So I caved and watched the last two episodes and wow, pretty intense stuff. I'm not going to change this story based off of what happened in the finale and keep this as a different slightly AU fic that will last us until summer or whenever it is they decide to air the fourth season. Thank you all for the reviews and support. It means a lot to see people who have read it from day one and still comment and those who recently started it and still want more. Onwards and upwards then

Chapter 14: New Years

Nathan looks around the Gull, crowded with familiar faces of townspeople waiting for the clock to strike. After talking with Jason Miller he realizes his fiancé seems to be missing from the festivities.
"Duke," he calls to the owner who seems to be caught up with two girls he recognizes from somewhere around town.
"Hey Chief," he says loudly over the blearing music.
"Have you seen Audrey?" He asks.
"Nope," he glances at the clock, "but you better find her soon if you want your New Years kiss." Nathan pushes through the crowd gathered to ring in the New Year with tacos and champagne, but sees no sign of Audrey.
"Nathan," a familiar voice stops him in his quest and he finds himself faced with Julia.
"Julia," he smiles as she hugs him, "what are you doing here?"
"Duke invited me up for New Years," she explains.
"That's great, have you seen Audrey?"
"I think she's out on the deck," she says looking towards the sliding door.
"Great, I'll see you later," he says moving past her.
"Congratulations," she calls after him. Sure enough there's Audrey sitting in one of the chairs with a beer in her hand and a far off look pointed to the sea.
"Parker," he says quietly as he approaches her. She twists in her seat to face him and gives him a warm smile.
"Hey you," she says.
"What are you doing out here?" He asks sitting on the foot rest before her chair.
"Enjoying the fresh air," she shrugs and he notices she shivers a bit. No wonder, it was probably cold in the late December air and she was in a sleeveless dress with merely a wrap around it. He shrugs off his jacket and hands it to her. She gratefully takes it and puts her arms through the oversized sleeves. It smells like him and she wraps it around herself.
"I saw Julia inside," he tells her.
"Yeah, we talked for a bit out here."
"About…?"
"I asked her to be my maid of honor; it was only fitting as I did ask her to marry me once."
"Did she say yes?"
"Yup, she's thinking about coming back to Haven for a while."
"Think it'll be good for her?" He asks leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees and she could clearly smell the faint scent of aftershave.
"I hope so," she says. He nods his head slightly before reaching over to take her beer and take a sip.
"It's almost midnight," he says checking his watch, "three minutes to go."
"Should we head back inside?" she asks.
"Nah," he says, "scoot over." She moves herself to the edge of the seat so that he can slide in beside her. She repositions them so that she's more on his lap than the chair and his arms are protectively around her. She breaths in the warmth and smiles contently at her current situation. After a few minutes they hear the countdown coming from inside and brace themselves for the climax.
"Three…two…one! Happy New Year!" Come the screams from inside along with groggers and cat calls but Audrey and Nathan are too busy making out on the porch to care about any of that.

Meanwhile inside it seems everyone is having their first kiss of the New Year except for Duke Crocker. He makes his way over to a side table and clears his throat to get the woman's attention.
"Excuse me miss," he says, "I couldn't help but notice that you have no one to kiss, could I be of any assistance?"
"That's cute Duke," Julia smiles, "but I think there's a blonde at the bar waiting for you."
"You can never have too many New Years kisses," he says with a broad smile.
"Alright Crocker," she says getting up and standing before him, "Happy New Year." She leans in to place a soft kiss to his cheek before pulling back and smiling triumphantly.
"It was worth a shot," he chuckles before returning the gesture, "I think I'll go see if Nathan's drunk enough yet." She downs her glass of champagne before following him outside.
"Gross," she hears Duke complain before she's out of the door. She stumbles out to find him standing beside a row of chairs, one of which Audrey and Nathan are curled up in.
"I'm running a restaurant not a motel," he says.
"Speaking of which," Julia interjects, "would you mind driving me back to my hotel, I haven't had time to find a place yet."
"Parker and I are walking," Nathan says, "buzzed driving is drunk driving you know."
"I can bring you back," Duke offers, "designated driver and all."
"Thanks Duke," she says before addressing the couple, "and congratulations again guys, you pick a date yet?"
"Late February." Audrey says.
"But that's only two months away," Duke says.
"We decided we wanted to have it sooner rather than later," Audrey says wrapping her arms around Nathan.
"Think you'll have everything ready by then?"
"Well yeah, all we need is a dress and a tux, a church, and a cake."
"What about the reception and all that?"
"You see, we were hoping that our best man could arrange something," Audrey says, "Seeing as he owns such a fine dining establishment and all." Duke rolls his eyes and sighs.
"Fine, I'll plan the reception."
"You're the best," Audrey says standing up to hug him.
"Yeah yeah I know," he grumbles, "I should probably get going, it seems this little lady wants to take me home." He wraps an arm around Julia's shoulders and leads her away. Halfway down the steps she shrugs him off.
"Should we get back to the party?" Audrey asks once they're again alone.
"Nah," Nathan replies wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him so that her back is pressed to his chest.
"You wanna head home and celebrate alone?" She asks coyly.
"Alone? But Chief's there," he reminds her.
"Then I guess he'll have to sleep on the couch tonight," she says turning around to kiss him.

So there's that. Happy New Year! See you more in 2013!