takes place immediately after the events of 3x01 (contains spoilers for 3x01 too), where Nathan is taking Audrey home after they resolved the "alien" trouble and abduction. This episode was perfect, I think, so of course I wanted to add to the ending!
Sitting in the Bronco was a welcomed comfort for Audrey after the events of that evening. She hugged the Haven PD jacket closer to her body, trying to gather up all the warmth she could. Her hand still stung from where the glass had cut into her flesh, reminding her of the pain she had endured while trying to get away from her kidnapper.
Nathan was beside her, driving a little slower then normal as they headed towards The Grey Gull. She could see him glancing her way periodically, but chose not to acknowledge it. The look on his face when he had seen she was alright, and the hug they had shared were fresh in her mind, and Audrey was trying to cling to those moments of relief, focusing on that rather then the man who had kidnapped her, beat her, and killed the hotel owner before burning her body.
A shiver ran through Audrey's body, and Nathan must have noticed, because he immediately reached over and turned the heat up a bit more. "Parker…" his voice was quiet, careful. When she didn't respond or turn to look at him, he cleared his throat. "Parker, you're going to be alright. You're the toughest person I know, and you're safe now."
Audrey was quiet for a few long seconds before speaking. "Am I?" Nathan turned to look at her, his eyes sad. "Nathan, that man came into my home. He abducted me and tied me up where no one knew where I was. He beat me, and threatened me, asking me all these questions about Lucy, assuming I had the answers. This man knew more about me then I know about myself, and he…" her voice trailed off, and she swallowed the lump in her throat "he killed that woman. He burned her body, after I promised her I would help her get home safely." She finally turned her head to look at Nathan, and he could see the fear in her eyes. "Am I really going to be okay? I'm not so sure anymore. This man could have easily killed me if he wanted to. He knows where I live, Nathan…"
Nathan was just pulling into The Grey Gull parking lot. He turned off the ignition and shifted on his seat so he was facing her. "Parker, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You're safe now." When she didn't look at him, he reached over and touched her shoulder. "Parker, look at me." Audrey's head turned towards him, and he gave her a little smile. "You're safe now. Let's get you inside."
Audrey studied his eyes for a long moment before nodding, not looking entirely convinced, but willing to hear him out. Nathan gave her shoulder a little squeeze before opening his car door and stepping out. He came around the car and helped her down out of the Bronco, and followed her up the stairs to her apartment.
Audrey paused in front of the door, looking at it with a sense of dread. Nathan stopped with her, looking at the door. He looked down at Audrey, seeing the way she was staring, and stepped ahead of her, gently pulling the door open and hitting the light switch inside.
The apartment was a mess. Chairs flipped over, the cupboards in the kitchen area were all open and spilling out pots and pans, a vase of flowers was smashed on the floor. The entire place smelled of burnt pancakes, and there was a haze of smoke hovering in the room. Audrey's hands flew to her mouth as she scanned the damage done to her home.
"Stay by the door, there's glass all over the place" Nathan said as he stepped into the apartment, turning off the grill in the kitchen and opening a few windows. Audrey did as he said and stood there, gripping her coat and watching as Nathan tried to sweep up all the glass around the kitchen table.
"Why did he…" her voice was weak and trailed off as she looked over to her bed, where the sheets were ripped. "What was he looking for? He did all this after I was knocked out…"
Nathan dumped all the glass he could find in her trash bin, which has also been thrown across the room, and went to her bedside to find her some shoes. "I don't know, Parker. Maybe he thought he would find something relating to where the Colorado Kid is now." He came back to the door and placed a pair of her flats by her feet. "Here. So you don't cut your feet on any glass I missed."
Audrey thanked him in a small voice and slid the shoes on, walking past him and into the wreckage of her apartment. Nathan watched her go from corner to corner, seeing what had been broken and what was still intact, his eyes studying her body language. Finally, she picked a chair up off the floor and sat on it gingerly, looking over at him. "Nathan, I don't know if I can stay here tonight" she said honestly. "This place is a mess, and it'll take days to clean, and even when it is clean, I need to sleep here, and the locks on the doors need to get changed and…" her voice trailed off again when she saw the shriveled up, black pancake on the grill by the sink. She looked at it for a while before turning her head back towards the door to look at him. "I had this really nice dinner planned for us." Her voice cracked, and Nathan noticed how she was pulling the coat tighter around her small frame. He started walking towards her as she continued talking. "I was making pancakes, and had these nice flowers set out on the table. And I lit some candles, and picked out this shirt, because it's one of the nicest ones I have…" Her fingers were playing with the hem of her silky shirt now, and she looked utterly defeated.
Nathan knelt in front of her, putting his hands on the arm rests of the chair she was sitting in, and looking up at her. "Parker, I'm sorry this didn't turn out how we wanted. I was looking forward to having dinner with you." His voice was soft, and it pulled her eyes up to his own. "I spent too long trying to pick out which tie I should wear, out of the three I own, and wondering if I was overdressing, or if I should buy you flowers before I came over to meet you." The corners of Audrey's lips turned up in the smallest of smiles as she looked down at him, mirroring his own small smile. "I'm just relieved that you're home now. When I came here and saw that you were gone…"
Audrey reached down and gently placed one of her hands on his, feeling the way his grip on the arm rest tightened, and seeing the way his eyes fluttered closed and his lips parted slightly. She loves the way he reacts when she touches him, even though she knows it's partially because he spends all his time entirely numb. She slowly stoked his hand with her fingers, watching as his eyes slowly opened to look at her.
"You can come stay at my house tonight, if you're not comfortable staying here." Nathan said finally. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable leaving you here alone after all this, to be honest. I have a spare room you can sleep in, and tomorrow we'll work on changing your locks and cleaning this place up once you're rested."
Audrey took another look around the room and sighed. "Thank you Nathan." She let go of his hand and he got up. She stood slowly and tucked the chair under the table, trying to add one little piece of normalcy to the room. "Just let me grab some clothes, and we can go."
that's it for chapter one! originally this was just going to be one long fic, but i've decided to split it into a few pieces. I already have the second half mostly written, so it'll be up soon enough! thanks for reading, and hope you liked it.