Follow Your Fate

Summary: Audrey Parker had found out she'd had been many different people and lived many different lives. She had found answers to her questions and more questions than answers. But one question remained. Can you fight your fate?

Countdown: Seventeen Days Left

Nathan sat at his desk trying to concentrate on the file in front of him. He was trying to ignore her but she just sat there staring at him, if he looked up she'd smile but she wouldn't say anything unless he spoke first. "You really don't have to do this" he said taking a quick glance at her then looking back the paper on his desk.

"I do, it's my job" Claire replied. "You were brought back from the dead, Chief Wuornos. That has to have some kind of effect on you"

"Not really, I don't remember dying. I just woke up and I was fine" he told her and again trying to concentrate.

"You woke in the morgue" she said to him. She nodded her head "Okay, we'll go back to that." She said and changed the subject. "How did you feel seeing Audrey there?" They both got nervous when she asked them about each other. But that was the only time she could really get any kind of emotion out of them.

Nathan looked up but avoided eye contact with her. "She's my partner; she would care if something happened to me"

"I'm not asking how you think she felt, I'm asking how you felt" Claire said moving her head to meet his eyes.

He cleared his throat, scratched his neck and answered "Fine"

"Fine as in handsome, lovely…hot?" she said with small smile.

His brows furrowed slightly, he shifted uncomfortable in his chair. "Fine as in, okay, good, healthy" he answered. "Aren't we supposed to be talking about my coming back from the dead?" he asked.

"We are" Claire replied. His mannerism told her he hadn't heard Audrey's confession of love. How could he, the sun hadn't set yet. He was still dead. No matter how many things she's seen since she started working here, this town still managed to surprise her.

There was a knock on his door. "Chief, sorry to interrupt" the officer said.

"It's fine, what is it?" he asked hoping for a case.

"We got a call to look into something at Schooner Park."

"I'll take it" he said getting up quickly. "I guess we'll have to finish this later" he said to Claire.

"I'm going with you. I have to evaluate you in the field and make sure there are no adverse effects" She replied getting up and picking her coat of the chair.

Nathan nodded stiffly. Now he could see why Parker didn't like this. Although she was seeing her a lot, so maybe she could be trusted. He just didn't like talking about his life to anyone. He grabbed his coat and walked out the door.

He pulled his truck up to the curb and got out. He heard the door of her car close behind him; if she was going to come with him he told her she had to drive her own car. This was police business and she wasn't a cop and he didn't want to have to talk on the ride over. He wanted to just focus on his job.

He walked through the grass to where his officers were gathered around a tree where the unmistakable outline of a body was hanging from a rope. He walked faster and heard her soft footfalls hurrying to catch up with him.

"Suicide?" he asked the officer that had walked up to meet him.

"It appears that way, but hanging yourself is a hell of a way to do it" the officer replied.

He slowed when he saw the faces of the officers looking at the still swinging body. Claire caught up to him and he grabbed her wrist to stop her from going further. He whipped his hand from her wrist as if he had been burned, his heart beat sped up and his breathing increased as he stared at his hand.

Claire looked at her wrist and at him. It looked like he had been shocked but she feel anything.

He was still staring at his hand when officer Wagner came over to him. "Name's George Brewster." He told him sadly. "My wife's friends with his wife, she just had a baby yesterday."

Nathan shook his head and tried to focus on what Officer Wagner was saying. But all he could think about was the warm soft skin he felt underneath his fingertips, he felt her. They only person he could feel was Audrey. Before thinking about it he reached out and grabbed Officer Wagner's hand. The Officer looked at him strangely. He felt nothing like he was supposed to. Nathan let go of him and tried to play it off as he thought was leaving. "Uh…you said his wife just had a baby?"

"Yes" the officer replied.

He was trying to concentrate, but why could he feel her. He was thinking of Audrey, did his mind just manifest what she felt like. No, that's never happened before. The troubles were still here, why could he feel her? He looked to his side and saw that Claire was gone.

"Was he having money trouble?" Claire asked going around looking at the body. His face was pale with dark spots under his eyes and his mouth drooped into a perpetual frown.

"No, Ma'am" Officer Wager answered. "He had a good job, he owns the Fish Market over on Main."

"Is there any signs this may be foul play?" he asked the medical examiner that was examining the body. "He hung himself, there are scratches on his hands from climbing the tree and I found strands of the rope that he put around his neck under his fingernails."

"Having a child is supposed to be one of the happiest moments in one's life. But this" Claire said getting closer to look at the body. "This looks as if someone drained all the happiness right out of him"

"A trouble" Nathan supplied.

"Yes, I would say it is." Claire told them unable to take her eyes off the body.

"Someone took all his happiness and then he killed himself" Nathan theorized. "Does Mr. Brewster have any enemies?" Nathan asked Officer Wagner.

"Not that I know of" Officer Wagner replied.

"Who else knew his wife had a baby?"

"Everyone, he was so excited he told most anyone that walked into his store"

"So anyone that goes to Brewster's Fish Market is a suspect" Nathan said with a sigh. He hadn't forgot what just happened but he needed to find the troubled person. George Brewster should be celebrating the birth of his child, not swinging from a tree.

"Audrey Parker" she heard her name called, she put the magazine down and stood up. She followed the nurse into the room and stood around nervously looking at everything on the wall.

"Miss Parker, I'm Dr. Martin" The doctor said as she entered the room; she was a pleasant looking woman, late forties with soft brown hair and sweet smile.

She lay on the table with her legs up while the doctor examined her. June Cogan didn't even know what year it was and she had been wrong before about who the Colorado Kid was to her, this time she could get actual proof. That's why she was here and it was a good thing this was Haven because she wouldn't be able to ask this strange request anywhere else.

The Doctor stood up and Audrey looked at her. "The stretching and scarring…indicates that you have given birth" the doctor told her.

Audrey closed her eyes and took deep breaths. The doctor cleaned up and Audrey got dressed still trying to process everything. She had been pregnant and had a baby. The Colorado Kid was her son.

Her phone started ringing; she took it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. "Thank you" she said to the Doctor and walked out of the room "Nathan" she said as she answered the call. "A trouble?" she asked as she listened to Nathan tell her what had happened.

"Looks that way, Dr. Callahan thinks this person can take happiness away" Nathan said to her. "You there Parker?" he asked when she didn't respond.

"Yes"

"His wife just had a baby, she still at the hospital. We should let her know"

"You know what; I'm near the hospital so I'll take care of it." Audrey told him and moved further into an empty hallway so Nathan couldn't hear the intercoms and realize she was already at the hospital. She wanted to tell him what she discovered now that she knew it was true, but not over the phone.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, you should probably talk to the employees at his store and see if we can narrow the suspect list down"

Audrey stood outside the room looking in at Marianne Brewster holding her newborn son and smiling at him. She knew she should be thinking how awful it would be to tell this new mother that her husband was dead, but all she could think about was did she ever hold James like that? Was she as happy as this woman is being a mother?

"Audrey?" Claire asked walking over to her. Nathan told her Audrey was going to tell wife. She drove over to help because Audrey had been acting strange ever since she and Duke got back from Colorado. Something happened and she wanted to know what, but she couldn't push the issue. Not if she wanted Audrey to tell her. When she arrived she saw Audrey just standing outside Mrs. Brewster's room staring in. "Audrey?" she said again because she wasn't answering. Audrey turned her head slowly registering her presence. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yes" Audrey replied unconvincingly. She was still trying to process it and seeing this woman and her son was pushing all these questions into her mind. She had a son, but she didn't because Sarah had a son and she wasn't Sarah anymore. She closed her eyes and exhaled. She needed to focus, the past was over, she can't think about that. She had to do her job and then continue to look for James Cogan, because he may have answers to her questions.

"You said this trouble takes people's happiness" she said and looked back in the room. "Look how happy she is…how am I any better? I'm going to go in there and take away her happiness." She knocked on the door and walked inside. "Mrs. Brewster, I'm Detective Parker"

"I know who you are." she responded suspiciously.

Audrey nodded at the nurse who took baby from her arms. She waited until the nurse left with the baby. Marianne Brewster pushed herself up to a sitting position as Audrey walked closer to her. "I'm here about your husband"

"George" she said as her eyes locked on to hers as she took a seat next to the bed.

Audrey stared into the woman's eyes. "I'm sorry" Audrey said to her.

The woman's hand went to her chest. "No!" she said loudly as her body convulsed forward and she started crying.

She hated this, telling them wasn't the worst part. The worst part was asking them questions after they had just received the worst news in their lives. "I'm so sorry to have to ask you this now" she said and continued. "Does your husband have anyone that would want to…hurt him?"

"No" she replied as tears streamed down her face. "We're a family…"

Audrey breathed deeply again. "Was there anyone suspicious hanging around you or your husband in the last few days?"

"It was a troubled person that killed him, wasn't it?" she asked.

Audrey looked at the woman, she knew about the troubles. She suspected the whole town did and they pretended they didn't. "We're not entirely sure, but it looks like it. Do you know anyone whose trouble can take away…happiness?"

She looked at her in shock. "They can take away happiness?" she asked and started sobbing again.

Audrey stood up. "I'm sorry" she said again unable to look the woman in the eyes. "If you think of anyone…please call us so we can catch this person before they…" She couldn't even finish her sentence she had to get out of here. Marianne Brewster nodded her head and Audrey walked out of her room.

Tbc..