Slowly, carefully, the weight of the world settled back down around her. She fell forward onto her knees in the grass and rested there for a few seconds to reorient herself.
It wasn't until she opened her eyes that she noticed that Agent Howard was gone.
"Thank you for making this town a true Haven again." His voice rang through her mind.
Haven. The Troubles. Nathan.
Audrey whirled around. "Nathan!" She called out frantically. She couldn't see him, but Duke was standing there, his body hunched over with fear. "Duke!" As soon as he heard her voice, he looked up.
"Audrey!"
The blonde bound to her feet and sprinted across the lawn. It was then that she spotted Nathan, sprawled out in the grass, unconscious.
"Duke, what happened?" She asked breathlessly.
He threw his arms into the air in exasperation. "I don't know. You tell me! There was this burst thing and then Nathan fell and William disappeared and—"
"William?!" Audrey interrupted her friend by slamming a hand down onto his chest. "He just, what, vanished?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure he didn't escape or anything while you were distracted?"
"Oh, sure Audrey, I just decided to let him get away—No! Come on, what do you take me for? He was just literally here, handcuffed and everything, a second ago. Then he wasn't."
"Okay, okay." Audrey stepped back, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry Duke. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"Nathan." A rough, staticky voice sounded. "Nathan, you there honey?"
Audrey looked down. "Nathan. Crap." She knelt on the ground beside him, one hand reaching for the walkie talkie on his belt and the other pressing against his neck. She felt around and found Nathan's pulse. It was strong and even, thankfully. She laid her hand against his chest and sighed.
"Laverne?" She said into the long black device. "It's Audrey. What's going on?"
"I can't ahold of the Chief, but there's reports of unconsciousness all across town. Even here in the station. Any idea what's going on? Where's Nathan?"
"He's unconscious too. Keep track of those reports, send whoever's on duty to check on things." Audrey spoke clearly.
Laverne sent back a quick affirmation and then Audrey set down the walkie talkie.
"Duke?" She looked back up at the tall man in question. "You should go check on Jennifer. Can you go inside and make sure her and Gloria and Ben are alright?"
He spared a quick glance down at Nathan and then gave her a thumbs up gesture. "Will do." He jogged over to the large colonial house and disappeared inside.
Audrey turned her full attention back to Nathan. She bent over him and started talking in a low tone. "Nathan? I need you to wake up." She cupped his cheek in her hand and rubbed the pad of her thumb back and forth along his jaw. His stubble tickled against her skin.
"Nathan?" She called out again. "Nathan, please. Come back to me."
The man let out a soft groan and his eyelids twitched.
Audrey sighed with relief. "Yes! There we go."
His head shifted from one side to the other before he managed to force his eyes open. They fell immediately onto the beautiful woman beside him and a small grin lit up his face.
"Parker," he said, his voice husky and dry.
Audrey couldn't stop herself. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. Then she pulled away, whispered his name as if she couldn't believe that he was actually there, and kissed him again.
When they finally separated, Audrey helped Nathan pull himself up into a sitting position.
"So what happened?"
"I don't really know," she said. While she remembered having a conversation with Agent Howard, she wasn't quite sure what had prompted so many people to fall unconscious all at once. Could it have been a Trouble? "I was just talking to Agent Howard and then there was a flash and William disappeared and you and a bunch of people passed out."
Quickly, she reached out for the walkie talkie again and hit the button on the side. "Laverne?"
"I'm here, honey." The scratchy voice instantly responded.
"Any news?"
The Haven Police Department dispatcher paused for a moment before responding, "Yes, people seem to be waking up. Everyone is disoriented and confused."
Audrey's cop instinct took over. "Okay, well contact the hospital staff and let's start getting people checked out, just in case. In the meantime, I'm going to try to figure out what just happened. Also, let me know when you hear from Dwight."
"Alright, dear. And how's Nathan?"
"He's—" Audrey stared at her lover for a moment and could tell that something was different. His eyes were wide and innocent-looking and he was rubbing his hands together. He wouldn't have any reason to do that unless… "He's waking up, doing alright."
"That's good, sugar. I'll keep you updated on this end."
Before Laverne had even stopped talking, Audrey had dropped the walkie talkie and reached out to place her hand over Nathan's.
"I can feel. My Trouble—it's gone. I can…" He trailed off and moved one hand down, weaving his fingers through the prickly grass.
"Yeah," the blonde smiled. She flashed back to the talk with Agent Howard and the way that burning feeling had exploded from her. Seconds later, the realization hit her full force and she gasped. "I think the Troubles are gone. All of them."
Nathan, his expression still full of an adorably child-like wonder, asked, "What? How?"
She sighed. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, we have to go make sure everyone is okay. Can you stand?"
He was a bit insulted by her brushing off his questions, but at the same time, he understood. She was in cop mode, not personal mode. Her job came first, a feeling he possessed as well. He fell into his cop persona and nodded succinctly.
The pair disentangled themselves and stood. They began walking toward the house.
Halfway there, Nathan paused. "Wait, what did you say about William?"
Audrey chuckled. "He's nothing to worry about."
They walked into the house to find Ben sitting on the couch, holding his head tiredly in his hands. Gloria was rocking the baby on her shoulder while Duke stood next to her. Jennifer was curled up against his side, her arms wrapped around his waist. The three were involved in what seemed like an intense conversation.
Everyone froze when they entered the room.
Jennifer was the first to speak up. "Audrey, what happened out there?"
The blonde chuckled. "The Troubles are over."
Ben lifted up his head. "What?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I don't know how to explain, so please don't ask. But it seems like it all just… ended. Everyone with a Trouble just passed out, so there's a bit of chaos in town right now, but I think everything's going to be okay."
"Wait," Duke called out. He pulled away from the brunette, strode over to Audrey and crossed his arms. "No offence, but how can you be sure?"
Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean, Duke?"
Nathan stepped forward and slapped his hand down onto Duke's shoulder. "I can feel."
The taller man turned to him with wide eyes. "Really?"
"Really."
"So if I hit you, it'll hurt?"
Audrey reached up and forced the two apart. "Okay, we really don't need to be fighting right now. Just trust me. It's all over."
"Did Agent Howard do it?" He asked lowly, trying not to let the others hear.
She nodded briefly. "Yeah, he was a big part of it. We'll talk later." She stepped away and moved toward the others. "So is everyone okay here?" They all nodded. "Okay. Well Nathan and I need to get down to the station and check in with everyone. Duke, if you and Jennifer want to come along and help that would be great."
Duke tried to hide his smile. He was glad to be included. "Sure."
"Alright, let's go." She turned and started walking out of the door.
Behind her, Gloria was smiling with awe. "Haven has become a true Haven again."
Audrey reached over and grabbed Nathan's hand, sending a small smile his way. "Haven for God's orphans."
Yeah it's cheesy I guess, but I wanted to wrap up the Troubles somehow. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!