this is the final part to my short fic about these two amazing characters. it's a longer one, because I wanted to get a lot out without cutting it into another chapter. fingers crossed they work things out in the show, now! thank you to everyone who read and favourited and reviewed!


It was the crying that woke him up.

Glancing at the clock on his bedside table as he quickly pulled his only pair of pajama pants on told him it was after 3 in the morning. Another cry, louder this time, came from the room across the hall, making him cringe.

Nathan opened his bedroom door and crossed the hall in a few steps, opening the door to Audrey's room and hitting the light switch. She was laying in bed, her sheets wrapped around her legs and her hair all over the pillow, a look of distress on her face. She cried out again and rolled over frantically in her sleep, as if trying to escape from someone. It pained Nathan to see her like this.

He quickly went to her bedside, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently grabbing her shoulders. Her response was immediate and violent, twisting and turning while tears ran down her face, trying to escape his touch.

"Parker" he said firmly, giving her shoulders a squeeze. He noticed how cold and clammy her skin felt, and his hands tightened with worry. "Parker, you're okay, but you need to wake up."

Audrey whimpered and tried to roll over, her face turning away from him. Nathan let go of one of her shoulders to smooth her hair off her face before gently touching her cheek. "Audrey, you're safe now. There's nothing here to hurt you" he said in a low voice, continuing to gently reassure her with his soft touches. "Just wake up."

Audrey continued to cry and whimper for a few more minutes while Nathan whispered reassuring words to her, until finally her eyes flew open with a cry and she shot up in bed, nearly colliding with Nathan head-on.

Initially a look of confusion crossed her eyes at her unfamiliar surroundings, causing her to instinctively shrink away. "Parker…" Her teary eyes jumped over to Nathan, who smiled when he caught her eyes. "It's okay, Parker, you were having a nightmare."

She stared at him for a few long moments before a quiet sob escaped her lips. "Nathan…" It came out choked as she lunged towards him, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face in his chest. It took Nathan a moment to react, the shock of her arms connecting with his bare chest, but he quickly pulled her in tight and held her, rubbing her back with one of his hands while she collected herself.

They didn't move for quite some time. Nathan didn't let her go until she pulled away first, soaking in the feel of her arms around his bare chest, but wishing it was happening under happier circumstances.

When Audrey's sniffles and shakes finally subsided, she gently pulled away, straightening out. She avoided his eyes while she rubbed at her face, hoping she didn't look too horrid. "Well, this is sort of embarrassing…" she admitted in a low voice. "I'm not usually the one to play the damsel in distress."

Nathan smiled lightly as he watched her try to hide her face from him. "You're nothing close to a damsel in distress, Parker. Don't worry. You went through a traumatic event and you're not over it yet. There's nothing wrong with that." His voice was gentle, and it pulled her eyes up to meet his. "You're still the toughest woman I've ever known."

Audrey gave a little smile and rubbed her eyes again before looking back at him. "Thank you for coming to my rescue."

Nathan returned her easy smile and reached over, gently smoothing some of her bedhead down. "Anytime, Parker. That's what partners are for." Audrey nodded slowly, a look crossing her face that Nathan couldn't decipher before it was gone again. "Are you going to be alright going back to sleep?"

Audrey nodded slowly again, watching as Nathan stood up, but grabbing his hand before he walked away. "Nathan...I don't want to sound childish...and in no way do I want you to feel obligated...but can you stay with me tonight?" Her voice was nothing but a whisper by the end, but her grip on his hand was strong. "It's just…" she continued awkwardly, "I feel safe when you're with me, and I think I'll sleep better knowing you're close."

Nathan's heart raced and his eyes softened. He gave her hand a squeeze, causing Audrey to look up at him. "Of course, Parker. Is it okay if I…" he trailed off, gesturing to the bed.

Audrey's cheeks flushed slightly and she nodded. Nathan gave her hand a final squeeze before letting go and walking back over to the door and hitting the light switch.

He found his way back to the bed and crawled under the sheets, careful to stay on his side of bed, not knowing what her boundaries were and not wanting to make things awkward. "Goodnight, Parker." he whispered, sure that if he could feel it, his heart would be pounding out of his chest.

He felt a hesitant hand reach over and find his, grasping it under the covers and making his breath hitch. "Goodnight, Nathan." came her quiet voice before he felt her lips brush against his cheek, eliciting a small gasp from his mouth that he was sure she didn't miss.


He came to slowly in the morning, drifting back into consciousness. Birds were chirping outside, and sunlight was streaming through the window, hitting his face and waking up his senses.

A soft moan came from beside him, hair tickling his neck and nearly causing him to jump before the events of the night before came back to him in a flood. Audrey was dozing beside him, one of her arms draped lazily over his bare chest, her head resting on his shoulder, and one of her legs tangled in his. Nathan took note of all the places where her skin was touching his, sending warm signals through his body, trying to contain the overwhelming sense of...presence. He hadn't felt this much of his own body in years, and every time Audrey shifted the slightest amount, little shock waves coursed through him. He could feel the warm sunlight on his neck, where her hair was spread out on his skin.

Nathan sighed in contentment, thinking how he could wake up every morning like this and never get tired of it. He moved his head as slowly as possible, as not to wake her, but to look down at her. She was breathing softly, her mouth open slightly, and she looked beautiful. Nathan lifted his free arm and reached over to lay his hand on her shoulder gently, caressing the skin there. Audrey sighed in her sleep, tightening her hold on his stomach, and making his insides flutter. Nathan smoothed her hair back, and laid a slow kiss on her forehead, reveling in the feel of her skin on his lips.

He felt Audrey stir, waking up, but he didn't move away from her or take his hand off her shoulder, feeling at peace for the first time in a long while, and wanting to see how she reacted when she saw the position they'd gotten themselves into in their sleep.

Another small moan escaped her lips as he felt her stretch out her legs, before opening her sleepy eyes. She didn't move at first, but just stared at his chin, as if trying to register what was going on before she moved. Slowly, her head tilted up to look in Nathan's eyes, which were already looking down at her.

"Good morning, Parker." Nathan whispered with a small smile on his lips.

Audrey still didn't move, just looking up at him with unreadable eyes, until her arm tightened around his stomach once more, making Nathan close his eyes and sigh. "Good morning, Nathan" she whispered back. He looked back at her to see a small smile on her lips as she gazed at him. "Looks like I couldn't stay on my side of the bed." she joked, giving his side a little squeeze.

Nathan let out a breathy laugh. "Looks like it, yes." He rubbed her shoulder with his free hand, feeling little goosebumps rise up to his touch. Audrey sighed and snuggled in closer to him, eliciting a sigh from him as well.

"Nathan…" her voice was a whisper as she pulled herself free from his hand, leaning on an elbow to look down at him. Nathan looked up into her eyes, trying to read her expression. She licked her lips quickly, opening her mouth to say something else, but in that moment her phone went off, pulling them both from the moment. Audrey sighed and rolled over, rummaging through her bag for her phone while Nathan lifted both his hands to his face in silent frustration. He untangled himself from the sheets and got up while she read the message on her phone, deleting it when she saw it was nothing important. She looked over at Nathan standing by the door, a reserved look on his face as he gazed back at her.

"I'll go make us some breakfast" he said, giving her one more look before turning and walking towards the kitchen.

Audrey's shoulders slumped once he left the room, throwing her phone back into her bag. "Stupid, stupid…" she mumbled under her breath. She put her head in her hands, massaging her temples and thinking back to how good it had felt being in his arms.

She heard Nathan coming back down the hall, and raised her head, quickly getting the pained look off her face as she watched him walk back into the room. He didn't say a word, and looked at nothing but her eyes, as he walked around the bed to her side and swiftly leaned down, placing his hands on both sides of her head and kissing her soundly.

Audrey froze up, but her mind raced as she tried to figure out of this was a dream or not. The kiss was soft and gentle, but there was an undoubtable amount of love being communicated in that moment. 'Not a dream. Definitely not a dream!' her mind screamed as her heart soared. Nathan gently turned her head, deepening the kiss while a sigh escaped his lips.

Audrey quickly reached up, placing one hand on the side of his face while the other went to his chest, feeling the hard muscles under his skin, and pulling another sigh from Nathan's lips. Gently, she tugged at the back of his head, pulling him down onto the bed. Nathan put up no resistance, moving over her carefully as she laid back down, their lips never parting. He leaned on one elbow, turning so they were both on their sides, running his other hand over her hip and side, making her moan softly.

"Nathan…" His name sounded like silk on her lips, and Nathan smiled into their kiss, hardly believing this was happening. He'd wanted to kiss her like this for so long. He could feel every little touch from her, every breath, every movement, and the feel of her skin on his hands and lips was almost too much for his senses. He broke the kiss and pulled her flush against his body, trailing soft kisses along her jawline before continuing down her neck, feeling her heartbeat against his lips.

Audrey clung to him, breathing heavily, her head spinning. When he finally pulled back to look her in the eyes, she could see all his emotions spinning too, and she knew he'd wanted this just as long as he had, if not longer. A smile broke out across her face, and his smile mirrored it, uncharacteristically unreserved for him when it came to showing emotions. Audrey ran a hand along his face, cupping his cheek, letting out a breathy laugh as he leaned into it, kissing the palm of her hand. "You're beautiful, Audrey." he sighed, looking into her eyes with a smile.

Audrey smiled, and leaned in to rest her forehead on his. "I love it when you say my name like that." she whispered. Nathan smiled, hugging her close and laying back against the sheets, so she was resting on top of him. Audrey laughed lightly and looked down at him, smoothing his hair off his forehead.

"I want you to be happy all the time, Audrey. It pains me to see you upset or scared." he admitted, running his hands up and down her arms.

Audrey smiled at leaned in, placing a slow and gentle kiss on his lips, feeling his hands tighten on her shoulders. "Then I guess you'll just have to stick around, since you're what makes me the happiest." she whispered with a breathy laugh.

Nathan laughed lightly, too. "Parker, that was probably the cheesiest thing I've ever heard you say, and I don't even care."

Audrey laughed more before laying her head down on his chest, holding onto him and listening to his heart beat. "How about I make us some pancakes?" she said after a few minutes.

"I thought you didn't want to eat them, you know, after-"

"I think they're making a comeback." Audrey said, sitting up and looking at him, a smile on her face. Nathan smiled back at her, getting up with her and heading for the kitchen together.

"Toughest person I know."

Audrey reached over and found his hand, intertwining their fingers. "I couldn't do it alone."


that's it! hope you all liked it. as much as i would love to see them have the heartfelt "I love you, I love you too" moment, I didn't feel this fic needed it. These two seem to be more "actions speak louder", so I tried to keep it at that.