Author's note: Yes I am aware that she was based out of and living in Boston, but I have already based her out of D.C. in this story for a reason, and I'll keep it that way for continuity. Also, the story goes a little AU in chapter 4 when I have her quitting the FBI after a year in Haven and dating Nathan for a while, but I kind of explain that away reasonably enough, I hope, in this chapter. Also the majority of the timeline for the story will, hopefully, match up with the show, but some of it is bound to be off.
The Trial of Audrey Parker
"You have got to be kidding me!" Looking up, I realize I must have said that aloud because everyone in the station is looking at me. Ignoring my staring coworkers and the few other people in the main part of the Haven police station, I make my way to my office focusing only on the paper I hold in my hands. On reaching the office, my frustration rises because Nathan isn't here. I suppose I could call him, but it's not really that big of a deal – well it wouldn't be that big of a deal under normal circumstances. Still, there is no reason to get all worked up and track my partner down since it's not like we could do anything about the situation right now anyway. Taking a calming breath I sit behind my desk and try in vain to ignore the name taunting me from the paper now sitting on my desk – Ezra Colbert.
***Haven***
It started out as an investigation masked as a night of fun. Really had I wanted a night of fun, I wouldn't have been playing poker with a couple of strangers on Duke's boat – I would have been out drinking with Julia or hanging out with Nathan (except he was still being really weird around me), or even settling down with a good book and a glass of wine in a warm bubble bath. As it was I found myself in a set up too good to be true. Duke wanting to set up a poker night and knowing (being referred to) my suspects was really far too convenient and should have spiked my danger meter. When I finally took a break from the game and saw that I had missed several calls from Nathan, I was secretly thrilled. He had been I don't know how to describe it – hovering but distant at the same time for several weeks, maybe even a month or two. So as soon as I saw his name under missed calls I called back – middle of an investigation or not if he had asked me to meet him for pancakes I would have gone – instead he warned me that Agent Howard was in Haven looking for me, and I felt my stomach somersault.
When Howard showed up behind me, I was angry that Nathan had told him where I was for all of three seconds before I remembered the number of missed calls in the past seven minutes and realized he had been trying to give me a heads up. To say I was less than pleased when my "boss" turned up would be putting it lightly. There was a reason I had been putting off checking in and sending in reports lately – besides the fact the technically I was on personal leave and as such shouldn't have had to check in at all. When Howard told me he was there to take me 'home' I felt an inexplicable desire to laugh right in his face. What did he think home was for me? Up until about two months prior, I hadn't even known what 'home' was. It sure as heck wasn't a lonely apartment in a bustling city where I had no friends or even close associates nor was it a position in a company (for lack of a better word) where I was ok at my job but not really taken seriously or appreciated.
Getting locked in the stateroom on Duke's boat wasn't the highlight of my week either, especially when you factor in Howard being locked in with me and still wanting to interrogate me about what I had been doing in Haven while at the same time belittling the work I was doing and the town that I had come to think of as home. At least he didn't out right call me crazy as I told him, in as broad of terms as possible, about the difficult cases I had solved and the catch 22 of the Troubles. He did manage to tell me that I wasn't doing my job by not putting the Troubled people in jail – how would he know, it's not like he had any experience with the Troubles.
***Haven***
"Hey, what's going on? Three people have told me you're in the middle of a breakdown since I walked in the front door," Nathan informs me wryly from the doorway with his signature half smirk. Instead of answer him in words, I hand him the paper that I had pulled off the fax machine … wow, fifteen minutes earlier. He scans through it quickly until he runs across the name and then goes back to read the details. I can tell that the thoughts running through my head are also running through his by the slight widening of his eyes and tightening of his jaw – sometimes I can't help but think how unfair it is that he is so much more reserved than me, if I had reacted like him I wouldn't be the talk of the station at the moment. Once he's done reading, he sets the paper back on my desk and walks around to lean against the corner of it. "This will be fun," he says sarcastically.
"Well, I don't know, it could be. I had a great time the last time I came up with a plan to catch him!" I tell him with a bright smile.
"I'm sure you did. I'm not so sure that Duke did though. And before you even suggest it – I refuse to be your puppet so that you can catch him again. Unlike Duke, I don't do 'crazy' convincingly."
"Oh, I don't know," I pretend to contemplate, "I could totally see you breaking out into the Macarena and singing Broadway tunes at the top of your lungs." The look he gives me is one of horror mixed with reluctant amusement at the mental image. Rather than answer me and get sucked into what is sure to be a ridiculous conversation, he just shakes his head and takes a seat at his own desk.
A while later, I notice that Nathan has stopped working on the pile of paperwork littering his desk and is lost in , I assume, memories brought to the surface by Ezra's escape. In a lot of ways, that case was a pivotal one for us personally and professionally.
***Haven***
That case made our partnership and friendship more secure for a couple of reasons. The first being that I quit the FBI – granted Howard didn't actually process the request for another, what has it been … five months? – showing that my intention was to stay in Haven for the foreseeable future. The second, being the resulting closeness that grew between Nathan and I after that case. We managed to work through some of the trust issues we both still had and we spent quite a bit more time really getting to know each other more than just superficially. It started out with us simply sharing what had happened from our perspective, but devolved into more personal matters. I went through the details of how I got trapped in the stateroom with Howard, all of the information he wanted, and how I escaped to contact Nathan and rescue Duke. He in turn told me how he had tried to cover for me by not telling Howard where I was (until the Chief stepped in anyway), and how he had known that I was in trouble despite what the Chief said and all of the crap that he gave Nathan about me being his "partner" not his "girlfriend". I told him how we were able to get the best of Ezra and arrest both him and Tobias, as well as how and why I quit. He told me about the Chief's attempts at bonding over dinner and the fight that they had had, though it took a good hour and a half of patient digging for him to tell me what exactly the fight had been about.
The ringing of my desk phone seems to bring us both back to our surroundings and I dash to grab the receiver, not exactly sure how long it had been ringing before I noticed it. Answering the phone, "Haven PD, Detective Parker," still makes a goofy smile hover on my face for a moment – something that Nathan has teased me mercilessly about. Jotting down a couple of quick notes, I promise to be there as soon as I can and hang up the phone, grabbing my jacket as I stand. "Well, come on Wournos, paperwork can wait. We've got us a domestic dispute to mediate … again."
"Really, the O'Reiley's are at it again? That's, what, the third time this month?"
"No it's only the second this month. You can't count the one two weeks ago. Besides, we could use the distraction for a few minutes. Maybe it'll help us come up with a plan to find and catch Ezra."
"Audrey, you know that's it's not really our problem this time right? He was in Bangor, which is just a little outside our jurisdiction in case you've forgotten."
"I know where he was. I also know that he's not considered dangerous and that he won't be a priority for the Bangor police to find. Oh, and in case you've forgotten, he's Troubled Nathan, and Troubled people tend to be drawn to Haven. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns up around here."
"Whatever you say, dear," he concedes in a teasingly patronizing way. Rolling my eyes, I lead the way out to his truck a smile on my face, once again ignoring the not so subtle attention directed my way by my coworkers. Sometimes I really do hate living a small town.
Author's Note: Sorry it has taken me so long to update. I am doing the best that I can, but life is hectic right now and my muse is fickle. I will try to get the next chapter up this weekend (that's the goal anyways). Thanks for your reluctant paience and I look forward to reading what you guys think of this.
