should take things easy and stay at home, she was adamant on going back to work. She needed the distraction and Nathan had run out of excuses to make her stay.
"Hey foxy," a cheerful voice greeted her, jerking her out of her concentration. She looked up and saw her curly blonde friend carrying two cups of steaming hot coffee. "Nathan called me and told me you were coming back to work today. I thought coffee would be a good idea," Peyton said and handed one cup to her. She then sat down opposite her and just continued to watch her.
"What?" Haley asked, feeling more self-conscious by the minute.
"Nothing," Peyton replied, not giving anything away. After a few moments she continued, "Nathan's worried about you."
Haley sighed. "So I take it you know about the baby?" Knowing that Peyton would not let her off so easily, she decided to abandon her work and sat down opposite her. She sipped her coffee, grateful for the warmth it brought.
Peyton looked at her guiltily. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry Haley. And Nathan's right. You should stay home and rest."
"And what good would it do, huh? My baby would still have a hole in her heart no matter what I do," she said, venting her frustration. She then noticed that Peyton had a stricken look on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you."
Peyton held up her hands and said, "you have nothing to apologize for." Haley smiled at her gratefully. "He's worried about you, you know," she repeated. She saw that Haley was about to open her mouth in reply and said, "the guy loves you Haley. You just got married what? Two days ago? And you guys just found out about your baby. He's right to be worried."
Haley fell silent, taking in the truth of Peyton's words. She realized that Nathan was worried about her, which made her decide to get back to work even more. She didn't want Nathan to fuss over her, just like she knew he would. He had been hovering over her ever since they got back from the hospital, and she didn't want that for him. He needed to get on with his life too.
She sighed and looked at Peyton straight in the eyes. "I know he's worried about me and God knows I know he loves me. I just need the distraction. I can't stay at home all alone while he's at school. It's gonna make me think about the baby even more," she said with pleading eyes, hoping for Peyton's understanding.
Peyton nodded and ran her fingers through her hair, clearly at a loss as to what she could do to help. "Is there anything I can do?" she offered.
Haley forced a smile and said, "you and Brooke can take me shopping. I can't fit in my clothes anymore."
"Done! We'll go tomorrow," Peyton said happily. She started to get up, much to Haley's relief. She suddenly turned and said, "hey, you know the singer who sent her demo? The one you liked? Kate Voegle? I called her up and I've arranged for her to come in today. It's gonna be a busy day so it looks like you're gonna get your distraction after all."
"That's great Peyton. I'll clear my schedule for today," Haley said grinning. She watched Peyton leave and her smile faltered. The truth was she couldn't stay at home knowing that their baby's condition was forever in her and Nathan's minds. It had become some sort of a taboo topic. Both wanting to say something to reassure the other, and yet both were afraid to bring it up. She glanced at her wedding ring and smiled sadly. They had been so happy just forty-eight hours ago and all of a sudden it had all come crashing down. She felt her eyes burning, a tell-tale sign that the ever threatening tear was about to fall and groaned out loud, willing it to go away and started flipping through the mountain of paperwork.
Nathan dribbled the ball absentmindedly, ignoring the shouts of his players on the court. Every few minutes he would look up and watch them play, and then he would return to stare into space. He wanted to call Haley, to see if she was okay but knowing how stubborn she was, he refrained himself. He mentally berated himself for letting her get back to work. He should have made her stay. With a wry smile he thought of his stubborn Haley, never letting anyone dictate what she wanted to do, not even him. Especially him.
"Hey bro, you look a million miles away," Lucas interrupted his trail of thoughts.
Nathan looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry, I've got a lot of things on my mind."
"Yeah, I figured," Lucas nodded in understanding. "The team looks good. Looks like the championship title is gonna be ours again this year," he said confidently as he watched his players with pride. They had worked hard this year to retain their championship title and it looked like it was within their grasps again.
"Yeah, it looks like it," Nathan said, grateful for the change of subject. Trust Lucas to make him feel better. "Quentin seems to be in good form," he commented and inclined his head towards their star player.
Lucas nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's just hope that he stays that way." He then turned his head towards Nathan. "So how are you doing?"
"Okay I guess, all things considered," Nathan replied. Lucas continued to eye him carefully, knowing that Nathan was not one to express his feelings easily.
"Just hang in there Nate," Lucas said and patted his brother on the shoulder. "How's Haley by the way? I tried calling her at home and nobody picked up the phone."
Nathan sighed and leaned back against the bleachers. "Yeah, she wanted to go to the office today and there was nothing I could say that could convince her otherwise."
Lucas massaged his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm…it might be a good idea for her to do that. Keeps her occupied." He glanced at Nathan and noticed the worry lines on his face. "Look, I know you're worried. Why don't you call her and have lunch with her today? I'll cover for you here."
"Are you sure?" Nathan asked, feeling slightly relieved at Lucas's suggestion. He had been itching to see her since that morning and now he was getting his chance.
"Sure I'm sure," Lucas said encouragingly. "Go ahead. I'll see you later."
Nathan got up from the bleachers and thumped Lucas on his back. "Thanks Luke. I owe you one."
Lucas grinned. "Well, if my calculation is correct, you owe me at least a hundred."
Nathan laughed for the first time that day. "Whatever dude," he said by way of goodbye and rushed out of the gym to meet his wife.
"So you sent Nathan away to meet Haley," Brooke asked Lucas as she took a bite from her sandwich.
"Yeah, seems like a good idea. He looked really miserable this morning and I thought seeing that Haley is alright might make him feel better," Lucas replied. He had told Brooke about Haley and Nathan's baby and although she wanted to rush over to their place to offer them comfort in some way, she knew that they needed time alone to deal with it by themselves first.
Brooke looked at him in wonderment. "You are one sweet guy, Lucas Scott," she commented and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a smear of ketchup on his face.
"Brooke! God you're a messy eater!" Lucas complained with a laugh as he wiped it away.
"One of the reasons why you love me," Brooke said mischievously. She then looked at Lucas and said nonchalantly, "I'm late."
"You're late for what?" Lucas asked in puzzlement.
"My period is late dummy," she said and waited for his response.
For a minute Lucas was speechless. "Your period is late," he stammered. "Did you take a test?" he asked, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
"I did," Brooke said noncommittally.
"Brooke! You're killing me here! And?" Lucas yelled.
She let out a childlike laugh. "And it looks like we're pregnant!" she declared.
Lucas let out a yelp and jumped up and down, not caring if anybody was watching. He then put a hand on his mouth, still in a state of disbelief. "You're pregnant? We're pregnant!" He suddenly went still as he thought about Nathan and Haley. "Oh God, do you think we should tell Nathan and Haley? I mean they're going through so much. I don't want to upset them further, especially Haley."
Brooke bit her lips and nodded. "Yeah, I know but they're gonna find out sooner or later and Haley will kill me if she found out from someone else."
"I still think we should wait. Give it a few days before we break the news," Lucas suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea," she said in agreement. "So how do you feel about this?" she asked him.
Lucas looked at her tenderly. "I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I love you baby," he said and kissed her full on the mouth.
"I love you too," she said. She knew that her friends were hurting right now but she knew that she couldn't deny herself her own happiness.
Nathan stood in the doorway of Haley's office, casting a shadow as he did so. Haley looked up, surprise reflected in her face as she saw her husband standing there. "Nathan, what are you doing here?" she asked.
He came over to her and gave her a deep kiss, reassured with the fact that she was once again in his arms. "I thought I'd have lunch with you today." He noticed the worried look on her face. "Don't worry, Luke's covering for me," he said.
She looked at him quizzically. "Is this your way of checking up on me?" she asked. She laughed when she saw the guilty look on his face. "You sneak!" she exclaimed. "Nathan, I'm fine," she declared.
"I know. That's what you've been telling me but I just want to see it for myself. Anyway, I've missed you," he said and gathered her into his arms again and kissed the top of her head.
Haley smiled inwardly. "I've missed you too, but you can't keep doing this you know?"
He just shrugged and gave her a sad smile. "I know. I just can't help it." He glanced around the room. "So where's Peyton?"
"She's out with Jake. Looks like you just saved me from having lunch all by myself."
"Hey, that's what I'm here for," he said and smiled. "Come on. What do you feel like having today?"
She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Does pizza with pickles sound too disgusting to you?" she asked.
He laughed and ruffled her hair tenderly. "Anything for my baby," he said and grabbed her hand before leading her out of the office.
"That does look disgusting. How can you eat that?" Nathan watched Haley eat with amusement as she stuffed her pizza with pickles topping in her mouth.
"Hey, you got her pregnant. Deal with it," Karen quipped as she walked by their table and gave Haley a wink, making her laugh. She then pulled a chair and sat down with them. The crowd was beginning to thin which gave her the opportunity to hang her apron for a while.
"How are you kids doing by the way?" she asked worriedly. Nathan and Haley had guessed that Lucas must have told her about the baby but seeming that it was Karen, they were not upset about it.
Haley and Nathan exchanged looks before she said, "we're fine I guess. We're just taking it one day at a time."
Karen nodded in understanding and looked at Nathan. "Your mom called yesterday. She told me that she tried calling you but she couldn't seem to get you," she said pointedly. "You should call her Nathan. She's just as worried as you are."
Nathan hung his head. "I know. It's just that the more people know about this, the more real it becomes."
Karen placed her hand on his comfortingly. "I know honey but she's your mother. Talk to her. I can bet my bottom dollar that you're gonna feel so much better once you've talked to her." She then looked at Haley. "And you too Haley. Tell your parents about the baby. They deserve to know too. "
"I know," she said. "I'm gonna see them tonight actually before they leave town."
Karen raised her eyebrows quizzically. "So they are still leaving?"
"Yeah," Haley said. "I don't want them to stay on my account. It would be selfish of me."
Karen nodded silently. "You know you can call me if you need anything right?"
"Thanks Karen," Haley said appreciatively. "And this pizza is awesome by the way," she said by way of changing the subject.
Nathan grinned, his face still sporting the look of pure disbelief. "I cannot believe you actually finished that...thing," he said and shuddered.
Haley nudged him and said, "hey, you heard Karen."
Karen smiled as she looked at them. At times she couldn't believe how grown up they have become. To her they would still be the kids who would come barging in her cafe after school looking for milkshakes and burgers. She hoped with all her heart that everything will be okay with the baby.