Hi guys. I'm back (grinning sheepishly). Sorry for the delay. Apologies seem to be my thing these days lol. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Sorry it's a bit short. Let me know what you guys think. Cheers!

Chapter 28

Haley barely heard what the paramedics were saying as they tried to revive Lily back. She only caught the last words one of them said, "we got her back. Mr. Scott, we need to get her to the hospital. How did this happen?" She looked at Nathan blankly as he answered his question in a rush.

"She was sleeping when we noticed that she had suddenly stopped breathing. She's got a hole in her heart. She's supposed to go for surgery in a couple of weeks." Nathan stole a glance at Haley who had tears streaming down her face, although she stood watching the paramedics carry Lily to the ambulance in stony silence. She felt Nathan's hand on her arm. She looked at him as though startled at his touch. "Haley, we need to go," he said hoarsely. She nodded silently and followed him.

The ride to the hospital was nerve wrecking to say the least. Nathan kept stealing glances at Haley as if trying to catch her eye, but her eyes never left Lily, her hand smoothing Lily's pale cheeks. The sight broke his heart. He should have listened to her when she told him that something was wrong. For the first time in his life, he prayed.

As soon as they reached the hospital, Lily was immediately rushed to the emergency room. "I'm sorry, Nathan, Haley. You both have to wait outside while we check on her." That was all Dr. Montgomery had told them.

Nathan watched Haley made the silent walk towards the waiting room. He followed suit and sat down next to her. "Hey, she's gonna be okay. She's in good hands," he said comfortingly, although he didn't really believe his own words.

"I should have checked on her," she said softly. "I shouldn't have left her alone." She leaned her head on his shoulder and cried. And all he could do was to hold her close. They didn't have to wait very long. Half an hour later, the doctor emerged.

"How is she?" Haley said as soon as she saw her.

"She's stable but she still haven't woken up. We're keeping an eye on her," the doctor said with a grim expression on her face. "The next 24 hours will be critical. She had stopped breathing for quite a long time and it's a miracle that we got her back. She sure is a fighter but there's no guarantee that she's gonna come out of it, given the fact that she's premature and with her heart condition."

Haley's hand flew to her mouth. Fresh tears started to stream down her pale cheeks. "Please doctor, do whatever you can," she begged. The doctor nodded gravely before leaving. She then turned to Nathan and said, "Nathan, I'm scared. She has to be alright. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to my baby," she sobbed uncontrollably as he gathered her into his arms. He was at loss for words, largely due to the fact that he kept blaming himself for what happened. If only he had let her check on Lily, this would not have happened. He knew that she blamed him too although she didn't tell that to him. He could see it in her eyes.

He finally found his voice. "Lily will be fine. You heard the doctor. She's a fighter," he said. He struggled to get the words out as he felt a large lump form in his throat.

Looking up at him, she said, "I have to see her."

If he were to be honest, he didn't think it was a very good idea for her to see Lily. He knew that she would crumble as soon as she saw her, but he couldn't deny her that.

"Okay, why don't we find the nurse and ask her," he said. Looking around he managed to spot one nurse whom he recognized as one of the nurses who tended to Lily when she was rushed in. "Excuse me, our daughter, Lily Rose Scott. Can we see her?" For a minute he was afraid that she wouldn't let them. He saw the reluctance in her face.

"She's not supposed to have any visitors yet, but I suppose I can arrange something," she said kindly. She looked at the two worried faces before her. She felt the familiar feeling she got whenever she was faced with this kind of situation. The feeling that she chose the wrong profession. She always felt bad whenever a patient got wheeled in the emergency room, especially children. What made it worse this time was that the patient in question was just a few weeks old. She guided both of them to Lily's room and waited for their reaction. As she expected, Haley immediately rushed to Lily's side.

"Hey baby," she whispered softly as she stroked Lily's pale face while Nathan watched silently. "Mama's here. So is Daddy. You need to wake up soon ok little angel. We'll be right here when you wake up. I promise," she said solemnly. Her heart broke as she watched her little girl lying on the small cot with tubes connected to her little body. She looked up to the nurse and said, "can I stay here for a little while?"

The nurse didn't have the heart to deny her the request and simply nodded. She turned to Nathan and patted his arm comfortingly before leaving the little family on their own. She had seen scenes like this before and not all of them looked good.

Nathan continued to watch Haley. The guilt was starting to build up inside him, threatening to eat him alive. He could only stand there mutinously, unable to comfort her, to offer her any solace. He decided that nothing he could say would make everything right. Without telling her, he walked out quietly from Lily's room.

Haley thought she heard a movement and turned her head, only to find that Nathan was gone. "Nathan?" she called out. Realizing that he had left, she hung her head and cried.

A few minutes later, Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and Jake arrived only to find Nathan slumped on a chair with his head in his hands. "Hey Nate. Sorry it took us so long to get here. How is Lily?" Lucas asked, his voice filled with concern over his niece.

Nathan looked up, revealing a tear stained face much to Lucas's shock. He had never seen his brother like this before. He had always been the strong one between the two of them.

He wiped his tears hastily and said in a broken voice. "She still hasn't woken up. Haley's with her. This is all my fault Luke," he cried.

"Hey, hey. Stop that. How can any of this be your fault," Peyton interjected. "Stop banging your head against the wall already," she said soothingly. She sat down next to him and rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him down. She wanted to say more when they heard footsteps approaching.

Haley went straight to Lucas who enveloped her in a hug. "Thank you for coming Luke," she sobbed in his arms while the rest looked on. A heavy feeling took over Nathan as he watched the exchange.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else Hales," Lucas said before letting her go.

Suddenly Nathan sat up and said, "I'm gonna go get coffee." Lucas looked at Nathan and raised his eyebrows. He couldn't understand why Nathan was not comforting her the way he should have although he kept the thought to himself. He thought he saw a strange look in Haley's eyes as she watched Nathan walk away. He ran up to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, wait up," he said and started walking next to him. They walked in silence for a few minutes. Lucas kept stealing glances at him, but his face didn't reveal anything.

"Hey, are you ok?" Lucas asked.

"What do you think?" Nathan replied stonily. They reached the coffee machine and he slotted some coins mutinously. He leaned his forehead against the machine while waiting for his drink. Lucas sighed and squeezed his shoulder. "I can't even look her in the eye," Nathan said.

Lucas looked at him in surprise. "Why?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes. He could already feel his head throbbing. He opened his eyes and saw that his coffee was ready. He picked the cup of coffee he never really wanted in the first place, gave it a quick look and handed it to Lucas.

"Here, you have it," he said and started to make his way back to the waiting room.

"What happened?!" Lucas called out. "Nathan!"

It had been a long night and Nathan had insisted that the rest go home. There was nothing they could do at the hospital anyway.

"I hope Lily's gonna be okay. She's gonna be okay right," Brooke said to Lucas as soon as they reached home. Lucas was a million miles away. He kept thinking about what Nathan had said at the hospital. It sure sounded like guilt to him but he couldn't figure out why.

"Lucas," Brooke said and nudged him. She looked at him quizzically. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinking about-" he said and thought better of it. "Nothing. I'm just worried about Lily. And Nathan and Haley."

"Yeah," she said and bit her lips. Her hand flew to her stomach, thinking about her own unborn child. She understood then what it felt like to be a protective parent, even with her baby still in her womb.

She didn't realize that she had fallen asleep, with her head on Nathan's shoulder. She dreamed that she was in a garden full of flowers. It was a place she didn't recognize. She looked around for her baby. And then she found her. She was lying on a bed of white lilies, her cheeks pink and her legs kicking the air. She picked her up gingerly, as if afraid that she would crumble into a million pieces. She heard her gurgle happily and smiled. It could be the exhaustion, or it could be the fear, of which she wasn't certain. It was then she felt a single tear gliding down her face. In an instant she knew of what was to come.

She woke up with a start and felt for her cheek. It was still wet from her tears. "Haley?" Nathan asked uncertainly. She got up and looked at him.

"It's time," she said and held out her hand to him.

He took it hesitantly and followed her to Lily's room. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that he was about to find out. They walked in silence, there was no hurry in her steps and he followed her pace. They reached her room and saw that Dr. Montgomery was already there. Her face held a somber expression.

"I'm sorry Haley. She's slipping away," she said. For a moment Nathan could feel his own heart stop beating. He looked at Haley, but her expression was one of calmness.

She placed her hand on Lily's cheek. She then looked up at the doctor. "Is it time?" she softly asked. The doctor nodded grimly. Nathan stood there stonily. It was as if his body had stopped functioning. All he could do was stare at Lily.

"Would you mind taking off all those tubes?" Haley asked. "I would like to hold her."

The doctor looked at Nathan, her face filled with uncertainty. He could only nod his head. She obliged, removing the tubes save for the one connecting her to the monitor. Haley waited patiently until she was done. She then looked at both Haley and Nathan. "I'm gonna give you a moment," she said before leaving quietly.

Nathan watched as she picked Lily up and cradled her in her arms. "Hey my little angel. You're gonna go now, aren't you?" Nathan felt his heart constrict as he heard those words coming out from Haley's mouth.

He made a move to be nearer to her. He gently caressed Lily's cheeks, feeling his tears slide down his own.

"It's okay baby. Mama's gonna let you go now," Haley said softly. She then kissed Lily's pale cheeks. "I'll always love you. I promise," she said in between tears.

Nathan wanted to get away from the room. He felt suffocated all of a sudden, but his feet felt rooted to the ground. "Daddy will will always love you too," she continued saying and looked up to face Nathan. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

Just then, they could hear a sound coming from the monitor. They looked up and sure enough, there was a thin flat line on the monitor.

"Oh God," Nathan said. "No!" he yelled. "Doctor!!" Haley continued to cradle her as the doctor rushed in. She felt the nurse taking Lily away from her. She and Nathan were pushed back while the doctor and a couple of nurses tried to revive Lily back. But the flat line stayed.

"I'm so sorry," Doctor Montgomery said. "We did everything we could. Her heart just couldn't take it."

Nathan looked at her angrily. "She was supposed to go through the procedure to fix her heart. You said that she would be alright," he said accusingly. All the doctor could do was just stand there helplessly. "She can't be gone. Oh God Hales." He remembered Haley then. His eyes looked for her and found her next to Lily's bed, her head bent down, her shoulders heaving as she cried. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. He had no words to say. No words seemed appropriate enough.

She thought that she could let go. She knew that Lily had gone to a better place, a place where she was healthy. But she still felt sorrow. Sorrow for the loss of her baby. Her baby whom she had come to know for just a few weeks. A few weeks was not enough. She wanted more time, but time was not on their side. Nathan's hand felt strange on her shoulder although she knew it was him.

She buried her head in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. "She's gone. She's really gone."

"Hales-" He wanted to comfort her. He wished he could, but no words came to mind. All that was left was grief.