Boxes in the Attic
Pairing/Characters: Nathan, Audrey, hints of Nathan/Audrey
Rating: T
Words: 641
Disclaimer: As far as I know Haven is owned by Jim Dunn, Sam Ernst, and SyFy/Universal. If I did own it...well...I wouldn't be writing fan fiction, would I?
Author's Note: And finally, the finale. I always had this goal I was writing to, but how I got there was always a bit of a mystery to me. If I had been smarted I would have outlined every chapter. After all, I knew from the beginning exactly how many chapters there would be. And yet, it still got away from me. Alas.

BUT! It's complete now. I think that's the important part. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this, and especially those who took the time to review it.

Nathan locked the door after he shut it before going to sit down next to Audrey on the front steps of the Chief's house.

"Now, was that so bad?" Audrey asked as he settled himself next to her.

"I'm glad it's done," he confessed.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Turning to look at her, Nathan frowned. "I wasn't looking for anything."

"Maybe, maybe not," Audrey shrugged. "But you found something, didn't you?"

Nathan considered everything he and Audrey had unearthed over the last few days. His mother's hope chest, the letters that she had written to him and his father before he died, the home movies, things that he had forgotten about or didn't know about. With a sigh he rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, contemplating her words.

"I guess…I guess I found out that things weren't the way I thought they were," he answered slowly. "I wanted to believe that I understood everything that happened when I was a kid. I never considered that I could be wrong."

"It seemed to me that the Chief was trying to protect you from the less savory facts of your childhood," Audrey said as she reached over and rubbed his back. "Parents usually want what's best for their kids, even if that means keeping things from them."

"I think that the Chief was just looking out for me, in the end. There was a lot he couldn't tell me because I would have never believed him," Nathan admitted. "Like everything that happened with my mother. I hated her, hated her, when she died. I couldn't believe she'd just leave me like that, leaving me with the Chief, who had no idea what he was doing. He was trying his best and I never gave him any credit."

"I don't really understand child-parent relationships. All of my memories come from someone who grew up in group homes and foster care. I used to dream about my family coming to get me, telling me that they gave me up because they couldn't take care of me but now they could," Audrey explained, looking out over the lawn. "Of course that's a giant lie and probably not even my dream, but it's still in my head."

"I'm sorry," Nathan said as he scooted closer to her on the step. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her body against his. "This had to have been difficult for you too. For you to see everything that you didn't have."

Audrey gave a listless shrug in response. "It doesn't really matter at this point. I need to get to the bottom of who or what I am. If I'm not Audrey Parker, I probably wasn't Lucy Ripley either. The truth is, I may never know." She looked up at him, the way he was looking out at the grass in front of them with a distant expression. "But I think it's important for you to know who you are, and what role you play in this town. You help the Troubled. That's admirable, and I think that's what the Chief wanted."

He looked down at her hand half of his mouth pulled up into a grin. "Yeah, I guess that is something."

"Now," Audrey said, nudging Nathan's side with her elbow, "what do you say to dinner and drinks at the Gull?"

"Like…a date?"

"Well, unless you count me sweet-talking Duke into helping us move furniture next week a date, I'm going to say no," Audrey chuckled.

"Fair enough. I don't think I want to be on a date with you while you're sweet-talking Duke," Nathan agreed. "But I'm still buying you dinner."

"Oh yeah, wouldn't dream of having it any other way," Audrey grinned. "After all, I didn't go through those boxes in the attic for nothing, mister."