Okay guys, this is it. The final chapter. Thank you so much for your support, especially thibbs65 and othfangirl who reviewed every chapter. I wouldn't have finished this without your constant encouragement. I'm still playing around with ideas I have for a sequel (like a season 5 but without the time jump) and I also have another story idea that has been bugging me for months that I'm considering writing if I think there's enough interest. It takes a ton of time and effort to write something like this and I don't want to start anything if I'm not sure I'll finish it. As always, reviews are always welcome and if you are interested in seeing either or both of the things I'm considering, please let me know.

Ch 56

Haley walked the floors of the beautiful nursery Deb had set up for James, examining the little details as she fought to get her son to go back to sleep. Every item had been carefully picked from the blue and white rug and the teddy bears with basketballs theme, to the pictures of Nathan and Haley on the shelves. It was a beautiful place for their little boy and a gesture that touched her heart. She patted him on the back, wondering if he needed to burp again as he continued to fuss. Usually he went to sleep after feeding for at least a couple hours, but this time he was wide awake and unhappy. She'd tried everything she could think of and nothing seemed to be working.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning quickly to find her sleep rumpled husband standing behind her, his hair sticking up in all directions and his hastily donned shirt on inside out. "I didn't hear you," she told him, smiling at the adorable picture he made. It still amazed her that she still learned new things about him, especially since the birth of their son. She didn't think she could ever find him more attractive than she already did, but watching him with their son made her heart race. He was so sexy and it was going to be a long five more weeks before they could make love again.

"That's because you're like a zombie Hales," he told her, brushing the hair from her face. "You already fed him, let me take him for a while. You need to get some sleep."

"You got up with him last time," she argued, even as her body begged her to accept the reprieve he offered.

"But I'm not recovering from giving birth and I don't have to give a speech tomorrow," he told her, his eyes looking down at his watch, "I guess I should say today. I've got this. Just go back to bed."

She yawned, her eyes drooping even as she tried to convince them both that her staying up with the crying infant was the right thing to do. "I feel bad..."

Nathan took the crying baby from her arms and set him in his bed for a moment before pulling her into his arms. "We're a team. Isn't that what you told me?" she nodded her head as she relaxed against her husband's warm, comforting chest. "There are going to be a lot of times I can't be there to help you, but right now I can. Let me do that okay?"

She nodded and gave him a quick kiss before she padded toward the door, "There's a bottle in..."

"the fridge. I know," he chuckled as he reached down and picked up his son. "I have done this before. Now go."

"What's wrong Jimmy Jam?" Nathan said, moving to sit in the rocking chair. "Did you just need some guy time after all the ladies fussing over you all day?"

Jamie's cries subsided a bit as he was rocked, but didn't go away completely. "I think I'd go crazy with all those women passing me around too, but they all love you a lot."

James started to cry a little harder again and Nathan stood with him, walking a circuit of the room as Haley had done earlier. "I'm not sure what you want buddy. I can't sing to you like your mama does. I know you like that but I'd probably ruin your ear drums," he whispered, wiping drool off the baby's chin as his wails increased. "But I guess I can try if it would help. Just don't tell anyone I did this okay? It'll ruin my image."

Jamie continued to cry so Nathan started to sing, his voice a little husky as he tried to remember the words. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."

By the first time through Jamie had quieted considerably and by the second time, his eyes had started to droop, allowing his father to release a sigh of relief. He continued to sing until he was sure that his son was completely asleep and then carefully went to set him down in his crib. "I guess I don't have to worry about you being a musician," he chuckled, kissing his son's head. "You're clearly tone deaf."

He turned off the lamp and whispered, "good night" before heading down the stairs, intending to get a drink before going back to bed.

Inside their bedroom, Haley rolled over with a smile on her face, glad that the monitor had been left on to catch the scene from the other room. She was one lucky woman.

Haley woke up and stretched, her body feeling decently rested for the first time all week. Looking over, she saw that her husband was apparently already up. Getting out of bed she brushed her teeth and then headed to the nursery to check on her son, only to find that he wasn't in his bed. She grabbed her robe and headed downstairs to be met with a smiling Deb making pancakes.

"Nathan and Jamie are in the den sleeping," Deb told the younger woman. "I think it was a rough night."

Haley walked into the den and found the pair laying on the couch. Nathan had his legs up as he reclined against the armrest and Jamie was asleep on his chest. Both of them slept with their mouths slightly parted and more than ever Haley was convinced the baby looked like his dad. She picked up the remote and turned off the television that was quietly playing SportsCenter before grabbing the empty bottle from the coffee table and heading back to the kitchen.

"Don't worry," Deb said, placing a stack of pancakes and another of mail in front of her, "I already took pictures."

Haley grinned, knowing those pictures would have to be hidden from her husband. "He's been really great with him."

"It's like he was born to be a dad," Deb told her, sitting down to eat her own breakfast. "Is your speech ready?"

"I think so," Haley answered, picking up the top envelope and tearing it open. "It's a good thing I didn't procrastinate writing it though or I'd have been in trouble."

"Not how you thought you'd spend this week huh?" Deb laughed. "It's just practice for the rest of parenthood. Your kids will always do their best to keep you on your toes."

"I can't believe this," Haley said, reading the paper in her hands. She scanned it again to make sure it said what she thought it did.

"What can't you believe?" Nathan asked, walking into the kitchen with Jamie in his arms. He leaned over and kissed Haley on the temple before sitting next to her.

"We got the house," Haley told him, her smile wide.

"That's great," Deb and Nathan both said, still a little confused.

"We thought we probably would," Nathan reminded her, not sure why she was so excited.

"But we didn't expect that your scholarship would cover it all," Haley told him, handing him the paper and taking the squirming baby from his arms. "It says they have decided that in cooperation with the university they are now accepting scholarships as payment in full. We can't move in until fall semester, but according to that we won't have to come up with any extra rent money."

"I wonder why they would do that?" Nathan asked, stunned at their good fortune. They had been concerned the rent would increase and make it impossible for them to afford. They'd never even considered it might be lowered.

"I don't know," Deb said, sliding some breakfast her son's way. "But maybe you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Just be happy it happened."

"I guess that's true," he smiled, looking down at his son who was sucking on his fist. "Eventually luck had to be on our side, right?"

"I know it was you...oh," Deb said, barging into Dan's room only to be surprised he was in the middle of changing his shirt. He was still incredibly fit for a man who'd just become a grandfather and she had to force herself to look away.

Dan chuckled at her reaction, forgetting her accusation for a moment as he enjoyed seeing her flustered a bit. "What exactly did I do this time?"

"You bought the house," she said, averting her eyes and getting back on subject.

Dan pulled on a clean shirt, his legs dangling over the side of the bed. In the previous weeks he had regained the ability to move his legs and it was nice to at least be able to dress himself. He looked at the pair of pants laying next to him and wondered how Deb would react if he changed the rest of his clothes in front of her and decided it probably was best if he didn't push it yet. He met her gaze and realized she was expecting a response. "What house? I've bought several over the years."

"Don't play dumb with me," Deb said, moving further into the room. "I'm talking about the house the kids wanted to rent in Durham. You're the one that bought it."

"Of course I did," Dan admitted, deciding there was no use in lying about it. "Well, I had a part in having it purchased. Did you honestly think I would sit by and watch them struggle to make the payments if there was a way I could help? Besides, I had my guy check it out and there was a lot of work that needed to be done. No way was I letting my grandson live in a house with an antiquated furnace and barely functional central air. Plus, he found mold behind the vanity in the bathroom and signs that the roof might be leaking into the attic."

"So that's why they can't move in yet," Deb said, mostly to herself. "You're having things fixed up."

Dan shrugged, "It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal," she said, coming over to sit next him on the bed. "It had to've cost a lot of money."

"I've learned that money isn't nearly as important as I used to think it was," he told her, looking down at her bare ring finger. He'd vowed to himself that someday, that finger would once again host a wedding ring. "Besides, it's a good investment."

Deb snorted, seeing right through his argument. It would take a long time for the house to even come close to making back what he had to have spent on it and he knew it. "Are you going to tell him?"

Dan shook his head no. "He doesn't need to know. He's e deserves every penny of that money anyway. If I hadn't run him out of the house he'd have the savings built up to afford things on his own."

"You two have gotten close," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad he's forgiven you."

"We have a ways to go," he admitted, wanting to put his arm around her but not taking the chance. It seemed she was okay with moments she initiated, but was still skittish if he tried the same. It didn't matter to him though, he'd be patient for as long as she needed. "This time spent rehabbing together has been great. It's the kind of relationship I wish we'd had all along. The kind we would've had if I hadn't gotten so caught up in things that weren't really important."

Deb looked at him and felt her heart soften a little bit more. "You know, you need to forgive yourself too. You can't change the past." She knew it was advice for her as well. She knew she'd already forgiven him. In fact, sometimes she had to remind herself why it wasn't a good idea to jump back into a relationship with him. They'd always had chemistry together and she knew they still loved each other, but those things hadn't stopped them from tearing each other apart not that long ago. Still, the man in front of her, though older and wiser, reminded her so much of the boy she'd fallen in love with that she knew she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

The Scott and James families entered the Tree Hill auditorium together, the baby stroller holding their grandson pushed in between them as the room filled up with family and friends of the graduates. The noise of the crowd woke the sleeping baby who began to fuss, leading to both grandmothers sitting down and trying to sooth him. Deb took him out of his seat, trying to rock him back to sleep or at least quiet him. They couldn't have him crying during the ceremony. When his cries only increased, Lydia took him and put him on her shoulder, trying to rub his back to calm him as people started to look at them. She started to get up and head out before Dan sighed and gestured for her to give him the boy. Looking at him questioningly, she handed the baby over and Dan folded him face first over his forearm, his tiny body laying entirely on the strong arm. Jamie hiccupped a couple times, but fell back to sleep, his tiny body relaxing.

Dan looked up to find the group looking at him strangely and he shrugged, "Nathan used to have bellyaches and this was his favorite way to be held. I guess like father like son," he told them, looking up at the clock. "I can't hold him much longer though, I have to get around to the stage."

He passed the still sleeping baby off a few minutes later and wheeled himself off for his first public appearance as Mayor since the shooting. He'd been reluctant at first when they asked him to be a part of the ceremony, but decided that he was done hiding from people. If his son could be strong in the face of everything he'd been through, so could he.

The students filed in and took their seats with Haley up on the stage with Dan as the Valedictorian. Principal Turner gave a welcome to those in attendance and the entire group stood for the National Anthem and the presentation of the flags.

Principal Turner spoke for a few more minutes and then proceeded to start the part of the program where they highlighted "Students of Excellence." Dan was proud to see that all three of the Scott graduates were included in this group. Lucas for his partial academic scholarship to UNC, Haley for her full academic scholarship to Duke, and Nathan for his full athletic scholarship and his first team All-State recognition. He shook the hands of all the graduates as they walked by but couldn't help from tearing up as "his kids" names were called. He was so proud of all of them.

When the group was done, the graduates headed back to their seats and Dan was introduced as the next speaker. He wheeled himself up to the front but instead of heading for the microphone that had been positioned for him to use, he went to the podium, locked his chair and very carefully rose to his feet. Looking out at the crowd he saw the surprised faces and met the knowing and very proud eyes of his son. He and Nathan had worked extra hard the past couple weeks for him to be able to do this and he was so grateful for the support.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, holding onto the podium for balance, "I'm reminded today of a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, 'You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' I can honestly say, that it's true."

He took a deep breath, "All of us here today have experienced tragedy in some form in our lives..."

Lucas elbowed his brother, "Did you know he was going to do that?"

Nathan nodded, his smile proud. "He was really determined, but he didn't want anyone to know. The only reason he let me in on it was because he needed my help."

Dan continued his speech about strength and courage and Nathan felt as if he were speaking to him. He'd certainly been through some horrors in the past couple of years and they really had made him stronger and more confident about his future. With Haley by his side he felt like he could face anything life threw at him. He looked over at his family in the stands, the James/Scott group sitting together with his son and knew everything had been worth it to get to that moment. Hearing names starting to be called he realized he'd missed the end of his father's speech and they were starting to hand out diplomas. They started at the beginning of the alphabet and since he was toward the end he continued to people watch. When his gaze returned to the front he noticed his wife was starting to look nervous. It was almost time for her speech and she had all of a sudden decided on the way here that she wasn't prepared enough. He knew she was, she was just getting stage-fright. He knew how that felt and wished he could give her some of the confidence he had in her.

Pretty soon it was his turn to be called and he walked up, shaking hands with the principal and then taking a detour to Haley, leaning down and giving her a passionate kiss and drawing hoots from the crowd, before finishing his walk across the stage. He looked back as he returned to his seat. His father was shaking his head at his antics, but smiling and even from this far away he could tell his wife's face was bright red, but she was also grinning. His mission was accomplished. She certainly wasn't worrying about her speech anymore. He winked at her and she shook her head but blew him a kiss. God he loved her.

The diplomas had all been handed out and Haley stepped to the podium as Valedictorian and greeted the assembly. "My best friend reminded me recently of a quote from William Shakespeare that seems appropriate, 'There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.' I think that what that quote means is that life is short and opportunities are rare. We have to be vigilant in protecting them..."

"I can't believe you did that," Haley said, smacking her husband on the arm.

"It worked, didn't it?" he asked, all smiles as he pulled her into his arms. "You weren't nervous anymore."

"That's beside the point," she told him, playing with his tie, "It distracted me so well I almost forgot my whole speech. It's a good thing I had it written down."

"You wouldn't have forgotten it," he told her, his hands rubbing up and down her now bare arms, "I wish you had half the faith in yourself that I have in you."

"You are so sexy when you talk like that," she said, using his tie to pull him even closer and kissing him. He took another step closer, pressing her against the wall as he deepened the kiss.

"You are so going to be the death of me," he whispered, pulling away slightly and pressing his forehead against hers. "I might not survive 5 weeks."

"There are other things we can do..." she told him, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"You are cruel Haley James," he told her, trying to calm down his body. "You can't just say stuff like that when our parents are right there."

"I thought you'd like something to look forward to," she grinned, straightening his clothes before lacing their hands together.

"I already have that," he told her, kissing her cheek. They walked out onto the deck where their family was all sitting. Their fathers were working the grill together and their mothers were cooing over the babies as Karen looked on. Brooke and Lucas were sitting with Quinn and Clay who were back from their honeymoon and Ben was talking sports with Whitey and Cooper off to the other side. "We have a whole life to look forward to."

"Are you okay with Ben being here?" Haley asked, looking over at her brother. He'd stayed in town for the past week and visited every day in an effort to win back her trust. There was still a layer of hurt and anger there that had never been there before, but he was trying to make things right and she was trying to forgive him.

"I'm willing to support whatever you want as long as he doesn't hurt you again," he told her, moving to wrap his arms around her from behind. "I want whatever makes you the happiest."

"This," she said, turning in his arms. "Being all together with you, our son, and our families. I can't imagine ever being happier."

"I'm sure I could think of something," he told her, wiggling his eyebrows. "Like having our own place where we don't have to worry about people hearing us."

She smiled, "All in good time babe. Pretty soon we'll start the next chapter of our lives, but for today, this is perfect. I love you Nathan Scott. Thank you for holding onto me, to us, even when things tried to tear us apart."

"You don't have to thank me Hales. I love you too. Besides, I promised Always and Forever and we're just getting started," Nathan told her. He noticed his brother waving them over and kissed her softly before they headed to join their family. "We've got an entire lifetime of moments like this to look forward to. Together."