Chapter 9

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One week with the man of the house gone seemed to really make a mess of the Scott household. Haley didn't know the strain of doing everything alone, and how stressful it would be.

Putting aside her own desires of needing her husband around, it broke Haley's heart to hear her son cry for his father, or ask multiple times throughout the day when he was coming home. She was running herself ragged trying to keep up with and take care of Jay on top of being pregnant and very hormonal.

Often, her day ended with tucking Jay into his bed, straightening up the house, throwing a load of laundry in and crying herself to sleep. Sometimes it was hard to decide whether her tears came from missing her husband, being so stressed, or her hormones.

Either way, she didn't like it.

She felt so alone, and neglected.

Nathan had called her Sunday afternoon telling her of his weekly field run. The men would be out in the field all week long, and weren't allowed contact with anyone while there. It was now Tuesday evening, and Haley was definitely having withdrawals.

Before exiting the kitchen, she tossed the sponge into the empty sink, and flicked the light off then made her way into her sleeping sons' room. She fixed his blanket around him and smiled at the light snore that came from his little button nose. Reaching down, she brushed his hair from his forehead and kissed the boys lips before walking out and nearly closing the door.

The trip back to her room was interrupted when she heard a knock at the front door. Her first thought was to ignore it, but when the knocking persisted, she had no choice.

Are you kidding me, who could be at my door this late?

The anger was evident in her eyes, when she swung the door open, but was instantly replaced with shock as she stared at her two best friends. The male holding her nephew.

Thank you God!

My family is home.

At least part of it.

She launched herself at Brooke and before she could stop them, her hormones took over, and she began to sob.

"oh Hales" Brooke looked to Lucas and knew they made the right decision to come back early.

When they had received the phone call from Nathan saying that he had been called on duty, the two instantly knew they had to get home. As exciting and thrilling traveling had been, they were both ready to come back home to their family.

Especially now with Haley and Jay alone.

With her arms still around her sister-in-law, Brooke walked them back into the living room and onto the couch. Maneuvering her coat off, she leaned back on the arm of the couch allowing Haley to lay her head in her lap while she cried.

Lucas took off down the hall undressing Drew the entire way. Traveling these past few months had made the child into a heavy, deep sleeper. Once he was down to his thermal pants and undershirt, Lucas went into his nephews' room and deposited him on the bed next to his cousin. Quickly kissing his cheek, he walked out of the room and went to drop his and Brooke's overnight bags into the guest room.

After Haley had worn herself out crying, she sat up and brought Brooke in for a warm hug. She had missed her friend so much. When she felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned and saw Lucas standing there with a tall glass of ice cold water, just how she liked it. Grabbing the glass of water, Haley immediately sat it on the table, and pulled Lucas towards her in a bone crushing hug. "Ever leave us like that again, for that long Luke, and I swear I will kill you"

"I missed you too Hales" Haley smiled when Lucas jumped back after feeling the sharp kicks coming from the pregnant woman's stomach.

"I know right! Isn't she amazing" she said revealing the sex of the baby to her aunt and uncle.

"Wow, a girl. I can't believe you're having a little girl Haley. And she's a kicker" he let his hand rest on her stomach and grimaced at the rough blows he felt. "And that doesn't hurt you?"

"Not really. It's like comforting to know she's in there, and alive and healthy. I mean sure she kicks the h. e. l. l. out of me, but I don't know… it's my daughter."

She was for certain swooning over her daughter and knew it should always be that way.

"So I saw you holding Drew, he's gotten so big! I can't believe it."

"Yea well I can say the same thing about my nephew in there. I can't wait to see him in the morning"

Haley lowered herself on the couch and took a long drink of the ice cold water Lucas had brought in for her. The three sat in the living room for nearly an hour talking and catching up on everything in their lives.

"…so that's pretty much all of it. It's been hell not having him here, just with taking care of Jay alone, and I'm so hormonal that if I'm not worrying about Nathan, then I'm crying my eyes out. I'm just ready for him to come back."

"Well we're here Hales. The painters are painting tomorrow, and the day after that, the moving truck will be here, so until then we're staying here!" she said cheerfully.

"Babe, you're supposed to ask Haley if we can stay here. Remember we're working on not inviting ourselves places, but to be invited." He laughed to himself. His wife would never change, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

Haley laughed remembering just how much she missed her best friend. "Of course. You guys can stay here as long as you need to. I'm sure we're not gonna be able to pry those boys away from each other anytime soon."

She was glad that Drew was back, and knew that Jay would be as well. She worried about her little boy, and how all this would affect him, but knowing that he would have someone to play with nearly all the time, helped calm her.

After grabbing fresh towels and such for her guest, Haley wished Lucas and Brooke sweet dreams, then retreated back into her room and climbed in bed. Rubbing her stomach, Haley turned on the iPod dock that sat on her bedside and played the song This Years Love by David Gray on repeat until she fell asleep.

It was approaching nine thirty when Jay started to move around and stretch his limbs out of their slumberous position. Stretching his arms out, he immediately came in contact with something hard that let out a groan directly after contact was made. Jerking his head to the right, Jay was shocked to see his cousin rubbing his eyes next to him.

"Are you real Drew or am I dreaming again?" he asked excitedly.

"You're crazy Jay. How can you be dreaming and talking to me? Me, mommy, and daddy came back last yesterday. They told me we're not going to be on da' woad' anymore and we get to move into ouwa' new house."

"Good, cause I missed you guys a whole lot of times. Did you know my daddy is gone, it makes me and mommy sad but she'll be happy since you're here now, just like me."

Drew nodded his head in agreement and the two boys leaned in and shared a hug that ended in a wrestling match on the bed.

They were such boys.

Before it got too crazy, Jay stopped Drew. "Wait! We need to go potty first. You go in my bafroom, and I'll go use mommy's"

Nodding his head, Drew headed to the bathroom across from Jay's room, while Jay ran down the hall towards his parents room.

When he ran through the master bedroom door, Haley immediately sat up and watched him tear into the bathroom. She still wasn't sure what was going on, until she heard the toilet seat being lifted up, and heard him using the bathroom. Smiling to herself, she climbed out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and made her way into the bathroom after him.

"Morning baby" she said going over to the sink to brush her teeth. It felt like the baby was sitting on her bladder, and she really needed to use her bathroom. "How come you're not using your bathroom buddy?"

"Drew is using my bafroom mommy, he was in my bed when I woked up. Did you know he was here?" he said tearing off a piece of toilet paper and wiping the drops of urine off the toilet.

"Yep, Uncle Lucas and Aunt Brooke came last night, and Uncle Lucas put him in your bed with you" she said after praising him for cleaning the seat. Nathan had been teaching him that right before he left. "There in the guest room, here wash your hands, then go wake them up with your cousin."

She laughed out loud when he was done, and made a bee line for his room dragging Drew behind him down the hall. As much as Haley wanted to see her nephew, she had to use the bathroom first.

Brooke groaned when Lucas attempted to sit up in bed, once again disturbing her sleep that morning. She had been so comfortable lying on his chest all night, and was definitely feeling jet lag. "Broody, just stop moving, give me like ten more minutes and I promise I'll let you get up" she compromised.

Going to conferences, and meetings had gotten Lucas used to getting up earlier than he normally would have. His wife on the other hand, loved sleeping in until Drew would wake her up. There little guy was an early riser, so she took advantage of every second of sleep she got.

"Crap" Brooke mumbled into Lucas' shirt.

"What?"

"Just listen" she could always hear Drew running when he was coming to wake her up, and she knew there was no doubt that she heard two pair of feet running towards their bedroom door. "They're both coming to wake us up Luke. Kill me now before they come in" she said jokingly.

Sitting up and fixing her tank top that was twisted and nearly coming off, Brooke hid under the covers when the door creaked open and the laughing boys threw themselves onto the bed.

"Big Jay! We missed you buddy!" Lucas said lifting his nephew onto his stomach and hugging him. He couldn't believe how big he'd gotten in the months he'd been gone. It seemed like yesterday when he'd see the boy everyday of the week.

"I missed you too Uncle Lucas, and Aunt Brooke" he turned towards the bulge in the bed where Brooke was hiding and started poking it. "I can feel you Aunt Brooke" he said giggling when she started to move around. Before Jay could blink, Brooked popped from under the covers, and had Jay on her lap smothering his face in kisses.

"Oh Baby Jay, your favorite Aunt Brooke missed you sooo much. And you've gotten so big! What on earth have you been eating?"

It was so natural for Brooke to love Jay as her own. When she would look after him and take both boys out, people would immediately assume that the two were twins after seeing the dark headed boys with wide eyes. The only real difference back then was Jay's dark black locks, and Drew's dark brown locks. Anyone who saw them now, would really have to think twice about calling them twins. Drew's drastic color change proved just how strong Lucas' genes were. They'd watched in amazement as the young boys' hair slowly turned as blonde, if not more, as his fathers. Jay's coloring had also evened out to match his mothers' coloring.

Hearing the laughter coming from her son's mouth, Haley stood at the door and just listened. It had been a while since she'd seen her little guy that happy, and couldn't be more grateful that her in laws had come home.

"Alright Drew, get over here and give me a hug kid" she said coming into the room and climbing in the bed when Lucas scooted over. She had to give him a side hug since her stomach got in the way. She smiled when he put his small hand against her stomach, and moved it around. "Is that your baby in there Naley?"

She laughed and looked over at the innocent grin plastered on her best friends face. When Drew started to talk, it was hard for him to pronounce 'Aunt Haley' so it always came out sounding like 'Taley', which made Brooke insist that he call her "Naley". But now that he could talk, he refused to call her anything but 'Naley' or 'Aunt Naley'.

"You could at least call me Aunt Naley Drew. And yes, that is your baby girl cousin. She's getting really big, and when she wakes up, I'll let you feel her kick"

After lying around for another few minutes, Brooke and Haley started on breakfast while Luke got the boys bathed and dressed for the day. It was quickly decided that Lucas would take the boys out to do some 'fun male bonding things' and the two ladies would have a total girls day out. After breakfast and hooking Jays' booster seat in next to Drew's the guys were on their way in Lucas' Range Rover, and the ladies in Haley's Altima.

"How did you know this was exactly what I needed?"

Haley was sitting next to Brooke in the messaging chair as they both got pedicures. She hadn't felt this relaxed since her husband left weeks ago, and was soaking up every minute of it.

"Well besides the fact that you're practically my sister, we've been best friends for like ever now. All throughout college getting pedicures and manicures was like your safe haven. You love to be pampered, and what women doesn't? Besides you deserve it; a day to yourself, so enjoy it. Either way I know I deserve it. Is there a such thing as being 'road leg'? Because I feel like we've been traveling forever."

"Yea, how did that work out, traveling with a four year old all over the west coast? It's like pulling teeth just driving to the beach with Jay" she couldn't imagine being in the car with her young son for hours.

"Well you know at first they had us on planes, and if was fun and everything. I mean, Drew had never been on a plane and he loved it, then after the fourth time traveling back and forth on a plane, I think all three of us were frustrated with it, so we told them we needed another option. So we decided on taking a train. Drew was thrilled and loved it, and so did we. It had a bed, bathroom, the whole nine yards, but after riding that back and forth on three trains, it kind of gets old. So we went to rental cars, and basically repeated the whole pattern until we decided to just leave. It was fun, exciting, but even more exhausting, and I'm just ready to be home for a long time"

Haley was about to speak until she saw the tears building up in her friends eyes She reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze and waiting for her to go on. "It was hard Hales. I mean we were gone nearly a year, and staying in each city for at least a month, it was hard. It's not that I regret it at all. I mean Lucas had worked so hard for that, and I am so proud of him, but I'm so glad it's over. I told him we're not taking a family vacation for another year" she said the last part laughing. "Plus I missed my Haley and my godson, not to mention you're about to give birth soon. I threatened Lucas to get us out of this as soon as possible and if I missed her being born I would never sleep with him again" she said giggling when the Asian lady working on her feet decided to then start talking to her friends. She knew they had to be talking about her.

Haley laughed knowing only imagining Lucas's response to her best friends threat. "And what did he have to say about that?"

"He said, and I quote, 'really Brooke, and give up all this' I'm telling you Haley you should have seen his face. He looked ridiculous! I told him I would never use that threat again as long as he never did that pose again."

They were both cracking up, knowing that they were probably the laughing stock of the entire boutique but didn't mind at all.

It felt good to be home

On the other side of town, Lucas held both boys' small hands in his one large hand, while he handed the guy at the counter the three tickets. Being the 'manly men' that they were, Lucas surprised the boys with a trip to the Annual Monster Truck Show that came every year.

"Alright guys do not let go of my hand okay. We're gonna get you both a cinnamon pretzel but what's the rule?"

"No telling mommy" they both giggled out in unison.

"Right, no telling mommy you got sugar before your dinner. So come on, and then we'll get our seats."

They made their way through the line and to their seats just minutes before the show started. They were both standing on their seats trying to finish off the pretzel before they began. Lucas could see the excitement in their faces, and put an arm around each boy making sure they didn't fall. After glancing around the entire outdoor arena, Lucas's eyes connected with Jay's and received a huge smile followed by tons of giggling.

Nathan

All he could think about was his brother and how he should have been here, enjoying this moment, and seeing the excitement on his sons face. He knew if it was up to Nathan, he would have been here with Jay sitting atop his shoulders, making some smart ass comment about all the rednecks there. Leaning over he placed a kiss on his nephews head, making a promise to himself to care for his brothers' family until he could get home.

"Goodness Brooke, I hope you're going to be spoiling me like this all the time because this is definitely not a one time thing"

"Haley! When was the last time, you've gotten your hair washed? Not by you, but someone else?" She asked in horror.

Turning her head upright, Haley continued to allow the women's hands to message her scalp. "Like I said, it's been busy. Maybe two months or so, I don't know. One thing I do know is that I'm in heaven right now. Now tell me again why you aren't getting your hair done?"

"Because, oh precious sister of mine, I got mine done two weeks ago, and I do not want my hair falling out. Besides, this is your day and I only plan to involve myself in every other activity on our list. So it was either get my hair done again, or pig out on ice cream. I love you Hales, but I've Chosen Darkness" she said brazenly.

"Oh Brooke," she said closing her eyes, and enjoying being pampered, "You are too much"

"Thank you" Haley added after a long pause.

Lucas hung up the phone with Brooke and quickly glanced behind him to check on the two boys that were currently asleep in their car seats. They were each holding a huge foam hand that read 'Monster's Rule'.

Pulling into the driveway of his brothers' house, he gave a small wave to Brooke who was waiting to help him unload the sleeping boys.

"Hello wife" he said smiling at her as his arms encircled her waist.

"Husband" she greeted before kissing his lips gently. "How was your boys' day out?"

"It was great, how was your girls' day with Haley? Where is she?"

"It was amazing, hence your lovely sister in law asleep in her bed, not even half way into our movie."

After getting both boys out of the car, Lucas tucked Jay into his bed, while Brooke brought Drew into their room and tucked him in. Not long after Brooke slid into bed beside her sleeping son, did Lucas exit the shower and join his family.

Feeling her full bladder, Haley made her way into the bathroom, then down the hall into Jay's room. Kissing his temple and tucking him further in, she retreated to her room, and easily fell back into her deep slumber.

Today was better

Much better.

SOOOOOOOO… There it is! The chapter that took me forever to write! I just wanted to add this one in simply for fun and for you guys. If you have ideas of any kind, or want to see something that you've thought of, let me know and I'll see if I can get that for you. I've read stories that I've wanted to see certain scenes happen and would have loved to see it, so let me know!

Thanks and enjoy!

Jennifer.