Disclaimer: I don't own Haven and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Warnings: Character death, but only temporary.
Audrey Parker felt numb at first, but that feeling quickly gave way to a depression that seemed to settle into her chest. She tried to take comfort in the fact that Nathan hadn't felt anything, but it didn't work. And when the ambulance tried to take Nathan's body away, she refused to let go of him. Duke managed to convince them to go away, and put him in the back of the car to go to Audrey's place. With the way Haven was, he had a feeling Nathan wasn't going to stay dead long. As least he hoped not – Nathan was his best friend, even with all the shit they had been through lately.
Audrey escaped into the bathroom to cry without Duke finding out. Of course he heard, but he let her stay there in peace. Duke figured she didn't want his comfort right now, and he respected her enough to back off when she asked. He was pretty much drowning in his own grief, anyway, and figured he'd fall apart if he couldn't get a grip on his emotions. Audrey would cause him to come unglued, and he was forming a plan to hunt down Tommy – or whatever he was – and kill him for what he did to Nathan. He was not about to get away with this. But Duke was willing to wait for Audrey because he knew she felt the same way.
And he was right – A plan for revenge was already forming in Audrey's plan and anger was starting to overtake the depression. But before she and Duke could go off and find Tommy and Noelle, she had to say goodbye to Nathan. She didn't want to but in case this plan didn't work, she needed to. She came out of the bathroom, wiped her eyes, and then kneeled down next to Nathan. "I have always loved you. And I promise that Tommy will pay for this. And we're going to try and get you some help." She choked on a sob and then rocked back and forth on her heels.
Duke pushed his own hurt feelings away - He knew he didn't have a chance anyway – and went to go comfort her. He pulled in her for a hug and let her cry it out for a few minutes. Afterwards, he pulled Audrey up and after looking back at Nathan one last time, followed her out the door. "We should find Tommy first." Duke hoped she agreed with him, because at the moment, Noelle and her sister weren't his priority.
She shook her head. "We need to find Moira and Noelle first. Noelle needs to be stopped, and after that, we'll kill Tommy." She agreed with Duke's theory that Tommy probably wasn't the real Tommy. Audrey was definitely thinking shapeshifter (or as Haven's name for them, a Chameleon), and she couldn't wait until the bastard paid for what he did. She normally wasn't like this and would probably hate herself for this in a few days, but at the moment, she didn't care.
"Okay." Duke figured it was stupid to disagree with Audrey right now. She was scaring him a little, but he'd do whatever she asked of him, as long as she let him in on the plan.
It took them a few hours, but Audrey and Duke finally caught up to Moira in an abandoned house. "You won't do it – You're a cop and you'd be shooting me in cold blood." Moira enjoyed taunting the cop, and she just knew her sister would bring her back. Why wouldn't she?
"You have no idea what I'm capable of. My best friend, my soul mate is dead. So excuse me if I don't care about shooting a murderer." And she pulled the trigger and shot Moira in the forehead. Audrey felt a mixture of relief and sadness when the woman slumped over dead. It didn't help her feel any better, however. Only Nathan coming back would return her happiness.
"Let's call it in and go find Noelle." Audrey was terrifying him a little because Duke had never seen her that angry before. Audrey had missed it, but he had definitely seen Moira about to pull a gun out. At least it hadn't been in cold blood, and she would be happy about that later when the guilt set in. It was clear that Audrey wasn't thinking straight, so he would have to be her conscience. It was freaking him out a little, but he didn't mind.
"Alright, let's go." He squeezed her shoulder as Audrey's co-workers started to show up. They both answered the questions they needed to, and then bolted. Noelle had a head start and they couldn't afford to lose any more time.
They actually stumbled across Tommy – also searching for Noelle – first. "I want to get the Bolt Gun Killer because they can't get away with this any longer." Tommy hoped they were buying it.
They weren't. "We know you killed Nathan. Probably all those other people, too. Audrey and I would just like to know why."
Tommy was cocky about the situation, and they all knew it. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a cop, just like you, Audrey. I didn't do this. I'm really sorry about Nathan, but you have to calm down. This isn't healthy."
Audrey couldn't help the bitter laugh that escaped her. "I don't believe you. You killed Nathan, and I just want to know why."
And that's when Tommy dropped all pretenses. He rolled his eyes, sighed, and got a bolt gun out of his pants. "I didn't want it to come to this, but you've left me no choice."
"Tell me what the fuck you are now." Audrey meant business and the venom dripped from her voice. It sent chills down Duke's spine.
"I think she means it. You aren't walking out of here alive." Duke's anger was coming to the forefront now and he wanted revenge just as much she did. But he needed to know the truth first.
"Fine. The real Tommy died a few weeks ago. I took over for him. Just wanted to have fun. That's it. And Nathan discovered the truth, so that's why he had to go." He smiled and the intensity of it scared the shit out of both Audrey and Duke.
The fight between the three of them didn't last long – Tommy may have had the advantage as a shapeshifter, a chameleon, but Audrey and Duke quickly overpowered him. The scuffle lasted for a while, but Audrey and Duke emerged the victors in the fight after they killed him. Audrey stood over his body, but she was still unsatisfied because this wasn't over. "Now we find Noelle."
"Are you okay?" Duke was definitely worried about her now, especially based on the look in her eyes. It was scaring him a little, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Hopefully she would improve if (when) Nathan came back. He just hoped that Noelle helped them.
Audrey insisted they stop in to see Nathan before they continued on their journey, though, and he reluctantly agreed. Duke didn't think it was healthy for her, but after she threatened him, he changed his mind. Audrey cried over his body again for a few minutes before they went on their way to find Noelle.
They caught up to her when she was deep in the woods. "I don't want to come in. I'm scared." Noelle just wanted to help people, but her sister insisted on using her and she hated it.
"Noelle, it's okay. Your sister's dead and we've made sure of that." Duke stood behind Audrey in a show of support and prepared to shoot her in case she went rogue.
Noelle was both sad and relieved at the same time – At least Moira would no longer force her to do something she didn't want to. However, she was also going to miss her. Moira had taken care of her for years. "If I go with you, I won't be arrested?"
"We won't arrest you. I can promise you that, Noelle. Your Trouble is that you can bring people back to life? Is there a catch?" Audrey hoped there wasn't a catch because she needed Nathan back with everything she had. She couldn't do this without him. She wanted him by her side if she disappeared again – Nothing mattered anymore, not even Jordan.
She shook her head. "No catch, although my sister had them. I just want people to be happy. You want me to bring back that police officer?" She would gladly do it.
"Yes, we do. Please come with us. Please." Audrey didn't even care that she was begging now. She couldn't even feel relief over the fact that both Tommy and Moira were dead. She didn't think she could be happy again until Nathan was back.
Noelle thought it over for a few minutes before agreeing. How could she say no, especially when this Audrey looked like a mess over this? She wasn't going to use her power any more after this, however because it wasn't worth the risk. Noelle wished she was a normal girl, but she'd never been normal again. Moira had made sure of that the minute she started to use her.
It took them about an hour or so to make their way out of the woods, but the trio eventually did and then rushed to Audrey's place. Nathan gasped as fatal wounds were healed and his body started to wake up from death. Duke laughed in excitement and hugged Noelle before sending her on way, but not before making her promise she'd come into the station the next day to give a statement.
Audrey normally would have been angry, but she was too busy laughing and crying all over Nathan to even care. "I died?"
She nodded. "Noelle brought you back. And you don't have to worry about Moira and Tommy. They've been taken care of. And you're back. I never thought I'd see you again." She choked back a sob and burrowed into his chest.
He patted her on the back and tried to calm her down. "You want to help me here? I'd like to get up." Nathan figured Duke was just as upset as Audrey was by the look on his face.
Duke laughed. "Hey, you were dead. Audrey can do whatever she wants with you now." He was planning on hugging Nathan as soon as she let him go, however, and he didn't care what his friend had to say about that. It had been an exhausting few days and all he wanted to do was sleep. His energy was completely zapped, especially after that trip into the woods.
"Fine. Be that way." But Nathan honestly didn't care because he was just so happy to be alive again. He started rubbing circles on Audrey's back to calm her down, but it didn't seem to be helping her.
"I love you. I love you. I love you. And I'm so sorry I pushed you away, but I didn't want you to get hurt and it happened anyway." Audrey was rambling and whispering and Nathan could barely hear her, but he understood every word of what she had said.
He smiled. "I love you, too. I also forgive you. Can you forgive me? I was pushing you away too and trying to hurt you with Jordan. But I've never felt that way about her – It's only been you." He did regret hurting Jordan, however. She was a good person and didn't deserve to be used by him. Hopefully they could be friends.
"Yes, I can forgive you. We both hurt each other and we were stupid. That's that. But we can work together now to figure out our next step." She finally had enough and got up off the floor, helping Nathan too.
"You missed a lot that we have to tell you. Glad you're back." Duke pulled Nathan in for a hug, but quickly pulled away before it could get too uncomfortable.
Audrey pulled him in and leaned her head on Nathan's shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and smiled so wide that it nearly blinded Duke. The three of them went off together to think of a plan.
Claire made the trio a quartet and the four of them bonded as the countdown to Audrey's disappearance got closer and closer. However, as long as they were all together, they'd be fine.
Nothing would be able to tear Audrey, Duke, Nathan (and Claire) apart now. This situation had bonded them.