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

A/N: Hi all. Hope everyone had a great holiday season. As usual I thank all those reading this story, and especially to those of you who leave a comment. It means a lot and love ya all. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

….

"Wonder if they're still crashed," Brooke said as she slipped her key out of her purse. She and Chase had left the sleeping couple on the couch to go for a drive, and ended up going to dinner and a movie, both enjoying some good, quality solo time together.

"If they are, it means they slept all day and evening," Chase said, recalling how Nathan had fallen asleep before the pizza had even arrived, and Peyton shortly after.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Brooke chirped. "Tonight was really nice," she added, turning into her boyfriend's arms.

"Yeah, it was," he agreed.

"Now, how 'bout you let me repay you for the lovely evening," she said suggestively as she snaked her arms around his shoulders.

He frowned at her statement. "You don't have to repay me, Brooke. That's not why I'm with you."

She smiled, flashing her dimples. "I know," she acknowledged, happy she'd finally met a boy who wanted more than just sex from her. "But what if I want to?"

"Then just say that. Be with me cuz you want to be with me, not to reward me for taking you out," he said sternly, his expression serious.

Again she smiled, unable to help herself.

"And now that that's cleared up," he said, confident she'd gotten his point, "I'll take you up on your offer."

She nodded and took his hand, leading him inside.

Their gazes went instantly to the couch, noticing it was empty. There was no sign of Nathan or Peyton so Brooke assumed they'd already gone upstairs to bed.

Until Nathan appeared from the backroom and made his way over to the brunette couple.

Or rather, stumbled his way over, a half-empty bottle of rum in his hands. "Hey, you're back!" he slurred, slinging his arms over the two and leaning heavily upon them. "You're just in time to help celebrate."

"Looks like you're doing fine without us," Brooke replied. She was just about to rebuke him for getting wasted on his first night of freedom in months, when surely Peyton would have wanted to spend that time with him, when she heard the blonde in question come in from the back door, singing at the top of her lungs a song Brooke didn't recognize but was certain her friend was mixing up the lyrics.

"Baby, where did you go?" the blonde called out through the house. "I think we need more gin. This one's empty," she complained, holding up the bottle for Nathan to look, though he wasn't in the room to see it. She staggered into the front room. "Oh, Nate, they're back!" she exclaimed, as if he didn't already know. "Now it's a party!"

Nathan's unsteady feet took him to his equally unsteady girlfriend and leaned on her to kiss her, causing her to lose the little bit of balance she had.

"Hey, don't push me," she lamented, a frown on her face.

"I'm trying to kiss you," he told her.

"Oh," Peyton returned, her frown instantly changing to a smile, and leaning up to return the gesture.

Brooke glanced over at Chase, who wore a look of amusement on his face.

"Guess they've been awake for a while," he remarked.

"I guess so," she agreed.

Before they knew it, Nathan was at them again, this time shoving a full bottle of whiskey at them, and telling them to drink up. He was clearly at the point that he was grabbing any bottle he found, not caring what it was, as long as it was alcohol.

Brooke was not one to pass up a party, but she gazed up at her boyfriend, wondering how he felt about it. She smiled when he simply shrugged and said 'why not'.

"But your parents won't be mad that we're drinking their booze?" he asked curiously.

"They're not here to notice," Brooke answered half-heartedly.

….

"Can you think of anyone who'd want to harm your daughter?" Officer Thompson asked the distraught parents. The good news that Katie would pull through relieved them of their biggest fear, but the fact that she wasn't waking up still had their nerves frayed. That and, of course, the fact that someone had tried to kill their daughter.

"Besides the son of a bitch she testified against?" Mr. Sanders answered edgily.

"We've already ruled Mr. Scott out as a suspect," Thompson informed them. "Besides the fact that it makes no sense for him to attack her, or arrange to have her attacked, after she's already testified rather than before, he was in our custody at the time, in solitaire confinement, with no access to visitation other than his lawyer. He's not the one we're after here, and if we're gonna catch the one responsible, I need the two of you to focus and think of somebody other than Nathan Scott who might have a grudge against her."

"We've been through this," Mrs. Sanders replied with tear-filled eyes. "I can't think of anyone."

"Sometimes it's in the smallest detail. Let's go back to the last time you saw her before her disappearance. "You said she was angry?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"What about?"

"I don't know. She was fine one minute and the next she was fuming. She mumbled something about 'the jerk lied to her' and then she stormed out."

"No idea who this jerk is?"

"If I knew, don't you think I would have said something long before now?"

"My apologies. I know this is difficult, but we need to ask these questions."

Both parents nodded agreeably so the officers continued.

"Do you know what set her mood off? What was the prior conversation?"

"Uh, we were talking about the trial…" her mother began.

"She seemed upset when we told her Scott would likely get a good ten-year or more sentence thrown at him thanks to her testimony," Mr. Sanders cut in.

"Why would that upset her?"

"I have no idea but, for some reason, she was under the impression that he'd serve no more than a few months in a juvenile facility."

"Yes," her mother agreed. "She seemed very intent on that," she remembered. "She kept asking if we were sure. We must have told her a dozen times that we were."

"And that's when she got real upset and left."

The two police officers exchanged glances, both trying to decipher what this new information could mean.

"Ok," Thompson said, standing. "Thank you for your time, and if you think of anything else, give us a call," he added, reaching in his front pocket for his business card and handing it to them.

"Wait," Mr. Sanders stopped them from leaving. "You're gonna catch this bastard, right?"

"We're doing our best."

"I want her protected in case the son of a bitch comes back to finish the job."

Thompson nodded in understanding. "There'll be a guard posted at her door 24-7," he assured them. "She's safe now, sir, ma'am," he added with a tip of his hat.

He left another card at the nurse's station. "I want to know the second she wakes up," he ordered.

"Yes sir."

…

"Something the matter, son?" Mouth's father asked, sitting beside him on the couch. "You've been moping around all day. Your mother's worried."

"Tell her I'm fine," Mouth returned.

"You say that but your face tells a different story. Your friend was released today," his dad pointed out. "I'd think you'd be happy about that, especially since your testimony may have played a big part in the judge's decision."

"You think so? It didn't seem to have much impact on the jury."

"The how and why don't matter so much as the result," the older McFadden reasoned. "Thanks to you and a few others, the boy got his freedom. In the end, that's all that really matters."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. And I am happy about that. I just wish I hadn't alienated my other friends because of what I did."

His father, acknowledging the root cause of his son's dejection, spoke up. "Let me ask you something," he said. "You believe Nathan's innocent?"

Mouth nodded his head. "Yeah, I really do."

"Then you did the only thing you could do. It's not always easy to do what you feel is right, but I'll tell you, your mother and I are darn proud that you're willing to do so, no matter the consequences. As for your friends, give 'em time. They'll come around."

"I doubt that," Mouth denied. "They all think he's guilty and that I only stuck up for him because he's popular."

"Any truth to that?"

"No. He's my friend, and I truly don't think he did it."

"Well then, hang on to that. It might be the only thing to get you through this."

Mouth nodded appreciatively but didn't respond.

"I know it's hard losing friends, especially ones you've grown up with," his father continued. "But imagine if you hadn't spoken up, believing what you believe, and Nathan was convicted. How guilty would you feel?"

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"The guilt would eat you up," his dad agreed. "You did the right thing, son, so don't beat yourself up over it."

"I'm not. I just wish everyone understood."

"That may or may not happen. It's a tough situation but one you'll have to learn to deal with."

"Do you think he's innocent?" Mouth wanted to know.

"You want the truth?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I wish I could say I did," the older man answered regretfully. "But I think Haley's a sweet girl who wouldn't lie to save herself. Because of that, I can't say that I believe in his innocence. I'm sorry."

"It's not like I think Haley set out to do him harm," Mouth responded. "I just think maybe she got carried away, and didn't want to admit…I don't know. You say I did the right thing, yet you don't believe…"

"You did what was right for you," Mr. McFadden cleared up. "You took a stand for what you believe in, and sometimes that's all a man can do. Regardless of what's true and not true, Nathan's been given another chance at a decent life. Let's hope he uses it wisely."

….

"Hey, buddy, where's our drinks?" Nathan called out to Chase, who'd taken it upon himself to play bartender for the night.

Chase stood behind the bar and glanced toward Nathan, who currently sat on a beanie chair with Peyton atop him. Nathan's hands rested on her hips and, more often than not, their lips were attached. When they weren't making out, they were laughing quietly or groping each other, clearly drunk enough to assume that their words and gestures couldn't be seen or heard by the two they'd been so excited to include in their 'party'. Chase had to wonder why that was when they were obviously more interested in each other than in keeping company with others.

Except, apparently, when they ran out of booze.

"I'm the bartender," Chase responded. "Not the servant."

Brooke had to smile at how her boyfriend held his own with her friends. He was going to fit in just fine.

"What was that, dude?" Nathan asked a bit perplexed.

"You want drinks, come get'em," Chase replied.

"Come on, man," Nathan complained. "I'm kinda boxed in here. Besides that, I'm comfortable too."

Getting nowhere with his excuses, Nathan finally grumbled and convinced Peyton to go get the drinks.

"Fine," she mumbled, rising on unsteady legs. "But it's your turn next time."

Nathan frowned. "How come it's only your turn every three times?"

"It's not," Peyton replied.

"Feels like it."

"It's your imagination," she told him.

"No, I have better things to do with my imagination," he said.

"Yeah? Like what?"

He pulled her back down atop him and she giggled just before his lips came down hard on hers. She didn't hesitate to return the gesture.

"Our drinks," Nathan reminded her when they pulled away several minutes later.

"It's your turn," she said, shifting her weight to one side to allow him to stand. "I got them the last time."

He gazed at her suspiciously but didn't think to question it. "Alright," he said, standing to go do their bidding.

…

"Get used to it," Brooke told Chase as Nathan took time to kiss Peyton again before staggering over to the bar. "They're always like this."

"Always?" Chase asked just as Peyton smacked Nathan in the ass on his way by.

"Well, the alcohol makes them a bit cruder about it, but yeah, when things are good between them, they're pretty heavy on the PDA."

"Doesn't bother you?" he questioned.

Brooke shook her head. "Nope. I'm used to it," she said. "Better that than having them fighting."

Chase nodded and waited for Nathan's slow approach to the bar. "What can I getcha?" he asked when he finally made it. "Same as last time or can I interest you in the Chase Adam's special?"

"Don't do it," Brooke warned with a cough, having been first to try her boyfriend's 'special' that night. But she only smiled sweetly when he threw her a feigned wounded look.

Her warning lost on him in his current state, Nathan replied, "Sure, why not?"

Chase's expression turned smug and he stuck his tongue out at the beautiful brunette beside him.

"Don't stick your tongue out unless you intend to use it, mister," Brooke teased.

"I heard that," Nathan chuckled, as Chase's cheeks reddened just the slightest. "Looks like I'm not the only one getting lucky tonight," Nathan continued, still chuckling.

Chase, unsure of how to respond, remained silent as he made the drinks.

"Guess that makes you two the luckiest guys in Tree Hill, huh?" Brooke piped up.

"Yep," Nathan agreed.

"In the whole planet," Chase amended, not wanting to be disrespectful to Brooke, but at the same time, wanting her to know that he did, indeed, feel lucky. The comment earned him a quick peck on the lips.

"Hey, quit that," Nathan complained. "There are other people here, you know, who don't want to see you two making out all night."

"Oh, you should talk, superstar," Brooke huffed in amusement. "I'm surprised you came up for a breather."

Grinning boyishly, Nathan responded. "I'm up for more that that, if you know what I'm sayin'."

"Too much information," Brooke said with a laugh, knowing exactly what he was saying.

"Hey, can I help it that my girl's so hot?" Nathan defended as his eyes strayed to Peyton. "I get a hard on just looking at her."

"No doubt," Brooke replied. "But keep drinking and all this is only going to be talk. You're gonna be too wasted to perform."

"Never gonna happen," Nathan denied.

"Ok, let me put it another way," Brooke began. "If you don't slow down, then your first time together since your arrest is going to be over in a matter of seconds."

Nathan smirked at her. "Nah, it was five minutes at least," he returned. "Second and third lasted longer though. What?" he asked when Brooke gazed at him with arched brows. "What were we supposed to do while you were gone?"

"I don't know. Get into my parents' liquor cabinet?" she joked.

"We did that too."

"No kidding."

"Hey," Peyton called from her spot. "Are you guys talking about me?" she asked, noticing all eyes had turned to her.

"What do you think?" Nathan asked her with a wink.

"I think you are, or why else are you all hanging out over there and leaving me here all by myself?"

"Aww, babe, come here," Nathan called her.

She did as he said, tripping over herself the whole ten feet.

"What are you saying?" she asked when she'd reached her destination.

"I was just saying how sexy you are."

"Don't lie, Nate," Brooke remarked. "He was telling us about romp one, two, and three."

Peyton's jaw dropped and she back handed her boyfriend in the chest. "Nathan! You're not supposed to tell people!" She tried to sound stern but her giggle ruined any chance of that.

He slid his hands in her back pockets and pulled her close. "I'm a guy," he said with a shrug. "That's what we do."

"Oh yeah?" she returned. "Well, this isn't a locker room."

"It's just Brooke," he reasoned. "She don't care."

"And Chase," Peyton countered before turning to the other boy. "It's ok," she told him. "We're getting married. See," she added, lifting her left hand for his inspection.

Nathan chuckled and reached inside the front of her shirt for the necklace where he'd hung the ring. "It's in here," he reminded her before addressing his next remark to Chase. "We have to hide it for now cuz her dad hates me and won't let her wear it."

Chase simply nodded, having heard some of the story from Brooke already.

"But when we're 18…" Peyton began.

"No one'll be able to stop us and the whole world will know we're together and in love," Nathan finished.

Chase smiled at the couple, his uneasiness lessening in that moment as the two shared with him their secret plans as though he were a part of their group. For a couple who'd behaved as though getting laid was the ultimate goal for the end of the night, it was nice to see some genuine emotion between them. "Hey, you don't have to explain yourselves to me," he felt obligated to say.

"I know," Peyton acknowledged. "Just, you know, with you being a clean teen and all, I just thought…"

"That was a personal choice," Chase explained. "One I don't expect everyone else to follow."

"Good to know," the blonde slurred. "I so would have joined too if I didn't looove sex so much," she added with a giggle. "Joke," she said when Chase didn't laugh as expected.

"That ain't no joke," Nathan scoffed. "You do love it."

Peyton scratched her head, her thoughts becoming muffled. "No, I mean, not the loving sex part, just saying it to a clean teen. Oh God," she mumbled, facing Chase again. "Ignore anything I say tonight, ok? I'm a little tipsy."

"A little?" Chase countered.

"Kay, a lot."

"What's the big deal anyway?" Nathan asked. "The guy's not even a clean teen anymore since he gave it up to Brooke."

"I forgot about that," Peyton exclaimed in realization. "So, I don't have to worry about offending him."

"Not that you had to worry about it anyway," Chase replied. "But no, you don't."

Brooke's cheeks reddened as Chase turned her way. She wasn't sure how he would react to her telling her friends about them.

"Braggin' huh?" he questioned with a cockiness comparable to Nathan's, putting her worries at ease.

"You bet," she answered with a wink.

"Speaking of bets," Nathan said, the word and conversation reminding him of the bet he and Brooke had made not so long ago. Which one would get the clean teen in bed first. "I shoulda known you'd win that one. It's a lot easier to convince a guy than a girl for that kind of stuff. Although Shelly did say in court that she was tempted so it probably would have been a closer race if she hadn't found out…"

"Ok, I don't wanna hear this," Peyton harped. "You're back with me now so forget about Shelly," she ordered.

"I already did," Nathan assured her, coming in for another kiss.

In Peyton's state, that was all the reassurance she needed. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him back.

Not so much for Chase, who was hearing this for the first time and wasn't nearly buzzed enough for the meaning to go over his head.

"Chase…" Brooke said shame-faced, knowing by the look in his eyes that he wasn't going to let this one slide.

Ignoring her, he slammed the drinks he'd been making in front of Nathan and Peyton, spilling a little over the edge in the process. "Enjoy," he said evenly before stomping away from the group toward the front door.

Brooke followed right behind him, catching up to him outside. "Chase, wait…" she pleaded. "I can explain."

He turned to face her, crossing his arms over her chest. "Ok," he said dryly, giving her the chance.

She hesitated a moment, thrown off by his cold stare. "Look, he's drunk and sometimes he says stuff, and…"

"You saying it's not true?" he challenged. "I wasn't some little pawn in a game you two cooked up?"

"No," she denied. "You and I were already together and then he got with Shelly, which for him, yes it was a game, but he was only trying to get over Peyton…"

"I'm not interested in his skewed reasons, Brooke. Let me hear yours."

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes before beginning her explanation. "When he got with her, we bet which one of us would…"

"Yeah, I gathered that part."

"Ok, look, it was just a joke…"

"A joke." he repeated with disgust. "Well, I guess that tells me how you view my beliefs."

"No, I never would have asked you to compromise your beliefs…"

"No, you would just tempt me into compromising them myself. Well congratulations on your victory. Glad to know Shelly was a little smarter than me."

"Chase…"

"You know, I forgave the fact that I started out as a bet between you and Rachel because, first of all, you were honest with me about it, and second, I was more interested in who you are now than in who you were in the past, but obviously the two are one and the same."

"No…"

"And I stood back and accepted that those two in there," he said pointing at the door, "would always come ahead of me with you, but I can't accept this, Brooke. I'm sorry."

With that he spun around and disappeared into the night, leaving Brooke on the front step, wanting to kick herself, not to mention Nathan, for screwing up what was possibly the best thing to happen to her.

She went back inside to find Nathan and Peyton still in their own little world, completely clueless of what had just taken place. She watched as they pulled apart, and then Nathan, oblivious to her pain, suggested ordering pizza.

"There's left over pizza from this afternoon," Brooke stated evenly. "I'm going to bed."

"What's wrong with her," Nathan asked once Brooke had gone upstairs.

"I don't know," Peyton answered. "I think maybe her and Chase had their first lover's quarrel."

"Oh," Nathan replied. "Well, if they're anything like us…"

"It's just one of many more," she finished.

"I was gonna say they'll have fun making up."

"That too. Hey, this drink taste weird to you?" she asked.

"It tastes like crap," he answered.

They both shrugged carelessly and proceeded to down the entire glass.

…

Meanwhile, Haley tossed restlessly in her sleep as the dream pulled her into the abyss of darkness and fear.

(Haley's dream/nightmare)

Nathan had chased her for miles all around the school and no matter how fast she ran, he was always right behind her.

Now he had her cornered in the tutor center, and there was nowhere left for her to go. She looked around fearfully. Where were all the people? Why wasn't there anyone around?

"There's nobody here," he told her in a sinister tone as he approached the corner where she cowered.

"Don't come any closer," she said, panic in her voice. "Or I'll call the police."

He laughed evilly. "They couldn't help you the first time. What makes you think they can help you now?"

She sat, her body shaking violently, her heart beating erratically, while he took a few steps forward. He seemed to be moving in slow motion as though to extend the torment. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out.

"You can scream all you want," he said. "But no one'll rescue you. Just like no one rescued Katie," he added just as his hand reached out for her…

(End of Dream/Nightmare)

Her scream finally escaped and she bolted upright, gasping for breath and beads of sweat dripping from every pore of her body.

"Hales," Luke said, his arms instantly wrapping around her protectively. "You ok?"

"Umm…" she began, but fell silent, too distressed at the moment to question his presence.

"Ok, you're ok," he spoke softly. "It was just a dream," he concluded as he continued to hold her. "You want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

So he just held her, whispering soothing words until she finally calmed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked after a long while.

"Your parents let me in," he revealed. "I knew you weren't taking this as well as you let on," he said honestly. Haley may be one of the strongest people he knew, but even she could only take so much. Her rapist's release from prison was bound to have an effect on her. "It was just a dream," he repeated.

She nodded. "I know," she acknowledged. "Just a stupid dream," she said.

But it had felt so real, which is why she didn't object when Luke's arms tightened around her, making her feel safe as he rocked slowly and kept with the calming words.

"It's gonna be ok," he told her. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

…

Nathan rolled off his beautiful girlfriend, peeled away the condom and tossed it in the trashcan beside the bed before pulling her in closer against him. "This really was the best day ever," he whispered in her ear.

"For me too," she said, turning over to face him. "Let's always be like this, ok?" she continued, her fingers tracing the contours of his cheekbones.

He nodded.

"Promise?"

He entwined his fingers with hers and brought them to his lips, kissing them softly. "I promise."