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 10 – "The Day We Died"
Days passed and they thought that everything would resume the way it used to be.
It almost did.
Shots rang out, which were closely followed by screams. In the middle of Main Street, guns were drawn like in an old west movie. The rev's men had come to finish what they thought had been mended. Rumors of Nathan and Audrey had swirled through Haven like wildfire. Secrets were had to keep secret.
Nathan heard Audrey scream and watched her fall to the ground. He moved towards her and found himself falling to her side. Nathan hit the ground facing her, he reached out towards her face. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Worry rose in him and he found himself barely able to keep his eyes open as he laid his hand against her cheek.
"Haven P.D.! Put your weapons down!" was yelled by multiple people.
It was the last thing he heard before the world around him blackened at the edges…and then overtook him completely.
. . .
Days passed slowly by. Haven slowly normalized…as normal as it ever was. The talk amongst those in town wavered from Reverend Driscoll's death to the horrible actions taken by the reverend's men as they shot Chief Wuornos and Officer Parker.
"How are you feeling?"
"Dead."
"Nathan, don't say such things," Vince Teagues chastised.
"That's how I feel. I wish that bullet had hit me in the chest instead of the arm."
"There's got to be something we can do for you," Dave Teagues spoke up.
Nathan shook his head. "No pieces of someone to pick up this time and deposit in a cooler."
They both sighed at him.
"I just want to be left alone right now," Nathan told them.
"You know, everyone's been concerned about you… We've been flooded by calls wondering how you're doing," Dave said gently.
"I told you how I am." He looked over at them. "I just want to be left alone. Is that so hard to ask?" The Teagues exchanged looks and then patted him on the shoulder before leaving. Nathan sat there, staring down at the floor. The events of the last couple of days played over in his head. He closed his eyes as everything flooded back, he tried to push it back but it was no use.
"You're going to be okay," a woman's voice said.
"The wound is a through and through," another voice said.
Lights passed over his head before his body was finally settled on a bed with fixed lights overhead. He couldn't feel anything but his head was in a fog. He'd been shot. He remembered that, but he didn't know where. He tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth.
"Just relax, Chief," the nurse said.
"He's in shock," someone else said.
Another voice spoke. "How are you feeling, Chief?"
"I don't feel anything," Nathan mumbled.
"His file says he has idiopathic neuropathy," the nurse said. "He can't feel anything, Doctor."
"Audrey…" Nathan mumbled. Some of the memories came back to him. He remembered staring at Audrey, but she wasn't moving…. She'd been shot too.
"She's in the other room," the nurse responded.
"She…okay…?" Nathan asked.
"She's in surgery," she responded truthfully. "I will check on her for you once you're stable."
"Au…drey…" Nathan mumbled again before blackness overtook him again.
That day, they had both died.
Nathan wanted to punch something. He wanted to hurt. If only it were as easy as going out and picking a fight or punching a wall. Nothing would help. He couldn't feel. Even when he was dying, he couldn't feel. His head had been foggy and confusion had set in, but he hadn't been able to feel anything. He supposed in some ways he was lucky…
"Can I get you anything, Chief?" came a voice.
He shook his head. "No…thank you," he said quietly. Today was the day that they were supposed to pack up his Bronco and head out. To go away from Haven…to relax… Instead, here he was sitting in a hospital. His doctor had ordered physical therapy, and since he'd neglected his at home exercises, he was forced to report to the hospital every day.
He just wanted to be alone. Why couldn't people just leave him alone? To let him be immersed in the harsh reality of things? The reverend had killed him from the grave. And yet, the troubles still remained in Haven. Had it really done any good?
"You still sitting here wallowing in self pity?"
"Yeah, what's it to you?" Nathan asked and looked over at Dwight. He'd been stalking him at physical therapy ever since Dwight had found him sprawled on the floor of his place, the first day he was home. Dwight was pretty much on Nathan's list of people he didn't want to see, it didn't seem like Dwight had picked up on that fact though.
"Maybe," Nathan responded.
"It's not healthy you know."
"That's what I was going for…"
"You're going to be fine," Dwight told Nathan.
Nathan had just barely woken up and he was still suffering from confusion. It took him a few moments to process where he was and why he was there. He'd been shot. He and Audrey had been shot. It had been part of a plan (not the getting shot part), they'd lured the reverend's men out. He remembered hearing his officers yelling as he'd blacked out on the street. Had they gotten them?
"The rev's…men…did we…"
"We got'em," Dwight responded before Nathan could finish his sentence. "Dave and Vince are making sure that all of Haven knows that they're responsible for you and Audrey getting shot. They're going to get charged with pre-meditated attempted murder."
"Audrey?"
"The doctors don't know for sure," Dwight said honestly.
They didn't know? How long had he been out? The nurse had told him that she'd check on Audrey for him. She was supposed to be in surgery… How badly had she been shot? He tried to move and then realized that he was stuck in a rather restrictive sling. He'd obviously been shot in the arm from the looks of how he was restrained in the device.
"I should have been there," Dwight said.
"I didn't think they'd get off a shot," Nathan admitted as he tried to sit up.
Dwight held him down. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"I want to see her."
"They're not letting anyone see her," Dwight told him. "I got a glance of her through a window, but that's been it."
"They said she was having surgery…"
Dwight nodded. "They removed the bullet. It punctured her lung, they had to repair it, but they're pretty sure that the lung will heal up fine. She hasn't regained consciousness though…and the machines are doing all the breathing for her at the moment."
"I want to see her," he insisted with urgency as he tried to sit up again. Dwight would allow it. Nathan struggled and only managed to smack the nurse call button by accident. Soon, a nurse was breaking the two of them up and then was sedating him. He didn't want to sleep. He didn't even know how long he'd been out. How long he'd been at the hospital… But blackness consumed his world again.
"You know, you should do the exercises at home. You wouldn't have to come here everyday," Dwight told him.
"Somehow I think you'd still continue to hover," Nathan said. "You know there's a word for what you're doing. It's called stalking and in Haven it's something I can throw you in jail for doing."
"I think most people would agree that it's more termed as looking out for you," Dwight said. "You're being destructive."
"Can you really blame me?"
"Look," Dwight said. He stopped Nathan from walking. He turned so that he was blocking his path. "Audrey's not dead. She's alive."
Nathan was frustrated. Why didn't people leave him alone? He really couldn't deal with reality right now. What he wouldn't give to trade places with her. "I can't feel her, Dwight," Nathan said.
"You can't feel anyone."
"I can feel Audrey," Nathan blurted. "And when they finally let me see her…" He struggled to keep his composure. He sucked in a deep breath and then forced it out between his teeth. "I took her hand… I kissed her forehead… I couldn't feel her… I should have been able to feel her."
"So, you're saying that she's not Audrey?" Dwight asked, confusion filling his voice.
"No!" Nathan snapped. "I'm saying that almost a week ago, we both died… We died there on the street together!"
"You're not dead! Audrey's not dead!"
"Those machines are keeping her alive! That's not living, Dwight!"
"The doctors said that she needs time. She needs a chance for her lung to heal. They gave her pretty good odds that her lung would completely heal and that she'd be able to breathe on her own," Dwight told him. "Don't give up on her."
"They gave her a sixty percent chance of recovering last I heard. I hear that it goes down exponentially…"
"Go see her, Nathan."
"I can tell you exactly what she looked like last time I saw her," Nathan said. He could remember it vividly. It was probably because that memory of her was haunting him. He couldn't fall asleep without seeing her like that. That wasn't how she wanted to remember her…
He'd been left alone in her room. The lights were dimmed, but he could still see well enough. Slowly, Nathan approached her bedside. She looked like she was sleeping, but she was hooked up with tubes that extended to machines. Her pallor was sickly and pale. She was so still. The only sounds that emitted from her were from the machines there in the room. The whooshing and pumping of the mechanical ventilator, which was keeping her alive. The faint beeping that was keeping track of her vital signs.
"Audrey," he spoke quietly as he reached out to take her hand. An IV had been placed there in her hand at one point, but now only a band-aid remained to cover it. Now, they'd inserted a central line, which ran into her chest at her left shoulder. At least, she wouldn't be poked and prodded, he thought. He took her hand and immediately noticed that she felt a bit colder than he remembered. He covered her hand with his other and held it there for a moment.
It took him several minutes to realize it. To realize that he couldn't feel her. That the one person he could feel…he couldn't feel. He'd always felt her before. A handshake, a high five, a hug, or a kiss. All of it, he'd felt only from Audrey. She made him feel alive again. He dropped her hand as if it were on fire, but really he couldn't feel anything and that scared him more than anything. He was confused and he took a step back. He examined his surroundings.
He was awake. He remembered how his day had gone. This didn't feel like a dream… But even in his dreams, he could feel Audrey… It was never like this…
Nathan approached her bedside again. He caressed her face, still he couldn't feel her. "No…" he sputtered. Nathan leaned down and kissed her forehead. Nothing. He didn't feel anything. Tears sprang from his eyes, rolled down his cheeks, and landed there on Audrey's face. "No…" he blurted. He felt like yelling it. He felt like shaking her. She had to wake up. She had to.
"This isn't right…" Nathan said. He stepped back and found himself hitting the wall. That was when he knew that they had died there on Main Street together. There was no denying it. Audrey had brought him to life and he refused to even try to go on without her. Right now, the machines were keeping her alive. The doctors were waiting to hear the word from someone about taking her off in so many days if she didn't start to respond.
Audrey had died…and so had he…
. . .
TBC…