Haven fic: When All the Smoke Clears (A/N, PG, 1/1)
Title: When All the Smoke Clears
Author: Shane Vansen
Category: Audrey/Nathan friendship/UST/early romance, missing scene, h/c
Spoilers: Business as Usual through 301; missing scene for 301
Rating: PG
Length: ~1800 words
Disclaimer: It's probably best that they're not mine; I'd screw it up. Haven, its characters and storylines, and the overall concept belong to people much more creative than I.
Summary: One thing they're in agreement about: After everything she's been through, she's not spending the night alone. (301 missing scene)
Author's Notes: Kudos to december21st for betaing this fic. Twice, actually.
We had something of a debate regarding the timeline of Business as Usual/Sins of the Fathers/301 (this show and its timelines, am I right?). december21st thinks Audrey was held captive for a full day and then some, while I'm under the impression that she escaped the same night she was abducted. A couple of lines flow better with my understanding of the timing, so I'm going with that. :)
Title from Sweet Talk Radio's Dotted Lines: "One thing I can promise/ When all the smoke clears/ Just look in this window/ You'll find me here." (Yeah, I know. But I've been sitting on this fic for weeks and I was desperate for a title, okay?)
...my only defense is that fic clichés become cliché for a reason, right? *cough*
***
They make it exactly three steps past the Altair Bay Inn's front porch before Nathan's waylaid by the medical examiner.
Audrey figures he probably wants to get out of here almost as much as she does, but he's first and foremost the chief of police; dealing with the scene comes before her and the way she's starting to fray around the edges. He apologizes and promises to be as quick as possible before disappearing around the corner of the inn, and she stops dead and stares into the darkness beyond the circle of emergency lights, at a loss for what to do.
It seems simple enough - all she has to do is wait for Nathan by his truck - but it's like her brain has hit its limit and simply can't process anything more. In the past forty-eight hours or so she's gone from kissing Nathan, meeting Lucy Ripley, and saving half of Haven from vengeful ghosts to being tasered, kidnapped, and held against her will. Throw in being unable to save Roslyn and learning of even more mysteries from her past on top of all that, and it seems that her brain is refusing to deal with even one more thing, even a decision as simple as this.
For a few seconds, Audrey considers just sitting down right there on the ground and letting herself cry.
"Parker." Nathan appears at her shoulder, and though he startles her she's too numb to even jump. "C'mon," he murmurs, taking her by the elbow and starting toward his truck. "Let's get you home."
She lets him lead her to the Bronco, huddles into the too-large police jacket as he opens the door for her and hands her in. Her tired fingers fumble with the seatbelt but she manages to secure it before Nathan makes it around to the driver's side.
He gets in and then just sits there, hands gripping the steering wheel, head bowed in what looks like indecision. "What is it?" she asks.
"I'm not sure where to take you." He twists in his seat so that he's facing her. "Your place - it's still a crime scene. We haven't had time to clean it up. I don't know if-"
"Take me home," she says without hesitation.
"Audrey, I don't-"
"Nathan," she says, and god, she's just so tired. "I want to go home." She doesn't want to spend the night in a hospital room or a hotel or even his spare room, which she's sure he would offer if she gave him half a chance; she just wants her own space, her own belongings around her. There's a safety in that familiarity that she needs right now.
Maybe he hears the exhaustion in her voice, or maybe he's too tired himself to argue with her. He just nods and starts the truck, and Audrey cranks the heat and wedges herself in the corner where the seat meets the door. Neither of them says a word the entire way home.
***
From the outside, everything looks normal. As soon as she opens the door, however, Audrey's hit by the acrid smell of burned food, and before she's even a step inside she sees the mess left behind. Most of it, she assumes, was the work of her abductor, but she also sees signs of police presence as they went through her apartment for evidence. It's a combination of chaotic and methodical, and at first all she can do is stand on her threshold and stare.
Nathan shifts against her back and she takes a step in, then another, and then makes it as far as her kitchen. She kneels to pick up a broken plate but is distracted by the sight of the candles on her mantle, long gone out, and finds herself wondering if someone blew them out or if they went out on their own. Vaguely, she considers how lucky she is that between the candles and the pancakes, the whole place didn't catch fire and burn to the ground.
"Audrey." Nathan's at her back again, voice gentle as he guides her back to her feet. "Why don't you go change into something warmer? I'll look after this."
"All right," she agrees, still feeling a little out of it but latching on to the idea of getting warm. As she enters the bathroom to change she decides she wants a shower, and pokes her head back out into the main room to tell Nathan she'll be out in fifteen minutes. She hears his muffled acknowledgement through the door.
The fifteen minutes turns into much longer as she basks in the heat of the shower, losing all track of time simply standing under the hot spray. Eventually the bathroom is full of steam and her fingertips are wrinkled and she forces herself to turn off the water. The bandage on her wrist needs to be replaced and Audrey spends too long staring at the wound, remembering the desperate feeling of being tied up in that cold, damp basement. With a shake of her head to banish the memories, even if temporarily, she puts on the flannel pyjamas she brought into the bathroom with her, adds the warm pair of fuzzy socks, and shuffles back out into the living room.
Nathan's managed to clean up most of the mess while she was trying to get warm, and it's amazing how much safer she feels in her apartment now that it looks like hers again. She's still jumpy, still jittery, but she's glad to be home.
It's late, more morning than night now, and Audrey's ready to crash; no matter how much she wants answers, the adrenaline that kept her going for all those hours tied up in that basement is now well and truly gone. She'd be tempted to sleep in, perhaps even take a day off work, if the next piece of the puzzle weren't scheduled to be dug up first thing in the morning.
She looks up to find Nathan watching her. He hasn't said a word but she knows he wants to stay; he's good at pretending to be unaffected a lot of the time but when it comes to people he cares about, her partner's got a protective streak a mile wide. Tonight, Audrey thinks, just this once, she wants to be looked after. She doesn't know how to ask, though, because her usual defenses have been ripped down and even this one seemingly little request makes her feel even more exposed.
She settles on, "You can stay if you want," and is glad when he understands that she means that she wants him there. She finds him an extra pillow and a pile of blankets - even though he doesn't get cold, it feels like the right thing to do - and makes up the couch before curling up in her own bed.
She's asleep before he's even finished taking off his shoes.
***
Audrey bolts upright with a gasp, body reacting to a dream she's already forgotten before her brain catches up enough to let her know she's safe. The night comes back to her in a flash of remembered sensations and the first thing Audrey does is check under her pillow for her service weapon, verifying that the safety is on and finding comfort in the routine of it.
There's a lamp still on somewhere in her apartment, dispelling some of the darkness beyond the windows. Over on the couch she can just make out Nathan, sound asleep in what looks like an uncomfortable position; she suspects he was propped up so he could keep an eye on her and didn't mean to fall asleep like that. She watches him for a bit, wondering if he feels any side effects when he sleeps in the wrong position; he's not going to end up with a crick in his neck like anyone else would, she knows, but maybe there's something else, like limbs that don't respond quite like he's expecting. Or maybe none of it matters to him. Audrey finds it kind of sad, the idea that he might not get to experience that innate pleasure at falling into bed at the end of a long day and finding the perfect position for falling asleep. Then she realizes how her thoughts are rambling and that she must be even more tired than she thought.
She rolls over and tries to fall back asleep, but she's bothered by the idea of how uncomfortable Nathan must be, half-lying against the arm of her couch the way he is. Some part of her is aware that it's a ridiculous thought, probably some kind of post-traumatic reaction, but her brain won't let it go. Finally deciding that it's stupid and that if things had gone the way she thought they might on their date, they'd be sleeping (or... not, she amends mentally, then feels her face heat) in her bed right about now anyway, Audrey gets up and goes over to the couch.
She sits by his hip and wonders how to wake him. Deciding that touch would probably be enough of a shock to his system to cut through his sleep, she runs her fingers along the back of his forearm.
It isn't long before he starts to rouse, and she pulls away when his eyes crack open. "Nathan?"
"Mmm?" he mumbles, clearly not awake.
Audrey forgoes an explanation and settles for grasping his hand and tugging. "C'mon, Nathan. You'll sleep better in a bed."
He blinks heavily at her, allowing her to pull him up and lead him across the room. Audrey's pretty sure he's not really awake because he lets her guide him into bed without protest, and she wonders if he's always this hard to wake or if it's because his day's been almost as long as hers. Maybe one day, she thinks, this is something she'll know about him.
She curls up on her side and then wriggles backwards until her back is pressed to his side, finding the contact comforting. She's most of the way back to sleep when he stirs, rolling over, one arm draped over her waist and what feels like his lips against the back of her neck. She holds her breath, waiting, but within seconds his breathing has turned slow and deep and she knows he's dead to the world.
It's been a hellish night, there's no doubt about that, but Audrey thinks that maybe its ending isn't so bad. She lays her arm along Nathan's, wrapping her hand around his larger one as best she can, and falls asleep to the steady rise and fall of his chest against her back.
--end--
Author: Shane Vansen
Category: Audrey/Nathan friendship/UST/early romance, missing scene, h/c
Spoilers: Business as Usual through 301; missing scene for 301
Rating: PG
Length: ~1800 words
Disclaimer: It's probably best that they're not mine; I'd screw it up. Haven, its characters and storylines, and the overall concept belong to people much more creative than I.
Summary: One thing they're in agreement about: After everything she's been through, she's not spending the night alone. (301 missing scene)
Author's Notes: Kudos to december21st for betaing this fic. Twice, actually.
We had something of a debate regarding the timeline of Business as Usual/Sins of the Fathers/301 (this show and its timelines, am I right?). december21st thinks Audrey was held captive for a full day and then some, while I'm under the impression that she escaped the same night she was abducted. A couple of lines flow better with my understanding of the timing, so I'm going with that. :)
Title from Sweet Talk Radio's Dotted Lines: "One thing I can promise/ When all the smoke clears/ Just look in this window/ You'll find me here." (Yeah, I know. But I've been sitting on this fic for weeks and I was desperate for a title, okay?)
...my only defense is that fic clichés become cliché for a reason, right? *cough*
***
They make it exactly three steps past the Altair Bay Inn's front porch before Nathan's waylaid by the medical examiner.
Audrey figures he probably wants to get out of here almost as much as she does, but he's first and foremost the chief of police; dealing with the scene comes before her and the way she's starting to fray around the edges. He apologizes and promises to be as quick as possible before disappearing around the corner of the inn, and she stops dead and stares into the darkness beyond the circle of emergency lights, at a loss for what to do.
It seems simple enough - all she has to do is wait for Nathan by his truck - but it's like her brain has hit its limit and simply can't process anything more. In the past forty-eight hours or so she's gone from kissing Nathan, meeting Lucy Ripley, and saving half of Haven from vengeful ghosts to being tasered, kidnapped, and held against her will. Throw in being unable to save Roslyn and learning of even more mysteries from her past on top of all that, and it seems that her brain is refusing to deal with even one more thing, even a decision as simple as this.
For a few seconds, Audrey considers just sitting down right there on the ground and letting herself cry.
"Parker." Nathan appears at her shoulder, and though he startles her she's too numb to even jump. "C'mon," he murmurs, taking her by the elbow and starting toward his truck. "Let's get you home."
She lets him lead her to the Bronco, huddles into the too-large police jacket as he opens the door for her and hands her in. Her tired fingers fumble with the seatbelt but she manages to secure it before Nathan makes it around to the driver's side.
He gets in and then just sits there, hands gripping the steering wheel, head bowed in what looks like indecision. "What is it?" she asks.
"I'm not sure where to take you." He twists in his seat so that he's facing her. "Your place - it's still a crime scene. We haven't had time to clean it up. I don't know if-"
"Take me home," she says without hesitation.
"Audrey, I don't-"
"Nathan," she says, and god, she's just so tired. "I want to go home." She doesn't want to spend the night in a hospital room or a hotel or even his spare room, which she's sure he would offer if she gave him half a chance; she just wants her own space, her own belongings around her. There's a safety in that familiarity that she needs right now.
Maybe he hears the exhaustion in her voice, or maybe he's too tired himself to argue with her. He just nods and starts the truck, and Audrey cranks the heat and wedges herself in the corner where the seat meets the door. Neither of them says a word the entire way home.
***
From the outside, everything looks normal. As soon as she opens the door, however, Audrey's hit by the acrid smell of burned food, and before she's even a step inside she sees the mess left behind. Most of it, she assumes, was the work of her abductor, but she also sees signs of police presence as they went through her apartment for evidence. It's a combination of chaotic and methodical, and at first all she can do is stand on her threshold and stare.
Nathan shifts against her back and she takes a step in, then another, and then makes it as far as her kitchen. She kneels to pick up a broken plate but is distracted by the sight of the candles on her mantle, long gone out, and finds herself wondering if someone blew them out or if they went out on their own. Vaguely, she considers how lucky she is that between the candles and the pancakes, the whole place didn't catch fire and burn to the ground.
"Audrey." Nathan's at her back again, voice gentle as he guides her back to her feet. "Why don't you go change into something warmer? I'll look after this."
"All right," she agrees, still feeling a little out of it but latching on to the idea of getting warm. As she enters the bathroom to change she decides she wants a shower, and pokes her head back out into the main room to tell Nathan she'll be out in fifteen minutes. She hears his muffled acknowledgement through the door.
The fifteen minutes turns into much longer as she basks in the heat of the shower, losing all track of time simply standing under the hot spray. Eventually the bathroom is full of steam and her fingertips are wrinkled and she forces herself to turn off the water. The bandage on her wrist needs to be replaced and Audrey spends too long staring at the wound, remembering the desperate feeling of being tied up in that cold, damp basement. With a shake of her head to banish the memories, even if temporarily, she puts on the flannel pyjamas she brought into the bathroom with her, adds the warm pair of fuzzy socks, and shuffles back out into the living room.
Nathan's managed to clean up most of the mess while she was trying to get warm, and it's amazing how much safer she feels in her apartment now that it looks like hers again. She's still jumpy, still jittery, but she's glad to be home.
It's late, more morning than night now, and Audrey's ready to crash; no matter how much she wants answers, the adrenaline that kept her going for all those hours tied up in that basement is now well and truly gone. She'd be tempted to sleep in, perhaps even take a day off work, if the next piece of the puzzle weren't scheduled to be dug up first thing in the morning.
She looks up to find Nathan watching her. He hasn't said a word but she knows he wants to stay; he's good at pretending to be unaffected a lot of the time but when it comes to people he cares about, her partner's got a protective streak a mile wide. Tonight, Audrey thinks, just this once, she wants to be looked after. She doesn't know how to ask, though, because her usual defenses have been ripped down and even this one seemingly little request makes her feel even more exposed.
She settles on, "You can stay if you want," and is glad when he understands that she means that she wants him there. She finds him an extra pillow and a pile of blankets - even though he doesn't get cold, it feels like the right thing to do - and makes up the couch before curling up in her own bed.
She's asleep before he's even finished taking off his shoes.
***
Audrey bolts upright with a gasp, body reacting to a dream she's already forgotten before her brain catches up enough to let her know she's safe. The night comes back to her in a flash of remembered sensations and the first thing Audrey does is check under her pillow for her service weapon, verifying that the safety is on and finding comfort in the routine of it.
There's a lamp still on somewhere in her apartment, dispelling some of the darkness beyond the windows. Over on the couch she can just make out Nathan, sound asleep in what looks like an uncomfortable position; she suspects he was propped up so he could keep an eye on her and didn't mean to fall asleep like that. She watches him for a bit, wondering if he feels any side effects when he sleeps in the wrong position; he's not going to end up with a crick in his neck like anyone else would, she knows, but maybe there's something else, like limbs that don't respond quite like he's expecting. Or maybe none of it matters to him. Audrey finds it kind of sad, the idea that he might not get to experience that innate pleasure at falling into bed at the end of a long day and finding the perfect position for falling asleep. Then she realizes how her thoughts are rambling and that she must be even more tired than she thought.
She rolls over and tries to fall back asleep, but she's bothered by the idea of how uncomfortable Nathan must be, half-lying against the arm of her couch the way he is. Some part of her is aware that it's a ridiculous thought, probably some kind of post-traumatic reaction, but her brain won't let it go. Finally deciding that it's stupid and that if things had gone the way she thought they might on their date, they'd be sleeping (or... not, she amends mentally, then feels her face heat) in her bed right about now anyway, Audrey gets up and goes over to the couch.
She sits by his hip and wonders how to wake him. Deciding that touch would probably be enough of a shock to his system to cut through his sleep, she runs her fingers along the back of his forearm.
It isn't long before he starts to rouse, and she pulls away when his eyes crack open. "Nathan?"
"Mmm?" he mumbles, clearly not awake.
Audrey forgoes an explanation and settles for grasping his hand and tugging. "C'mon, Nathan. You'll sleep better in a bed."
He blinks heavily at her, allowing her to pull him up and lead him across the room. Audrey's pretty sure he's not really awake because he lets her guide him into bed without protest, and she wonders if he's always this hard to wake or if it's because his day's been almost as long as hers. Maybe one day, she thinks, this is something she'll know about him.
She curls up on her side and then wriggles backwards until her back is pressed to his side, finding the contact comforting. She's most of the way back to sleep when he stirs, rolling over, one arm draped over her waist and what feels like his lips against the back of her neck. She holds her breath, waiting, but within seconds his breathing has turned slow and deep and she knows he's dead to the world.
It's been a hellish night, there's no doubt about that, but Audrey thinks that maybe its ending isn't so bad. She lays her arm along Nathan's, wrapping her hand around his larger one as best she can, and falls asleep to the steady rise and fall of his chest against her back.
--end--