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01. The Troubles
There's a little girl with glowing fingertips standing in front of Audrey with tears slipping down her face, and right here, right now, there was nothing more important to Audrey than this scared little girl in her little yellow sundress and blonde hair tied into pigtails with brightly coloured hair ties, red-faced and hysterical.
She knew that somewhere behind her, Dwight and Nathan were at the ready, waiting just in case she needed them. Not that anybody expected her to need their help. This was just a scared little girl, and Audrey was very good at this job.
"It's alright," Audrey cooed as she reached up and wiped away Hannah's tears. She was shaking. The poor girl was absolutely terrified at the light shining at her fingertips, like twinkling starlight. "There's nothing to be afraid of. You're not in any danger."
"I'm a monster," she sobbed. "There's something wrong with me."
"No, that's not true. That's not true at all," Audrey grabbed Hannah by the shoulders, bones as brittle as a baby birds. "You're not a monster, you're special. You're Troubled. That means that you can do things that other people can't, but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you. My friends over there? They're Troubled too, and they're cops, so they keep people like you safe. And they're not scary monsters."
Hannah was stunned enough that her cries turned into strangled sobs, and she glanced around Audrey and over her shoulder to Nathan and Dwight, who were both waiting patiently by the cars with Hannah's very anxious parents. "Really?"
"Yeah! You see my friend over there?" Audrey pointed at Nathan, who gave an awkward little wave when he realized he was being addressed. "No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you can't hurt him, and believe me, I've tried." Audrey winked, and Hannah giggled, bringing her glowing hands to her face to wipe her tears. "And your parents, your mum and dad, they're just like you. They can make their hands glow just like yours. They didn't tell you because they didn't want to scare you."
Sniffling, Hannah wiped snot on the hem of her dress. "They're really like me?"
"They are. And all they want to do is love you," Audrey grasped Hannah's fingers between her palms. "Now, I want to help you make the glowing stop, but you have to tell me what happened when the glowing started, alright?"
Bottom lip wobbling, Hannah nodded. "I got stuck in the basement when I was chasing my toy car and I couldn't find the light switch," she sniffled. "I'm afraid of the dark."
There we go. That's what I was waiting for, Audrey thought triumphantly. "You're not in the dark anymore. There's nothing to be afraid of out here," she took one of Hannah's hands and put it against her chest. "Here. Breathe with me. Just do as I do."
Audrey exaggerated her breathing, making it slow and deep, and Hannah copied the motion. Eventually, her sobbing and her sniffles slowed down until they became hiccupping breaths. As she calmed down, the light glowing at her fingertips faded until they returned to normal. "See?" Everything is under control," Audrey smiled. "How do you feel?"
"Better," Hannah said with a watery smile.
"Alright then. Come on, let's go. I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you," Audrey stood and took Hannah by the hand, and the two of them walked the distance back to where the onlookers were waiting. Her parents broke from the loose cluster that Dwight and Nathan had them in, and they enveloped their daughter in a tight hug, as they babbled apologies and assured her that they loved her. Audrey joined Dwight and Nathan as they observed the goings on. "So? How'd it go?"
"Excellent as always, Parker," Nathan said as he put his arm around her shoulders.
"Your new nickname around the precinct is going to be Always Awesome Audrey," Dwight teased as he broke their little huddle. "You guys should head back. I'll finish up here, and make sure the family is properly taken care of. Thanks for all your help."
When they returned to the safety of Nathan's car, Audrey finally allowed herself to relax. She sighed and rested her head against the window, and let the cool glass alleviate her flushed skin. "Are you alright?" Nathan asked as he keyed the engine and the car rumbled to life.
"Yeah," Audrey watched as the car pulled away from the curb. "I just love this job."
02. Duke
It was still the early hours of the morning when Audrey pulled up to the docks and got her first view of the Cape Rouge of the day, with seawater lapping gently against the hull of the ship, rocking gently backwards and forwards on the waves.
Wrapping her coat tighter around herself, she climbed aboard with ease that came with familiarity and experience, remembering the tips and tricks she had learnt over the months and months to keep her footing on the constantly-moving, salt-slick deck.
She descended the stairs to the belly of the ship until she reached the galley, where there was an empty but obviously used scotch glass beside a mostly empty bottle of bourbon, and there were leftovers from the Grey Gull in the sink, styrofoam containers and plastic plates in the bin. Sighing, she picked her way around the mess until she reached the closed door of the cabin.
Hammering loudly on the door to the cabin, she shouted, "Duke! Are you in there?"
After her incessant knocking, she was rewarded with a pained groan muffled by the door, and what she suspected to be pillows. "Of course I am. Where the hell else would I be?"
"Are you decent?" She called.
"Just give me a minute, would you?" Duke retorted. "It's too damn early for this..."
Instead of waiting, as he had requested, Audrey reached for the handle and let herself into the room despite Duke's protests. His hair was a tangled, knotted mess against the pillows, and he, thankfully, had the bedsheets entangled around his waist. He looked terrible, with sweaty, sallow skin and dark circles under his eyes and a five o'clock shadow across his chin, but it was nothing that a shower and a change of clothes couldn't fix. Though she already knew the answer, she couldn't help but ask, "Were you drinking last night?"
"What is it with you cops being so impatient?" Duke snarked as he sat up further in bed. Thankfully, he was wearing pyjama pants. "Yes, I was drinking last night, Detective Nosey. What, a man isn't allowed to enjoy a drink in the safety of his own home? What are you even doing here? Not that you're not welcome here at all times, but most women usually call me before they come over and barge into my room while I'm in bed and half-naked."
"Hardy-ha," Audrey rolled her eyes as she wandered around the room. Duke looked unbothered as she began going through his personal belongings. "We've got a case right now and Nathan thinks that your personal expertise might come in handy. He's sent me to bring you in. Dwight wanted me to make sure that you knew that it was as a 'consultant' and not as an inmate."
"Oh yeah?" There was a lazy smile plastered on Duke's face as he crossed his arms behind his head and stretched. "And what expertise would that be? My dashing good looks? My excellent cooking? My fantastic cocktails? My renowned skills in the sack-?"
"You know what I mean," Audrey said, throwing a pillow that had fallen on the floor at him. It landed softly against his face before it fell into his lap. "Don't make me say it."
She made the mistake of wandering too close to his bed on her slow meander around the room, and quicker than she expected, Duke surged up and out of the bed and grabbed her by the waist. She screamed his name in shock and ire as she was pulled down onto sheets that smelled of alcohol and seawater and Duke. He was laughing, deep gawfaws that had him throwing his head back as she protested from where she was lying flat on her back on his legs, his hand on her stomach pinning her down.
"Stop mucking around," Audrey tried not to laugh at his antics, but by the look on his face, she was failing miserably. "We've got things to do."
"Relax," Duke laughed in one of his rare, easy-going moods. "It's way too early to be talking about work. How about you chill out here while I go take a shower, and then we'll go get bagels and a coffee on the way to the precinct? How does that sound?"
"That sounds amazing," Audrey sighed, meaning every word. It was cold this early morning, and a warm coffee or hot chocolate would be exactly what she needed to finally warm up. "But we can't keep Nathan waiting."
"Sure we can," Duke climbed out of bed and stretched his arms above his head, leaving Audrey behind, lying on her back on his bed. "I've been perfecting the art of inconveniencing Nathan Wuornos since we were little kids. He can wait for us."
As Duke crossed to the bathroom and shut the door, Audrey listened as he whistled to himself and started up the water. She stared up at the roof of the cabin, at the old, treated wood, and as she was lulled into a doze by the gentle swaying of the Cape Rouge on the morning waves, she couldn't help but grin, wondering if this was Duke's plan all along.
03. Nathan
In her apartment above the Grey Gull, Audrey had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she read a book at her quaint little table and enjoyed a cup of soothing camomile and honey tea. A good blend to calm the nerves, according to the woman at the teashop, and after the difficult day that she's had, she needs all the help that she can get in that regard.
There was a knock at her door, and she groaned as she rose to answer it. "Duke, I get that you're just trying to keep me company, but I've had a really long day and I'm not really in the mood to have drinks with you tonight."
When she opened the door, she had expected Duke, brandishing two glasses and a bottle of booze. She was instead met by Nathan standing awkwardly at the threshold, wearing the same rumpled clothes from earlier in the day, holding a bouquet of red roses. He raised an amused eyebrow at her as the words died on her tongue. "Expecting someone else?"
"Well, let's just say that I wasn't expecting you," Audrey took the flowers offered to her and moved aside so Nathan could enter the apartment. "Did you see him downstairs?"
"No, he's gone home," Nathan said as he shucked his jacket, more out of habit than necessity, and laid it over the back of a chair. "He called me though. Said that you were 'moping' and that it was in everyone's best interests if I came by."
Audrey scowled as she shut the door. "Whatever happened to 'snitches get stitches'?"
"I was already on my way over, though. I noticed that something seemed off when you left today," His fingers ghosted over the open pages of her abandoned book. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Sighing, Audrey crossed to the kitchen and retrieved a vase from the upper cabinet. "It was just a rough day, is all. You know, you were there. I just wish that we could have done something more to help that guy today."
"We can't save everyone," Nate said. "Especially not if they don't want to be saved."
"I know, I know," Audrey arranged the roses in the vase and set it carefully down in the middle of the table. "I just wish that there was something that I could have done to convince him that having a Trouble wasn't all bad. I've just had a long day. I'll be fine tomorrow, I've just got to sleep it off."
"If it's any consolation," Nathan said as he followed Audrey around the apartment like a little puppy as she absently tried to clean up a little bit. "Dwight was still getting a lecture from Gloria when I left the station."
Audrey winced as she led Nathan over to the couch, where she collapsed upon it in boneless exhaustion. Nathan followed a moment later, a little more gracefully. "Oh, I don't envy him, though I do pity him. Gloria on the warpath is never pretty."
He reached over and wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger as he braced his arm on the back of the couch. "Well, that's a Dwight problem. My problem is you, and making sure I do whatever I can to make you feel better."
"I already feel better just with you being here," Audrey shifted so she could lean against Nathan's side as he put his arm around her shoulders. "Thanks for coming."
"I just couldn't stand the thought of you moping all on your lonesome," Nathan teased, tugging lightly on the ends of her hair. "Now, we can mope around together."
She couldn't help but throw her head back in laughter, and Nathan leant down so he could press a smile to her hair and place a kiss on her crown. "So, this is just how it's going to be, huh? We're going to feel sorry for ourselves after every bad day? That doesn't seem very healthy, or productive."
"When have we ever cared about either of those things?" Nathan asked. "I mean, the only person who's got a worse sense of self-preservation is Duke, and I don't see him here."
Audrey grinned into Nathan's neck, tasting sweat and coffee and Nathan. "And Duke has never brought me flowers when I was feeling blue."
Chuckling, Nathan kicked his feet up onto the coffee table, and Audrey snuggled closer into his side, and throughout the course of the rest of the night, her heavy heart began to feel a little bit lighter.