A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying this story so far :) I apologize if I get details wrong or if I don't write the characters right, it has not only been a little while since I've seen Twin Peaks, it's not the easiest show to write fanfic for.

Twin Peaks doesn't belong to me.

"Hi mom," Audrey stood in the doorway of her mother's room at the Great Northern. After her father's death, she couldn't believe her mother still had her large suite at the hotel. Inheritance, probably.

"Audrey!" her mother exclaimed. "My God, I can't believe you're back home. I thought you never would come back," she invited her in. "Do you realize I haven't seen you in over ten years?"

"Yes, mom," Audrey chortled a little.

"Does this mean you'll be home for Christmas?"

Christmas. Christmas! She didn't realize it was dawning on the holiday season. Time had slipped away from her. "I guess I will be. I forgot it was December."

Her mother hooted. "You used to make fun of me for saying time went by fast. Where are you staying?"

"Um, here." Audrey replied.

"Oh! You have to stay here, with us, Audrey!"

She fought not to roll her eyes. As a teenager, she was told to leave her parents alone and to find something to do. Now she was being told to stay. "I...I'll think about it, ma. Where's Johnny?"

"Probably in his room. Johnny!" she called for her son. The boy came slowly into the room, but when he saw his sister his eyes lit up and she ran to embrace him.

"I thought you would never come home," Johnny mumbled. Audrey laughed.

"I'll always come back for you, Johnny. Always."

The brother held his sister tight. "Can you stay?"

"Not forever. But for awhile."

Johnny broke away reluctantly. "Okay. But you can't leave 'til we say so."

Audrey laughed. "Okay, Johnny. Not 'til you say so."

She spent the rest of the day with her mother and brother, glad to be with them again but when she finally escaped from her mother's suite, she heaved a sigh of relief. Audrey didn't mind her brother's questions about her being a Special Agent; she minded her mother shutting him down and calling his questions silly and interrupting him. She hated her mother's questions as to why she didn't have a husband yet.

She slipped her heels off and carried them in her hand as she strolled the halls. She took a long flight of stairs down to the lobby to sit by the fireplace for awhile and maybe read. She found someone had had the same idea. "Hey stranger," she poked Cooper's arm playfully.

He looked up from his book like he was waking from a dream. "Oh, Audrey," his features softened and the smile he gave her made her feel like she was floating. "How are you?"

"Do you still live here?"

"The Great Northern? No. I have my own house, but I met a friend here and I decided to stay for a little while. Come, sit down."

Audrey was happy to accept his invitation. "Where do you live now?"

"By the lake."

She smiled. "I'm glad you chose to stay."

"What are you doing here?"

"I just went to see my mother and needed to escape after...all that."

Cooper prodded her to go on. "I don't know," Audrey sighed. "She's a little overbearing. Is it really that odd to be a woman in your twenties and not be married yet? Especially in this day and age..."

He glanced down at her red manicured nails, seeing no ring. "It's not odd in this day and age," he began. "But I can see why she'd think it would be unusual. You're a beautiful woman, Audrey."

Audrey's cheeks reddened. "You don't need to say that, Dale..."

"Of course I do. It's the truth. Frankly, I was a little surprised someone hadn't swept you off your feet and given you happily ever after yet. You certainly deserve it."

I only want happily ever after with you, she thought. "You're too kind," she tried to hide her blush.

"I truly mean it, Audrey. Are you staying for Christmas?"

Happy for a change of subject, she nodded. "New Year's too, if I can."

"I'm glad you can," he replied.

They chatted for awhile longer, easily and happily. Both of them were yawning, though neither of them wanted to leave. "I'll see you soon," Audrey said with another yawn. "Thank you for listening to me."

"It's always a pleasure to talk to you." he said. "You should come over for dinner sometime."

"I would love to," she smiled. "I just can't imagine you not living here anymore."

He chuckled. "Goodbye, Audrey. I'll see you later."

She wrapped her arms around him in a timid hug that he reciprocated. She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, cautious and light.

As she stepped back into her hotel room, she noticed for the first time how...identical it was. Every other room in the Great Northern was the same, hers being no exception. After the visit with her mother, Twin Peaks felt less and less like a home.

Somehow, though, when she was with Cooper, all her worries and troubles faded away. When she was with him, she felt home.

A/N: Thanks for reading! :) Please leave reviews.

-Lulamae