There was some arguing over the baby's name. Hayden wanted to christen the girl one thing, Lynette another. It took three days before Hayden's mother stepped in and suggested a name she honestly believed would never be taken seriously; Hadlyn. Impressed with the mash-up of their first names, Lynette tacked Jolie on as the middle name and appeased her boyfriend by putting his surname down, instead of her own. He saw it as a sign that they would eventually get married, but he never said anything.
Life with a new baby was tough, but workable. Lynette stayed home during the first year while Hayden went out and struggled, holding down two jobs while trying to get his music career started. Lynette didn't mind the stars in her boyfriend's eyes, but she had always been the more practical of the two. But when she was given the chance to be a back-up singer for a local Country act, Lynette jumped at the chance.
As a quiet but alert toddler, Hadlyn loved being around her parents whenever they were creating music. Hayden was a gifted drummer that floated from one cover band to another. Lynette loved to sing, but she saw it as more of a hobby than a profession. Her true love lay in the nursing degree she had obtained shortly before Hadlyn's birth, but Hayden kept encouraging his girlfriend to attend open mic nights and get herself out there. Lynette wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to, but she loved seeing the smile on her boyfriend's face. They had originally bonded through music, but after a while, that seemed to be the only thing holding them together.
By the time Hadlyn entered school, she knew that her life was different. For one thing, a few parents whispered about her mom and dad not being married. Hadlyn let it bother her, at first. But gaining friends helped thicken her skin, but her father always being gone did start to show some strain in his relationship with his girlfriend and child. He was always missing something because of a gig and, when she was seven years old, Hayden left for a year-long tour. Lynette was happy for her boyfriend, but when the calls slowed down, then stopped coming all together; she took that to mean that her relationship was over. Men were put on the back-burner as she focused solely on her daughter and work.
Seeing the change in her mother, Hadlyn buckled down in school and promised herself that she would be the perfect child. Music was cast aside, though Lynette never told her that she needed to. But Lynette kept singing around the house and would often wander away from the dishes to start belting out whatever was on the radio. Hadlyn, grinning from ear to ear, usually stopped her homework and joined in. They still filled the house with music, but it felt different without her father around. When Hayden did finally come home from tour, he was surprised to find that his family had moved on.
Hadlyn hoped that things would get better once her father had come home from touring, but things only grew worse. He was being offered more gigs in Los Angeles and he was seriously considering the move. But he didn't want to leave Lynette and Hadlyn behind. Lynette, who had a good job at a local hospital, was hesitant to even think about leaving Tenneessee. A lot of back and forth happened, with Hadlyn often trying to drown out her parents' arguing, until Hayden decided to just leave.
Lynette didn't know what to do with the decision at first. She tried to keep on a brave face and refused to say anything bad in front of Hadlyn. She didn't want the little girl's opinion of her father to change. But it had. Hadlyn believed that her father was selfish and kept wondering if he would still be in their home, if not for music.
As Hadlyn grew older, she became more interested in sports and school. Boys were a very distant thought, unless they were good friends, but Lynette worried that her daughter would be too damaged from her father's leaving. Hayden called when he could, but the trips to Nashville weren't always frequent or planned. Hadlyn hated always wondering when her father was coming around, but she had hopes that things would change once she finished high school. He'd been trying to encourage her to make the move, despite what it would do to her schooling. As much as Lynette wanted father and daughter to see each other, she was often painted as the bad guy for having to say no. Hadlyn needed to stay in Nashville and get an education. She couldn't be galavanting around LA with her father, not trusting his instincts as a parent.
Hadlyn graduated from high school in May 2012 with her sights set on moving to Wilmington, North Carolina with a couple of friends. They had applied to colleges in the area and Hadlyn was excited to be starting culinary school. Lynette was happy that her daughter was pursing something other than acting or singing, but she worried just how stable the culinary arts were going to be. She also refused to sign on any student loan applications. She supported her daughter and liked what she was doing, but she was determined to make sure Hadlyn did it all on her own. That pissed Hadlyn off a bit, but it just meant that she was going to have to work to figure out how to pay for college. When she got to Wilmington, she landed a waitressing gig at a local eatery and settled into her new life. She never had any money, but she was in classes, working, and living with a couple of great girls. In her eyes, it was the perfect set-up and she was happy.
The audition for Dawson's Creek had been a joke, at first. One of the crew members came into the diner she worked in a lot and kept remarking that she would make a beautiful face on the show. They were doing a big episode soon, that would need extras, and she might even land a speaking part. Plus, it was good money and she would be able to pay for a couple of things she needed for class. Hadlyn went to audition and as soon as she stepped on set, she had been bitten by the acting bug.
Hayden was excited to see his daughter act, not caring that she was slated as Girl #1. He was proud of her and even flew in to Wilmington for a few days, so that he could watch the episode with her when it aired. Hadlyn felt foolish but she soon found herself going on more auditions. Hayden believed that a move to LA was coming and suggested she take the summer to come out and check the city out. Her roommates didn't really like the idea, but trouble had been brewing between the three girls for a while. The house was too small and the two girls had unknowingly been swapping boyfriends. Hadlyn wanted out of the situation before her name could be dragged in, so she went. It was only supposed to be a few months, but when the small acting gigs started to roll in, she realized that she wasn't going to finish culinary school. Or any college, much to her mother's dismay.
Hadlyn's big break came in 2008, when she returned to Wilmington for a guest spot on a TV show called One Tree Hill. She'd been doing little things here, landed a pilot that was only ordered for one season before being canceled, but there but nothing as big as the show that was filming on the same lot that Dawson's Creek had occupied years before. It felt like coming home again, but this time, she was living in a hotel room. The arc wasn't supposed to be that long, but she came away from it with a changed attitude. She'd also met someone. He was unlike anyone she'd met in the months leading up to her temporary relocation, and she genuinely liked spending time with him. She wasn't looking for anything serious though and would often tell him that. But about four months after their first date, he called Hadlyn his girlfriend and she didn't correct him.
The relationship, though, was doomed from the start. Nothing with OTH was set in stone, and that meant she would be moving back to Los Angeles very soon. He didn't like the idea of her leaving Wilmington, but there was nothing either of them could do. They parted on good terms once she filmed her final scene as Carrie, then packed up her life and went back to LA.
2010 brought a ton of changes to Hadlyn's life that she hadn't expected. A new show for ABC Family was casting and she had gone in to read for the part of Melissa Hastings, not believing that she would get it. Too many fans still hated her from her time as crazy Nanny Carrie and she felt convinced that she was going to remain in that castlight for a long time. But the show's casting director liked her take on the character and she quickly started filming with a whole new cast. Before long, she was either being called the bitch from Pretty Little Liars or surprising fans by not being as crazy as Carrie was. It made her laugh to watch people realize that she was actually pretty nice and laid-back in real life. She was nothing like the characters she had previously played, but she found enjoyment in playing the 'meaner' characters.
Over the next seven years, Hadlyn started doing a lot of bouncing around. She'd started dating a fellow actor and when a part came up in his TV show, The Vampire Diaries, she jumped at the chance to audition. It meant they would get to work together again, but she knew it would only be temporary. Life as Melissa Hastings and Dr. Meredith Fell on The Vampire Diaries exhausted her, but Hadlyn loved every minute of it. Until she looked around and realized that her relationship was starting to deteriorate. When he proposed marriage, she readily accepted. It was a stupid move on both their parts, but Hadlyn honestly believed that they loved each other enough to make it work. When she moved on from TVD, she had no idea that her marriage would be ending only months after her last episode aired. They phased out the character, but she went on to land a role as one of the new wives on ArmyWives.
Life continued to move fast for Hadlyn. She didn't really sit still, but she loved it. Things were taking off for her and, despite ArmyWives not coming back after their season finished airing in 2013, Hadlyn was happy. She still had Pretty Little Liars asking her back every once in a while, but she only took on guest staring roles. She needed to slow down a bit and she wanted to take less on. Hadlyn wanted to focus on her friendships and her relationship with her family. Lynette had come around to her daughter's accidental choice of careers, and Hayden was over the moon about his daughter's success. He was finding fame as a drummer and Lynette had been promoted within the hospital while she worked toward earning her Masters. Tuition was padded out by several checks from Hadlyn's many acting gigs.
When Hadlyn auditioned for a role in the Chicago Fire spin-off, Chicago Med, Hadlyn once again didn't have high hopes. She was getting more diverse roles, but Natalie Manning was nothing like she'd played before. A pregnant doctor that had been widowed by her Army Ranger husband felt like she was tapping into familiar emotions from when she worked on ArmyWives, but she was thrilled when she learned that she had gotten the job. The Chicago franchise was huge and she was getting to be part of it. It would mean having to live in Chicago for a while, but she didn't mind it. She didn't even care when her castmates teased her during that first winter of blizzards, parkas, and fake baby bumps. Life has come together for Hadlyn since settling into the role of Dr. Natalie Manning. She's managed to stay out of the spotlight for less-than-favorable things, but she laughs whenever her name appears linked to a long-time friend, Reggie Danson. They've been friends for so long that she honestly doesn't know of anything will come of the rumors and flirting, but she's surprisingly open to it. Life on Chicago Med has opened her eyes to some things and she's finally starting to realize that there's something missing from her life.
