A/N: Don't own One Tree Hill or its characters. Here's another chapter for this one! I am working on updates for the others, but I am having renewed inspiration in this one. There is still a far off chapter that has been written for about 7 months that I need to find a way to lead up to. You guys are great, thanks for still reading!

Nathan huffed as he watched the ball roll around the orange rim and fall to the outside for what seemed like the hundredth time in an hour. His game was off and he wished he could fix it. "Hey babe. Can you help with the groceries?" Haley cried out from behind the silver SUV.

"Yeah, why not." He walked to the vehicle and grabbed all of the bags that were left before shutting the door with his hip and following his wife inside.

"Set those on the counter, and I'll unpack them later. I just want to take a few minutes before I have to go and pick up Jamie from Leo's house she said as she sat down on the couch.

"Long day?" he asked his wife hoping to open up a comforting conversation as he came up behind her and began rubbing her shoulders.

"Mmm. I was with Peyton. She's going through a lot right now." She pretended she didn't feel the slight jerk in his hand movements at the mention of her name. But that only lasted for a minute. Why was she trying to deny this? If her husband didn't love her it was time for her face it already, right? "Nathan, where have you been lately? You're here with me physically, but you are so far away."

"Basketball." He responded shakily. "I've been playing for an hour and I've only been able to make 2 shots. I should be better than that. I am better than that."

"You know if something is wrong on the court, then something's probably wrong off the court."

"What are you talking about?" he asked as he stopped the movement of his hands on her shoulders, slightly take aback by her persistence to hear the problem with them.

"I'm talking about you. I wish you could figure out what you're feeling. I'm not stupid, just tired. Tired of this. This shouldn't be hard, but it has been everyday since we got married at 16. I don't want to have to worry about other women. I can forget about Carrie, but I can't forget about another one."

"I don't believe this. I thought you believed me when you took me back, but you still think I slept with her, don't you?" he backed away from her and grabbed his water from the counter to put the distance between them.

"You were in the shower naked, Nathan, how is that not proof."

"It's proof because I was never unfaithful to you, not even in high school when Rachel threw herself at me." He stared directly at the woman he fell in love with as a teenager. He wanted to make her believe him. He wanted to know she did believe him.

Apparently she didn't'. "How do I know you didn't sleep with her and weren't just better at hiding it?" she bit back, surprised at her own vigor in this conversation. She had felt the fear and jealousy bubbling up from the dark corners of her brain for a while now.

"Fuck it, I don't need this. I'll be home later." He exited the house angry.

"Fine." She said slamming the door shut where he had left it open on his way out. She had wanted to start this conversation, but she meant for it to lead to the truth about his feelings, not an argument because she doesn't believe he's been faithful. If she was honest, she had believe him when he told her what happened with Carrie. But now she didn't. Now it involved him and his feelings for Peyton, and Peyton had always been their weak spot.

"Lucas?" She spoke his name loudly as she walked into the house. He never answered, so she slipped off her shoes and walked down the hall to their room. She needed a nap. Watching Mick walk out of her life so easily and then crying into the shoulder of a best friend she betrayed every time she thought about Nathan was exhausting. She was kind of glad she didn't have to explain away the tears.

She had just slipped under the plush comforter when the doorbell rang. "Damn it." She muttered under her breath, pulling herself back out of the bed and glancing to see just how bad the blotches on her face were. She didn't have time to fix them with makeup so she went to the door as she was. She wasn't really prepared to see the man before her. Thinking back, she had decided it had been at least 4 years since she had seen him last. She couldn't say she was sad about that. "Lucas isn't here. I don't think he'd talk to you if he was anyway."

"I'm not here for Lucas, Ms. Sawyer. He's at the rivercourt with Nathan." He stated as he had driven by the court on his way to the house to see her. "I wanted to see you alone. You're in love with my son, right?" She felt uneasy by his presence but she opened the door and let him enter despite her feelings.

"Yes, I love him very much." She answered quickly, not wanting this man to know any of her fears or really anything more than he would ask. She also didn't want him to know the confusion as to which him she was referring.

"I think we both know I'm not talking about Lucas here, Ms. Sawyer."

"We don't both know that. Now I would appreciate it if you would leave." She said walking to the door and waiting for him to follow her.

"Ah ha." He knowlingly looked at her and she wanted to physically push him out the door. What was he trying to do here? "I guess I have my answer. It's always a pleasure Miss Sawyer. I'll let Nathan know you're thinking of him." With that he walked out the door, knowing he had his answer. Peyton wasn't in love Lucas, even if she wouldn't outwardly admit otherwise. She couldn't hide the twinkle and pain that flashed in her eyes when he had mentioned Nathan's name moments earlier. Nor could she hide the fact that she had kissed Nathan on the beach a few days earlier. Now it was time to continue to set things right for his son.

"That was weak, son." He said as he approached his blonde and brunette offspring only to see Lucas miss the net by two feet. "Better practice if you want the new team to learn anything from you."

Lucas turned to Nathan and rolled his eyes with a harsh expression on his face. "I was just leaving, Nate. Care to come?"

"Nah. I might as well see what he has to say this time. Maybe if he tells me, he won't feel compelled to offer Jamie more time with him without asking us first." Nathan said, with his own form of sarcasm and bitterness coming out. It didn't help Dan's case that he was already frustrated from his early encounter with Haley.

"Suit yourself." As Lucas walked away, Nathan turned to face the man he called a father.

"Yeah?" Nathan questioned his father for his reason for coming.

"I have something to give you, son." He reached into his back pocket and pulled the wallet that Nathan had given for his 28 birthday, when Nathan had just been a ten year boy who wanted to be like his father. Nathan of course recognized it, but it didn't change anything in the present.

Dan pulled the picture and handed it to the irritated young man, waiting for his response.

"Where did you get this?" he asked angrily. Was Dan following him? Did he have more? Sure it had only been a small good bye kiss, but a picture would have made it look really bad to those around him.

"I still live in the beach house, and you and Miss Sawyer are not so good as discretion apparently. That's not the point. I believe that you can be happy, Nathan. Happier than I was, but I don't think it is going to happen with Haley. Not when you and Peyton still have feelings for each other." He looked at out the river beside them, and back at the parking lot nearby to make sure that Lucas really had left earlier.

"And even if all that is true? What do you want me to do about it? I can't just walk up to Haley and say 'Oh hey, I am not in love with you anymore.' And what about Jamie?" He sighed as he stared down at the photo in his hands. A photo containing a woman that he thinks holds the moon, and he can't do anything to have her. Moments later he slams the basketball down before walking to the picnic table to sit down.

"Jamie will be happy if his parents are happy." He stated convincingly, firmly believing that with all of his heart. His parents weren't happy, he and Deb weren't happy. He just wants more for his son. "Nathan, I'm giving you an out. Maybe it's not the most courageous way to end a marriage, but it can get you out of a relationship you're not really in anymore. Just put it in you're wallet and let her find it. She'll get mad, jump to conclusions, and then all you have to do is say it's true. You won't have to watch her fall apart. By time she comes to you with the picture she'll be angry instead of crying. And it'll be easier. I'm leaving the choice up to you, son." He turned and walked back to his black car, hoping his son would learn from his mistakes. He had already turned out better than him, now he just wanted him to have everything he wanted. What parent didn't want that for their child?

Nathan stood there staring at the photo. Why would this be different than with Carrie? Haley already believes he slept with her. But he knows that's not true, she doesn't believe it, even it that's what she said. He also knows that she's not stupid enough to miss the slip of Peyton's name, probably the reason Haley is dwelling on the Carrie issue. The Peyton issue they are living with would shatter what they both know is already broken. Nathan doesn't know if he can forget about the blonde. He slides the photo into a hidden pocket of his wallet wishing he was a better man, still unsure of what he is going to do.

When Lucas returned home, Peyton was already in bed asleep. It was still a little early, but he had started thinking about Keith when Dan walked up. Instead of pondering on the wonderful man he lost in his life, he figured it would be easier to go to sleep. He could tell by the tears on the woman in front of him, that she too had been thinking of a man lost in her life. He hated that she had to go through this, but at least this would be the last parent left. No more would be coming out of the word work just to break her heart.

He laid down watched her as she slept, thankful for the turn the last two weeks had made in their relationship. He was on the verge of losing her, but she came back to him. She chose him. Time and time again, they would reunite. He couldn't deny that this was the woman who held his heart with a grip he couldn't describe. Despite the tear marks on her cheeks, she looked so peaceful in those moments when her subconscious was ruling her mind, and for that he was grateful. He knew how much the last month had affected not just them but her. It made her feel guilty, ashamed, and as much as he hated to admit it, conflicted. But as conflicted as she was, she came back to him. He kept telling himself that this meant something. He would ignore the sparkle that appeared when his brother entered the room, or the way his brother would avoid any contact with his blonde fiancé. It was easier that way, after all, she came back. How many times would he find himself saying that exact phrase? He wasn't sure, but he was willing to say it to make it all better in his mind, especially if it meant her lying beside him when he awakes each day.

Her eyes fluttered slightly before opening narrowly. "Hey" she pressed her lips to his gently. "What are you doing awake?"

"You just looked really peaceful. I love you." His voice was low, but he took every opportunity to say those three words to the woman lying beside him.

"I love you, too. Now, go back to sleep." She nestled herself into the crook of his neck before drifting back into her dreams.

Lucas, however, couldn't sleep. His mind was telling him she was his, she came back to him, his heart was telling him that he loved her with all of his heart, and his gut was telling him that happily ever after was about to come to an end.

He finally allowed himself to relax, his mind and his heart winning out over his gut. He wrapped his arms more tightly around Peyton's small frame before closing his eyes and drifting into sleep himself.

The next day, he walked into the newly renovated Clothes over Bros, or Brooke D. Designs as it was now called.

"Brooke, do you think we can talk?" he asked when he saw her peer her head over the counter.

"What is it, Luke?" She asked as he took a seat on the sofa in the middle of the store.

"Is this going to work, me and Peyton?" His voice portrayed all the doubt that had gathered since the moment he walked into his house the night Nathan declared his love for the same woman.

"What are you talking about? You and Peyton love each other. She's your comet, remember?" She tried to reassure him the best she knew how.

"That's not what I mean. Does she really love me, or is it him?" He looked at her searching for the knowledge that only a best friend would possess, but her eyes gave nothing away.

"Luke, I know she loves you." So maybe she wasn't being completely forthcoming with her knowledge of Peyton's feelings, but shattering Lucas' world wouldn't be the answer for anybody either. "And you love her. You have both wanted each other for so long. That doesn't just disappear because someone else throws their feelings into the mix. You guys lasted through me, I think that says something."

"You're a great friend, Brooke Davis. Thanks for telling me what I needed to hear." She wrapped her arms around him before going to back to her work behind the counter. She just hoped that these words wouldn't backfire on her one day. "So, the new store looks fantastic. Are you almost ready for the opening?"

"I am. The last set of dresses are being finished this week, and I've booked the caterers for next Tuesday. So that should be it." She was so confident when speaking about her designs.

"It is good to see you were able to move on from your mother. I'm proud of you Brooke." His blue eyes met her brown ones, and Brooke finally let herself feel the success of her accomplishments. Something about Lucas Scott's approval made her feel like she deserved the good things. She couldn't explain, she probably never would be able to.

"Thanks, that's means a lot." She said never breaking their eye contact.

"So how are you and Owen doing?" He wanted to change the subject. Eye contact with Brooke Davis had always been fairly intimidating. Maybe it was the amount of emotion she let out with her gaze, or maybe it was just their history catching up with him. But he loved Peyton, and anything Brooke's eyes told him would just make things messier than they already were.

"Good, for now. I don't know if we are going to get past the issue of children. He doesn't seem to have that fatherly instinct, and I really want to be a mom. Why are men so complicated?"

"We're not all that complicated Brooke. If Owen can't see how lucky he would be to be a part of your life as a mom, then he doesn't deserve you."

"Thanks, Luke." She continued her work before finally telling Lucas. "You should go now, I have to work on a certain wedding dress, one that you shouldn't see yet." He smirked thinking of his lovely blonde bride wearing white on the day that unites them forever. His gut was still, however, telling him to be weary.

"She loves you Luke. Now go." She said as she shooed him away with her hands.