Right By Your Side
Title: Right By Your Side
Author: Diane
Pairing: Nathan/Haley
Rating: Teen Rated
Disclaimer: I don’t own a thing!
Spoilers/Warnings: This is a continuation of episode 7.03 ‘Hold My Hand As I’m Lowered’ so you might want to watch that before reading this.
Summary: He noticed that she wasn’t completely exonerating him and he couldn’t blame her for that. Some of the fault did lie with him, after all.
Author’s Notes: A very big thank you goes to Dawnie and Kristen for all of their help and reassurances with this. You girls rock! *hugs*
Nathan watched her from the doorway of their bedroom, taking in the familiar scene of her sitting propped up against the pillows in their bed, massaging lotion into her hands, his heart aching at the sadness he saw in her eyes.
“Are you going to stand there all night?” Haley asked quietly, her voice breaking into his thoughts.
He swallowed, not wanting to vocalize the words that were on the tip of his tongue but he found himself doing so anyway a few seconds later. “Do you want me to sleep in one of the guestrooms?”
Tilting her head to one side, she regarded him curiously. “Why would I want you to do that?”
“I just figured since this is all my fault… that you might want some space,” he told her.
Haley sighed. “This isn’t all your fault, Nathan.”
Ducking his head, he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. He noticed that she wasn’t completely exonerating him and he couldn’t blame her for that. Some of the fault did lie with him, after all. He’d drunk way too much at the party and, as a result, this… mess was now threatening his family and his career. He inwardly cringed as he recalled the crushed look on Jamie’s face earlier that evening when he’d had to break the news to him.
Aware that he’d understood the meaning behind her words, she continued, “I’m just… I’m hurt and angry that you put yourself in a position where someone could take advantage of you like this.”
Nathan felt sick to his stomach at the fact that, once again, he’d hurt the one person who’d always been there for him… the one person who’d always had his back. “I’m so sorry, Hales,” he said, slowly approaching the bed and taking a seat on the edge of it.
“I know you are,” she whispered, blinking back the tears she could feel prickling behind her eyelids. “Unfortunately, being sorry isn’t going to make this go away.”
“Yeah.” He was close to tears himself and he closed his eyes in an attempt to stop them falling. They flew open a moment later though when he felt her gentle touch on the back of his hand. “Hales…” he choked.
Pushing back the covers and getting out of bed, Haley stood in front of him, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she debated what to do. She could see the situation was hurting him just as much as it was hurting her and now their son and her heart felt heavy in her chest. Climbing onto his lap, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly to her, her vision blurry from the tears that had started falling.
Nathan wrapped his arms around her waist, holding on for dear life, his head resting against hers. “I wish I could go back and undo it all,” he said quietly.
She shook her head. “Wishing this away isn’t going to do any good. We need to put all of our efforts into fighting her claims.”
“Do you believe me?”
“I do,” Haley replied without any hesitation, her fingers idly stroking the back of his neck. After everything they’d been through together over the years, she wasn’t about to let some lying whore come between her and the man she loved more than anything.
“Thank you,” he whispered, tightening his hold on her a little more. “And thank you for helping me tell Jamie tonight. I… you didn’t have to do that and—”
“Yes I did, Nathan. He’s our son and he needed to hear us both reassuring him,” she told him.
Combing his fingers through her long, auburn hair, he then cupped her face in his palm. “Those things you said before… about us getting married in high school and having Jamie at Graduation… I need you to know that I don’t resent any of it, Hales. I’m not partying with the guys while I’m on the road as some sort of lame attempt to make up for lost time or anything like that. I swear.”
Haley nodded. “I don’t begrudge you going out and having fun with the team but… you need to be more careful, Nathan, ‘cause there are people out there… people like this… this woman who are more than happy to try and destroy you and what you have just for financial gain.”
“Well, she’s not getting a penny out of me,” Nathan stated adamantly. “What you said earlier… you know, about me making this whole thing go away… I know it would’ve been the easy way out of this but I just couldn’t do it. Not when I know I’ve done nothing wrong. And things would’ve ended up being a helluva lot worse if it ever came out that I’d paid money to keep this all quiet.”
“I know,” she agreed. “Deep down I wanted you to fight her accusations but I know how much being in the NBA means to you.”
“You and Jamie come first, baby,” he told her sincerely, gently wiping away her tears which were slowly drying.
“I wish this wasn’t happening to us,” she murmured, burying her face into the crook of his neck and breathing in his familiar scent.
“Me either.” Running his hand up and down her bare arm, Nathan eased her off of his lap. “C’mon, it’s been a long day. Let’s try and get some sleep and see what happens tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she agreed, straightening the covers on the bed before climbing in. “Considering she didn’t take Clay’s news well, I’ve got a feeling the days ahead aren’t going to be pretty.”
Nathan silently shared that sentiment as he stripped out of his clothes, tossing them in the hamper in the corner of the room before making his way to their en suite bathroom. After using the facilities and washing his hands, he squirted some toothpaste onto his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth, his eyes staring into the mirror. He didn’t see his own reflection though; all he could see were Haley’s and Jamie’s faces at the moment he’d told each of them the news of what that lying bitch was doing to him… to them.
Several minutes later, he switched off the bathroom light as he headed back into the bedroom, getting into bed beside Haley who seemed to have already dozed off. For some reason, he didn’t feel worthy of snuggling in next to her as he always did, tangling his legs with hers and laughing at her shriek when his cold feet touched her warm ones.
Staying on his own side of the bed, Nathan reached out and turned off the lamp on his nightstand. He was just about to turn over onto his side when Haley sidled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and placing her palm on his chest. He breathed a sigh of relief at her actions and pressing his lips onto the top of her head, he whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said softly, lifting her head so she could look at his face which she did for a long moment. Her eyes filled with fresh tears and she couldn’t stop the sob she felt building in her throat from escaping. Settling back down into her previous position, she buried her face against his skin to try and muffle the sounds of her crying.
Wrapping his arm around her, Nathan held her tightly, doing his best to comfort her without words, knowing there was little he could say to make her – or himself – feel better. He couldn’t help feeling a little grateful that she was releasing her emotions and actually letting him hold her while she did so. He’d felt a distance growing between them ever since he’d told her what was going on but now… it felt like that distance was slowly starting to dissipate. God, he hoped that was the case.
When a few minutes had passed and he no longer felt her shoulders shaking, he realised she’d fallen asleep and as he, too succumbed to the pull of sleep, he said a silent thank you to whoever was listening that, once again, his wife had his back and was going to be fighting right by his side.
Fin