Title: An Unwelcome Visit

Disclaimer: As always - I do not own the characters, though I wish I did.

Summary: Duke and Nathan had more than one reason for being tense with each other. One of the biggest is heading to town.

Spoilers for "Trial"

( Hi - I'm trying my hand at a multiple chapter story. I have two more chapters after this that I'm still working on. I'm not sure if my showing Audrey's thoughts works. Feedback is appreciated. Thanks.)

Chapter One

Audrey sat in her little blue car looking at the rain. She smiled slowly thinking about the day she found it. She and Nathan had gone looking to find her a used car - after all now that she was no longer in the FBI she couldn't take advantage of company-provided transportation. They had been working on a long, stressful and, because it was in Haven, bizarre case for most of the week. He was exhausted - no surprise really, treading water for hours will do that. God, I'm so lucky I found him in time. And yet he still gave up a whole Saturday to help her find this car.

He told her there was no rush. He'd be OK with bringing her to work, playing chauffeur if she needed - just until she found something. Of course that was stupid. She couldn't ask him to do that. He was just being a nice guy, like usual. He actually seemed like he didn't mind...

She smirked. Yeah Right! What guy would want to chauffeur some chick he works with everywhere?. Slowly the smirk faded into a look of confusion. but , well we are friends... pretty close - and he has been really odd lately.

Yesterday had changed things for her a little. She hadn't realized how protective she felt until... She clenched her hand. Wow, he will put up with an amazing about of shit. That boy really needs a spine. She became serious and, with an expression of quiet resolve, looked into the distance. Well - there's been more than enough of that. She was here to look out for him ... in case his nice guy instincts put him at risk of getting hurt again.

He needs a girlfriend. Someone who will appreciate him - treat him right. Nathan was her best friend, her partner. She wanted the best for him but felt a little weird when she thought about trying to fix him up with someone. Frowning, she pushed her mind away from the subject. Not one to dwell for long on her inner feelings and motivations, she distracted herself by looking at her hand. She flexed it, thinking about how sharply it stung the day before.

That was stupid. She probably should work on her temper. Haven could be so frustrating sometimes. People have answers they wouldn't tell her... yet. The idea she has to somehow earn the secrets made her nuts, but she'd wait. She knew digging on her own would be the best she could do for the moment. There's only so much she could drag out of people, ... like Duke.

As much as she wanted to strangle Duke for keeping secrets about her mother she couldn't help but like him. She was grateful for his help, and the huge pieces of the Nathan puzzle he filled in the day before. Christ! Men can be so stupid sometimes.

*********** 20 hours earlier *************

Audrey looked over at her partner, standing in the doorway of their office, flipping through what looked like a magazine. From his body language Audrey could tell that this was something ... odd. Ho boy, he's practically crawling out of his skin. This must be good. "So ... what's that and why are you holding it like it might catch fire?'

"It's a catalog. Laverne gave it to me. I'm .. um, not sure exactly why". Nathan looked really confused. He turned to a page that was marked with a yellow post-in note. The way his forehead crinkled reminded Audrey strongly of a lost little boy.

Audrey tried not to smile. The fuzzy-haired dispatcher had been with Haven PD for a long time. She was kind and patient, and clearly adored Nathan. None of that, however, interfered with her using her quirky sense of humor to tweak him. The fact that Nathan totally missed this really amused her. "Let me see it" she said reaching out her hand.

He folded the magazine over to expose the marked page, moved to her, and set the catalog down on her desk. He pointed to a specific image. "She said that I might want to buy this". He looked as if he was not sure if he wanted to laugh, cry, or throw up.

Leaning over the paper, Audrey burst out "THIS?"

"A little louder please, they didn't catch that next door"

"Oh Nathan, I LOVE it!"

Nathan glared at her and stalked back to his desk. "I should have known telling you was a bad idea. I should've hidden the damn thing in my coat!" He started moving stacks of papers on his desk, looking for the most complicated piece of paperwork to focus on.

Audrey picked up the magazine and held it in front of her. She let out a long slow whistle. "$89 for a t-shirt? Whoa. Oh, wait - I sit corrected... It's an 'imported silk and cotton blend top', oh my." Actually, he'd look pretty hot in that. "Well, stud boy here is looking pretty good in it. That's a lot of money for not much fabric. It's so thin, it definitely won't be warm - wouldn't really be an issue for you though".

He sighed. "Be serious please. I'd never buy something like that. What was she thinking?"

"Let's see... a v-neck shirt that would seriously hug your frame, that's thin enough and silky enough to qualify as advertising - hmmm. Nope. No clue." She gave him an impish grin.

He looked at her, his eyes narrowing. "Parker" he said, drawing out the name in warning.

"What? " she said in mock innocence, blinking very slowly. This is almost cruel. He's so easy.

He dug through his pen collection and found his favorite black one. "Whatever you're thinking, the answer is no". He pointed it at her. "If I see that thing at Christmas I WILL shoot you."

Audrey made a point of looking from Nathan to the photo, then back at Nathan - tilting her head side-to-side as if making a difficult decision. She pushed the catalog away. "Naahh, it's way too tight".

His loud snort of laughter caught her by surprise. "Yeah, right... this coming from the woman who went to a poker game in skinny jeans and a very tight, very bright, white tank top". He gave her a serious look. "Don't get me wrong, I give you full marks for strategy - there's no way they could concentrate properly on their cards". He flashed her a tiny evil grin. "But you should be careful, there are people in Haven with heart conditions, you know."

What has gotten into him lately? "Well, well - aren't we Mister Sassy today!" Audrey paused for a minute before, in a deliberately casual and disinterested voice she said "So... you were looking?"

Nathan shuffled the papers on his desk, looking anywhere but at her. "I may be 'troubled' Parker - but I'm not dead." He went back to his paperwork, a small crooked smile on his face, mirroring a larger one on hers. They settled into a companionable silence.

After a few minutes he walked over, grabbed the magazine and headed towards the trash can. His sudden movement made Audrey jerk to attention. "Hey! Don't throw that out".

He turned to her. "You don't need prop material. Trust me - you do a fine job busting my ass on your own". He turned back to the can.

"No - you don't get it. You're missing a huge financial opportunity here".

He turned again. "And that would be what exactly"

"Well, if you expanded your wardrobe, you could moonlight."

"As a stripper."

"No... as a Gigolo" said Audrey, breaking out laughing, then gasping for air.

"You're hysterical". Nathan tossed the catalog into the trash, walked back to his desk and sat down. He hunched his shoulders as if to protect himself from further teasing.

Audrey wiped the tears from her eyes. "Aw come on, you'd be good at it - and it would make you really popular".

"Come again?"

"A man, dressed like that - who can do whatever a woman wants, for as long as she wants, and will never complain about getting numb?" She leaned back in her chair and put her feet on the desk. "That is the very definition of 'gold mine' my friend". She took a long slow sip of coffee to keep herself from laughing at the look on Nathan's face.

Nathan hoped he wasn't blushing but rubbed his face with his hand to cover just in case. He started to chuckle, trying very hard not think about Audrey in the context of 'for as long as she wants'. "Fine. We can be a double act. I'll be the gigolo - you'll be the stand-up comedian"

"Excuse Me?" the Chief said from the doorway.

Nathan groaned and planted his face on his desk.