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

A/N: Hey guys. Once again, sorry for the bit of delay on the update. Four more weeks and the semester will be over so I'll have no more excuses. LOL. Thanks, as always to all you readers and especially those of you who review. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

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Peyton stood by awkwardly as the auburn haired woman hugged Nathan tightly. The strong scent of perfume wafted through the air and it brought Peyton back a few months to when Nathan had disappeared for the day after Whitey had suspended him from the team. After worrying all day about him, he'd finally sent a text saying he was at Cooper's. When he'd arrived at her house a few hours later, traces of this very scent had been on him and she'd mistook the situation.

Flashback (Chapter 25)

It was a while later when, finally, she saw the reflection of his headlights through her living room window. She rushed to meet him at the door, pulling him inside immediately and wrapping her arms tightly around his torso. "I was so worried," she said, her lips quivering and her eyes once again brimming with tears. "Don't ever do that again."

"I'm sorry," he replied softly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She hugged him tighter, taking in his familiar scent. Only there was another scent in the mix. Just a faint trace, but it was there. Peyton backed away slowly as she realized what it was. She felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. All this time she'd been terrified that something had happened to him.

Nathan looked at her in confusion, wondering why she'd pulled away when she'd been so eager to embrace him a second ago. "What's wrong?" he asked her. Had she heard what he'd done to Lucas?

She met his deep blue gaze with her fiery green one. "Where were you tonight, Nathan?"

"I told you, I went to Cooper's," Nathan reaffirmed.

She nodded. "Yeah, I know what your message said," she replied hotly. "Now tell me where you really went."

"What do you mean?" Nathan replied irritably. "I was at Coop's"

Peyton crossed her arms angrily. "Really? So Cooper wears ladies cologne these days?"

End of Flashback

She'd discovered later that she'd jumped to conclusions – he really had been at Cooper's – and the woman, Cooper's wife, had simply hugged him as she was doing now. But even though she'd found that out, she was still glad for this further confirmation that, at least that time, he hadn't been out cheating on her. She could definitely see now why the smell had lingered on him, even hours later. Peyton's first instinct was to ask her if she'd ever heard of the term "less is more."

"I'm so glad you could come, sweetie," the woman told Nathan.

Peyton felt instantly guilty for her negative opinion of the woman when she pulled away from Nathan and offered her one of the warmest smiles Peyton had ever seen.

"You must be Peyton," she said. "And if not, oops, my bad," she teased.

Nathan chuckled and went on to introduce the girls.

Jessica embraced Peyton as well. "It's so nice to finally meet you," she said genuinely. "I've heard so much about you."

Her tone was so sweet and friendly that Peyton found herself already forgetting about the perfume. "You too," she replied, hugging her back.

Then Jess pulled back and said, "Nathan didn't mention he was bringing you."

Peyton's jaw nearly hit the ground at that statement. She turned on Nathan. "Get out!" she exclaimed, smacking his chest hard. "You didn't call them and ask if it was ok?"

Nathan frowned, rubbing his chest. "I figured they'd be fine with it," he defended.

"Well, you shouldn't assume things, Nathan. This is their house! You can't just do whatever you want!" She turned to face Jessica again. "I'm sorry," she apologized earnestly. "I can just, I don't know, get a room somewhere, or…"

"No, don't be silly," Jess countered. "You're welcome to stay."

"Told ya," Nathan said smugly.

"I don't want to intrude."

"Oh, you're not," Jess assured her. "I insist. To be honest, I'll be glad for the female company. Well, older female company," she revised.

Peyton smiled. "Ok, well, thanks. I'll just grab the rest of my bags."

"Oh, Nate can do that while you and I get acquainted. Right sweetie?" she said to Nathan.

"Yeah, sure," he said agreeably, already turning toward the car.

"Go on in," Jess told Peyton. "I'll be right there." She stopped Nathan on the top step. "I like her already," she told him.

Nathan chuckled. "Why? Cuz she hit me?"

"That, and because she's not afraid to set you straight when you need it. Honestly, you should have called."

"Well, is it gonna be a problem?" he asked. "Cuz I didn't think you'd mind."

"And I don't," she assured him. "It's just common courtesy, you know, to check. It would have saved me the shock of an unexpected house guest, and her the embarrassment of being the unexpected house guest."

"I'm sorry…I…"

"Hey, no biggie, kay? Just keep it in mind."

He nodded. "Kay."

–––––

"So, Coop at the track?" Nathan asked when they settled in the kitchen.

"Actually, no. He's gone to get me some pickles," Jess replied impishly.

"Pickles."

"Pregnancy craving," she explained.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were knocked up again."

"Nathan," Peyton rebuked for the crude comment.

"What?" he asked. "She is."

Peyton shook her head while Jess laughed. "Hey, don't worry," Jess said. "I'm married to his uncle. I've heard worse."

"You still don't look pregnant," Nathan said, inspecting her.

"I do under this baggy sweater."

"How far along are you?" Peyton asked.

"Almost 5 months."

"So, half way? You look great."

"Thanks," Jess said, easily accepting the compliment. "And you, girlie, are absolutely stunning. I would kill for hair like that."

Peyton blushed prettily, not quite as comfortable with flattery as Jess was.

"She would too," Nathan joked. "Watch her, she's crazy."

"Well, babysitting you all those years certainly wore on my last nerve," she teased back, making both, Nathan and Peyton, chuckle.

–––––

Meanwhile Katie Sanders sat on her bed, thinking of her earlier conversation with Damien.

Flashback

She shook her head and laughed as Damien proposed a plan to get back at Nathan. "That's crazy," she exclaimed. "Not to mention epic failure on my part if I were to do it."

"How so?" he asked.

"I want to be with Nathan," she explained. "Not send him to prison where being with him would be impossible. And besides that, I want him to love me, not hate me."

"He'll thank you for it later."

She stared at him like he'd completely gone insane. "For claiming to have seen him commit a crime he didn't do? For saying he's done the same thing to me when he hasn't?" she scoffed. "What do you suppose he'd do if I said he killed someone? Ask me to marry him?"

"No, look, you don't understand."

"You're right, I don't. You're his friend. Why would you do him like that?"

"Because he needs help," Damien said, changing his tactic. He'd thought for sure Katie was pissed enough at Nathan that she'd want him to suffer, but turns out she's just another pathetic girl who'd fall at his feet, regardless of how badly he'd treated her. "Yeah, he's my friend," he went on. "One of my best friends, in fact," he managed to choke out.

"Then why would you want to put him away for something he didn't do?"

"Because I believe he did do it," Damien told her. "He has a problem and he needs help with it, even if he doesn't realize it."

"As far as I'm concerned, his only problem is thinking that Peyton hung the moon," Katie complained. "That bitch messes with his head so much, he never knows whether he's coming or going. It must be nice to be able to pull a few strings and have him do whatever you want him to," she added bitterly.

"I take it you've heard they're back together," Damien said.

She shook her head. "No, I hadn't, but it doesn't surprise me. She always gets him back," she replied dully. "I wish he'd see that she's nothing special."

"Oh, I agree," Damien told her. "I think you're a much better fit for him."

"You do?"

"Oh, yeah. And, to be honest, part of the reason I want him to go away for a while is because I feel like she causes most of his problems."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything he does can somehow be linked to her."

Katie chuckled bitterly. "Pretty sure she had already left the party when he hooked up with that girl."

"Yeah," Damien agreed. "She left with Lucas, his brother. So, what does he do? Hooks up with Haley, her friend and Lucas' ex. Why? Two reasons – one, to get back at Lucas, and two, to get a reaction out of Peyton. Otherwise, I think you can agree that Haley's not really his type. He wouldn't have looked twice at her if it weren't for Peyton and Lucas."

"I don't really know what you're getting at," she admitted. "None of this means that he drugged her, which, by the way, I totally don't buy. I mean, why would he? He could have anyone."

"But she's the one he needed to get with to get a rise out of both of them. Like I said, everything comes back to Peyton. I think if he had time away from her, he could get out of her clutches and start acting rationally. You want him to realize she's not the girl for him? Well, the only way to do that is to separate them for a while. Because as long as she's still around, like you said, pulling his strings, he's gonna be caught in her web."

"Yeah, but to send him to prison? Doesn't that seem a little extreme?"

"Look, he's a minor. It's not like he's gonna do hard time. Maybe a few months in juvie," he said, guessing correctly that she knew nothing about state laws. "Just enough time for him to realize who he really loves. And I'll tell you right now, it's not Peyton."

"You think he loves me?" she asked.

"I know he does. And as soon as he can untangle himself from Peyton for more than a minute, he'll know it too."

Katie was surprised, to say the least, by his words. She really thought Nathan only ever used her for sex, but to be told that he might actually love her was like a dream. Considering the information came from one of Nathan's best friends was enough to get her hopes up. "So then," she began, still unsure about this plan of his. "Why don't you make a statement against him since you actually think he did drug that girl?"

Because I want my hands to look clean in all of this. Otherwise Peyton will never come to me for comfort, and eventually more, he thought. "Oh, I already have," he lied. "But the police need more witnesses to come forward or else they can't proceed. Besides, don't you want to be the one to save him from himself, and more importantly, from her?"

End of Flashback

His plan was insane. There had to be a better way. Surely, in time, Nathan would realize that Peyton wasn't the one for him. He could see it on his own, couldn't he? There was no need to go to such extremes. Maybe she could just convince him that he was better off with her, without having to send him to prison.

She picked up her cell and pressed his name on her contact list. Maybe if she just showed him how much she loved him, it would be enough to bring him back to her.

"Mommy! We bought you ice-cream!" three year old Jordyn exclaimed as she prounced into the kitchen holding the bucket.

"I told ya that knucklehead would show up the minute I left," Cooper's voice boomed out as he came in behind his oldest daughter, holding the other, 18 month old Chelsea, in his arms. He set the toddler down and looked at his nephew, extending his arms. "Stand up and give your uncle some love," he ordered.

Nathan stood as told and they exchanged a manly hug. "How ya doing, Coop?"

"Better than you, you little bitch!" Cooper replied.

"Hon," Jess chastised.

"You didn't hear that," Cooper told his daughters before turning back to Nathan. "It's good to see you, kid."

"Yeah," Nathan agreed.

"And you brought Peyton."

"Yeah, uh, sorry I didn't call…"

"What, are you kidding?" Cooper dismissed. "I've shown up at your house in the dead of night, how many times? I think I owe you one unannounced guest. Especially one as pretty as this one," he said, approaching Peyton to give her a hug too. Peyton was grateful for it since it helped hide the blush that crept to her cheeks.

But Nathan noticed it, and he smiled. She was so cute when she blushed. A girl as hot as her should be used to compliments, but her cheeks flushed every time.

He crouched down to the little girls and told them how good it was to see them too. Chelsea instantly latched on to her mother's leg. "Hey," Nathan said in protest. "What's wrong? Come here," he said, reaching out toward her.

But she turned her little head, refusing to look at him.

"What happened?" he asked Jess. "She used to love me."

"Well it's been a while since she's seen you," Jess reasoned. "She probably doesn't remember you."

"That's what happens when visits are so sporadic," Cooper added.

Nathan frowned until Jordyn piped up that she remembered him. "Yeah?" he asked.

She bobbed her head. "I beated you in the race," she stated proudly.

Nathan smiled as he recalled the race they'd had with her little dinky cars. Of course she'd have them, with Cooper as a father. "Yeah, you did," he told her. "You got a hug for me?"

Peyton watched in awe as the little girl put the ice-cream down and hugged him timidly. It was amazing to her to watch Nathan interact with children. And he'd played cars with her?

Nathan rose to his full height and came to stand by Peyton, putting his arm around her shoulder. "This is Peyton," he said. "You wanna say hi?"

"Hi," the girl said shyly.

"Hello," Peyton responded with a big smile. "What's your name?"

"Jordyn."

"Wow, what a pretty name."

"And that's Chelsea. She's only one."

"Hi Chelsea," Peyton squealed, drawing a little smile out of the toddler.

"How the hell d'you get a smile?" Nathan asked, offended.

Peyton elbowed him in the side. "Language," she reminded him.

"Oh! Sorry," he said. "But seriously? How come you got a smile?"

"I don't know. Probably because my voice is higher pitched."

"Oh yeah? Hi Chelsea," he said high-pitched. "Chelsea, hey, Chelsea, hi. Hello," he continued, each time slightly higher. He coughed and held his throat. "Ok, I can't go any higher than that," he said.

"Good thing," Peyton teased. "I was starting to think I was dating a girl."

"Funny," Nathan remarked, poking her side.

She giggled and then focused her attention back to the older child. "So, Jordyn, did I hear you say something about ice-cream?"

"Uh huh," Jordyn replied. "We bought it for mommy, but daddy said we can have some too."

"Oh," Peyton laughed.

"Actually," Jess piped up. "You bought it for daddy, since mommy asked for pickles."

Cooper looked to his wife. "What, doesn't every pregnant woman crave ice-cream?"

"Honey, we've been through the pregnancy thing three times already," Jess said pointedly.

"Yeah," Cooper acknowledged.

"And have I ever craved ice-cream for any of them?"

"Uh…"

"The answer's no. Pickles is not a synonym for ice-cream. When I say I want pickles, it's because I want pickles. And the fact that you'd bring back ice-cream only proves how much you actually listen when I talk…"

"Hey, whoa, whoa," Cooper cut her off and then reached into the bag he'd set on the table and pulled out the jar of pickles. "Take it easy. I got them."

"Oh, thank you, honey. I take it all back. I love you," she said, wrapping her arms around her husband.

Nathan and Peyton both chuckled as she went on to pull the jar out of his hands. Then Nathan's cell rang. He took it out of his pocket and checked the id. Katie. He put it away without answering.

"Who was that?" Peyton asked.

He shook his head. "No one."

She cocked an eyebrow at him, not appreciating that answer.

He didn't like the look she gave him. He could tell she was mad at the prospect of him hiding something from her. "Tell you later?" he said, since he didn't want to screw things up with her, but neither did he want to explain about Katie in front of everyone.

She nodded agreeably, satisfied with that answer.

"Ok, who wants ice-cream?" Cooper asked.

"Haley, you can't go back to work yet," Lucas said when Haley entered the café and put her apron on.

"Why not?" she challenged.

"Because it's too soon," he responded. "It's only been three days since…"

"Since I was raped? I know. But what would you have me do, Luke? Sit at home and cry for who knows how long? No, I need to do this. I need to be busy so I can stop thinking about all the things I don't remember."

"But Hales, are you really ready? Emotionally?"

"Lucas, I want to go back to work," Haley told him sternly. "Please don't try to stop me."

"Fine, but I'm staying with you."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes I do," he argued. "In case you can't handle it, I don't want to leave you alone."

"Oh, you mean like how you left me alone at the party?"

"Hales."

"I can handle work, Lucas," she stated angrily. "The party is where I needed you to stick around. But no, you went off with Peyton, and left me alone…"

"And if I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have gotten raped. Don't you think I know that?" he asked hoarsely. "Don't you think I've kicked myself a thousand times for leaving you there? It's my fault, I know. I should have stayed."

"Yeah, you should've," she replied coldly. "You should have just let Nathan have Peyton and then he would have had no reason to want to get back at you."

"Haley, I know I should have stayed, but don't try to make excuses for Nathan," he said, getting angry too. "Nothing excuses what he did to you."

She burst into tears right there so she ran in the back. Lucas followed her.

"I thought I was done crying," she said.

He went to her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's ok to cry. You don't always have to be strong."

She nodded and sobbed a long time in his arms, soaking his shirt. Finally she pulled away. "I'm sorry," she told him.

"No, I'm sorry," he returned. "I shouldn't have…"

She shook her head. "No, it wasn't your fault. I'm just….I'm sooo angry," she admitted. "All this time, I saved myself for my husband, and what for? I may as well have hooked up with some random guy along the way. It might not have been special, but at least then I'd remember my first time."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I hear the first time for girls can be painful so maybe it's a good thing you don't remember."

She looked at him, horrified. "Is that a joke?"

"No. I don't know," he said flustered. "I just don't know what to say to make things better."

"You can't make it better, Luke. I'm not a virgin anymore and that's that. Nothing you say is going to change that."

"Hey, you still are a virgin, ok? I don't care what any test says. As far as I'm concerned, the day you give yourself willingly to a man is the day you lose your virginity. Emotionally, that's the day."

"Yeah, somehow I doubt my husband would agree."

"Then he'd be a jerk who doesn't deserve you. You're still a virgin if you say you are, Hales. Don't let him take that from you," he said, gently wiping her tears away.

Their eyes locked and before either knew what was happening, their heads started leaning in towards each other.

That evening, Peyton laughed softly as she watched Nathan down on the floor playing blocks with the girls. He hadn't given up all day in trying to make Chelsea warm up to him, even though she rebuffed his every attempt. Finally he'd sat with Jordyn on the floor, and Chelsea had come to him on her own and sat on his knee. The way his face had lit up when she'd done so was unbelievably adorable and she couldn't help but smile. Peyton went and sat beside him and joined in the game until Cooper and Jess took the girls upstairs for their bedtime routine.

"You know," Peyton said when they were alone. "For a guy who swears he hates kids, you sure are good with them."

He just shrugged in response.

"And you really have a knack with them," she continued. "Those girls love you."

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess kids just take to me," he boasted lightly.

She laughed at his statement.

"No, I'm serious," he told her.

"Do you even know any other kids?"

"Not really, but there's this kid at the center…, you know, where I'm doing community service. Do you know about that?"

"I know you got probation, anger management classes, and community service, yeah. Brooke told me."

"Ok," he said with a nod. "Well, this kid there was like, talking to me, and I mean, he wouldn't shut up. You know how kids get? Anyway later on the head counselor pulls me in his office and asks me how I got him to talk because he wouldn't talk for anybody else."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And he already knew me too. Apparently his older brother's like, a fan of mine. He's into basketball and he wants to be like me."

"Nathan, that's awesome!" she exclaimed.

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I mean, you could be a mentor to them. Someone they could really look up to."

"What kind of mentor would I make?" he asked doubtfully. "I mean, I'm the guy who keeps screwing up. I don't think anyone should be following in my footsteps."

"Those kids don't know what mistakes you've made," she reasoned. "And they don't need to. I think it's great, babe. You have a chance to make a real difference in someone's life."

"Yeah, maybe, if I don't blow it, which I probably would."

"Stop it. You would not."

He smiled at her conviction and kissed her. How he'd done without her for the past few months, he didn't know.

He nearly swore when his phone buzzed again, and he did when he checked the display.

"Ok," Peyton said, equally frustrated. "That's like, what? Seven times today? Who is it?"

"It's this Katie chick," he told her.

"Someone you hooked up with?"

"Yeah. More than once," he admitted. "A lot of times, actually."

"Ok," Peyton acknowledged. "So, what does she want? Another hookup?"

"Not exactly." He sighed before proceeding. "She wants a relationship."

"I see."

"Yeah. And I told her that's not gonna happen, but," he shrugged. "She just doesn't get it."

"Well then, make her get it."

"I've tried. But she's like, really persistent and doesn't want to give up."

"Maybe you're not making yourself clear enough."

"Trust me, I've been clear."

"Ok, give me your phone."

"What?"

"I want to talk to her. Give me your phone."

"Peyt…"

"Is what you told me just now the truth?"

"Yes!"

"Then give me your phone."

He handed it to her, knowing it was the only way she'd believe him, and with a click of a button, she was connected to Katie's cell.

"Nathan, finally," Katie began. "I've been trying…"

"Yeah, this isn't Nathan," Peyton said coldly. "What do you want with my boyfriend?"