Title: With All Intentions To Break
Genre: Television
Series: Haven
Characters: Audrey Parker, Nathan Wournos
Spoilers: 1x10 - "The Hand You're Dealt"
Rating: PG
Summary: It's only when he stops looking that he actually finds her, because it's Audrey and it's exactly what he's come to expect from her.
Prompt: klutzy_girl - "Nathan/Audrey, Nathan's there for her when Audrey finally learns what happened to her mother."
He heard about the commotion at the newspaper office from Laverne, but by the time Nathan arrived he was met only with sad somber stares from three men who should've known better. Duke didn't respond to any questions, but when they came from Nathan he never really had so there was no surprise there. Dave Teagues refused to answer Nathan's questions as well, but through Vince some approximation of the truth surfaced. It was vague and generalized, but it was enough for him to gather that Audrey had finally connected the dots and found the completed image lacking.
They'd been partners for more than eight months but when Nathan went looking he couldn't find Audrey. She wasn't at the police station, or the Grey Gull, and Julia hadn't seen her at all that day. She wasn't down at the docks or walking through town; he even checked the stretch of cliffs where she went jogging in the mornings and couldn't find any indication that she'd been there. By the time his shift was over the skies that had been swirling ominously all day had begun to pour down angry rain and his mood perfectly matched the violence of the storm. Driving home was a fight even with his wipers turned on the highest speed and his high beams fighting the gloom of evening. By the time Nathan pulled into his driveway his hands were clenched white around the steering wheel and his body had grown rigid as his body tightened with tension as he concentrated on the road.
Even through the haze of rain Nathan recognized the car parked in his driveway and as he coasted to a stop just behind it his eyes were already perusing the shadows of his porch and alighting on the figure drifting back and forth on his porch swing. He didn't feel the sharp wind as it ripped the truck door from his hands, or the sting as the rain as sliced across his face, but he could feel the weight of her eyes on him as he moved across the front yard and stepped onto the porch.
Audrey didn't say anything, didn't explain why she was there or how long she'd been waiting, and Nathan didn't want to question it. He shrugged off his damp jacket and threw it toward his front door but moved instead to join her on the hanging seat. She paused the movement of the bench to allow him to sit, but as soon as he settled she kicked off the rail and sent it pacing in the air again.
There was something beautifully intimate about sitting together and listening to the rain, but Nathan had spent the last eight hours worried about her and couldn't remain silent any longer. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She slid over on the seat, pressing her side against his and placed her head on his shoulder. Her hair tickled as the wind sent sliding against the stubble on his chin and he felt her begin to shiver from the temperature. "Twenty seven years ago Dave Teagues had a thing going with Lucy. He thinks-" Audrey paused and Nathan tilted his head just enough that he could see the look on her face. It was the first time he couldn't truly tell what she was feeling. "He thinks he might be my father."
Nathan knew as much from what Vince had told him this morning, but the reason she was upset about the idea still eluded him. "And that's bad?"
"No," she countered immediately, lifting her head long enough to glare at him. "It's not bad, Dave is great. He's been kind to me since I came here. It's just...hard to explain."
Nathan sighed and shrugged, careful not to jostle her in a way that would indicate he wanted his space because it was the last thing he'd ever ask of her at any time. He liked having her close, if just for the fleeting shocks of sensation that she brought. "You don't have to. It's not really my business, just know that if you want to-"
"I do," she interrupted, grasping his arm and squeezing in an unconscious bid for patience from him, clearly having forgotten that in normal circumstances he wouldn't feel the gesture. "I need to talk about it to someone, and you're the only one I could think of that I wanted to talk to."
Nathan nodded slowly and decided impulsively to follow his instincts and not question what he wanted to do for once. Shifting gently he slid his arm from under her hands and slipped it around her shoulders. He felt that she was colder than her normal state and cupped his hand around her bare arm to shift her slightly closer. She tensed under his hands, but didn't lift her head or question the gesture. She resettled her head into the crook of his shoulder and hesitantly placed her hand on his chest. They stayed like that for several minutes, both of them staring into the rain but not really seeing or hearing it.
"You wanted to talk, Parker. No better time than the present," Nathan commented, turning his head to look down at her. Her face was hidden by shadows, but he could smell the strawberry hair products she used even through the heavy moisture in the air.
"Did I ever tell you I grew up with nuns? Catholic orphanage, cliché as it is," Audrey noted as her lips twisted with a smile. He heard the sudden amusement in her voice and felt her expression change even through the jersey of his shirt. "I've never really had a male authority figure in my life. There were no priests where I grew up, and until I transferred to the Northeast Federal Branch I hadn't had a male boss either. It never even occurred to me that in looking for my mother I could find my father. How did I miss something so obvious? I should've seen it, Nathan. The time line of my birth and the Colorado Kid murder; she was already pregnant with me in that picture. Too early to be able to tell, but if she'd been here as long as I've confirmed then someone in town had to be my father. And Dave...Dave thinks he's it."
"Why didn't he say anything before now?"
"That's what I wanted to know!" Audrey exclaimed, slapping his chest for emphasis before smiling at him apologetically. "Dave knew what I was as soon as he saw me, and he warned Duke so he'd know what to expect when he saw me, and they actively conspired to not tell me anything. I know this town has secrets but I didn't expect the people I'd grown closest to-"
"Betray you? Lie to you?" Nathan offered glibly, quirking his eyebrow as he interrupted her tirade.
"They didn't lie to me," she countered, "they just...didn't tell me."
"A lie of omission, then."
"I know what you're doing, Nathan. You're jumping to my side of the issue so that I have to look at it from a different perspective, from their side, so I can't be angry anymore."
"Is it working?" He asked after a few seconds, the only sign of amusement the small quirk of his lips.
"I'm not angry at them. I was more off-kilter about the entire thing." She shifted on the bench, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. Nathan used the toe of his right foot to keep the swing going and waited for her to continue. "I should probably go apologize to the Teagues and Duke for yelling at them."
"I don't think you're going anywhere in this weather," Nathan corrected, nodding towards the rain that continued to come down steadily. "Plus I'm blocking you in with my truck."
"You could move it," Audrey replied, but still made no move to actually get up and leave.
"Nah," he shook his head, "I might slip and fall and then you'd have to take care of me."
"Not the worst prospect in the world," she said with a smile. "So, we just going to sit here and watch the rain?" He shrugged and she softened against his side, her hand creeping farther across his chest and anchoring herself more solidly. "Sounds like a good plan to me."
Nathan figured it felt like a pretty good plan, too.
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