So, I had been wanting to write something with Tim in it. It was a welcome surprise when Tim showed up in 5x09 in the Library with the girls. I was so happy to see Tim again. It always bothered me that he was suddenly gone and we only got one line about where he went, a special school basically. I found that hard to believe. He made it to Senior year and that's when they realized he needed to attend a special private school? Come on. He was Nathan's best friend. He should have gotten a better send off. And let's not start with the fact that once he was gone it was like he never existed. So yes seeing him in season 5 was nice. What I wish more than anything that we could have gotten was seeing him reconnect with Nathan. What would Nathan's reaction be if he found out Tim named his son Nathan? Which shows how important Nathan still was to Tim. We don't know if Haley ever told him.

Anyway I could keep going but I don't want to bore you. Here is my take of what I wish we could have gotten. Hopefully it's decent enough. And again the timeline would be wonky so I set where, were it to happen, it would make the most sense to me. Please read and review.

Title: An Old Friend

Season: Season 5.

Episode: Sometime after What Do You Go Home To?

Summary: Nathan and Haley reconnect and old friend.

It had been a few weeks since Haley had welcomed Nathan back into their room. Everything seemed to be going well for the recently reunited couple. They continued to see their marriage counselor once a week and appeared to be making really good progress with repairing the cracks in their marriage. Slowly the two were easing back into the old routines of married life they were rebuilding before everything with Carrie occurred. Nathan for his part never felt happier and more relieved. Haley felt more appreciative and protective. They both knew there was still a lot of work to be done and welcomed it. If there was any lesson they learned with everything they went through in the last few weeks, it was that nothing was more important than their family and they would do anything to keep it together.

Nathan sat in the living room watching an old episode of some 90s comedy he came across while Haley sat sorting through their mail. Jamie was happily playing in his room leaving his parents alone. As she scanned through all sorts of bills and various pieces of junk mail, Haley's phone beeped and vibrated signaling a new message. Picking up the phone and looking at the screen Haley smiled surprisingly at the text she received.

"Oh wow." Haley softly spoke as she read the message.

"What?" Nathan asked as he looked away from the TV.

"Nothing. Just a message from someone we haven't seen in a long time." Haley answered her husband as she typed a response to the text.

"Oh. Anyone I know?"

"Actually, yes." Haley said putting down her phone and the mail on her lap onto the coffee table. "Do you remember when I told you about getting locked in the library with Brooke, Peyton, Mia, and Lindsay?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, with everything that happened I never got to tell you the most interesting part." Haley turned to face Nathan, "In the ensuing chaos of trying to figure out how we would get out, Peyton came up with the brilliant idea of ordering a pizza online and having it delivered to the Library. Well, guess who our delivery guy was?"

"Hales, I'm not gonna guess."

"Fine. It was Tim!"

"Tim?" Nathan asked surprised. "Tim also known as Dim? Formerly my best friend Tim?"

"Yep. We were all surprised to see him."

"Wow. How's he doing?"

"He is still the same Tim. Though I did sense a bit more maturity towards the end of the night." Haley said thoughtfully. "He has a son. I'm sure you can guess his name."

Nathan stared at his wife for a moment and then it hit him, "No. Tell me it's not what I think it is. Please don't tell me he did that."

"Yep. He will always have a Nathan in his life." Haley chuckled.

"Oh god why?" Nathan grimaced and shook his head.

"Oh stop. I think it's cute. It just shows how important his friendship with you was despite you two losing touch."

"I guess."

"He actually prolonged us being trapped in the Library."

"What do you mean?"

"He knew how we could get out but held off on that info just to hang out with us because he missed us and in his words: 'Nobody keeps in touch anymore.' Which I have to say he was sort of right."

"Yeah. We didn't really do our best to keep in touch once he switched schools."

"No we didn't. So I got his number and gave him mine. I told him to contact me and we could set up a play date for his son and Jamie."

"Don't you think that will be a bit weird?"

"No, not really. Come one, the two of you were best friends. At one time you did everything together. Don't you kind of owe it to yourselves to reconnect?"

"I mean I guess it would be interesting. But I'm just thinking of the awkwardness. I'm sure he thinks I just totally dropped him as my best friend."

"Babe, if he did I doubt he would have named his son after you. Trust me. There are no ill feelings on his part according to him. He told me he understood that you two were on different paths and once he went to his new school he expected things would be changing."

"I guess you have a point. It still doesn't make it any better. You know I remember him telling me that we weren't really hanging out much and how were drifting apart that night Felix had Dare Night. I didn't really give it much thought back then but he was right. Seems like he saw it long before I could."

"But you did try to hang out more afterwards. You tried."

"It wasn't enough. We drifted apart anyway."

"Nathan, it happens. Our senior year was a crazy mess of chaos. You had so much going on. Us trying to fix our relationship for one thing."

"Yeah. Still, I could have been a better friend. You know, no matter how I was with him he always had my back. I never really realized what a great friend he actually was despite the dumb things he would say and do."

"He was. And now you have the chance to reconnect with him." Haley looked at him hopefully.

"Well I guess it could be fun. Since he has a son can I assume he got married?"

"Yeah, that's where it might get a little hairy. Turns out Bevin is the mother of his son."

"Bevin? Wow, this just gets better and better."

"Yeah, so we may want to avoid bringing this up in front of Skills. You know, Bevin still being a sore subject for him and all."

"Yeah, no kidding." Nathan scoffed, "So, what was his message about?"

"Oh, he wanted to know if maybe we'd like to meet up at the park with Jamie on Saturday. He takes his son there every Saturday afternoon and thought it would be nice for us to have the boys play together. I replied that I'd check with you first. So what do you think?"

"I think we should go. It can't hurt to go. It'll be good to catch up."

"Great! I'll text him back." Haley grabbed her phone and began to type out a message to Tim.

"I'm not going to lie it's going to be weird being around his kid having the same name and all."

"I know, but we'll deal with." Haley put her phone down and snuggled closer to Nathan. "Well, you'll deal with it. It doesn't really affect me much."

"You're so supportive." Nathan said sarcastically.

"That I am." Haley smiled back at him, "And I know you were trying to be sarcastic."

"So, is Bevin going to be there too?"

"I don't know. He didn't mention her."

"It's weird. I never thought of those two together and now that I am it makes perfect sense."

"I know what you mean."

"Momma!" Jamie yelled as he entered the living room. "I'm hungry."

"Okay, baby. I'll make you something. What are you craving?"

"Can I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

"Sure." Haley stood up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen. "What about you Nathan? Want a sandwich?"

"I could go for one." Nathan grabbed Jamie and started to tickle him.

Jamie's laughter rang loudly as his father attacked him mercilessly with tickles. Haley grabbed everything she needed to make the sandwiches and watched as her two favorite boys played. Haley smiled widely. Everything seemed to be back on track and as it should be.

Saturday quickly came and the family of three were on their way to meet Tim and his son at the park. Nathan drove in companionable silence as Haley and Jamie chatted.

"Momma, who are we going to see at the park?" Jamie asked.

"Well, we're going to see an old friend of mommy and daddy's. He is bringing his son along for the two of you to play." Haley answered.

"What's your friend's name?"

"His name is Tim."

"And what's his son's name?"

"Nathan."

"Nuh uh, that's daddy's name." Nathan chuckled at his son's response. Haley couldn't help but giggle herself.

"I know sweetie, but that's also the name of Tim's son. He named him after your daddy."

"But why?"

"Well, Tim and your dad used to be best friends and they did everything together. I think this was Tim's way of honoring his friendship with your dad and remembering the good times."

"That's funny. How come you're not best friends anymore daddy?"

"Well, buddy Tim went to a different school and we didn't see each other much anymore. Then we moved away and lost touch. But thanks to your mom we can meet up again."

"Okay." Jamie responded satisfied with his dad's answer. Haley and Nathan looked at each other and just laughed.

It wasn't long until Nathan was parked in the lot by the park. It was a warm and bright day. Perfect for a day spent outside. The park was filled with children joyously laughing and playing as their parents watched off to the side. Haley got out of their car and began to unbuckle Jamie. Once out of the car Haley looked around hoping to spot Tim. After a couple minutes of looking, she finally noticed him sitting by the sand box.

"He's over by the sand box." Haley pointed him out to Nathan. Nathan picked Jamie up and along with Haley walked towards Tim.

"Tim!" Haley shouted once they were close enough to him. Tim looked up and grinned widely at the little family.

"Hey!" Tim greeted them excitedly. "Nate! Man, it's been too long."

Tim stood up and held out his hand to shake Nathan's who kindly offered his.

"Hey man. It really has been a long time."

"So this is my son," Tim bent down to pick up his son. "His name is Nathan too."

"So I heard." Nathan said sending a quick glance to Haley.

"This is our son Jamie." Haley cut in introducing Jamie.

"Hey little man." Tim greeted Jamie.

"Daddy, can I play now?" Jamie tugged on Nathan's collar.

"Sure, buddy."

"Yeah, I brought a lot of Nathan's toys for the sandbox for you guys to play with." Tim said as he put his son down who went back to play in the sandbox.

Nathan placed Jamie on the ground and allowed him to follow Tim's son. The three adults watched as the two young boys awkwardly began to play.

"Who would've thought that one day our kids would be playing together huh Nate? Especially this young."

"Yeah, it's a little weird. But life is full of surprises."

"So, I heard about your accident. I wanted to call but I figured it had been too long." Tim scratched his neck uneasily, "Anyway, I'm sorry you went through that. Looks like you're doing great."

"Yeah, it wasn't the easiest of times for us. Let's just say I wasn't being very receptive to anyone." Nathan lightly squeezed Haley's hand, "Took me awhile to get over the anger and self-pity before even trying to get back on my feet literally."

"I can't begin to imagine. So have you tried playing again?"

"Not really there yet." Nathan responded quietly.

"Okay, cool."

"So what have you been up to, Tim?" Haley asked.

"Not much. Been working a lot and spending time with my boy."

"Well, he seems to be a great kid."

"He really is. When I first found out I was gonna be a dad, I didn't think I could do it, but since he was born I really surprised myself."

"I know what you mean. I was the same way. I was scared. I mean, you remember how my dad was." Tim nodded, "But lucky for me I had Haley here. I knew with her everything would be okay."

"Aww, thanks babe." Haley leaned up and kissed his cheek. "There was no doubt you would be a great dad. And Tim, just seeing the way you are with your son I can tell you are a great father as well."

"Thanks! I have to say Jamie does look like a great kid too."

"He really is."

"Momma, look!" Jamie shouted for his mother. He took a large bucket he had filled with sand and dumped it all over himself. Tim's son Nathan just laughed at Jamie's silliness.

"Jamie! Honey, don't do that! You're getting sand everywhere!" Haley shouted as she walked towards her son.

Tim and Nathan stood on the sidelines and laughed as they watched.

"Okay don't give me crap for saying this but Jamie kind of looks like a little version of Lucas."

"Ugh," Nathan groaned, "Believe me we've heard that plenty. Lucas especially likes to mess around and remind me of that."

"Kind of funny." Tim chuckled.

"Laugh it up," Nathan shook his head and even laughed a little himself. "He's my kid, no doubt."

For the rest of the afternoon the old friends sat down at a bench and caught up on the old times and their current lives. Their young sons seemed to be getting along quite well. At first what Nathan thought would be an awkward encounter turned out to be surprisingly easygoing. There were no grudges on Tim's part. He genuinely seemed interested in all that Nathan had been through and Nathan was genuinely interested as well in all that Tim had gone through. Nathan and Haley learned about how Tim and Bevin ended up together with a son. They felt a bit odd knowing the history with Skills.

Overall it was nice getting to hang out and catch up. Despite losing touch for so long it was really great getting to reconnect. Before leaving the park they promised to keep in touch. They said their final goodbyes and parted ways. Once in the car Nathan took Haley's hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss. He was grateful that she suggested he reconnect with his former best friend.

It turned out to be a positive experience. And if he was being honest with himself, he missed Tim. Despite his goofiness and the dumb things he would say, he was a good friend. While he was still as goofy as ever Nathan could see a change in him. He appeared to be more responsible and he was a pretty great Dad from what Nathan could see. It still irked him a bit that he named him Nathan but was also a bit flattering. No matter what goes on in their lives Nathan hoped they wouldn't lose touch again.