Fic: The Oncoming Storm (Haven -- Nathan Wuornos/Duke Crocker) PG
Title: The Oncoming Storm
Author: kingzgurl
Fandom: Haven
Series: Long Time Coming
Pairing: Nathan Wuornos/Duke Crocker
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,155
Summary: set sometime late-season 1; A hurricane that was expected to pass right on by Haven, Maine takes a drastically different course and the town scrambles to prepare.
***
From the inside of the police station, the only sign of the approaching storm was the frenzy of activity to lock down the building. Most of Haven’s officers were dispatched to the docks or handling evacuation of the homes and businesses along the shoreline, but Nathan had been in the building when the storm changed direction and the alert hit critical so he was working central dispatch along with Laverne and Stan to answer the calls as they came in by the dozens. Audrey had been down near the Gull when the rain started and instead of getting back to the station she had to handle the street evacuation and preparation in the field. The last time he had checked in with her, she was assisting Duke with locking down the Grey Gull to protect the old windows and doors from the hurricane strength winds that were imminent. In just thirty minutes the winds had already picked up to the point the rain was no longer falling down, but flying horizontally, and as much as Nathan hated dispatch he was glad to be inside. Not that it would have bothered him any if he was out in it since he wouldn’t be able to feel the cold bite of the wind.
“Nathan, you there?” Audrey’s voice crackled over the radio system and Nathan quickly abandoned the phones to take it.
“Here. How’s progress out there, Parker?” Nathan would be a liar if he said he wasn’t worried. Haven had its own weird weather thanks to the Troubles, but for natural weather they had it pretty easy most of the year with just the occasional thunderstorm. It was rare a hurricane made its way so far north, but this one had come all the way up from the Gulf and managed to pick up steam on its way up the eastern seaboard, promising over a foot of rainfall and intense winds that would cause as much if not more damage than the flooding. The storm was growing worse by the minute and Nathan kept his fingers crossed he could order Parker back to the station if her block was locked down tight.
There was a loud burst of static before Audrey’s voice came back, worried. “We’re almost done here, the last few families are loading into vehicles right now, but we’ve got a problem, Nathan.”
That was not the news he wanted to hear. A problem was the last thing he wanted to hear with the threat of the hurricane hitting their coast full-force in less than an hour. “What happened?”
“Duke locked down the Gull and then left for the Rouge. I told him not to go to the docks, but you know how he gets, and I have families with kids here…”
Nathan looked at the last uncovered window and the dark-grey sky that suggested late evening rather than early afternoon. He’d really hoped to stay inside. “Dammit! We just finished a full evacuation of the docks and pulled everyone to help out in the other neighborhoods, so there’s no one to stop him.”
Audrey’s voice was broken by static as the wind intercepted their signal, fair warning that they wouldn’t have radio signal much longer. “I’ll go after--”
“No.” Nathan cut her off. He didn’t want her anywhere near the docks with her lack of experience near the water, and especially in such strong winds he was afraid she’d get blown right into the harbor. “Stay where you are and get the rest evacuated, then get back to the station. I’ll go after him.”
“Got it. Be safe, Nathan.”
The radio fell quiet except for the occasional burst of static as Nathan grabbed for keys and pulled on his fishing jacket that he’d forgotten in the office months and months before. He hadn’t needed it, so it had stayed on the hook behind his door until now. Keys in hand, Nathan waved at Stan and Laverne on his way out. “Parker should be back in fifteen. If she isn’t, radio her and tell her to get her ass back here.”
“Sure thing, Chief,” Stan waved. “Stay dry out there.”
Nathan laughed bitterly and ducked his head against the wind as he made his way out to the Bronco.
***
“Fuck,” Nathan groaned as he pulled to a stop as close as he could get to the dock where the Cape Rouge was tied down. The water levels in the harbor had already risen, bringing the docks up nearly to the road level as water splashed over the rocks. “I’m going to kill him.”
Duke’s truck was off to the right as Nathan made a run for it, head ducked to keep the wind and water from his eyes so he could focus on where his feet would land. It wouldn’t do if he fell out there from a clumsy step. The docks swayed dangerously in the growing waves, docked boats tied tight and only protected from damage by the fenders that lined them. The Rouge was down a ways, normally noticeable at a distance but Nathan couldn’t even make out it’s masts until he was next to it. The boat was riding high in the water, its lines pulled tight where it was still tied to the deck, and Nathan cursed Duke for not handling that first thing before the wind picked up.
A figure was just discernable on the top deck, but Nathan focused first on moving the bow and stern lines to the pilings, tying them appropriately to keep the boat in place so he could drop the extra fenders which would protect the hull from hitting the docks. With the Rouge tied properly it was much easier to climb aboard and grab the additional rope he needed to double and triple the lines so the heavy weight of the Rouge wouldn’t snap them in the winds. Nathan moved along the edge of the dock and boat smoothly in the winds, his steps sure and his knots tight, thankful for growing up around the docks so he knew what to do without thought. With Duke somewhere on the other side of the boat, Nathan checked all the hatches and gathered up the deck equipment that was usually stored neatly and tossed it into one of the empty storage areas to lock down. The other man would hate him for the mess, but better a mess than losing all of it in the storm.
Finally things were as secure as he could make them with the wind so intense than he was being blown from side to side on the deck. He started his search for Duke who was no where to be seen on the deck, but it was easy to find him below deck and as soaked as Nathan was. He was hunched over a piece of machinery when Nathan found him, his shoulders shaking from the cold and his long hair dripping water onto his jacket. “Duke, you have to get off the boat and away from the harbor. The storm is getting worse.”
“What the hell are you doing here, Nathan?” he asked in annoyance, still working away without even a glance over his shoulder.
“Stopping you from getting yourself killed. I fixed your dock lines, but we’ve got to go now,” Nathan moved closer and realized Duke was trying to fix some wiring. “Something wrong with your bilge pump?”
“Just had to reinstall it, I lent it to someone last month,” Duke’s hands were shaking as badly as his shoulders.
With a groan, Nathan went around to look at it from the opposite side, taking the wires from Duke’s hands and prompting a protest from the sailor. “Look, you’re never going to get this done without help. Now tell me what needs to be attached where so we can get out of here.”
Surprisingly, Duke didn’t argue. He walked Nathan through the connections, pointing out and rearranging the wires where he needed to in order to hurry the process while Nathan did the more delicate connections. The fact he couldn’t feel the cold was in his favor to make the work easier, and together they finished it quickly so that the bilge pump finally came to life lower on the boat.
“We’re going now, no arguments,” Nathan closed the wire cover and looked up at Duke. “We’ll be lucky to make it off the docks without getting blown into the water.”
“Why are you here?” Duke asked, standing with Nathan. “Parker said you were warm and dry in the station.”
“Like I said, stopping you from getting yourself killed.” He pushed at Duke to get the other man moving. “My apartment is closer than the station, so go there. You know where I keep the spare key.”
Duke raised an eyebrow but started up towards the deck. “And where are you going?”
“I have to get back to the station to make sure they finished the evacuations,” Nathan rolled his eyes like it was a dumb question.
There was no opportunity to talk with the howl of the storm. Duke locked down the main doors to the lower deck and the two of them barely made it off the Rouge when a gust of wind hit them full-force and set them crashing into one another. Carefully they moved close together to ward off the strength of the wind as they headed for the trucks and went their separate ways.
Nathan just hoped Duke would listen to directions and go to Nathan’s apartment, which was the safest place for him other than the high school gymnasium with the rest of the evacuated families of Haven. “Hey Parker, I’m on my way in,” he radioed to the station, navigating carefully around debris in the street. There was a long day and night ahead of him, but Nathan smiled when he saw Duke’s headlights turn down his street. At the very least, the knowledge that Duke wasn’t going to die on the Rouge was enough to get him back to the police station.
***
It was after 2am when the winds died down enough for Nathan to get home from the station. Audrey had opted to stay and grab some sleep on the couch since her apartment was in the evacuated area, but Nathan had been anxious about checking on Duke and making sure his unreliable acquaintance hadn’t destroyed his apartment. The winds were in no way calm, still blowing consistently in excess of forty-five miles an hour, but the heavy gusts gave them a few brief moments of respite in the night.
The power throughout Haven had gone down sometime around four in the afternoon, and the phone lines quickly followed, effectively stranding everyone wherever they were hunkered down for the night. With the streets empty except for debris and flooding, Nathan had to be cautious but quick to navigate home. He parked the Bronco behind Duke’s truck in his space and ducked through the heavily fortified storm door to his building. Inside, it was dark and quiet; Nathan’s flashlight was the only light which left the stairway in eerie shadows as he made his way towards his front door and into the silent apartment. A quick search of the main rooms only showed Duke’s presence by the keys on the counter and the wet clothes hanging in the bathroom. Nathan added his own wet clothes to the mix, stripping down to find dry, warm pajamas in the drawers of his bedroom. His favorite thermals were missing from the top drawer, but he tugged on flannel pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt because he suspected his skin was freezing before he headed for the bed and pushed at Duke’s sleeping form to get him to scoot to one side.
“’ts about time you showed up,” Duke murmured sleepily, shifting to make space for Nathan. He was wearing Nathan’s favorite thermals and hadn’t bothered to open his eyes when the detective crawled in beside him.
“Go back to sleep,” he whispered. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day too.”
“Nnn…” was the mumbled reply as Duke pressed against his side and threw an arm and leg over Nathan as he settled back into a heavy sleep.
Nathan was accustomed to Duke’s habit of sleeping like an octopus, sprawled across the entire width of the bed and whomever happened to be in the bed with him. It didn’t bother him anymore, and though he couldn’t feel the weight or warmth of Duke on top of him, he liked that he was anchored there, held close, and had to make the extra effort in order to move away from him in the early morning. There would be no early morning, though, because there was nothing left for them to do until the storm passed. Nathan drifted off to sleep, content with the knowledge he would get pancakes in the morning.
Author: kingzgurl
Fandom: Haven
Series: Long Time Coming
Pairing: Nathan Wuornos/Duke Crocker
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,155
Summary: set sometime late-season 1; A hurricane that was expected to pass right on by Haven, Maine takes a drastically different course and the town scrambles to prepare.
***
From the inside of the police station, the only sign of the approaching storm was the frenzy of activity to lock down the building. Most of Haven’s officers were dispatched to the docks or handling evacuation of the homes and businesses along the shoreline, but Nathan had been in the building when the storm changed direction and the alert hit critical so he was working central dispatch along with Laverne and Stan to answer the calls as they came in by the dozens. Audrey had been down near the Gull when the rain started and instead of getting back to the station she had to handle the street evacuation and preparation in the field. The last time he had checked in with her, she was assisting Duke with locking down the Grey Gull to protect the old windows and doors from the hurricane strength winds that were imminent. In just thirty minutes the winds had already picked up to the point the rain was no longer falling down, but flying horizontally, and as much as Nathan hated dispatch he was glad to be inside. Not that it would have bothered him any if he was out in it since he wouldn’t be able to feel the cold bite of the wind.
“Nathan, you there?” Audrey’s voice crackled over the radio system and Nathan quickly abandoned the phones to take it.
“Here. How’s progress out there, Parker?” Nathan would be a liar if he said he wasn’t worried. Haven had its own weird weather thanks to the Troubles, but for natural weather they had it pretty easy most of the year with just the occasional thunderstorm. It was rare a hurricane made its way so far north, but this one had come all the way up from the Gulf and managed to pick up steam on its way up the eastern seaboard, promising over a foot of rainfall and intense winds that would cause as much if not more damage than the flooding. The storm was growing worse by the minute and Nathan kept his fingers crossed he could order Parker back to the station if her block was locked down tight.
There was a loud burst of static before Audrey’s voice came back, worried. “We’re almost done here, the last few families are loading into vehicles right now, but we’ve got a problem, Nathan.”
That was not the news he wanted to hear. A problem was the last thing he wanted to hear with the threat of the hurricane hitting their coast full-force in less than an hour. “What happened?”
“Duke locked down the Gull and then left for the Rouge. I told him not to go to the docks, but you know how he gets, and I have families with kids here…”
Nathan looked at the last uncovered window and the dark-grey sky that suggested late evening rather than early afternoon. He’d really hoped to stay inside. “Dammit! We just finished a full evacuation of the docks and pulled everyone to help out in the other neighborhoods, so there’s no one to stop him.”
Audrey’s voice was broken by static as the wind intercepted their signal, fair warning that they wouldn’t have radio signal much longer. “I’ll go after--”
“No.” Nathan cut her off. He didn’t want her anywhere near the docks with her lack of experience near the water, and especially in such strong winds he was afraid she’d get blown right into the harbor. “Stay where you are and get the rest evacuated, then get back to the station. I’ll go after him.”
“Got it. Be safe, Nathan.”
The radio fell quiet except for the occasional burst of static as Nathan grabbed for keys and pulled on his fishing jacket that he’d forgotten in the office months and months before. He hadn’t needed it, so it had stayed on the hook behind his door until now. Keys in hand, Nathan waved at Stan and Laverne on his way out. “Parker should be back in fifteen. If she isn’t, radio her and tell her to get her ass back here.”
“Sure thing, Chief,” Stan waved. “Stay dry out there.”
Nathan laughed bitterly and ducked his head against the wind as he made his way out to the Bronco.
***
“Fuck,” Nathan groaned as he pulled to a stop as close as he could get to the dock where the Cape Rouge was tied down. The water levels in the harbor had already risen, bringing the docks up nearly to the road level as water splashed over the rocks. “I’m going to kill him.”
Duke’s truck was off to the right as Nathan made a run for it, head ducked to keep the wind and water from his eyes so he could focus on where his feet would land. It wouldn’t do if he fell out there from a clumsy step. The docks swayed dangerously in the growing waves, docked boats tied tight and only protected from damage by the fenders that lined them. The Rouge was down a ways, normally noticeable at a distance but Nathan couldn’t even make out it’s masts until he was next to it. The boat was riding high in the water, its lines pulled tight where it was still tied to the deck, and Nathan cursed Duke for not handling that first thing before the wind picked up.
A figure was just discernable on the top deck, but Nathan focused first on moving the bow and stern lines to the pilings, tying them appropriately to keep the boat in place so he could drop the extra fenders which would protect the hull from hitting the docks. With the Rouge tied properly it was much easier to climb aboard and grab the additional rope he needed to double and triple the lines so the heavy weight of the Rouge wouldn’t snap them in the winds. Nathan moved along the edge of the dock and boat smoothly in the winds, his steps sure and his knots tight, thankful for growing up around the docks so he knew what to do without thought. With Duke somewhere on the other side of the boat, Nathan checked all the hatches and gathered up the deck equipment that was usually stored neatly and tossed it into one of the empty storage areas to lock down. The other man would hate him for the mess, but better a mess than losing all of it in the storm.
Finally things were as secure as he could make them with the wind so intense than he was being blown from side to side on the deck. He started his search for Duke who was no where to be seen on the deck, but it was easy to find him below deck and as soaked as Nathan was. He was hunched over a piece of machinery when Nathan found him, his shoulders shaking from the cold and his long hair dripping water onto his jacket. “Duke, you have to get off the boat and away from the harbor. The storm is getting worse.”
“What the hell are you doing here, Nathan?” he asked in annoyance, still working away without even a glance over his shoulder.
“Stopping you from getting yourself killed. I fixed your dock lines, but we’ve got to go now,” Nathan moved closer and realized Duke was trying to fix some wiring. “Something wrong with your bilge pump?”
“Just had to reinstall it, I lent it to someone last month,” Duke’s hands were shaking as badly as his shoulders.
With a groan, Nathan went around to look at it from the opposite side, taking the wires from Duke’s hands and prompting a protest from the sailor. “Look, you’re never going to get this done without help. Now tell me what needs to be attached where so we can get out of here.”
Surprisingly, Duke didn’t argue. He walked Nathan through the connections, pointing out and rearranging the wires where he needed to in order to hurry the process while Nathan did the more delicate connections. The fact he couldn’t feel the cold was in his favor to make the work easier, and together they finished it quickly so that the bilge pump finally came to life lower on the boat.
“We’re going now, no arguments,” Nathan closed the wire cover and looked up at Duke. “We’ll be lucky to make it off the docks without getting blown into the water.”
“Why are you here?” Duke asked, standing with Nathan. “Parker said you were warm and dry in the station.”
“Like I said, stopping you from getting yourself killed.” He pushed at Duke to get the other man moving. “My apartment is closer than the station, so go there. You know where I keep the spare key.”
Duke raised an eyebrow but started up towards the deck. “And where are you going?”
“I have to get back to the station to make sure they finished the evacuations,” Nathan rolled his eyes like it was a dumb question.
There was no opportunity to talk with the howl of the storm. Duke locked down the main doors to the lower deck and the two of them barely made it off the Rouge when a gust of wind hit them full-force and set them crashing into one another. Carefully they moved close together to ward off the strength of the wind as they headed for the trucks and went their separate ways.
Nathan just hoped Duke would listen to directions and go to Nathan’s apartment, which was the safest place for him other than the high school gymnasium with the rest of the evacuated families of Haven. “Hey Parker, I’m on my way in,” he radioed to the station, navigating carefully around debris in the street. There was a long day and night ahead of him, but Nathan smiled when he saw Duke’s headlights turn down his street. At the very least, the knowledge that Duke wasn’t going to die on the Rouge was enough to get him back to the police station.
***
It was after 2am when the winds died down enough for Nathan to get home from the station. Audrey had opted to stay and grab some sleep on the couch since her apartment was in the evacuated area, but Nathan had been anxious about checking on Duke and making sure his unreliable acquaintance hadn’t destroyed his apartment. The winds were in no way calm, still blowing consistently in excess of forty-five miles an hour, but the heavy gusts gave them a few brief moments of respite in the night.
The power throughout Haven had gone down sometime around four in the afternoon, and the phone lines quickly followed, effectively stranding everyone wherever they were hunkered down for the night. With the streets empty except for debris and flooding, Nathan had to be cautious but quick to navigate home. He parked the Bronco behind Duke’s truck in his space and ducked through the heavily fortified storm door to his building. Inside, it was dark and quiet; Nathan’s flashlight was the only light which left the stairway in eerie shadows as he made his way towards his front door and into the silent apartment. A quick search of the main rooms only showed Duke’s presence by the keys on the counter and the wet clothes hanging in the bathroom. Nathan added his own wet clothes to the mix, stripping down to find dry, warm pajamas in the drawers of his bedroom. His favorite thermals were missing from the top drawer, but he tugged on flannel pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt because he suspected his skin was freezing before he headed for the bed and pushed at Duke’s sleeping form to get him to scoot to one side.
“’ts about time you showed up,” Duke murmured sleepily, shifting to make space for Nathan. He was wearing Nathan’s favorite thermals and hadn’t bothered to open his eyes when the detective crawled in beside him.
“Go back to sleep,” he whispered. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day too.”
“Nnn…” was the mumbled reply as Duke pressed against his side and threw an arm and leg over Nathan as he settled back into a heavy sleep.
Nathan was accustomed to Duke’s habit of sleeping like an octopus, sprawled across the entire width of the bed and whomever happened to be in the bed with him. It didn’t bother him anymore, and though he couldn’t feel the weight or warmth of Duke on top of him, he liked that he was anchored there, held close, and had to make the extra effort in order to move away from him in the early morning. There would be no early morning, though, because there was nothing left for them to do until the storm passed. Nathan drifted off to sleep, content with the knowledge he would get pancakes in the morning.