Can I just take a moment to say that the readers of this story rock? Thank you so much for the responses! The feedback really is encouraging to keep going with the story and as a thank you and a sorry for such the long wait for the continuation of this story, I'm trying to keep ya'll happy with daily updates. I can't promise it will always be like this but I will try to keep steady updates :) Hope you enjoy this chapter, it was fun to write!

As always, feedback is love :)

-Beth

"You know there's not a day that goes by where I'm not reminded of you…" Nathan placed a red rose upon the gray stone, "I try to remember the good times and not focus on the bad…some days its harder than others but…it's getting easier…not hating you." The crisp fall air blew against his skin causing him to tighten his jacket. "I also wanted to say I'm sorry…I should have been home more. I should've made you and our marriage my priority…and I didn't do that, and for that I am truly sorry Rachel." He took a deep breath, "I haven't been able to come here since the funeral…I wasn't sure what to…say exactly. A part of me wanted to hate you forever…hate you for lying to me. Hate you for cheating…but I now know that hatred can be an exhausting emotion." He looked up at the sky, "I don't know if you can hear me…or even how this works exactly but…I forgive you Rachel…and I hope you're at peace…wherever you are." He lightly touched the top of the stone and rose to his feet, "Goodbye."

"I was thinking the other day of the night you passed the BAR exam." Haley wiped a lone tear from her cheek and smiled, "Your father was so happy for you…you pretended that whole night that you were excited too…so you could make him happy. But when we got to our tiny apartment you couldn't get that tie off quick enough and you told me nothing was going to change. You promised you weren't going to let him turn you into one of his soulless robots, as you called them." Haley chuckled again, "You don't know how much I wish you kept that promise Chris." Haley placed a dozen white lilies on the ground by his grave, "But I understand now…Rachel made you feel the way Nathan makes me feel. We never had that…even at our best. I wanted you to know I found happiness again and I'm tired of running from it." More tears threatened to fall, "I have to let you go now." She gently placed a kiss on her fingers and placed them on his name etched in stone, "Goodbye Chris."

Haley walked into the apartment she now shared with Nathan, "Nathan I'm home!" She called out as she walked through the door but was met with silence. She took off her jacket and threw it over the couch, "Nathan?" She walked down the hallway into the bedroom but was met with the same silence. Figuring he went down the court she made her way into the kitchen to start dinner. A few minutes later the front door opened and Nathan walked through, "Hey Hales."

Haley yelled from the kitchen, "In here!"

Nathan walked into the kitchen and found Haley chopping some vegetables, "Hey you…" He walked up and wrapped his arms around her.

Still chopping, Haley smiled, "Hey…where were you?"

Nathan released her and made his way over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water, "Ah, no where just had to say goodbye to someone." Nathan answered nonchalantly, "Where were you? I tried calling but you didn't answer."

Haley turned towards him, "Same." She softly smiled at him, both knowing neither had to explain further.

Nathan sat at the kitchen table, "I talked to Peyton today, I guess Luke's almost done with his physical theropy."

"Awe thats awesome Nathan. I need to call her."

For the past two weeks Nathan and Haley's life, at least to an outsider, would seem pretty uninteresting. Basketball season was over so Nathan spent most of his time at the court in the park practicing and Haley, after many apologizes to Whitey, would be in the studio during the day and home in time to start dinner. She moved her shifts at the bar to only weekends that way she could have studio time and she made better tips on the weekends. They're life was normal. They would talk about their day and even more continued to get to know each other. It came particularly easy since Haley instated a "no sex" rule. She convinced Nathan that sex surrounded them before and never allowed them to truly get to know each other. Nathan wanting to please Haley, and realizing it was a losing battle, agreed. Though after moving some of her boxes into his closet and her finding his stuffed raccoon, he immediately regretted the decision to divulge all information…

"Haley this isn't funny! Give it back!" Nathan chased her down the hall and into the living room.

Haley couldn't contain her laughter, "Oh come on! What's his name?" She brought one finger to her mouth in assist her thinking power, "OOO Petey?" She shook her head, "No…Polly? Nah…" Her eyes lit up, "I got it…Rocky! Yes! That must be it, Rocky the Raccoon!" She was doubled over in fits of laughter.

Nathan, not amused, was finally able to walk up and snatch the stuffed animal from her grasp. "No! His name is not "Rocky the Raccoon…"" he repeated in a mocking tone. "It's Ralph…" He quietly answered.

Silence.

Nathan defensively turned around and saw Haley's eyes wide and her hand slowly go to her mouth to contain the next round of laughter, "RALPH!Bahaha…"

Nathan threw his hands up in the air, "I knew I should've moved him…" He made his way back to the bedroom. Haley followed close behind still teasing.

"Seriously, I can understand names like "Fluffy," "Pippy," anything with a "eee" sound but Ralph?"

Nathan threw the subject of reticule back in the closet and quickly turned around, "Oh you think this is funny?" He moved closer to her, "Keep it up James. Keep laughing!"

Haley moved backwards, "Don't do it!"

Nathan smirked, "Come on "Laughy" say Ralph ONEEEE more time."

Haley smiled and remained silent for a brief second, "…Ralph." She tried to run away but Nathan's large arms were quickly around her, tickling and throwing her on the bed.

After a moment of both laughing, Nathan couldn't resist his lips were on hers and Haley put up no reservation. Her arms wrapped around his neck. After a month apart this was the first time they completely lost themselves in each other. Nathan slowly began moving her NYU t-shirt up her abdomen, sending alarms to Haley.

"Wait…" Her voice was breathless.

Nathan let out a light whimper before retracting his hand and placing his forehead onto hers, "Haley…this is literally killing me."

She rose off the bed and patted his shoulder, "They say what doesn't kill us makes us stronger big boy…" She continued toward the hallway, "Now come on stud we have three more boxes to go through."

Nathan collapsed on the bed, his whimpering growing louder.

That night Nathan lay brushing the hair across Haley's forehead as she slept. He watched her chest rise and fall in slow rhythmic movement. The whole time knowing he was watching the future mother of his children. The woman that would be pushing him around in a wheel chair when he was ninety. He slowly rose from the bed and made his way over to his dresser. He looked behind him to make sure Haley was still asleep before opening the top drawer. Underneath his pile of socks he pulled out a small velvet box. He looked behind him once more before retrieving the box and opening it. Inside was a princess cut, four karat diamond. He knew he had to wait for the right moment but the night he left Haley's apartment he had made up his mind. The day she moved in he went out to get them pizza…with a short detour to the jeweler around the corner. The last name Scott never held much meaning to him…but until he met Haley he never wanted someone to possess the name more.

The next day was Nathan's annual end of season banquet. The whole team and their families got together to have dinner and celebrate the season. After some convincing Haley decided to go; she argued it wouldn't be right so soon after everything to be making a public appearance. Then her mind reminded her she wasn't going to live in the past anymore. Her present and her future was with Nathan so she needed to be there to support him.

"Nathan can you come hook my necklace?" Haley called from the bedroom.

Nathan walked from the living room where he was finishing up putting on his tie and headed toward the bedroom. At the sight of her he couldn't move pass the doorway. Haley turned her head keeping her back to him, "What?"

"No-Nothing…" Nathan swore her beauty might kill him. Her golden hair was let down, cascading down her back in loose curls. Her back of her sleeveless dress dipped just below her waistline revealing every curve of her back. The black shade made her skin pop and her diamond earring shimmered in the light, "Haley." He took a breath in, "You look beautiful."

Her already beaming smile grew larger the closer he got. He slowly took hold of the necklace she was holding in her hand and placed the diamond across her chest pulling the delicate ends to either side of her neck. He took a deep breath inhaling her scent. A small groan escaped his mouth, "..Haley…"

The sexual tension in the room was enough to send them into an erotic frenzy. He moved his hands slowly his skin barely touching hers. Haley felt dizzy, she placed a hand on the bed in order to keep balanced. After a second Nathan had latched the clasp, her hand reached up to grab the small jewel and she turned around to meet his crisp blue eyes, her voice was soft, "Thank you."

He moved his hand to trace the outline of her lips, "You're welcome…" He inched closer to her witch each step his breath getting shorter and shorter. "Haley…I need y-"

Haley shook her head in an attempt to gain clarity, "No. We're gonna be late…besides you know the rule…no sex until…we know each other better…"

Nathan's voice was almost a growl, "Oh I know you…"

"Nathan…no."

He let out a deep sigh as he put his head down, "You are literally going to kill me…."

When they arrived; the party was in full swing. His coach, Grant Keanan always held the event at his house in the Pokinose. It was right on the water and it was always a hit. Grant married a trophy wife about half his age and she would spend half the night flirting with the guests while he the waitresses.

They walked out back where the sound of music became clearer. Lights streamed throughout the trees leading to a wooden dance floor right below the balcony of the house, "Nathan this is beautiful…"

"Compared to you? This is the slums…" Haley's face immediately became hot and she could feel her cheeks blush. Chris told her she was pretty of course but could never feel like she was the only woman in a crowd of people…Nathan had that ability. "Over hear I'll introduce you to some of the team…"

Nathan led them over to a small group of people with four men and three other woman. "Gentleman…" Nathan said quietly getting the groups attention.

A few of them started laughing, "Nate! What'd you get lost?"

"Ha-ha…" Nathan pulled Haley to his side, "Guys this is Haley, Haley this is" He started pointing at everyone starting to his left, "This is Marcus and his wife Tiffany…Silas and his wife Jada…Brian and his wife Valerie…and this is Damien…" Nathan whispered down in Haley's ear loud enough for the group to hear, "…he couldn't afford to hire a date to this one…" The small group all laughed, except for Damien whom Haley noticed probably got these jokes a lot.

Haley politely smiled at them all, "Very nice to meet you…"

The three woman immediately surrounded Haley, Jada being the one to wrap her arm around Haley's shoulder, "Come on honey lets get you a drink…trust me, you'll need it…" She joked and the two other women laughed. Haley gave Nathan a weary look but Nathan winked ensuring her she was in good hands.

After the women were a short distance away Marcus was the first to nudge Nathan, "Well done Nate…"

Nathan playfully nodded, "Yea…she's great."

"Great…lookin'" Silas added and the guys all grunted in agreement.

"Yea Nate…I mean the wife hasn't even been dead a year and you already found a nice little whore to show off…Congrats…" Damien stated sarcastically.

Nathan's mood immediately changed, "What did you just say?"

"You heard me!" Damien shouted spilling his drink a little in the process.

Nathan moved towards him "No I don't think I heard you, why don't you try me again!"

Both Marcus and Brian moved into hold Nathan back while Silas stood in front of Damien, "Whoa- lets take a step back…" He focused on Nathan, "He's drunk Nate, he doesn't mean anything by it…"

"He's been giving me shit all season-"

The boys continued to hold Nathan, "Just let it go…" Silas turned to Damien, "Go-Why don't you head inside Damien…let Nate cool off…"

"Whatever.." Damien stumbled away, "Not my problem Scott can't take a fucking joke…"

Nathan made a motion to go after him but Brian and Marcus still had a firm grasp on him, "Let him go Nate…lets go get you a drink…"

Nathan still filled with rage took a deep breath, "Asshole…"

Inside Haley was admiring some of the art work on the walls while the other women were in the ladies room, "They're beautiful aren't they?" A voice came from behind her.

Haley turned to see a gray haired main, finely dressed in a stripe pin suit, "Ah-Yes…very."

The older gentleman held out his hand, "Grant Keanan."

Recognizing the name from Nathan's brief summary of the event Haley graciously met his hand, "Haley James…I'm-" Haley suddenly was at a loss for words, she'd never had to label her relationship with Nathan before. Somehow the label of "boyfriend' didn't give what she had with Nathan justice, she smiled and simply replied, "I'm a friend of Nathan Scotts'"

"Ah-Well any…friend of Nathan's is always welcome. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Oh very much, you have a lovely home Mr. Keanan."

"Please call me Grant."

Haley smiled, "Ok…Grant." Haley turned her attention back to the art work, "They really are beautiful."

He pointed to the one on the far right, an abstract painting where the only recognizable point of reference was the Eiffel Tower, "I got this one the last time I was in Paris."

Haley closed her eyes envious, "I've always wanted to go to Paris."

"Well I'll be sure to tell Nathan that…a beautiful woman like yourself would fit in well there." Haley felt the fire in her cheeks return, "Well Ms. James it was a pleasure to meet you, I must make my rounds…please make yourself at home."

"Thank you very much Mr. Kean-Grant."

The man kindly smiled and turned in the opposite direction leaving Haley like he had found her, admiring the paintings. She slowly walked along the wall covered in what she guessed was all European art, tracing her fingers along the blush colored walls. As she walked she suddenly felt the warmth of a hand running up the small of her back, she smiled "Nathan I told you-" She turned around but was not met with Nathan's piercing blue eyes. Instead there stood the man she remembered was introduced as Damien.

"Excuse me…just what do you think you're doing?" Haley accused.

Damien leaned in, pinning her between himself and the wall, his breath a mixture of smoke and whiskey, "What…can't a guy escort a lonely woman?" Haley tried to move away from him but he grabbed her arm with his free hand, pinning her to the wall once again, "Whoa-whoa…you know its very rude to leave in the middle of a conversation."

"This is no conversation I want to be a part of, now if you'd excuse me…" Haley tried once more to break free but his grip on her arm tightened.

"Listen…Haley was it. I know what kind of woman you are…" The stench of his breath was making Haley sick. He released her arm and moved his hand up her side, "You find out a rich man recently become a widow…ka-ching! Move in for the money…"

"What are you talking about! Please leave me alone…"

His hand continued their journey up, passing over her breasts causing her to cringe and making there way to the hollow of her neck, "Though I got to hand it to you…you definitely have all the right assets…"

Haley closed her eyes not believing what was happening, "Please…" She felt the first tear fall from her eyes.

"Oh you're into begging? I could get into that…"

"Get off her!" Before Haley knew what was happening Damien was on the ground and she was in Nathan's arms. The scent of him never smelled so good. He moved her behind him and moved towards Damien still on the floor. He picked him up by the collar of his shirt, "I swear to God I could kill you right now you son of a bitch!"

The room behind them, who had been to occupied with the music and entertainment to notice Haley's situation, were definitely paying attention now, "If you ever touch her again, I will not be responsible for what I do to you!" Nathan's eyes were dark and his voice deep. Haley had never seen him like this. He released Damien from his grip and he drunkenly staggered backwards.

"Take it easy…take it easy. We were just having a little fun.."

"Is that what you call it? Well I'll be sure to remember the phrase fun when I'm kicking your ass." He quickly turned pulled Haley into his arms and lead her down the hall towards the master bedroom; leaving all eyes on Damien.

He absurdly smiled and turned to the crowd, "Some people..." Before he could finish the rest of his sentence the crowd, bored with the situation now, turned and continued their previous activities.

Nathan closed the door to the bedroom and locked it ensuring their privacy. He immediately turned to Haley pulling her back into his arms, "Come here, are you ok?" The look of worry could be seen in every line of his face.

Haley wiped the remaining tears from her face, "I'm fine Nathan…really I'm fine…he just…"

"I know what he just…are you sure you're ok?" He lifted her chin to face him.

She looked into his eyes, knowing full well she was looking into the eyes of a man that would lay down his life for her. The feeling was too overwhelming for her to handle. Without warning she pulled his face to hers, smashing her lips to his. Nathan didn't object he engulfed her body in his arms, pulling her as close as he could.

She broke for only a brief second, "I want you."

"What about-"

She pulled his lips to hers once again, "Shut up."

Nathan needed nothing more, "You are mine Haley. Nothing and no one is ever going to change that…You are mine.'

She quickly undid the buttons to his shirt revealing the chiseled muscles beneath. He pulled down the straps to her dress revealing her shoulders, placing gentle kisses along her neckline. His shirt soon found rest on the floor beneath their feet as she began working on the buckle to his belt. He tugged the back of her hair forcing her to look at him once more, both their eyes drunk with passion, "I love you Haley…"

Haley expected a lot of things going to this party. Introductions. Awkward questions. She never expected sex in a strangers bed…though she had to be honest with herself. It turned her on.

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