Saturday

"Turn about is fair play, my dear," Duke declared when Audrey complained that she wanted to know what their plans for the day were. If she could drag him to Boston without declaring the itinerary, surely he could do the same without leaving the state.

He really didn't know what her feelings would be about his idea, but it had been something that he remembered from earlier in their relationship, and hoped that she'd recall something she'd once instructed him to say.

He had picked her up at eight, and had listened to her complain about his early morning shenanigans. "Nothing good ever comes of you getting me up before eight on a Saturday, Duke," she sighed.

Duke grinned at her. "Audrey, I think you'll like this, I do. And if you don't, well, I'll think of some way of making it up to you."

"You will have to watch the Poseidon Adventure with me," she immediately fired back.

"I can do that. Uh, which one?" Duke belated remembered that the most recent version of the movie was not the original, and that the original really wasn't that great. He'd never understood people's infatuation with it.

"The one with Steve Gutenburg."

"There's one with Steve Gutenburg?" he asked skeptically, unable to imagine Gutenburg in any of the male roles.

"Yes, and it's the only one I haven't seen. It's actually a mini-series. And then we can watch Titanic and Speed 2."

"I think I'm scared of your infatuation with boat disaster movies."

Audrey grinned. It was nice to see her being less stressed out than she had been. He honestly thought getting out of Haven for their dates was a good thing. She seemed to relax, perhaps realizing she wouldn't have to jump to some troubled person's rescue. Duke turned on the radio and headed up into the wilds of Maine.

"So where exactly are we going?" Audrey flipped her hair back and tied it up into a pony tail.

Duke watched her out of the corner of his eye. "We are going leaf-peeping."

"You are taking me to stare at trees." The flat tone in Audrey's voice reminded Duke that not too terribly long ago, trees had tried to kill them both off.

He couldn't resist. "Ayuh."

"I cannot believe you just said that. To me. Next you'll be saying something's 'wicked.'" Audrey rolled her eyes.

Duke's eyes sparkled. "The trees up in the mountains are wicked colorful. I thought it would be wicked cool to see them. By the way, 'wicked' is more a southern Maine and New Hampshire thing. Ayuh, though, that's just normal. You're just jealous you can't say it right."

Audrey tried to match his inflection. "Ay-yup."

"No, no, there's no P. It's got to be said without any lip motions."

She tried again. "Ay-yah."

"Closer, still not quite there. More from the stomach. Like someone punched you." Duke was laughing as Audrey tried to master the signature Maine sound.

She began to laugh too. "I don't know what's worse. Not being able to say it, or you coaching me. You know you don't say syrup right? Or Nathan doesn't. I haven't decided who failed that one."

"Sir-ip or sur-ip it's all good. Maples are my favorite tree." Duke tapped his fingers in time to the song on the radio.

Audrey looked out the front window. "There are a lot of them."

"I think we could take Vermont in pure maple sugar production, but really, who wants to tap that many trees?" Duke shrugged. "Not me, that's for sure."

The two rode along in companionable silence. The further north and west they went, the more the solid green of the trees gave way to golds and oranges. Even the sailor had to admit, it was beautiful in its own right. Unfortunately, the traffic jam from all the people stopping on the side of the road ruined the atmosphere.

"It's funny. This one time I was driving through the mountains in New Hampshire during leaf-peeping season. People kept pulling over on route 93 to stop and stare at the trees. For miles you'd see all these cars just pulled off on the side of the highway." Duke was glad that this was not the way he had intended to take Audrey leaf-peeping.

Audrey snorted. "And yet, here we are, clogging up the highway in Maine."

"We are not clogging up the highway, trust me. I've got something much better planned."

"And here you are, not telling me everything, again."

Duke, stung, flashed a look at Audrey. "I thought you might like the surprise."

Audrey reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "If I don't, I'll research boat disaster movies until you never take the Cape Rouge out of the harbor again. Of course, I might do that anyway if you take off on me like that again. I was worried about you. Next time call me, ok? I thought you'd left town for good."

"I don't think you need to be worried about me chasing more phantom ships or burying any more dead wives," he said in a soft voice.

Audrey drew back in mock shock. "Duke Crocker, you have more wives that are alive?"

The dark haired man snorted. "Yes, I keep a harem on the boat. You'll be number 17, if we decide to get married. They're stored in the bilges because then I don't have to listen to them whine."

They were saved from anymore conversation when Duke pulled off the highway onto a road that was more a logging trail than anything else. Audrey had to grab at the door to keep from bouncing around into Duke's lap while he drove. He, meanwhile had a semi-manic grin on his face as he tore down the unpaved road and speeds that were probably too fast for complete safety. The advantage was that the road was much clearer now, and that there were not any other leaf peepers on this rutted track.

Eventually he turned the truck down a very narrow lane. It had been graveled at one point, but most of the stones had been kicked out by tires long ago. Now there were two dirt ruts surrounded by a mound of stone on either side. Duke took this with considerably less speed than he had the other road, even though this was in slightly better repair. The answer why became apparent when the road ended abruptly in front of a barn.

Duke parked the truck up against the red walls of the barn. He got out and walked over to Audrey, on the other side of the car. "Phil, you here man?"

An older man exited the barn out of a small door in the side. "I'm here, I'm here. Hang on a second." He ducked back into the barn and something clanged, followed by a loud thump. Slowly a large door was opened. Through it, the well maintained interior of the barn was revealed.

There were about ten stalls on the left side and eight on the right. In place of the final two stalls was a room with a human, rather than horse sized door. Phil emerged from inside the door. "This the young filly you wanted me to teach to saddle a horse?"

Duke nodded. "This is her."

"Go get Striper and Black Bass out. They're in the 3rd and 5th stalls. Got their names on the door." The old man motioned to Audrey. "You come with me. I'll show you the tack room."

Duke kept half an ear on Phil and Audrey while he walked down the stalls where Striper and Black Bass were. Both were large horses, but very gentle of temper. He'd asked Phil for his two quietest, most gentle horses and wasn't surprised to find these two mares had been selected. Striper was a Morgan-Percheron cross, with a dappled gray coat. Black Bass was a gigantic Belgian-Percheron cross that was as black as her name. Duke found it faintly amusing that he had worked with these two horses so many years before, when he'd had his first serious run in with the law. Back then the horses had been much smaller. So had he, when he thought about it. Phil still ran a program for "at-risk" kids, but his daughter had taken it over years ago.

He unclipped the lead that was hanging out side of Black Bass's stall, and went in to talk to her. She did what she had done as a foal, and ignored him in favor of food. He clipped the lead line on to her halter. For a moment she resisted him, just long enough for him to get the message she was only moving because she felt like it and then she followed him docilely out of the stall. He tied her to the cross brace outside of the tack room. He quickly checked over Black Bass, ensuring her legs were sound, and checking her hooves quickly for anything caught under the shoes. When he was satisfied that Black Bass was in good condition to ride, he ducked into the tack room to get another lead line and went back and to get Striper.

Striper proved to be more enthusiastic about leaving her stall, practically dragging Duke down the hallway to join her half sister. Once she was also tied, far enough that the two horses couldn't put the squeeze on anyone caught between them, he also checked out the gray mare.

"Don't trust me?" Phil asked, and nearly startling Duke into falling under Striper.

He pulled himself to his feet. "I trust you, but I remember you said that you always need to check the horses yourself."

The old man nodded. "Glad something other than rock songs stuck in that head of yours."

Striper and Black Bass ignored everyone, deciding to doze. Phil continued instructing Audrey on how to deal with horses, unsure of her knowledge of horses in general. Duke held Striper's head while Audrey brushed out the horse briefly before placing the saddle blanket on the mare's withers, or shoulders as Phil described them before sliding it down to her back to be in the proper position.

Duke scratched Striper's ears as he watched Audrey struggle with the saddle. First she couldn't get the stirrup hooked over the horn, and when she did, the cinch slid off. When she picked it up to put it on Striper's back, the western saddle almost dwarfed the small woman. Duke tried not to laugh, but he wasn't that successful. She mouthed Poseidon Adventure at him. Eventually she did get the stirrups and cinch to stay where they were supposed to be, and slipped it over the tall animal's back. She slipped the stirrups off the horn and slid the cinch down on the other side of the horse.

Eventually she was able to get the cinch tied to saddle to secure it to the horse. She'd been amused by the fact that a Windsor knot had other uses than just for neck ties. When she went to bridle Striper, Phil had her instead practice her new skill on Black Bass. She only needed a couple of reminders, and was done in about half the time. Of course, it helped that Duke actually put the saddle on the bigger mare. Still, she had correctly gotten everything in place before he placed it on the horse's back.

Phil returned to the tack room with two bridles. He handed one to Duke and one to Audrey. It only took Audrey about 30 seconds to get herself wrapped up in the bridle while trying to get it over Striper's head. She tried again and tied herself up in the halter. The third time continued to be the proverbial charm as she managed to get the halter half off, the bridal on, and then remove the halter without getting herself tied up in anymore tack. She also took three attempts to get Black Bass' bridal on.

Phil held the two horses for a moment while Duke returned to his truck and grabbed a back pack. He helped Audrey mount Black Bass, and then got up astride Striper. "You remember to keep my horses mouths soft, boy!" Phil called out.

Duke nodded. "Anywhere we shouldn't go?"

"Down by Cripple Creek was all flooded out from the spring storms. There's a lot of downed trees. I'd stay away from there, and the swamps. Road to Canterbury's pretty good," the old man advised. "Don't let Black Bass eat the bushes," he added as an afterthought.

"Thanks, Phil. See you later." Duke cluck to the mare and she set off at a lazy walk. Black Bass followed, Audrey clinging to the big horse's back.

"Duke, why am I on the really, really big one and you are only on the really big one?" she asked.

Duke pulled back and Striper stopped for a moment, until the two mares were roughly side by side. "Because I didn't know you if you could ride and Black Bass pretty much can take anything in stride. I remember her standing still with hunters shooting guns in the woods. That horse is bomb-proof. Striper here is a little more apt to spook."

"Oh." Audrey thought for a moment. "Come here often, do you?"

"Nah, but Phil and I have kept in touch periodically. I asked him if we could go out riding to leaf peep and he agreed to it. I think he was curious about what kind of woman never saddled a horse before. Up here in the backwoods, horses are pretty common. He wanted to see what type of city girl I met." The saddle creaked as Duke shifted his weight slightly.

The two cut a spiral path out from the barn until Duke entered the woods at clearly defined path. The two horses were in no rush, and Duke knew that it would take a moose charging at them for the horses to get up to a trot. Even then, it wouldn't last long.

"How'd you meet him?" Audrey asked after several minutes of quiet.

"You know those programs for young offenders, where they have the kids in juvie training shelter dogs and what not? Well, Phil adopts horses from all over that need work, and ran a program for juvie offenders and at-risk teens. I spent a summer up here when I was 16 on probation - no, I will not tell you what for - and I actually helped with these two when they were foals." Duke leaned down and patted Striper's shoulder.

"Occasionally I came back to visit. His daughter runs the program now. However Phil will still teach the kids the basics, usually with these guys or horses like them."

Audrey relaxed a little, and began to enjoy the ride. "Huh. What was wrong with the foals then?"

"Hold your reins a littler looser. Bass doesn't need to be reined in. Getting her to move is the trick. Nothing was wrong with them, they were just big foals. Bass probably could have been used in horse pulling, but she's a little small. Striper's too small for that, too big for a lot of other things. These guys are the by-catch of the horse world. Their mothers were sent out to give milk to 'expensive' foals whose mothers needed to be breed again right after they gave birth." Duke shrugged. "I got stuck with taking care of them. Since they both ended up being so calm, Phil kept both of them."

Together they rode on through the trees, steadily climbing upwards. There was a lot more wildlife out here then had been in Haven. It was odd, Duke though, and faintly creepy, to have no other sound than the jingle of harness, the creaking of the leather, and the steady sound of the two horses walking. He'd forgotten that you saw more of nature from a horse's back than nearly anywhere else. Still, he missed the quiet sound of waves on the sea. Here there was only the occasional gust of wind which rattled the leaves in the trees.

Eventually the hill topped out, and Duke brought Striper to a halt. He dismounted and tied the reins to a tree before taking Audrey's hand and helping her down. He loosened both of the horse's cinches. After loosening up the straps, he took Audrey's hand again, and led her through the thinning woods. He was pleased with himself for her reaction when they cleared the last of the trees onto a rocky ledge.

Down below them was the valley they had ridden out of earlier in the day. Spread out before them like a well-made quilt was a forest in full grandeur. Shadows fell from the higher peaks and colored the turning leaves purple and blue. On the slopes where the sun still shown, there were golds, scarlets, and oranges, all harmoniously blended together in a symphony of color. Through the middle of the valley a stream wended its way to the sea.

Audrey gasped, amazed at all of the colors. From behind her, Duke sat back and watched her reaction, happy that she was delighted. "Welcome to Leaf-Peeping Season, and Canterbury Cliff," he said quietly.

"I, I didn't think that anything was like this. I thought...I don't know what I thought," Audrey stuttered.

Duke laughed. "You'd never see this from the road. Makes me feel bad for those poor tourists, until I realize that if they knew about this place, we'd be up to our eyeballs in them."

"It's so beautiful," Audrey sighed. "Oh, look! A moose! There's actually a moose!"

"So there is. I'm glad he's down there though and not up here. Moose are not bright, and I did not invite a moose to our picnic." With that he stepped back from the ledge and took off his back pack. From it he pulled a couple of containers that had obviously been borrowed from the Gull, and some plates that had the same point of origination. He kept an eye on Audrey as he mixed things from the various containers together, slightly worried about her propensity for walking near the edge of the cliff.

Eventually he called her over and they ate lunch together. For dessert, he presented Audrey with cottage cheese that had been liberally sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. He also cut up an apple for her to scoop it up with. He set another apple aside to feed to the horses, silently apologizing to Phil for feeding them when they were bridled.

"I could stay here all day," Audrey sighed, leaning back on her arms and looking over the landscape below.

Duke stretched out on the rocks beside her, well away from the edge. He estimated they could stay up here for an hour or so before they had to start heading back. "Hmmm," he agreed.

"Hey, Duke, can I ask you a question?" Audrey turned to Duke, her face very serious.

Duke regarded her warily. "Yeah."

"Ok, this is really important for me to know. You've had that iguana tank for four weeks now. What are you doing with it since you don't have an iguana?"

The smuggler laughed. "You have to cycle tanks before you put anything in them. I'm waiting until the test strip thingys come back the right color. I hear that it can take a couple of weeks."

"Uh, what test strip thingys?"

He shrugged. "There are these test strips you need to stick in and they turn certain colors and that's when you know the tank's ready. You get them at the pet shop."

Audrey giggled. "I think you only need those tests for fish tanks, Duke."

Duke looked at her scandalized. "I googled it. Every site agreed that tanks needed to be cycled before you added anything to them."

"Ok, Duke. Good luck with it." Audrey was still giggling.

Duke shook his head at his girlfriend and started packing up. "As much as I would love to stay here forever, unfortunately the sun won't be around very long. We need to get the horses back to the stable, and it'll be dark down in the valley because of the mountains' shadows." He stopped and offered a hand to haul Audrey to her feet. "But, there is one last thing I wanted to accomplish today, Officer Agent Parker." He pulled out an old tape player and started it up.

Audrey turned beet red and laughed. Together they managed to do...something. Duke wasn't entirely sure it was the electric slide or the dance to Cotton-Eyed Joe. When Audrey had questioned him about the tape player, Duke had told her there was no way in hell he was putting The Electric Slide on his player. He didn't mention, however, that he didn't have to go far looking for the music: tape had been his. Sometimes mystery in a relationship was a good thing.

When they returned to the horses, Duke feed them each half of an apple, then tightened the cinches up again. They slowly made their way back down the trail and returned the horses to the barn, thoroughly brushing them down and checking their hooves before returning the animals to their stalls. Duke slung an arm around Audrey and she leaned into him as they left the barn together.

Sunday
The Grey Gull

"What's today's special?" a voice asked, making Duke and Audrey looked up. Duke wasn't technically working, but he'd decided to make a pest of himself to his staff and cook breakfast down at the Gull since Audrey's appliances were nice but no competition for the restaurant's.

"No idea, Nathan, because I'm not here to work. Audrey and I are going to have chocolate chip waffles, though. Care for some? On the house," he added, feeling magnanimous. From the lack of sarcasm, he sensed that Nathan was trying to get past being thrown out days earlier and to make nice. He could reciprocate, if only for his girlfriend's sake.

"If you don't mind," Nathan replied, coming to sit at the bar near Audrey. Duke didn't fail to notice that she raised her eyebrows when he did.

"Sure, the more the merrier. Cooking for three justifies the mess I'm making a little more," he said mildly.

The door swung open, making bells chime. Duke looked over and saw Jess walk in. The sight of her coming in reminded him of something. "Hey," he said in a low voice. "Did Jess ever talk to you guys?"

"About?" Audrey asked. "You need to be more specific."

"About needing your help."

She and Nathan exchanged a look, and Nathan shook his head. "Nope."

"I figured," he said before calling over to Jess, "Jess, come here, would you?"

The brunette looked uncertain, but walked over anyway. He pointed at a stool next to Nathan. "Sit."

"Why?" she asked, sitting reluctantly. This made Duke feel a bit bad since things immediately seemed a little awkward between Jess and Nathan, but he thought that solving her problem was worth a bit of squirming. Especially considering that she'd been in Haven for weeks and hadn't gotten up the courage to approach either of them on her own yet.

"It seems that you haven't gotten around to asking for Audrey and Nathan's help with your problem. They're both here, so you really should."

"Oh..." Jess looked down at the bar, appearing to wish that she was anywhere else.

"You have a problem?" Nathan asked, not actually looking at her.

She splayed her fingers across the surface of the bar. "I think I'm..."

"You're?" Audrey prompted, shooting Duke a look. He shrugged. It wasn't his place to out Jess.

"Troubled," Jess said at last. "I think I'm troubled."

"You're not troubled," Nathan said with a dismissive snort. "Wait, you're not joking."

"No, I'm not." Her voice was a bit firmer. "It's not the sort of thing I'd joke about."

"She wouldn't, Nathan," Audrey said, giving their friend a concerned look. "Why do you think you're troubled?"

Jess suddenly looked distraught. "People end up fighting around me, all the time. And it's my fault."

"That sounds like a personality disorder," Nathan said, and everyone looked at him. "Stirring crap up for one's amusement is a trait of borderline personality disorder," he said defensively. "And that doesn't really sound like something you do, Jess."

"She's not suggesting that she's stirring anything up on purpose," Duke interrupted. He put plates in front of the others, even Jess, who didn't seem to expect to be fed without giving an order. "Just that being around people causes them to fight."

"That does sound like a possible trouble," Audrey admitted.

"Or witchcraft," Jess said quietly. They all looked at her. "My great-grandmother Maryse lived until I was thirteen. Before she died she told me a lot of stories about our family...and some of them involved her great-grandmother Élodie being a witch. She insisted that it was in our family lineage, like having dark hair and green eyes."

"That doesn't mean anything," Duke scoffed, hoping to erase the bleak look from her face. "If genetics were that reliable, I'd have drunk myself out of business within three months of taking this place over."

"Troubles do get passed along, though," Nathan pointed out quietly. "We all know that." He turned slightly on his stool. "Did this happen to anyone else in your family? People fighting whenever they came around like you're talking about?"

Jess shook her head. "No. I think I would have noticed if my parents were always in the midst of fighting people, or if my grandparents were."

"Probably not a trouble then," he concluded.

Duke wasn't so sure. While it was true that Audrey had told him about many people who came from a long line of the troubled, it wasn't unheard of for a new trouble to spring up, like Vanessa's had.

She looked like she felt a little better. "And as for being a witch, I'd know by now, wouldn't I? I'm in my thirties after all."

"And you never got a letter from Howarts, I take it," Audrey said, grinning at her.

"Hardly."

"If there were schools for witches, they'd probably be right here," Duke suggested, finally coming to sit with his own plate. "This is probably the weirdest part of the country, after all."

"The west coast is pretty weird," Nathan objected.

"But not in the same way."

"Fair point."

"Guys?" Audrey said, making them look at her. "Focus."

Duke narrowed his eyes. "You're the one to get us off track, sweetheart." He didn't fail to notice that Nathan stiffened momentarily, before recovering himself. Too cutesy for his comfort, I take it, he thought ruefully. Screw that. He'll learn to deal.

"And now I'm getting us back on track." She turned to Jess. "If it does turn out that you're troubled, we'll figure out how to help you cope. But as far as I'm concerned, it's still an if."

"Thank you," Jess replied, looking away from Audrey and Nathan and towards Duke instead.

The expression on her face all but said that she'd been hoping for more, but Duke wasn't sure what they could do about it. She wasn't hurting anyone, after all, so it was natural for both of them to consider it a lower priority than helping those who put themselves and others in danger. At least she'd gotten her concerns out in the open.

They spent the rest of the meal talking about inconsequential things. Duke didn't fail to notice that neither Jess nor Nathan, sitting side by side, ever really seemed entirely comfortable. It actually surprised him a little that Jess hadn't immediately spun on her heel the moment she realized that Nathan was there, so he supposed that meant that she was a lot more forgiving than many of the women he knew... Audrey excluded, however.

When they finished eating, Duke gathered up the plates and silverware to bring back to the dish room. Audrey was waiting for him when he walked back into the dining room. She threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for a wonderful breakfast."

"You're welcome," he murmured, but his eyes were on Nathan, not her. If looks could kill, he'd be dead on the floor. Jess's posture said she'd noticed Nathan's reaction too, and she looked less than pleased about it.

It was all Duke could do not to shake his head in disgust. How could Nathan not see what was right in front of him? It reminded him of the dogs a neighbor had owned growing up, and how they were always trying to steal bones from each other rather than be content with their own. The girls weren't interchangeable, of course, but Nathan could be a lot happier if he'd just let himself focus on someone other than Audrey for a change.

Audrey, who had her back turned to Nathan and Jess through the silent exchange, turned to the two of them with a bright smile. "What are you doing today?"

"I don't know. Why?" Nathan asked warily.

"Duke and I are going on a whale watch. You two should come."

Don't say 'double date,' Duke silently willed her once he saw their semi-horrified expressions. It was Jess's reaction that concerned him more, because underneath looking embarrassed he thought he could detect a hint of longing, though if it was to see whales or spend the day with Nathan, he couldn't say.

In the end Audrey was disappointed because neither of her would-be fixed up victims agreed to join them on the outing. Duke himself was relieved when they both bowed out: though he also thought they could use a push, Audrey's ploy had been a bit too forced and transparent to work out in the end. If they'd come, he was sure there would be less romance than insecurity in the air, and it might have been a step back rather than forward for the pair.

a/n: So, one of your authors, me, at least will cop to saying "Ayuh" on occasion, but only the end of the chapter (Sunday) was mine, lol. We both say "wicked" a whole lot more often, but then, most people from NH do.

What are readers' theories on the cause of the wackiness going on in Haven through this story? Find out if you figured it out in chapter 12. And then, on to the business of wendigos! But not until chapter 14. Chapter 13 had a pretty awesome last minute addition by Faerax this week, then I remembered a scene I forgot about too...so that pushes the beginning of our version of "Who What Where Wendigo" off just a little bit.

You know, all the way last December Faerax and I wrote another lengthy story set in Haven, one that's seasonally appropriate again... Check out "Christmas in (Haven) Maine" under my name if you get the chance to. Oh, and maybe the stories that come before it: "The Orange Kitten" by Faerax (a funny Duke-centric prequel) under her name - she's under my favorite authors if you have trouble finding her - and "Staged Duplicity," and "Recovering Gemini" by me, both featuring the non-Haven characters in "Ci(H)M." For the record "Ci(H)M" is Audrey/Nathan UST, Audrey/Duke UST, not a relationship-based story since it's set after season one.