Worry

Nathan is worrying over Jamie. Set during 8.22.

Needed to get this one-shot in while it was still in my head. Thanks again to everyone who read my last one shot. I won't get into the finale other than, it felt under-whelming but everything with Nathan was gold, esp Nathan and Lydia. Finally, it seems that Nathan is in fact the father of Lydia. Also, expect an update of Keep Bleeding soon. Thanks and please review!

"You let our son walk to the River Court alone and you're more worried about Madison?" Haley questioned as she rummaged through the kitchen, making a bottle for Lydia.

"Yes and I'm surprised you're not just as worried." Nathan replied while bouncing Lydia in his arms. "You know they both wear it you know? Madison has one lace and Jamie has the other."

"Nathan, it's just shoe laces."

Nathan stopped bouncing Lydia up and down and eyed his wife carefully. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"This is what I get for letting him hang out with Qunin all the time." Nathan shook his head. "No, it's my fault for dodging that whole birds and the bees talk."

"Nathan, seriously, what're you talking about?" Haley asked as she took Lydia from Nathan.

"Jamie's a Scott."

"I would hope so." Haley looked at Nathan weirdly as she set Lydia down on a nearby on her high chair.

"He's my son Hales."

"I know, I was there remember."

"Hales, you're not getting it, he's my son. He's me."

"You did give him that Y chromosome of yours." Haley shook her head and looked back down at Lydia. "I know, Daddy is going crazy."

"Hales, Scott men don't just give stuff away. When we give someone something, it means something."

"Are we still talking about shoelaces?"

"Yes!"

"What's the big deal, it's just shoe laces?" Haley repeated.

"Just shoe laces?" Nathan exclaimed. "That cracker jack bracelet I gave you, was that just a piece of plastic when I gave it to you?"

Haley paused and her mind flashed back to when she was 16.

The water was calm, the morning sun was bright and in the distance, the sound of birds chirping. In comes, Nathan Scott, late of course. Haley isn't surprised. She's annoyed. Annoyed that she's forced to tutor Nathan Scott so he would lay off Lucas, and that it's way too early, even for her. She stays focused and in charge when Nathan sits down although she's dying for some of the coffee he just brought.

He's trying to stall by opening that Cracker Jack box and her annoyance grows as he tries to be charming. He flashes her a dazzling smile and holds a plastic purple bracelet he just unwrapped. Haley tries to pull her arm back but it's too late. He already placed the inanimate object on her wrists.

"Don't say I never gave you anything."

For a second she flounders as the touch of his hands sent little electric shots through her body or how his smile is as bright as the morning sun. She quickly recovers and tries to get them back on track to the task at hand. Math, she focuses on math.

Haley tried to scold him but the talk of math then turns into something about football or basketball. Haley can't tell, she was never too good at sports. Then the conversation turns into how much he sucks at English and Haley's frustrations grow. She almost snaps, stopping her self short of cursing in front of him. She never gets this flustered, not even when she encounters the rudest customers at the café.

Then he smirks at her and her heart races once more. The rest of the tutoring session passes with out incident but even after she tutors him but she always feels his heated gaze on her and after that morning, she always felt the plastic bracelet around her wrists.

Haley puts the bottle of milk down and stands up.

"He gave her shoelaces." Haley mutters. "Oh my God, he gave her shoe laces!" Haley exclaimed.

"That's what I was trying to tell you."

Haley scratches her head. "How did we miss this?"

"That's what I said."

"Oh my God, he may as well have given her a diamond ring." Haley threw her hands up. "Oh this is just great. Of course he gets my height but gets your charm."

"Us Scott men, we are very understated. I mean look at Luke, he wrote a whole novel to Peyton and didn't realize it. When I gave you that bracelet, I wasn't expecting to get married a few months later. That's how it works, we don't mean to do it, it just happens."

"It works alright." Haley started pacing back and forth and looks down at her baby daughter, the latest product from that faithful morning she first tutored Nathan.

"What're we going to do Nathan? I refuse to be a grandmother before I reach 30."

"Well, Jamie's only 8, we have until he reaches 15 or 16 before we become grandparents."

"Nathan, not helping!"

"Right, sorry."

"God, no wonder you're mother hated me when we got married. She was a grandmother by the time she was 37. Oh my God, I'm going to be Nanny Haley. That's going to be my new name." Haley started to pace back and forth.

"Hales.. would you relax?" He held her shoulders. "Look, the good thing is now we know. We can do something about it before Jamie hits puberty."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well for starters, Jamie is only allowed to go shopping with you or I."

Haley nodded. "That's good."

"And tomorrow, I'm going to give Jamie all new sneakers and you're going to throw away all the pairs he has now."

"Yeah, I'm going to throw his shoes away." Haley paused. "Wait, why are we doing this?"

"Cuz all his new sneakers are going to be Velcro."

"You Nathan Scott," Haley pointed to her husband, "are a genius."

"You can thank my old tutor for that." Nathan smiled and snaked his arms around Haley's waist. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

Haley sighed and hugged her husband back. "Damn that Scott charm of yours." She rested her head against his chest.

"It's as much a gift as it is a curse." Nathan laments.

Just then, Lydia started giggling. "Don't I know it." Haley mutters under her breath as she hear her daughter's laugh. She pulls back and looks up at Nathan.

"Look, we also forgot one thing." Haley adds.

"What?"

"Madison can still wear the laces Jamie bought her."

"Oh crap." Nathan sighs. "Guess we need to figure out how to get rid of her shoes as well."

Haley nods her head in agreement.

"And you thought I was worrying for nothing." Nathan adds.

"Clearly, I was wrong." Haley replied, now being just as worried as Nathan.

The End.