Lunch was less awkward than Audrey had thought. Duke, as promised, paid for the food and even drove them back to the station. Audrey and Duke took a long time saying goodbye, in Nathan's opinion, and in the end he got sick of the inside jokes and went to the office, grunting as a 'so you finally arrived' kind of way when she eventually drifted in. When she didn't tease him, Nathan looked up curiously. Audrey was staring out the window like a love-sick school girl, smiling giddily and sighing every now and again. Nathan managed five minutes of this before he snapped.
"Audrey, are you ok?" he looked her in the eye and thought he saw a pink sheen in them. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, and it was gone. Damn mind playing tricks, he thought sourly.
"Hmmm?" Audrey looked at him as thought she had just noticed he was there. She hadn't picked her pen up in the five minutes he had been watching her. Nathan repeated the question.
"Me?" she sighed, looking out the window again "I'm fiiiiiiine." Another sigh, and a troubled glance at Nathan "Nathan, d'you think Duke likes me?" Nathan blinked and stared at her.
"Yeah, sure," he leaned back in his chair "are you sure you're ok? You're acting. . ." he looked her up and down doubtfully "strange." She nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah," another sigh "I feel fiiiiiine."
"Alright, that's it," Nathan slammed down his pen and stood up "get your coat."
"Where are we going?" she hopped up happily, no questions asked – now Nathan knew something was wrong.
"The hospital." He put her coat on her as she didn't seem up for it and led her by the elbow out the Station and into the truck.
"Is there something wrong with me?" she said, mildly curious but already staring out the window in the direction of the docks.
"I don't know," mumbled Nathan "but I'm going to find out."
"Well?" Nathan asked the Doctor as soon as he left the examining room "What's wrong with her?"
"Nothing medically," he said, peering at Nathan over his glasses "she's fine. Healthy, fit, good diet – I even took blood samples. They came back negative on everything I tested them for. Physically, she's a perfect example of health and fitness."
"That implies that there is something wrong mentally." Said Nathan tightly. Psychological problems were much harder to fix than physical ones. The Doctor shrugged.
"I'm not a Psychologist. I don't have the training to tell if there's something up in that mind of hers. If you want to, here's the number of a specialist you can take her to," he dug around in his pockets until he came up with a white laminated business card "apart from that, there's nothing I can do." He tightened his lips sympathetically before walking off. Nathan sighed heavily before entering the examination room. Audrey was sitting on the paper-clad bed, swinging her feet over the end and wearing a far-away look.
"Hey, Parker." He held her coat in his hands "Let's get you home." She nodded mutely and let him put her coat on her, like a father would his child. This is wrong, Nathan though as he led her out, holding the back of her jacket to stop her running off and spinning around like a little girl in a field of flowers, Audrey would care about missing work, she would ask about it. This is not Audrey.
He took her back home and made sure she was comfortable, calling the Station to tell Chief what had happened. He sounded disgusted by her girlish behaviour and told her to take as long off as she needed to get back to normal. When Audrey was asleep, still smiling and giggling, Nathan let himself out. He shut the door and turned to see two dark-clad figures walking towards him.
"Are you Officer Nathan Wuornos?" a woman with curly hair asked when they got close enough to be heard.
"Yes," Nathan's hand hovered over his police badge and gun "and you are?"
"We were told you would be here with your partner Agent Audrey Parker. Where is she?" the man with the sunglasses – in the winter – cut in.
"She's inside – now who are you?" Nathan pressed, his hand on his gun, widening his stance into something more steady.
"We're from the Secret Service; my name is Agent Myka Bering, and this is my partner Agent Pete Lattimer."