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 1 – "Where We Stand"

Audrey felt awkward after everything that had happened. She felt like possibly the whole town of Haven hated her. She even felt odd around Nathan, which made her not even want to leave her bed. The worst part was that she was still staying above The Grey Gull. So, running into Duke was almost assured. How did things come to this? She still honestly felt like she'd done what needed to be done. Yes, she should have shot him in the leg, but would that have stopped the rev? Audrey didn't think so. Maybe he wouldn't have killed the girl right there and then, but he would have killed someone else who was troubled. The troubled in Haven would never have been safe so long as the rev lived.

So, why didn't she feel relieved?

The rev had threatened their way of life… He'd threatened the life of a lot of people she cared about. Audrey had been terrified at one point while they were in that forest that the rev or one of his men would kill Nathan. Though Nathan's trouble wasn't as threatening as many of those she'd met in Haven, the rev had always had his eye on controlling the police department and there was no way he was going to back down from wanting that place of power.

Would the inquest into her actions lead her to being pushed away from her job and her career? Would it push her away from Haven and the world she'd learned to love? Would it keep her from the answers that she so desperately desired? Audrey honestly wasn't sure if she could cope with that. She didn't even really know who she was. She wasn't Audrey Parker…from the other Audrey arriving in Haven…that was quite plain. So, could she live outside of Haven? Would the FBI take her away if they found her? But she didn't feel like she was Lucy Ripley either, yes…that's where all the clues had led her so far but could she really trust that? Did that answer her questions? She still felt empty and confused and terribly lonely.

The sharp knock pulled her quickly back to reality. She'd been sitting in her car in front of the police station. Audrey looked left and then right. On the passenger side, she found Nathan standing there with coffees and a box in hand. She reached forward and hit the unlock control and looked downward. Audrey still wasn't sure how to feel around Nathan. Did he hate her like Duke did now? Did he not trust her? Before she'd told Nathan that things just had to be her and him and that was it. They could only trust each other. But now…could he trust her?

Nathan set the coffees into the cup holders in the center console and then slid in, closing the door behind him. He pushed the small pink box up on the dashboard and made sure it was balanced before letting it go. He turned to her and frowned. Reaching out, Nathan turned the key in the ignition. Normally, he'd be the one driving. They drove his bronco all over Haven, but today he was going to need her to drive.

Reaching out, Nathan lifted her chin and turned her face so that he could see it. Her mascara was running down her face and her face was red and puffy from crying. He pulled a napkin that was tucked in the side of the box he'd brought along and reached out and wiped her face clean. It had taken him a minute to banish the grey-black streams that had formed on her face, but soon it was clean.

"There," he said softly.

"I…" she tried to speak, but she soon realized she'd been crying probably the whole time and hadn't realized it until that moment. Her voice hitched and kept her from continuing.

"I told them that you were sick and that they'd have to reschedule the inquest for another day," Nathan told her evenly. He pulled the box from the dashboard, so that it settled in his lap. "Let's drive."

"Where?" she managed to ask.

"Tuwiuwok Bluffs," Nathan spoke up.

. . .

They'd parked and Nathan had forced her to leave her car. They each carried their respective coffee while Nathan carried the small box and guided Audrey in the direction he apparently wanted to go. It was quiet up there, which was nice. Audrey honestly didn't want to be around others right now.

Nathan sat down first and then she sat down beside him. It'd been a silent journey ever since he'd given her the location he had wanted to go. Maybe it was better that way, she wasn't sure. Audrey wasn't sure whether or not to be worried because of the silence.

"Cupcake or donut?" Nathan asked and had the box opened, offering her the contents. Inside were four cupcakes and four donuts. "

Audrey gave him a small smile before nabbing a cupcake. "Thanks," she told him and found a flat area of the boulder they were sitting on to set her coffee down. She dipped her finger into the frosting and then brought it up to her mouth. The sugary frosting was comforting and Audrey felt herself calming a bit.

"Are you worried about the inquest?" Nathan asked.

Audrey nodded as she took in a bite of the cupcake. "What happens if I can't do all I know to do, Nathan?" she asked, turning to him suddenly.

"I'll make sure that you stay in Haven here…with the department," Nathan told her.

"It's not even that that I'm more concerned about," she found herself saying. Her eyes filled with tears. "I don't want to have disappointed you, Nathan. For you to lose your faith in me… You're my best friend, my only friend… I can't lose you…"

Nathan's arm was around her almost immediately and his lips pressed against her forehead. "The rev would have killed if you hadn't shot him when you did. We both know that. He was on a mission to wipe out all of the troubled…"

She pressed her face into his jacket and allowed the tears to fall. Audrey felt a wave of relief hit her. It was really all she needed to hear. As long as Nathan wasn't against her, then things would work out…she knew they would…they could.

It seemed like a long time had passed before she finally pulled away and brushed the remaining tears from her face. "I got frosting on your jacket," she said, sadness still in her voice.

"Pretty sure the frosting isn't going to hurt," he told her as he placed a kiss on her forehead again. "Things will work out," he whispered before pressing his forehead against hers.

"People hate me, Nathan," Audrey told him. "You're chief again. You can't push with my inquest…who knows who will be named chief if they decide that you're compromised."

"Audrey…"

"Even if I'm not a police officer, I can still help the troubled in Haven," she whispered. She allowed her eyes to close and she tried to wish everything away. Right now, though, she felt safe and with knowing that Nathan didn't hate her…that brought some comfort to her. "We can still have coffee, right?"

"We'll have coffee every morning," he assured gently.

Slowly, Audrey pulled away from Nathan and stared down at the remains of her cupcake. She tore a piece off and popped it into her mouth. She looked out at their surroundings and in that moment realized that she was happy. Haven was the place where she'd found some kind of family; Nathan had always been there and continued to stay at her side. Even if Haven didn't give her any more answers, Audrey felt like there was nowhere else she could really go.

"Today, though, let's just play hooky," Nathan suggested. Maybe it was the fact that Nathan felt like he and Audrey had a special relationship…a special connection…or maybe it was the fact that she was the only touch he could feel… Whatever it was, Nathan couldn't stay mad at her, he still trusted her, and he doubted that anything she could do was going to change that.

She smiled and turned to him. "Nathan Wuornos, playing hooky? I'm learning more and more about you…"

"I'd only do it with someone I cared about," he said and then found himself looking down.

Audrey leaned against him as she ate the last bite of the cupcake and then washing it down with some of the coffee that she'd set behind her on the boulder. "You know you're lucky…"

"How?"

"You know about the skeletons in your closet… You had a family growing up… The chief whole-heartedly loved you and only wanted the best for you," Audrey told him. "You're lucky…"

Nathan nodded. "I wish I had known how lucky I was when the chief was alive," he said a tad sadly. "You know, he tried…he tried to connect and to make things right between us…and I just pushed him away. I didn't understand then…that he was trying to prepare me…prepare us…for this…"

"He knew that you loved him as a father, Nathan," Audrey told him. She reached out and squeezed his hand, trying to bring him some comfort. "You're still a Wuornos, and I'd like to think that he knows that you're trying…that we're trying to take care of things in Haven…that we're sheltering and protecting the troubled."

Nathan smiled. "If he knows what's going on, I'm sure he'd have testified on your behalf at your inquest. The chief never did like the rev much."

"I honestly don't think that anyone like the rev much, but he did have a cult-like presence here in town. People are mourning his loss… He touched lives, lives that will try to strike back at me…at us…if we continue what we've been doing."

"We have to continue."

"I told Duke that we're fighting a war here…"

"I think you're right."

Audrey and Nathan sat there in silence for a few more minutes.

"But today, we're going to forget that war," Nathan told her. He squeezed her hand back. "Tomorrow's another day… We can face it…together…tomorrow. Today, we're just going to forget the world. We'll hide away and eat cupcakes all day if you like."

Audrey turned to look at him. He looked sincere. "You don't have to take the day off to cheer me up…" She paused for a moment, eyeing the small box that Nathan had set aside. "You do have to give me another one of those cupcakes, though…"

Nathan smiled at her and held the box open for her again. "Well, you're not getting rid of me that easily," he told her. "We don't have to do anything, but I'm not leaving you alone."

Sighing, she frowned. "I don't even want to go back to my place… There's pretty much no way to avoid Duke there…"

"Want me to come with you? You can pick some things up and lay low at my place for a few days?"

Audrey just stared at Nathan for a few minutes. Had Nathan Wuornos just asked her to come over for a sleepover? She was tempted though… Having to see Duke would be hard, though, and just being there would make her feel guilty. She was missing Julia Carr suddenly; at least when they were both staying at the bed and breakfast Julia would watch out for her. If she didn't want to see anyone, then she didn't have to.

"Nathan…you already see me all day as it is, you really don't want to take me home, too," Audrey told him. She was sure that Nathan needed his space. Nathan deserved to have his space.

"I'll just make sure we stop at Rosemary's and pick up more cupcakes," Nathan told her. "Come on," he said as he got to his feet. He picked up his coffee and the box. "I'll take you to get some things. We'll get the cupcakes on the way to my place."

Nathan said it all kindly, but he didn't leave any room for negotiation. Audrey really didn't mind though. Nathan was going to go with her to The Grey Gull, which meant that she wouldn't have to face Duke on her own. She appreciated that beyond measure. "You know, you're probably the only person in Haven who doesn't hate me on some level right now." Audrey followed him back towards the bronco, coffee and the remains of the second cupcake in tow.

"Pretty sure that Vince and Dave don't hate you…Dwight would probably give you a medal if he could," Nathan said matter-of-factly as he opened the door for her. He wasn't about to lose his best friend. He was a little worried that things would go badly during the inquest and that Audrey would flee Haven.

He wouldn't let that happen.

. . .

Nathan had ordered out food and had brought it back to find Audrey watching some girly movie. He didn't mind, though. Audrey wasn't crying so he felt a bit better about her state of mind…though she'd eaten eight cupcakes so far that day… That might be a record, he thought as he made his way towards the kitchen in order to put food on plates in a way to make it look like it wasn't take-out.

"You know, I think there's such thing as a sugar coma," he warned.

"I would happily take that."

Frowning, he dished the two plates up and hoped that tomorrow things wouldn't go to hell. He wanted to make things right. As chief…again…Nathan knew he could help put things in Audrey's favor, but she'd asked him not to use his position. It wasn't like he would be lying…not really. The rev was a bad guy, he tried to kill a girl…he wasn't going to stop until they stopped him…and Audrey had done that.

He carried one plate over to Audrey and set it in front of her and then took the box of remaining cupcakes away. She started to complain, but he nudged the plate in her lap with his knee before setting the box in the kitchen where Audrey couldn't get to it for the time being.

"Eat," Nathan told her. He returned with a plate of his own. "You're going to crash after all that sugar and you may as well have a full stomach of actual food."

Audrey smiled at him when he took a seat next to her. "I was getting comfortable in case I crashed before you got back."

"No," he said. "You're not crashing on the couch. You're going to be sleeping in the bedroom."

"No, Nathan—"

"Yes, Audrey."

"But—"

"The couch is uncomfortable to sleep on, trust me, and you're going to have a long and stressful day tomorrow. I think it's a good idea that you get some quality sleep."

"I'm pretty sure you're going to have a stressful day tomorrow too," Audrey came back at him. "You have to deal with me…remember?"

"That may be so, but I think you need it more than I do."

"We could share the bed?"

Nathan stared at her for a long moment. "Uh…"

"Are you afraid to share a bed with me?"

"No."

"I brought pajamas."

"I own pajamas."

"So…it's settled then."

"Wait…what?" he asked, confused at how they'd gotten to that point.

"Just eat your dinner, Nathan. They'll be plenty of time for confusion later."

. . .

TBC…