Back to Daphne's POV . I know I haven't updated this in forever, so I appreciate anyone who's still reading – but I know we've all been totally sidetracked by the new season.
Just to note - we're still in third season here – so there's no Lexie (yet), and I SWEAR, I started writing Vince's back story BEFORE the show did ;), so that's probably going to be a little different (however, I love that we're finally getting more Vince and Dave history on the show!)
For anyone still reading or reading this for the first time, thank you for the comments and for taking the time to read this fic! I love comments and would love to know what your thoughts are!
I grabbed a Duke Alumni sweatshirt from on top of my dresser and threw it over the tank top and yoga pants. "Can we take this discussion out of my bedroom?" I motioned to the door and the three of them made their way out of it. I followed, pulling the door shut behind me.
"We weren't trying to eavesdrop, we just stopped by to see how you're doing." Audrey shifted her weight from one leg to another uncomfortably.
"Better, thanks." I answered, just as awkwardly. "I'm seeing Dr. Sutton for a follow-up tomorrow. Since he was my mother's doctor, I'm going to ask him for her medical records. Not just to see if there's anything about her family medical history, I want to see if there's anything about her health around the time she died."
"Haven't you asked your dad about that?" Duke dropped into one of the armchairs. "He would know if your mom had any medical issues, wouldn't he?"
"If he does, he's not telling me." I shrugged. "And I'm pretty sure he's not telling me something."
The room fell silent. I felt myself growing irritated with Nathan, whose expression was one of annoyed anger – he and Audrey were the ones who'd walked into a private conversation in a private residence, but I knew he was expecting me to try to explain all to Audrey. He'd been the same way when we were kids, guarding his own secrets carefully, but growing frustrated when he didn't know everyone else's. Maybe that's what made him a good cop.
"Hey, there's a giant pink elephant right there." Duke pointed to the middle of the room. "Can someone get it out of the way so I can see the TV?"
I held back the name I really wanted to call him and settled on an unsatisfying "Jerk." I looked at Nathan. "I had to deal with him. I think it's your turn. I'm willing to bet that Audrey's nowhere near as aggravating as Duke can be."
Duke snorted. I gave him the glare that I usually reserved for parents in the supermarket who were letting their kids ride the carts up and down the aisles at breakneck speed.
"I don't care who tells me or if anyone tells me at all." Audrey held up her hands. "What you guys did in high school is none of my business."
I knew she was lying immediately. I'd seen the way that Nathan acted around her, the way that he looked at her. The way she gazed back at him when she thought he wasn't looking. I didn't have to ask if they had feelings for each other, it was more than obvious. And she cared, just like he cared because he didn't want her to get the wrong idea. It was Love 101, Denying Your Feelings, the prerequisite to Love 201, Admitting Your Feelings, and from what I could tell, both Audrey and Nathan were smack in the middle of Dead Week, growing more and more anxious as the final exam approached.
Nathan finally spoke. "We were kids. It didn't mean anything, we were just friends, and we were stupid. Everyone does idiotic things in high school."
Audrey, Duke, and I went completely speechless, staring at Nathan. He looked down at his feet, bouncing on his heels uncomfortably as we all fixed our gazes on him.
"For hell's sake, Nathan, you forgot to mention the part where you put a paper bag over my head during sex so that you wouldn't have to look at my ugly face." I snapped at him. "Thanks for that ringing endorsement."
"You know what I meant, Daphne!" He shot back. "How the hell did this subject come up, anyway?"
Before either Duke or I could reply, the front door opened. Dad and Dave came in. Amelia was nestled on Dad's shoulder, her eyes closed and a smile on her face while Dave carried Annie's car seat. I reached out to take Amelia from Dad and she snuggled into my neck, opening her eyes.
"Hi, Mommy." She grinned at me. I recognized the immediate spark, the instant asleep-to-fully-awake energy charge that only toddlers get. She'd be awake long past her bedtime tonight, thanks to her unplanned nap, I realized, as she started struggling. "Down, Mama!" Since she was about to squirm herself right out of my arms anyway, I set her on the floor. And then, as she'd done every other time he'd been around, she ran straight to Duke, arms outstretched.
Without missing a beat, he swung her up and she giggled hysterically. Duke smirked at me, I rolled my eyes back at him, and turned to my dad and Dave. "Were they good? Did they have fun?"
"Well, Amelia was an angel, but little Annabelle got kicked out of the playground for beating up a kindergartner." Dad replied, deadpan. "She's banned until she goes through anger management training."
"Ha." I groaned at his horrible sense of humor. "Very funny, Dad."
"Feeling okay?" Dave kissed me on the cheek, giving my right hand a squeeze. "Did Duke take good care of you today?"
I nodded. "Surprisingly, yes. I think he missed his calling. Haven could always use a few more nurses." Duke stuck his tongue out at me, like a little kid. Amelia saw him and imitated the action. "Hey!" I admonished my daughter with a smile.
"I need to get back to the station." Nathan said, and I knew he was just ducking out of the uncomfortable conversation at the first chance he got. Coward. The word echoed in my head. Nathan looked down at the same second, and I hoped he knew what I was thinking. Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked out of the apartment.
"I should go, too…" Audrey pointed to the door, eyes subconsciously following Nathan, and obviously uncomfortable.
"Wait." I held up a hand. "Can I talk to you downstairs? Just for a minute?" She nodded, reluctantly, and I followed her out of the apartment and down into the Herald kitchen.
"You don't owe me an explanation." She crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter.
"I don't, but Nathan does." I replied, bluntly. "He has the tact of a jackass, but what he said does have a grain of truth to it. We were kids, and it didn't mean anything. Not anything serious, I mean." I sighed, realizing I wanted Audrey to know this information for my own sake, as much as for Nathan's. "You have to remember, Duke and Nathan and I – we were all connected by this invisible thread growing up, by the Troubles, and we gravitated toward each other because of them. You've been here long enough to know how difficult the Troubles can be. It's confusing enough for adults, imagine going through them as a kid."
"Nathan and I aren't together." Audrey said, shaking her head. "He's with Jordan. I don't care about his past romantic involvements."
I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "Okay. Either way, high school was a long time ago for us, and regardless of what happened back then, it's all in the past. We've all lived lifetimes in the last fifteen years."
"You're over-explaining." Audrey grinned at me. "You slept with Nathan in high school. It happens. Did you sleep with Duke?"
My face flushed. "No! I wasn't the town tramp. That was Melissa Newton."
"Melissa Newton? I've met her. She's one of my closest friends in Haven." Audrey said, seriously, and I groaned. Then I realized that Audrey was holding back a laugh.
"You jerk." I stuck my tongue out at her. "I almost fell for that, even though I'm friends with her on Facebook and she lives in Las Vegas now. Her profile says she's a physical therapist, but I think she's really a pole dancer."
"If she ever does return to Haven, she's going to kick your ass." Audrey told me. "But seriously, I think you're reading too much into me and Nathan. We're partners and friends. That's all."
"Mm-hmm." I fixed my gaze on her, but she didn't waver. "That's not what I've seen over the last few weeks. Nathan cares about you, Audrey."
"As a friend." She replied, pointedly. "Just as a friend. And anyway, I'm supposed to go into the barn once again in a couple of months, remember? I don't need to get involved. With anyone."
"What if you don't go back into the barn? You do realize that Nathan and Duke and scores of others in this town will do whatever they can to make sure that you don't have to go back into the barn, don't you? There has to be another way to end the Troubles, and if there is, it will be found."
As I spoke, I realized that I was including myself in those who didn't want Audrey to have to go back into the barn. The idea of another wasted life, Audrey being unable to experience the things that everyone else in the world experienced, just one day being gone like Jason…the sheer unfairness of the situation hit me like a tsunami. Were we so special in Haven that we took precedence over Audrey's right to have a true life? Jason's death had been senseless. If the Troubles could end without Audrey going into the barn, we all owed it to her to find out how or her inevitable 'death' would be senseless, too.
"I appreciate that." Audrey smiled. "Who knows how long I've been going into the barn in one form or another, though? Don't you think maybe there is no other option?"
"Daphne."
We both turned to see my dad standing in the hallway, and I immediately wondered how long he'd been there. He didn't look happy.
"I think Annie's getting hungry. " He said, his voice steely. "She's getting a bit fussy upstairs."
"I'll go up in a second." I told him, confused at his tone. "She'll be okay for another minute or two."
"I think she needs you now." He answered, pointedly. "You should go."
I stared at my dad, suddenly feeling like a little kid in trouble instead of a grown woman with two children. I glanced back at Audrey. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah." She nodded, giving my dad an odd look, too. "9:30?"
"Sounds good." I watched her leave and turned to my dad. "Dad? What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." He snapped and I reeled. He quickly softened his expression. "I'm sorry, honey. I'm just on edge right now with everything going on. I don't mean to take it out on you or Audrey."
"It's okay." I pulled my sweatshirt tighter around me, a draft from the front door drifting back to the hallway. "I'm cold. I should go upstairs if Annie's hungry anyway." I brushed past my dad, still thrown by his outburst. "I'm going to make some tea. Do you want any?"
"Is it normal tea or is it that spiced crap that you always drink?" He smiled at me and I relaxed.
"For you, old man, I'll make whatever you want. I'll even make coffee, black with one splash of half-and-half." I reached out and linked my arm through his. We started to make our way back up the stairs, but I stopped. "Dad?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
I rested my head on his arm like I used to do as a little girl. "Thanks for everything. For helping with the girls. For letting me come home. Just…thanks."
He pulled me closer with his other arm, his chin in my hair, holding me tightly. "I wouldn't have it any other way, my girl."
