Author's note: Happy holidays, all! I thought we could use a little piece of holiday fluff, particularly in light of the gloom and doom with which these characters find themselves surrounded constantly on the show. It is AU for obvious reasons when you see the characters involved in this piece and the way I had the issue of the Hunter/the barn resolved.

Oh, those of you who have read other stories of mine, a name will probably be familiar. Yes, that's on purpose. I have this thing (silly, I know) about fitting it in wherever I can just for kicks.

And this story's for FadedAllure who put it succinctly: Needing fanfiction. It's not Phoenix Rising, but I hope it'll suffice in the meantime. :)

Duke Crocker groaned in the exaggerated way Audrey had heard more times than she could remember, none of which ever signaled a true emergency. She looked up from checking her phone for the umpteenth time where she sat at the bar of the Grey Gull and witnessed the man behind the bar casting a surly look toward a large, old-fashioned radio reminiscent of a jukebox nestled in the corner of the establishment.

The place had a different feel that night. It felt closer, more intimate, despite being nearly empty. Duke had closed early for Christmas Eve, though he had invited a few people to stop by. Audrey wasn't particularly in the mood to be festive, but considering she lived right upstairs, she couldn't think of a legitimate excuse to hide out until the holidays were over. Or more accurately, Claire wasn't about to let her come up with one.

"Get out there. See people. It'll be good for you."

Easy for Claire to say. She wasn't the town pariah.

"'Jingle Bells' again."

"It's not that bad," Claire piped up from the barstool to the right of Audrey.

"Yeah? Well, I can't get the radio off the holiday music station. Every time I change the tuner, it goes back." His hands clutched the bar as he looked toward the blonde and said with deathly seriousness, "I'm pretty sure it's Troubled, Audrey."

"Yeah, you're so on your own. I'm not the Radio Whisperer," Audrey replied before taking a sip of something Duke had identified as eggnog when he had poured it for her earlier, though she certainly had her doubts. "Not tonight anyway."

"Maybe it's just possessed by the Christmas spirit. Wouldn't hurt you to get in the mood," Claire teased.

"If you had to listen to 'Jingle Bells' for the twentieth time in one day, you wouldn't be in the mood, either. Or want to listen to Christmas music," he added.

Claire rolled her eyes at Duke's less than subtle word play. "Keeping it classy as usual, Duke?"

"I hear Justin Timberlake has a Christmas album," Nathan commented drolly as he crossed the wood floor of the Grey Gull and approached the bar.

Nathan. Audrey turned when she heard his voice. Some of the tension she felt escaped her when she caught sight of him—snowflakes in his hair, his nose and cheeks rosy from the cold, wearing a ridiculous Christmas sweater with a…was that a goose on it?

His eyes met Audrey's, but she quickly looked away when she saw the twinkle of mischief there. Crap. "Justin Timberlake. Good choice if anyone's looking for a gift for Parker."

"I'm good. Thank you."

Nathan's mouth quirked in a half smile as he slid onto a barstool next to his partner. Audrey's tone reminded him of the first time they met—when her rental car was precariously balanced on the edge of a cliff—and she'd sarcastically told him she didn't need help.

"That's one of the inherent risks of opening yourself up to someone. It can be used against you," Claire cautioned with a wink as she turned around and propped her elbows on the bar.

Nathan's brows furrowed. "Is there some Justin Timberlake code I violated?"

"Who?" Duke asked before walking around the bar to the radio and knocking his fist against the side of the machine.

"Seriously?" Audrey asked.

"What?" Duke shrugged.

"Too bad you can't call Louis Pufahl to come fix it for you," Claire joked.

Duke grimaced. "And have it seek revenge for the hit I just put on it? I'll take my chances with the Christmas music."

"As long as you don't come between it and Louis, I'd say you'd be safe. Louis does inspire loyalty."

"You sound kind of down on the opposite sex tonight." Audrey replied looking at Claire. "I thought you were all about chances and forgiveness."

"Most of the time. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses." She held up her hand and pointed from Audrey to Nathan. "Not that I would recommend that in this case. Ridiculing a Justin Timberlake crush is hardly grounds for…um, what were we talking about anyway?"

"My therapist was warning about the dangers of opening myself up." Audrey's eyes brimmed with amusement.

Claire rubbed her forehead. "I think it's the eggnog. Does weird things to me. And my experiences won't be your experiences."

"No. See. I don't buy that," Duke threw in as he came back around the bar.

"Buy what?" Claire asked. "That I have had experiences?"

Duke opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. "Nah. That's just too easy."

Claire stiffened. "And what makes you think you know me well enough to know who I am or what I'm like?"

Duke sniffed. "Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Claire asked.

"A rat?" Nathan suggested.

"A challenge," Duke clarified. "I don't have to know you to know you."

Audrey looked from Duke to Claire, who affected the haughty look she only got when she was ready to pounce. "That made absolutely no sense."

"It did actually," Nathan disagreed. "I'm fluent in Dukeese. Tragically."

"You three care to make a small wager?" Duke turned to look at his friendly adversary. "Wait. Better cover Nathan's ears. He's sensitive about these things."

"Give the details. And a drink."

Duke poured Nathan a glass of eggnog and slid it down the bar toward him. "I'm thinking a little game of two truths and a lie. The object of the game is to convincingly lie."

"Should be easy enough for y—" Nathan's Duke-directed insult was cut short by Audrey, who smacked his hand. If Nathan didn't know better, he would halfway think that Audrey had been a ruler-yielding nun in one of her past incarnations. She certainly had the motion down.

"I'm familiar with this one," Claire interjected. "It's usually an icebreaker at team-building retreats." She wrinkled her brows. "But the object isn't to convincingly lie."

Duke put his elbows on the bar and leaned toward Claire. "Are you always right?"

"If I said yes, would you think I was lying or telling the truth?" Claire asked staring him down.

"I want to hear what Duke has to say," Audrey shrugged.

"Thank you, Audrey," Duke said standing erect. "Now, as I was saying before Nathan and Dr. Freud interrupted, the object is to see if your friends know you well enough to tell the difference between the lies and the truth."

Claire pursed her lips, considering whether to correct Duke's assessment that equated her with Dr. Freud when her approach to therapy was more closely aligned with Eriksen's. Deciding against fighting a hopeless cause, she swallowed her pride. "Sounds interesting. Though I have to say I'm at a disadvantage." Claire looked to Nathan and Audrey. "Don't you two make a living by telling when someone is lying to you?"

Audrey took the good-natured protest in stride. "I wouldn't sell yourself short. I'm pretty sure being a psychiatrist qualifies as an unfair advantage."

"Please. Two detectives and a professional smug—"

"Hey now, that's not nice," Duke objected.

"Bartender," Claire amended. "You're used to people baring their souls to you."

"Fair enough. And I charge them a hell of a lot less for it."

"He's got you there, Doc," Audrey commented.

"Especially when you consider he waters down the drinks," Nathan added pushing his glass of eggnog from one hand to the other along the bar.

"And that is a lie." Duke pointed at Nathan. "See? I'm ahead already. So best human lie detector gets bragging rights and something else of his or her choosing."

"I'm not throwing out your parking tickets, Duke," Nathan said.

"Actually, you don't have to. Audrey took care of that for me already." At the surprised look Nathan shot Audrey, Duke added, "Guess you don't know your partner as well as you think."

"The wager is a little open-ended for me. We should establish boundaries," Claire declared.

"Well, nothing that can hurt anyone," Audrey suggested.

"Whether they feel it or not?" Duke looked at Nathan. "Nothing illegal, I suppose, so no money changing hands." He shook his head and stared at the ceiling, muttering, "I've got to get new friends."

"You have friends?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah. I'm not really sure this is my type of game," Claire wrinkled her nose.

"What's the matter, doc? Afraid of someone analyzing you?"

"Fear is only as real as you allow it to be, and I am not afraid," Claire announced.

"You in?" Duke asked Audrey.

Audrey grabbed napkins off the bar and gave one each to Nathan, Duke, and Claire, while keeping one for herself. "Yeah. So's Nathan."

Nathan cast a glower that said, 'You've got to be kidding me.' Audrey ignored it.

Duke, meanwhile, pulled pens from under the counter and gave one to Audrey and Claire. He eyed Nathan a moment before tossing one his way, which Nathan effortlessly caught with one hand.

"You know what? I'll go first." Claire leaned against the bar and chewed the inside of her cheek while she thought. "Let's see. Okay. I've got it. I'm a member of the Mile High Club. I was the youngest in my graduating class from med school. Oh, my natural hair color is blonde. Which one's the lie?"

Each wrote an answer on the napkins.

"So who knows?"

Duke held up his napkin. "Easy. Mile High Club's the lie."

"Nope."

Audrey smiled as she looked down at the script on her napkin. "It's the hair color."

"No, I am naturally a blonde. Mostly."

"You're a blonde?" Audrey asked, stunned.

"No offense," Claire replied fingering Audrey's golden ponytail, "but studies show that many people perceive blondes to be less intelligent than their darker-haired counterparts. Blondes also tend to be objectified."

Duke rubbed his forehead before gesturing toward Claire and Audrey. "Let me get this straight. Dr. No has just admitted to being a member of the Mile High Club, and you're asking about her hair color?"

"Please," Audrey scoffed. "I've seen her underwear. She's no saint."

"Wait. You've seen her underwear? What am I missing here?"

"Everything," Nathan replied. He held up his napkin. In neat block letters, Audrey saw MED SCHOOL.

"Bravo, Detective Wuornos. That's one point for you," Claire congratulated.

"How'd you know?" Audrey asked.

"Least obvious lie. Seemed like the most obvious truth. In a game trying to throw someone off a scent, it made sense."

"But sometimes the most obvious answer is the answer."

"Sometimes."

And there was something in his voice that gripped her, anchored her. She was held momentarily transfixed to the point that she found herself leaning slightly on her barstool toward Nathan. She caught herself abruptly. "That's potent eggnog."

"Okay. This isn't awkward at all," Duke murmured.

Nathan turned to the other man and frowned.

"So what about you, Nathan?" Duke asked with exaggerated cordiality. "My oldest comrade."

Nathan's frown only deepened. Finally, he spoke blandly, "I like dogs. I like babies. I like Duke. Which is the lie?"

"Oh come on, Nate. If you don't want to play, then—"

"I don't want to play."

Audrey couldn't help but grin. "Come on, Wuornos. It'll do you some good to loosen up a little."

"I'm loose."

At that, Audrey and Claire burst into laughter, as much from the alcohol in the eggnog as from Nathan's words. His posture was tense and he seemed to straighten even further as the women chortled at his expense.

"Fine. I have an irrational fear of the Incredible Hulk. I…once went an entire week eating nothing but pancakes. And…I was engaged to be married. And the lie is…"

"Too easy, Nathan. Too easy," Duke muttered as he scribbled on his napkin.

"No. Too loose," Audrey replied. At that, a giggle escaped from Claire.

Duke turned to Claire. "I'm liking you better all the time."

"How many of those have you had?" Nathan asked pointing to Audrey's glass.

"Told you I don't water down the drinks," Duke jabbed.

"You ready? Let's see what everyone has," Claire emceed, making a supreme effort at adopting a serious countenance.

Duke and Audrey both held up a napkin that said 'engagement'. Claire's napkin spelled out 'pancakes.'

Nathan tilted his head toward the psychiatrist. "Claire's got it."

Claire held up her fingers in a V. "That's two points for the psychiatrist."

Duke shook his head. "Seriously? I've known you my whole life. How could I not know about your fiancé?"

"We didn't know about your wife," Nathan reminded Duke.

"You were married?" Claire asked looking at Duke wide-eyed.

"Don't look so shocked."

"Y-you just don't strike me as the marrying type," Claire stammered.

"You really need to un-stereotype me, Dr. Phil."

Claire crossed her arms. "And you need to cut out all the cutesy nicknames. You do realize that is a textbook defense mechanism, right?"

Duke held up his hands in surrender and looked back to Nathan. "So who was this girl?"

"Her name was Collie Stappert," Nathan began.

Duke grinned. "Collie? Sounds like a dog."

"So does 'Duke'," Nathan pointed out. "Or maybe a bad western."

"So what happened?" The question came from Audrey whose earlier joviality was replaced by a stony-faced calm.

"Didn't work out," Nathan responded simply before taking a drink.

Claire, however, was on a completely different train of thought. "I'd really like to explore this Incredible Hulk fear."

"I'm sure," Nathan replied.

"I think the only green-eyed monster we'll be seeing around here won't be the Incredible Hulk," Duke pointed out.

"Nobody's jealous here." Audrey stared at her drink.

"Who said anything about jealousy? Obviously I am referring to myself. I meant silver-eyed."

Audrey looked up at her friend, grateful for his about-face. "What about you, Duke? Can you pull one over on us?"

"Probably. I've done it before."

"Here we go," Nathan groaned.

"You know you love it," Duke accused. "First voyage I took on the Rouge, I got seasick."

"I do kind of love that," Nathan interjected.

Duke ignored Nathan. "I was almost Elvis's love child. I mean, obviously I'm not. But almost. I've also been blessed by the pope. Any takers?"

Claire's eyes narrowed. "Let's see. Elvis died in 1977. Don't ask me why I know that. What year were you born, Duke?"

"We didn't say anything about follow-up questions in the rules," Duke gently chastised.

"Please. You're making up the rules as you go along," Claire scoffed.

"I have you stumped," he replied proudly.

"Wrong."

The three held up their napkins. ELVIS.

"I'll have you know that my mother was a very handsome woman and she was a big fan of Elvis. If those two would've met, you never know."

Audrey tapped her fingers on the counter. "I am curious about this blessing by the pope. Aren't you Buddhist?"

"Sure."

"I was raised Catholic. Well, sort of. The other Audrey was. Under what circumstances would you…I mean…"

"I was at St. Peter's Square. Must've been five, six years ago. It was John Paul II. Out on the balcony. Delivered a blessing to us all in multiple languages."

"I've been there." Claire sounded impressed. "Beautiful place."

"Your turn, Parker," Nathan urged.

Audrey's stomach dropped. "I—you know, I think I'm going to pass."

"Oh no you don't. Spill it, Audrey," Claire insisted.

"Hey, you guys know as much as I do."

"Humor us," the therapist encouraged.

"Fine. I passed my driver's test the first time I took it. I'm Team Edward. And I've never been sloppy drunk. Which is—"

"Driver's test," came the response in unison before Audrey even finished the question. No one even bothered to write it.

"Seriously, I'm not that bad of a driver."

Her statement was met with stark silence until Duke looked to Claire. "Isn't this the part where you'd diagnose Audrey as being in denial?"

"Oh, it would take a bigger diagnosis than that." Audrey's self-deprecation seemed to make the mood in the room flatten.

Claire exhaled loudly. "So if we tally the points, it looks like I am the winner."

Nathan looked to Audrey and quietly asked, "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Audrey shrugged.

"Exactly," Nathan replied equally nonchalantly.

Claire rubbed her hands on her jean-clan thighs. "Duke, I need your help with something in the kitchen."

"It's not your kitchen."

"Winner's choice, right?"

"There's nothing—"

"Right now. Excuse us. Food emergency. Big food emergency."

Audrey watched as Claire slid off her barstool, walked around the bar, grasped Duke's forearm, and dragged him back to the kitchen.

"Subtle," the blonde said wryly watching the two retreat.

Nathan reached over and set his hand on the bar next to Audrey's. Wordlessly, she slid her hand over his, a brief, light caress. "Glad you're here tonight."

"Wasn't sure I'd see you."

"Wasn't sure I'd see you, either."

"I'm sorry." She squeezed his hand before threading her fingers between his.

"No apologies, Parker. Just…I'm glad." Being here with her was enough. Enough to make it worth being numb for however long it took for things to go back to normal, as long as 'normal' included Audrey. "Tell me."

She opened her mouth to again deny anything was wrong but thought better of it. "When you all were rattling off these facts about yourselves effortlessly, I kept trying to come up with something that is true. I just blanked. I mean, what do I really know about myself? I'm a fraud."

"You're…not."

She smiled ironically. "Very convincing."

"No, I—Audrey you are the most real—"

"Which is the lie? My name is Audrey Parker. I have no family left. I help the Troubled but can't seem to help myself."

"You're not alone in this."

"I know. I do. I guess part of it is the time of the year, too."

"Christmas blues?"

"Christmas is a time for family."

"You have family, Parker."

The certainty in his voice and the tenderness in his expression were enough to make her believe it, too. "Yeah, I do." Nathan was her family. Duke. Claire, too.

With a hint of a smile, he stood and tugged gently at her hand. "C'mon."

"Where are we going?"

"Outside."

"It's Maine in December," she objected.

"You trust me." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes."

"Then c'mon."

The two walked out on the deck, Nathan grabbing his coat from the coat rack on the way. The almost full moon shone on the relatively calm waves of the Atlantic and illuminated the night even further by bouncing off the blanket of snow that had fallen earlier. The late night hour was peaceful. Nathan leaned against a post, gently bringing Audrey back against his chest before cocooning her smaller body with his coat and his arms. She nestled against him, comfortable, safe.

"Warm enough?" his voice sounded velvety in her ear.

"Yes." Oh, yes. They fit perfectly this way, and her thoughts began to drift toward other possibilities. She took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind of the intoxication that was Nathan Wuornos. There were too many other things for her to process first before she could let herself go there.

"So. You were engaged."

He held her more tightly and she could feel him chuckle. "You bothered that I was engaged?"

"What? No. No. That would silly of me." Her voice dropped before she finally asked, "So what was this Collie Stappert like?"

He was smiling. She could hear it in his voice even if she couldn't see it. "She was tall. Had freckles on her nose. Wore her hair in braids. And the best part: she didn't throw a baseball like a girl. We were ten years old. Summer camp."

"The stuff of everlasting love."

"Best two weeks of my young life."

"An engagement when you were ten years old, I wouldn't say that counts." She leaned her head against his shoulder, looking up at him.

"Maybe not. But don't tell Claire that. I think she's enjoying lording her victory over Duke. So, what's Santa bringing you for Christmas?"

Audrey tensed, bringing her gaze down to the water rather than him. "I'm not sure if I'm on his naughty or nice list."

"You help a lot of people. Qualifies as nice."

"I'm still here. The Troubles—they haven't gone away. Did I—is it my fault?"

"Parker—"

"Don't." She cut off his protest.

"You keep looking over your shoulder. Waiting for all this to come tumbling down."

"Why should Audrey Parker be any different from Lucy Ripley or Sarah Vernon?"

"Because of James. He stopped the Hunter. Took away the barn. He did that for you. Not so you could blame yourself but so you could live. Find the cause. Make things different."

Her son. A son she'd never know. "I wanted to stay, Nathan. God, I wanted to stay." With you. But not at his expense. "And now I don't know if I'm coming or going-"

Audrey felt the warmth of his breath on her neck. Steady. Sure. "You're staying."

And with that, Nathan released her enough to gently turn her around to face him. With one hand, he secured his coat around her, and smiled as her arms wrapped around his waist. With the other, he cupped her cheek, his thumb grazing her lips. She tilted her chin upward.

Eyes locked, hearts locked. It was too much. She found herself looking away.

But wordlessly, Audrey clung to him, needing this, needing him. Her hands tugged at the fabric of his shirt, untucking it from his jeans so she could make contact with his skin.

"Audrey," he hissed at her contact.

Their eyes met again. "I'm staying."

And then his lips were on hers. No hesitation. No gentleness. Just need. Want. Instinct. Sensations. He took her breath away. Literally. And still she needed more. Wanted more. Just a little more. Just a little more. Just a little more.

It was Nathan who broke the kiss, his own breathing labored. "Mistletoe." He looked at the post above their heads.

Audrey stepped back from him, took his hands, and pulled him toward the steps of her apartment. "I don't need mistletoe, Nathan. Just you."