Disclaimer: Don't own it. Would have gotten around to Lay Me Down a bit quicker if I did.
Author's Note: This started out as an attempt at some fluffy filler, but turned out a bit more rueful than I'd anticipated. More stuffing than fluff, really. (I blame Nathan.)
Chapter One: Welcome to Haven
It isn't until she drops her (only) bag on the floor of the (absurdly campy) bed and breakfast that she wonders if this might just be the worst idea she's ever had.
Forty eight hours in this town and she's already almost died (twice). She's lost her phone; ended up in a stranger's bed and with princess phone replacement (courtesy of the friendly neighborhood smuggler); and pissed off her (new) boss. Normally took her at least a week in a town to rack up that kind of record, and she wondered if it might not be a (loud and clear) sign to stay the hell away from Haven, Maine.
But then again, forty eight hours in this town and she's got more information about her mother than she had been able to pull together in thirty years; so that had to count for something (probably her rash decision to stay).
And then there's that detective, Nathan.
"You like it here?"
In light of her rental fate he'd offered give her a ride to (and recommend) a place to stay. He was still standing in the doorway, waiting for something (probably a "thank you").
He shrugged and she wanted to wince for him, thinking about how much his shoulder (should have) hurt; but he really didn't seem to mind (still weird).
"It's okay. Pancakes are good. Weather's temperamental though."
He chortled and she shot him a deadpan look.
"You don't say."
They stood in silence for a moment (it was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable), probably both thinking about their day (or about each other).
"You going to stay?"
She shook her head, as noncommittal about her future as he apparently was about his relationship with this town.
"I'm not sure. I've got a few days off; could spend it here."
"Or, you could take it and run. Go to Bermuda or North Dakota."
She laughed, amused and disbelieving as she looked at him.
"I hear there's good German food," he offered as way of an explanation, though for which she wasn't sure.
She laughed again (also weird).
"I don't do vacation."
"Kinda figured. Just an idea." He shrugged again, and even knowing he couldn't feel it (and despite not really knowing him at all) she wanted to yell just a little bit and tell him to take care of himself. He might not feel it, but that didn't mean he wasn't doing some serious damage.
Not that she should care, really (really).
He was still standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and watching her with his brooding blue eyes. It was unnerving, so she waved him in and gestured to a chair in the corner. He didn't move right away and she hoped he hadn't confused her uncertainty with something else (involving the bed between them).
After a few seconds he came in. The door fell shut behind him and as he crossed to the chair she moved to the bed, finding the edge, sitting down and crossing her legs underneath her (caught between not wanting to look like an elementary-schooler and not wanting to look like she was inviting him to bed).
"Is it really that bad here?'
"Nah."
He looked at her again (those brooding blue eyes and that rueful smile) and she wondered for a second if it would be such a mistake (to sleep with him).
"It's an odd town, but it's home." He paused and then tentatively continued, "maybe for you too?"
She understood his hesitancy, after she'd snapped at him earlier in the day.
"Maybe." She offered (in yet another show of noncommittal). "It's the first I've heard of any family in thirty years."
"Nothing?" He seemed bewildered and she thought she saw some pity flash through his eyes (but she'd ignore that).
"Adoption file got lost somewhere between the first and the seventh foster home. Not that I've had a lot of time to dig around."
It had never occurred to her to try and find her parents. Something about being abandoned before her first birthday had quelled any desire for a warm reunion (that, and she figured her life was a lot less complicated, not having to worry about leaving anyone behind).
"Growing up in a small town, with your dad the Chief. Must be hard to imagine not having a family. Probably had cute Christmases and after school snacks, yeah?"
She'd meant it as a joke to dispel the tension (his tension), but he wasn't smiling. She hasn't thought it possible, but his eyes got a little darker and he pulled back in his chair and she could practically see the wall going up around him (she recognized the signs).
"Not exactly".
She wasn't sure she wanted to him to leave, but she wouldn't say she wasn't entirely disappointed when he stood up to go. He offered up his hand and she took it (an awfully professional goodbye that seemed somehow insufficient).
"It was nice to meet you. Guess I'll see you if you decide to hang around."
She nodded and watched without getting up as he left. He held the door behind him to muffle the sound when he left. It was the kind of polite she supposed you really could only find in a town like Haven (or from a guy like Nathan), and she couldn't help but shake her head as she leaned back and fell into the mattress.
It wasn't a bad mattress, so she supposed she could hang around for another night.
He closed the door behind him, careful to not let it make too much noise as the latch slid into place. Didn't want to wake anyone at this hour (mostly didn't want the Chief to hear he'd been coming out of her room this late).
It wasn't actually that late, he supposed. Just about ten, actually; but it seemed like the day had stretched on forever. He wasn't sure if it was the Trouble or Parker (who seemed like her own special kind of trouble).
He kind of thought it was the latter.
He wondered if she really was from around here and what that would mean for her. He'd been tense earlier, but she'd been right. Hard as the Chief was at least he knew where he came from; and he had a place to call home. From the way she'd moved around that motel room (with a familiarity that made him more than a little sad) it didn't seem like she had either.
Seemed odd that she thought she'd find her home in Haven, but anything was possible he supposed.
At least there were good pancakes.
(If she stuck around, he thought he just might take her out for some one day).