Chapter 23: Mr. Hot Shot and Jackass
It probably looked super sketchy when Nathan and Lucas parked outside their father's house at 1 in the morning. Nathan had gotten to Tree Hill late, and Lucas made sure to sneak out quietly so that he could avoid questioning by both Brooke and Haley. He didn't want Haley to know about what him and Nathan had been doing, just in case they came up with nothing. Nathan didn't want to let her down, he had done that enough lately, and neither did Lucas.
The house was pretty scary looking. It was small and secluded, something that was perfect for Dan Scott especially if he was running from the law. It was pretty run down too and frankly, it looked like a scene from a horror movie.
"I don't know about this man. This place gives me the creeps. I feel like I'm living in a horror movie right now." Nathan said, looking over at Lucas who continued to stare blankly at the house.
"No turning back now little brother. We have to check out the surroundings so when we come back tomorrow to execute the plan, we will know exactly where to go."
"Dude, it's one in the morning and I've been driving all night."
"Should have left earlier then Nate. No sympathy over here." Lucas shrugged, while Nathan rolled his eyes. They both stepped out of the car, making sure to be extra quiet in case Dan was lurking around, and began to patrol the house. They were surprised when they saw Felix, sitting on the back porch smoking a cigarette.
"Felix? What the fuck are you doing here?" Nathan asked, completely confused as to why this tool was hanging out with his father. They had let him into their friend circle so if he was affiliated with Dan in any way, he was going to have to pay.
"I should be asking you the same thing Nathan Scott. Last I checked you hated dear old daddy." Felix flicked his cigarette and turned to face Nathan completely. "Where's that pretty Haley of yours? I'm surprised she's not hanging on your hip. Or is she back with Lucas now?"
"You bastard." Nathan muttered lunging at Felix, while Lucas held him back shaking his head. If they wanted information out of Felix, which is clearly something he had, Nathan couldn't attack just yet.
"Ahh Mr. Hot Shot is a little sensitive today. It's not my fault you finally realized that little Miss Perfect Haley James is actually a whore." The words barely finish coming out of his mouth before Nathan punches him right in the face, knocking him over.
"DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT HALEY LIKE THAT AGAIN JACKASS!" Lucas pulls Nathan back again, motioning for him to stand behind him. Felix looks up at them, covering his eye, which is sure to be black and blue, with a scowl on his face.
"Why are you at Dan's Felix?" Felix doesn't respond. "We can make this easy or hard, it's up to you. If you continue to keep us out then I'll make sure to let Nathan get another beating, or two, out of you." Nathan spits at Felix, as Lucas pushes him away yet again.
"I work for Dan."
"What do you mean you work for Dan?" Lucas inquires, looking over at Nathan who just shrugs and continues to stare down Felix.
"I've been performing some tasks for him."
"So you're the prick who took the photo of Lucas and Haley kissing? God, this makes so much more sense now. I should have known that you were pathetic enough to do that seeing as none of us liked you from the start in high school. Nice little revenge, too bad it didn't work. Tell Dan to shove that up his ass." Nathan says, flipping off Felix and kicking him to add for dramatic effect. Lucas doesn't even bother to stop him because at this point, there is no turning back for Nathan.
"He paid me a lot of money to show him that picture alright? And unlike some rich boys, I need the money. My parents cut me off."
"Boo fucking hoo man. What else has Dan made you do?" Lucas asks, not pleased with Felix and resisting the urge to start beating him up with Nathan.
"A lot. Mostly stuff involving Haley but that's all I'm saying. I need that money and I can't go snitching."
"IF you dare to touch Haley again I SWEAR to God that I WILL KILL YOU!" Nathan gets up into Felix's face screaming. Felix swallows hard and continues to scowl, trying to not show that Nathan is intimidating him.
"You haven't seen the last of us. And if you tell Dan that we ran into you, I will make sure to join in on the killing of you." Lucas replied as they both walked away, spitting at Felix and heading to the car. When Nathan got in, he punched the steering wheel frustrated with the entire situation and wanting to fix it. He wanted Haley to be happy, and he knew that if he could just win her back and help ease her pain about Chris, then he would be happy. But Felix was near impossible to work with, and there was no guarantee that his and Lucas's plan would work, now that Felix knew they were lurking around. This was one hell of a school break, and Nathan couldn't wait for things to go back to normal. He just had to figure out how to get back there.
It was reaching 4 am when Nathan and Lucas finally got back. Nathan wasn't really sure where to go, considering it was late and Haley didn't know he was here. He decided he would just spend some of his money and rent out a room at the motel down the street, that way he would be out of Haley's hair and could spend some more time making sure his plan was perfect and well executed. He was exhausted though, and he couldn't wait to just fall asleep. He had been having a hard time sleeping without Haley next to him but he was the point of exhaustion that he knew nothing would stop his eyelids from crashing this time.
The morning came, and since Lucas was dead asleep, Brooke had Haley accompany her to her last ultrasound. Lucas had been to all of the others, so Brooke wasn't too upset about it but Haley definitely felt like she was intruding and taking his place. No matter how many times Brooke and Lucas assured her that it was okay, she still felt as though she didn't belong there with Brooke.
Haley was amazed at what she saw and how big the baby was getting. She cried even harder when Brooke asked her to be the godmother and she happily accepted before Brooke even had time to finish the entire question. The girls hugged it out, with a lot of tears, and then it was time for Haley to get checked out.
Haley hated being at the doctor's so when she sat down in the boring, bland room, she felt like she was suffocating. The doctor was pretty quick at coming in but it didn't get rid of the creeps that Haley felt while sitting in this room.
"Hi Haley James –"
"Scott. It's Haley Scott." Haley said, surprised that those words would even come out of her mouth. She thought it would be fun to practice, but the thought here made her even more sad than before.
"Haley Scott, I'm sorry – I didn't see that in your chart." The doctor explained as Haley nodded.
"Yeah, I just haven't gotten around to changing it yet." She half smiled, praying that the doctor believed her and she did.
"Anyways, my name is Dr. Haynes and I will be assisting you today. Now, tell me what's been going on lately."
"Uh okay, well for the past couple weeks or so I just have felt really weird. I'm super emotional and I feel nauseous a lot. I'm also always tired but I figured that had to deal with stress and adjusting to being married and starting college."
"That definitely all can be effects of stress, but are you um, sexually active Mrs. Scott?"
"Yeah, with just my husband though, of course." Now she was rambling and feeling like an idiot for it. Of course the doctor would know that.
"Of course. Do you mind if we run some tests?" Haley shook her head no. "Good, then can you pee in this cup for me?"
It seemed like years, waiting for the doctor to come back with the test results. Haley had left her phone with Brooke, for some odd reason, so she was just stuck there twiddling with her thumbs while she waited. Much to her relief, the doctor came back in and seemed to look happy. This must mean everything is okay, Haley thought to herself as she smiled politely back at the doctor, counting the seconds until she was free to go.
"Congratulations Mrs. Scott, you're pregnant!" That's the last thing Haley heard before everything went black.
- Friends First then Love -
Lucas spent most of the day sleeping, and then headed over to help Nathan with his surprise for Haley. He forgot how much he missed hanging out with his brother, and was glad that they got some time together even if it involved them making different type of plans.
"I can't believe Felix. That guy is such a tool, I knew it the second we met him in high school." Nathan responded, frustrated with the situation and with the note he was writing Haley. Every single one of his pens decided to not work, and he was getting really annoyed.
"Hold it little brother. If I remember correctly, and correct me if I'm wrong, you were quite the jackass yourself back in high school."
"Yeah, shut up man. But I changed. I'm not a jackass anymore, at least not always. Unless it involves Haley. I seem to fuck that up every single time."
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself man. You're trying and so is she. Maybe she just felt pressure to have everything go perfectly, and it wasn't. She will come around."
"I hope so Luke. I mean, I don't know where this need for perfection has come from. It's always been easy with us, and quite imperfect. I fucking proposed at a high school graduation. Besides, she's been awfully emotional lately."
"Yeah, she seemed that way when I saw her too. Brooke dragged her to the doctor with her, so I'm sure everything's fine."
- Friends First then Love -
Everything was so not fine. Here Haley was, separated from her fiancée sitting in a doctor's room, finding out that she's pregnant and 2 months along. How did she not realize this? Her period was still pretty frequent, which the doctor insisted was normal and that it should stop this month but holy cow. Which means, she had gotten pregnant in August and the baby would be due to arrive sometime in May, which also meant that she would be pregnant the entire school year and every one would talk. The doctor had calmed her down after she fainted from the news, but her and Nathan weren't even speaking and she didn't know how to tell him. "Hey sorry babe but I'm pregnant." She shuddered at the mere thought. Of course she always wanted to be a mom and was ecstatic that she was taking this next step with Nathan, but this is not how it was suppose to happen. She was supposed to get married first, and then have a baby. She didn't want to tell anyone either because she felt that Nathan should be the very first to know. She knew Brooke would be bound to ask questions, so she figured she would use the whole stress excuse and hope that she bought it.
"Hey tutor girl – you were in there for a while. Everything alright?" Brooke asked, wincing in pain a little but choosing to ignore it. This was why Haley hated doctor's offices. They always caused problems.
"Yeah, I was right. It just is some effects of the stress, but nothing to be too concerned about. How about you?"
"Great, actually. I'm already 2 centimeters dilated, so that's good but also very terrifying. I don't know if I'll ever want to have sex again after giving birth that's for sure. I hear it doesn't look so pretty down there after having a kid." Haley swallowed, trying not to show her nervousness or that anything was off with her. Instead, she awkwardly chuckled a little and looked away, praying for something to get them out of this office at a quicker pace than they were already moving. They began walking out when Brooke stopped.
"Do you mind if we sit for a second? I'm just having some pain, I'm sure it's nothing."
"Brooke – are you okay? Is it a contraction?"
"Uhm, maybe?" Brooke replied as she pushed through another one. This is weird, the doctor said I have some time, Brooke thought to herself as she breathed through the sudden pain. "I'm only a little bit dilated. I mean the doctor said the baby can come at any time now but I was hoping he would maybe wait a little longer."
"Brooke, I'm serious. Do you think you're in labor?" Brooke was about to respond "no" when she felt a liquid go down her leg.
"Well, my water just broke… OH MY GOD MY WATER BROKE!" Haley's eyes grew large as she tried to remain calm for Brooke. They immediately found the OBGYN who called an ambulance and had them sent to the hospital immediately. Brooke was freaking out since Lucas wasn't with her and Haley did her best to remain strong. This is going to be me in 7 months, she thought to herself as she shuddered at the thought and tried to remain focused on Brooke.
"Haley – please call Lucas. NOW!" Haley almost dropped the phone when Brooke handed it to her, she was shaking so much. She called Lucas, and it rang for a while. Come on Luke, now is not the time to be ignoring my calls.
"Hey Hales – wha—"
"Brooke's in labor!"
"WHAT?! What do you mean?! Are you serious? Where are you guys?"
"In an ambulance, almost at the hospital. Please get here quick." Lucas hung up and turned to look at Nathan, his face pale.
"Uh, Luke? Are you alright man?" Nathan asked, the confusion spread across his face.
"Brooke – Brooke – she's…she's in labor. She's having the bb-baby." Lucas stuttered, freaking out that he was about to become a dad and unsure of what was to come next.
"Oh my God dude, we better get you to the hospital! I'll drive."
"But Haley's there Nate."
"Hey, I have to see her at some point. Now, let's go!" They sped off to the hospital, arriving in what could be a record time. Nathan let Lucas out while he parked as Lucas ran through the hospital, begging every nurse to tell him where Brooke was. He finally found Haley, who was sitting in the waiting room and pointed him in the right direction. He mouthed thanks to her as he ran off to find Brooke.
Brooke was in a room, trying to breathe through the contractions. She looked scared, and that broke Lucas's heart.
"Pretty girl I am here now okay? You aren't alone anymore." He kissed her forehead as she smirked at him.
"I'm scared Luke, like really scared. I dilated so fast and this is all so scary."
"I know it is baby, but I'm here right now. We will get through this and have our perfect little son in no time. You are a strong woman Brooke, you got this and I'm here every step of the way." Lucas wasn't sure if he was reassuring Brooke to make her feel better or reassuring himself through her.
Back in the waiting room, Haley was flipping through a magazine when she saw him standing there. Her heart dropped at the site of him and she so badly wanted to run into his arms and kiss him but she couldn't.
"Hi Hales." His voice was almost a whisper as he walked over to her and sat down in the chair beside her. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too." Haley replied, closing the magazine and laying it back down on the chair on the other side of her.
"I'm sorry. I know that I say it enough times that it probably doesn't mean anything anymore but I truly am sorry. I should have been more present with you through all of this."
"Hey, it's okay. I might have overreacted a little. My hormones have been a little crazy and I just got stressed and maybe a little scared." She looked away. She felt like she was going to cry and she didn't want Nathan to see that. He softly placed a strand of her hair behind her ear as she looked back at him and smiled sweetly.
"Hey baby, why are you crying?" He wiped the tears on her cheek, making eye contact with her.
"Sorry, I'm just so emotional lately."
"It's okay. You have had a lot on your plate."
"And about to have even more on my plate." She wished she could stop the words before they had already fallen out of her mouth and knew that there was no turning back now when Nathan looked at her confused.
"What do you mean by that? Please don't leave me Hales. I know I messed up but I still love you and can't live without you. Don't let my sucky wedding planning skills get in the way of that please."
"It's not that Nathan. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I love you too much to ever walk away from us."
"Then what did you mean when you said you were about to have more on your plate?"
"God Nathan, I don't even know how to tell you this. This probably isn't the best place to even tell you."
"Stop that Hales, you're scaring me. What's going on? You know you can tell me anything right?" Haley nodded in response. "Okay good. Now, what's going on?"
"Nathan, I'm pregnant."