Chapter 24

"Goodbye To Romance"

11 June

This may well be my last entry. If it is, it's been a good run, I can't really complain. Whatever lies in store for me-Heaven, Hell, another turn in the karmic wheel of life-I have a feeling that I will find out the answer when I open the next door, like Kipling's The Lady and the Tiger. (Kind of hoping that it won't be a tiger).

Duke stood with Aether-Jennifer, both of them staring off into what looked to be a black hole.

From what he remembered in school, black holes had a gravity so dense that nothing could escape them, not even light, which made them appear as their name suggested—a black hole, a tear in the fabric of the universe. Science suggested that all matter disintegrated within them—if that was the case, Duke reflected glumly, then the same would happen to both he and the aether.

Can a soul be disintegrated? he wondered. Guess I'll find out soon enough.

"He's coming back," Carter said. He moved closer to the shimmering area, smiling.

"Duke, welcome ba-" he began, but stopped abruptly as a very large weapon muzzle emerged from the hole, followed by a rather angry-looking man, followed by about four others.

Carter hastily dropped his weapon at Dwight's feet, and put his hands on his head.

Dwight started to make a grab for the gun, but Croatoan stopped him.

"Don't," he urged. "Enforcement has been known to shoot first and question later."

"What's enforcement?" Nathan asked, staring at the man who was holding the weapon. To say they looked alike was almost an understatement, and even Vince and Dwight goggled at him for a moment.

"Cops from our world," William said weakly. He knelt down alongside Croatoan, who was still cradling Regina. She was holding on, but only just.

"Gina, I am so sorry," he told her softly, with tears in his eyes. "I didn't know—about the Bio-Mech, I swear to you I didn't. Had I known—"William broke off, glancing at Nathan and Dwight. "Things might've been different."

"Citizens," the cop that looked like Nathan spoke. "Miss Meadows," he went on, going over to Croatoan and Regina. "How bad is it?"

"She needs immediate transport to a hospital," Croatoan said, and two officers gathered round her, unpacking their field kits to try and save her. They administered aid briefly, and then gathered her up before vanishing back into the thinny they opened.

"Thank God you've come," Carter began briskly. "Dr. Cross and these people took us hostage—"

"Save it," said the older man in charge with them. "We know everything, Mr. Durst. All of it—you, Miss Meadows, your son, and Dr. Mendelssohn have a lot to answer for."

"What about Dr. Cross there?" Carter snarled as his hands were forced behind him. "He's as responsible as any of us!"

"Dr. Cross' experimentations did not cause permanent harm or death to beings in our realm. Any harm done in this one is out of our jurisdiction, as you well know. He was banished from our realm, and has kept to it, to the best of our knowledge," the older man said. He glanced down at Meredith's body.

"And so ends the Cannon family," he murmured sadly. "Thomas refused to be taken alive. Who killed her?"

"Regina shot Meredith, and then he shot her," Nathan gestured at Carter.

The man, whose name badge read Reynolds, A., Chief, Enforcement Dept. 24335, glanced at him. He too seemed taken aback for a moment by Nathan's resemblance to his officer.

"Nathan, he must be your twinner," he remarked.

"His name's Nathan too?" Dwight blurted.

"What's a twinner?" Nathan asked.

"I should think the term was self-explanatory, Nathan," Vince remarked. "It's always been said that everyone has a twin somewhere."

"Nathaniel Winters, Enforcement," Winters nodded to Nathan.

"Nathan Wuornos," Nathan answered. "I'm Chief of Police here in Haven," he addressed Reynolds. "Have any of you seen our friend? His name is Duke—"

"Crocker," Reynolds finished for him. "Yes, we're acquainted with Mr. Crocker," he continued. "However, I have not seen him since his departure from Newhaven, the city we came from. I understand Mr. Durst had designs on him as well."

"You don't have anything on me!" Carter shouted as the other officer led him back to where the other two had departed with Regina. "You can't force Regina to testify against me!"

"I don't think you'll have to force her to," Croatoan retorted. "I think she'll be more than willing to take the stand against you—provided she survives. And you may want to take steps to ensure that she does," he added pointedly at Reynolds, who nodded.

"We'll see she gets the best of care," he replied. "And has adequate protection against further attempts on her life."

Two more officers appeared, followed by a grayish-haired man in a white lab coat, and Nathan and Dwight stared at him also.

"Benjy?" Nathan said incredulously.

"My name is not Benjy," the man snapped.

"Dr. Fields is a coroner," Reynolds explained.

"Does this mean that for every person here, there's somebody that looks like them over there?" Dwight asked Nathan, and Nathan shrugged.

"I dunno," Nathan answered, eyeing his doppelganger. "It's kind of creeping me out."

"Talking monkeys," William grumbled as the officer finished placing his arm in a sling.

"Save it for your lawyer or whatever it is you have over there," Nathan snapped back, and the officer jerked William back through the thinny before he could reply.

"What of Dr. Mendelssohn?" Reynolds addressed Nathan as Howard appeared from nowhere.

"We have Dr. Mendelssohn in safekeeping," Howard said. "I would be glad to take you to him."

"Lead the way," Reynolds replied. The fact that Howard had materialized from nowhere had not seemed to faze him in the slightest, and Nathan presumed that it must be an everyday occurrence in their world.

"Well, that seems to have one situation under control," Winters exhaled. "Now we have your friend to contend with. We know that his last location was this realm. Where is he?"

"The Aether Realm," Nathan said softly. "I hope he makes it."

"As do I," Winters answered.

Duke stood alongside Aether-Jennifer, quiet for a moment.

"If you can, return here with us," she told him. "We should like to know your story."

"I don't know if I'll be making a return trip," Duke replied. "But if I can, I will. I promise," he finished, smiling faintly. He squeezed her hand, and then moved closer to the hole. He could feel the negatively charged aether roiling beneath, wanting him to release it.

"I have to go," he told her, and gripped her hand briefly before launching himself towards the hole.

The negative aether surged forward, blasting itself free of Duke's body, but he was already caught in the gravitational pull of the hole, pulling both he and it inexorably toward it, disappearing into its depths.

Duke remembered being aware of a crushing sensation, a feeling as though he couldn't breathe, remembering being back in Haven PD, Nathan smothering the life out of him, the sound of Audrey's voice in his ears as everything went darker and darker before there was only silence.

Croatoan straightened up, his face somber, and Vince also looked sad for a moment.

"What's the matter?" Nathan asked.

"I can't feel Duke anymore," Vince answered. "There was a sort of-sensation, I suppose-that was there for a moment-and then nothing."

There was a shimmering in the air before them again, and a form emerged from it. Dwight, Nathan and Vince all gasped.

"Jennifer?" Nathan whispered.

"No, this isn't Miss Mason," Croatoan replied. "This is the aether consciousness. She-or rather it-has taken on Jennifer's form instead of Charlotte's."

"You are correct, Dr. Cross," Aether-Jennifer said in that watery voice.

"Where's Duke? What's happened to him?" Nathan asked anxiously.

"Did he join with the Aether Realm?" Croatoan asked.

"He chose not to," Aether-Jennifer replied. "He told us he could not remain with us."

"Then where did he go?" Nathan asked his tone desperate.

"He chose Interstice," she answered.

Croatoan paled a little, and Nathan spotted it.

"What? What does that mean? What is Interstice?" Nathan demanded. "Vince, can't you-"

Vince shook his head. Nathan looked grieved, and then turned towards Croatoan, who gazed back at him sadly.

"Please," Nathan said brokenly. "If-"

"I can't, Nathan," Croatoan answered compassionately. "No one can."

"What is this Interstice thing, anyway?" Dwight demanded.

"Interstice is a space between realms," Croatoan answered. "In this world, you would term it a black hole-once there-"

"There is no point of return," Vince finished quietly.

"He told us that we hurt your kind," Aether-Jennifer went on, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Nathan looked as though he were about to cry.

"You could say that," Dwight answered, his voice even. "So what do you propose to do about it?"

She studied him a moment, her black eyes focusing on him briefly before she spoke again.

"There will be no further issues," she told him. "We are sealing off our realm. There will be no further interactions between the realms."

Vince nodded sagely. "I think that would be wise," he replied.

"No," Croatoan protested. "We could learn so much from you," he wheedled, but Vince put his hand up.

"I think you've learned all you need to know about aether," he answered, a razor-sharp edge to his voice. "She-they're making their point pretty clear-they don't want to be bothered," he went on. "So all this time-you didn't realize you were hurting us," he continued. "Or were being used to hurt us," he added pointedly, glaring at Croatoan, who didn't flinch. "So what does that mean when you seal off the realm? Does that mean you're sealing off the Void too?"

"No. Interaction between other worlds will still be possible. It is simply that they will not be able to access our realm," Aether-Jennifer replied, stepping back.

She raised her hand, and after a few moments, they could see the small spheres of aether in the sky, flying swiftly towards her, where they landed on her outstretched palm, melting into her, before she lowered her hand once more.

"The same has been done for your world," she told Winters and Reynolds, who sagged with relief.

"Thank you," Reynolds replied.

"Perhaps there will come a day when we might get our act together and be able to interact with your world," Vince half-smiled.

Aether-Jennifer shook her head.

"Isolation is best," she replied. She gazed around her.

"So different than our realm," she murmured, more to herself than to them. She glanced back at Nathan, and gave him a small smile before she vanished back through the thinny once again.

Nathan blinked back tears. Once again, Duke was gone forever-sacrificing himself so that everybody else could carry on. There was so much he'd wanted to say to him; and now that chance was gone for good.

Vince and Croatoan glanced at one another, and Vince stepped forward, gesturing to Dwight and Nathan, who moved closer, puzzled.

Vince touched each of them on the forehead, and they both gasped.

"We saw Duke before," Nathan blurted, as his memories of seeing Duke on the island returned. Vince nodded, and patted Nathan's shoulder.

"Meant a great deal to Duke that you were able to talk," he told him.

"He told me that he forgave me for—what I did," Nathan said softly, and looked up at Vince. "Thank you for returning that memory."

Duke stirred. He could tell there was light wherever he was, and he cautiously opened his eyes.

He glanced down at himself. He looked normal—no black veins in his arms, no grayish pallor, and he sat up slowly.

"You are awake," said a soft voice.

"I guess so," Duke replied. "Where am I?"

"We call our realm Solstice," the voice replied.

Movement caught Duke's eye, and he could see what looked to be a tall, thin woman wrapped in a white velvet cloak approach. She was so pale she was nearly translucent, her silvery eyes resting on him.

"Are you an angel?" Duke asked. He didn't see any wings; but he figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

"No, we are not angelic beings, or what beings of your realm would term angels," the woman explained. "I am Xeria, and you are Duke," she smiled.

"How did you know that?" Duke asked.

"We learned much about you while you slept," Xeria told him.

"How did I get here?" Duke questioned. "I'm sorry to keep asking questions, but I'm really confused on how I got here."

"We sensed your presence in the Interstice, and we rescued you," Xeria informed him. "You were very nearly crushed to death."

"I was kind of trying to be," Duke confessed. "I have—had some very bad stuff in me—"

"The aether, yes," Xeria said. "It has been removed from you, and returned to its source."

"No, it was very unstable—the bad stuff that—"

Xeria held up her hand. "The negatively charged aether was left in Interstice. We only removed you—the spark that remained."

"Removed my-spark?" Duke parroted. "I—don't understand. You see, aether is my whole makeup. I look like a—person from my realm, but I'm not, not anymore."

"You are," Xeria assured him. "All that you were before—we restored to you."

"You mean—I'm really alive again?" Duke marveled, prodding himself. He felt real enough, he noted, and he closed his eyes, attempting to return to his aether state—and nothing happened, and he looked up at Xeria, understanding.

"You saved me," he smiled gently, and then sobered. "Why?"

"We felt the disturbance in Interstice, and we sensed your presence there," Xeria began. "We can restore you to your realm, if you wish."

"But I died there," Duke protested, although the promise of home, of Haven, sounded too good to be true, and he looked suspiciously at her.

"You aren't trying to restart the Troubles, are you?" he asked.

"No. The aether has chosen to isolate itself from all realms; and we must respect its decision," Xeria said. "However, we can restore you to your realm, Duke."

"But they all know I'm dead," Duke protested weakly.

"Do you not wish to go home?" Xeria questioned.

"More than anything," Duke whispered. To see a Trouble-free Haven; to be normal, all of his friends normalized again, it seemed too much to hope for.

"Do you wish to be restored to your realm? It will not be as easy as you believe," Xeria warned in her gentle tone. "But it can be done, if you desire it. As you told your friend, you must have faith."

"I remember," Duke said softly. "If only all of us could be returned home again. Doesn't seem fair that I get fixed and everybody else who died because of the Troubles doesn't."

Xeria chuckled softly. "Are all beings from your world so complex?" she smiled, and touched his face gently.

"I'm kind of unique, I guess," Duke replied. "But…yes, if you can—I want to go home."

"I think that we could arrange something," Xeria told him, and then vanished in a bright light.

Nathan swung into the hospital corridor, walking down to Room 312, as he had been doing since the Troubles ended months ago, spending his lunch hour visiting with Duke.

He'd been doing this since they'd managed to restart his heart after he'd suffocated him to death. All the rest had given up hope; but Nathan had kept at his resuscitation efforts until Gloria had managed to detect a weak pulse. Duke was alive—but unconscious.

Gloria had kept him concealed in the morgue, smuggling in oxygen, along with monitoring and IV equipment, helping to keep Duke alive—and hidden from Croatoan, until Audrey and Vince had convinced him to leave with them in the Armory, ending the Troubles for good.

Nathan had hoped when he'd returned to the station, that Duke would have regained consciousness; but he hadn't. Even four months later, Nathan came to the hospital, talking to him, hoping to see some sign that Duke knew he was there.

He entered the hospital room, watching as Julia Carr finished her examination.

He'd written to her after the Troubles had ended forever, telling her that both Vince and Dave, her father and uncle respectively, had passed away; and surprisingly, she'd returned to Haven, taking up practice there.

"How's he doing today?" Nathan asked.

Julia sighed. "Same as always," she answered, and then frowned, thinking for a moment. "Nathan, I was talking to a friend of mine from med school," she began. "She works in a long-term care facility upstate. It's only a couple of hours' drive from here in—"

"No," Nathan answered stubbornly, having had this conversation more than once. "I'm not sending him off to one of those places. Duke is going to wake up."

"Nathan, you have to face reality," Julia argued, glancing back down at Duke's supine form. "Duke may not wake up for months or even years—and there is the possibility that he may never regain consciousness again," she finished in a softer tone. "Just—promise me you'll think about it, okay?"

Nathan nodded curtly, and Julia looked almost tearful.

"I hate seeing him this way too, Nathan," she told him gently, and glanced back at Duke once more. "Even if he was a petty crook," she half-smiled, and departed the room.

Nathan pulled his chair up alongside Duke's bed.

"So where were we?" he began, pulling out the book he'd been reading. "Chapter Three," he read aloud. "We were just pulling into the station—"he began, and then looked back to Duke. He lowered the book, and took his hand in his.

"Was I wrong, Duke?" he whispered to him. "Was I wrong to want to keep you here?" He gazed at him. "You would hate being like this—hate me for keeping you like this," he continued, sniffling, wiping his nose with his hand. "This isn't living,' you'd say." He swallowed hard. "Maybe they were right, and I was wrong—maybe we—maybe I—should have let you go," he finished, and let go Duke's hand, picking up his book once more.

A sound from the bed made him glance up, and he saw Duke stir slightly.

That in and of itself wasn't unusual—Duke had moved on occasion, even opened his eyes once or twice. But Gloria had told him that it wasn't unusual for coma patients to do such a thing.

"He isn't regaining consciousness, Nathan," she'd told him when Duke had opened his eyes the first time. "It's a reflexive action. He isn't focusing; he doesn't realize we're here."

Duke moved again, and this time, he opened his eyes.

Nathan laid his book down again, and leaned over Duke, and gasped when Duke's eyes moved to gaze at him.

"Are you seeing me, Duke?" Nathan asked softly, watching Duke blink a few times at him. "Do you know who I am?"

"Na-than," Duke exhaled, barely audible.

"Yes, it's Nathan," Nathan got out, smiling, tears streaking his face. "It's Nathan."

Duke stirred further, causing his monitor to beep, and Nathan could hear Gloria out in the hallway, coming towards the room.

"Happened?" Duke rasped. "Where'm I?"

He remembered something, something about a woman, something about the Troubles—vaguely, but it seemed to be slipping away from him rapidly, and it faded entirely from his memory, like a forgotten dream.

"We got your heart started again after—"Nathan began. "You've been in the hospital ever since. Duke, I'm so sorry I—" he broke off as Julia and Gloria came into the room, followed closely by Dwight.

Nathan turned to look at them, his face beaming.

"He's awake," he said.

Gloria bent down, kissing Duke's forehead, and caressed his face.

"Hello there, Sleeping Beauty," she grinned.

"Hey buddy," Dwight beamed. "Welcome back."

"Did we—win?" Duke asked.

"Yeah," Nathan answered warmly. "We won, Duke. Troubles are gone for good."

"Yay us," Duke breathed, getting a chuckle from the room. He tried to sit up, but Gloria and Julia gently eased him back down into his pillow.

"Easy there, tiger," Gloria admonished kindly.

Duke's eyes darted around the room.

"Where's…Audrey?"

Nathan's smile slipped.

"She left with Vince and Croatoan," he told him. "A lot's happened in the last four months."

"Four months?" Duke got out. "Didn't...feel that...long."

"Well, it was," Nathan said. He looked ten years younger, and he squeezed Duke's pale fingers affectionately. "We got a lot to talk about, me and you," he told him.

"Mm," Duke answered faintly, closing his eyes.

"He needs rest," Julia told them firmly.

"He's been asleep for the last four months," Dwight protested.

"And we don't want him to relapse for another four," she retorted. "It's going to take some time to get him back on his feet," she told them, and smiled faintly. "But I think we have enough willing hands to help him along."

"You bet," Nathan beamed.

After another two weeks, Duke was released from the hospital, and agreed to stay in Gloria's guesthouse while he recovered. Some things Duke could recall with perfect clarity; others, he was either foggy or could not remember at all.

He was beginning to recover his strength, and was now able to walk short distances; although the weather of late had been quite snowy, preventing the walks, and he'd had to confine himself to the treadmill, which he hated.

"I don't need you falling over, 'cause I might fall over too, and this old broad's too old to be trying to pick both of us up," Gloria would chide him affectionately when he'd asked to go for a walk.

"Least I'm off the walker," Duke grunted, easing himself down at the kitchen table, and leaned his cane along the edge, his expression thoughtful.

"You've got that look again," Gloria commented.

"What look?"

"That Lost-In-Thought look," she told him. "What's on your mind, Kitten?"

"Gloria-do you ever feel like there's some-gap-in what happened between the police station and now?" Duke questioned.

Gloria sat down at the kitchen table, taking his hand in hers.

"A lot of stuff happened," Gloria said. "But when the Troubles ended kiddo, it's just that-they ended. That wouldn't have been possible if you hadn't done what you did."

"I just feel like-something happened, but none of us can remember it," Duke confessed. "Like that day on the beach when James Cogan died."

"Honey, you were comatose for four months. You were clinically dead for nearly ten minutes-I still don't know how Nathan managed to get your heart started again, but he did," Gloria told him. "Your brains are still scrambled around right now, so your memory's going to be kinda hinky;hell, it might always be that way. But nothing's happened. We're all safe now, including you."

She patted his hand, and glanced out towards the driveway.

"Looks like your new therapist is here," she said. "Good thing-I think you've worn my back out helping you up and down on your feet," she teased. "I'm only kidding," she added, seeing Duke's guilty expression. "But it is time to turn you over to a professional so you can get back to your own life."

There was a knock at the door, and Gloria opened it, revealing a dark-haired, dark-eyed petite girl.

"Are you Dr. Verrano?" she questioned.

"Yeah."

"I'm Jennifer Mason-I'm the physical therapist Dr. Carr sent over for Mr. Crocker."

"Nice to meet you," Gloria said, shaking hands. "There's your patient there," she gestured at Duke.

Duke gazed at her. He knew he'd seen her before, somewhere, but he couldn't recall it.

"Mr.-Crocker?" she asked, going towards him. "I'm Jennifer Mason, your therapist."

"Hi," Duke got out, unable to take his eyes off her. "Just call me Duke though, okay?"

"Okay-Duke. Jennifer then," she smiled, and again Duke felt like he knew her from somewhere, he just couldn't recall where. Funny thing was, he had the impression that she was thinking the exact same thing.

"You two know each other?" Gloria asked.

"No," they chorused, and chuckled together. "But now that you mention it, I am kind of having a weird sense of deja-vu," Jennifer said.

"Yeah, me too," Duke replied gently, gazing at her.

"Well, we're not going to get you back on your feet just sitting here," she said brightly. "Shall we get started?"

"Let's," Duke beamed. "Hey-isn't Nate supposed to be joining us for lunch?" he asked Gloria.

"Supposed to be," Gloria replied.

On the outskirts of Haven, Nathan approached a little red sedan, parked on the side of the road. He went over to the driver's side of the car, and bent down.

"Need some help?" he asked.

The woman behind the wheel turned her head, and Nathan felt his heart stop for a moment.

No, it can't be, he thought, hoping against hope that he wasn't dreaming, that it could be a reality. He then noticed an infant boy in a car seat.

"I-I'm Nathan. Wuornos, Chief-Chief of Police," Nathan got out.

"I'm Paige Harrison," she said. "That's James," she smiled at the infant.

"James," Nathan managed.

He tore himself away from staring at her, and fiddled with the hood, quickly realizing that he wasn't going to be able to do a repair on the car.

He paused a moment, his eyes closed against the tears forming behind them, hoping she didn't see them and think he was some crazy person. Her hair was different, the name was different, but she was real, she was there. Somehow, some way, they'd all been given a second chance again-to get it right this time.

He came back around to her side of the car.

"Do you like pancakes?" he asked.

"Yeah, I love pancakes," she smiled.

"I know a great place to get some," he told her as he helped her situate the car seat in the back of his Bronco. "Paige-"

"Yes?" she smiled.

"Would you mind if an old friend joined us?" Nathan asked. "His name's Duke-Duke Crocker."

"Duke? That's a funny name," Paige chuckled. "But sure-I'd like to meet him."

"And I'm certain he'd love to meet you," Nathan smiled.

In the Armory, Xeria was talking with Vince and Croatoan.

"I have always heard of people from your realm, but I had never met anyone from it before," Croatoan said.

"Are you similar to Otherworld?" Vince asked.

Croatoan made a disparaging sound. "Compared to them, my old realm are the talking monkeys. Your old realm would be-talking protozoans," he smirked. "They are extremely advanced-particularly if you were able to restore Duke and Jennifer to life and manipulate time like that."

"Indeed," Vince said. "But I do have a question-why remove their memories?" Vince questioned Xeria.

"Restoring Duke to his existence took some work," Xeria explained. "As he was dead and buried in his reality, we had to reverse time to the point of his death, and enable his friend to restore him to life. But it meant that Duke would be unconscious for some time, unfortunately," she frowned. "I had not planned on him being under for so long."

"And however did you restore Jennifer?"

"We rescued her-essence-from the Void," Xeria said. "She wished to return-but she didn't want them haunted by what had happened to her-particularly Duke-so she asked me to expunge her from their memories. We could not entirely delete her memory from him-but while he does not remember her, nor she him, they feel that-strange pull between them."

"They remember love," Vince replied.

"Love does not seem to be something that can be erased," Xeria explained. "It is a complex emotion that we are still attempting to understand in our realm. Our civilization has advanced beyond emotions; yet this one seems to thrive on them. We find their kind fascinating."

"Humans have been trying to understand love since we could walk upright," Vince answered, and he smiled slightly. He extended his arm to Xeria. "Perhaps we can try to figure it out together."

"Perhaps," Xeria replied.

So there you have it. Weird, but stranger things have happened. This is Haven, after all.

END