Chapter Five

SUNDAY MORNING

Nathan stood with Keith and Lucas at the front of the church. Keith took a deep breath. "You know, it's kind of cold in here," Nathan said. Lucas and Keith looked at each other. Lucas nodded.

"It's because when Keith gets nervous, he tends to sweat," Lucas explained. Nathan wrinkled his face into an expression of disgust.

"Oh, I didn't need to know that," he said shaking his head.

"Are you nervous?" Lucas asked. Keith nodded.

"How about you, Nate? You nervous?" he asked. Nathan looked at him in confusion.

"Why would I be nervous? I'm already married," Nathan said laughing. Lucas laughed.

"He's nervous, Uncle Keith. He just has a tendency to be a wiseass when he's nervous," Luke said. Keith nodded.

"He's always a wiseass. How can you tell when its out of nervousness?" Keith asked laughing. Nathan rolled his eyes. Then, Dan Scott walked over to his brother. Nathan sighed.

"What's he doing here?" he asked angrily.

"I invited him," Keith replied.

"He set you up with a woman you planned to marry and when you're finally about to marry the woman of your dreams, you invited the ass who destroyed your first wedding. Why would you do that?" Lucas asked in confusion.

"Well, in a way, I owe Dan," he said. Lucas and Nathan looked at each other. Keith saw the look and he smiled. "Well, think about it. If Dan had never let it come out that Jules was really Emily, and Karen had never found out about it, I would've married her then," Keith said. Nathan shook his head.

"One: Karen is the one who exposed Emily for the liar that she was. It's because that Karen threatened to expose her that Emily left that day. Two: Dan is the one who hired Emily to date you. So, if it wasn't for him, you never would've dated her or even considered marrying her and you never would have left for so long. If that had never happened, you and Karen probably would've gotten married a long time ago," Nathan said. Keith stopped to consider this.

"Well, Dan is my brother," he offered.

"The brother who betrayed you," Lucas pointed out. Keith shrugged.

"Well, it really doesn't matter now that he's here, now, does it?" Keith said. Nathan looked at his father. Dan Scott had been a thorn in Nathan's side for far too long. First, when Nathan was the dutiful type of son, he had valued his father's opinion and approval very much. It wasn't until Lucas came on the team that Nathan started standing up to his demanding and basketball-obsessed father. Then, Nathan had met Haley and it seemed like the better that things got with her, the worse it got between him and his father. But Nathan didn't care. Once he and Haley had gotten married, Nathan had realized that she was his real family. But when she left, he went back to his other family. He loved his mom but he was lashing out in anger at everyone back then. Now, things were fine with his mom and Nathan was positive things would finally be right again with Haley. Unless she found out his secret. He shook his head. There's no way she'd ever find out. He had left that train wreck in New Jersey.

Haley smiled at Karen. She was gorgeous in her wedding dress. "You look great," Peyton said to Karen who was fiddling with her bouquet. She stopped and smiled.

"Thanks," she said.

"How awesome is it that you and Keith are getting married?" Brooke asked. Karen smiled.

"I feel like it's taken forever," she said.

"Well, it wouldn't have taken so long if you had admitted your feelings a long time ago," Haley said. Karen looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Peyton asked. Haley laughed.

"I can't tell you how much time they spent together at the café and yet they spent even more time dancing around each other. Luke and I both knew you two had feelings for each other," Haley said. Karen laughed.

"I've missed having you around, Haley," she said.

"I've missed being around," Haley said.

"So how was the Big Apple?" Brooke asked.

"Noisy and lonely," she replied.

"Especially without Nathan, huh?" Peyton asked. Haley nodded. They all got into their places at the front of the church.

"Hi, Whitey," Karen said as he took his arm. Karen's parents had passed on long ago and Whitey had offered to give her away. The music started and Haley, Peyton, Deb and Brooke all walked down the aisle while Karen and Whitey slowly followed as the Wedding March began. Haley smiled at Nathan as she moved off to the side. Deb took a step forward as the Matron of Honour. Karen took Keith's hand and walked over to the priest.

FIVE MINUTES LATER

"I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," the priest said. Keith leaned down and kissed Karen softly. Then, the kiss grew. Finally they broke apart as everyone clapped. The music started but Karen cued them to stop it.

"Everyone, we have made a last minute change to the ceremony. What started out as a shocking union turned into one of the most loving couples I have ever encountered. But, at their young age, they were unprepared to completely devote themselves each other as their dreams got in the way. As a lot of you know, these two have been apart for a long time. But after a tragic car accident that almost killed one of them, they have finally found their way back together. Please join me as all of us witness the first public wedding of Nathan and Haley Scott," Karen said. Nathan smirked as he stepped forward and Luke stayed close by. Haley took Nathan's hand and instantly felt the spark as their hands touched. Lucas stepped forward as Brooke did too.

"Nathan and Haley have chosen to express their vows in their own words," the priest said. Nathan looked at Haley anxiously. He could play cool during Keith's wedding but now that the time had come for him and Haley, he was suddenly a nervous wreck.

"Do you want to go first?" Haley asked. He nodded as he took a deep breath.

"Haley. Since you were my tutor, you know I'm not the best at expressing myself using words," he said. Haley smiled while everyone laughed. "When Luke told me that you would might not be able to make it to Keith and Karen's wedding, my first thought was that something more important came up. I responded like a jerk and Luke nailed me for it. He told me that a drunk driver had collided with your car and you were in the hospital. When he said the word 'coma', I felt like I had been hit by a car too. I went to see you in the hospital and the damage that had been done to you broke my heart. I held your hand and I sat by your bed. I knew I needed you back in my life, but it wasn't until you woke up and the first thing that you said was my name as I was walking out the door that I realized how deeply we're connected. We went through a hurricane and while there was damage done, we still found a way to rebuild what was broken. I love you," Nathan said. Haley smiled as tears were streaming out of her eyes. She wiped them off her face as she took a deep breath.

"And now I'm wondering why I chose to go second. That's a tough act to follow," she said. Nathan laughed. She bit her lip. She took his hand and put it to her heart. "You mean so much to me. A lot of girls date many different guys in high school to see who they really want to be with and even then, they don't necessarily stay with the one they choose. They go on dating in college and after that. But I didn't have to. I found my first boyfriend, my first love and my husband in eleventh grade. And I wasn't even really looking for him. Loving you made me selfish and I'm not ashamed to admit that fact because loving and marrying you was the first thing I did for me. You weren't perfect when I first met you and neither was I. But after meeting me, you told me that you wanted to be the kind of person who was good enough to be seen with someone like me. I thought you were crazy, of course. I was far from perfect, but for me, you said you changed. You didn't. Our love just brought out the best in both of us. And whether we're together or not, our connection was always there. That's how I knew that it was you in my room. I could feel you there, holding my hand and trying not to cry, even when I was unconscious," Haley said. Nathan laughed again. "I love you," she finished.

"I pronounce you husband and wife again and you may kiss your bride," the priest said. Haley laughed. Nathan looped his arm around her waist and anchored her to him. Then, he bent his head and kissed her deeply.

THE END