Disclaimer: Haven clearly isn't mine, if it were there'd be a lot more smut! (see profile for a real disclaimer)
A/N: My muse wouldn't leave me alone until this was finished... Seriously, she poked until I got up and started writing. Thank, gods.
Audrey woke slowly, shifting as much as her sore body allowed. Her head was throbbing and her throat felt like it had been crushed in a vice, but at least she was alive.
Wait, she was alive, right?
Concentrating, she forced herself to focus on the world around her. Scratchy sheets? Check. Faint mechanical beeping? Check. The sound of a florescent light flickering in the corner of her room? Check. Not only was she alive, but she'd just confirmed that she was in her least favorite place in the world- a hospital.
Groaning, Audrey blinked heavily and squinted against the light until her eyes had a chance to focus. The gaudy orange drapes that hung over the window did little to shield the early morning sun, illuminating the room with a gorgeous glow, and there was a television playing old cartoons softly in the corner. None of that was unusual by any means, but looking down at the side of her bed, where one Nathan Wournos was sleeping- hunched forward, head turned toward her, snoring quietly- certainly was.
A faint smile flickered across her lips. He'd saved her. Him and Duke. She never thought she'd make it off that ship alive. Those telepaths had seen her coming a mile away and she hadn't caught on until it was too late- until they were miles offshore and there was no escape.
She warmed at the thought of them storming onto that boat- Nathan, fearless and determined to save her at any cost, and knowing Duke, he'd probably been joking the whole time- Haven's version of her knights in shining armor. Nobody had ever cared that much about her before. Not once. It was kinda... nice. Really nice, in fact. It made her feel like maybe, just maybe, she'd actually found somewhere she finally belonged, a place to call home.
Audrey felt a light blush creep up her cheeks- home. She could get used to that.
Turning her attention back down to her partner, she fully took in his appearance for the first time, and what she saw startled her. While she could tell that her own eye was swollen and her lip was split, he was much worse off. His nose had been recently set, there were stitches over one eyebrow and there was a rather large, purple bruise forming on the side of his chin. She frowned. He was broken, and it was all her fault. If only she hadn't pushed, hadn't dug just a little too deeply into the Colorado Kid case. She was willing to put her own life on the line, but to put them in danger as well? Audrey hadn't counted on that.
Sighing quietly, she reached out, gently running her fingertips over one side of his forehead and down his temple. It was so nice to see him relaxed this way, laying there with the top of his head resting against her hip. He'd been acting oddly lately- standing just a little too closely to her when they walked together, making up excuses to high five her or shake her hand, staring at her when he thought she wouldn't notice. At first, she thought it was just his way of being friendlier toward her, or maybe he had a little workplace crush, but as the days went by things just kept getting weirder. It was really starting to worry her.
Nathan huffed in his sleep, mumbling something inaudibly, and she froze. Her eyes went wide, looking down at her hand as if realizing for the first time exactly what she'd been doing- touching him, almost caressing him, without restraint or permission. Seconds passed, then a minute. He didn't move.
"Duh, Audrey. He can't feel anything," she whispered under her breath, finally letting her muscles unclench, "Of course you didn't wake him up."
With that, she triple checked that he was still asleep (just to make sure), before guiltily returning her hand back its previous position. Allowing herself a little indulgence, reveling in the physical contact, running her fingers through his hair. It was soft, shorter than she thought, and it felt good to comfort him. Returning the favor in a way, she guessed, even if he never knew about it.
After a few minutes though, she abandoned his hair and moved down to his cheek. Cupping it with her palm, she ran her thumb under his eye and then along the edge of his bruised jaw. She winced, at least he wouldn't feel it as it healed, he was lucky in that respect.
But, then... Well, something happened.
Nathan mumbled again, and much like before she didn't dare move. This time though, he arched into her touch, like a cat begging to be stroked. Two day old stubble scraping along her palm as he nuzzled against her one last time, a large hand encompassing her wrist, desperate to keep her there even in slumber.
Audrey's jaw dropped. A gasp caught in the back of her throat, pulse racing wildly. Almost out of reflex, her thumb rubbed a tiny circle near the corner of his mouth. A test, confirmation of something that (if she were anywhere else) just couldn't be, and less than a second later his grip around her tightened.
Everything made sense now. Every look, every touch, stabbing himself with the plastic cutlery, all of it.
"Oh, my God," she whispered, "He can feel me."
Dropping her head back against the pillows, she took a deep breath, eyes slipping shut. His warmth seeped into her, even puffs of breath fluttering past her arm.
"He can feel me."
Audrey smiled.
End.