I don't own anything or anyone, except for the products of my imagination.
Sorry for any inaccuracies - I've only seen up to 3x15, and it's also my first story for Haven.
December 2014
The one thing that Jordan McKee really disliked about herself was the fact that she was a human taser.
Just a single touch to another person, even accidentally, would have them writhing on the ground and screaming in pain. That is, if the magnitude of the pain didn't knock them unconscious first.
Sure, her Trouble was useful when it came to carrying out her orders for The Guard, but none of it kept her from being a normal woman.
A normal woman who had given up hope for so much.
Someone to love her.
Children.
A happy ending.
Okay... maybe Jordan hadn't given up on someone to love her.
After Duke shot her on the day Audrey vanished in the Barn, it was Nathan who had brought her back to town and to the hospital so she could get the medical attention she needed, but it had been Dwight who sat by her side while she recovered and trudged her way through physical therapy. He would bring her flowers, tell her stories to keep her entertained and he even made sure he ate.
One time, he even surprised her with new gloves for her hands because she'd mentioned that she wanted to try a different material than leather. Who knew that Dwight Hendrickson could be such a sweet guy?
It's been over a year since that awful day, and now Jordan and Dwight were inseparable, and the whole town knew it. Nothing has been able to shake their incredible relationship - if that was even the appropriate term - and each person considered it baby steps towards a day when they would both know for sure how to define themselves.
Reality check.
It was December, a week before Christmas, and winters in Maine were a bitch. The cold and snow were just unreal, always leaving Jordan with the mindset of a caged animal and wishing that she could go somewhere warm. Like Bora Bora.
But no, she was in Haven where the heavens had opened up, having decided to grace their little town with one of the biggest snowstorms in recent history. And where were she and Dwight, exactly? Currently shedding their jackets and snow gear in the front doorway of Audrey's and Nathan's cozy little loft above the Grey Gull.
They were there in the first place was because Nathan had sent them to keep Audrey company while he and Duke closed down shop at the police station. Jordan and Dwight also happened to be the closest neighbors.
They were also there because Nathan hadn't wanted Audrey to be alone at all. Especially when she was nine months pregnant and due at any time now.
"You can set your things on this." Audrey was already spreading out a blanket on the floor by the furnace. "The weather report on the radio just said that the snow is going to keep falling through the night."
"If we get snowed in, at least we're warm with power and food."
Audrey nodded in agreement, but Dwight's words came out in a hiss. "Don't say things like that, Jordan! If this was a movie, it would've just gotten worse!"
"Good thing this is real life, and that there's a difference between fact and fiction."
Audrey shook her head and laughed as Dwight tried to think of a comeback; these two were very cute together and just didn't understand why they weren't an official couple yet. Shoot - Dwight was currently living with Jordan while his apartment was getting fumigated.
"You two are something else." Audrey remarked, causing the other two to jump and remember she was there. "You know what they say about those who fight like that - it means they really love each other."
Jordan turned beet red and made a show of smoothing out the wrinkles in her shirt while Dwight went straight for the kitchen, deciding that he'd make use of the food Audrey's kitchen since it was something to do.
"Hey, are you alright, Jordan?" Audrey noticed that she was hanging back, clenching and unclenching her palms as if she was testing something out. "Are your gloves bothering you?"
The dark-haired woman tried to brush the concern off. "I should be asking about your well-being. You're the one carrying precious cargo, not me."
"Baby girl and I are great, although she loves to kick the crap out of me even though there's no room left in there." Audrey let out a small grunt and massaged the underside of her massive belly. "See what I mean? She's been even jumpier since she heard you and Dwight come in."
Jordan smiled wistfully, wondering what it felt like to carry a baby for nine months and wondering if any of her theoretical children would have her Trouble.
"What's the matter with your gloves?"
"They're soaked through because it's really coming down out there, and now my fingers are freezing. I don't have the dexterity to even take them off."
Jordan hated sounding so pathetic, but everything she'd said was true and she was afraid to ask Dwight for help because she didn't want to hurt him. Audrey felt compassion for her.
"Then I'll help you out." Audrey sat down on the couch and Jordan joined her. "I'm not afraid of you zapping me."
"There's something I've got to confess, though." Jordan confessed as Audrey began fumbling with the clasp on the right glove. "Dwight and I haven't told anyone."
A million thoughts went through Audrey's head at this, most of them that would make Jordan either squirm or scold Audrey for having a gutter-brain. She chose to work on the glove, instead of running the risk of embarrassing Jordan.
"It's about what happened when I was in physical therapy after Duke shot me."
Audrey looked up at this. Jordan had never once revealed her side of events from that day to her because they weren't really friends. In fact, Jordan was more Nathan's associate than hers.
"Has your curse worsened?"
"We're not sure what happened and neither are the doctors, but something happened where little by little and now my curse is becoming controllable."
"When was the last time you were able to do that?" Audrey finally freed Jordan's hand and pretended not to notice how fast she withdrew it. "A long time ago?"
"Not since the last time the Troubles were back, when I was five."
"Have you ever zapped Dwight?"
"A few times." Audrey undid the other glove and slid it off, continuing to listen. "He has a very high threshold for pain because it doesn't seem to get to him the way it does to most people."
"Dwight sounds like a keeper."
Jordan blushed spectacularly. "Audrey, shh!"
"What? You've gotta be kidding yourself if you say you don't have any feelings for him."
"Just because he's been staying at my house while his place is being fumigated, that doesn't mean I have a crush on him, or something!"
Audrey laughed when Jordan turned redder. "I never said that, but I see the way that you two look at each other."
"I - what are you doing? I'll hurt you!"
Audrey had taken Jordan's hands in hers and was drying them off with a clean shirt from her massive laundry pile. To Jordan's great surprise, Audrey was showing zero signs of having been zapped.
"Are you like Nathan? Can you not feel anything?"
"Oh, I can definitely feel, but I am also troubled."
"Excuse me? You mean there's something besides recycling identities every twenty-seven years?"
"I'm immune to the Troubles."
"That's not a trouble; that's a blessing." Jordan regarded Audrey's belly briefly. "Do you know if your child will be like you or Nathan?"
"No, but if she does inherit a trouble, we hope it's mine and not Nathan's."
Audrey glided a hand over her belly, smiling when the baby made contact with her.
"Can I ask you something, Jordan?"
"Alright."
"Why did Nathan ask you and Dwight to come over here to 'keep an eye on me'? And don't tell me it's because you two are our closest neighbors. The first time you and I met, sparks almost flew between us."
"Dwight is Dwight," they glanced over at the man to see him hard at work, making a platter of sandwiches. "And if anything, I've noticed that he's reformed you, or something. I trust you now, and I want to be friends. Jesus."
That last word came out in a groan and Audrey held a hand to the spot where the baby was kicking.
"She will not let up! Feel this!"
Before Jordan could protest, Audrey was already placing her hand over the spot where the baby was moving.
"Oh, wow." Jordan breathed in childlike wonder. "That's really neat."
"She likes you. Oh, there she goes, using her hands and elbows."
Wide awake now, Audrey's baby was testing the confines of her space, intrigued by Jordan. She felt a series of taps and nudges under her palm and looked curiously at Audrey.
"Has she been like this before Dwight and I got here?"
"Off and on, but no, I'm not in labor."
"How would you know?"
Audrey opened her mouth to answer, but her voice came out in a sigh when her stomach growled.
"Well, that was fun while it lasted. Will you help me up so we can see what Dwight made?"
Jordan stood but hesitated in giving Audrey assistance.
"Come on, Jordan. You can't hurt me with your curse. You just saw that it did nothing to me. Do you have another pair of gloves with you?"
"Unfortunately, no. They're all at home."
"Then just be careful not to touch Dwight. Please help me up; now I have to pee."
Coming to her senses, Jordan helped Audrey to her feet and then moved out of her way as she hurried to the nearest bathroom. Not having anything else to do, Jordan wandered over to the kitchen and looked out the window. It was only six-fifteen at night and it was already so dark that she could barely make out the outside landscape as it continued to be buried in snow. Even still, Jordan was mesmerized by the snowflakes.
Naturally, she about jumped out of her skin when she felt a strong arm snake around her waist from behind and pull her close. Because of her curse because it had manifested when she was only five, Jordan didn't really remember physical contact anymore, but when Dwight showed it to her just by cradling her, she loved it.
But damn Dwight for messing with her feelings all the time.
These days, they described what they had as 'really close friends,' but when there was nobody else around, things like this tended to happen.
"What are you doing, Dwight?"
"Is it a crime to want to hold you?"
Only because I don't know where we are, Jordan thought. I love you.
"Of course not."
Jordan blew on her hands and rubbed them together to keep warm even though the furnace was on. Even when she was a kid, she'd had poor circulation in her hands. Tucking them close to her body, she leaned against Dwight.
"What happened to your gloves?" he asked.
"They got soaked, so Audrey set them out to dry. I'm cold."
Dwight immediately enveloped her in a hug, his heart twisting because he couldn't hold this gorgeous woman the way he wanted to without getting hurt.
He wasn't sure what it was, but for some reason, Jordan seemed a little off her game tonight and it made Dwight sad for her. More than anything, he wished he could make her happy. Why? Because he loved her.
After their meal of ham sandwiches and hot chocolate, Audrey tried calling Nathan to see if he and Duke were close to being done, but the phone connection was shoddy at best. A minute after Audrey hung up on Nathan, she received a text from him that made her want to throw her phone across the room.
"What is it?" Dwight asked her.
"Nathan just said that he and Duke are snowed in at the station, meaning that neither of them will be able to make it back here!"
"Which means that it looks like Jordan and I will be here until the snow clears up."
The woman in question looked up from the old radio Audrey had been using earlier. "According to the reports I'm hearing, the snow will have moved on by tomorrow morning at the earliest. It's not a blizzard out there, but it might as well be."
Audrey set her phone aside and stretched out on the couch. "This is the only time I wish that someone's trouble was behind the snow because I'd track them down and get them to stop."
"Right. Nathan asked us to come keep an eye on you. He'd come after us for letting you go anywhere outside the loft right now, and Duke would help."
"It's just wishful thinking."
She tried to get comfortable but found it really hard when seven pounds of active, kicking baby was pressing down on her from the inside. Jordan was closer in proximity to Audrey than Dwight was and hurried to her side, kneeling down beside her. Honestly, Jordan wasn't sure what was going on that was turning her so soft, but she shrugged it off when it became clear that Audrey was in more discomfort than she'd been letting on.
"How can I help you?"
She gingerly brushed Audrey's hair out of her face.
"What are you going?" Dwight squawked. "You know what happens when you touch people!"
"Audrey's trouble is that she's immune to all troubles. She can't feel the electrical shocks."
"I'd take that over being a bullet attractor..."
Audrey sat up again, restless. "The one thing I would really like is to remember being pregnant with James because that way I'd know if the last leg of pregnancy has to be so uncomfortable!"
Neither Dwight nor Jordan had a good answer to that. They were among a small handful who knew the truth about Audrey being the mother of the Colorado Kid and they also knew that after the whole Barn thing, he hadn't returned. Audrey didn't like to talk about it, so nobody ever pried.
Suddenly, the power went out.
"Well, that's just great." Dwight turned to Audrey. "Where do you keep flashlights and batteries?"
"Figure it out yourself." she snarled, finally accepting the amount of pain she was in. "Kind of busy right now."
For extra measure, Jordan shot Dwight a poisonous look for being so dumb. He got the message and hurried off. After a few minutes of searching, Dwight found a supply of mathches, candles and flashlights and busied himself with lighting the loft up. Jordan, meanwhile, was more concentrated on trying to comfort Audrey.
It went on like this for over an hour - Audrey gritting her teeth through the pain with Jordan trying make her feel better, and Dwight gathering various things that he hoped would make Audrey feel comfortable.
"I'm sorry." Audrey started apologizing at one point, near tears. "I'm so sorry!"
Jordan was completely wrapped around Audrey's finger now. "For what?"
"For not telling you and Dwight that I've been in labor. I don't think I even realized it."
"It's okay." Jordan soothed. "It's okay."
"How would you know? You've never been in this position!"
"You're correct. I'm just trying to help."
"I know." Audrey blew out a breath. "Damn, this really hurts. Will you to sit with me so I can have someone to lean against?"
Jordan quickly obeyed and let Audrey lean against her. A year ago, she wouldn't have been here at all because she had been so steaming jealous of Audrey's and Nathan's happiness, but things were different now because she had Dwight in her life. She finally had it in her to open up to Audrey and maybe even become friends with her.
"Let's talk about something else, hmm? Have you and Nathan thought of a name for your daughter yet?"
"It's a surprise, but you'll like it. Trust me on that one."
She leaned against Jordan and closed her eyes so she could focus on her breathing exercises. To Jordan's amazement, Audrey became so relaxed after a few minutes that she fell asleep in her arms. Dwight approached cautiously.
"Did she fall asleep?"
"I don't know how she's managing, but she did and she'd probably wake up if I moved. I'm going to stay with her."
The longer Jordan held Audrey in her arms and felt the baby move against her, the more undone her heart became as she longed for a happy ever after.
Dwight spread a blanket over Audrey and then knelt in front Jordan, gently touching a hand to her thigh. Unable to stop herself, Jordan let out a contented sigh because she and Dwight both knew that this was the closest to intamacy as they could get without her zapping him.
"Are you alright, Jordan? You still seem sad."
Okay, she coached herself. You can do this, you can tell Dwight how you feel about him.
"I - oh, that's not good..."
Jordan's words got derailed when she felt a cold liquid seeping towards her from Audrey's direction and the next second, Audrey woke and sat up with a start, yelling through a contraction. Jordan kept a hand on Audrey's back while Dwight let Audrey brace her hands against his shoulders. When it passed, Jordan and Dwight were comforting her as best they could.
"Anything you need, Audrey, and we'll help you, I promise." Dwight told her.
"Even if it means using Jordan or myself as pain outlets."
"We can handle it." Jordan tacked on. "I'm stronger than I look, and so is Dwight."
"Good. I need you two to help deliver the baby."
As Audrey pulled off her hoodie, leaving her down to her tank top and yoga shorts, she didn't notice how Jordan blanched at the idea even though she knew it was coming, or even how Dwight remained straight faced, despite Audrey's next words.
"My baby is going to be born some time tonight because my water broke!"
Should I keep going?