Title: The Four senses of Nathan Wournos
Author: AnitaB
Author's notes: This fic was started before Jess left, well, before she even arrived. It's an exploration of the senses Nathan does have and just how strongly Audrey already affects them and him. I own nothing from Haven and nothing I do own would be worth winning in the lawsuit. No money is made and no infringement is intended.
The Four Senses of Nathan Wournos
By AnitaB
Chapter one: Hearing
Something was wrong. They both knew it. Nathan could hear the faint edge of worry and excitement in Audrey's voice. But he could barely hear something else in the room. Something that Audrey couldn't possibly hear.
The nebulous 'they' were right about some things. The loss of one sense did heighten the others. His ears could read the emotions in a voice, could track different cars through town by the sound of their engines, could identify the gun by the sound of the shot. But right now the incredibly faint sound he could hear just above silence… worried him. It was a beeping, high-pitched and fast. And it was somewhere in this room.
"What is going on here, Nathan? You've got to admit this is weird, even for Haven."
"Shh, can you hear that, Audrey?" Nathan moved silently around the room, trying to figure out where the beeping was. But the sound was so quiet it was hard to tell.
"What are you hearing?" Audrey tilted her head and closed her eyes. As he got closer to her side, the beeping got the slightest bit louder… and faster. It was a countdown and it had to be in the box at her feet. "I can't hear any—"
Nathan knew down to the marrow of his bones that something very bad was going to happen and that she could not be where she was standing when it did. He dove, catching Audrey around the waist to drag her to the ground with him. The angle was sharp, but that pile behind her might just be enough to protect them when the countdown hit zero. Holding her tight to his chest, Nathan rolled her between his body and the cement floor even as she called out his name in protest. But what he really heard was that constant beeping stop for the space of a silent moment before the explosion came. Then Audrey was dragging him closer, wrapping her arms tight around his neck to pull him deeper into the pocket of safety. The rush of ignition and the hungry sound of fire drowned out her voice.
Eventually the world stopped flying and his hearing focused on a new sound even before he opened his eyes. Her heartbeat. Somehow in the struggle to get two bodies out of the explosion's path, Audrey had pulled Nathan into her arms and Nathan had pinned her beneath him on the floor. It put his ear right over her heart, buried against her ribs. Her arms were around him even if he couldn't feel it. But he could hear her heart. /Audrey,\\ Nathan wrapped his arms around her ribs and pulled her closer just to hear it a little bit better.
When he was young, his mother had comforted him this way. Even though he couldn't feel her arms around him, or the warmth of her skin. Nathan had been comforted through sound, had loved listening to his mother's heart. Had treasured the time held in her arms listening to her voice and her pulse. "Nathan?" /No, not yet, please.\\ He could hear the worry in her voice, knew she wanted to check him for injuries in the way she'd taken to doing frequently. But he couldn't move just yet. Nathan needed a few more moments to lose himself in the sounds of her, in the racing of her heart and the warmth in her voice. "Nathan, you're scaring me. Are you okay?"
Her voice was so beautiful, so warm, so close. He loved hearing it clearly in one ear and muffled by the rush of her blood and the catch of her breath in the other. But she was getting more and more worried and the edge of excitement that usually colored her voice after an explosion was gone. Weakly giving up the sound of her, Nathan raised his head and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Audrey. How about you?"
"Fine, I think. Thanks to you. How did you know exactly where it was? How did you even know it was there at all?" He watched her fingers and knew she was running them through the edge of his hair like she was searching for small injuries. The same way his eyes were searching her for cuts and bruises.
"I could hear it beeping."
Her eyebrow arched and he could hear the laughter edging into her voice. "You heard it beeping. Really. What is that… like your hero superpower?" Her body shifted under his, her hands bracing against his shoulders. He watched her hair spread out over the floor as she laughed. It made him realize that he still had her pinned against that floor. He should probably let her up now. Any moment.
"Yeah, I'm also known to leap tall buildings and catch bullets in my teeth." Nathan forced himself to his feet and reached down a hand to help her up.
"Smile when you're making jokes. We've talked about that. And you try to catch bullets and I'll handcuff you to the steering wheel of your truck myself." Her hands closed around his and he pulled her to her feet. "I'm not about to start training a new partner now when I've broken you in already."
There was warmth in her voice and she didn't let go of his hand. "Hey, I'm the one training you as a small town cop." He kept her hand in his to steady them both as he led her around the pile of debris at their feet. "And I've got handcuff keys stashed away just in case."
"Hold still, I need to check you out." Her hands caught his shoulders as soon as they were on level ground. "You usually get up a lot faster than that. I hope you didn't hurt yourself saving my ass."
She couldn't have any idea how the concern in her voice affected him. Watching her hands slide in front of his eyes as her fingers explored his face was amazing too. And she thought he was hurt. Nathan forced his hands to catch hers and pull them off his shoulders. "I'm fine, Audrey. I just got distracted."
"Distracted? By the bomb that nearly killed us both?" Her laughter made him close his eyes for just a moment. "Now I'm sure you have a concussion you can't feel." Even without sight, he knew she was checking his scalp for knots by the sound of his hair sliding through her fingers. She was too close, her voice too warm. Close enough that it would only take a pull of his arms to get his ear back above her heart. Close enough he could hear her breathing, lose himself in her sounds.
"By your heartbeat." He heard the almost panicked note in his voice and knew she couldn't miss it. Forcing his eyes open, Nathan tried to take a step back. Audrey's face looked strangely still and her fingers locked in the front of his shirt, halting his retreat. Words. He needed words right now. If she looked at him like he was a freak… he didn't know what he would do. "My… mother used to hold me so I could… hear her heartbeat… like normal kids' mothers would kiss their scrapes."
"Oh, Nathan," He watched Audrey bite her lip in the moment before she pulled him down close. The angle of her arms around his neck put his ear right over her heart just in time for another soft rumble of her voice. "I'm right here. I've got you." His arms slowly locked around her waist as he buried himself closer against her ribs. Nathan adored the pounding of her heart against his ear, treasured the sound of her voice saying his name, loved the words on her lips. "I'm right here, Nathan, any time you need me. I'm right here."
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