This is not my best work, so tread lightly. It's also one of the cheesiest things I've ever written but I was in the mood for 'daddy nathan' because of Father's Day. Enjoy! :)

. . .

Sunday morning found Nathan Scott waking to chunks of buttery light — warm and soft— streaming between the curtains and landing in streaks across his face. Careful not to disturb the sleeping beauty beside him, he slipped from between the covers, pulled on his previously discarded shorts from the night before, and began a quiet trek to the kitchen to begin making breakfast. He was not, by any means, a natural chef - but he figured he could whip up a batch of pancakes without burning the house down.

After rifling through the refrigerator and cupboards for the necessary ingredients, Nathan mixed the batter and poured a small amount of creamy, smooth liquid into a frying pan while humming a soft tune under his breath. He was happy; it was the type of pure, elated joy children feel before being exposed to the harsh realities of the world. He couldn't help it; waking up next to his beautiful wife, a woman he'd wanted for more than half of his life, was always the perfect way to start the day.

Nathan remembered the days of darkness; he'd wake in the middle of the afternoon, curtains drawn inside a cold room, alone and longing for the life he has now. He'd pined over a woman who he thought would never love him; watched her raise a child that was not his. It hurt his bleeding heart and he swore that if he ever had the chance to love Haley James, he'd do it right.

Now, years later, she was the very reason he woke, every morning, with a beaming smile fixed on his lips. She was the reason he'd rather make pancakes when the rest of the world was sleeping; the reason he sang off-tune and danced (or, in his case, hopped) around their kitchen as if it were a stage; the reason he'd never return to those darker days ever again.

It took a lot to get where they were today; it didn't happen over night, that was for sure. Roughly six years ago, Haley underwent a long and painful divorce; when it was finally official, and she was single again, Nathan knew it'd be too soon to confess his strong feelings towards his childhood best friend. He'd waited 8 years before that - what would one more year do? It took longer than that to muster enough courage to confront her, anyway. Whenever he'd come close, panic would surge through his blood and seize his brain. Finally, one day, after pushing past his sweaty palms and racing heart, Nathan stood outside her front door and risked it all. He came clean, then kissed her. When Haley kissed him back, every second of waiting was worth it. He'd never have to wait again. Every chance he got, Nathan told Haley how he'd felt about her. He still considers himself the luckiest man alive, because she feels the same about him.

After they'd first kissed, Nathan and Haley, including her then four-year-old daughter Emma, had become virtually inseparable. He'd moved in a year after they started dating, and proposed another six months after that. Now, almost five years together, they were happily married, raising eight-year-old Emma, and expecting a new baby. So, it was safe to assume, Nathan Scott was one of the happiest men alive.

He was soon pulled from his thoughts when he felt Haley's arms wrap around his naked chest; her fingers lingered, dancing delicately over the ridges surrounding his abdominal muscles.

"Morning baby," he smiled.

Haley pressed a kiss to his shoulder blade, "'morning. What are you doing up?"

"Making my girls breakfast," he said as he flipped a pancake in the pan. The sizzles sounded through the morning air like a whispered breeze.

He felt Haley smile into his back, "that's my job," she said. "You're supposed to be in bed so I bring you breakfast."

Nathan lowered the heat of the gas flame and turned to face his wife, who was glowing in the morning light. Even without a single trace of make-up, Haley was stunning. It made his breath hitch.

"Nuh-huh," he grinned, "you're supposed to be getting your rest."
Haley rolled her eyes but smiled in-spite of it; Nathan's palms lowered to rest against her baby bump. She was just four-months along and the bump was barely visible beneath the baggy shirt she wore, which once belonged to her Nathan knew, and he could barely keep his hands away from it. He always had to be touching her, one way or another - not that Haley would ever complain about it. She found it quite endearing- except when he treated her like an invalid.

"Nathan, I'm pregnant. Not elderly."

"I know," he smirked, rubbing her belly, "but you should be taking it easy."

Haley squeezed his sides softly, "yes, but it's also Father's Day and you shouldn't have to make your own breakfast, Daddy."

Nathan couldn't fight the blush spreading on his cheeks. Though Haley was carrying his baby, and he loved Emma like his own blood, it was still hard for him to believe he'd be a real father soon. The thought simultaneously scared and exhilarated him. "It's not a big deal," he shrugged it off.

"Of course it is!" Haley protested with a smile, "you're a dad, and today we are celebrating that."

He nodded softly, still feeling the hot flush on the tips of his ears, and leaned down to kiss her. Haley grinned against his warm lips, then placed both her hands on the edges of his face, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

Just as Nathan's own hands began to wander beneath Haley's t-shirt, a small voice squeaked through the kitchen.

"Sorry!"

Nathan jumped away from Haley as if her skin suddenly burnt him. Haley stood, facing her daughter, and blushed.

"Hey, Em. You sleep ok?"

Emma, now seemingly unfazed by what she'd witnessed, simply shrugged, "yep. Did you?"

"Like a rock," Haley beamed.

Nathan reached out to ruffle Emma's honey brown hair, the same color as her mother's. "Me too."

"Whatcha' makin'?" The eight-year-old stood on her tip-toes in attempt to look into the frying pan.

"Pancakes," Nathan grinned, "want some?"

Emma licked her lips, "mhmm. Are they chocolate chip?"

"You know it," he took a spatula and flipped two of the cooked pancakes onto a small plate. Emma accepted it with a grateful smile.

"Hey, what about me?" Haley poked him in the back, "I'm pregnant, remember?"

Nathan's chuckles wrapped around them in a warm embrace, "of course I remember. Here you are, Mrs. Scott," he handed her a plate with three slightly crispy pancakes— just the way she liked them. Her eyes seemed to widen double in size.

"You, my very sexy husband, are absolutely incredible," her voice dropped low enough so that Emma wouldn't hear from her spot on a bar stool.

Nathan smirked, "let's hope you feel the same after you taste them."

"They're delicious!" Emma called out, "better than Mommy's."

Haley pretended to gasp, "seriously?"

Nathan flexed his bicep, then held up a curled fist in triumph, "oh yeah."

Emma giggled, which sent a shot of warmth straight to Nathan's heart. He loved her more than he ever knew could be possible. His eyes then landed on Haley, who was on the bar stool next to Emma. He loved her, just as much - and even though their baby hadn't been born yet, Nathan loved him or her with every fiber of his being. He didn't know a human could have this much love inside of them.

"Come sit," Emma gestured to the empty stool on the other side of her. Nathan and Haley shared a smile. It was no secret Emma adored him.

Once he made himself his own plate, Nathan took his spot next to her, then pretended to try a steal a pancake from Emma's dish.

"Hey!" She squealed, "eat your own pancakes!"

Nathan and Haley chuckled. She was every bit feisty as she was adorable.

The three of them soon fell into a comfortable chatter, only to end with Emma's question.

"Can I give Nathan his gift now, Mom?"

Though Emma hadn't called Nathan 'dad' yet, she still looked to him as if he were her dad— especially because she had no contact with her birth father anymore.

Haley smiled at her daughter. Emma couldn't wait to give Nathan his Father's Day present. It took everything in her not to spill the 'secret' early. The poor girl was practically bursting out of her skin with excitement.

"Of course you can."

"A gift?" Nathan asked, "you didn't have to get me anything, Em."

"Yes, I did," Emma said in a voice that sounded like she'd follow it with the word 'duh', "it's Father's Day!"

Nathan blushed again. He loved when Emma any made reference to him being her dad.

"I'll be right back," she rushed out, nearly falling out of her stool in the process, "don't go anywhere!"

Nathan and Haley laughed again. Emma always had the adults around her cracking up.

Nathan turned towards Haley with a curious sparkle in his blue eyes, "you knew about this?"

"Maybe," she raised a coy eyebrow as she swallowed a bite of her pancake, "maybe not."

"You are sneaky, Haley James Scott."

Truthfully, she was every bit of excited as her daughter was. It was extremely difficult to keep the gift a surprise from Nathan. She too could hardly wait another second.

The sound of Emma's little feet echoed through the house, sounding like distant snare drums, as she ran back into the kitchen. In her hand was a crumpled piece of paper and a yellow package with a bow placed neatly on top. She climbed back onto the stool and handed Nathan the piece of paper first.

"I wrote this when I was six," she said. Nathan turned and smiled. Emma was biting her lip, the same habit Haley had when she was anxious about something. It was adorable.

He gently took the paper from her and unfolded it; inside the paper was a drawing of two stick figure people. One was tall and had scribbles of short black hair on the head, which Nathan presumed was a picture of himself. Next to him was a drawing of a little girl who had pig tails and a purple dress. She was holding the other stick figure's hand and smiling big. Below the drawing were the words written in a red crayon: "I wish Nathan was my Daddy."

When he saw it, Nathan gasped softly. Tears pricked in the corners of his eyes as he read what he wished too were true. He tried to swallow the hard rock forming in the back of his throat, but it was to no avail. He could barely speak without choking on the threatening sob.

"Thank you, Emma," he croaked. It was the best he could do. "This means a lot to me. You know I love you, right?"

Emma nodded feverishly. She was dancing on the balls of her feet, "I love you, too."

Meanwhile, Haley looked on with her own coat of tears as she filmed it all on her phone. It would be a memory she'd want to remember forever.

"You have one more gift," Emma said, still bouncing up and down. "Open it, open it!"

Nathan chuckled at her persistence. Yet another one of his wife's adorable traits. In the corner of his eye, he could see Haley also squirming impatiently. He reached out and squeezed her knee.

"Go ahead, baby. Open it," Haley echoed.

"Alright, alright," Nathan laughed again and gently tore open the thin package. His eyebrows crunched together with curiosity as he pulled out a thick piece of paper. This time, the tears spilled immediately. So much so that the words, ADOPTION PAPERS, were blurry.

"Oh, wow," Nathan choked. He held the papers up and clutched them to his rapidly beating heart. He saw Emma in the corner of his eye, still biting on her lip and fidgeting against the stool, and, on the other side of her, Haley was shaking, her own tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Will you be my dad, Nathan?"

"I can't think of anything that would make me happier," he swallowed thickly and quickly wiped at his wet cheeks as he leaned down and captured Emma in a huge embrace, "I love you, Emma."

"I love you, too, dad."

At the sound of that, Nathan squeezed his eyes shut and fought another sob. He couldn't believe this was real life - everything he'd ever dreamed of was now unfolding all at once.

Haley looked on and covered her open mouth with her free hand; she didn't want to ruin their moment with her own squeals. She and Nathan had talked about him adopting Emma in the past, but never actively pursued it. So when Emma had come to her a few months ago, asking if Nathan could adopt her, she'd been ecstatic. It was also Emma's idea to keep it a secret until father's day; neither she nor Haley could possibly think of a better gift, and, based on Nathan's reaction, it really was perfect.

"Thank you," he repeated over and over again, hugging Emma tightly. When his eyes peeled open, revealing a pool of tears, he looked right at Haley and smiled. She stopped filming and ran over to them, wrapping her arms around them as far as she could. Emma sniffled into Nathan's neck, "I'm gonna be a Scott now, too!"

With that brought another round of tears for both Nathan and Haley. The three of them stood in a huddle of happiness and tears, sniffling and hugging until they ran out of breath. When they pulled apart, Nathan wasted no time in kissing Haley. Emma continued to dance around them, too happy to care about their PDA. Nathan was her dad now - or would be as soon as he signed the papers. It was a dream she'd had since she was five, when he'd moved in with her and her mom.

Nathan pulled away from the kiss and wiped his eyes with the back of his wrists, "you girls have made me happier than I ever thought possible. Thank you."

"Thank you for loving us," Haley whispered, her hands stills wrapped around his waist, "we love you so much."

Emma nodded her agreement, "and you're the best dad to me and my baby brother." She was intent on thinking their baby was going to be a boy - they hadn't found out yet, but they both secretly agreed it was a boy, though they'd be over the moon regardless of the gender.

Nathan beamed, "thank you."

Haley smiled when Emma kissed her belly. Nathan dropped a kiss in her hair and suddenly, the world stood still. Everything fell into place, perfectly.

Now it was a fact: Nathan Scott was truly the happiest, luckiest man - and father - in the world.