Nathan couldn't sleep. Again.
He was up watching another movie on some random channel, trying to distract himself.
Lucas knocking on the door broke him from his trance.
"You're still up?" Lucas asked softly.
"I haven't really slept much lately."
"You need to sleep Nate."
"How am I supposed to, with everything that's going on?"
"I still believe that your mom is coming home."
"I'm not so sure Luke."
"I hate seeing you like this."
"I hate feeling like this. How are you holding up?"
"I'm doing okay. I have to talk to Brooke about it tomorrow. She just knows the basics."
"You're lucky to have her to talk to about this."
"You have people to talk to, Nate. Did you forget that Haley is in love with you?"
"How am I supposed to talk to her about this?"
"She was your go-to person before. And speaking as her best friend of several years, I can promise you that she's the best kind of person in these situations."
"I'm not sure I'm ready to let her in like that again."
"She would want to be there for you, that's all I'm saying."
"I guess so."
Lucas sighed, deciding to let the subject go for now.
"I'll think about it." Nathan said after a stretch of silence.
Dan walked around the streets of Tree Hill aimlessly, drinking coffee and staring at nothing.
"Danny." Whitey said, interrupting Dan's thoughts.
"Didn't see you there." Dan said simply.
"I need to talk to you."
"Shoot."
"Can you tell me why, whether they're fighting or clinging to each other, I always need a crowbar to keep your kids apart?"
"What are you talking about?"
"What's happening at home? Lucas and Nathan have barely said anything for days and they never seem to want to stray more than two feet from each other at practice, which is damn inconvenient for me since Lucas isn't able to play."
"Deb moved out."
"What did you do?"
"For once, it wasn't me. Deb told me that she's the one who drugged me the night of the fire. She didn't set the fire though. That part I believe."
"Want to know what I think?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"You need to forgive Deb. If she's put up with your crap all of these years, you need to return the favor. I've never seen Nathan happier. Don't take that away from him. Or Lucas. Those boys deserve some stability in their lives, especially from you."
Dan didn't reply, he just sighed and drank more of his coffee.
"Doesn't this mean anything to you? What about your sons?"
"It means everything to me, Whitey. I'm just struggling to forgive such a huge secret."
"You need to man up and bring your family back together. I am damn close to being proud of you again, Danny. Don't screw this up for yourself, or your sons." Whitey said, shaking his head and walking away.
Dan stared after Whitey for a moment, then pulled out his cell phone.
"Hey little brother." Keith answered.
"Can you meet me to talk?"
"Hey baby." Lucas said, kissing Brooke in the parking lot.
"How are you, boyfriend?"
"Can I talk to you? I want to tell you what's going on."
"Of course. Here, let's sit in my car. Homeroom doesn't start for 15 minutes."
"So, the reason Deb left is that she drugged my dad."
"What?"
"The night of the fire, she drugged him. She left before the fire started. She was trying to find evidence against him."
"Oh my God. How are you guys doing?"
"It sucks. It really does. And I just feel completely at a loss because Nathan is completely devastated. When they told us Sunday morning he was so heartbroken."
"I can imagine."
"He's really hurting right now, and I want to be there for him as much as possible. I'm just worried that he won't let anyone else in."
"There's so many people who care about him though."
"I know. I just wish he could see that."
"He will."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Thank you for being the best girlfriend ever."
"My pleasure. Now would you like to hear a secret?"
"Sure."
"I hear that the captain of the cheerleaders is sleeping with the assistant coach."
"Really? Where did you hear a rumor like that?"
"Right here." Brooke whispered, pulling him into a kiss.
"I have to say, I'm surprised you wanted to meet me." Keith said to Dan.
"I wanted to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Deb was the one who put drugs in my drink the night of the fire. She didn't set the fire, but she wanted to drug me so she could find evidence against me." Dan said quickly.
"Wow." Keith said quietly.
"As much as I'm struggling with this information, it has been helpful in a way."
"How so?"
"It serves as a reminder of what a horrendous human being I have been. Keith, I'm sorry about Jules. I'm sorry about everything. Truly."
"Danny, I'm not sure this is the right time for that. You're feeling emotional because of Deb—"
"This is genuine, Keith. Once I started working on my relationship with Lucas, it felt like a weight was lifted. There's no reason for me to hold onto hate, or anger, or resentment."
"Then why can't you forgive your wife?"
"You're right." Dan said simply.
"Listen, I need forgiveness as much as Deb does. So do you. Lucas says he's about putting the past behind him. How about we start again?"
"I'd like to start again, Keith."
"You and me, you and Deb. Deal?"
"Deal. Don't forget about your nephews."
"I have a lot to make up for."
"You just have to start somewhere. That's all I could do and it's been one of the best years of my life, even with all of the hard stuff that's happened."
"I hate that I wasn't here."
"I know. I understand."
"Do you really think Lucas doesn't need me?"
"What?"
"What you said at Karen's wedding."
"That was just anger talking Keith."
"Anger?"
"As happy as Lucas might be to have a relationship with me, that doesn't erase what you have been to him all of his life. He was hurt without you, Keith."
"I know. I'm ready to make things right with him."
"Good."
"Are you ready to make things right with your marriage?"
"I hope so."
"I finally told Brooke everything today." Lucas told Nathan.
Nathan was sitting on Lucas's floor watching TV while Lucas was writing in a notebook.
"I still haven't told Haley."
"What's happening with you two?"
"I don't know. I told her I loved her, she said she loved me, we kissed, it was awkward."
"Whoa, wait up. When did this happen?"
"The other day before you got to the car after practice. I've kind of been avoiding her since."
"Wow. Why was it awkward?"
"Probably because I'm a crazy mess and can never be happy."
"Nathan. You can be happy. Haley makes you happy. Especially in tough times like these. I really wish you would let her in."
"What, you don't think you're good enough to be my support system?"
Lucas laughed.
"I just want you to remember that you have a lot of people who care about you."
"I'm not used to talking to her about these things. At least not anymore."
"I know. But I really think you should try."
"Hey can I talk to you two?" Dan said, knocking softly on the door.
"Yeah. Come in." Lucas said, shutting his notebook.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't handle this well at all. We haven't even talked about it."
"We tried, Dad." Nathan said angrily.
"I know, Nate. I'm sorry. I wasn't ready for it then."
"What happens now?" Lucas asked.
"I've been thinking a lot about that. I don't want this family to break up. We have way too much to make up for to give up now."
"So Mom is coming home?" Nathan said, his tone softening.
"I hope so. I'm going to talk to her." Dan nodded.
"What changed your mind?" Lucas asked.
"I got some good advice." Dan replied.
"Bring her home, Dad." Nathan said quietly.
"Let's hope so." Dan said, patting Nathan on the shoulder and getting up to leave.
"Dad?" Lucas called after him.
"Yeah Luke?"
"Thanks for trying. I hope she comes home."
"Me too, son."
Nathan woke up earlier than usual the next morning. He could smell cinnamon buns, which was highly unusual in the Scott household.
"Luke." Nathan said quietly, going across the hall and opening Lucas's door.
"What?" Lucas mumbled.
"Wake up."
"No."
"Please wake up."
"Go away." Lucas said into his pillow.
"I think Dad bought us pity cinnamon buns."
"Oh."
"Want to go check?"
"Fine." Lucas sighed.
Nathan steered Lucas down the stairs.
"That was really disorienting." Lucas groaned.
"You might want to try opening your eyes."
Lucas stopped short, Nathan stopped too and let go of his brother.
"Hey there." Deb said cheerfully.
"What are you doing here?" Nathan gasped, smiling wide and hugging his mom.
Dan sat at the counter, drinking his coffee and smiling.
"Welcome back." Lucas said happily.
"I'm happy to be back."
"How is it that you're back?" Nathan asked.
"I pulled myself together and called her. After thinking about it, how can I blame anyone for wanting to do that to me?" Dan said.
"I can never express how sorry I am. To anyone of you." Deb said, looking at Dan.
"This summer we promised to move forward, let's continue that. We all need to forgive each other and learn from our mistakes. Be a family." Dan said, smiling at his wife.
"We have a lot to look forward to." Deb agreed.
"There's so much we have in front of us as a family. The championship game tomorrow, your graduation…"
"This kid's birthday next week." Nathan grinned, putting his arm around Lucas.
"Definitely. Lucas, I have to tell you, Keith was a big part of helping me come around." Dan said.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. Speaking of moving on, maybe you need to give him a chance."
"You're right." Lucas nodded.
"So, we should totally stay home from school and bond as a family right?" Nathan grinned.
"Nice try. Plenty of time for that later. Your mom and I need to work on us now."
"It was worth a shot." Nathan said to Lucas as they left to get ready for school.
"Did I detect a smile there Nathan?" Jake teased at lunch.
"Yeah. By the way I'm sorry for being such a jackass earlier this week. I know you were just looking out for us."
"No sweat man. I wouldn't be up for talking much either in that situation."
"Hey guys." Haley says tentatively.
"Hales! Come sit." Lucas grinned.
"You guys are looking happy today."
"Deb came home." Lucas said.
"Oh that's so great!" Haley smiled at Nathan, who smiled back at her, but quickly looked away.
"I'll be right back. I have to ask Whitey something." Lucas said, getting up.
"I'll come with you." Nathan said quickly, getting up too.
"Oh. Sure." Lucas said slowly.
"Nathan can we talk after practice?" Haley asked.
"Um. Maybe. I might have a lot of homework. Can I text you?"
"Sure." Haley said quietly.
"Why don't you go back and sit? This might take a few minutes." Lucas asked as he and Nathan headed down to Whitey's office.
"I'll hang out with you. It's fine."
"I think Haley wanted you to stay."
"We'll talk after school. Like I said."
"You basically blew her off for that."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"I don't know. I'll figure it out."
"Okay." Lucas sighed.
"I want to be with her Luke."
"I know Nate. Right now the only thing stopping that is you."
Nathan stopped short.
"What?" Lucas asked, turning around.
"You're right."
"Of course I am."
"I'll catch you later."
"Go get her." Lucas grinned.
Boom!
Leave me a review if you'd like. Thanks for reading!