The laughter had stopped. The voice, the one that froze his blood with fear, was silent. Nathan knew better than to move just yet. Mama was also silent. That didn't make sense. Shouldn't she have been crying from all the times she'd been hit? Or, calling to him that it was safe to come back out? Something was very wrong. He strained his ears to pick up on the slightest sound. There was one sound in particular that he was listening for and dreading at the same time. Then, it came: Heavy, deliberate steps were coming closer. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the footsteps stopped right outside his hiding place. He knew where Nathan was; he always knew. Any moment, the little door would be ripped open and he'd be dragged out. It was going to be bad. The worst part would be what he would say when Nathan cried out.

"At least you can still feel it."

"Nathan!" A voice cried, jarring him awake. He leapt up with a gasp. Still trapped in his dream, his hands flew up to shield his face from attack.

"No, Nathan, it's all right." The voice called again. It was familiar; a woman's. Hands that belonged to the voice reached up to pull his down. The sudden skin to skin contact snapped him to full wakefulness. Opening his eyes, he was met with the face of his partner. As the rest of his surroundings came into focus, he saw that he was on the couch in their office.

"Audrey? What's-What are you-"

"Hey, it's okay. You were just having a bad dream." Audrey soothed, keeping her hands in his. Nathan gripped them like they were a lifeline. "The antibiotics must've been making you sleepier than I thought. When I got back from grabbing our lunch, you were stretched out over here. I was going to let you sleep, but, you started twisting around. I was afraid you'd hurt yourself.:

"Right. Thank you." He sighed as the morning came back to him. The antibiotics he was taking for the puncture wounds from the nail gun were making him tired. So was not sleeping much at night, but, that was a different story. He'd only intended to close his eyes for the few minutes it would've taken for her to go to the sandwich shop and back.

"Don't mention it." She replied, giving his hands a squeeze. "Now, let me check your back."

Nathan reluctantly let go of her hands as he sat up to let her look him over. A quick peek under the collar of his shirt assured her that the bandages were still in place. Then, she got up to retrieve the sandwiches she'd set on her desk when she came in and closed the office door.

"It was closed when I came in. No one saw you dozing." She assured him with a smile, sensing his unanswered question.

"I didn't think I'd drop off like that." Nathan explained apologetically.

"It's not surprising that you did. Although, you'd think that someone who has to ward off wound infections as often as you do would be used to the side affects by now." She teased, sitting down next to him and offering him one of the subs.

"Yeah, you'd think so." He agreed, not meeting her eyes.

"I mean, it's not like you're not getting enough sleep at night, or, anything." She went on with an easy shrug. His response was to stare at his sub as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. A little more seriously, she began again, "Come on, what's going on?"

"Parker, it was just a dream. I've already forgotten most of it." He lied, not wishing to make the scenes in his head any more real by talking about them.

"Nathan-"

"It's nothing. Please just drop it." He ordered, a little more sharply than he intended.

"Okay." She replied, a little hurt. With another shrug, Audrey got up and went to her desk. Although he wanted nothing more than for her to stay near, he let her go.

Lunch was spent in silence. Nathan felt like a jerk for pushing her away. However, didn't know how to apologize without opening the subject again. Glancing up from his PC he was relieved to see that Audrey had polished off her sandwich while working. Either his brush off hadn't upset her, or, she wasn't the type to avoid food when agitated. She offered him a small smile as she tossed the wrapper. He took that as a sign that things were fine between them. Still, he, made a mental note to pick up a few cupcakes on the way to work tomorrow morning.

"I could use an extra pair of eyes on this." Audrey said a little while later coming over to his desk.

"Sure, what's this on?" He asked, taking the file.

"An old case that may give us a few answers." Audrey explained vaguely as she sat on the other side.

"Answers on…oh." Nathan's question died on his lips as he opened the file. He was very familiar with the handwriting and the subject of the incident report in front of him.

"Answers on what you may have seen when you saw your worst fear." She answered softly. "And, why you've been having nightmares."

"It's-it's an old domestic violence report." He observed, trying to keep his voice steady and distance himself emotionally from the words on the paper in front of him. Right now, he wanted to shut the file and bolt. Why would she have looked for this? Why would she make him see it?

"Yes it is," she replied, "in which the two victims, a woman and her child, were assaulted with a bat. A neighbor called it into the station. Both victims were unconscious when the police came. The little boy was released from the hospital after a few days, but, the woman was in the hospital for at least two weeks."

"During which time the boy was cared for by her good childhood friend who just happened to be one of the officers responding to the call." Nathan continued for her, telling her what wasn't in the file. "The woman joined them once she was released. The suspect, her husband, couldn't be located even with a search."

"He didn't show up again until 1985 when he was arrested and convicted for the murder of a local family. They were married as soon as the divorce was finalized and the boy was officially adopted by the officer soon after." Audrey added.

"And the responding officer eventually became the Chief of Police." Nathan finished as he swallowed a lump in his throat. Although he didn't know it, a tear had already stained the paperwork in front of him.

"Given the head trauma that little boy sustained, and his age, it would be almost expected that he wouldn't recall anything about his early life." Audrey said gently as she came around to his side of the desk.

"Except for in nightmares." He agreed, closing the file as another drop stained the ink. "Ones that seemed too horrible to be real and were never discussed. Well, not until now."

Soft hands captured his face to bring his gaze up to hers. The gentle touch, and the kindness in her eyes undid him. His composure crumbled as he pulled her against him in a tight embrace. Audrey wrapped her arms around his shoulders and let him fall apart. The sobs muffled by her shirt weren't loud, but, they made his whole body shake. As much as it broke her heart to hear it, a part of her welcomed this release. Apart from the few initial tears she saw when they first lost the Chief, she doubt that Nathan had allowed himself to mourn. Nor had he allowed himself the time to process everything he'd discovered about his early past. At least she could comfort him as he gave into his grief. She held him close and ran a hand through his hair until he was quiet.

"Sorry," He murmured when they tears stopped.

"It's okay," she hushed, tightening her arms to keep him in place, "I'm happy to play human teddy bear whenever you need it. It's better than you resorting to the liquid variety at least."

"Have you been talking to Duke?" He questioned, shifting so that he could see her face again.

"He may have been little worried about you when he came by to tell me about the apartment." She admitted. "After all, you had two conversations in a row where no insults were exchanged and you didn't threaten him once."

"I am going to wallpaper that jeep of his with tickets. I don't care where it's parked." Nathan grumbled.

"I know, how dare he be concerned." Audrey laughed, giving the back of his head a pat before letting him go. He got up with a stretch, but, still stayed near.

"Was that when you pulled the paperwork?" He asked, glancing at the closed file.

"It was," she concurred. "When you refused to tell me what your fear was, and seemed so shaken up afterwards, I was worried. However, I didn't want to make things worse by confronting you if you weren't ready. When I saw you on the couch though, I knew I had to say something. I'm really sorry if I made it worse."

"You didn't," Nathan promised, dropping a kiss onto her head. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Audrey replied, smiling.

"I'm going to go wash up and then I'm calling it an early day." He said, walking towards the door.

"Sounds like a good idea. You need it."

"You're welcome to do the same." Nathan added, turning back. "It's not like you couldn't use the rest too."

"I could." She answered, still smiling, "I could also use some company as I finish setting up my new place. Whomever did come along could also help me test out my new griddle later on."

"Sounds like a very good idea…"

Author's Note: Thanks for all the positive reviews. There has been a certain reviewer, you know who you are, who has helpfully suggested a scene in which nightmares are chased away by Audrey's presence. Rest assurred something like that will come soon, but, maybe not in the way everyone thinks. ;-) More to follow this weekend.