Heyy, it's been a while. I had a really hard time figuring out how I was going to do this chapter and it isn't my best writing but I think it does this part of the story justice. I considered branching this story out to include more than just the recovery from the accident but there doesnt seem to be any interest and I have other stories I want to work on so this will just be accident aftermath and will probably have 3 more chapters. Hope you like it! Disclaimer: I don't own OTH.

Nathan didn't understand why he couldn't just get over this. He wasn't even in the crash; he made the decision to go into the water. He chose to try and help and, although he really didn't feel like he was successful, everyone was okay. So why didn't he want to drive? Why did he imagine water everywhere? Why were all his dreams about that goddamn bridge? Uncle Cooper had left town and Haley would probably lose her mind if he talked to Rachel, so it was just him, alone. He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. You're so pathetic, Scott. He thought to himself.

Suddenly, the alarm clock blared through the quiet bedroom. Was it really 6:30 already? Haley rolled over, rubbing her eyes as she woke up. "Hey babe, do you want to shower first, or do you want me to?"

"Oh uh," Nathan groaned as his head pounded at the sound of Haley's voice. "I'm not really feeling good, Hales. I have a headache."

"Do you think it's the concussion or pneumonia?" Haley panicked.

"No, the doctor said both those things were fine, remember? The concussion's probably gone, and I've had the antibiotic for days now, it's just a normal headache." Nathan sighed; he was kind of relieved for a reason to not go to school, but he also didn't want to worry Haley even more than he already had.

"Well, I bet it's from exhaustion. This isn't healthy, Nathan. Did you sleep at all last night?"

"A little," Nathan yawned. He could see the worry on Haley's face. He was supposed to protect her, to keep her happy and safe, but now he was her main stressor. You're such a horrible husband. What the fuck is wrong with you that you can't even comfort your wife?

"Alright…well, just try to go back to sleep, okay? I really think that'll help you." Haley paused for a second as she looked for an outfit to wear to school. "Nathan, I know you don't want to hear this, but if this continues you need to go to the doctor. I know you said you just wanted me, but I'm just not equipped to help with this."

Haley saw Nathan's nod through her teary vision. She wanted so badly for him to understand that it was okay that the accident had scared him, and it was okay to let people in. She didn't know much about Nathan's growing up, he didn't like to talk about it and she didn't like to push, but she did know this was Dan's fault. He had made sure his son thought of emotions as weak and felt as though he needed to be fine all the time. Just for basketball. It's just a freaking game.

The rage built up in Haley as she watched Nathan roll over and close his eyes, looking absolutely defeated. Haley hurriedly got ready, but she was no longer headed to school. Before she knew it, she was pounding on the door to Dan's mayoral office.

"Haley," Dan greeted, sickeningly sweetly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"What the hell did you do to your son? He is so completely terrified of vulnerability and I just know it's your fault. He won't tell me about how you raised him because it makes him too upset, do you know how messed up that is?" Dan just sat back with a sly smirk on his face as Haley screamed. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Are you done?"

"No, actually, I'm not. You have one more chance to fix things with him, ONE, but I swear to god if you make it worse you will never speak to him again. Now I'm done." Haley marched out of the office, leaving a shocked Dan behind. There was no denying that he was hard on Nathan and that they had a strained relationship, but he didn't want to lose him forever. He sighed before running out of his offer to catch his daughter-in-law.

"Haley, wait!" He called as he hurried towards the elevator she stood in front of. She turned and looked at him. "Where is he?" Haley contemplated if she should tell him. It was ridiculous because she had come here to get him to help but when had Dan ever been helpful? What if this was a mistake? Another fight with his father is definitely not what Nathan needed right now.

"He's at home," Haley sighed after a minute. "I'm really hoping he is asleep so don't go now. If you want to go later then great, he could use his dad right now but I'm begging you to not mess this up."

"I don't want to hurt him, Haley. I mean that." Haley nodded as the elevator opened and she hopped on, praying that she did a good thing.

Haley wasn't late to school, but she was later than she liked to be. She knew she wasn't going to have time to stop by the tutor center, which was frustrating, but she prioritized talking to Lucas. She needed her best friend's advice.

"Hey, Hales. Where's Nate?" Geez, did he have intuition or what?

"Oh Luke, I was just going to look for you. Nathan's home today, he hasn't been sleeping well at all and it's really taking a toll on him. Lucas, he only wants to talk to me, but I can't help him and I-I was just so desperate and…oh I'm so scared that I made a huge mistake!" Haley couldn't help the tears that streamed down her cheeks, her emotions were all over recently. Lucas quickly pulled her into a tight hug.

"Woah, Haley, calm down. What happened?"

"I went to Dan because I was so mad at him for the impacts his horrible parenting had on Nathan but now, I think he is going to go talk to Nathan. I'm so scared, I really don't think Nathan can take anymore!" Haley sobbed, her tears seeping through Lucas' light gray t-shirt.

"Haley, I know none of us trust Dan, but Nathan's had him around his whole life, maybe that normalcy is what he needs right now. And if it's not… well, Nathan's used to it and he is stronger than to let Dan get to him." Lucas wasn't going to tell his poor, upset best friend that he was terrified of how Nathan would handle Dan. He knew she just needed to know it would be okay. Haley nodded gently against his chest.

"Thanks, Luke," She smiled as she pulled back and wiped her eyes. She looked at Lucas and saw his shirt was damp with her tears. "Oh sorry," she muttered, a little embarrassed. He shrugged it off as nothing and put his arm around her as they walked to class.

….

Nathan had been in and out of sleep since Haley left. It was now quarter to 11 and he decided to give up on getting any sleep that didn't abruptly end in a nightmare about drowning. He took a quick shower and was getting ready to go to the bridge again when he heard a knock on the front door. Who would come over at 11 am on a Wednesday? Hesitantly, Nathan opened the door. As soon as he saw his dad's face, he tried to close it but Dan reached out to stop him.

"What do you want, Dad?"

"Why aren't you at school, Nathan? The scouts aren't going to be impressed by poor attendance records." Dan questioned, trying to start a conversation.

"So you came because of basketball?" Nathan scoffed. He really doesn't know why he expected anything else. It was always just about the game with Dan. He began to turn away from his father, leaving him in the doorway.

"No, actually. I came because I wanted to know why Haley was so pissed off that she came to my office to yell at me." Nathan stopped. He turned to Dan with a look of pure confusion. "She didn't tell you?" Nathan shook his head. He knew Haley was worried but he had expected her to go to Dan.

"And she thought you could help me?" Nathan asked in disbelief. His relationship with Dan had been rapidly declining for the entirety of high school.

"Son, she's desperate. I could tell. But I don't really know why, what's going on?" Nathan sighed, he'd never really talked to his dad about life or feelings and he was unsure if he wanted to try it now. Haley must have thought it could help though. Ugh fine, talk to him. But don't be surprised when he laughs in your face.

"I just keep having like flashbacks to the accident. Like I can see the water and feel it or I dream about when I was in the river. I don't know, Dad, it's over but it's all I can think about."

"And that surprises you? Nathan, it was all I thought about for a while because you could have died. But you experienced it so it should be even worse for you. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm your father so you should feel comfortable talking to me, I know we don't have that relationship, but Nathan, that girl of yours loves you so much. Let her help you." Nathan stared at Dan. His expression mostly empty but Dan thought he could see a little shock and confusion, like maybe his words had helped more than Nathan had expected. After a minute, Nathan still hadn't moved or responded so Dan got up to leave.

"Dad," Nathan called softly. Dan paused for a moment. "Thanks." Dan smiled softly and nodded before exiting the apartment.

Nathan wasn't sure how much time past before he finally moved from his spot at the kitchen counter. He wasn't sure how when he decided to go to the bridge or how he got there or how long he'd been there. He was sitting on the edge now, his feet hanging over as he watched the water flow. The sunset looked beautiful, Haley would like it.

"Hey," Haley called, walking towards him. It was as if she'd knew he was thinking about her. "Thought I'd find you here…actually, I checked the rivercourt first but this was a close second." Nathan smiled as she sat down next to him, cross legged so her feet stayed on the bridge.

She took his hand and pulled him back from the edge. He could sense her fear. He had no intention of going back into the water but he could seem to find the words to silence her fears so he just pulled his feet up and turned towards her.

"Nathan, why do you come here?" Nathan was shocked, not by the question but by his lack of an answer. He looked at Haley, saw her big brown eyes and beautiful dirty blonde curls and the reassuring smile she always did when she wanted him to open up, somehow that one look at the person he loved most in the world made it all make sense.

"I can't let it go, Haley. I can't stop replaying drowning, I can't stop thinking about what I should have done differently, I can't stop wondering how or why I'm still here. I don't understand how I'm not dead." He watched Haley's face drop and concern cloud her eyes. "But I want to…and I think I'm ready to. I want this to get better, Haley."

"So do I," Haley pulled him into a tight hug, tears streaming down her face. "I'll be there every step of the way."

"I know. I couldn't do it otherwise."

I'm not the best at chapter ending and I know this on is a little corny lol but I didnt want to move the plot any further in this chapter so I just ended it here.