All That Matters
Title: All That Matters
Author: Diane
Pairing: Nathan/Haley
Rating: Teen Rated
Disclaimer: Nope, I don’t own a thing!
Spoilers: This is a tag following the final NH scene from last night’s episode (4x05 – I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness) so if you’ve seen it, you’re good.
Summary: All day she had felt so scared, so unsure of everything ever since she had finally told him the truth but hearing his speech at the press conference…
Author’s Note: This is written as per Paulina’s request and is dedicated to her. I hope this is a little something along the lines of what you were hoping for. :)
“Now I now that miracle wasn’t for me… It was for us… All three of us.”
Those words reverberated around in Haley’s head as she lost herself in her husband’s kiss, her arms tightening around him as she held him close to her. All day she had felt so scared, so unsure of everything ever since she had finally told him the truth but watching the TV and hearing his speech at the press conference… Her heart had felt lighter in her chest but there had still be an uncertainty swirling within her. That is until just now when he had spoken those words.
She could feel more tears prickling behind her eyelids and she willed them not to fall but she couldn’t help it and a tiny sob tore from her throat.
“Hales?” Nathan asked, slowly drawing back from her so he could look into her face. He cupped her cheek in his palm, his thumb wiping away a tear that had fallen. “What’s wrong?”
Haley shook her head. “N-Nothing. I just—I was so scared.”
Hugging her to him, he ran a hand up and down her back in a soothing gesture. “I’m sorry I scared you… I just needed some time, that’s all. You know how I get sometimes,” he said, his fingers coming up to stroke her soft hair.
“I know,” she whispered, nodding against him. “And I-I know I shouldn’t have gone to your dad but I didn’t know what else to do or who else to talk to.”
“Shhh, it’s okay. What exactly did he, uh, say to you?”
“Just that he would talk to you for me… I figured if anyone would understand how you were feeling it would be him.”
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he took her little hand in his and led her over to the couch. Taking a seat on it, he pulled her down into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist before saying, “Oh, he talked to me all right.”
Seeing the tired expression on his face, it was her turn to comfort him and she caressed his cheek. “What did he say?”
Nathan debated whether to tell her the truth and after a long moment had passed, he debated against it. “It doesn’t matter… Let’s just say I did the opposite of what he suggested though.”
“It does matter,” Haley stated. “Just…just tell me. Please.”
He took a deep breath, his hold on her becoming a little tighter, needing to feel her just as much as she needed to feel him. “He told me that…that I should let you go to Stanford…alone.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock and she felt her insides twist painfully at the words she had just heard from him and she bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from crying.
“But that thought never even crossed my mind, Haley. I swear. He was spouting off all this crap about how I let you go on the tour so you basically owed it to me to do the same by letting me go to Duke. As I was listening to him, all I could think about was that he hadn’t changed a bit because if he had, he wouldn’t have said that.”
Haley remained frozen on his lap, thoughts of how nice Dan had been to her when she had visited him earlier that day filtering through her mind. How naïve was she to believe that he had really changed?
Intertwining their fingers, Nathan ran his thumb back and forth over the back of her hand as he watched her taking in everything he had just told her. “I meant everything I said in that press conference, Hales. You—you’ve got to believe me.”
Turning her head slightly so she was facing him, she gave him a watery smile. “I do believe you, Nathan.” Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly, reinforcing without words just how true that was. “I just can’t believe I was gullible enough to think he--”
“You’re not gullible, he’s just a selfish ass who wanted to get his own way like he always does.” Chuckling, he added, “You should’ve seen his face afterwards.”
She laughed along with him. “I can imagine.”
They sat there in silence for several long moments before Haley finally broke it.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when I first found out. It’s just…everything’s been so crazy ever since the accident and I didn’t know how you were going to react and--”
Her words were cut off by Nathan’s mouth urgently covering hers and she moaned when he slipped his tongue between her lips, stroking it against her own.
“You were starting to ramble a little,” he teased when they finally broke apart. “Given my reaction, I can’t say I blame you and I know I haven’t exactly been myself lately.”
“That’s understandable given the circumstances but… I hated not knowing… I hated that you couldn’t let me in and tell me what was going on.”
Pulling her into his arms, her head resting in the nook between his neck and shoulder, he quietly said, “I know and I’m sorry. I’ll do my best not to let that happen again.”
Haley kissed his neck, drawing back slightly and breathing in his natural scent. “That’s all I ask, and I’ll do my best to tell you things straightaway.”
“Deal,” he agreed, rubbing the side of his face against hers. “Shake on it?”
“No, kiss,” she told him, her hand coming up to his jaw and angling his face towards hers so she could kiss his lips. Her fingers stroked over the back of his neck and she felt him shiver against her.
“C’mon,” he finally whispered against her lips and slowly moved her off his lap so that she was standing in front of him.
“What?” Haley watched him get up from the couch and when he took her hand in his again, this time he led her towards their bedroom.
Undressing her slowly, Nathan covered her body with kisses as each item of clothing was removed and tossed aside. His eyes immediately went to her still flat stomach and he reached out and covered it with the flat of his hand. Meeting her gaze, he saw her tear-filled eyes and the way she was biting her bottom lip and he suddenly got a sense of just how nervous she must have been these past few weeks as she waited for the right time to tell him.
Picking her up, he gently laid her down on their bed and made short work of stripping off his own clothes before getting in and laying on his side next to her. His lips found hers again as his hand continued to touch her bare stomach, knowing that something they had created was inside there. As scared as he still felt about it all, there was something else, something he couldn’t yet name that was also present within him.
“I love you, Hales,” he whispered against her mouth and he felt it curve upwards into a smile as her hand covered his where it still resided on her tummy.
“I love you too, Nathan.”
They both knew the road ahead wasn’t going to bump-free but, as long as they had each other, that was all that mattered.
Fin