"Wow, Duke. Helping me move and throwing in dinner? You really are glad to have someone living up here." Audrey teased.
"Well, it does mean more money coming in." Her new landlord agreed with a laugh.
"Don't get too excited, Parker." Nathan quipped as he brought in the last box from the Bronco. "He just wants to keep you distracted from whatever illicit on-goings happen downstairs."
"You know, I was going to throw in dessert too, but, now you can forget it." Duke threatened playfully. Nathan rolled his eyes as he set his box on the table. Considering that Duke had already placed the order before coming out to help move Audrey's boxes upstairs, the threat had no teeth. Like most comments from Duke, its sole purpose was to tease a reaction from a pretty girl.
"Aw, no fair," protested the pretty girl in question. "Besides, he-Oh, no! Nathan, your back!"
"What about it?" He asked, wracking his brains to figure out what he could have done to himself this time.
"You're bleeding." Duke explained as he began to rummage through the boxes on the table for a first aid kit. It was a given that anyone who worked closely with Nathan would have a well stocked supply of bandages.
"It's in the same place as the nails were." Audrey added, turning him fully for a better look. A small dark stain on his shoulder was spreading. "I thought you had gotten this taken care of."
"I did," Nathan answered as he let her push him down into a nearby chair. "Got a tetanus shot and everything."
"You could have ripped a stitch when we were moving the boxes." Duke said as he handed the kit to Audrey. "Why didn't you say anything? Audrey and I could've handled it just fine."
"I forgot about it." Nathan replied as if he was talking about something as banal as leaving a book on a bus. "It's not like they hurt."
"I should've remembered, at least." Audrey sighed guiltily as she cautiously pulled at his shirt collar to get a better look at the wounds. When her fingers brushed against the skin next to the stitches, Nathan let out a strained whimper and pulled away from her touch. "Nathan, I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking."
"It's all right." He hissed, trying to stay still. "I wasn't expecting it either."
"Did you just feel pain?" Duke asked, surprised.
"Apparently, I did." Nathan replied with a dry chuckle.
"How?"
"Because I touched his stitches." Audrey explained, the guilt from before still in her voice. Confusion passed over Duke's face as he took in the two people in front of him. Why would Audrey touching Nathan matter? Then, it clicked into place. This was another part of everything Audrey was getting around to telling him.
"Part of her immunity to the troubles, got it." He said with a little shrug. "Nathan, you still keep an extra shirt in your truck, right?"
"Yeah, it's in the back."
"Good, give Audrey your keys." He requested. "We can't have the interim Chief walking around all bloody. Audrey, please grab the food from Nora while you're down there. It should be ready by now. I'll have him patched up by the time you get back."
"Are you sure?" She asked, taking the keys from Nathan. " I can take care of it."
"I know that. Believe me, I'd prefer it." Duke replied. "But, if I do it, it won't hurt. If it doesn't hurt, he'll stay still instead of moving around and making it worse."
"Right." Audrey conceded with a nod. Nathan didn't look entirely pleased by the change of events, but, didn't protest.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Duke promised her with a reassuring smile.
"It didn't really hurt. I was just surprised." Nathan defended as Audrey exited the apartment. "Really, I would've been-"
"I know. No one is questioning that." Duke cut in as he got the supplies out and laid them on the table. "But she'll worry less if I do it. And Audrey worrying less means she gives you less grief about being careless…again."
"Good point." Nathan relented with a sigh. Between the two of them, they were able to peel off Nathan's shirt without moving the injured muscles too much. Duke was relieved to see that the stitches hadn't popped open. They had just been pulled enough to cause him to bleed . Even though he knew it didn't matter, he did his best to be gentle as he cleaned away the blood. For one thing, he had promised Audrey. For another, it would just be his luck that Nathan would miraculously regain feeling just as he was poking at a stitch.
"You could've told me." He told Nathan softly as he applied a protective bandage to the area. Nathan noted that he was using the same light, but, reproachful tone he'd used they were burying the Chief.
"I tried." Nathan offered. "Back when I asked you about fate at Vanessa's."
"I guess you did; I just didn't pick up on it." Duke replied. He was going to have to pay closer attention to what his stoic sometimes-friend said from now on. Otherwise, he'd keep missing things. "When did you tell Audrey?"
"She figured it out herself before I could get the nerve. It was the morning Audrey Two showed up." Nathan explained, smiling slightly at the memory of her placing the badge in his hand.
"That's Audrey for you." Duke chuckled. "Seriously though, I'm just glad you can feel something after all this time."
"Even if it's Audrey?" He asked. Duke paused. It wasn't hard to read between the lines this time. While Nathan's voice was mostly neutral, there was an undercurrent in the question that the other man couldn't miss.
"Yeah, Nate. Even though it's Audrey." He affirmed quietly as he taped the last of the bandage in place. With a forced cheerfulness, he announced, "There, all done. That wasn't so bad now was it?"
"Thanks." Nathan replied with genuine gratitude and some relief. "Audrey will be pleased I'm not getting blood stains all over her new place."
As if on cue, the woman in question came onto the landing holding a shirt in one hand and a takeout bag from downstairs in the other. Neither man missed the way her face colored at the sight of a shirtless Nathan. Or the almost shy smile on her face as she handed Nathan the clean top.
"Try not to get blood on this one." She admonished as she gave his arm a quick pat. The hitch in his breath and the wondering smile that followed were also impossible to miss.
"No promises." He teased as he covered himself back up, still smiling.
"Promises or not, she's taking care of you next time." Duke warned. As he went to clean off his hands, he overheard Audrey playfully scolding Nathan about being more careful. Oh well, he did say less grief after all.
A timeline came to his mind as he soaped up his hands and ran them under the water. Audrey's discovery was after she had told Duke he had to like her confiding in Nathan first. More of the timeline slid into place as he recalled that Evie's little introduction had also come later. Choosing to go to Nathan over him had nothing to do with Nathan's ability to feel her. Or, his surprise wife.
For some reason, that made it hurt less and more at the same time.
Shaking off his thoughts with the water, he dried his hands and headed back out. Tonight, he was just going to have a pleasant evening with friends. The things he didn't want to think about could wait. Audrey and Nathan had set up the food on the deck while he was in the bathroom. Some of his thoughts must have still been on his face as Audrey came in to grab more napkins from one of the boxes.
"Everything OK?" She asked, pausing before going back out.
"Yeah. Just tired I guess." He deflected coming over to her.
"Good thing you didn't get the chance to tell Nora to forget dessert. You could use the sugar." Audrey teased, her nose crinkling a little as she smiled.
"I got distracted." He reminded her with a chuckle. "Besides, we should celebrate your first night in your own place."
"I really am glad you decided to lower the rent." She added. "Otherwise, I'd still be stuck in that little room at the bed and breakfast."
"Like I said, I'd rather lease the place to a friend." Duke explained. At the word 'friend', Audrey's smile became a little broader. Reaching up, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Thanks, really." She said as she exited onto the deck. Duke shook his head, smiled, and followed. It surprised him how that little gesture of affection suddenly made feel better. Or, how much it pleased her to have him name her as a friend. It also surprised him that it didn't really bother him that her chair was slightly closer to Nathan's.
More and less at the same time.
A/N: If you have any ideas for a good chapter on how Duke would've reacted, feel free to send me a private message. I'll be sure to credit any ideas used in the story.