It felt like the sky was falling. About an hour after Haley left, she called him in tears, saying that she found Clay and Quinn unconscious. It looked like they had been several hours prior. She didn't find a gun. Nathan realised it could have happened seconds after he got off the phone with Clay the night before. Had he tried to talk to Quinn? Or had this attack stopped him from having the chance? It felt like a horrible, eerie sign from the universe that he shouldn't have confessed to any of this. Like his father and his father before him, he should have buried it deep and let it eat away at him, lest he ruin his image. But he wasn't his father. He didn't prioritise himself over everybody else. He especially didn't let reputation come first. He cared about being honest. Haley was always honest with him. They were married adults with a child. Nathan had to believe that owning up to what he had done was right.

But it really didn't feel that way.

Nathan met Haley at the hospital, but she wouldn't speak to him. Soon, Brooke came down as well. Julian, Mia, and Chase would pick up Jamie from baseball practice and distract him until they had something more concrete about Clay and Quinn's condition. He wanted to get on his knees and beg Haley for forgiveness, but it wasn't the time. She just found her sister in a pool of blood, only about a month after losing her mother. Somehow, his affair felt much less relevant now, although the guilt only grew with the dire situation. As inappropriate as it felt, while Haley went to Quinn and had Brooke keep her company, he went to Clay. His condition was much worse. There were more machines and breathing tubes connected to him than there were for Quinn. The doctors wouldn't even answer his questions. But they seemed to think he might be able to hear things even if he couldn't respond. He'd have to go in for additional surgery soon. His chances were not good. That much was clear. He'd been worried about losing Haley from his confession, but now the fear of losing Clay forever was palpable. It was so overwhelming. Every beep from the machine was like a stab to the heart, reminding him that each breath Clay took could be his last.

He sighed, both of his hands taking one of Clay's. He didn't even check if anybody was around, but it just felt like what he needed to do. And he would like to think that if Clay was aware of any of this, it might be what he needed, too.

"Hey, buddy. It's me," Nathan greeted quietly. "Doctor says you can maybe hear me, so, uh... If you can, why don't you- I don't know- Book me a Rainstorm body spray commercial or something, and then we can get the hell out of here." He chuckled a little at his own joke, but the lack of response made him feel worse. A lump formed at the back of his throat. "Listen... You know how you're always telling me what a warrior I am? The truth is, you're the warrior. My life is so much better because of you. And I'm not sure I ever said thank you for that." There was a euphemism somewhere about how he'd thanked him for that wonderful night, but he refused to entertain that thought. God, Clay looked so pale. The circles under his eyes were so pronounced. It was hard to remember he was still alive. "The, um... the doctors say it's a miracle that you're even breathing. But I know that it's not." He smiled wetly. "All this is nothing. Because I know your spirit. And I've seen your strength." He struggled to fight his tears by this point. "So come back to us when you can. Because I never said thank you. And I never said I love you. Not to your face. I- regardless of what happens, even if that night was all it will ever be, even if I work things out with Haley and you work things out with Quinn… I still love you."

Nathan let out a sob, burying his head in his hands. God, he might lose two people he loved more than anything. If Haley left him, would she let Jamie see him? Or was it just easier to demonise him and make sure he didn't screw Jamie up beyond repair? Quinn would probably break up with Clay out of solidarity with her sister, and that made him sad, too. Clay and Quinn… despite the initial shock and Haley's concerns about her past marriage, they did seem to make a nice couple. Technically, with them leaving, he and Clay could have each other, but it just didn't feel right. It wasn't what he wanted. No, that night with Clay was never going to leave his mind. Nor was he ever going to pretend it didn't happen. But he still loved Haley and Jamie with all of his heart. He knew that Clay loved Quinn, too. He didn't want to be a homewrecker.

Despite how good it had felt to get his confession off his conscience, Nathan could only feel a horrible sense of guilt that threatened to swallow him whole.

He was going to lose someone today. He was sure of it.

And regardless of who it was, it would kill him.

—

As Haley tried to walk into Clay's room, she stopped at the sight of a closed curtain. At first, she thought that perhaps the nurses had done it, but she couldn't hear anything except a quiet voice. She wasn't sure who had managed to visit him first. Brooke, maybe? But as Haley went to leave, not wanting to intrude, she paused as she recognised the voice: Nathan.

"I… I love you, man," he said softly, the way his voice always sounded around her or Jamie, the people he could be vulnerable around. "You have to pull through because you're so important to me and my family. I can't lose you."

Haley's hand came to her chest as Nathan started to cry. When she had walked out of their bathroom this morning, she had seen him on the verge of tears. With what had happened right after, she couldn't imagine how horrible he would have felt. She just wanted to hold him, too. Haley wondered whether once everything was okay and this worry passed — she wouldn't even entertain the alternative — she would feel the same way. Once it was over, would she resent him? She didn't want to. But there was still a pain in her heart that wasn't going away any time soon. She was hurting. Although she might need some time apart from Nathan initially… the only thing that would help her heal was talking it out with him because finding Clay and Quinn unconscious and bleeding out had made her, once again, realise that life was precious. She only had a finite amount of time with every person she cared about. No amount of fighting was ever worth losing someone important to her. While this affair might change some things between them, the way every progressive step or big fight in their relationship did, it wouldn't make her stop loving him. And she certainly didn't want him out of her life.

There was a noise, like a chair was being moved on the ground, and she quickly padded back to Quinn's room. She didn't want Nathan to know she had eavesdropped. Even though part of her was bitter at him for keeping secrets, he still had a right to privacy. As she took her seat, Quinn started to open her eyes. Footsteps sounded behind her, and she turned to see Nathan at the door, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Sorry." He looked away sheepishly. "I'll come back."

"N-No, it's okay," Haley assured, wanting to approach him, to touch the side of his head or brush away the tear he hadn't gotten to, but she kept her distance, afraid he was skittish. "She's just woken up. You can talk to her with me."

Nathan took a good, hard look at her, seemingly sceptical that she couldn't possibly be that nice to him after what he told her this morning. Nonetheless, he took a seat while she walked to Quinn's bedside. Quinn seemed very distressed and confused, so Haley said her name a few times to ground her.

"Hey, hey," she said softly, "it's okay, you're in the hospital."

"Where's Clay? Haley, where's Clay?" she asked, her voice clouded from sleep.

Haley stopped her from trying to get out of bed. "He's in another room. He's okay."

"Quinn, do you know who hurt you?" Nathan asked from behind her.

"That girl, Kaitie. The one who looks like Sara."

Haley looked at Nathan with worry. He knew she was thinking about Jamie. She was sure he was, too.

"We'll make sure you get a chance to talk to the police," Haley assured. "They'll find her, don't worry."

"I-I don't care about that right now. How badly is Clay hurt?" Quinn asked.

"He needs more surgery; he was hurt worse than you were," Nathan explained hesitantly, and Haley bit her lip as Quinn clasped a hand over her mouth, stifling a sob.

She hushed her, pushing a hair out of her eyes. "It's going to be okay. The doctors are doing what they can."

As she continued to comfort her sister, she almost forgot that Nathan was still there until he tapped her shoulder.

"Why don't I go back to the beach house and get their stuff? I think it's easier if you're there for her right now."

Haley narrowed her eyes at him slightly. Maybe this was his way of giving her a chance to talk about what he'd told her this morning. Or maybe he just needed some space and wasn't in the right frame of mind to face Quinn. Either way, Quinn and Clay would be in hospital for at least a few days, so it was probably a good idea for someone to get their belongings.

"Alright. I'll be here with both of them." She wanted to emphasise that even though Clay might not be her favourite person right now, she was still very concerned for his well-being. "Drive safe."

Usually, when one of them was going somewhere, the other would hug them or at least, peck their cheek. It looked like Nathan was trying to do one of those but couldn't decide and seemed almost afraid of her, so he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off. She sighed. It made her realise just how long he'd been agonising about his confession, but — through no fault of his own — it had happened at the worst possible time, so now they were stuck between addressing the elephant in the room or acting as a united front to be strong for Clay, Quinn, and Jamie.

"Nathan…" She called as he got to the door, making him turn to look at her. "I love you."

The way his face changed made her heart melt. "I love you, too."