A/N: Hey guys. Here's the next one. Again, sorry for the long delay, but still crazy busy with real life and stuff lol. I've finally completed my first story now so hopefully I can fit more time in for this one. No promises except to try. Thanks to everyone reading and all of you who commented on the last chapter. Hope you enjoy this one.

...

"He kissed you?" Haley asked the brunette sitting across her classroom desk.

It was lunch time, and Brooke had surprised her with deli sandwiches from Karen's Cafe. Knowing that meant her friend needed to talk to her, not to mention the sandwiches made her stomach rumble, Haley had abandoned her own packed tuna sandwich in favor of the one Brooke had brought over.

She took another bite, pondering what Brooke had just told her about what had happened Saturday night after she, Nathan, and Jamie had gone home. "I can't say I'm surprised," she said truthfully.

The other brunette sighed at her friend's words. "Because this is what he does, right?" Brooke responded as though she'd known it all along and had just needed confirmation from Haley. "He and Peyton break up or go through some kind of rough patch, and he comes kissing on me. You're right, Haley. I should have seen this coming."

Haley chuckled. "As much as I love being right, and especially when others admit to it, that is not why I'm surprised." When Brooke gazed at her expectantly, she went on. "I was going to say I'm not surprised because you two have been spending so much time together lately."

"Yeah, because he can't have Peyton," Brooke grumbled. "Come on, teacher mom, you know it's true. Like I said, this is what he does. We both know that."

Haley was silent a moment, pondering her next words. It was true that Lucas had made a habit of turning to Brooke anytime things went sour with Peyton, but she strongly felt there was a reason for that. She hoped for Brooke's sake that she was right. "Brooke," she began. "This is more than just a rough patch, and you know they're not together by his choice. He made her leave the house."

"Because she cheated on him, not because he didn't love her still," Brooke pointed out.

Haley couldn't argue that point. And truthfully, Lucas should have waited more than just a few months after his marriage fell apart to kiss any girl, let alone kiss Brooke who, of course, was bound to feel like the rebound girl. She was so angry at her best friend right now for doing this to her good friend, again. Would that part of him never grow up?

"Okay," Haley finally said. "What did Lucas say when you asked him about all this?" she asked and waited for Brooke's answer. "Oh, you haven't," she guessed by her friend's facial expression. "Brooke, you have to tell him that this is not okay."

"I know," the other girl admitted. "I did, sort of. I told him straight out I wouldn't be his rebound."

"Good. And?"

"And then I bolted before he could admit it."

"Or deny it," Haley put in, though she could surely see where Brooke was coming from. The thing was, she also knew that Lucas cared for Brooke and would never deliberately hurt her. She reached out to take Brooke's hand into her own. "Talk to him, Brooke," she advised. "He's the only one who can tell you what's going on in his head."

Brooke nodded agreeably. "I will," she replied. "Just as soon as I'm ready to have my heart crushed again by one Lucas Scott."

At that point Haley could only offer the girl a sympathetic smile. For all of her and Nathan's problems, she was glad to never have to question his feelings for her.

...

Peyton wanted to cry. What else was new? It's what she did most days lately.

This morning she'd gone to her lawyer's office—bright and early before they'd even opened—with the envelope of cash Nathan had given her on Saturday night—or Sunday morning rather, whatever you wanted to call his 3:00 a.m. visit—so that they could resume work on her file rather than closing it as they would do were their second retainer not provided.

While there, her lawyer told her she was bringing a cross-application to court for parenting, which would hopefully give Peyton joint custody of Sawyer or, at the very least, visitation rights. According to her lawyer, any reasonable judge would declare Lucas unreasonable for holding their daughter back from her. Peyton hoped she was right. She didn't know how much longer she could take this.

And there lay the issue at hand. Her lawyer had revealed that the courts were capped with applications until mid-September. Nearly three months away from even the possibility of seeing Sawyer again. This was too much. Simply too much.

She rolled her eyes in aggravation when the doorbell sounded. She wasn't expecting anyone, except maybe Nathan who seemed to be making a habit of just dropping by, and she did not want to see anyone, especially him. That was why she'd locked the front door when she'd returned from town.

She ignored the pounding, willing it to go away. Everything in her told her it was him, and she simply couldn't see him. She might love him with all she had—her pounding heart could attest to that—but he needed to leave her alone. As long as he remained in his marriage, he needed to stay away from her. She thought she'd been quite clear on that.

Didn't he understand that his mere presence without being with him was a kind of cruel and perverse kind of torture? Did he care? No. He wanted what he wanted and had no qualms about pushing for it. That he'd made clear.

He'd asked her for time and made it seem like such a reasonable request, like she was the unreasonable one to deny him such a small, trivial thing. But to her it was neither small nor trivial, and her heart crumpled every time he proved his wife came before her at all times.

Her cell phone went off. Him. Then the house phone and his voice on the answering machine asking, no demanding, her to open the door. She put her hands to her ears. Even his voice affected her, damn him. Good thing she'd locked the door today. Unusual for her, yet he would have just walked in otherwise and forced her to face him again.

More pounding on the door and his deep baritone calling out to her. Another text. Another message on the landline answering machine. God, he wasn't giving up and she thought she would soon go insane with wanting to run to the door and take him inside the house, inside her.

No, she berated herself. He would have to give up eventually. She would have to wait it out. But could she resist giving in before he gave up? She didn't trust her wayward emotions not to lead her to do just that, as they had so very often in the past, going back to when they were teenagers.

An idea struck her to go up to her room, put her headphones in and blare her stereo system until he was gone. It was pathetic to have to do that just because he wouldn't take her at her word that they were over, but it was all she could come up with right now short of opening that door and risking her traitorous heart and body.

She was nearly at the top landing when she heard it, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

...

He cursed under his breath and dialed the house phone again. He knew she was home. Her car was in the driveway and he could see movement within the house. He only hoped Jagielski wasn't still around, but he'd have to deal with it if he was.

He bent low to Sawyer's level and put his cell phone to her ear. "Say open the door, mommy," he gently urged. Surely Peyton thought it was just him and therefore wouldn't let him in, but if she knew he'd brought Sawyer, that would change things. He was sure of it.

"Open door, mommy," the little girl obliged with a childish giggle.

...

Peyton spun around at the sound of her daughter's sweet voice and bolted down the stairs she'd just climbed, excitement rippling through her as it hadn't in the last several months.

She was at the door in no time and swung it open, her features a lovely mix of surprise and elation. Her green gaze darted from Sawyer to Nathan several times in a span of seconds before Sawyer threw herself at her legs and cried out "Mommy!"

Peyton chuckled giddily and squatted down to scoop her miniature self in her arms. "Oh my God, you're here!" she exclaimed, hugging her tightly as her gaze returned to the man standing in the doorway watching the exchange. "She's here," she repeated to him with a shaky smile. "I can't believe you brought her here."

He shrugged his broad shoulders. Of course he'd brought her. There hadn't been any hesitation to do so and even if there had been, the look on Peyton's face made it worth it.

She cradled her daughter to her chest once more and motioned for Nathan to come inside.

He did, closing the door behind him while Peyton peppered Sawyer's little face with kisses. "Mommy missed you so much," she uttered. "Give me another hug," she added, her spirits instantly high. The fact that Sawyer had clearly not forgotten her as Peyton had feared played a big part in her uplifted mood too. "I love you, sweet girl."

Her smile was infectious and Nathan found himself smiling too, even though he was still pretty pissed off about the whole Jake thing. But he could put the resentment he felt for that aside for now to take in Peyton's delight. He felt like it had been so long since he'd seen her smile, and he was definitely confident that he'd made the right move bringing Sawyer to her, even if he and Peyton were done for good.

He could see she had questions, but she wasn't asking them. She was busy revelling in the moment of finally seeing her daughter.

Her questions would come later, he knew. But he had one pressing question that couldn't wait—at least it was pressing to him—and he asked it. "Where's Jagielski?"

...

Haley now sat alone at her desk going through in her mind all that Brooke had told her during their lunch, deciding then and there that if Brooke didn't talk to Lucas herself, then she would do it for her. Someone needed to talk sense into that man. If lunch hour weren't already nearly finished, she'd head over there right now. Maybe after work she'd go and then Nathan could hop in with her since he'd jogged to Luke's house this morning.

Mr. Jones, the teacher's staff newest addition, waved at her as he passed her classroom. She waved back absently, completely oblivious to how she enthralled him. She thought he was a nice guy and she respected his ways with the students. He would fit in nicely.

And thanks to her co-teachers, at least the female ones, she knew he was a divorcee. She wondered which, if any, of her fellow teachers would catch his eye first, not realizing that she already had.

...

She still held Sawyer firmly in her arms as Nathan made himself comfortable on her couch, clearly intent on staying.

She had so many questions still. "Where's Luke?" she asked first.

"Home," Nathan answered. "He's trying to get his chapters out and Brooke was busy this week so he asked if I could watch her."

Peyton nodded. And he'd brought her here, she thought again. She was pretty sure she loved him just a little more for that.

But then he repeated the question she'd dodged earlier. "Where's Jagielski, Peyton?"

His tone was harsh. He was clearly still mad at her for Saturday even though he'd done this nice thing for her. Again, she felt her love grow stronger despite the fact he had no right to pose such a question or be angry by the thought of her moving on. "He went back to Savannah yesterday," she answered with a sigh.

Nathan nodded, glad to hear that. It did nothing to lessen his rage about that whole situation, but at least the guy wasn't around now. He didn't comment in return, but rather turned his head and went back to stewing.

And Peyton turned her attention back to her beautiful daughter.

It wasn't long before the excitement of the day caught up to the little girl, especially since it was past her usual nap time. Her green eyes, so much like Peyton's, fluttered closed and, though she tried to fight it, it was a battle she would lose. She was sound asleep within minutes.

Peyton carried the little bundle up the stairs and laid her on her bed, climbing in with her for a while.

By the time she came back down, she saw that Nathan had turned on the sports channel and was watching a football game. "Thank you for bringing her here," she said, genuinely grateful.

"Yeah," he acknowledged simply.

"You know, you don't have to stay if you don't want to," she said. She was grateful, yes, but he was clearly still upset with her and didn't want to be here. He had to know he was free to leave if he so chose.

"I kinda do, actually, if you want to see Sawyer," he countered gruffly.

"Or you could go home and pick her up later," she argued. "I'm cool with that."

He turned his head toward her and snickered. "Yeah? And if Haley decides to go home for lunch and asks what the hell I've done with Sawyer?"

She hadn't thought of that. "There's always the Rivercourt," she pointed out.

"Yeah, cause no one I know ever goes there," he grumbled. "Look, anywhere I go I risk being spotted without Sawyer so you're just gonna have to deal with my unwanted presence."

She sighed deeply. Unfortunately for her, his presence wasn't at all unwanted. That was the problem. "You're the one who's obviously still pissed and doesn't want to be here," she threw back.

He gave her a look and spoke softly now. "If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here," he said. "But the fact is right now I don't have much choice if I don't want this getting back to Luke."

She nodded, understanding his point. She wouldn't tell Lucas, but Nathan was right. If he went anywhere else, he could be seen, if not by his peers then at least by the cameras. And how would he explain that to Lucas? Neither of them considered the fact that they may not be so safe from the cameras even behind the closed doors of her father's house.

"All right, well listen," she said, resigning to the fact that if she wanted to see her daughter, she would have to see Nathan too. "I can make us sandwiches if you're hungry," she offered. She didn't want him to think she wasn't grateful for what he did for her.

"I could eat," was all he said in return, and then mumbled a 'thanks' when she brought him one.

She sighed for the third time when he turned back to the TV. She sat in the chair beside him and watched the game with unseeing eyes until Sawyer awoke two hours later.

...

"Ow!" Lucas yelped when the first thing Haley did when she dropped by after classes was slap his arm. "Nice to see you too," he added, "but what the hell?"

Haley let herself in. "You kissed Brooke," she shot out accusingly.

"Oh that," he replied sheepishly.

"Yeah that. What are you doing, Luke?"

"RIght now or...?"

"Don't play dumb with me Lucas Scott," she said sternly. "What are you doing to Brooke?"

"I...I'm not doing anything. I kissed her because..."

"Go on."

He shrugged his shoulders uncertainly. "We've been spending a lot of time together and it's brought out old feelings and, I don't know, Hales, I was attracted to her and got an urge to kiss her..."

"An urge?" Haley scoffed. "Like something that's fleeting?"

"No," he denied. "My feelings for Brooke have never been fleeting. I've cared about her for a long time. You know that. And honestly, I don't understand how this is an issue."

Haley sighed in an attempt to hold her patience. Clueless boy. "It's an issue because you're using her as a rebound from Peyton, and I'm sorry, Luke, but Brooke deserves better than that."

He shook his head in another denial. Brooke had basically accused him of the same thing. He could see why they felt that way—it was the worst timing to have old feelings re-emerge—but he didn't agree with their views. "Brooke has always been more than a rebound to me," he said defensively.

"I hope that's true," Haley returned softly, but disbelievingly. "Because you've hurt her enough in the past."

"Oh here we go," he lamented. "Yes, I've hurt her," he admitted. "I never meant to, but you what, Hales? She's hurt me too. Last time she broke up with me, she wouldn't even give me a valid reason why. I had no choice but to let her go and move on."

"I get that, Luke, but this isn't high school anymore. It's not a game of who hurt who more."

"I'm not playing games."

"All I'm saying is if you're gonna kiss Brooke, then you'd better mean it. Don't lead her on just to stick it to Peyton."

"It wasn't about Peyton," he denied. "Not everything I do is about Peyton."

"If you say so," Haley replied doubtfully. "But I definitively think you should be talking to Brooke about all this instead of avoiding her."

"I'm not avoiding her. She was busy this week, hence why Nathan's watching Sawyer." He kept to himself the fact that he'd meant to go talk to Brooke yesterday, but had lost his nerve by the lack of any idea of what to say to her.

"Speaking of my husband," Haley said, content to change the subject now that her two cents had been heard, "I'm gonna steal him back now. Where is he?"

...

The day went entirely too fast for her liking, she thought as Nathan now stood at the doorway with little Sawyer. She felt on the verge of tears again. How long before she'd see her baby girl next?

Her question was answered before she could ask it. Nathan offered to bring her back the next day and for the rest of the week while she was in his care.

Peyton's head shot up, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and now lighting with hope she was almost afraid to feel. "Really?" she asked, her voice shaky. "You would do that for me?"

He nodded. "There's not a whole lot I wouldn't do for you," he told her earnestly.

She could think of one thing he wouldn't do. He wouldn't leave his wife. But those thoughts went unvoiced, her appreciation too great to dwell on the negative. She was excited at the prospect of seeing Sawyer for the rest of the week. Without conscious thought for what she was doing, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight, grateful hug.

His pulse quickened at her touch. He hadn't had her in his arms since before he'd gone back to L.A. It was nowhere near a sexual touch, but he felt the jolt all the same.

She must have felt it too because she suddenly jumped back and took a deep breath before squatting to Sawyer's level and pulling her to her bosom too. "You go home and be good for Daddy ok, sweet girl. And Mommy will see you tomorrow."

And she'd see Nathan too. That shouldn't set her heart racing, but it did, and she shouldn't want to see him, but God help her, she did.

She stood at the door, watching Nathan lift Sawyer to his shoulders and jog off. She didn't go back inside until they were long out of sight.

Tomorrow could not come fast enough.

...

Haley entered her home, surprised by the tidy condition of the house. She'd fully expected it would be in disarray, a complete disaster, as it tended to be when Nathan stayed home with Jamie. As much as she loved that her husband got right down on the floor, so to speak, to play with the kids, he wasn't keen on the cleanup part of it. But there didn't seem to be anything out of place and, in fact, was just as tidy as it had been when she'd left this morning.

Strange, she thought, especially considering Sawyer was only two years old, and Nathan was Nathan. Either the little girl had slept all afternoon or he had actually cleaned. From experience, she leaned more toward the first.

She called out to him, but got no response in return. They must have just missed each other, she presumed, and then went to the kitchen to start dinner as she awaited the return of her husband and son.