Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

A/N: Hi all. Here's the next chapter. Hope everyone enjoys. Thanks as always to the readers and especially the reviewers. Love ya!

"That doesn't sound so bad," Brooke said casually as she sat next to Nathan on his bed. "You meet with some probation officer guy once a week, you take anger management classes, which you totally need, and you help some poor, needy and abused kids. Win win."

"Yeah, for the center," Nathan grumbled. "They get free labor, but me, I'm stuck working with a bunch of loser kids and I won't even get paid for it."

"Thus why it's called community service. And don't be such a snob," Brooke reprimanded. "They're little kids, Nate. What have they ever done to you?"

"Besides deprive me of a mother for most of my life?"

"Come on, Nathan," Brooke shot back patiently. "Those kids didn't do that."

"Whatever. They're the same kind."

"Kind?"

"Needy, weak and helpless. A bunch of fucking wimps."

"Nathan…"

"So, Whitey put me back on the team," Nathan cut in. "Starting next week."

Brooke quirked an eyebrow curiously. "That's good, but why? Whitey usually sticks to his word."

"I think he felt sorry for me," Nathan remarked with a shrug. "Or maybe he's just tired of losing."

"You tell your dad?"

Nathan nodded. "When we got back from the lawyer's. I thought that's the one thing that might make him happy. You know?" He shook his head sadly. "But he didn't say anything. He barely talks to me anymore since the thing with my mom. He's still pissed at me."

"I'm sorry," Brooke said sympathetically. "But he had the old basketball footage out when I got here so that's got to mean something."

-- -- -- -- --

Meanwhile, Dan sat back against the cushions, a shot of whiskey in hand, and watched his younger self slam dunk the ball into the net. He smiled to himself. That had been a great game – he'd beaten his own scoring record and he'd never felt more alive than in that moment. The only thing that would have made it better is if he hadn't been sporting a gigantic welt across his right cheek.

-- -- -- -- --

"Your dad hasn't…hit you again since you've come home, right?" Brooke inquired.

"No," Nathan replied. "Like I said, he's basically ignoring me, which is actually worse. But he did show up at the lawyer's appointment so I guess he doesn't totally hate me. Feels like it though."

"You know, I meant it when I said you could stay at my house."

"I know," Nathan acknowledged. "Thanks, but I gotta stay here. Besides, if your boyfriend's already getting jealous of us spending time together, what's he gonna think if we're living together?"

"He would understand if I explained it to him. He knows we're best friends and that the rumors aren't true."

"I'm really glad you found a good guy, Brooke. And that he doesn't try to keep you from your friends and doesn't have just one thing on his mind and that he asked you about the rumors instead of buying into them and…"

"Ok, do you want to date him?" Brooke teased. "Cuz you're totally rambling, which you never do. Not that he doesn't deserve to be built up and placed on a pedestal, but back off, will ya? He's mine."

Nathan smiled but the humor hardly reached his eyes.

"What else is going on, Nate?" Brooke asked with concern.

"I don't know, I was just…thinking about what Rachel said. Do you think she's right? Do I depend on Peyton too much?"

"Peyton loves you and wants to help you through the tough times."

"That's not really an answer," Nathan rebuffed. "I mean, we're broken up. I shouldn't be dumping my shit on her anymore, right?"

"You're not hearing me, Nate. She wants to help you and honestly, she'd be upset if you didn't turn to her."

"But it's not really her place anymore, is it? Or at least it shouldn't be."

"But on the other hand, she can't turn off her feelings just because you two broke up."

"Yeah, I know," Nathan admitted. "I just wish she'd turn them up enough to give us another chance."

"It's not that she doesn't want to. She's just scared."

"I get that, but the thing is, after all this time without her, I think I've learned my lesson. I don't think I'd cheat on her again."

"You don't think?" Brooke scoffed. "Yeah, gee, when you put it that way, I don't know why she'd even doubt you," she added sarcastically.

Nathan sighed and ran his hands over his face in frustration. "I know, I know, I'm a dick," he said, standing up and pacing the room. "And she deserves so much better than me. But I can't help wanting her anyway."

"I hate to say it, but if you can't be a hundred percent sure that you can ever be faithful to her, then I agree, she does deserve better than you," Brooke stated bluntly. "What gets me though is how you make it seem like you've never, and would never, have a choice in the matter. Cheating doesn't just happen, Nate. It's a conscious decision. You could just as easily choose not to."

"You make it sound so easy."

"No," Brooke denied. "I know it's not, ok. Believe me, I know how it is when your body's on fire, how tempting it is to just give in to what it wants. But I also know it's not impossible to resist that temptation."

"It's hard though," Nathan argued. "When you have a girlfriend who's pissed off and shutting you out half the time and then there's this other girl offering to make you feel good…it's hard to pass up."

"Look, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend like Peyton doesn't have her moments where she freezes everyone out, but to use that as an excuse to screw around…"

"Is pathetic, I know."

"I was going to say wrong, but pathetic works too."

"Thanks," he mumbled as he plopped back down on the bed.

"Anytime."

A quiet knock came to the bedroom door and Dan poked his head in. "Miss Davis," he said. "I'd like a moment with my son, if you please."

Brooke glanced over to Nathan who nodded subtly. "Ok, I had to get going anyway. Call me," she told Nathan before heading out.

Dan took the seat that Brooke had vacated and sat silently for several moments before finally speaking.

"You're probably wondering why I'm not heading to the hospital. It's because your mother's been admitted into a suicide treatment facility."

"You mean like a nut house?" Nathan scoffed.

"Watch it," Dan warned him. " It's a twelve week program in which no visitors are permitted for the first three. During that time they'll do a psychological evaluation and treat her according to the results of that. As of now the doctors think she's suffering from substance-induced depression."

"What does that mean?"

"She's always suffered minor bouts of depression now and then, but drugs and alcohol have worsened her condition."

"But she doesn't do drugs. I mean, other than all those pills she took but they were prescription pills."

"Her blood tests indicate she's been taking the pills in higher dosages for weeks now," Dan contradicted. "Only not in the amount she took on Saturday."

"So, what are you saying? That her attempting suicide wasn't my fault?" Nathan asked hopefully.

"Nor mine," his father answered softly.

"Yours?"

"She and I haven't been doing so well. I won't bore you with the details but bottom line is she's threatened divorce unless I agree to undergo family counseling. I refused and told her the only way I'd agree to a divorce and moving out is if I took you with me. She hasn't mentioned the divorce since, but we're nearly strangers now living in the same house."

"Why are you telling me this?" Nathan asked.

"Because I've been feeling responsible for your mother's…"

"Dad, it's not your fault."

"Let me finish," Dan said, putting his hand up to stop Nathan from further commenting. "I've been feeling responsible, but I didn't want to admit that. I didn't want to carry the burden myself so instead I blamed you because that was easier and because…well, I guess because I'm not much of a father."

"Dad…"

Dan shook his head. "I was watching my old basketball videos…"

Nathan nodded knowingly since Brooke had already revealed as much.

"It was the greatest game of my life, it really was. But then I see that bruise on my cheek…"

"The one you got from playing backyard football?" Nathan asked, again knowingly since he'd heard the recap a million times and seen the video just as many.

Dan looked down at his feet and spoke almost too quietly to hear. "Well, that's the story I came up with and stuck with for the last twenty years. The truth is I didn't get it from laying football or any other excuse like that. I got it because I had a mean old man who couldn't control his temper."

Nathan's brows shot up in surprise. He knew his grandfather could be pushy and verbally brutal but it was the first he heard about any physical abuse. And yet he could see his father spoke earnestly.

Dan stood up and faced the wall. "He didn't hit me very often – Keith usually got the brunt of it – but I remember each and every time he did like it was yesterday." He signed deeply and turned to face his son. "I'm betting you do too."

Nathan stared at his dad intensely and responded with a small nod.

"I told myself I wasn't gonna be like him with my own kids," Dan continued. "But when Karen told me she was pregnant, I panicked. I knew I had a temper and I started to wonder if I could really trust myself not to turn out just like my father. Everyone thought I left for basketball and that was a part of it, but the truth is I was terrified that I'd wind up losing my patience with the baby and doing something I couldn't take back."

He could see the confused expression on Nathan's face and knew why it was there – he'd been conceived just three months after Lucas. But Dan wasn't about to tell him how he'd planned to come back to Karen and Lucas until Deb had revealed her own pregnancy so instead he told him a partial truth. "When I found out your mother was pregnant, I was still scared but by then I'd decided that I wasn't going to let that fear control my life. I saw a future with her and with you and so I told myself that my temper would only become an issue if I let it. That worked for a while, I had it under control, but over the years things happened and…well, turns out I did Lucas a favor by abandoning him and you got the raw end of the deal. Because I am my father."

"Dad…"

"And thanks to me, so are you," Dan went on. "Every time I watch that video of you beating on Lucas…all that senseless, built up rage you have inside of you, it reminds me of myself and the man I swore never to become. And trust me, you don't want to continue down that path either. You probably can't see it right now, but you're actually lucky to have gotten caught."

Nathan simply scoffed at the comment.

"I'm serious, son. Anger management is probably the best course of action for you right now. You can learn better ways to deal with it. Better than anything I ever taught you."

The room fell silent for a few seconds until Dan spoke again. "I was thinking I could use some of those techniques myself – that maybe there'd be an extra spot available in your class."

Nathan's jaw dropped but his eyes shone with hope. "For real?"

"Well, unless you're too embarrassed to be seen with your old man," Dan attempted to joke.

"No," Nathan said quickly. "You know I'm not."

"Sound like a plan then?"

Nathan replied with a nod and Dan pulled him into a manly hug before pulling back and going toward the door.

"By the way," Dan threw over his shoulder. "I'm ordering in. Burgers or pizza?"

"Both?" Nathan tried.

Dan chuckled but then nodded. "Both it is. I love you, son."

"I love you too, Dad," Nathan replied. "And just so you know, if you and mom do get a divorce, I'm fine with it and I would want to live with you."

Dan smiled slightly. "Well, let's hope it won't come to that."

Nathan grinned happily after his father left the room. He couldn't believe what had just happened. His father didn't hate him and he'd just volunteered to seek help for his anger issues. He felt like he'd just scored the winning shot during a game, only better. Wait until he told Peyton about this. She would be shocked and ecstatic – probably even more so than he was.

He pulled his cell out of his pocket, in a hurry to tell her his news, but just before he hit the button Rachel's words rang in his ears. 'The first sign of trouble and where do you run? Straight to her.'

But surely this was different, he reasoned. This wasn't trouble, this was good news. So it's fine to call her, he decided. 'Either be her friend like she's suggested more than once or stay away from her altogether.'

He closed his phone and sighed before making his way downstairs to await their dinner orders.

The doorbell rang just as he hit the bottom step and he went to answer it, marveling at how quick the deliveries had been. But when he answered the door there was a police officer standing there beside a professionally looking woman. He recognized her but wasn't sure from where until she mentioned she was from Child Services. It was the same lady who'd questioned him about abuse when he'd been in prison and Lucas had blabbed about the locker incident between Nathan and Dan. As he'd done that day, Nathan again scoffed at being labeled a child but the woman repeated her same reply as well – that he was still a minor. She told of a complaint made about a beating, to which Nathan denied vehemently, claiming it was nothing more than a basketball injury. The two probed him further but finally left when Nathan insisted no abuse had taken place and they realized he wasn't changing his mind.

He turned to face Dan who stood a few feet away.

"That's the last excuse you'll ever make for me," Dan stated firmly. "And that's a promise," he added before sitting down on the sofa.

Nathan's cell rang – Peyton's ring tone – and he felt his heart begin to race. "Hey," he answered.

"Nate, hey," she replied. "I just wanted to give you a heads up that my dad went to child protective services today and they're supposed to be stopping by your house some time tonight."

"Uh, yeah, they just left."

"Nathan, I'm so sorry. I would have said something earlier but I just found out."

"It's cool."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Peyton, it's fine."

"So, they didn't do anything?"

Nathan glanced over at his father. "I didn't let them. Look, I have to go. I'm just about to eat dinner."

"Yeah, ok, sorry. Are you sure you're not mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you."

"Then…"

"Peyton, we're not friends. I told you that. I appreciate everything you've done for me, ok, but I'm not gonna bother you anymore. And unless it's to say you want us back, you should leave me alone too."

The hardest thing he'd ever done was end that phone call on that note, but that's exactly what he did because Rachel was right – he needed to be Peyton's friend or leave her alone. Or Peyton had to take him back. Only two of those were real options – he could never in a million years be just Peyton's friend. Not when she first mentioned it, not now, and not ever.

"Are you sure it's Peyton you miss or just the relationship aspect?" Damien asked him the next morning at school.

"I don't follow," Nathan said in confusion.

'Of course you don't,' Damien thought. "Peyton's the only serious relationship you've been in, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, maybe you like being in a relationship, having that one constant you can always turn to. Maybe it's not so much about Peyton as it is about having a girlfriend – a steady girlfriend, not these casual dates or random hook ups."

"No, I'm pretty sure it has everything to do with Peyton," Nathan countered. "I mean, yeah, it was nice having that one steady girl, but only because it was Peyton. I never wanted that with anyone else."

"You never had it with anyone else," Damien pointed out. "But now that you've had a relationship, is there really any going back? Are dating and hooking up making you happy? No. I seriously think what you need is another girlfriend."

"I want Peyton."

"Ok, but that ship has sailed," Damien said, trying hard to keep a smirk off his face. "Look, I wanted you two to work it out as much as anyone but it's time to face reality here. You can't spend your life pining away for a girl who clearly doesn't want you. You need to move on. And who knows? Maybe Peyton'll get jealous and change her mind." Not.

Nathan sighed in resignation. "I don't know, maybe you're right. Maybe I do need to start trying to get over her."

"You really do," Damien insisted. "What about that Shelly chick? She seems like the girlfriend type. You like her, right?"

"Sorta, I don't know."

"You don't know? Haven't you been dating her?"

"Yeah, but…as a girlfriend? I mean, she's a clean teen. I'm not really into this whole celibacy crap."

Damien chuckled. "I never assumed you were, my friend. But who's to say you can't have a tasty little dish or two on the side? It's not like you're marrying the girl. Plus I'm sure she'll give it up in no time so what are you worried about? You can have the best of both worlds just like you did when you were with Peyton. Just think about it, man."

-- -- -- -- --

Nathan did think about it. He thought about it all morning, wondering if Damien was right, finally deciding that he was, at least partially. He did miss being in a relationship. He liked having a girlfriend. Random hookups, while physically pleasurable, didn't satisfy his desire for constancy. Those girls weren't the kind he'd want to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon with watching TV or going for a drive or a simple walk on the beach. They weren't the kind he could, or wanted, to bring home to meet the family – to bring up to his bedroom, sure, but nothing beyond that.

It was lunch time when he approached Shelly at her table. "Hey," he said as he sat across from her.

"Hey," she replied with a nervous smile.

"You want to go to the movies this weekend?" he asked her.

"Sure," she happily accepted. "I'd love to. Do you want to go to the school dance next weekend?" she chanced asking.

"I'm not really much of a dancer," he told her.

"Oh, ok. You don't have to. I just thought it would be fun, but if you don't want to, that's cool…"

"No, I want to," he cut in, realizing that if she were to be his girlfriend that he'd have to start doing things that she wanted too. "You just might want to avoid wearing open toe shoes," he joked. "In fact, you'll probably wanna wear steel toes. Just to be safe."

She chuckled at his joke. "Well, thanks for the warning, kind sir. I'll keep that in mind."

Nathan was in the weight room when Lucas came up to him.

"I heard you're back on the team next week," the blond boy said.

"Yeah," Nathan replied coldly. "You got a problem with that?"

"Not unless you have one with me being assistant coach."

Nathan sneered. "Look, Whitey already went over the ground rules, alright. You're safe. Just don't expect me to listen to you, seeing as I'm better than you."

Lucas just shook his head, letting Nathan's words just roll right off of him. "Listen, I actually just wanted to say that I'm sorry about your mom and how it sucks that the press printed that story. It's nobody else's business."

"Including yours," Nathan responded snarkily.

"Ok, well, carry on then," Lucas said before walking away. He passed by Damien on the opposite side, lifting weights and seemingly in his own little world.

-- -- -- -- --

Damien smiled contently as his mind fantasized about how things were going to be, hopefully very soon.

"Damien, baby, when are you going to give me a chance to prove to you what a mistake it was to choose Lucas over you? I know I said he was my boyfriend but that's only because I was so intimidated by a real man like you."

"Listen, Haley, I'm with Peyton now so if you want a piece of me, you two will have to work something out."

"You bitch!" Peyton shrieked, storming in. "You think you can just hit on my man whenever you want?"

"Look, I'll do anything," Haley pleaded. "If I have to share him then so be it. It's better than not having him at all."

"Well, I'm not willing to share him. He's all mine so back up before I break your face. If you really want to go after someone, then go after that loser Nathan."

"Eww," Haley said wrinkling her nose. "No thanks. I have better taste than that."

"Like Lucas? Gag me."

"Ladies, ladies, enough fighting," Damien stepped in. "Peyton," he admonished. "Don't you think you're being a little selfish? Haley's your friend. Don't you want to share the good things with her?"

"Not if I don't have to," Peyton returned with a pout to her lips. "I just don't want to lose you, baby. You're the best thing to ever happen to me."

"To me too," Haley said.

"Oh, fine then," Peyton agreed begrudgingly. "As long as you don't try to take up most of his time because he was mine first."

Haley nodded agreeably. "That's only fair."

"So, you going to the dance next weekend?" Damien asked Peyton at her locker after school.

"Well, as a cheerleader it's kinda expected that we go so yeah," she replied, trying not to cringe at Damien's nearness. She still couldn't figure out why she got such an eerie feeling whenever he was around.

"You want to go together?" he asked.

Her stomach lurched. "You mean like a date?"

"Well, yeah. You know, I figured since Nathan's going with Shelly that you'd want to bring a date too."

"He's still dating her?" Peyton asked, not really sure why she was surprised by that. Okay, not true, she knew why she was surprised. Because he'd made it clear just yesterday how much he still wanted to be with her.

"Yeah, and to tell you the truth, I think they're getting pretty serious."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, because he mentioned that he's really starting to like her and is thinking of asking her to be his girlfriend."

Peyton's face fell and Damien made a show of apologizing for being the bearer of such upsetting news.

"It's ok," Peyton assured him. "I would have found out sooner or later. Don't worry about it."

Damien nodded sympathetically. "So, about the dance?"

"Oh, umm, well I…" She racked her brain trying to come up with an excuse to turn him down but her mind went blank until she spotted Lucas over Damien's shoulder motioning to himself and mouthing the word 'me'. She turned back to Damien, catching Luke's meaning. "I'd love to but I already told Lucas that I'd go with him. Sorry," she said, attempting to sound remorseful. "Rain check?" she asked and then immediately cursed herself for doing so. She didn't want a rain check. What was she thinking?

"Yeah, sure," Damien responded, clearly not impressed, but he left when Lucas came to join them.

"Hey, thanks," Peyton told him. "You're a life saver."

"Well, you looked like you needed saving."

"I did. That guy really creeps me out for some reason."

"Yeah, Haley too," Luke told her.

Peyton nodded knowingly. "And listen, you don't have to go to this dance if you don't want to. I can always make up some last minute excuse as to why you couldn't make it."

"Actually, I'm free that night and I'd love to go. Unless, of course you don't want me to."

"No, it's not that. I'm just giving you an out if you want it."

"I don't."

"Ok, well…ok."

"Ok."

"Ok, let's get down to business," Nathan said as he and Mouth sat at the dining room table with their books spread out in front of them. "I need to start picking up my grades by next week."

"Me too," Mouth said. "My parents will kill me if I tank another test."

"Yeah, right," Nathan scoffed. "You, fail a test?"

"History, last Monday – 34%"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. We partied all weekend so I didn't have time to study."

"Dude, you're starting to sound like me. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I was having fun. And I don't want to be the geek who leaves a party to go home and study."

"Well if you're not then you're gonna be the party guy whose failing all his classes so has to find some other geek to tutor him. Just like I had to."

"Funny."

"I thought so."

"For the record, it was your dad who hired me to tutor you."

"I know but you're still a geek."

"Well better to be the geek than the dumbass who had to hire me."

"True, but you shouldn't call my dad names. He can't help it."

Mouth gave him an amused look.

"What? Like you said, he's the one who hired you."

"Let's get to work, ok."

"Hey, you know we're still friends even if you are a geek, right?"

"Yeah," Mouth joked. "And we're still friends even if you are a dumb ass."

"You mean my dad."

"Right, yeah, your dad."

"What about me?" Dan asked as he entered the room.

Nathan and Mouth exchanged amused looks before Mouth came out with, "Page 174."