Haven: Until She Wakes Again
Author's Note: Just a little present for RazielOmega, DixieSiryn and my writing partner Ceci. First time writing Haven OT3 fic, but not my first time writing an OT3 pairing. Hope it will suffice. Enjoy, Haven fans!
Three days and nights remain until Audrey goes into the Barn.
She doesn't want to go in, fighting her destiny until the end, but she knows she has no choice.
There is no other option.
Audrey Parker's short time in Haven will reach its climactic crescendo and find its resolution, screeching to a timely halt in just 72 hours.
Nightmares plague her continuously. Nightmares she has no control over. Nightmares she cannot change. Her greatest fear lingers around her like a storm cloud lurking, waiting for an imminent downpour.
What if they come true?
Haven will become a different Haven as soon as she sets foot inside that Barn.
Will it be a better Haven? Will Haven be better off without her?
Nathan and Duke will have each other. They'll keep the town safe and secure, maintaining some sense of balance within it until Audrey returns in 27 years.
They'll always have each other, but they'll count the days, weeks, months and years until Audrey's presence heals the town and makes them whole.
Until she wakes again.
Nathan will finally be able to feel Duke's fingers against his skin, his body warm and alive. He'll inhale Duke's bourbon-infused breath as Duke whispers reassurances and promises against his skin. When friction and heat erupts inside both of their bodies and their lovemaking comes to an irreversible peak, they will lock eyes for a few sacred moments, pausing in memory of the woman they both love.
Three nights before Audrey's departure from Haven, she wakes up screaming. Her body bolts upright as sweat forms in a thin line along her forehead.
"Parker?" she hears Nathan's voice first, followed by Duke's.
"Audrey?"
Both voices do little to mask the concern they share.
Audrey tries to fight back tears, which inevitably fall anyway, as Nathan's hand comes to rest against her upper left arm and Duke's hand lingers against her bare right shoulder.
"Can't I just be selfish for once?" she wonders aloud, almost shouting through the haze of tears. "Can't I just stay here? I'm pretty sure my previous incarnations and my future ones won't have what I have now."
"We'll wait," Nathan reassures her, stroking her arm gently before leaning forward and pressing a feather-light kiss against her tear-stained cheek.
"You know we will," Duke says, his fingers gently combing out the tangles in her mussed blonde hair. He softly kisses her shoulder, lips caressing her warm skin.
Eventually, she settles back against the pillow, against Nathan and Duke. They form a protective cocoon around her, keeping her warm, keeping her safe.
Reminding her that she's still here.
Two nights before Audrey's departure from Haven, Nathan and Duke decide to keep her awake with stories from their childhood and adolescence.
Duke's first girlfriend.
Nathan's first girlfriend.
The time sixteen-year-old Duke stole alcohol from Garland's liquor cabinet and convinced Nathan to share it with him.
How absolutely unromantic their first kiss was. Against a brick wall next to dumpster full of reeking garbage, though the smell hadn't seemed to bother them then.
Sitting between the two of them on her couch, Audrey giggles. A bowl of popcorn balances precariously on her lap as she throws a buttered piece at each of them.
In retaliation, Duke scoops up a handful of popcorn and throws some at her before he brings another piece to her mouth and teases her lips open, feeding her.
He then throws some at Nathan and a popcorn fight ensues.
Later, she's the first to fall asleep, still covered in popcorn. Nathan and Duke clear the floor of popcorn, then remove all remaining pieces from each other and Audrey, careful not to wake her.
Once they finish, Nathan lifts her into his arms and carries her to bed as Duke pulls back the covers.
After they tuck her in, they take turns kissing her forehead and both murmur "Goodnight, Audrey" before exchanging brief kisses between them. They climb into the bed, one on either side of her, as they keep her nightmares at bay for another night.
One night before Audrey's departure from Haven, she tosses and turns, waking up hysterical.
But it's not her tears that scare them. It's the fact that she can't stop shaking. She can't calm down.
Nathan and Duke exchange worried glances and Duke slips out of bed, bare feet sliding against the polished floor.
Meanwhile, Nathan takes Audrey in his arms, murmuring soft-spoken words of reassurance into her hair.
When Duke returns, he holds a pill bottle in his hand.
"Audrey, what's this?"
She eyes the bottle, then looks down.
"Sleeping pills."
"And what is an unopened bottle of sleeping pills that Claire prescribed for you over a month ago doing in your medicine cabinet?"
"I don't want to take them," she says quietly, not meeting Duke's eyes.
"Why not?" Nathan asks gently.
"Because," she begins, emotion filling her voice. "I don't want to take them and never wake up again. What if I never wake up and never see either of you again? I couldn't… With how little time I have left, I just couldn't live with myself knowing that could be a possibility."
Well, that would certainly explain how exhausted she'd been when she came into work at the station. It would explain why Nathan had to buy her two cups of coffee with three sugars each. That would explain the exhaustion Duke had been noticing when he cooked dinner for her at night and sometimes brought her an extra slice of cake for dessert.
"Audrey," Duke says softly, smiling, and reaching out to stroke her cheek with his thumb. "You won't lose us. You'll never lose us."
Gently, he presses his lips to hers. Barely, but it's enough.
Duke looks over at Nathan for confirmation. "Right, Nate?"
He nods in agreement. Kisses her with the same gentleness, the same quiet passion.
"We'll always be here for you, Parker," he whispers, taking her hand and squeezing it gently, a feeling of euphoria washing over both of them.
The enormity and genuineness of their words hit her hard. She loves both of them unconditionally. The same way they love her.
Finally, she whispers the words she feels in her heart.
"I love you. Both of you."
Nathan carefully wipes a stray tear from her cheek as Duke shakes two sleeping pills from the bottle and holds them out to her.
"Please take them," he begs quietly. "Get a good night's sleep tonight."
Audrey almost laughs at the irony. "Won't I be sleeping for another 27 years starting tomorrow night?"
"Parker," Nathan intones firmly. "As much as I love him, you know I still don't say this often, but listen to Duke."
"Thank you, Chief Obvious," Duke quips wryly.
Duke's teasing brings a small smile to Audrey's lips as she obliges and takes the pills from him. Nathan reaches for the glass of water they always keep on the bedside table, especially the last several nights.
She swallows each one with ease and tries to breathe again.
"Sleep, Audrey," they both tell her, caressing her face and gently massaging her back.
Not long after, her eyes flutter closed as she lies entangled with the men she loves. Her head rests on Nathan's chest and her legs are tangled with Duke's. They wait until she's fast asleep before they both tumble into a distant dreamland themselves.
A dreamland where the three of them can be together as they are – a dream where Audrey never has to leave.
The time arrives for Audrey to go into the Barn.
Taking a deep breath, she approaches the enormous structure.
A part of her just wants to run in, never looking back. But the other part of her knows she can't do that. She must say goodbye.
Suddenly, Duke's hand interlaces with hers, then Nathan takes her other hand.
"We're all going in," Duke insists. "The three of us."
"The three of us," Nathan agrees.
Audrey smiles. She walks into the Barn knowing they'll both be with her no matter what. Always by her side and by each other's side.
Darkness envelops her and she sinks into unconsciousness. But now, Nathan and Duke are both there with her.
And they'll wait. They'll wait as long as it takes.
Six months. One year. Two years. Five years. Twenty-seven years.
Until she wakes again.
Fin.
Author's Note: Reviews are like cherries of awesome, so please leave me some!