Title: The Day We Died

Author: Shannon – shannyfish

Disclaimer: I do not own "Haven" or its characters, Syfy and other people do. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: When Duke is confronted by friends of Reverend Driscoll that promise to give him the answers he so desperately wants, will he sacrifice everyone and everything he holds dear? How will the town of Haven be forever changed? Audrey/Nathan

Warning: All of Season 2 is fair

Author's Note: This fic takes place after the events in 02.10 "Who, What, Where, Wendigo?" Reviews make me happy :D And I'll write faster too! So, keep that in mind! And yes…I totally stole the title from the Fringe episode!

. . .

Chapter 2 – "Sometimes Not Even Cupcakes Help"

The day hadn't gone well. Nathan had tried to curb things, to try to make the day easier on Audrey, but nothing seemed to help. "You want a cupcake? I could have someone pick some up from Rosemary's," Nathan offered. He was perched on the edge of his desk…well his desk again (in the chief's office)…as he stared down at a heartbroken Audrey in the chair there.

"There are some things that cupcakes can't even fix," she said, her gaze not leaving the floor. They'd told her that until further notice that she was suspended without pay from the Haven Police Department until further notice while they continued their investigation. Nathan had fought like crazy to keep them from doing that…even if they just put Audrey on desk duty. She'd kept it together, but in the privacy of his office she'd allowed herself to completely let everything go.

Nathan got down from his perch on the desk and kneeled down in front of her. He lifted her face and stared into her eyes. "Audrey, I'm going to fix this," he told her gently. "Things will be back in order before you know it."

"I just…"

"Listen to me," he said, his voice taking on a stern tone. "We're going to figure things out. They're going to come back and probably put something in your file, but you'll be back in the field in no time… I promise."

"It's not something that you can promise, Nathan."

"I promise."

Audrey just stared at him for a long while. His eyes were worried but there was truth there. He meant it. She nodded after a moment. "Now, I just have to figure out what to do with all my free time, I guess…"

"You could take up golfing?" he suggested with a crooked smile.

"I think I'll pass on that one," she said with a small laugh.

Nathan straightened up and offered his hand. "Come on, I'll take you to lunch."

Audrey took the offered hand and stood up. She took a second to fix the mascara that was now running down her cheeks. She really was a mess. She had no idea how Nathan could remain so calm with her so hysterical. "You sure you want to spend more time with me?"

He pulled her into a hug and then kissed her forehead. "Audrey, I could spend everyday with you and not get tired of having you around," he told her truthfully and then swung open the office door for her so that she could go first.

. . .

The day had ended better…and that was what counted. Audrey couldn't believe how relaxed she was considering everything. She and Nathan had had lunch and then he'd dropped her off at his place. She'd watched Lifetime for far too long, she'd actually lost track of time. She and Nathan had had dinner together. When it was finally about time for bed, she'd taken a long hot bubble bath and then had crawled into bed with Nathan.

It was silly.

To feel such comfort and love from someone. They were both fully clothed in pajamas, but he held her and it felt like the world was slowing. She could just live in that moment forever. That was the best moment in her life thus far. There was solace and sanctuary there in his bed and in his arms. He was her friend still and he still trusted her…and he cared about her.

Was that all that it was?

She was the only one that he could feel and as she lay there with his arms wrapped around her. Was it that way for a reason? Everyone's trouble was activating for a reason, well for the most part. Was this fate? Was it destiny? Were she and Nathan supposed to be together? Were they supposed to be more than friends? He was her best friend. She'd always heard of people marrying their best friend and how she had always thought that that was silly. When it all fell apart then it wouldn't be a spouse you'd be losing, but also your best friend. The whole world would fade to black at that point it seemed.

"Nathan," she spoke aloud.

"Mmmm?" he mumbled.

Turning in his arms, Audrey could see that he had pretty much fallen asleep. There was a bright smile on his face. He was content…happy… She was glad. She poked at him. He stirred and opened his eyes to stare into hers.

"Yes?"

"Do you think there's a reason…" she started. "A reason why you can only feel my touch?"

Nathan shrugged. "Probably…"

"You're the only one I can trust."

"I know," he whispered. "It's just you and me. That's how it's going to be no matter what they say. You're still my partner, Audrey. Nothing will change that."

Nathan was a handsome man. A man of honor. A kind man. What more could she ask for? She had to know if there was something more there. She needed it for sanity's sake. She'd felt insane enough today, she needed something to steady her. Leaning forward, she allowed her lips to meet his in a kiss. Nathan didn't move at first, but he welcomed the kiss. After a moment though, he was returning it.

"Audrey…" he breathed.

"I had to know," she whispered. There was something there. At least as far as she was concerned. She could feel Nathan, but when they kissed it was more than anything she'd felt before. There was something definitely there. Tears fell from her eyes and she shook her head. "Can we just stop time?" she whispered as she wiped the tears away. They were tears of joy, but she still felt silly having them fall down her face.

"I wouldn't mind that," Nathan agreed and pulled her to him, his arms pulling her tight to him. He kissed her forehead. "I think right now, though, it's best that we sleep." He was absolutely exhausted and as much as he'd love to stay up and savor Audrey's touch (he'd done that the night before) as exposed skin touched his innocently, tonight they both needed to sleep. It'd been too long of a day. Now it was time for it to end.

They laid there in silence in the dark for several minutes before Audrey spoke up. "I need a cupcake!"

"I thought that cupcakes weren't working today!" Nathan replied, but it was too late. Audrey was already gone.

Audrey returned with the whole box and set it on the bedside table. She'd already devoured half a cupcake before she'd made it back to the bedroom. "That was before…this is now…" She giggled as she got back into bed and she scared Nathan in the action of her bouncing into the bed. "Right now, this is definitely the time for cupcakes! Do you want one?"

He laughed. "No… And perhaps no crumbs in the bed…"

"You can't feel them," Audrey teased.

"But I'll know they're there…"

"Okay, no crumbs," she promised.

. . .

She woke when he did. Audrey got ready as if she was going to go into the station. That wasn't the plan today, though. Instead, she'd already planned on going to talk to Dave and Vince at the Haven Herald and see if she could distract herself by going through their archives. She'd thought that perhaps looking for Lucy in there would help her get through the day.

Nathan hadn't thought it was the best idea, but it was the only idea that had come up between the two of them. He was going to pick her up for lunch and then if she wanted to go somewhere else, he'd drop her off before he needed to return to the station. She honestly wasn't sure what she was going to do with so much time off. She was never good with vacations or weekends. She preferred to work.

"Do we need to stop and pick up more cupcakes?" Nathan asked. He'd noticed that there were only a couple of cupcakes left. He watched as she picked up one of the few remaining and started to eat it.

Audrey shook her head. "Not yet. Maybe after you're off."

"You know we could get pancakes," Nathan told her. "I like pancakes. Pancakes are breakfast food."

"Cupcakes can be breakfast food."

"I swear you're going to go into a sugar coma from all those cupcakes," Nathan told her as he pulled on his jacket.

"How about tonight we have pancakes? Breakfast for dinner?"

Nathan nodded. He liked that idea. "Deal."

It didn't take that long for them to arrive at the Haven Herald, Haven wasn't that big after all. Nathan stared at the Herald's sign for a moment. He honestly wasn't sure how much good this would do. Yes, it would be a distraction, but would it be a good distraction? He pondered calling Vince and Dave when he got to the station just to touch base with them. The two of them liked Audrey, he knew they'd look out for her but he didn't know if they'd heard the rumors yet. Rumors traveled in Haven at the speed of light, but sometimes they took a little longer to spread. "Are you sure that you want to spend the day here after yesterday?"

Audrey shrugged. "I don't know… Honestly, I'd be happy to hide out with cupcakes until the world seems to normalize."

"Normalize?" Nathan asked. He looked at her oddly.

"I know, this is Haven…but you know what I mean," she told him. "I just…if I lock myself up and just eat cupcakes I'm afraid that I won't be able to crawl out of that dark place." She was being absolutely honest with him. He deserved that after all. "I've never been in this situation before, Nathan. I don't know who I am… Am I Lucy? Should I stop playing pretend and start having everyone call me Lucy instead of Audrey? Am I going to be able to go back to the only thing I know how to do?"

He stared at her. He understood, sort of. "For the record, I'm going to stick with calling you Audrey… As for the rest, we'll figure it out."

She smiled at him. "I really don't think I'm ready to be called something else anyways." She opened the door and stepped out. Turning back to him, she put on a smile for him. She tried to make it a confidant one, though she honestly didn't know how it came across to Nathan. Probably fake, but she'd given it her best try. "Okay, I'll see you at lunch, right?"

"Right," Nathan told her. "I'll call before I leave the station."

Audrey nodded.

"Call me if Vince or Dave give you any problems."

Audrey smiled for real this time. "I think I can handle Vince and Dave."

"You never know."

"See you later," she said as she shut the bronco's passenger door and then headed for the door to the Haven Herald.

Nathan sat there and watched her as she entered. As soon as he saw Dave approaching Audrey, he headed into traffic, what bit of traffic there was at that hour. He headed towards the station and hoped that Audrey would be okay. It wouldn't be too long until he saw her, but that didn't keep him from worrying about her. Memories of the night before and the feeling of actually being able to feel her lips brought a bright smile to his face.

. . .

TBC…