*For all my OTH super fans, I need some help. I need to know, was there any episode that featured the song unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield? Might some weird but the song came on today and I could have sworn it was in an episode of OTH.

"Hey, You are just in time." Claudia smiled as Nathan walked into the kitchen. Claudia went overboard for breakfast or for Nathan's.

"For what ... hibernation?" Nathan asked sarcastically as he looked at Claudia who was scrambling eggs.

"No. I saw your slamball schedule for the next three weeks, and it looks pretty grueling. So I thought you better stock up." Claudia replied as she topped of his mountain of food with scrambled eggs, Nathan sat down on the stool.

"Claudia, 90,000 calories a day is not gonna keep me From getting hit on the slamball court." Nathan explained. 

"No, but it'll give you a little extra padding when you do." Claudia grinned before she turned away to make some more. Jamie and Grace sat beside Nathan on the stools, one on either side. 

"I cleared a place for your trophy." Grace grinned at her dad. 

"You know, I don't think they give you trophies in slamball, buddy." Nathan replied and Grace pouted a little.

"Not even for champions?" Jamie asked and Nathan shook his head.

"That's pretty lame, huh?" Nathan asked and the children nodded their heads.

"How are you supposed to know you're awesome without a trophy?" Grace asked confused.

"Well, I guess you're gonna have to keep telling me." Nathan grinned at his children. "Hey Go eat your breakfast in front of the TV. All right, little bears?" Nathan asked as he placed a lot of his food on his children's plates.

"Okay." They smiled in unison. 

"Good luck." He sighed to his kids before they ran to the living room with their food. Claudia turned around to see Nathan eating bacon with an almost empty plate. "It's really good." Nathan reassured and Claudia shook her head at him.

"Here, have some more." Claudia smiled as she piled more on, Nathan looked scared with the pile of food in front of him. "If it was that good." Claudia added smirking  before she walked off.

___

"So, pooky wooky bear pretty much finds out he's been a crummy friend and has to say he's sorry." Jamie explained to Claudia's class at school. The bell rang.

"All right. Chapter nine tonight, guys. Good job." Claudia smiled at her class as they all packed up their things and left. Sam walked up to Jamie, Grace was with Peyton, she wanted to mess around in Red Bedroom Records. 

"So, don't tell your mom, but that was pretty much the best lecture of the year." Sam smiled at Jamie.

"Uh, I heard that." Claudia stated as she stood up. "Hey, you have, uh, study hall next, right? yeah. Would you mind watching Jamie for a little bit? I got to run to the office." Claudia asked as she picked up some papers.

"Sure. Anything to avoid economics homework. Let's go, muchacho." Sam smirked at Jamie as they started to walk out.

"Awesome." Jamie exclaimed as he walked over to Sam. Claudia pointed to Sam.

"Sam, no parties, okay?" Claudia asked and Sam nodded her head before her and Jamie walked down the corridor a different way. Claudia's phone rang. 

"Hello." Claudia said as she picked up her phone, it wasn't a number that she recognised. 

"Hi Mrs Scott, this is Haley Stone." Haley teased on the phone and Claudia practically screamed on the other end.

"God I have missed you." Claudia laughed as she walked down the hall. Haley nodded her head on the other line. They hadn't spoke in a while. "Hows France?" Claudia asked smiling.

"Amazing, but I am excited to come home." Haley answered, "hows the album coming?" Haley asked and Claudia just shrugged.

"I have some other song ideas to add in but I am not sure." Claudia answered honestly and Haley 'hmm'ed on the other line. "I don't have time to think about music when my husband is playing slamball." Claudia added.

"What is Slamball?" Haley asked concerned.

"What it sounds like. It's basketball with trampolines and men running into each other." Claudia explained the best she could. "It's terrifying to watch but he has to do it. He wants to do it." Claudia added.

"Aw Claude, I am sorry." Haley replied and Claudia shook her head. 

"He's strong. He will be fine." Claudia smiled reassuringly. She needed to believe it or it would make her scared and worried which isn't want Nathan needs right now.

___

"Hey. you okay?" Claudia asked Lucas as she walked up to him.

"Yeah. No. no." Lucas replied. "Um, I have to write Keith's murder scene in the screenplay, and I ... don't know if I can do it. I just can't imagine people sitting in a theatre eating popcorn, watching Keith get shot to death." Lucas explained emotionally.

"Maybe it could be more than that. Maybe ... like in literature, a violent death can often be a catalyst for change or... a lesson in humanity." Claudia tried to explain optimistically but Lucas just wasn't listening.

"I don't want my audience to understand Dan Scott, okay?" Lucas snapped back and Claudia looked at him hurt. "I don't want to make Dan Scott a more conflicted character for the sake of a more complex plotline. Dan Scott isn't human. He doesn't deserve to be forgiven. Frankly ... Dan Scott doesn't deserve a spot in Jamie's or Gracie's life." Lucas explained angrily and Claudia was angry.

"Luke." She stated bluntly and Lucas understood that he hurt her.

"I'm sorry, Claude. it's none of my business. My head's just been ... I should go. I'm sorry." Lucas replied awkwardly before he started to walk away. 

"Luke." Claudia called again and Luke turned around to face her. "You are right, Dan doesn't deserve to be forgiven. But Jamie and Grace they don't understand his evil and his lack of remorse. They see family. I can't do anything to stop them." Claudia explained truthfully and Lucas nodded his head. "But, Dan did play a part in saving my family." Claudia weighed in, "doesn't mean I like him anymore." Claudia confirmed and Lucas nodded his head. "I will help you do this, but people who don't know you or Dan or Keith will not believe how malicious Dan is." Claudia continued. "I can bet that people will like his character as sad as it is." Claudia added.

"That won't happen." Lucas stated sternly but Claudia shrugged her shoulders. 

"Write him as who he is. Don't characterise him any more or less. He doesn't deserve it." Claudia stated bluntly and Lucas nodded his head.

"Who knows what I would do without you?" Lucas asked as he hugged his best friend. 

___

"It's called supply and demand." Jamie said as he sat on a bench beside his mom. He was in trouble for stealing money from kids.

"No, it's called taking advantage, and it's not very nice. What is this?" Claudia asked confused as she looked at the money.

"A kickback. It's yours to keep if you're in cahoots." Jamie smiled like it was nothing.

"I most certainly am not in cahoots. Didn't you learn anything from your pooky wooky book?" Claudia asked and Jamie stayed quiet. "Treating your friends well is more important than extorting them." Claudia answered her own question.

"What's extorting?" Jamie asked confused.

"I think you've learned enough economics for one day." Claudia replied and Jamie pouted.

"I just want to buy daddy a slamball trophy." Jamie said sadly and Claudia hugged onto him.

"All right. You're a sweet kid, even if you are too smart for your own good sometimes." Claudia smile down at her son. Grace was outside playing as well, but she was playing with Chuck.

"So we're in cahoots?" Jamie asked grinning and Claudia laughed.

"No. no. we're not in cahoots. I'm gonna spank your little cahoots If you don't go out there and give all your friends their money back right now." Claudia warned and Jamie ran off with the money grinning. Claudia waved over at Grace who waved back.

___

"I'm worried about daddy." Grace whispered to her mom as they watched Slamball. Claudia knew that a guy who didn't like Nathan was playing and she was worried. Extremely.

"Yeah, me too, buddy, but the game's almost over, okay?" Claudia smiled back reassuringly and Brooke smiled over at the scared children. 

"Do you know what I haven't had in my lap lately?" Brooke asked grinning.

"It's not really a secret." Sam muttered and Brooke glared at her.

"A Jamie and Grace Scott." Brooke exclaimed as both of the kids climbed onto her knee.

"Sorry about teaching Jamie how to make money off of his friends. I just wanted him to think I was cool. I ... Didn't mean to get him in trouble." Sam confessed and Claudia sighed for a moment.

"You know, Jamie and Grace really look up to you. You've got a great opportunity to be a role model to them. You just have to choose it, and that takes a commitment to making good choices for the three of you. Just think about that next time." Claudia explained honestly

"Sorry." Sam stated and Claudia smiled at her.

"It's okay." Claudia smiled before she turned to the game. She could sense something. "What's going on?" Claudia asked as she watched Owen walk off the game. Her stomach began to sink with fear. He was all alone now. They watched the game and Nathan was pushed through a glass window. Claudia stood up in shock as her children ran down  to their dad.

"Jamie. Gracie!" She called on them but it was no use they were already at their dad who was lying on the floor surrounded with shards of glass.

"Daddy." Jamie sighed as he looked at his dad who was on the floor. 

"Hey. I'm fine, see? I'm all right." Nathan reassured as he tried to sit up. 

"Don't play slamball anymore, daddy." Grace pleaded as she looked at her dad with big eyes. Nathan looked at his children before he nodded his head.

Claudia marched straight up to the player who knocked Nathan through the glass window. That player was away to experience the wrath of Claudia.

"That's was uncalled for." Claudia stated bluntly as she pointed to Nathan who was lying on the floor. Nathan tried to sit up and see what Claudia was doing. "You are pissed at him for some stupid reason. You didn't need to push him through a glass window." Claudia practically shouted and a lot of people were looking over at them. 

"Listen lady..." He started to say but Claudia cut him off.

"No, you listen. You could of paralysed him. Do you understand what that means?" Claudia asked rhetorically, Jamie and Grace were now listening in. Both coaches walked over to the pair of adults incase Claudia went full angry. Brooke walked down the stands for Claudia. Claudia looked around to see that people were looking, she felt really awkward. She left everyone and walked over to Nathan. "Hey baby." Claudia smiled mousy as she rested her hand on Nathan's cheek. 

"I thought you and Chuck's mom was bad." Nathan joked and Claudia laughed. 

___

"Hi, buddies. I'm in one piece." Nathan said to his children as he went to meet them on the slamball court. Grace ran up to him and Jamie followed closely behind her.

"I was scared that you were gonna be like ... Before." Grace mumbled and Claudia looked at her children, they were truly scared.

"Ah, come here." Nathan sighed as he lifted up both his children. "Listen to me. I'm never gonna be like that again, okay? None of this is worth losing my ability to hold my children when their afraid ... And my wife when she needs me." Nathan explained as Claudia took Grace from him and hugged him. "It's okay. I'm done with slamball but the championship. I don't care about the championship. If these are the last three trophies I ever get. I will consider myself a lucky man." Nathan finished and Claudia grinned at him.

"Good, 'cause I gave all my profit back." Jamie added and Nathan looked at his son confused.

"What?" Nathan asked as they started to walk out of the gym.

"Your son started a business today." Claudia sighed as she hugged tighter onto her daughter.

"Oh, yeah? How'd it go?" Nathan asked Jamie smirking.

"Well, I broke even, and grandpa Dan lost his shirt." Jamie explained grinning and Claudia laughed.

"What? grandpa Dan lost his shirt?" Nathan asked laughing as they left the gym. 

___

"I lost my temper at that game." Claudia laughed awkwardly as she sat down on the bed beside Nathan. Nathan turned to face her.

"I thought Jerome was going to be leaving in a stretcher." Nathan joked and Claudia buried her head in her hands. "Kidding." He added as Claudia looked up at him. 

"He's lucky." Claudia laughed and Nathan joined in. "Hey guess what!" Claudia exclaimed as turned her body on the bed so she was looking at Nathan straight on. "Haley, Jack and Lydia are coming home soon!" Claudia sang excitably.

"That's great Claude." Nathan replied and Claudia nodded her head. She was so excited for Haley to be back, she missed her so much and she missed her big brother dearly.

"Yeah it is, we were chatting earlier." Claudia smiled to herself as there was a knock on their bedroom door. They turned around to see Jamie and Grace standing at the door. Claudia turned to face Nathan grinning. "Why aren't you in bed, buddies?" Claudia asked as the children climbed onto the bed.

"We like your bed." Jamie answered as he sat down on Claudia's knee and Grace on Nathan's. 

"You do, huh?" Nathan asked and Grace nodded her head. 

"Can we sleep her tonight?" Grace asked pleadingly and Claudia nodded her head.

"Come on." Claudia smiled as everybody got under the covers and went to their bed. It was a perfect picture. 

___

Question Time!

What's your favourite chapter in the entire book series?

I have too many to choose from I do love the first chapter in this book and the chapter where Claudia asks for a divorce and the chapter where Nathan asks for a divorce, this chapter I liked writing. Both marriage chapters and many more...

If you have a favourite sound off in the comments ;)