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 11 – "The Day We Lived"

He wanted to quit. To give up. No one was letting him. Life really wasn't fair. Nathan had loaded up his Bronco. He'd decided he needed that vacation; it was going to be far more depressing than he'd originally planned, but he'd deal with it. Maybe he'd go fishing or just sit out by the lake… Something that involved no type of thinking.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Nathan sighed as he pushed the tailgate closed. "What do you want now, Dwight?"

"You're supposed to be at physical therapy…and your sling's supposed to still be on," Dwight told him.

"I decided that my arm's good enough," Nathan said. "I'm done with physical therapy."

"Where you going?" Dwight asked. He nodded in the direction of the packed Bronco.

"Does it matter?"

"What if we need to reach you? All hell could break out…"

"Then let it break out," Nathan said.

"Come on, Nathan," Dwight pushed.

"I'm going to stay at a cabin up in Eustis," Nathan finally said with a sigh. The next sentence was harder for him to get out. "Au—Audrey and I…were supposed to go there…to take a vacation…"

Dwight nodded. "You sure you're going to be okay going up there alone?"

"I'll be fine… The arm's better," he said and stretched it out a bit to prove it.

"The fact that you can't feel doesn't make me feel any better about things," Dwight told him. "But…have a good trip. Call if you need anything."

Nathan just nodded before heading to the driver's side door of his Bronco. He looked into the side mirror and could see that Dwight was leaving. He was thankful. It was hard enough to deal with reality; he didn't need someone hounding him to deal with "issues". He got into the Bronco, pulled the door shut, and started the engine. He headed towards the highway; he'd make his way to Eustis and be there before it got dark.

. . .

When Nathan arrived at the cabin, the sun was just going down. He'd taken a bit longer in a store between Haven and Eustis. He really hadn't thought of any of that until he'd been on the road. He'd called and reserved the cabin when he and Audrey had decided to go. The key was supposed to be hidden above the door and he'd have to turn on the water when he got there. It wasn't anything too intensive. Nathan was thankful that he wouldn't have to talk to anyone. He could just spend time at the cabin and be alone.

He parked the Bronco outside of the cabin and pulled his bag of groceries and his duffel bag from the passenger side. He had some more items in the back, but he didn't need them. Not right now. He'd get them out tomorrow. He made his way towards the front door and looked up above the door. He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean the key wasn't there. Nathan set down his bags and reached up above with both hands, but he couldn't find the key.

Frowning, Nathan was about to call the number he had in case there were any issues with the cabin when he thought to try the handle. Maybe whoever fixed up the cabins in between uses was still there… He reached out and turned the handle and then pushed. It opened and he noticed candles lit. Nathan wondered if maybe he got the date wrong. Was he intruding? "Hello?" he called as he picked up his things. He moved them so they were just inside the door before stepping in himself. Nathan closed the door behind and moved further into the cabin.

"Hello?" he called again. Food was cooking, he could smell that. And everywhere there seemed to be more and more candles.

"You took long enough to get here. I was starting to think that you'd changed your mind."

Nathan froze. The voice was behind him. Tears pushed to his eyes. He was hallucinating. He had to be. Even though he couldn't feel the pain from his arm, he was thinking that maybe his body had reached its tolerance and so now instead of feeling the pain he was just hallucinating. Not exactly what he wanted to do. The voice belonged to Audrey. "You're not real," he spoke up. He didn't turn. He couldn't turn. If he saw her, the hallucination would be too real. He couldn't deal with it right now. He wanted to forget…to not think of anything…

"I'm plenty real. Are you going to turn around?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Seeing you makes it into a reality instead of a hallucination," Nathan said.

"But I am real, Nathan," she insisted.

"No," Nathan said. "I saw you. Hooked up to those machines in the hospital. Pale as a ghost. I touched you…I couldn't feel you. Audrey Parker's gone…dead…"

"You know, if you'd come and seen me you'd know that I'd gotten better," she said.

Nathan closed his eyes, tears streamed down his face. He tried to wish the hallucination away. He didn't want to live there with a hallucination or a ghost. He couldn't bear it. It wasn't often that he broke down…but this was shaping up to being one of those rare occasions. "I couldn't…it was too hard…" he whispered. He stayed still and tried to remember the cabin as he'd seen it before, without the candles. Nathan just wanted to reset everything.

Then she touched him.

He could feel her touch.

He jumped and found himself turning around towards the voice automatically. Nathan almost fell over when he saw her. Audrey was there, standing in front of him. Her hair was pulled back and up. She was wearing a grey and silver long sleeve henley and jeans. He could feel her…was it really Audrey?

"I'm not dead, Nathan," she said.

"We both died," he told her.

Audrey looked at him oddly. "You got shot in the arm. Last I heard, that wasn't fatal…"

Nathan was still not sure that it was really her. He reached out cautiously and touched her hand. It was like lightning, the feeling of being able to feel her. He took a step back in shock. She was really there. Audrey was there and out of the hospital bed he'd sworn she'd died in. "H-h-how?" he asked. He looked from her hand to her face.

"I got better," Audrey told him simply. "They said my lungs needed some extra time to heal. That my body let me sleep through it. That it heals better that way." She shrugged. "I'm a cop, remember…not a doctor." She smiled brightly at him, hoping for a smile in return.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Nathan asked.

"From what I've heard, you wouldn't have listened," Audrey told him. "I told you that I wasn't going anywhere… You're stuck with me."

Nathan smiled for the first time. "I'm glad to be stuck with you." He reached out to take her hand again and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly and swayed a bit. It was so nice to have her in his arms. His hand went up to her hair and he kissed the side of her head. Tears fell from his eyes again. He closed his eyes to flush them down his cheeks again.

He felt alive again.

"You can't ever do that to me," Nathan told her as he held her tight. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"You would live."

"No, I wouldn't," Nathan argued. He pulled back just enough so that he could see her face. "You're not just my partner… Maybe it's because I can feel you…and only you…but there's a connection…"

"I know," she said gently.

Nathan smiled. "I missed you." He leaned in and initiated a kiss. She kissed him back and he found himself holding her as tight as he could. He didn't want to let her go…not ever.

After a few moments, they separated. "I missed you too," Audrey said. "Everyone said you were taking things hard… I was hoping to surprise you…though I will admit, I didn't think you'd respond to the surprise with thinking that I was dead."

"I guess I'm a pessimist."

"We'll have to work on that," she teased.

"I think we should," he responded with a bright smile. Nathan leaned in to kiss her again. The time at the cabin was definitely going to be much more exciting than he'd expected. He was overjoyed, though. To feel the world moving around him again, it was amazing.

Audrey pulled away and out of his arms. "Now, it's not that I don't want to do this…I do," she told him. "But…I have to get dinner finished."

"I'm not hungry," he said as he moved towards her. He was intent on kissing her again.

"I am," she told him and shook her head at him. "I'm pretty sure this vacation is going to be more than just the weekend."

"It is…"

"So, we have time," she told him.

"We do."

Nathan watched her disappear into the kitchen and he couldn't remove the grin from his face if he tried. Audrey was alive. He was alive. Things were moving the way everything was supposed to. He felt as if the weight of the world had been removed from his shoulders. After a moment, he followed her into the kitchen hoping to help her in some way. If all else failed, he was sure that he could just keep her company.

. . .

Morning came. The sun rose up into the sky, lighting the bedroom up. The thin curtains didn't keep much of the light out. Nathan didn't care. He and Audrey hadn't slept all night. They'd spent a lot of time just lying in bed together, wrapped in each other's arms, and just talking. They'd talked about everything. Nathan had already felt like he knew Audrey before, but now…now he felt like he knew her whole life. It wasn't a bad thing. He just felt that much more connected to her.

He stared at her. She was beautiful in the muted morning light. He didn't ever want to leave the cabin…or bed for that matter. "We should sleep," he told her as he reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why don't I make you pancakes? We can have breakfast in bed and then sleep?" Audrey offered.

"That would require us to move," Nathan pointed out. He was quite comfortable where he was. He really didn't want to move. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be tired. Not with her there.

"It does…" she told him with a smile. "I promise it'll be worth it though…"

"Probably shouldn't eat them in bed…we're likely to get syrup on the bedding…"

"Good point," Audrey said and got out of bed quickly. She pulled on pajama pants and hurried out of the room.

Nathan watched her for a minute before sliding out of bed and pulling on the pajama pants he had on his side. He had started to wear them since Audrey had been staying with him and then it had just become habit. He wandered towards the kitchen and found her already at work. "You know we don't have to have pancakes."

"You love pancakes."

"I do," Nathan said as he scratched his head. He yawned. "We could have something you like, though…"

"I like pancakes," she told him.

He moved behind her as she mixed the ingredients in the bowl. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. "Are you sure you want to do breakfast?"

"I think we both need it…or else we're going to just collapse and never wake up," Audrey told him. "Plus, I need to eat something to take my meds."

"Right," Nathan said and kissed her neck again.

Audrey laughed. "You're determined to be distracting, aren't you?"

"Is it working?"

She laughed again. "I'm going to make pancakes… Distractions or not."

"Is that a challenge?" he teased as she moved out of his arms. He watched as Audrey went over to the stove and started to spoon the batter into the pan.

"No…no playing while I'm cooking… Last thing either of us needs is to end up in the hospital again." She turned to him and pointed towards the cupboard. "Can you get me a plate out?"

Nathan nodded and retrieved a large plate for her. He leaned against the counter and just watched her. He knew that this was quite domestic, but he liked it. He could do this every morning…or at least on weekends. He wasn't going to let Audrey go. She brought this color to his life that wasn't there before…and hadn't been there since he'd been shot. It changed everything.

"Do you know what you want to do while we're up here?" Audrey asked as she flipped the pancakes.

"I don't care as long as you're there," he responded as he stared at her. Originally he'd planned on fishing. He'd brought poles and a tackle box. None of that mattered now. He could just sit inside with her the whole time and be perfectly content.

"You have to want to do something," Audrey told him as she looked over at him.

"I don't care… Really… I'm just happy you're here," Nathan admitted.

Audrey blushed a bit and deposited pancakes onto the plate. A pancake mountain was quickly forming. She dropped the last of the batter into the pan before moving the bowl and spoon into the sink and rinsing them. She returned to the stove and flipped them. It didn't take long before all the pancakes were done and she was setting the plate on the table.

Nathan had already brought out plates, utensils, butter, and syrup. They both sat down and started to pull pancakes onto their respective plates. Audrey watched Nathan as he dressed up the pancakes how he liked and took the first bite. He was definitely loving the breakfast. She figured that once they both ate that they would be full and even more content. It would make sleeping so much easier. She knew that messing up their sleep schedule wasn't the bed idea, but they were on vacation. They had some time before they needed to return back to Haven. They could be on whatever schedule they wanted right now.

. . .

Giggles filled the bedroom as the sheets moved about. They'd slept through much of the day and Audrey had found herself being woken up by Nathan's lips. She hadn't minded being woken up like that. To be wrapped in his arms. There was something absolutely blissful about it.

"I don't think we need to leave the bed," Nathan told her.

She laughed. "I think that you may want to eat sometime."

"Eating's highly overrated," Nathan responded with a smile.

"You may need your strength back at one point," she teased. Audrey kissed him and then cuddled up against him. This was truly a blissful vacation. It was like nothing else in the world mattered.

"Maybe," Nathan told her and dropped a kiss on her forehead. He held her and knew that this really was living. There was no way he could have ever imagined the glorious overwhelmingly wonderful filling feeling that he'd felt.

She looked up at him. "You're right, you know," Audrey told him.

"What?"

"You're the one person who knows me…"

Nathan smiled and kissed her forehead again. "I know who you are," he repeated. "And I love you."

"I love you," Audrey found herself saying as she stared up at him. Had she really said those words? This man that had been her best friend and her partner…was something so much more. How and when had that happened, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she wouldn't trade that feeling for anything. They just stayed like that for several moments before Audrey spoke up again. "Shower?" she suggested.

"You and leaving the bed…"

"I made you pancakes before," Audrey pointed out. "I don't remember you complaining…"

"That's true…"

Audrey moved in his arms so that their heads were even. She stared at him for a moment and then an impish smile appeared. Leaning in, Audrey kissed him long and deep. Once she broke it, she spoke up quietly. "We could always continue this in the shower…"

That was enough to get Nathan to get up. He followed her to the bathroom. There was kissing before the water had even been turned on. He could definitely spend the whole time inside of the cabin. He reached in and turned on the water and kissed Audrey while they waited for it to warm up.

She giggled as she found herself hitting the bathroom wall. "Nathan Wuornos, how is it that you're not married yet?" she teased. Audrey honestly didn't understand how in all his years in Haven, Nathan had never had a really serious relationship. Nathan was handsome and kind. He was definitely the kind of guy to settle down with and have a family with. She'd even seen him with babies; he was scary good with them. What wasn't to like?

"I guess I just never found the right woman," he told her as he stared into her eyes. "Not until now…" He placed another kiss as he reached out to feel the temperature of the water in the shower. It was nice and warm. He guided her into the shower as they continued to kiss. He definitely was going to enjoy this vacation.

All hell could break loose in Haven…and he really wouldn't care less. Haven could survive a few days without them. Right now, all he wanted to do was to focus on Audrey and the precious time they had together. He wouldn't waste another moment with her.

. . .

The End.