AN: I'm baaaaaaccccckkkkk!! So I'm thinking about doing a science experiment to correlate music with writing ability and the flow of thought processes. I swear, the last two weeks that I'd been without music? Yeah, pure torture. However, hand me an ipod and a laptop full of music and the results? Well, they'd be this chapter and the one previously. What can I say? I'm a music fiend! This one's loooong, I hope it lives up to y'all's expectations. I haven't gotten many reviews off of my last chapter but I'm hoping it's cause it's the middle of the week. I promised I'd post another chapter, so here goes! Enjoy!
The ringing phone in the kitchen dragged Brooke from the box she'd been packing in the dining room. It seemed like her days were consumed with the pastime. She'd packed all the previous night, stopping only for dinner. Then this morning she caught herself sipping her morning coffee in one hand while packing with the other. It was beginning to grow out of control. She hadn't realized just how much shit she'd acquired in two years. She seriously needed to rope Nathan and Lucas into doing more packing. Lazy boys. Stretching tall and languid, she sighed and walked to the annoying loud ringing device.
"Hello?"
"Hey tigger!"
"Tutormom! How are you?"
"Doing pretty good, all things considered. When you going to release my husband and let him come home, huh?"
"Mmm, not sure! He's been an awfully great help around here," Brooke replied jokingly. She knew just how much stress and how big a toll Nathan's absence was having on his family back home.
"Well at least tell me you've been taking good care of my man. I don't want a shell of the man I love when you finally bring him home!" Haley laughed on the other side of the phone, knowing full Nathan was in the best possible hands other than her own.
"That I can promise ya sister. Seriously though, Hales, thank you so much for sending him up here. He's made all the difference in getting all this junk done right." The exhausted woman sat down on a bar stool, one of the few remaining pieces of furniture not stacked under boxes or pushed against a wall to make room for more shifting. He might be lazy, but he certainly wasn't ineffective. The only thing keeping Brooke going was the fact that it was all for a better life. She was packing and moving and wearing herself out all so she could go home. The exhaustion was worth it.
"You doing okay tigger? You sound tired."
"Yeah. It's just a lot of work right now. Luke had his meeting yesterday with Sarah and I met with Jessica. The movers are supposed to be here in three days, and we fly out in four! It's moving so fast!"
"Hey now, calm down girl. You're personally responsible for bringing our whole fam-damily together, something as small as packing a house can't bring ya down," the fellow brunette said, trying to imbue a sense of levity and strength into the situation.
"Oh trust me, it's not! I'm just a little dizzy from all the fast paced shit that's happening. I don't remember moving here being anywhere nearly as hard as moving back is proving to be. Yesterday I snapped at Lucas for hiding my damn shoes! You'd think I was pregnant or something, I'm all over the place!"
"Oh really?" The excitement was clear as day in Haley's voice.
"Ha, I said you'd think I was pregnant. Not that I was."
"Can't blame a girl for hoping. You sure everything's alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Just tired of packing. I'm ready to be moved already! I just want to get the whole thing over with and move on from this place. I'm tired of having to deal with all these emotional highs and lows."
"Uprooting your life and moving to a new town can do that to a person. Even if you're just moving home."
"I know. I don't think I'm making a bad move or anything, I just wish it'd be done and over with. I'm ready to get settled in my new house and be comfortable already. So is Lucas. And I know Nathan's ready to come home."
"It's just a few more days. We've all made it this far, another couple of days won't kill us."
"If you say so!"
"Well, I do say so!" She laughed on the other side, and Brooke grinned.
"How is James doing?" Brooke missed her god son like no tomorrow. Maybe some day she'd have her own, but for now, she was content with what she had.
"Doing fabulous. He's had a rough patch the last couple of days but he's doing pretty good. He misses his aunt and uncle though."
"Awww, we miss him too! I found the cutest stuffed animal for him the other day. You'll love it, and I swear this one doesn't make any noise," Brooke laughed. Talking about the little man always did lift her day and make it better.
"He's drawn a dozen pictures for you both. Claims that you will need the art work for the new house and thinks its his personal responsibility to cover all the walls. I had to hide his crayons the other day just to get him to go outside and play in the yard." Haley's laughing too. Her favorite subject has always been her angel.
"Perfect! I'll need pictures for the fridge too, just in case he needs another reason."
"Ha! Yeah I don't think so. He's good. If I'm not careful he'll work his way through all the paper we have in the house!"
"Ain't nothing wrong with that!"
"Maybe not, but you should see some of these pictures. He wanted to mail one to you last week so you'd have it for the plane ride back. It's amazing how his little brain works."
"No kidding! Well you tell him that I'll wrap up my packing as fast as possible and bring his uncle and daddy home to him soon." Okay, so maybe the packing wasn't so bad. The faster she packed the faster she could wrap up the life she'd held here, move on, and start the part of her life she'd been waiting two years to get back. And she really did like the packing, it fit so easily into her logical frame of mind. Plus, she used the sides of the boxes to drawn pictures and new design plans she had. It's amazing what you can do with a Sharpie and a large expanse of brown cardboard. "So you want to talk to your man or what?"
"Yes please! Tell Luke we said hey and you two bring your butts home already!"
"You got it Tutormom. Love you!"
"Love you too!"
"Hang on one sec. Nate! Your girl's on the phone!" Brooke shouted through the house, the phone cradled between her ear and her shoulder.
"Ouch Brooke! That was my ear! You could have at least put the damn phone down first!"
"Oh, sorry Hales!" She laughed lightly into the phone, shifting slightly so her chocolate locks aren't trapped by the phone. "Nathan! Get your ass over here!" At least this time she remembered to move the phone before she yelled.
"I'm coming! Damnit, you shouldn't own such a big fucking house with only one phone if you don't like waiting!" Nathan scrambled around a corner and skidded into the kitchen, nearly colliding with a box that had been dropped during the massive shift of the insufferable brown things. "Shit Brooke! Where do all these damn boxes keep coming from?!"
"Quit your bitchin' ya wimp! Here, talk to your girl!" Brooke shoved the phone into his outstretched hand and skipped around another corner, in search of more boxes to pack and more tape to dispense. She was on a mission now, besides having entirely too much fun with the whole packing escapade. It didn't hurt any that seeing Nathan trip over a box gave her a nasty idea. Who said packing had to be boring?
"Nate?"
"Hey babe! How are things at home?"
"Uhm, pretty good. Listen, I was wondering if you could talk to your son for me? He's missing his daddy something fierce." Haley was talking low and soft, almost like she was afraid of being heard. It was a complete 180 from the conversation she'd just wrapped up with Brooke.
"Sure. I bet this has been tough on our little man, huh?"
"He was doing pretty well up until yesterday morning. Karen had to cancel a trip to the park with him and he got really bummed out. She tried to make it up to him last night and came over for a movie, but he's just been really sad. Maybe if you talk to him it might help."
"Absolutely. Put him on the phone."
"Daddy!"
"Hey little man! How you holdin' up?"
"When are you coming home daddy? I miss you!"
"I miss you too champ. I'll be home in just a couple days, okay? Aunt Brooke and Uncle Lucas and me are all flying home on Saturday."
"Saturday? When's Saturday?"
"Ask mommy to help you find out when Saturday is, okay?" Nathan could almost see the quizzical expression on his son's face. He hoped Haley would forgive him for the constant nagging he knew he'd just set her up for.
"And Aunt Brooke and Uncle Lucas are coming too?"
"You got it champ! We'll all be at the airport when you and mommy come get us."
"Oh man!" A loud crash and a bang echoed over the phone line, accompanied by a wild yell, another loud crash, and the sound of his wife in the background trying desperately to calm a hysterical James.
"James? Bud? You there?"
No one answered his call; all Nathan got was a high pitched voice screaming over and over again "Uncle Luke and Aunt Brooke! Unca Luke and Aunt Brooke! Unca Brooke and Aunt Luke!"
"Nate? What in the world did you do to our son?"
For the first time in their half of the phone call he heard true and genuine laughter in his wife's voice. Nothing like a gyrating son to bring about a case of the sunshine.
"Me? I didn't do a thing! What was all that crashing I heard?"
"Ha! Don't feign innocence with me bud! You must have told him Brooke and Lucas were coming home with you."
"Guilty as charged. Is everything alright?" Nathan chuckled into the phone, his son's chants still clearly audible over their conversation.
"Poor kid. He's so excited he can't keep his relations straight. No, James, it's UNCLE Luke and AUNT Brooke sweetie," Haley said. Her correction fell on deaf ears however, as the pint sized mini-Nathan kept on with his excited exclamations.
"Sorry Hales, I didn't mean to stir the pot." He began to worry that maybe he'd done more harm than good with this one.
"Nah, it's alright babe. He deserves to get excited, he's been amazing while you guys were gone."
"I'm surprised he didn't know they were coming home on Saturday."
"I figured I'd keep it a secret, that way if something happened and Brooke changed her mind, well, at least then James wouldn't be disappointed. And if they did come back, then all the more better."
"Oh, right, that's a smart plan. Sorry, babe."
"No worries. It sounds like everyone's coming home anyways."
"Yeah, it's a done deal. I've finally got Lucas turned around for the most part, and Brooke, well, she's ready to be gone already. But I'm sure she's already told you that."
"Yeah. Hey, I'm going to go. Now that James is in a better mood I'm going to see if he'll go outside and play with me or something. See if I can burn off some of this nervous energy he's got going."
"Okay babe. I love you," Nathan isn't quite ready to hang up the phone yet. It doesn't matter that he talked to Haley yesterday, and knows that he'll talk to her tomorrow. He missed his wife.
"I love you too handsome. Hurry your ass home to me, I miss my husband! You've got some catching up to do!"
"Yes ma'am!!"
-
The knock on the door echoed through the empty house. The only things left were the larger pieces of furniture – the couch and love seat, a dining room table, some cabinetry – and the suitcases the three inhabitants had been living out of for the past three days.
A second knock brought a running Brooke to the front door.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" She swiped her bangs out of her eyes, and hastily opened the front door.
"Ms. Davis?" A burly man, overweight and in his thirties, stood on her doorstep, clipboard in hand. Brooke nearly shivered in revulsion when his smarmy eyes rolled over her athletic body clad in a pair of shorts and a tank top. She'd been cleaning, not expecting company.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm with Atlantic Moving, and we're here to pick up your belongings for transport." Brooke's hand itched to slap the chauvinistic glare off his face.
"Hey Luke! Can you come help this guy?" Brooke stepped back and yelled into the house, not willing to turn around and give the asshole in the stained jumper a chance to look at her ass. At the mention of a man's name the gigantic troll cleared his throat and tried to act as if he hadn't just been caught acting the disgusting pervert.
Lucas came trotting up to the door, appreciatively glancing at Brooke, who smiled back lovingly. When he saw the man standing on the threshold he swiftly stepped between them and shielded his girlfriend from the ornery man's view. Brooke sighed gratefully, patted his ass in thanks and disappeared back inside to finish cleaning the bathrooms. While she hadn't been renting and wasn't required to clean everything, she still had an intense urge to leave the house sparkling. Plus, it gave her a sense of finality and closure to finish cleaning a room and close the door behind her.
"Can I help you?" Lucas unwittingly copied his girlfriend's words from earlier.
"I was telling Ms. Davis earlier that we're here to pack up the house for transport to Tree Hill. Are things ready for loading?" The man from the moving company turned all business, no longer the leering creepy dude. He shifted his hips, and pulled his pants up higher on his waist. He squirmed uncomfortably just slightly, fully aware of the differences between the virile male standing in the doorway and his own pitifully out of shape form.
"Oh, right," Lucas nodded his head thoughtfully, considering how they were going to move everything out without scuffing the spotless floors Brooke had cleaned just hours before. She shouldn't have mopped so early, was his thought as he stepped back and motioned the man inside. "Start with the living room, and then work your way into the dining room and kitchen. We're still wrapping up the other rooms," he said, walking away in a clear dismissal of the man and his needs. Lucas wanted to make sure Brooke had changed clothes, something about that man hadn't sat right with him and he felt there wasn't a need to stir things up even further. And he knew full well that Brooke in those shorts stirred things up quite a bit.
Nathan came careening around a corner and nearly collided with Lucas. Both men stumbled just slightly and caught themselves against the walls of the hallway.
"Dude, seriously, you need to quit running everywhere you go," Nathan muttered, trying to catch his breathe.
"Me!? You're the one who was sprinting like your life depended on just how quickly you made it to the damn kitchen!" Lucas ran a hand through his hair.
"I wasn't running, I was speed walking I'll have you know," Nathan replied, trying hard to control his pounding heart. Really he'd been trying to make it down the hall and away from the insane woman with the tape gun who'd just chased him out of the third room on the right. But Lucas didn't need to know that.
"Ha, yeah right. You seen Brooke?"
A suspicious gleam popped up in Nathan's eye, and for a moment Lucas wondered what had sent his raven haired brother down the hallway. However, a crash behind him sent a jolt through his body and he remembered why he'd been in search of his sexy girlfriend. The gleam would have to wait for later.
"Brooke? Oh yeah, I've seen her. She's actually in the other room finishing up some small packing." That gleam got just a tad bit brighter, and it took every ounce of self control he had left not to rub his hands together diabolically.
"Thanks man. The movers are here and they're loading the truck now. Can you keep an eye on 'em for me?" Lucas moved past Nathan's shoulder, not really pausing for an answer. He knew Nathan would keep the other occupants of the house in check.
Lucas wandered innocently down the hallway, not knowing the hell his brother had just set him up for, and Nathan had to sprint the remainder of the distance to the living room to keep himself from laughing so hard he gave himself away. Lucas was going to kill him for this, of that he was sure.
Lucas opened a couple doors before he found the right one. Well, at least the one that opened onto a waiting Brooke. Whether or not it was the right one could have been left up to interpretation.
"Ha! Knew you'd come back!" Brooke pounced from behind the door, not expecting anyone other than Nathan, and began slamming the tape gun up the visible arm and across the back of the shoulders. She'd already made it down the other arm and back around the poor unsuspecting victim's chest before she registered the shirt color wasn't the same as that of the man who'd escaped her last attack with the gun, and that the voice currently yelling in utter shock and outrage was more akin to her own gorgeous boyfriend than the asshole brother that she'd kicked out.
Looking up, something close a deer in the headlights look plastered across her face, Brooke gasped and tried hard to figure out where she'd gone wrong in her calculations.
"What the HELL?!" Lucas stood in the doorway, tape pulling on the fine hairs along his arms, shirt bunched up beneath the sticky material, staring down at the woman who'd attacked him.
"Ohhh god Luke, I'm so sorry!!!" Brooke was horrified. She was going to kill Nathan.
"Somehow, Brooke, sorry just doesn't fix this," he replied, expending huge, gigantic amounts of effort not to move in an attempt to keep from losing even more hairs to the tape.
"Oh man. Okay, hold still, lemme try to-" Brooke began to gently tug at the tape, wanting to make amends for the trouble she knew she'd just jumped feet first into.
"Ouch! How about you let me take care of the tape extraction, hmm?" Lucas stepped back, hissing slightly with each slow, painful tug of the tape. He was going to kill Nathan.
"He's so dead," they said at the same time. Eyes meeting, the gleam that had shone from Nathan's eyes earlier had absolutely jack and squat on the machinations currently running through their minds. He was going to pay.
-
"Mr. Roskins, Marie and Juniper would like to speak with you if you've a moment," the voice of his assistant spoke clearly from his intercom system. He'd been staring out the window – something that seemed to have become a favorite pastime as of late – and the loud beep that preceded her voice had nearly scared him right out of his chair.
"Jane, I don't have time right now for them. Please tell them-"
Before Alcott could finish his sentence Marie and Juniper burst through the doors, over riding whatever objections Jane had fumbled to make. Marie sneered at the sniveling girl, said something over her shoulder, and then shut the door resoundingly in her face. Juniper just snickered.
"Just what do you two ladies think you are doing?!" Alcott was incensed. He was thoroughly tired of having his female employees barge in on his personal time – be damned the fact that he was working – and he had no desire to deal with anything they had to say.
"You're being an asshole and royally fucking up. We're here to tell you to fix this before she leaves for real and you can't make it right anymore." Juniper had stepped forward, hands on her hips, nearly spitting in his face. He thought he was incensed? Ha…he couldn't hold a candle to how truly pissed off she was.
"She's the best of us, and you know it! You're letting your pride and hurt feelings get in the way, and we're all going to suffer for it. You need to get her back, and NOW!" Marie was maybe not quit as pissed as Juniper, but she was pretty damned close.
"Excuse me?!"
"Get off your moral high horse ya jerk!" Juniper stomped her foot and Marie huffed. Men could be so thick headed.
"You two ladies need to seriously rethink your purpose in being here right now, before I decide I don't want to play nice any more," he spoke with a deadly calm, quiet and low and cold. Marie and Juniper shivered just that tiny bit, the only evidence that they were even remotely affected by it. Both ladies refused to be cowed though, and squaring their shoulders they trudged on ahead.
"You're the one who seriously needs to rethink your purpose. How could letting Brooke go to Tree Hill and work from home be any worse than not having her here at all!? I don't understand that!"
"I don't have to explain myself to you!" The lanky business man was slowly losing grip on his temper, something he so rarely did. It's what Brooke always managed to do for him: make him step outside his comfort zone…do the things he so rarely did. Even if it wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do.
"Maybe not to us, but you do have some explaining to do to the clients, and the board, and not to mention the half a dozen other investors that all came on board because of a certain brunette's efforts and determination!" Juniper knew she'd score with that one. They'd been counting on it.
Shit, he thought. He'd forgotten about those investors. He'd not realized just how much effort the woman who'd walked away with a piece of him had done for his company. It was no wonder her leaving had been such a heart break.
Marie and Juniper smirked in triumph. They'd hit home, and all high and mighty Mr. Roskins was scrambling for his next move.
"Look, we get that you're upset. It's understandable. But you've got to set aside your personal feelings-"
"That is quite enough Marie," Alcott sliced right through whatever words she'd intended on saying next, the look on his face enough to freeze even the sun. She'd crossed a line on that one. Damn.
Juniper threw a disgusted look at her partner in crime and stepped forward to deflect the situation. She had to think fast.
"We all wanted Brooke to stay. We all tried our damnedest to get her to change her mind. This is what she needs. I've watched her grow up almost as long as you have, and she's become a woman, in all senses of the word. To hold her back would be the gravest insult to the gifts she's given us." The woman spoke with a quiet dignity and certainty. She knew, without a doubt, that she was right. So did Alcott, of that she was sure of. If only he'd just fucking admit it.
He stood there in his office, pissed to the nines at the audacity of his employees, and stubbornly trying not to acknowledge just how right they were. He knew when he'd walked into his office on Monday that things were wrong, horribly horribly wrong. Brooke had left Friday, and he hadn't even attended her farewell party. And now, here he was, a week to the day she left, and nothing had gone right since.
Alcott straightened his shoulders and sat down in his leather chair. Leaning back, he observed Marie and Juniper, watched as they calmed down enough to have the reality of just how bad this whole thing could turn out for them sink in. Marie took a deep breath, Juniper shook her head and squared her shoulders, but neither woman backed down. They were here on a mission, be damned the consequences.
"Listen ladies. While I appreciate that you two are here in support of your friend, you're really out of line. I have my reasons for not allowing Brooke her request, and it's not either one of your places to question my decisions. I do what I do because of how much Brooke has done for the company, for all of us. Your opinions are duly noted and shelved. You will both now go back to your offices, and if I hear a single mention of this event again, it'll be your jobs." He talked in an almost jovial tone as he threatened their jobs, denied the truth, and swept the issue further under the rug. Alcott Roskins was not one to be pushed around, even if it was all in his best interests.
Marie and Juniper shook their heads but departed, knowing that things were only going to get worse from here.
"Jane, no more interruptions for the rest of the day, is that clear?!" He barked over the intercom, unleashing his frustrations on his poor secretary. When a timid yes, sir came through the speaker on his desk, he growled and shoved a stack of papers, a shower of paper in the air his result.
"Damnit!" He was pissed. "Why Brooke?! Why do you hate me so much!" He spoke to no one in particular, except for maybe the fiery brunette that haunted his dreams and shadowed his office. Looking at the mess of papers strewn across his desk and the floor, a single, lone, plain white envelope caught his attention. Leaning down, he retrieved the package from its spot on the floor, and stared at it for a moment.
"What have you left me princess? What am I going to find inside?" He fumbled for a letter opener; inhaling like it was the last breathe he was ever going to take, he slid the edge of the blade beneath the flap and ripped it open. Holding his hand beneath the open slit he gently shook the envelope and nearly fainted.
Staring up at him was a baby girl, soft brown curls surrounding a pale white face with slate gray eyes. He knew those eyes. He knew the little girl. Robotic movements were all he could manage as he flipped open the top flap of the letter. Brooke's distinctive flourish screamed up at him.
Alcott,
I'm so sorry. I wish you'd understand. There wasn't anything left for me here. Melody's death ruined it all…
A single lone tear fell to the page as he stared at the picture he cupped in his hand, reading the final words of the only woman he'd ever given a piece of his heart to. Yeah, to say he'd fucked up would be an understatement.
-
The movers finished piling the last of the furniture into the back of the large moving truck. The only thing left to do in the large empty house was a final walk through. Together Brooke, Lucas, and Nathan walked through every room, checked every closet, taped off every cabinet.
Brooke didn't want to leave a single thing behind her. When she left, she wanted the ties to be smoothly severed. Nothing to hold her here, nothing to draw her back to New York.
As she shut the door to her bedroom, a small stain on the carpet caught her attention. She'd almost forgotten it was there. She'd moved a stack of magazines over the spot in an effort to hide it.
She was frozen to the spot. Her hand gripped the door handle as her eyes glued themselves to the small grayish stain that looked suspiciously like a music note.
"Melody?"
She'd turned around for a split second. Just a small distraction, she'd needed to find the baby rattle her cherubic daughter had chucked beneath the bed. When the thud came from the other side of her gigantic water bed she'd sat straight up. Not seeing her daughter on the bed anymore, the first vestiges of fear crept into her stomach and took firm hold.
"Melody? Baby?"
Brooke crawled across the bed and peered over the opposite side. And nearly died. If only she'd have been able to trade places.
There, crumpled in a lump of tiny arms and legs was her daughter, a pool of blood slowly soaking into the carpet. As Brooke screamed, the pool grew, and she knew she'd just lost her daughter.
"Brooke? Pretty Girl? Hello?!?" A hand waved itself in front of her face, snapping Brooke's concentration and braking her line of sight. She'd never been more relieved to have the interruption.
"Huh? Oh! Luke, I'm sorry. Were you saying something?" She shook the thoughts from her mind. She'd locked away the pain, the memories, the emotions, just like she'd hid the stain. If only it would just stay buried.
"Is the room clear? It's getting late and Nate and I want to get going if you're all wrapped up." He slipped strong warm arms around her slender waist and Brooke had never been more happy for the sheer masculinity and strength of him. She shut the door, knowing it wasn't just a door anymore. It was a door on her life, the memories she'd built here, on a daughter she'd lost.
"Yeah, I'm all done here. Let's go Broody, I'm tired."
Later that night they all settled into the suite that Brooke had reserved for them. Brooke and Lucas had gone to get food and something worth while to drink, leaving Nathan alone in the hotel room.
He was slightly suspicious, the two had been whispering and Brooke had laughed what he could only classify as a decidedly evil giggle right as they'd walked out the door. It was a sure bet that she'd nailed Lucas earlier with the tape gun, and he only hoped he wasn't facing dual retribution. One was bad enough, but being plotted against by them both? Yeah…that was never a good thing.
The silence grew too much for Nate. He'd gotten used to having someone around at all times. He reached for the phone, dialing a set of numbers that tomorrow he wouldn't have to dial anymore, because he'd be home. He could actually answer the phone instead of waiting for someone else to do it.
"Hello?"
"Hey babe!"
"Nathan! God I miss you!"
"I miss you too Hales. How's James?"
"He's doing great. Misses his daddy though. How goes the packing?"
"Great. We finished the final walk through and closed up the house. Brooke checked us into this swanky hotel for the night and then in the morning we'll be flying home." Nathan was dying to go home. He'd been a month apart from his wife and the phone calls just weren't cutting it any more. He wanted to hold his family in his arms and revel in the smell of their hair and bask in the warmth of their love. He was so ready to leave New York.
"Well, James and I will be at the airport waiting for you babe," Haley said with excitement. She was as ready to have her husband home as he was ready to come back.
"How are things at home?" He asked the same question every night, knowing that Haley would give him the same answer every time. It was the familiarity of the exchange; they both had needed it after the second week.
"Good. Karen asked me the other day when the flight would be due in. I think she's just as anxious to have Lucas home as we're ready to have you home. Tree Hill just isn't the same without the Scott brothers."
The smile in her voice carried over the phone lines and Nathan nearly cried. He wanted to see that smile for real so bad his heart hurt.
"I'm so ready to come home, Hales," he whispered. He could have sworn he heard a sob on the other side. "Hey baby, no crying now. I'll be home in less than a day, it's all good."
When they'd both agreed Nathan was needed in New York the time apart had felt like something done for the betterment of all. He'd had a blast with Brooke and Lucas, and for a short while, had relished in the freedom of not having a wife and child to look after or interact with on a daily, 24/7 basis. The first week had been ludicrously blissful for him. Sleeping in, staying up late, drinking, eating whatever, whenever. It had been a visit from a time long gone by.
"I'm just ready to have my husband back. Everyone here has been so great, but it's just not the same. My bed's been so cold," Haley said, nearly shivering with just how true that statement was.
"Well it better be! I know our family love us and all, but I think I'd have something to say about one of them sharing my wife's bed," he said jokingly, hoping to lighten some of the laden emotion. A weak chuckle was all he got in return.
"James is bouncing up and down. It's all I can do to get him to sit still for longer than two minutes." If Nathan could put on a brave front, then so could she.
"Is he around?"
"Yeah one sec."
Haley dropped the phone to her shoulder and Nathan could hear the muffled sounds of her calling for their son. A squeal and an excited YES! was distinctly heard when James was informed his daddy was on the line.
"Daddy!!!"
"Hey little man! How you doing?" There was nothing more amazing than hearing that tiny voice over a phone line. He always sounded so grown up!
"I'm good! I'm holding down the fort just like Aunt Brooke said. Can you tell her I kept my promise? Please daddy??"
"Well how bout you tell her yourself tomorrow? She'll be at the airport too ya know."
"REALLY?!?! Yay! That means tomorrow's Saturday!!!!" Ah, to have the enthusiasm and energy of a toddler.
"Yep! You be good for mommy okay? And I'll see ya tomorrow!"
"Okay daddy! I love you!"
"Love you too little man!" He could hear James drop the phone on the other end and Haley laughing as she tried to retrieve the phone from wherever their son had sent it to.
"He's so excited. The idea of telling him about Saturday helped a ton. He's learned all the days of the week now! How are Brooke and Lucas handling things?"
"Lucas is ready to go back. He's still a little paranoid over the whole mess, but he's dealing with it. Brooke, she's a little harder to figure out. She seems really comfortable with the whole thing, but every now and then I can see something bothering her. She wont talk about it though."
"I talked to her the other night, oh, maybe, Tuesday or so, and she seemed really distracted. You don't think she's changing her mind or regretting the decision do you?"
"I doubt it. It's something else, but I'm not sure what. When you ask her if she's ready to go home it's a swift and solid yes. There's no doubt she's doing what she wants. I just feel like there's something she's leaving here that didn't end the way she wanted it to."
"Well, I'll try and talk to her after she gets settled here. We've got lots of catching up to do. Listen, I'm going to go. James needs to get some rest at least, and well, so do I, guess. We'll be there at the airport tomorrow, ready and waiting."
"I can't wait. Kiss James for me, I love you both so much. I'll see you guys tomorrow," he was, as always, painfully reluctant to hang up the phone. But it would be alright. Tomorrow they'd all be going home, and he'd get to hold his wife and son in his arms.
The sound of singing from down the hall distracted Nathan from his melancholy thoughts. When the words became clearer, the first thing he thought was Oh Shit!
The next thing he thought was, Damnit, I knew I shouldn't have let them leave together!