Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or this world. I just like to be a part of it sometimes

Author's Notes: This is all A/U. I love, love, love the idea of Paige, and I'm sure I'll write about something with her and Nathan soon, but I know we need some straight up Naudrey over here. So, let's just pretend she didn't have to go into the Barn at the end of the series, and instead got to stay with Nathan. And the Grey Gull still exists, because, come on. Love that place.

Also, this is only lightly beta'd because I'm going to try to get this all out fairly quickly, so all dumb mistakes are my own. I'd suggest following it if you like it, so you know when I update it.

And be warned, there really is no plot or story to this. Just pure, Christmas fluff.

Summary: The Troubles are gone, so Audrey and Nathan can finally spend their first, real Christmas together.

Their First Christmas

As it soared through the streets, it had its destination picked out. It whistled past the Welcome to Haven sign, and paid little attention to the people it bothered who were trying to hustle into their church service. On Queen Street, it rushed by Haven Joe's bakery, and the building which once housed the Haven Herald, kicking up leaves and other debris which people shielded their fresh bake goods from. It flew through the gazebo by the water, before circling back and flying by the windows of the Rust Bucket. The patrons inside barely noticed its presence, and instead continued to focus on their mugs of beer and other libations. Undeterred by the snub of the Rust Bucket's patrons, it continued on, circling through the darkening town, and down by the water. Soon, the Grey Gull was in its sights, and it swirled around the grey building, kicking up dust from the parking lot, and causing the flaming outdoor fires to swirl and almost go out. The people around the fires shielded themselves from the dancing flames, but it ignored them, instead continuing up the stairs to swirl around the apartment upstairs. The apartment was dark and cold however – its inhabitants clearly not around – so it flew off the back balcony, and continued on its journey. Bypassing the town now, it continued along the waterline, and eventually its destination was in sight. At the end of a long street, right next to the water, was a little yellow colored house, with lights burning brightly, and smoke pluming out of the chimney. As it neared, the curtains parted, and a pair of bright blue eyes, framed by curls of blond hair peeked out to survey the landscape. With its target in sight, it picked up speed down the little road, kicking up everything in its path, eventually slamming into the piece of glass separating it from the woman within.

Audrey jumped as the wind slammed into the window and shook as a shiver ran through her body. "Brrrrr. It looks terrible out there."

"Parker, just get away from the window, and come sit by the fire. You'll feel better."

Audrey turned around and looked at Nathan who was sprawled out on the couch in front of the fire. Their dog, Bella, had already taken her spot next to Nathan, with her head on Nathan's lap, and Audrey knew she would have to fight for the spot. The Troubles hadn't been gone very long – wounds were still a little fresh from what was lost, and who was lost – but they had tried to move on. And, as such, after they got things settled at the police station, and Nathan reclaimed his title of Chief after Dwight decided to retire to spend time with Lizzy, the two had taken off for a couple of weeks to just spend time together. There was no agenda, and there were no deadlines. They didn't have to live in constant fear that one or the other would have to leave to save the world, and there were no Troubles rearing their ugly head. They had time to just be Nathan and Audrey. Two orphans in a world who had somehow found each other over time and space, and were finally able to experience the normalcy of life. They could take Sunday afternoon drives up the coast, and could really take their time as they wandered through the Farmer's market. And partway through their time together, Nathan had come home one day with Bella in tow. He had always said he wanted them to have a rescue dog, and didn't want to waste any time. Bella immediately settled right on in, and just like every female in Haven, was instantly drawn to Nathan, and Audrey found herself fighting for position half the time. But, it didn't matter. They were a family, and things were normal.

As the window shook once again behind her, Audrey shuddered again, and moved towards the couch, watching as Nathan shooed Bella out of her spot. She sat down, and curled up against Nathan, and got lost in the dance of the flames of the fire before her. When a log popped exceptionally loud, Audrey jumped, and was answered with Nathan's chuckle.

"A little jumpy there, Parker? Aren't you supposed to be a cop?"

Audrey could feel her cheeks begin to burn a little, but she smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just dozing, and it woke me up."

"Mmmhmm."

When she noticed Bella looking suspiciously at the fire as well, Audrey felt a little better about being startled.

"So, since you're so busy dozing, are you too tried to open this?"

At the mention of opening something, Audrey pulled herself away from Nathan so she could look at him, and saw he was holding a red envelope in his hand. She could feel her heart quicken, because even though Christmas was right around the corner, she hadn't even thought of what to get Nathan. Pretty much her whole existence in Haven had consisted of one life threatening moment after another, so shopping for the holidays had never really been on her mind. Even for Nathan's birthday last week, she didn't have to shop, but then, it did happen to fall fairly quickly after his Trouble went away, so with his heightened sense of touch, he was more than happy with pancakes and her for his birthday. Thinking about that night/morning brought a smile to her face, and only his voice brought her out of her musings.

"What are you thinking about?"

She was caught, but she didn't care. "Your birthday."

Nathan grinned and leaned in for a kiss. "Hmm, that was a good day."

When he leaned back and smirked at her, Audrey couldn't help the warm feeling of contentment which swirled around inside her. So, this is what being in a normal, domestic relationship felt like. She could definitely get used to this.

"So? Did you want to open this?"

The anxiety of not having a gift for him once again bubbled up, but Audrey reasoned with herself that she still had a couple of days until Christmas, and could more than likely sneak out during lunch tomorrow to buy him something. Maybe a few new henleys. He looked really good in the ones he did have… "Hand it over." She reached for the envelope and looked at the front, noting her name encircled by a heart. Nathan was so sappy out of the public eye, and she loved it. She flipped the envelope over, and pushed her finger under the flap, sliding it across to loosen it. Once open, she pulled out the card inside, and quickly scanned through the information. It was a certificate for a four night stay at The Manor Inn, the super fancy hotel a few miles out of Bangor. The Inn was one of those places you would see on Best Hotel websites and such, but nothing Audrey ever thought she would stay in. It had been around for over a hundred years, and rumors were always swirling about it being haunted. The fine people of Haven never let that bother them however – since haunting was a real thing in their town.

"Nathan, this is amazing! When are we going?"

Nathan couldn't help his grin at Audrey's enthusiasm. He was really looking forward to spending their first Christmas together, and he couldn't think of a better place to spend it than at the Inn, and the fact that she seemed just as excited, made it even better. Growing up, he had always heard people talking about the Inn, but it was never a place his family would spend the money on, and as he grew older, the Troubles kicked in, and spending time at the fancy hotel never seemed appealing. But when he started researching potential gifts for Audrey, and Laverne had mentioned the Inn, nothing else could compare. And as he looked at pictures of the hotel on their website, and saw the old frozen pond they had for ice skating, and the giant fireplace, he knew exactly what they needed to do for Christmas. "We leave tomorrow after work, so we'll be there for Christmas."

Audrey looked down at Bella. "But, what about Bella?"

"I already talked to Gloria about it, and she's going to watch her. So, it'll be just you and I for a few days to relax, and enjoy the scenery."

She didn't want to be, but Audrey knew she should at least act like she was being practical. "But, we were just gone for a few weeks. Don't we need to be at the station? You are the Chief, after all."

Nathan had to grin. He could tell Audrey was trying hard to not show her excitement, and be an adult, but deep down he knew she was bouncing with joy. "Exactly, I'm the Chief, so I can come and go as I please. Especially since all we're dealing with now, are cats in trees."

It all seemed so long ago when she had said words to him just like that, and in a way, it was a really long time ago. But it was nice to know that they really were just dealing with cats in trees, and it really didn't matter if Haven's two best officers happened to skip out a lot. And if anyone asked her, she would have denied the squeal of excitement she let out when she threw her arms around Nathan's neck to hug him, before pulling back to kiss him soundly.