The Shopping Trip
AN: Last night I accidentally attached this chapter to Time to Be Honest instead of Crash, thankyou so much to the reviewer who pointed it out - I'd actually just realised that something might be up but I was on my phone and couldn't get back to the computer to fix it until now. So sorry to all my readers for such a silly stuff up, it was one of those nights where I kept getting interrupted and it was very late when I finally uploaded. Anyway I'm putting this chapter where it should be and then I'll work on a new chapter for Time to Be Honest ASAP :-)
"Morning," Audrey greeted Nathan warmly as he dragged his ass in the door. "I hope you don't mind?" she asked guilty, grimacing slightly at being caught wearing his dressing gown. "I forgot mine." Also hers was white, satin and totally impractical on a cold morning so the warm blue terry towelling that smelled of Nathan's musk had been far too tempting.
"No it's nice… I mean its fine, fine," he corrected awkwardly. He was gazing at her with that guilty half-smile and for a moment he'd stopped breathing. The scene of her in his dressing gown, in his kitchen, making coffee in the morning…. It was just too much of a good thing.
"I'm just making coffee, you look like you could use some," Audrey observed.
"Yeah I ran by the station early so I could check in with the night shift," he didn't add that he'd wanted to get back before she woke up.
"You should go to work, they must be struggling without you, I take you've missed a fair bit of work this week?" Audrey raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Yeah but you know Stan isn't as useless as we tend to make out. As long as I check in regularly and get them to give me the heads up as soon as anything out of the ordinary comes up they're fine."
"So Haven's gone a week without the troubles? That seems unusual in itself?" Audrey's brow furrowed.
"If I'd been thinking about it at the time it would have seemed sort of convenient," Nathan admitted. "You don't think there's a link though, there couldn't be? Could there?"
"We know that when the troubles come back I appear, maybe my coma, I don't know, affected the whole town? Or is that just the most self-centred thing you've ever heard?"
"Self-centred, no, you can't help that your – part – in this is significant, but I don't know, it sounds like a stretch," Nathan replied gently.
"It sounded like a stretch when I first realised I used to be Lucy Ripley."
"True." Nathan shrugged, "Whatever happened, it worked out okay. Its only a matter of time til something comes up but when it does I'll handle it, you take your time getting better."
"Don't say that, I'm going crazy already!" Audrey complained. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but can we please go grocery shopping? You're out of everything and I need some fresh air."
"As long as I drive I don't see why not, promise you'll take it easy though?"
"It's grocery shopping in Haven, not Black Friday in New York, I think I can handle it," Audrey teased. Nathan agreed reluctantly, though he had to admit it was good to see sunshine on her face again, he wasn't sure if he was imagining it but the colour seemed to be coming back into her cheeks. Still he cringed internally every time a car passed them on the street. Audrey noticed him bristle with tension and would have thought it was funny that he was the one scared of the accident repeating itself it hadn't been such a strong reminder of what he'd been through while she'd been asleep. She wasn't a regular girl, she would never be able to promise to stop putting herself in harm's way, and it worried her a little being so painfully aware of what it would do to him if something did happen to her.
"Well if it isn't Haven's favourite love birds!" Duke cried with excessive exuberance as he almost ploughed head long into Audrey and Nathan at the supermarket. Nathan was pushing the trolley, Audrey was flitting around grabbing things. Duke had a carry basket with a few essentials – milk, eggs, bread, chocolates and condoms.
"Duke," Nathan cautioned, bristling.
"Hey I was going to come and visit you today."
"We're so sorry we were out and missed you," Nathan remarked.
"Oh there's still time," Duke beamed mockingly. "So how is our star patient?"
"I'm fine, please stop fussing, both of you," Audrey returned. "Hot date?" Audrey queried eyeing the basket with a smirk.
"The chocolates are actually for you, the rest, well you know what the boy scouts say – be prepared, right Nathan?" Duke teased.
"You were never a scout," Nathan pointed out dryly.
"But you were though weren't you Nathan? So you should know these things," Duke said with a pointed glance at Nathan's trolley.
Nathan grunted his disapproval so Audrey figured it was time to interrupt. "How about you join us for dinner? I'm considering trying to cook something, seeing as I'm not able to do anything that's actually useful."
"Sounds great, you, me, Nathan," Duke replied ironically.
"Bring a friend," Audrey suggested, ignoring for a moment it was Nathan's house she was inviting these people too.
"Like a double date?" Duke asked with raised eyebrows. Nathan glared at him but then relaxed into a self-satisfied smile, let Duke bring a date, that left Audrey with Nathan.
"I guess," Audrey replied, still slightly uncertain and beginning to feel a little awkward about arranging this without taking to Nathan first.
"Well I'll see you two lovebirds later," Duke smiled and left.
"Just in case you're wondering, I didn't say anything to him about,… anything," Nathan reassured her awkwardly. He still wasn't too sure what there was to tell anyone about.
"Hey it's Duke, no explanation needed, I'm sorry should I have done that? I just invited Duke and a random stranger, whom for all we knew he may not have even met yet, to your place?"
"It's fine, it'll be fun," Nathan assured her. "It's not like we haven't go the rest of the day to ourselves anyway."
"Yeah of course," Audrey agreed awkwardly. She really did want to spent time with him but it was like they'd leapt a few steps in the normal procedure of things, they hadn't even been on a real date and now they were what, living together? It was a bit much, but not horrible either.
A/N: Not so sure about this chapter but I figured just keep moving toward and the characters will speak for themselves.
