Undercover in Haven
Audrey Parker stood at the front door of Nathan's cottage, her forehead creased with worry. She had tried phoning Nathan without any success and now she was at his home checking to see how he was coping. He had lost two fathers the previous day in true 'Haven style'. Max Hansen, his biological father and unknown to him until the previous day, had fallen to his death down one of the cracks that had been opening up around Haven since Audrey had first arrived. Later on during that traumatic day, Nathan's other father, Police Chief Wuornos, absorbed cracks that were opening up on the beach surrounding him and both she and poor Nathan witnessed him turn to stone and explode into hundreds of small pieces. Hence, Audrey decided to 'break and enter'. She found the spare key and let herself into the quiet house.
The strong smell of liquor hit her nostrils and she spotted the almost empty bottle of Jack Daniels lying in a puddle beside one of the chairs. She spotted his jacket on the floor near the fireplace and found a shirt in the hallway leading to his bedroom.
She paused in the open doorway of Nathan's bedroom and her eyes travelled over to the crumpled bedclothes. She wasn't expecting to see such an enticing display of skin on the bed. At this time of year Nathan should have had at least a blanket covering him from the chilly morning air but she guessed he wouldn't be aware of it even if he hadn't been drinking. She should just pull the sheet and blanket up to cover him but she couldn't help but stare down the length of the golden back in front of her. Audrey had seen Nathan's long lean body clad in tight fitting t-shirts and jeans for months, but had tried not to think about it too often. Broad shoulders tapering to slim hips were visible but thankfully the sheet covered everything else. Nathan was her work partner and undeniably attractive, but seeing him like this . . .
Audrey slipped into the room and sat on one side of the bed. She reached down and started to gently pull the bedclothes over her slumbering friend so as not to wake him. However, much to Audrey's surprise Nathan then unexpectedly turned over in his sleep. He moaned and fluttered his lids a little but sighed deeply and his lids closed again. Audrey considered pulling the bedclothes up to cover Nathan but as she started to pull them up again, her gaze swept over the firm chest in front of her. Her eyes then travelled over the golden skin down the flat abs to the top of the sheet. She couldn't help but notice how the sheet clung to the lower half of his body and down the length of those long legs.
She had let out a gasp without realising and it had jolted Nathan awake. He was shocked to see a very wide-eyed Audrey Parker, sitting on the side of his bed. Nathan followed the direction of her gaze and saw her hands on the sheet on either side of his hips. She dropped the sheet quickly.
He squinted blearily up at Audrey, then raised his eyebrows as he pulled the bedclothes up a little higher and asked with some confusion, "Parker, did you have a sleep over?" After a few more blinks trying to clear his vision, the frown was replaced by a smile and then added, "Did ummm anything . . .?"
"No, I did not have a sleep over!" blurted out a blushing Audrey. "I was worried when you didn't answer me." And then trying to recover her composure, she added, "How much have you had to drink?"
"An amount," was the gravelly voiced reply.
"I'd say quite a large amount going by the empty bottle out there and the state you're in."
"Maybe."
"Okay, I feel better now that I know you're alright," said Audrey. "Why don't you sleep it off for a bit longer and then I can help you sort out the funerals later on, if you're up to it?
Nathan nodded, his heavy lids slowly closing. He tried hard to open his eyes again and asked, "Are you sure . . . um . . . nothing happened? Someone was touching me and there you were . . . " But the effort of speaking was too great and he seemed to just doze off.
"Oh, hell!" thought Audrey. "If he remembers this, he'll think I tried to manhandle him while he was passed out!"
After Audrey left Nathan's house, she actually entered his dreams. He dreamt that she was trailing her small, soft hands all over his body and he could feel every last touch; he was in a continual state of ecstasy. When he woke up he was most disappointed. He was alone again but it had felt so real and so good. He must have just dreamt that Audrey had been on his bed when he woke up before. Hell, it was sort of lucky it was a dream; he had nothing on.
After the funerals, Nathan didn't really take any time off work to mourn his father, the Chief, who he had been in conflict with for as long as he could remember. Nathan was now the Acting-Chief of the Haven PD and there was much to do.
One morning, a few days after the funerals, he was lost in thought, looking out the kitchen window over the back of his property, when he heard a small sound behind him. Audrey had actually been observing Nathan from the open front door for a short while before he heard her. Usually his keen hearing would have picked up her presence straight away.
He was wearing a snug-fitting white t-shirt and his usual narrow legged jeans. Now that she knew what was under that t-shirt, Audrey's thoughts drifted back to that morning in Nathan's bedroom only a few days before. Her gaze swept over the long tapered lines of Nathan's back with an interest she couldn't previously recall. Thankfully, he didn't seem to remember her being in his room and the embarrassment of her trying to pull up the bedclothes or whatever he might have thought she was trying to do. She certainly hadn't reminded him of it and so far he hadn't mentioned it. He probably hadn't remembered much of the incident at all. Well, that's what she was hoping for anyway.
When Nathan turned around, he saw Audrey gazing at him intently. She seemed lost in thought and had a very attractive pink glow to her cheeks.
"You okay, Parker?" drawled the deep, velvety voice.
"Well, not really Nathan," she answered. "Maybe you shouldn't call me 'Parker' anymore. Maybe I'm not in fact 'Audrey Parker'. I could be Lucy Ripley!
"You'll always be 'Parker' to me," said Nathan as he held her gaze.
"Mmm,"said Audrey as she turned and started to head out the door.
"Sorry to call you in on our weekend off but there wasn't anyone else free to go and check on Maeve Young out at Ryan's Cove this morning. She thought she saw some strange activity on the beach near her place earlier this morning."
"Strange . . .?" began Audrey.
"Sounded like someone hanging around the rocks on the beach near her place." He then added, "I thought we could use it as a 'sight-seeing tour' at the same time because I don't think you've seen that stretch of the coastline yet."
Nathan was hoping the trip might give Audrey a chance to relax, something she rarely seemed able to do. She'd seemed very uptight the past couple of days, so maybe a change would be good for her and a bit of a break for him too. He didn't really expect to find a major problem at Maeve's; people were often lurking around her place at night and if his earlier experiences were anything to go by, it was probably Haven's teens out for a good time.
Nathan saw no reason for Audrey not to stay on as Officer Parker with Haven's PD. No one could deny her policing ability and the great things she had done for Haven's Troubled, himself included. At this stage, nobody else in Haven knew about the other FBI Agent claiming to be 'Audrey Parker', who had turned up on the day both his fathers had died. Thankfully that issue had been sorted out by Audrey's previous FBI boss and the other Audrey had left. However, it had added to the identity crisis that Audrey was already facing. She really didn't know if the memories of her life previous to arriving in Haven were even real ones.
"Okay, let's go!" said Nathan grabbing his coat out of the closet. His Ford Bronco was at the garage, so they were going in Audrey's car. "Do you want me to drive; it's a bit out of the way?"
Audrey nodded to him. She sometimes still had terrible flashbacks to that first drive into Haven when the road just cracked open in front of her and Nathan ended up saving her before the car dropped over the rocky cliff. He opened the door for her and put his hand on her shoulder to guide her into the car.
Audrey glanced up and smiled at him, his secret finally out that he could actually feel her touch. He lifted a corner of his mouth, knowing he had been caught out but both of them were okay about it. After all, they were good friends and it's not like it was a romantic gesture. However, with this thought Audrey felt the heat rush into her cheeks for the second time in about five minutes.
"Parker, are you coming down with something?"
"Noooo! Why?"
"You seem rather flushed in the face today. Here, I'd better check your temperature."
He put his palm against her forehead and looked at her with a tiny lop-sided grin. Audrey glanced up and met his bright, 'innocent' blue eyes for a few seconds. They both knew it was an excuse to touch her. Her embarrassment caused the flush to deepen even further.
As Nathan went around to the driver's side, he made a bit of a show, waving his hand and blowing on it as if he'd been burned. She was in fact very warm beneath his fingertips.
"Don't be ridiculous!" said Audrey as Nathan got into the car.
"You are very warm."
"Well, not as hot as some!" thought Audrey, but instead stated, "It is a bit warmer today."
"Maybe it is, but perhaps you need a couple of Panadol and you should take it easy."
"We'll see," she said.
Nathan rolled his eyes and started the engine. They collected some lunch on the way to Maeve's and eventually arrived at the little 'out of the way' cottage. Maeve greeted Nathan and Audrey and took them to the area where she thought she had seen a light a couple of hours earlier. They clambered over and around the many large rocks that littered the beach. Apart from a dob of yellow paint on one of the rocks, the tide had managed to erase evidence of anything that may have happened the previous night. Nathan got a shovel out of his truck and he dug around the rock but didn't locate anything. He rang the station to organise some surveillance just in case it was more serious and the culprit returned.
After leaving Maeve's, Nathan took Audrey to the next sandy cove further south along the coastline. It was a picturesque secluded spot and would be fabulous to swim in when the weather was warmer. It had a wide sandy stretch of beach with a few large rocks towards the back. They sat down on the sand to eat their sandwiches and have a cool drink of iced tea.
Audrey looked over at Nathan and was pleased to see him look so relaxed. However, when she glanced over a little later, she noticed him furrowing his brow.
"What's wrong?" Audrey asked him.
"It looks like something sticking up out of the water over there," Nathan replied, pointing to the water's edge in the direction of the cove they had recently left. "It could be dangerous!"
"Okay, I'll just lie here for a while," said Audrey. She thought how nice the sun felt on her skin after a few really cool, overcast days.
Nathan couldn't believe that Audrey was actually relaxing on the beach. He removed his shoes and socks and rolled up his jeans. As he waded over towards the spike sticking up out of the water, Audrey called out to him. He turned towards her and tripped over a partially buried log. There was quite a steep drop off close to the shore and Nathan was quickly soaked.
Audrey saw him fall and rushed over to him just as he was getting up.
"Thanks Parker!" he growled, giving Audrey the death stare.
Before returning to the shore, Nathan walked out further and was able to see the 'spike' was the mast of a small sailing boat. He could just see the outline of the boat in the depths below. He put his face into the water but couldn't see very much.
When he stood up again, Audrey called out, "Don't blame me, you were the clumsy one!"
He gathered up his shoes and socks and dripped all the way back to Audrey.
"We'll have to get someone out to dive down and see what's happened to the boat, and find an owner; hopefully not down there too!" said Nathan.
"You'll have to get out of those clothes; you've got goose bumps everywhere and your lips are blue."
"Oh, crap!" he said. "I haven't got any spare clothes!"
"I've got a blanket you can wrap yourself up in, while your clothes dry," suggested Audrey. She set off back to the car, while Nathan started to remove his soggy jacket. When Audrey returned, he removed the t-shirt and motioned her to turn around while he took off his jeans. He kept his boxer briefs on, however.
This time it was Nathan who went very pink beneath his tan as he wrung out his wet clothes and laid them out on the sand to dry.
"Let's hope the suspect doesn't come back for some time, Nathan!" said Audrey in her droll voice, a Little Miss Innocent look on her pretty face.
Nathan just glared at Audrey and wrapped the blanket around himself very carefully, sitting with his knees up to his chest.
Audrey couldn't help smiling at Nathan. She was so pleased someone else was in this position and not her. She remembered how embarrassing it was waking up almost nude in bed on Duke's boat after he'd fished her out of the harbor unconscious. However, she did get her revenge when she made Duke strip down to undies when the card sharks had hijacked his boat about a month back. It was done in the line of duty to confuse the villains of course!
Then she remembered Nathan had to cut her out of her blanket cocoon. Thank heavens she had a towel around her that time and he'd cut the wool carefully. She remembered that was a rather embarrassing time for both of them. He didn't seem to know where to look.
She tried to lighten the mood when she noticed the black look still on his face. "I bet this is a great spot for Haven's teenagers or nudists in summer," suggested Audrey.
Nathan groaned and covered his face with his free hand. "Do we have to talk about nudists at a time like this?" he asked, removing his hand and squinting at her in exasperation.
"No, we don't have to," said the teasing Audrey. There was a minute or so of silence and then Audrey started up again. "So, did you bring hot dates here when you were a teen?"
"Maybe."
"Did the Rev let Hannah come here with you?" asked Audrey facetiously.
"Well, not sure she actually asked him," was the rather stilted reply but Audrey noticed the smirk that appeared.
"Oh, Nathan Thaddeus Wuornos you do disappoint!" Audrey said with more than a hint of sarcasm. "Knowing that tarty Hannah, I suppose she forced you into some nude sunbathing while she was here."
"Audrey, do you ever give up?" This discussion was becoming very awkward and was reawakening old memories far too clearly. Hopefully, the blanket was concealing everything. He wrapped it around himself more tightly and prodded at his still very wet jeans. How much more of this could he take?
"You know I'm persistent, Acting-Chief Wuornos!" was the less than heartening reply. He was such an easy target.
"Well, once we ended up here unexpectedly and didn't have our swimmers," offered up Nathan.
"And?" she prodded.
"We lay on the beach for a while in our clothes but we started to get too hot."
"I bet you did!" muttered Audrey.
"We may have taken off a few clothes and then gone for a swim," Nathan offered up, looking out at the location of that particular swim. Then, he caught sight of a small dinghy out on the water, a little north of where they were sitting. "Could things get any worse?" he thought.
"Parker, I think I recognise that boat out there," said Nathan.
"Are you trying to change this very interesting subject, Wuornos?" asked a very suspicious Audrey. She could now see the small craft now heading towards the shoreline further up the beach too.
"If this is our guy, I'd rather he didn't see me. It might scare him off before we have a chance to check him out."
"Why don't I get into the blanket with you?" suggested Audrey.
"What? No!" was the shocked reply.
Audrey started lifting the edge of the blanket saying, "Trust me Nathan, this will work. If he thinks we're making out he won't come anywhere near us."
Nathan clutched the blanket closer to himself as she kept tugging at it but he had to finally concede defeat when the suspect had just about reached the shore. Audrey just got into the blanket in time and pretended to hug Nathan with her face near his neck.
"Audrey, what are you doing?" stuttered Nathan, knowing full well what she was trying to achieve. Her warm body and hot breath near his neck were way too much for him to bear. He tried to calm down and just act as if they were hugging and about to kiss but felt extremely self-conscious in just his slightly damp briefs under the blanket.
"Forget about everything and just pretend we're kissing," Audrey whispered into his ear. "He won't know what we're really doing and hopefully won't stop to look."
Audrey quickly leant over Nathan and pretended to kiss his neck. Her hair hid the fact that they weren't actually touching but Audrey's soft, silky hair and warm breath on his neck prevented any further thought.
"Now keep an eye on him as he heads up the beach," whispered Audrey.
"I'll try," croaked poor Nathan. A warm, curvy body pressed up close against his was something Nathan hadn't felt for a couple of years, so tracking the suspect's progress through the veil of Audrey's fragrant, soft hair was a challenge. All he could think of was desperately wanting to kiss Audrey and not let this moment pass, as well as trying to keep other parts of his body under some control. With Audrey now pressing against him, Nathan's wet briefs made some parts of his body feel very cold. In this instance, it was probably a good thing.
The ruse worked because the boat's owner didn't come anywhere near them and headed off up the beach. Nathan couldn't control himself any longer, took Audrey's cheeks between his hands and started kissing her. He was transported to wonderland for a short while but after responding initially, a very wide-eyed Audrey quickly pushed away from him and lifted her head up to check on the suspect.
"Nathan, he's coming back!"
"Has he got anything?" asked Nathan breathing heavily.
"Looks like a small bag," she replied, "Let's grab him!"
"What! Like this?"
"I'll grab him while you get some clothes on," said Audrey. She took off after the suspect and called out, "Stop! Officer Parker, Haven PD! Drop that bag!"
Nathan somehow managed to get into his very damp jeans, scrambled up and ran over to join them.
The guy turned around, eyes wide at the sight of the young blonde officer coming towards him, later followed by the damp, semi-clad Nathan, turning away to do up his fly.
"Hi, Nathan! Didn't realise it was you back there," the man drawled and then added, "This what off-duty police officers get up to, hey?"
"Jim," a blushing Nathan started huskily and then cleared his throat, "Jim, what have you got there?"
"It's nothing, Nathan," he replied.
"We're following up a report on someone digging around on the beach near Maeve's place last night . . . " Nathan started to say.
"It sure didn't look like that to me just now, Nathan!" smirked Jim. "Your um . . . . . undercover work certainly had me fooled!"
"Jim?" said Nathan with raised eyebrows and a slightly embarrassed smile on his face as he dragged his t-shirt over his head.
Jim opened up the bag to show the police officers a box containing some very old foreign-looking coins.
"I came across this box when I dived down to untangle my lobster pot yesterday," said Jim, "You know, finders keepers . . ."
"Well, it does depend on what you find and where you find it," said Nathan, one eyebrow cocked. "It wasn't near that sunken sailing boat over there was it?" asked Nathan, pointing towards the spike.
Jim glanced over at the mast but quickly replied, "No, it was further north," and added, "I buried it near Maeve's while I was thinking about what to do."
"Let's get you and your treasure down to the station and we'll look into it," drawled Audrey. "Who knows, you might get a reward!"
"Yeah, sure!" said Jim.
Nathan wrapped the blanket around himself, after Audrey reminded him about his blue lips again, picked up the rest of his wet clothing, and headed back to the car. Audrey then drove all back to Haven Police Station.
Nathan changed into some spare clothes he had at the station. After taking Jim's statement and confiscating the treasure, Nathan then arranged for one of the uniformed policemen to drive Jim back to his boat on his way home. He promised to keep him informed about their investigation. Jim wandered down to the Grey Gull until his ride finished his shift at the station.
After Jim left, Audrey caught Nathan's eye and they both looked somewhat embarrassed and started to smile.
"You and your undercover work, Nathan Wuornos!" she said and then added rather sarcastically, "You're a natural. That guy Jim had no idea you were just acting. You're wasted here with the Haven PD."
"Yeah, thanks," he replied, nodding his head, a smirk on his handsome face and only briefly able to make eye contact with Audrey. "It was a tough assignment though; not sure I could be that convincing with just anyone."
Audrey smiled but her eyes were unreadable.
"Why don't I drop you off home to have a warm shower and then we can go to The Gull for a drink and a meal?" suggested Audrey. "It is our day off remember."
Nathan opened his mouth to complain but she mentioned he still looked a little blue and she was thinking of something other than work for once, so he closed his mouth.
Audrey drove Nathan to his place for a shower and then they both headed off to the Grey Gull. They waved to Duke who was serving behind the bar. Duke's perceptive gaze noted how close together the Dynamic Duo had been walking, almost brushing each other. Nathan came over to the bar to order their drinks and Duke was shocked to see such a cheerful look on his face. He hadn't seen that look on Nathan's face for years, especially when Duke himself was around.
"Just look at you, Wuornos!" whispered Duke. "You've got that look about you."
"What are you talking about, Duke?" asked Nathan, squinting at Duke.
"You almost look like a real boy now, Wuornos!" said Duke.
"Give it a break, Duke!" replied Nathan calmly. "Just give us a scotch and a wine for Audrey!"
"Did you and Parker finally get your act together?" Duke persisted as he poured the drinks and pushed the glasses across to Nathan.
"None of your business, Crocker!" said Nathan, shaking his head in disbelief but keeping his head down as he paid for the drinks and picked them up off the bar.
Duke stewed away behind the bar until the barmaid Shelley returned from her break. He was looking at Audrey as Nathan approached Audrey's table. She had a tiny smile on her face as she followed his progress from the bar.
Once Duke was free, he went straight to the happy couple sitting out on the deck and sat down to join them.
"Hi, Audrey," he said. "Catch a bit of sun this afternoon?"
"Yeah, we were at the beach checking out a reported disturbance," Audrey told him.
"I did hear you were checking out someone," sneered Duke. He then looked pointedly at Nathan and noticed the Acting-Chief also had rosy cheeks. In fact his whole face was very rosy now.
At last he was getting somewhere! Looking from Nathan to Audrey, they both seemed to blush and try hard to control their expressions. It took a fair bit to make Audrey blush but she was the fairer of the two and it was more obvious. Neither one made eye contact with the other. It must be good!
"You're blushing, Wuornos!" sneered Duke.
"Am not!" was the stiff reply.
"Come on you two, out with it!" demanded Duke.
"Give up Duke," sighed Audrey. "We were just doing our job."
"Jim mentioned that you were both literally doing undercover work at the cove," said Duke. "And the Chief here was in the buff!"
"I should have just let you die at the lighthouse that day, Duke," said Nathan icily. "It'll be all over Haven by tomorrow if you've got anything to do with it!"
"So, are you two officially together now?" asked Duke, trying to keep the jealous tone out of his voice.
Nathan glared at him and then looked out to sea, while Audrey rolled her eyes and simply stated, "Duke, we were just doing our job!"
"Well, there sure are some great perks with your job, Agent Officer Parker!" and added, "And who's going to book the Acting-Chief with indecency? Remember it isn't officially a nudist beach."
Nathan groaned, put his drink down and started to get up to leave the table. Duke pushed him back down and said, "Don't worry, my lips are sealed and I won't report you."
Audrey looked at Duke and shook her head at him. He really wished he could have been there to see what had happened. Jim had probably told half of Haven by now but he knew he would get the blame.
In a flat monotone, with what she hoped was an expressionless look on her face, Audrey simply stated, "Nathan wasn't actually nude; he still had his undies on."
"Thanks Parker!" said a really pissed-off Nathan, as he heard Duke snort. Apart from Duke, all he could think of was the Rev when he caught wind of this. The past would be dredged up again; he'd never have a chance at being Police Chief now!
Audrey gave him a cheeky smile and this lifted his mood a little. The corner of his mouth lifted as he tried to see the funny side of the situation. He could just imagine explaining the morning's happenings to members of the Town Council when he officially applied for the position of Police Chief. Would he believe the story if he heard it? His cynical mind thought 'no'. They would just think the Acting-Chief was really 'getting it on' with the attractive, shapely blonde deputy and was caught out. Hell, everyone had suspected it since Audrey first came to Haven!
Both Duke and Audrey were looking at Nathan, trying hard not to laugh so he suggested another round and went over to the bar. Once Nathan had gone, they looked at each other and laughed until tears poured down their cheeks.
The Rev wrote Nathan a letter about his reported behaviour on the beach and rubbed it in that some people would never change! Afterwards, women around town looked like they were trying to undress him with their eyes most of the time, which gave Audrey a good laugh. Some even tried flirting even more than before. The men would just nudge him and mention that they heard what 'went down' at the cove and what a great job he had.
Nathan was getting sick of it but Audrey kept it light and helped him through it, trying to get him to lighten up and not take it seriously. She suggested they go back to the cove for a picnic on their next day off and advised him to take a change of clothes just in case. All he could then think about was how close they had been before and how he could engineer it to happen again. Knowing his luck, Jim would appear again at an inappropriate time with more treasure. Although, if it weren't for Jim, Nathan would never have been able to sneakily kiss Audrey in the first place. Hopefully, next time he could pluck up the courage to just do it, without the pretext of doing undercover work.