betterthanaplan | Haven, Maine, Tuesday Fandom time

Duke and Nathan	It didn't take long after they headed into town to discover that whatever had hit the Rouge was pretty widespread. They'd found Dwight on Main Street, pulling a manhole cover out of the hood of a car while babbling about old pipes under the streets needing replacing. If Dwight "accidentally" aimed that manhole cover at Duke when he tossed it aside, well. Duke had just thrown him all the way across and off his boat last time they'd seen each other. Nathan decided to let Dwight handle whatever weirdness that was so he could focus on finding Audrey — only to hear from one of his uniformed officers that another woman had been reported missing: Roslyn Toomey, owner of the Altair Bay Inn. So here they were, Nathan, Duke, and Danny, at the Altair Bay Inn, a large, rustic style building at the top of a bluff overlooking the ocean. "Gosh, Nathan," Duke said, hopping out of the Bronco. "You take us to the quaintest places." Nathan didn't bother answering.
Danny	"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Danny asked with an amused little eye roll.
Duke and Nathan	"It's fun," Duke said. ". . . You know, when he's not actively trying to murder me." Seriously, Nathan had tried to choke him twice now. And this time he couldn't even blame a trouble for making him insane. Nathan ignored them both and headed for the front door to the Inn. He hadn't even knocked yet when a squirrelly looking guy stepped out, looking anxious. "Are you the police?" "Chief Wuornos," Nathan said. "Haven PD. Are you Wesley Toomey?" Wesley nodded. "They took my mother, Roslyn."
Danny	Danny just side-eyed the hell out of Duke for that one. "Who took your mother?"
Wesley and Nathan	"Them," Wesley said. "Come inside, we don't have much time." He led the way inside. Duke let Nathan and Danny go first, and trailed along behind. "We're closed until mid-spring," Wesley continued. "But Mom likes to come in and dust once a month. I was supposed to meet her here." "You're sure she didn't just get the time wrong, go for a walk, something like that?" Nathan asked. "Boating accident took her leg about five years ago. She doesn't do walks anymore."
Danny	"Who are them," Danny said, persisting on that line of inquiry as he looked around the place.
Wesley and Nathan	Wesley looked at him and swallowed. Then waved for them to follow as he headed towards the back of the hotel lobby. "I want you to know the scene is exactly how I found it. Nothing's been compromised." There was a streak of dark red across the carpet, leading towards a set of french doors that opened onto a veranda. "Mr. Toomey," Nathan said, while Duke stared down at what sure as hell looked like blood. "Detective Williams asked you a question. Who did this?" Wesley sighed. "Aliens."
Danny	Oh, this was just Jerry all over again, wasn't it? "Aliens," Danny said with a greatly put upon sigh. Because, well, Liam's space ship and all that annoying stuff.
Duke and Wesley	Only if Jerry was able to manifest all his conspiracy theories physically. Duke nodded. "Sounds legit." He wasn't even being sarcastic. One of his best friends flew a ship for a space rebellion. Alien birds lived on his boat. He had zero percent trouble believing in aliens in Haven. Nathan shot him a dark look, then turned back to Wesley. "You think that aliens abducted your mother?" "All you have to do is look at the blood," Wesley said, very reasonably. "She lost consciousness here. After they inserted the nasal probe. Then they dragged her through this door, feet first, face down. Which is standard." "Standard," Duke said, looking at Nathan. And, okay, now he was being a little sarcastic.
Danny	"Alright, which way did the 'aliens' go then?" Danny asked. Because he was annoyed enough to just play along to get the job done.
Wesley and Nathan	Wesley opened the french doors and headed outside. "We don't have time for this," Nathan grumbled. "Just go with it," Duke told him. Wesley looked back at Danny and pointed to the sky. "Up and away. They usually use a light-weight, shuttle type craft. They're softening us up."
Danny	"Right." Danny shot Duke a look for this. Because this was clearly his fault. Then turned his attention back to Wesley. "You know a lot about this stuff."
Wesley and Duke	"My grandfather taught me," Wesley said. "It was his life's work, until — they took him, too." "Into the mothership," Duke said seriously, looking up at the sky with suspicion. Nathan glared at him. "We can't do anything about my mom," Wesley said. "Or anyone else they took. But there's still a chance that we can stop them. That's why I called you out here! If I told you this story over the phone, nobody would believe me."
Danny	"Yeah, face to face was the best bet," Danny agreed so dryly that the sarcasm was hard to read. "Why can't we do anything to help them?"
Wesley and Duke	Wesley hesitated, looking worried. Duke noticed his expression and sent a gentle backhand at Danny's arm and hissed. "They could be listening, detective," he said. "I mean." He leaned in closer to Wesley, lowering his voice to a whisper. "We probably shouldn't be talking here." Wesley frowned, and Duke pointed at the sky with a knowing nod. "No. If we want to strategize, we should probably do this back at the station, where it's more secure." "There's no time," Wesley protested. "I have to go back home. I have to calibrate the monitoring equip —" Duke clapped his hand to his shoulder, giving him an intense stare. "Hey! Do you think your set up is better than Haven PD's?!" Wesley looked unconvinced. Duke glanced at Nathan and Danny. "Tell him, boys."
Danny	You absolute con man, Duke. "You won't find better on the government dime," Danny said in that same dry tone. Because government property was ridiculously behind in tech. Unless you were a task force on a CBS show. YOU CANNOT 'ENHANCE' AN ALREADY BLURRY IMAGE.
Nathan and Duke	NOT WITH THAT ATTITUDE. "We just upgraded," Nathan said. Sounding very uncomfortable. Wesley looked at all of them with a faint nod. "Let me go lock up." He ducked past them back into the house. "Relax," Duke told Nathan, when Nathan turned another glare at him. "Look, I dealt with crazies like this out at sea. He just needs to feel like we're on his side." "Well, he may have offed his mother, Duke," Nathan said. "Yeah, I don't really care about his mother," Duke admitted. "I care if he knows something about Audrey."
Danny	"There's not, like, a list of the weird powers people get, right?" Danny said, ignoring their bickering for the most part.
Nathan and Duke	"No," Nathan said. "I mean, there's the Teagues' archives," Duke said. There was the sound of a small engine revving. Wesley pulled out down the driveway on a motorbike. "Okay, I may have called this wrong," Duke admitted as he broke into a run back towards Nathan's truck.
Danny	"Yeah, that one was pretty obvious," Danny had to admit, racing to keep up with them and their stupidly long legs.
Nathan and Duke	The road from the Inn was long, winding, and not well paved. Nathan called in their pursuit on the radio, referring to Wesley as unstable and potentially dangerous. Wesley darted around a curve on his bike, and before Nathan could follow, the Bronco's engine sputtered and died. "What are you doing?" Duke asked, as the truck slowed down. "You're letting him get away, he's our only link to Audrey!" "I'm not!" Nathan barked back. "The engine just died!"
Danny	"Jesus, stop bickering for five minutes," Danny snapped. "That is all I ask."
Nathan and Duke	This was what people had to deal with hanging out with you and Steve, Danny. Only . . . angrier. Nathan pulled the Bronco over to the side of the road as it rolled to a stop. He put it in park, then tried the engine. And the radio. "Dead." Duke checked his phone. And his other phone. And a third phone. "Phones are dead, too. What the hell is going on?"
Danny	So much angrier! Danny looked at his own dead phone with an annoyed little purse of his lips. "What always seems to be going on here," he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. "Some stupid power thing probably."
Duke and Nathan	"Electromagnetic pulse?" Duke suggested. "That might explain the shit on my boat. . . ." Nathan got out of the truck without saying a word and popped the hood. "Try starting her when I tell you." "Nathan!" Duke leaned out the window. "It's a trouble, you're not going to be able to just fix it!"
Danny	That got another sigh as Danny got out of the vehicle to take a look around for someone who could have caused it. Since he was still figuring out how all this bullshit worked and all. And that comment about his grandfather was sort of niggling at the back of Danny's brain. "Swear to god, some kind of registration for these things. Maybe something helpful in situations like this."
Duke and Nathan	"Yeah, that'd be great," Duke said. "Might as well just hand the Rev's people a hit list." He was way too aware of all the people who wanted to kill the troubles, right now. Nathan poked at the engine again. "Try it now!" Duke sighed and turned the key. Nothing happened. He hopped out of the truck. "It's not going to work, Nathan. The phones are busted too." "So, what, I'm just supposed to blame this on aliens?" "Maybe! Would that be the weirdest thing to happen in Haven?"
Danny	Well, when every week the town seemed to explode... "Oh my god, how does Audrey get any work down with you two?" Because, see. Him and Steve functioned even when they were at odds.
Nathan and Duke	Mostly she got things done in spite of them. And sometimes she yelled. Nathan sighed. "Just try it again." "Okay, maybe it's not aliens," Duke said. "Maybe it's a trouble, like Danny says. But I am telling you, it's not an engine problem." "Go back," Nathan bit out, "and try it again!" "Nathan," Duke said, voice going quiet as he recognized what was going on. "You can't fix this." Nathan was doing exactly the same thing he did, when Octavia had gone missing. When she'd come back all broken inside. Focusing on the stupid shit, just to be able to say he'd done something. Duke reached for his arm. "Hey, listen to me." Nathan jerked upright, smacking Duke's hand away and shoving Duke back. Duke put his hands up, trying to avoid another fight. "You've been telling me what I can't do since we were kids!" Nathan shouted. "Now Audrey's missing, we're stuck in the middle of nowhere. . . . Do not tell me I can't fix this! I'm going to fix this." "This is not helping!" Duke yelled back. Look, Danny! He's trying to pay it forward! "Will you please stop acting like a love-sick child!" Nathan blinked. "What?" "You are in love with Audrey," Duke said. Nathan scoffed and looked away. "What, did you think that was a secret?" "You don't know what you're talking about." "No, I do! I understand how you feel!" Duke tried to explain it, to talk about what he'd learned from Octavia, from Danny, from Claire, but Nathan talked over him. "You don't understand anything!" "I understand that if you —" "When Audrey touches me, I can feel it!" Duke reared back a little, his eyes wide. "What?" "She's the only one I can feel." Nathan backed up a few steps, looking embarrassed. "She's the only one." Duke had no idea what to say.
Danny	Yeah, Danny was trying his best to stay out of this unless it turned into another fist-fight, buuuut... "Hey, guys—" he started, because they were definitely having A Moment(TM) there. But then something yanked him down by the ankle and pulled him away much faster than anything really ought to be able to.
Duke and Nathan	"Shit. Danny!" Duke bolted after him, barely able to keep up with . . . whatever had Danny in its grip. Feet first, face-down, Wesley had said. Standard. If Duke had gotten Danny abducted by aliens, Steve was going to murder him. Nathan lagged behind a little as Duke barreled full speed after Danny, who was being dragged along a dusty, grassy trail between the trees. He dove to the ground when Danny finally came to a halt in a clearing, trying to get a good look at him. "Danny! You okay?!"
Danny	Danny let out a shaky breath, hair a complete mess as he shot Duke A Look for this. "Not in the slightest," he ground out, looking around furtively for whatever the hell had snagged him. "You see it?" Because he sure as hell hadn't.
Duke and Nathan	"There was nothing to see," Duke said, hopping back up and offering Danny a hand. Nathan caught up, and paused at the edge of the long grass, staring around. "Uh. Guys?" Duke looked back at him, then did his own bit of staring around. "Oh shit. We may have to rethink the whole 'aliens' thing." Whatever that was, it had dragged Danny right into the middle of a crop circle. Make that a lot of crop circles.
Danny	"Jesus, this town," Danny said, looking down at the weird symbol that looked to be burned into the ground at the center.
Nathan and Duke	Nathan's phone bleeped, and he pulled it from his pocket. "Power's back on." "So the truck should be working again," Duke said. Then looked up as something odd moved in his peripheral vision. A large silver orb drifted slowly past through the sky. ". . . And then there's that," Duke said, pointing.
Danny	"...I sincerely hate you, Duke," Danny said from the bottom of his heart.
Nathan and Duke	Nathan smirked. "Welcome to the club." "What?" Duke spread his hands. "This is not my fault!" The orb drifted off towards the inn — then slammed into the ground with enough force to be felt from miles away.
Danny	Well, it was still his fault. Danny grabbed Duke's arm both as a support. For either of them, honestly. Both. Because this was all just gonna keep trying to break his poor brain.
Duke and Nathan	Duke grabbed back until the ground stopped shaking. And studiously ignored how Nathan's scowl got scowlier as he watched them casually touch each other. "That looked like it was near the Inn," Duke said. "Yeah." Nathan started back towards his truck. "Best go track it." Duke refrained from shouting after him that he didn't get to be mooning over Audrey and jealous of Danny at the same time. For Danny's sake. He was going to try very hard not to bicker too much now. Poor shortstop had been through enough.
Danny	Which was good, because then Danny would also start yelling at Nathan for being a jackass and that would just never end. Ever. "If this is actually aliens, I swear to god," Danny grumbled, gesturing for Duke to go ahead of him.

Duke	The meteor, it turned out, had landed just down the road from the inn, in the side yard of Wesley Toomey's house. Where he'd returned, it seemed, after losing them on the road, to go get some of his "equipment". Dwight had beat the Bronco to the house, and discovered a hell of a conspiracy board inside, filled with articles from around the country about strange occurrences blamed on aliens. Nathan's theory was that Wesley's trouble was causing his belief in aliens to come true. Considering that everything that had happened so far resembled something in one of the articles on the board — up to and including a police officer getting dragged off into a crop circle by his ankles — it was hard to argue with him. There were only two articles left which hadn't happened, in fact: strange lights in the sky, and a "blast from an alien ship" levelling an entire town. "Of course it's going to blow up the town," Duke said with a groan. "Why wouldn't a trouble threaten 20,000 people at once?"
Danny	"And people live here willingly," Danny added. You know. Helpfully.
Duke and Nathan	"Yeah, well." Duke scuffed his foot across the ground. "People are stupid." The sun had set again while they were in the house, and the cloudy night sky was suddenly lit by what looked like a floating ball of lights. "Lights in the sky," Wesley whispered anxiously. "These incidents seem to be following him," Dwight said. "They may just be following the ideas he has in his head," Nathan said. "Locations that are familiar to him." "I can start evacuating the houses around here," Dwight offered and headed off. "That's it?" Duke said. "That's your plan? You're just going to let this happen?" He could fix this. Claire's words from before he'd gone into the woods after the Benton sisters were ringing in his head. Whose trouble are you more worried about? Right now, the one that promised to obliterate the town seemed way worse than the one that would just take out one guy.
Danny	Don't even think about it, Duke. "Or we try talking to the guy," Danny said. "Does he even realize that he's the one causing this?"
Duke and Wesley	It was way too late for that. Duke had been thinking about it pretty constantly for ages now. "That's so crazy it just might work," he said, looking at Wesley with a shrug. "The troubles are a myth," Wesley said. "This is science! My grandfather taught me all about it before they took him!"
Danny	"I've been here all of three days and even I know they're not a freakin' myth," Danny replied. "Look. I get it. But even if you don't buy it, do you really want to endanger this entire town? When you could keep people safe?"
Wesley and Nathan	"That's what I'm trying to do!" Wesley protested. "If you'd let me get to my equipment —" Nathan's phone rang. "Wuornos." His eyes went wide. "Audrey?! Where are you, are you okay?" He listened to her intently for a few moments. "Parker, we're with her son. He needs to see her. This could stop his trouble, where are you?" Another pause as she spoke. Then dead air on the line. "Parker, are you there? Audrey. Audrey!" "Nathan," Duke said. "What?" "She's at the inn," Nathan said, already in motion. "It's just up the road, come on!"
Danny	"C'mon, pal," Danny said, ready to drag Wesley along with them if he had to.
Duke and Nathan	"I need my equipment," Wesley said, and dashed for his front door. "Swear to god, if he runs again," Duke muttered. "We don't have time." Nathan jumped into the Bronco, determined to set off after Audrey with or without anyone else. "Dammit, Nathan!" Duke grabbed onto the passenger door handle as Nathan started the truck up. Thankfully for everyone involved, Wesley was back out of the house again with an old-fashioned magnetic tape player clutched to his chest. "Get over here, man!" Duke called to him, scrambling into the truck. "Danny, you coming?"
Danny	Danny hustled the guy into the car from behind in case he decided to pull another runner on them. "In. Go."
Duke and Audrey	Wesley tumbled into the backseat, tape player and all. Nathan barely waited for Danny to climb in before hitting the gas and racing up the road. Audrey carefully crept through the empty inn, a rusted sickle she'd found in the basement room where she'd been held clutched in her bloody hand. She'd had to saw through the ropes holding her wrists with a piece of a lamp that had shattered when the meteor hit and rocked the inn. She was sure her captor was still here with her. And Rosslyn, who'd been held captive with her. Something swooped out of the shadows, pinning her arms and covering her mouth before she could scream. "It's me," Duke hissed. "Audrey, it's okay, it's me." "Duke." She clung to his arms, her knees all but giving way in relief. Until she spotted Nathan, hurrying over from where he'd been searching on the other side of the lobby. "Nathan!" . . . Right. So everyone knew who she was choosing, then.
Danny	"Rest of us are here too," Danny said dryly, giving Wesley a little shove forward.
Audrey and Nathan	"He's — he's still here," Audrey said, talking so quickly she was tripping over her words. "I heard him moving around and I didn't hear a car leave and I'm pretty sure that he has Roslyn —" "Slow down," Nathan urged. "— And I promised her that nothing would happen to her. You have no idea what we went through down there —" "No, I don't," Nathan said. "I'm sorry. But we have a situation." He gestured to Wesley. "This is Wesley. He's Roslyn's son and he's troubled." "How can you stand in front of her and say that?" Wesley asked. "Look at her! She was taken too!"
Danny	"Pal, we need you to listen to us here," Danny said with a sigh.
Audrey and Nathan	"What's going on?" Audrey asked. "Wesley thinks his mother was abducted by aliens," Nathan said. "And they're preparing to destroy Haven." "Because that's what happening!" Wesley insisted. "Was that — the explosion I heard?" Audrey asked, shaking her head. "Yeah, that was part of it." "And it's about to get a whole lot worse," Duke pointed out. "Roslyn couldn't have been taken by aliens," Audrey said. "She was taken by the same man who took me." "You think it was a man?" Wesley asked, looking tired. "What did he look like?" Audrey frowned and shook her head. "I — I never saw — I never saw his face." Wesley nodded. "Exactly."
Danny	And then there was that very distinct, very acrid smell of smoke that was familiar from something he'd really rather not remember. "...anyone smell that?" Danny asked, immediately going more obviously alert.
Duke and Wesley	Duke sniffed. And shuddered. "Aw crap." Nathan was already moving, dashing out the door and around the inn to the enormous outdoor oven on the back veranda. There was a fire burning in it. And on the fire — "No no no no no!" Wesley dashed past all of them, lunging for the flames. "That's my mother. The bones, the prosthetic leg, that's my mother!" Audrey pressed her hand over her mouth with a distressed noise as Nathan and Duke both grabbed onto Wesley to pull him back.
Danny	Danny looked maybe a little green around the gills at that before he sort of had to force it back down to get the job done. Even if he still couldn't help but look stricken. "Jesus," he muttered. "C'mon, let's get him away from here."
Duke and Wesley	Duke, meanwhile, was focusing very firmly on Wesley to avoid thinking too much about the fire. "I'm sorry," he said, pushing Wesley back against the inn wall. "I'm so sorry, but — you know the truth now. Aliens didn't take your mother!" Wesley shook his head. "They didn't keep my mother." Oh for — "What are you talking about?" "This is what they do!" Wesley sobbed. "With the bodies they can't harvest, they burn them! It's why there's so few real accounts!"
Danny	"This is what you believe they do," Danny snapped.
Duke and Wesley	Before Wesley could reply, a loud humming filled the air. The ground trembled as an enormous, spherical ship came to hover above the inn. Duke stared up at it, his stomach sinking. They were never going to be able to convince Wesley to stop this. "Now will you let me use my equipment?" Wesley asked plaintively.
Danny	Danny shot Duke a look, clearly following that train of thought. "No."
Wesley and Duke	"It's the only way to save everyone!" Wesley said, misunderstanding. He rushed back into the inn, Audrey and Nathan hot on his tail. Duke looked at Danny, eyes wide, and swallowed. "I can't let all those people die, Danny."
Danny	"There's another way," Danny insisted. "There's gotta be."
Duke and Wesley	Duke looked up at the ship at the sky again. "There'd better be." He headed into the inn, keeping a sharp eye on the ship through the windows. The moment it looked like it was going to fire, the moment — He'd do what he had to do. Wesley knelt on the floor by his equipment, an old headset pressed to his ear as he fiddled with the dials. "If I can find it, I can disrupt their navigational frequency." He didn't look at all certain he could find it. Which, of course, meant he couldn't.
Danny	Danny shot Nathan and Audrey A Look past Duke, just to see if maybe one of them had a better plan than what Duke had. Because this was gonna break bad, fast.
Audrey and Wesley	Audrey wrung her hands and went to crouch down next to Wesley. "Wesley," she said softly, a slight wobble to her voice betraying her shattered nerves. "You — you've studied all this for years, haven't you." Wesley nodded to her, still futzing with his equipment. "Since I was a kid, yeah." "Because you wanted to discover the truth about what happened to your grandfather." "Which — now I do." Audrey smiled sadly. "Then these people show up and tell you something completely different. And that's gotta be hard to hear, right?" "Because it isn't the truth." "Or maybe because it's scary?" Audrey suggested. "Maybe thinking that everything you thought you were, you really aren't?" The building shook harder, knocking lamps and knickknacks off tables. Duke stared out at the ship, hand twitching towards the gun he kept tucked into his waistband.
Danny	Danny snagged him by the arm. "Let her try."
Audrey and Wesley	Duke looked back at him, gritting his teeth. "Wesley," Audrey said, leaning forward. "The troubles are real, alright? I've seen it before. You're doing this." Wesley shook his head, pressing the headset to his ear even harder.
Duke and Nathan	Duke lost his grip on his patience. "Okay, we need to do something right now!" "We are doing something," Nathan insisted, looking at Audrey. "But if you want to take off, now's the time!" "I'm not leaving. But it is like freaking Battle of the Planets out there! If we don't act now we are all going to die." "So what do you want to do, save us your way?" Nathan asked. "Kill him?"
Danny	"Look, you're used to people not believing you, right?" Danny said, crouching down with Audrey now. "Why is this so different?"
Wesley and Audrey	Wesley stared at him. "Because I know what's real!" "You're one of the lucky ones, Wesley," Audrey said, reaching for his hand. "You can stop your trouble! All you have to do is open yourself up to the truth that none of this may really exist!" Wesley glared at her. "You can't just erase what has been part of my life — part of my family — since I can remember."
Nathan and Duke	Nathan lifted his chin, his eyes going wide. "Family." He had a plan. Duke watched anxiously as he headed over to where Audrey still crouched by Wesley. "Wesley, your grandfather disappeared in 1983?" Wesley nodded. "Yeah." "That's the last time the troubles were here. Wesley's grandfather probably had the same trouble." "So?!" Duke asked. "So he made it through without destroying the whole town. Maybe he decided to leave to save the town."
Danny	"Left where?" Danny asked. Because it'd just follow the guy, wouldn't it?
Wesley and Nathan	"Earth?" Duke said with a derisive growl. Wesley pulled the headset away from his ear, though. He was listening to Nathan. "Your grandfather couldn't make the aliens go away," Nathan said. "But he realized maybe he could finally learn the truth." Wesley swallowed. "That's why he went with them." He looked intently at Nathan. "You think he's still up there?" Nathan nodded faintly. Wesley looked at the others. Duke set his jaw and looked away. He hated this plan. "Maybe." Wesley's lips shook, his eyes going wet. "Maybe he's waiting for me."
Danny	"Maybe he can help you with this," Danny said. Because it was possible that it could be controlled, right? With time.
Duke and Wesley	Duke shot Danny a sideways look. Oh sweet, summer child. The rumbling increased. The door slammed open with a crash. A bright pool of blue light shone on the lawn outside. Wesley stood and slowly made his way out the door. He looked back once, then stepped into the center of the pool of light. And lifted up into the air. And vanished. The rumbling ceased. The mothership flashed its lights once, and drifted away, vanishing into the clouds. It was over.
Danny	Look, he didn't understand the genre because he was from a police procedural! Danny let out the breath he'd held there, covering his face with his hands. "Jesus."

Duke	"Hey Nathan," Duke called, as the police swarmed over the scene, finally getting the chance to investigate Audrey and Roslyn's kidnapping properly. "Explain to me the difference between killing a man and convincing him to crawl up his own ass. Because. . . ." He shook his head. "I'm at a loss."
Nathan	"Wesley chose to walk into that light," Nathan said.
Duke	"Oh come on." Duke stood from his slouch against the ambulance behind him. "You didn't nudge him a little? I mean. You said he was crazy."
Nathan	"Well, what did you say? 'Why not aliens?' So maybe he's not dead. Maybe he comes back after the troubles are over with some good stories."
Duke	Duke shook his head, turning to walk away. Nathan was worse than Danny was. At least Danny had the excuse of not being from Haven. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Chief."
Nathan	"Actually the only thing that bothers me," Nathan said, stopping Duke in his tracks. "Is that you wanted to kill him in the first place."
Duke	Duke scowled. "No. Don't turn this around on me."
Nathan	"I saw it on your face, Duke. You can tell the world that you're not like your father, but when the chips are down, you are what you are."
Duke	That hit Duke right where he lived. Because yeah, he had been prepared to kill Wesley. He'd been prepared to kill Helena, when she was draining the life out of him, and to use Octavia's blood to help fight the demons and keep baby Charlie safe in Lucifer's LA. And part of him was glad that Kyle Hopkins had thrown himself on Duke's knife, because it meant Simon Crocker and Reverend Driscoll could never come harass him again. That didn't mean he liked it. It didn't make him like his father. "You're a hypocrite, Nathan."
Nathan	Nathan just walked away, heading for where Audrey stood by the door to the inn, shivering faintly in her camisole.
Duke	Duke watched them for a second, then turned away to give them their privacy. He'd sowed the seeds of destruction for his relationship with Octavia in no small part because of the two of them, because of the way he felt about them. What he fantasized about being able to have with them. But there was no room for Duke there. Audrey and Nathan weren't pirates. They weren't people who bucked tradition, rejected the rules. When the chips were down, they'd always choose each other. Duke just had to get used to that. When Audrey drifted over a moment later, though, he couldn't help but let that last little ember of hope in his heart burn.
Audrey	"So. What now?" Audrey asked. "Danny's heading home, right?"
Duke	She didn't say it out loud, but Duke heard it in her tone, anyway. "He's just a friend," he said, and gave her a small, crooked smile. "One of the only real ones I got left."
Audrey	Audrey watched him for a long moment, tugging Nathan's jacket more firmly over her shoulders. "You're leaving." It wasn't a question. Duke nodded anyway. Audrey nodded back, looking down at her feet. "That's, uh. That's a good plan. If you're not around the troubles, then. . . ."
Duke	"Come with me," Duke said, startling even himself.
Audrey	Audrey shook her head. "Duke. . . ."
Duke	"Come on." Duke gave her a weak grin. "What's here for you, huh? Just . . . a bunch of traumatized people falling all over themselves to destroy each other. Why's saving them gotta be on you?"
Audrey	"I — I don't know." Audrey pressed her hand to her cheek, rubbing at her eye. "But it is."
Duke	"Fandom's a good place," Duke said. "It's got all the weirdness, but people work together to fight it. They don't go to war over it." She started to turn to look at Nathan and Duke rushed on. "Or we could go somewhere else. Somewhere warm, with gorgeous beaches, where no one ever does anything. Or wears anything."
Audrey	"I can't." She sounded sorry, and Duke's heart broke a little more for her. "The man who took me, Duke, he knew more about me than I do. You found your answers. And — they're terrible. And you're right, you should go. Get away from all of it. But I'm still looking for mine."
Duke	Duke bit his lip and nodded. He reached out to tug her into a hug. "Call me," he said. "I can get a portal back up here any time you need me. You know that, right?"
Audrey	"You volunteering to go running into the line of fire for me? Bet Williams will love that."
Duke	"Not Danny I'm worried about," Duke admitted. "But — yeah. I'd do anything for you, Audrey. I love you, remember?" "As a friend?" "As whatever you need me to be."
Audrey	Audrey squeezed him hard. "Go find Octavia," she said. "And apologize." Duke started to protest, but she cut him off. "I don't care if you don't think you're at fault, Duke. You need a warrior woman to keep you from doing something stupid."
Duke	"Yeah," Duke said with a little laugh. "Yeah, maybe." Audrey popped up onto her toes and kissed him on the cheek, then pulled away. Duke hung onto her hand, not letting go until both their hands were out-stretched, until she slipped through his fingers. And headed back to Nathan. Duke squeezed his eyes shut and ran his hand down his face. Then turned to look for Danny. It was time to go home.
Danny	Danny watched him out of the corner of his eye, debating when and where that conversation should occur. And possibly even if it should. "This place better let me go, you know. Unless you wanna explain the annoyed SEAL that'll show up."
Duke	Duke shrugged and shook his head sheepishly. "I haven't even checked, man. Feel like I've been running full speed for weeks."
Danny	"Yeah, I noticed that one," Danny replied dryly, giving him a very pointed look.
Duke	Duke rubbed the back of his neck. "Gosh. Thanks." He shoved his hands in his pockets and started heading down the hill towards town. "If it makes you feel better, I'm definitely heading back to Fandom now. I can give you a ride on the Rouge if you want, but I'm guessing Steve would have an aneurysm."
Danny	Steve most certainly would and Danny would have to do something to make it better after triggering those abandonment issues on him again. "I'm not gonna lie to you about this stuff," Danny replied, falling into step with him. "You gonna listen to any of that advice?"
Duke	"Which advice?" Duke asked. "Being selfish? I just said I'm leaving, didn't I?" That certainly felt pretty selfish to him right now.
Danny	That did earn him a smack upside the back of his head. "You're bein' a putz. I never said selfish. I said focusing on yourself. It's not the same thing. Don't be difficult." That was Steve's job.
Duke	"Not seeing the difference," Duke said, leaning out of the way of that smack. Though not fast enough to actually avoid it.
Danny	"Of course you're not," Danny sighed, rubbing his eyes like he was very tired suddenly. He really thought he'd gotten somewhere with Duke before the whole alien thing happened.
Duke	He had! But then his ex had tried to blame his friend's kidnapping on him so he could murder him. Made it a little hard to see the nuances. "Makes sense. The not-selfish plan would have been to murder that guy, right? Instead of just. Letting his trouble eat him or whatever. But hey, he doesn't have kids, and his mom's literally toast. So everything's a-okay now." Pour the bitterness on a little harder there, Duke. Tell us how you really feel.
Danny	Yeah, but Nathan was a moron. Danny whirled on his heels to give him a look for that. "No, everything is not a-okay," he snapped, also letting that frustration out. "You wanna wallow? Fine. You can wallow. You wanna do something about it? Actually look inside and see what's going on there instead of ignoring it to focus on everyone else around you."
Duke	Duke was really glad they'd made it a fair ways away from the crowd at the inn. He didn't need Nathan and Audrey to see him fall apart. "I'm scared, okay?! Is that what you want to hear, man? I've been alone my whole life and I'm terrified of what's inside of me!"
Danny	"It's okay to be scared." Danny said, not backing down, but his tone gentling a little. "We all are. Anyone who says otherwise is a freakin' liar."
Duke	"I wanted to kill that guy," Duke hissed. "Nathan was right. My whole family is full of murderers, do you know what that feels like?"
Danny	"No," Danny said softly. "No, I don't. But I know killers. And I like to think I know you. What happened there was a choice that should never be forced on someone."
Duke	But it would. It would be forced on Duke again and again and again. "It's in my blood," Duke said, digging his hands into his pockets even deeper, as he tried to resist the urge to hug himself. "The trouble from Dad. Addiction from Mom. How am I supposed to resist this shit when there are people who actually need it?"
Danny	Danny sighed and reached out to put his hands high up on Duke's arms. "You are not your family. You're you. Don't give up on yourself, you hear me?"
Duke	Duke twitched his head away, but didn't try to make Danny let go. After a moment, he nodded. "If it had really come down to it. If Nathan hadn't come up with his weird, 'let the aliens take him' plan. . . . Would you have stopped me?"
Danny	"Yes."
Duke	That wasn't what Duke had been expecting. "His trouble could have killed thousands of people."
Danny	"Then I would have stopped him too," Danny said calmly.
Duke	Duke was not even a little bit calm. "How?! He thought an alien mothership was going to level the town! You don't even know how troubles work, Danny!"
Danny	"So, what? I should let you hurt yourself over this?"
Duke	"Yes!"
Danny	"Not gonna happen!" Would you believe this was probably an argument he'd had with Steve too?
Duke	Maybe Audrey was onto something with the disaster magnet trouble thing. Just, you know, for human disasters. "Well it should!" Duke broke away to storm down the hill again. "I don't matter!" He stopped, grimacing, as he heard what he'd just said. And how it would sound to anyone else. "Not compared to a whole town."
Danny	Well, he'd picked up a new one recently, so... yeah. It was possible. "Everyone matters, you putz," Danny snapped. "You matter." Yeah, definitely a thing that he'd had to tell Steve.
Duke	"One of me," Duke said, and pointed down at the lights of Haven below. "Twenty thousand of them. Even a bleeding heart like you can do that math, shortstop."
Danny	Danny stared at him for a moment longer. "I don't know what you want, Crocker. You don't want to be a killer, but you don't want to find another option. It didn't come to that, but you want me to say I'd stand by and let you?"
Duke	Duke looked away, dropping his arms to his sides. "I don't know either." He started down the hill again, his hands coming up to lace behind his neck. "Let's just . . . go home, man. Catch your portal, and I'll see you in a couple of days."
Danny	Danny let out a frustrated little sigh before nodding in agreement with that. "C'mere." You were still getting a hug, you moron.
Duke	"Why, so you can hit me again?" Duke asked. While standing right where he was and letting Danny come in for that hug.
Danny	"That's for when you're being willfully stupid," Danny informed him, up on his toes for this hug to happen. Everyone he knew was too tall. That wasn't fair.
Duke	Duke bent down a little to compensate. And maybe press his face a little into Danny's shoulder. "Can I ask you one more question?"
Danny	Which Danny said nothing about because the guy very clearly needed it. And Danny was prone to showing his affection with physical gestures. "Go for it."
Duke	Duke appreciated that. Both parts. "What the fuck is a putz?"
Danny	"An idiot," Danny said with a little huff of laughter. "It's Yiddish."
Duke	"Ah." Duke finally pulled back, standing up and starting towards town again, though his shoulders remained slumped. "I always figured you were calling me a dick."
Danny	"Nah," Danny said, reaching up to give him a little gentle squeeze on the side of his neck like he might with his kid. "I'd say that one clearly." He gave him a longer look before adding, "I'll meet you for lunch on the usual day. Got it?"
Duke	Duke swallowed, then nodded back. He forced himself to offer up a grin. "I'll make malasadas."