Good Night: 2/? (Twin Peaks Agent Cooper)

[matilda3948]

So, AnonyMouse and I had both posted in the "Unappreciated Fandom" thread about our love of "Twin Peaks" and Agent Cooper. I recently went on a Netflix binge and have almost finished the whole series...and I'm madly in love with this show. So excited for the new episodes coming next year.

Anyway, this is the first part of a story I want to write. If you have any interest in watching the series unspoiled, don't read this. It's a murder mystery show and this story will ruin the "who done it" question. I'll post other parts as I come up with them. First time writing a new fandom always takes me some time to get the feel for it--character voices, behaviors, etc.

Here we go...

Cooper shivered and pushed his damp hair out of his face as he trudged down the hallway of the Great Northern Hotel towards his room. He had seen some strange and evil things in his time in the FBI but nothing could have prepared him for what he’d gone through that night. As he neared his room, he pulled out his tape recorder and began talking,

“Diane, it’s 3:47am and…” He sighed before continuing. “And Leland Palmer is dead. I’m not sure I entirely understand what transpired here tonight, but I know I was lead to this place by forces beyond—” He stopped short when he opened the door and found Audrey asleep in a chair in the corner of the room. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her legs were tucked up underneath her. Cooper’s head hurt too much to try and figure out why she was in his room. He was chilled to the bone and exhausted. He decided to take a shower first then deal with Audrey, so he secured his gun and hung up his coat. He’d just loosened his tie when he was suddenly overcome with the urge to sneeze. A single, audible gasp was followed by a semi-stifled sneeze.

huhhNGXshhh!

A wave of dizziness followed and Cooper sat down on the edge of the bed, resting his head in his hands.

“Agent Cooper?” Audrey’s low voice, thick with sleep, interrupted his thoughts.

“Audrey, I’m sorry I woke you,” he said.

“It’s okay.”

He stayed leaned over, massaging his forehead. She watched him, a worried frown on her face. He looked tired. No—she’d seen him tired before. This was different. He seemed…weary.

“My father was released,” she said. “He told me Mr. Palmer is dead,” she added when he didn’t say anything. She sat down next to him and sighed. “He said you stayed with him…you know…until…”

“Yeah,” he finally answered, sitting up straight. They sat quietly for a few minutes. “Why were you sleeping in the chair?” he asked. “I know you have no aversion to the bed.” She smiled, but there was that familiar touch of sadness in her eyes.

“I wanted to see if you were okay. We’re friends, right?” He nodded. “That’s what friends do—check on each other after a bad day. I just…I didn’t want you to doubt my intentions. I can put aside my own unrequited feelings for a while.” She blushed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Thank you, Audrey,” Cooper said.

“So, are you? Okay, I mean?” she asked. He wasn’t entirely sure how to answer her question. He still didn’t completely understand what he’d seen. The sun would be rising soon and it had been ages since he’d slept.

“Ask me tomorrow,” he said quietly. His nose began to tickle again and he twisted away from Audrey, cupping his hands over his nose and mouth. This time he didn’t try and hold back the sneezes.

HuhTSCHHoo! TSCHHooo!

His body shook with quiet, but taxing sneezes.

“Bless you, Agent Cooper.” He sniffled thickly and turned back around.

“Sorry about that, Audrey,” he said. She fought back the urge to touch him—to brush his hair off his pale face, reach for his hand, kiss his forehead. He shook his head to clear it of the image of resting his aching head on her shoulder and letting go of some of the tears lurking behind his eyes. Cooper felt the weight of his damp clothing and the weight of the last few days pulling him down. He tried to stifle a yawn behind his hand but it spurred Audrey into action.

“Can I do anything?” she asked quietly.

“No thank you,” he sighed. “I should take a shower and get so—huh Ehh—some sleep.”

huhNTSCHHoo!

“Bless you,” she said. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m sure I’m just tired,” he said with more confidence than he felt. Cooper forced himself to stand and walk her to the door. “Thank you for coming to check on me, Audrey,” he said. She looked up at him with those deep, wide eyes—eyes that suddenly swelled with tears.

“I’m really glad you’re okay,” she whispered.

“You too,” he said, fighting back another shiver as he remembered how he’d found her just a couple days ago. She opened the door and paused in the doorway.

“Meet you for breakfast in the morning?” she asked with a little smirk. Cooper smiled for the first time in days, giving her a nod.

“Until tomorrow then. Goodnight, Audrey.”

“Good night, Agent Cooper.”

TBC

Edited May 30, 2015 by matilda3948

[prisma]

Yes and yes and more than a yes ................ABSOLUTLEY please continue!!!!

[Sass]

Yay Twin peaks fic! These two are my fav characters as well. They are both so weird and beautiful. This is great! Please keep going!

[murphy dee]

Ohhhhhh my gosh, you captured Coop PERFECTLY. I really did like the dynamic between him and Audrey on the show (I actually hated her at first but she grew on me), and they're so great in your fic. Here's hoping there'll be more of this! Coop being sick is just sooooo appealing to me since he's usually so put together and straight-laced.

[TaurielRiver]

Aaaahhhhyesyesyes, count me in!

Ah, so very Audrey, waiting in Cooper’s room in that unexpected and slightly forward (but also almost weirdly naïve!) way. I love the kindness that comes across here, her noticing there’s something different about his exhaustion, asking if she can do anything…. so sweet.

He shook his head to clear it of the image of resting his aching head on her shoulder and letting go of some of the tears lurking behind his eyes. Cooper felt the weight of his damp clothing and the weight of the last few days pulling him down. He tried to stifle a yawn behind his hand but it spurred Audrey into action.

And THIS. Such a beautiful, slightly haunting image of both the emotional and physical effects of all that’s been happening. Oh Cooper, my heart…

Soo, I’ll be right over here in the corner with my filtered coffee and cherry pie, definitely looking forward to more!

[Anonymouse]

It's here!

Cold, wet, sneezy Cooper... And it's a multi-parter? Hells yes! You did a great job capturing the tone of the show and the characters' voices. I'm so excited for more! *joins Tauriel with a damn fine cup of coffee*

[cally]

*sitting and waiting with my pie and coffee for part 2*

[matilda3948]

YAY!! I'm so glad you all liked it!

Here's another section. I think I'm gonna write one more for this story. Maybe. I don't know.

The phone roused Cooper from a deep sleep just a few hours later. He groped around the night stand and brought the receiver up to his ear.

“Cooper,” he said.

“Did I wake you?”

“That’s alright, Harry. Needed to get up anyway.” He covered the mouthpiece of the phone and cleared his throat. “What’s up?”

“I’m headed out to the Palmer house this morning. Need to explain things to Sarah,” the sheriff said.

“Give me a half hour and huh—hehh I’ll join you.”

“You alright?” Harry asked, noticing the irregular hitch at the end of the agent’s sentence.

“Hahh hang on—” He just managed to get the phone away from his face before sneezing.

huhhTSCHH! hhtsshhhoo! huh HuhTSCHoo!

He coughed into his fist before picking up the phone again, his voice a touch rougher than before.

“Sorry, Harry.”

“You feeling okay?”

“To be honest, Harry, it seems I’ve woken up with a bit of a cold.” Cooper coughed and tried to get his voice to cooperate.

“Let me handle talking to Mrs. Palmer this morning. Get a little more sleep and meet up with us later,” Harry said.

“Not necessary,” Cooper said as he sat up in the bed, swinging his legs over the side.

HuhNTschhoo!

“Bless you,” the sheriff said. “Really, Cooper, go back to bed. You’ll need to interview Sarah Palmer but she’s not likely to be in any state to do that today anyway. Take care of yourself and when I’m back at the station I’ll give you a call.”

As much as he wanted to argue, Cooper woke up feeling pretty awful and decided to take the sheriff up on his offer.

“I really appreciate it, Harry,” he said. “We’ll have a mountain of paperwork waiting on us and I feel like someone recently took a bat to my skull. I’ll be in later.”

He hung up and forced himself out of bed. When he switched on the bathroom light, he frowned—there was no color in his face except for the dark circles underneath his eyes. He didn’t get ill often, but it usually happened after a case that was particularly difficult, or when he didn’t get much sleep. Laura Palmer’s case had certainly provided both of those criteria. He pulled a couple tissues from the box on the bathroom counter and folded them around his nose, sniffling and blowing his nose until his ears popped. Whatever relief it provided was short-lived, as a burning sensation spread through his sinuses. Cooper’s breath grew shallow and he snatched a couple tissues, getting them to his nose just a second before,

huh Hehh…hhNTCHHoo! Ehh Huh!

He froze on the brink of a second sneeze, his nose damp and irritated. His head was tilted back and he forced his eyes open and glanced up at the light. It was just enough to get the stubborn tickle to come to fruition.

huhhTSCHHHoo!

He doubled over, sneezing into the tissues. Cooper sighed and stood up straight. Cold or no cold, there was work to be done and he was in desperate need of coffee.

Twenty minutes later and he was seated in the hotel restaurant waiting for Audrey to emerge from behind whatever wall or pillar she was hiding behind. Sure enough, he’d just taken his first sip of coffee (exceptional as usual) when she came strolling into the room. The corners of his mouth turned down as he noticed that she still didn’t have her color back, or the usual effortless sway in her walk. He stood up and pulled her chair out for her.

“Good morning, Audrey.”

“Good morning, Agent Cooper.”

“How are you this morning?” he asked. She shrugged.

“Okay. You?”

“I’m very grateful for this coffee and a few hours’ sleep,” he said.

“You sound…” she gestured towards her throat. He smiled and nodded.

“I’m fighting a head cold—though not very well, it seems.”

“I wondered,” she said. “You didn’t seem well last night. I wasn’t sure if you getting sick or were just…you know, upset about what happened.” She stared into her coffee cup, running a finger along the rim.

“I was both.” He watched her closely, waiting to see where she was going to steer the conversation. But she didn’t offer anything—no questions, no innuendo, no charm. If Cooper thought she was intriguing before, this version of Audrey was utterly fascinating. He set his coffee cup down and picked up his napkin, folding it in half and angling his body away from the table. He did his very best to sneeze quietly in the mostly empty restaurant.

huh hh’mntschhoo!

Audrey glanced up in time to see him muffle another sneeze

huhMFTSHH!

“Bless you, Agent Cooper.”

“I’m so sorry, Audrey. I’m afraid I’m not great company in this condi—what’s wrong?” He tilted his head as he watched her brush a tear away from each eye.

“M’sorry,” she whispered.

“Audrey? Tell me.”

She opened her mouth, but the waitress took that moment to bring their food. Audrey was back to keeping her eyes downcast, pushing her food around on her plate. Cooper took a couple bites of his eggs even though his appetite was pretty bleak. His throat was getting more and more sore the longer he was up and he was going to need to find some asprin in the near future. He reached across the table and rapped his fingertips on the wood surface, getting Audrey to look up.

“What’s on your mind, Audrey?” he asked quietly. She swallowed the lump in her throat and put her fork down.

“I was genuinely surprised my father didn’t do it,” she said, her voice low and shaky. “What kind of daughter accuses her own father of murder?” Cooper nodded and chose his words carefully.

“You had every reason to think he was involved, Audrey. After what happened—”

“That’s what I mean,” she said, tears rising to her eyes again. “How do things get so screwed up that a daughter thinks her own father is capable of…” her voice trailed off. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he bought some time by taking a sip of his coffee and tried to get his thoughts together.

“You know, it’s never too late to mend a relationship,” he said. She raised an eyebrow and Cooper knew she didn’t believe it any more than he did. His nose was bothering him again and he curled his index finger underneath his nostrils and rubbed it back and forth.

“You know, even though he didn’t kill Laura, it doesn’t change anything else,” Audrey said. She stopped when Cooper held up his hand, his breath hitching audibly.

“Ehh excuse huh me…” He took his napkin off his lap and repeated the same action he took earlier.

hhtsshhhoo! huhhTSCHH!

“Bless you.”

“One more,” he said without moving.

huh HuhMTSSHoo!

“Bless you,” Audrey repeated.

“One ehh one more.”

Huh…heh hhSNTCHHoo!

Audrey opened her mouth but stopped when he held up his index finger, indicating she needed to wait a moment. She watched his shoulders rise and fall twice before.

"One more?" she asked.

huh ehh…hhEhhKTSCHHoo!

As much as he didn’t want to, Cooper had no choice but to give his nose a gentle blow.

“Now?” Audrey asked. He nodded and sniffed wetly. “Bless you,” she said.

“Thank you.” He cleared his throat and took a couple swallows of coffee. He pushed his plate away, giving up on the prospect of eating. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“You’re sick. You can’t help it.” She sighed and discarded her food as well. “Anyway, all I was saying was that just because my father wasn’t a murder, he’s still the type of man that you think could be a murder. He’s a man that owns…well, he owns that place. I’m still the daughter of a man who…” She shook her head and pressed her lips together in a thin line until she got control of the tears that had risen to her eyes. “Sorry,” she sighed. Cooper coughed into his fist and then leaned forward in his chair.

“Audrey, I want you to listen to me very carefully. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. A lot of very strange and very difficult things have happened to you recently. It’s perfectly reasonable to be disoriented and confused in light of those events.”

Audrey smiled that coy, half smile that made it hard for him to concentrate. Only this time, it was matched with a pair of eyes so tired and sad that he felt something tug in his chest.

“That’s just it, Agent Cooper. I’m not disoriented or confused. I think I’m finally seeing things clearly—maybe for the first time.”

TBC (probably)

[TaurielRiver]

Yippee, more of this lovely story! I think I need a refill over here!

Firstly, I love how you explored Audrey’s self-reflection on the type of man her father is and how it makes her feel. Firstly on the guilt (of having had her suspicions), and then, how the truth doesn’t actually change who he capable of being. Really thought provoking.

BUT THEN AWW… all this 'one more' business, so adorable, I’m dying! And his sorryforinterruptingyou… aaaah, it’s too sweet! I'm definitely enjoying!

[Sharpie]

I feel like I've struck a gold mine because this is really nicely written and I just love it and I'm exploding with feels. Not only was Twin Peaks once my favorite show, but you capture the characters really well too! I seriously have to thank you for writing this because it brings back so much nostalgia. I need more Twin Peaks in my life. (Also that 'one more' thing was fan-freaking-tastic so you better feel proud).

[AnteatersOnParade]

This is fantastic! I'm super into it and I don't know the fandom at ALL but this fic is definitely going to make me watch it; it's been on mah netflix queue for a while!

[Rika]

I've become OBSESSED with this show just super recently. It is amazing and Cooper in particular is amazing. I came on here specifically to search to see whether anyone had written a fic with him as the subject. I had no real hope of finding anything!

You capture the characters so very well, especially the way Dale Cooper talks and always uses peoples' names in that really personal way.

In short, I absolutely love this, and I do hope you will continue! Makes my heart do little somersaults reading this! Thanks for writing!

[Sass]

So glad your continuing! I really like the pace of the story. Also Cooper and Audrey are great in this instalment! keep up the good work!

[Aranea]

Ugh, this is so perfect. Everyone is so in character and just gah. I love how you take the time to really show us how he feels - it's precious. Cooper is adorable, and he just needs to be given a nice tea and cuddled for a little bit. Seriously, thank you for this - Twin Peaks is vastly under-appreciated.

[prisma]

Since the new twin peaks was set to air soon I started re watching the series from start to finish and then of course I wanted to see if there was any fetish fan fic with dale cooper and to my delight I found this. and it made me laugh that the first comment was from me. It was very surreal because I totally forgot about this fic. I have a notoriously bad memory. this is a great story and maybe it can be continued!

[Subtly Clashing Wishes]

I know I'm late to the party, but I wanted to chime in with my praise and hopes you will continue. I loved Twin Peaks the first time around and still love it the second time around. Finding a Twin Peaks fan fic here is like adding a scoop of ice cream to my pie.  

[AngelEyes]

This is fantastic. As always I adore your writing. The "one more" thing almost made me die. But in a good way. Totally.

[lifelove1]

Really enjoying this fic! I've been meaning to watch Twin Peaks and you've definitely rekindled my interest!