A/N: Sadly, this is the second to last chapter of the story. Thank you all who have read and reviewed over the last two years. And thanks to my beta: Leeese.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Happily Ever After
That evening, Haley waited impatiently for Nathan to arrive home. She couldn't wait to tell him the news. Yet, she was nervous at the same time. She had no idea how he would react as they had never discussed children. Of course, they never had time to really enjoy their marriage in the first place. They were too busy battling their enemies.
Haley snapped out of her daydream as she heard the front door open. She gave her husband a wide smile as he walked into the living room. He smiled in return as he noticed the dinner that was set up in front of the fireplace. "This is a lovely surprise," he said as they shared a passionate kiss. "Is there a special occasion?"
"In matter of fact, there is," Haley told him. Nathan looked at her curious. "For the last month or so, my powers haven't been working properly. And I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry. So I went to your mom and she suggested I should go to the doctor." Nathan was about to ask about the results when she didn't let him interrupt her. "I'm fine." She then took a deep breath before she spoke again. "But it looks like we're going to have to get the nursery ready."
Nathan looked at her shocked as he asked, "Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?"
Haley nodded proudly. "Yes, we're pregnant," she announced. Nathan couldn't believe his ears. "We're going to have a baby." Nathan just gave her a wide smile as he embraced her in a tight hug. "You don't mind that it's so soon after our wedding?"
"Well, we do seem to love doing things the fast way," Nathan reminded her. "So this is no exception. I'm thrilled we're going to have a baby."
Haley could tell he was being serious. "How soon do you want the baby?" she asked. Nathan gave her a confused look. "Your mom explained that we could do it the slow way or the fast way. The slow way is the mortal way: nine long months. And the fast way is three months. Even though I'm already one month, the doctor said that there is still time for me to do it the fast way."
"What's the fast way?" Nathan asked her curiously. "Because I don't think I could wait eight more months to meet our baby."
"According to Dr. Hargrove, I have to drink a potion," Haley told him as she showed him the potion bottle. "This will cause me to experience the pregnancy in just three months." She then corrected herself. "Well, its two months now. But you get the idea."
"Why don't we celebrate first?" Nathan suggested. "Then you can take the potion."
Haley agreed as she showed him what she had made for them. As they cuddled up next to each other by the fireplace, they started discussing plans about the nursery and possible names for their baby.
"I hope you won't be disappointed if the baby turns out to be a boy," Nathan told Haley as they ate their dinner. "Surprisingly, warlocks run in my family."
Haley tried not to laugh. "Well, I don't think that will be a problem. According to my premonition, we're going to have a little girl first."
Nathan frowned. "What premonition? And what do you mean first? This baby won't be our only child?"
Haley shook her head. "No, she won't be. And I had the premonition when I became unconscious from the fire. I met my birth father and he showed me our future with our three kids."
Nathan looked at her surprised. "You met Keith?" he asked. Haley nodded. "Was he what you were expecting?"
Haley was quiet for a moment. "I don't know what I was expecting," she admitted. "My adoptive parents never really talked about Keith and Deb while I was growing up. So it was really weird to meet him. I didn't really have a chance to talk to him. We met up right before he showed me the future." She then gave him a smile. "And it was the best future that I could ever dream of."
"Why dream it when we could make it reality?" Nathan pointed out before they shared another passionate kiss. They soon forgot about their dinner and started making out in front of the fireplace.
Two short months later, Nathan and Haley were waiting patiently for the sign that she was in labor. Haley had been relieved she had been able to get her magic under control again. She didn't want to admit it, but she didn't enjoy having Nathan do all the magic for her. She had wanted to do it herself. Karen knew how she felt so she gave her some advice on how to control her magic while she was pregnant.
Their friends and family were thrilled when they found out Nathan and Haley were pregnant. Even Lucas sent his congratulations to them. By now, Lucas had made up with his family. However, he was still keeping quiet about whether he and Brooke were in a relationship again. Everyone hoped he was keeping the relationship slow. They wanted him to be careful, especially Haley.
She didn't know how Brooke or her friends were feeling now that they were human. She didn't want to admit it, but there was still a fear in the back of her mind that she would be kidnapped again. Or that her baby would be kidnapped to be raised evil. She could tell that Nathan had the same fear. He had kept a close eye on her over the short course of her pregnancy as much as he could.
Haley was just relaxing on the couch reading a book when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach. It was only for a moment, but she knew she was in labor. According to Karen, witches didn't experience contractions like mortals do. Instead, it is a sharp pain that lasts only for a moment or two. However, it gets a little longer each time.
"Nathan," she called as she got up from the couch. Nathan ran into the room concerned. She gave him a wide smile as she put her hands on her bulging belly. "It's time," she told him. "The baby is coming."
"Ok, I'm going to get the doctor and the helpers," Nathan replied as she felt another sharp pain. "Just take deep breaths." Haley nodded before Nathan snapped his fingers and disappeared. A few minutes later, he returned with his mom and Deb. They hurried to the master bedroom where Haley was. "I'm sorry, Hales. I wasn't able to find Dr. Hargrove or your mom on short notice."
Karen gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Haley. I've delivered many babies over the centuries. I can deliver my grandchild." Haley agreed, knowing there was no time to argue. Karen went over and checked her as Nathan went to be by his wife's side. He squeezed her hand as Karen looked up at them. "I know you are going to hate this part, but I'm afraid you're going to have to push."
Haley didn't even bother asking why. She knew that by doing it the fast way, the baby wouldn't take long to make his or her appearance into the world. She obeyed her orders and pushed hard. She then took a deep breath before she pushed again. She was thrilled when she heard a loud cry.
Her eyes started to fill with tears as she heard Deb tell her that the baby was indeed a girl. She couldn't believe she was now a mother. She exchanged wide smiles with Nathan as Deb gently put their daughter in Haley's arms. "She's beautiful, Haley."
Haley looked down at her daughter as she heard Karen's voice. "Why don't we leave the new parents alone for a moment?" she suggested to Deb. "We'll spread the news that the newest Scott has arrived."
Deb nodded and followed Karen out of the room. She then shut the door behind her. Haley looked at Nathan. "Can you believe we are parents?" she asked him. Nathan shook his head. "Do you want to hold her?" Nathan gave her a wide smile and she gently handed the baby to him. He couldn't stop staring at his daughter. "You're not too disappointed that it's a girl, are you?" she asked him.
Nathan gave her a look. "Are you kidding? Now I have two girls to spoil." He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "I love you, Haley James-Scott."
Haley smiled in return. "I love you too, Nathan Scott."
They were able to spend a few more minutes alone with their daughter before they had visitors. Karen and Deb soon returned with Dan and Lily. They gushed over the baby as Nathan handed the baby to Lily, who was dying to hold her first. "Do you have a name for my little niece?" she asked them curiously.
Nathan and Haley nodded. They had thought long and hard about what to name their daughter. Haley looked for inspiration by going through the names of witches from shows and movies. However, none of the names stood out to her or Nathan. Nathan then wanted to start searching through his family history or hers to see if they could carry on a name. However, they later changed their minds.
"We have decided to name her Katrina Anne Scott," Nathan told them proudly. "Katrina is a combination of letters between her paternal grandmother and our family friend, not to mention the person who married us."
"I'm sure Victoria will be honored to know that she is part of my granddaughter's name," Karen replied. "What about Anne? Where did that come from?"
"I wanted to honor my adoptive mother's name as well," Haley replied. "Her middle name is Anne. So that's where the middle name comes from."
"It suits her perfectly," Deb said as she took her turn in holding Katrina. "I'm sure your father would have been proud of you. I know I am."
"So am I," a familiar voice added as he walked into the room. "I heard I have a new great-grandchild. So I came here as fast as I could." Whitey walked over and gave Haley a kiss on the cheek before he was given his great-granddaughter. He suddenly turned to Nathan. "Nathan, I hate to tell you this, but she doesn't look a thing like you."
Everybody laughed. "I'm sure she has some Scott features," Dan replied. "She just hasn't shown them yet. Or her powers."
Haley gave him a look. "Don't even mention that. I don't even want to think about that. I want to enjoy the peace as much as I can before she gets into her powers." She turned to Karen. "You did say that it will be a few months before she does, right?" she asked hopefully.
Karen nodded. "Yes, I did. But it really depends on the baby. So I would be prepared for anything. Because it will be chaos once she does develops her powers." She quickly gave them a comforting smile. "You two have already been through a lot. So I'm sure this isn't anything that you can't handle." Nathan and Haley couldn't argue with that.
Over the next several days, they had many visitors, who brought gifts for the new baby. Haley couldn't believe the kind of gifts the new baby had received from the creatures of the magical world. She almost wanted to make Nathan give the gifts back. However, he claimed these were the usual gifts that a new baby would get. He thought the gift receiver would be insulted if they tried to take the gift back. So Haley decided to just let it go.
One day, Haley was doing laundry when she heard the doorbell ring. She groaned in frustration. She wasn't in the mood to deal with another visitor and their gift. She walked through the house and over to the front door. She pulled it open and was shocked to find Brooke. "Can I come in?"
Haley decided to be polite and let her into the house. There was an awkward silence before she spoke. "Do you want anything?" she offered. She knew Brooke wasn't there to hurt her. At least, she didn't believe so. From what she had heard from Karen, Brooke and her friends were dealing well with adjusting to being humans. However, Haley still didn't want her anywhere near her daughter.
"Yes, I do," Brooke admitted. "But it has nothing to do with food or drink." Haley knew she wanted to talk. She led her into the living room and over to the couch. They sat down on opposite sides as Brooke spoke again. "I've been debating on whether I should see you. After all, I treated you pretty badly. But I enjoyed being evil too much that I didn't care who I hurt."
Haley nodded understandingly. "I know, but I don't believe that you were fully an evil witch."
Brooke gave her a look. "In case you haven't done your research, that's what evil does. It spreads pain and loss."
Haley wasn't convinced. "You didn't act like one to me. You never went far enough to really inflict pain on me. Sure, you locked me in my bedroom. You kept me in that cold freezing dungeon so I wouldn't be with Nathan. You gave me over to Chris so he could play with me. You tested out your curses and spells on me." There was a short pause before she spoke again. "Yes, they were bad deeds, but it didn't seem as bad as the ones that the others were doing. I could see there was still a fight left in you. Otherwise, you would have killed me right then and there when you caught me in the basement."
Brooke was quiet before she spoke. "After you moved in, Carrie and the others did believe I was becoming soft. I really had to prove to them I was still as nasty as ever." She let out a sigh. "I really miss my powers, but I know it is best for me not to have them. That temptation is still so strong sometimes. It's not easy to turn away from using dark magic. If you're not careful, it can destroy the goodness inside of you." Haley was about to respond when she heard a faraway cry. "Is that your baby?" Brooke asked.
"Yes," Haley admitted as she got up from the couch. "I should check on her. I'll be right back."
"So the baby really was a girl?" Brooke asked. "Congratulations to you and Nathan. I'm sure you'll be great parents."
Haley bit her lip. She knew she promised herself that she would never let Brooke near her daughter. However, the conversation between them made her believe Brooke was really trying to change her ways. She hesitated for a moment before she spoke. "Do you want to meet her?" she asked.
Brooke was surprised, but pleased Haley was willing to let her see the baby. "I would love to meet her," she replied.
Haley quickly hurried up the stairs and into the nursery. She went over to the pink bassinet and lifted a crying Katrina out. She held her in her arms as she started to sing to her. She wasn't surprised when the baby started to calm down. Her singing always soothed her. She was glad she never gave up her singing after she had become Brooke's prisoner and it had really paid off.
After Katrina settled down, Haley brought her downstairs to meet Brooke. Brooke didn't want to admit it, but she instantly fell for the little one. "What's her name?" Brooke asked as she looked at the little baby in Haley's arms.
"Her name is Katrina Anne Scott," Haley replied.
Brooke tried not to laugh. "Why am I not surprised that you wanted to include my mother in your child's name?" There was an awkward silence before Brooke spoke again. "I think you'll be happy to know that my friends and I aren't going to bother you or Nathan or your baby. We've talked about it and we're moving to the Scotland castle permanently. Deb is going to take care of the club for us."
"What about Lucas?" Haley asked her. "Is he going to go with you?"
Brooke sighed. "No, I need some distance from him, not to mention you and the rest of the Scott family. I can't start over with my life if I'm stuck in the past. Besides, I don't understand how he can forgive me for killing him."
"Because he still loves you," Haley replied. "And I know you still love him." Brooke hated to admit it, but she was right. "And you're not the only one who is trying to start life over. He is too. So maybe you two could do it together. What's the harm in giving love another shot?" she pointed out.
Brooke was quiet as they heard the door open. They turned to see Lucas and Nathan. Lucas froze when he saw Brooke. There was silence before Haley spoke. "Why don't we leave you two alone?" she suggested as she started to leave the room. Nathan followed her out into the kitchen.
"What is Brooke doing here?" Nathan asked his wife as Haley grabbed a bottle from the fridge.
Haley waited until Katrina was drinking from the bottle before answering his question. "Brooke came by to talk to me for a few minutes. Katrina interrupted our conversation. So I thought I would bring her downstairs so Brooke could meet her." She then noticed how the concerned look on her husband's face went to relief. She gave him a look. "Did you really believe Brooke would try and kidnap me again?"
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time," Nathan reminded her. He then lowered his voice so Lucas and Brooke wouldn't be able to hear. "I just want you and our baby to be safe. I don't know what I would do if I lost either of you."
Haley gave him a comforting smile. "I know, but you don't have to worry. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me, always and forever." She knew that was the truth. She had gotten the wish that she wanted for three years; freedom to live her own life. Now she would able to live with Nathan and their newborn daughter. It was the perfect ending for them.