betterthanaplan | Haven, Maine, Wednesday

betterthanaplan: (binge-drinking weather)

Duke & Jennifer

Duke watched as Jennifer worked a bit of awkward bartender magic, mixing him a tequila sunrise. She was excited to try her hand at it, and it was a hell of a lot better than doggedly grilling her like Nathan seemed to think he should be doing.

And, well. Jennifer seemed to be the sort of person who was happiest when she was talking and doing something at the same time.

"I don't remember that man Howard saying anything about where Audrey was going next," she was saying as she measured out the tequila. "I do remember you, though." She paused and looked up at him, like she was trying to read something under his expression. "Desperately calling her name. Like you never wanted to lose her."

Duke cleared his throat. "She was, uh. Special to me."

Duke was suddenly very glad Octavia and Lucifer were off doing their own things for awhile.

"'Was'?" Jennifer echoed. "Do you think she's dead?"

Duke let out a tiny sigh. "I don't want her to be."

Jennifer nodded, and refocused on the drink. She finished it up with a small smile and slid it over to him. "Here you go."

Duke smiled back, thankful for the change of subject. "Thank you." He took a sip and his smile grew. He affected a Caribbean accent. "Remind me of a sunset in Port of Spain."

Jennifer beamed back. "Just a little thank-you for letting me stay upstairs in Audrey's apartment."

"Well, she wouldn't mind," Duke assured her. "She'd like you." Jennifer was scared, but determined. Audrey would have loved that. "So how are you feeling?" he asked, noting the darker circles forming under Jennifer's eyes. "Any side effects?"

"From going off my meds?" Jennifer shook her head. "No. I actually feel pretty great."

"Except that you're not sleeping," Duke noted. "How come?"

"I don't want to narc."

Ah. "It's my bar. Narc."

Jennifer sighed. "Your brother Wade is really enjoying his new 'it's complicated' martial status. He's turned this place into an after-hours party shack, and it gets loud. Late."

Of course he had. Duke groaned. "Yeah, well, that's my brother. Wall Street Wade: work hard, party hard, be annoying." He shook his head, remembering the look on Vince's face. "He really needs to get out of here for his own good."

Jennifer tilted her head. "Well, can't you just tell him that?"

Duke shook his head. "He's like . . . an African honey badger. I mean, the more you try to get rid of him, the more he just digs in."

Jennifer smirked. "Been watching Animal Planet, huh?" Duke gave her a small, cheeky smile and a shrug. It was the only thing he could get with any quality on the Sanguine Moon's TV, what could he say?

Jennifer winced as she wiped down the knife she'd used to cut the orange for her cocktail. "Ow." Duke spotted a spot of red on her finger and jerked backwards before he could even think, stumbling away from his stool and putting several feet between them. Jennifer watched him, bemused. "What? So you can watch a lion mangle an impala, but you're scared of a little cut?"

Duke's chest went tight as he realized Jennifer had no idea how much trouble she was in. She trusted him. And he found he was desperate to make sure that didn't change. "No," he said quickly, searching for an explanation. "I -- I -- I. Uh. I just have a -- thing. For, um. Ladies who are hurt. It breaks my heart." That was absolutely terrible. And from the look on Jennifer's face, she thought so too. Time to escape. "I'm gonna get you a band-aid, okay?"

He darted back towards the office. He really needed to get Wade out of here and Audrey back so he and his partners could go home already.

Before Haven managed to do something even worse than getting them all killed.

betterthanaplan: (this is a very serious beer)

Duke & Wade

Duke stepped out of the porch-side door of the Gull, two beers in his hand. Time to give getting Wade out of town another shot.

"Hair of the dog," he said, offering his brother one of the bottles.

Wade groaned. "Ugh, how did you know?"

Duke shrugged, settling into the adirondak next to him. "I hear you've been partying it up."

"Mmm." Wade sipped his beer, turning his head to look back at the door. "You know, I've been thinking, you can make a lot of extra bank by keeping this place open after hours."

Duke bristled, some territorial, animal urge rising in him. "Let's get one thing straight. This is my bar, my schedule."

Wade was unruffled. He never did have a good sense of boundaries. "Well, now that I'm staying here, I was kind of thinking that, you know, this was our bar." He shot Duke a look. "I did care of it for six months."

Duke scowled. "Well, it isn't." He took a long pull from his beer. "Look, don't you have a job back in New York?"

"I thought you said I was welcome here," Wade said, voice sharp. "Dad taught me to share. I guess you missed the lesson."

Jesus fuck. Even on the so-called normal stuff, Duke's brother was a blind idiot. "You know what, Wade? You don't want any part of what dad taught me."

Wade scoffed. "Yeah, well, at least he came home to you at night. Raised you."

"If you want to call it that."

"Don't bad-mouth a man who's not here to defend himself."

He couldn't do this. He couldn't have this conversation without wanting to shove Wade into the bay. "You know what, Wade? You are not gonna work out your daddy issues by piggybacking on my life.
You understand? Now, you need to go back to New York, find a therapist with a nice, comfy couch."

"Why are you in such a hurry to have me leave Haven?" Wade asked. Duke could feel him staring at him. "Are you working on a scheme? Maybe I can help you. Divorces aren't cheap."

Duke wished this was just some old con. "You wouldn't be interested in anything I'm a part of." He sighed, trying to defuse the situation. Get back on even footing, so maybe Wade wouldn't dig in quite so hard. "I just think I'm used to doing my own thing. You know, maybe -- maybe Crockers aren't supposed to live together." He gestured with his bottle. "Like -- rhinos."

Wade was quiet for a long moment. Then: ". . . Rhinos?"

Jennifer was right. Duke really did need to lay off the Animal Planet for awhile.

Octavia	You know what Octavia hadn't really had time or space to do since they'd landed back in Haven? Spend much in the way of a calm moment touching base with Duke. Or Lucifer, for that matter, but he was still out doing... whatever it was he was doing, the same way she herself had been out seeing Gloria earlier, and Duke was here, and, yeah. The Gull was empty, and she was leaning against the bar while Duke worked behind it. She'd already relayed the greetings from Gloria and her grandson, and now... She'd been watching him for a while, her head tilted by just a little. "How are you feeling, snogon?"
Duke	"Good!" Duke said, a little too brightly. "I'm good." He was pulling out a funnel and setting bottles on the bar, matching up cheap liquors with more expensive ones. It was a cost-cutting measure, okay? Don't tell Lucifer. "I'm . . . yeah, okay, definitely kind of freaking out about Vince trying to murder my brother because he's too stubborn to leave. But other than that? Totally good."
Octavia	Octavia let that sit there for a moment, and then wondered, "Have you just learned not to use the word 'fine'?" Because he'd said 'good' three times, and it kind of sounded like how he used to say he was 'fine' even when he definitely wasn't.
Duke	Duke opened his mouth and closed it a few times. "Uh. Yeah. Probably."
Octavia	"Just checking," Octavia told him, mostly hitting the wry tone she'd aimed for. "Because I'm definitely... uncomfortable." Freaking out. Just in an Octavia kind of way.
Duke	Duke winced. "Sorry. I -- I'm trying. I don't want to push Jennifer too hard, and if I push any harder on Wade. . . ."
Octavia	"We're in this together," Octavia pointed out, a little more gently, leaning against the bar (and towards him) a little more. The wryness had been shot-lived. "You know that, right?"
Duke	"Oh yeah, sure, totally," Duke said, a bit too quickly. "How many troubles has Lucifer fixed now?" It was Haven. It was hard for him to remember around here that he wasn't in everything alone.
Octavia	"That's not really what I meant," Octavia replied, slowly. Watching him.
Duke	Duke nodded, not looking at her as he started pouring cheap vodka into a pricier bottle. "Yeah. I mean. You guys are still here. You could have left ages ago."
Octavia	Octavia's gaze slid down to his hands as they worked. She gave a soft, non-committal hum. It didn't feel like good idea to push, right now.
Duke	Duke paused, looking at the bottles, then looked at her. “I’m glad you’re still here,” he said softly.
Octavia	Octavia's eyes flicked up to his face again. "I don't want to be anywhere else, jaka," she told him, matching his tone. "Neither does Lucifer. You're here, so we're here." And that just sounded like a fact.
Duke	Clearly, the only way to respond to that was to lean across the bar and give her a kiss.
Octavia	That was all the encouragement Octavia needed for doing what she'd wanted to for the past few moments, which was to cup his cheek with her hand. Something gentle and soft and warm and solid. Like proof.
Jennifer	A small, awkward cough came from the doorway. "Please tell me you two were doing something that sounded a whole lot like a really busy bar like. 30 seconds ago?" Jennifer asked.
Octavia	Octavia pulled away from Duke with a suppressed sigh, and turned to look back at Jennifer. "No?" A faint trace of concern was already seeping into her expression.
Duke & Jennifer	Duke frowned, refocusing on a dime. "Jen, what's wrong?" Jennifer fidgeted, biting her lip, before blurting "I just heard a bunch of stuff, and I don't know where it came from. What if it was never the barn that I was hearing? What if I'm just crazy after all?!"
Octavia	"Okay, one, you heard Duke, you were not crazy," Octavia said, her demeanor shifting, like she was taking charge, getting all matter-of-fact. Straightening up. "Two... The meds stopped you hearing it. And now you're off them." A pause: her gaze darted to the side with a thought, then back to Jennifer. "You weren't crazy then, you're not crazy now. Which means --" She looked to Duke: was he thinking the same thing she was thinking?
Duke	“Jennifer,” Duke said slowly. “What exactly did you hear?”
Octavia	Octavia's attention turned back on Jennifer, too. Waiting.
Jennifer & Duke	"It sounded like a bar! Like a busy bar, exactly like Wade's after-hours parties -- oh my god, I accused Wade of partying and I'm really just crazy!" "Woah. Okay. Breathe," Duke said, putting the bottles down and coming out from behind the bar to put his hands on her shoulders. "Wade didn't exactly deny partying late."
Octavia	"And you're not crazy," Octavia repeated. Not that anyone seemed to necessarily be listening to her.
Duke	Duke was somehow less certain of that than she was, and afraid to say it for sure in case he was somehow wrong. But he was listening. He also had his phone out. "I'm going to let Nathan know. Maybe he can find more clues in whatever you're hearing. Did you get any names? Maybe it's not the Barn itself, but Audrey that you're hearing. She could be at a bar. . . ."
Jennifer	Jennifer started shaking her head rapidly. "I mean. I was trying to ignore it so I could sleep. Is that bad? I'll listen better next time, I swear."
Octavia	Octavia finally stepped a little closer. "It's okay," she said. (A chil au on the tip of her tongue.) "We'll figure it out."
Duke & Jennifer	"Dammit, Nathan, answer your phone," Duke grumbled into his phone. He rolled his eyes, left a terse message, then hung up. "Maybe he just lost the damn thing again. We can head over to the station if you want, see if we can find him." Jennifer nodded. "Yes please. The sooner we find Audrey the sooner I am back to being normal!"
Octavia	Octavia didn't bristle visibly, and probably deserved some kind of medal for that. "Right," she said, simply. (Dryly.) "Let's go, then."
Duke	Duke reached over to give her hand a quick, hopefully reassuring squeeze. He didn't have the same issues as she did with police stations, but that didn't mean he didn't get it. "Hey. Maybe we'll have all this cleared up by dinner." He was pretty sure they wouldn't. But it couldn't hurt to pretend to be optimistic, could it?
Octavia	If only it had actually been the police station part, and not the Audrey of it all. "Mm." Octavia gave his hand a squeeze back, then let it go again. It didn't go with her squared shoulders, the air of being all business.

Duke & Jennifer	The police station was strangely empty when they arrived, Dwight having called ahead to get an evacuation started. No one had gotten around to locking the doors or even putting up a note, though, so Duke, Jennifer, and Octavia were able to walk right in. "Hello?" Duke called. "Where's Nathan?" Jennifer asked, skittish and trying not to cling to either Duke or Octavia too much. "Where's . . . everybody?"
Octavia	Octavia's skin kind of crawled at being here, and that was before it became clear that the building seemed deserted. She wished she'd had her sword. That urge was rarely there anymore, but when it came over her, it came on strong. (There were knives in her clothes, though. She didn't go around Haven without them.) "This is not good."
Duke & Jennifer	"It's . . . definitely weird," Duke said, staring around the empty bullpen. "Let's just check Nathan's office really quick and then. Leave. I'll write him a note to go with the several messages I've already left him." "I can't believe I'm hearing things again," Jennifer muttered, sticking close behind him as he made his way to Nathan's office. "At least it's not all the same stuff over again, I guess. I pretty much have the old bits memorized. 'Audrey! Audrey! We need to get out of here! Ahhhh!;" Duke shot her a frown and she shrugged. "I babble when I'm nervous." ". . . Yeah. I noticed."
Octavia	Octavia brought up the rear, not really listening to them. She was eyeing their surroundings, trying to see if there was anything to explain where everyone had gone - and whether they'd gone out to something, or fled. She didn't trust this place, no, and it showed.
Jennifer & a cop	"I wish I could be more like you, Octavia," Jennifer was saying, even as she trailed behind Duke into Nathan's office. "Just . . . quiet and steady all the time. Or even just quiet. I'm not good at quiet. . . ." As she babbled, the faint voice of an officer could be heard down the hall at the other end of the bullpen. "Go lock down the front. Walt, I got word from the chief. We need more guys down here to secure the perimeter. . . . Hang on, I'll need to get back to you. . . ." And then he screamed.
Octavia	There it was. Octavia immediately took off, stalking towards the sound. Her hands had been empty just a few seconds ago, and yet there the knife was now. "Stay behind me." She'd prefer it if they stayed back in the office, actually.
Duke & Jennifer	Duke didn't argue, just held out an arm to herd Jennifer into place behind him while he let Octavia take point. They found the officer on the floor just past the corner, lying dead in an expanding pool of blood. A pool of blood that seemed to change direction on the level flooring and veer right towards the three of them. Duke grabbed for Octavia's shirt. "Get back. Into the office. We need to block the door." "What the hell is that?!" Jennifer yelled, already retreating. Duke swallowed thickly. "Blood."
Octavia	Duke's grabbing at Octavia's shirt met her stumbling backwards into him in a way that seemed to be meant to push him back. Because, yes, Octavia had also seen the blood, and had seen the blood move. Office. Now. Yes. Good plan.
Jennifer & Duke	Jennifer grabbed a jacket off the back of Nathan's chair and closed the door after Octavia, jamming the jacket into the crack. Duke had his phone out again, cursing when he got Nathan's voicemail. "It's me again, Nathan. A puddle of blood just killed one of your cops, so you know, you may want to get down here." "It really was blood?" Jennifer asked. "How is that blood? How is blood alive without being inside a person?!"
Octavia	"Because this is Haven," Octavia rasped, looking around for anything useful that would stop sentient blood from sliding its way into the room. This town made most of Fandom's quirks seem like a picnic.
Jennifer & Duke	"Oh, my God," Jennifer said. Then flung her hands up over her ears and backed away from the door. "Oh, my God. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No, not now, not now!" Duke frowned, turning towards her. "Jennifer --" Something dripped in the corner of his vision and he looked up. "Move!" He grabbed Jennifer's shoulders and shifted her out of the way just in time to keep the blood dripping out of the light fixture on the ceiling from striking her. But not soon enough to keep it from hitting him. "Duke," Jennifer said, sounding faintly strangled. "Your hand!"
Octavia	Octavia was putting herself between Duke and Jennifer before she even knew she was doing it, corraling Jennifer behind herself. Her gaze skittered from Duke's hand up to the light fixture - where the blood seemed to be retreating - then to Duke's face. His eyes. Her own were wide, betraying the sudden fear her posture wasn't showing.
Duke	Duke let out a strangled noise as the brunt of his trouble hit him. He doubled over Nathan’s desk, trying to hold back the euphoric, homicidal rage. “Get her out of here,” he managed.
Octavia	Octavia ground her teeth together and all but shoved Jennifer out the door. Without turning her own back on Duke.
Jennifer & Dwight	“What’s happening?” Jennifer asked. Demanded. “What’s it doing to him? Is he dying?!” “Is who dying?” Dwight asked, leading the way into the station. He spotted the body by the hallway and cursed. “It’s here.”
Lucifer	"Bloody - literal - hell," Lucifer swore. He stormed into the station behind Dwight, his gaze skittering over the entire scene before landing on-- "What on Earth are you doing here?"
Octavia	Octavia hadn't moved. She heard there were others now, heard Lucifer, but she was still at the door with her eyes on Duke. Willing him to pull through. (Ready to run if he didn't.)
Duke	Duke’s shoulders heaved, his fingers clenching hard enough to splinter the edge of Nathan’s desk. He slowly lifted his head, panting through his teeth. “Tavi,” he ground out. “Go.” He still remembered throwing her against the bulkhead. He never wanted to do anything like that to her again.
Octavia	Octavia hadn't seen his eyes glow silver since then. She remembered, too, and all too vividly. And still she shook her head. "Yumi throu daun ogeda." A breath. "And I'm looking out for the blood." It had already snuck up on them once.
Duke & Jennifer	Duke let out another strangled whimper and ducked his head, working to force the sensations back down. Jennifer, meanwhile, was jittering out of her skin. “There's a giant blood thing! It sucked all the blood out of that poor cop, and then it went to Duke, and it made his eyes all weird, and I think it wants to suck out all of Duke's blood too!” She didn’t notice when Duke pulled himself upright in the office behind her, stuff and tired, but back to his usual brown-eyed self again.
Lucifer	"Oh, no it doesn't." Lucifer's voice went sharp instantly - not that anyone really had time to even notice. He shot forward, shoving jittering Jennifer aside as he burst into the office. "Duke!"
Octavia	"He's back," Octavia said, her voice a little more shaky than she wanted it to be. Yes, she'd just watched Duke battle his trouble and win, but -- "But that... thing is still loose in the building."
Havenites	Jennifer was watching Duke, eyes wide, like he would keel over at any moment. Duke wasn’t really looking at anyone. “What happened?” Dwight asked. “A couple drops of blood hit me,” Duke said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I thought I was a goner, but, uh.” “But your trouble killed it.” Jordan stood in the hall that ran past the front desk, Nathan next to her. An unconscious man was draped between them. Duke glared at her. “No. I’m not like you.”
Lucifer	There was some drama going on. Lucifer didn't care for it. Duke looked all right, but that didn't have to mean anything. He swept through the office while they spoke, reaching for Duke the moment he was close enough. Trying to touch his cheek, his shoulder, anything to make sure he was genuinely all right. "Duke."
Octavia	This was where Octavia and Lucifer's reactions diverged: Octavia didn't think Duke being 'genuinely all right' was even possible, right now. And on top of that, she didn't feel like she could stop and focus on that when the blood situation hadn't been resolved in any way. Nothing but first aid on the battlefield. She zeroed in on the random stranger Nathan and Jordan had apparently dragged in. "Who the hell is that? Is that who's doing this?"
Havenites	“Pretty sure,” Nathan said, carefully setting the man down at one of the bullpen desks. (Duke took Lucifer’s hand in his and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile.) “You guys were just supposed to talk to him,” Dwight said. “Then you shouldn’t have sent Jordan,” Duke shot back. “Hang on!” Jennifer shot her hand in the air, wiggling her fingers. “Can we get back to the part where Duke has a trouble?!”
Lucifer	"Everyone here knows Duke has a trouble but you," Lucifer said, distracted, his hand squeezing Duke's, his gaze searching Duke's face for something less-- well. Fake.
Octavia	"He doesn't react well to blood," Octavia said, also distracted but dry, eyeing the guy who's trouble was causing this. "Sorry we didn't tell you."
Jordan & Duke	Jordan snorted. “He's a sponge.” Duke bristled. “Shut up!” “For troubled blood,” Jordan continued, unrepentant. “An evil sponge!”
Lucifer	Lucifer pulled away from Duke abruptly. "Don't you dare call that man 'evil'," he snarled, eyes flaring red as he found himself but a bare few feet from Jordan within moments. "He has a better heart than your small-minded, vengeful, petty soul could ever understand."
Octavia	The lights flickered, then dimmed entirely. Could have been a side effect of Lucifer's divine anger, Octavia knew, but she was paranoid enough to loook around and -- There was blood seeping out of one of the wall sockets. "It's back!"
Havenites	Jordan wasn’t cowed by much as a rule. She was literally untouchable. Except this man could touch her. And right this moment, this man was terrifying. She backed off unconsciously, opening space up for Duke to herd Jennifer into as he backed away from the spreading blood puddle. “That’s a lot of blood,” Jennifer squeaked, as the pool kept spreading. “What’s it doing?” Jordan asked, covering for her nerves with even more aggression. “Spread out,” Dwight suggested. “Maybe it’ll get weaker.”
Lucifer	Lucifer's eyes dimmed back to their usual brown as he looked away from Jordan, just as abrupt. "Do we even know what it bloody wants?" he snarled. Yes, he was still ticked off, thank you for asking.
Octavia	Octavia stepped further to the side. ... And frowned. "Well, it doesn't look like it's me." Because the puddle was still moving in the same direction. All of it.
Duke & Dwight	“Yeah, I don't think it wants any of us, Sasquatch,” Duke said, shifting and watching the blood move. “I think it wants Nathan.” Dwight looked up at him, his hand on his taser. “Do you think the blood is mad at Nathan?”
Lucifer	"Isn't everyone mad at Nathan?" Lucifer sighed. He looked at the random stranger in their midst. "...Are you mad at Nathan?"
Havenites	Mike was only barely coming too. “Um?” he muttered. “Yes? What the — is that blood mine?” Dwight fired his taser at the puddle. It scattered into smaller puddles, but quickly began to reform. "Okay, I thought I'd give that a shot." "That blood has already killed four people," Jordan told Mike. "What?" Mike shook his head, baffled. "Why?"
Octavia	Octavia didn't mean to be snappish, but -- "It's your blood, figure it out and then stop it."
Lucifer	"When on Earth did it get loose?" Lucifer asked. "Do you know that, at least?!" He wondered what would happen if he touched the blood. ... Bad idea. No? Yes?
Havenites	Since Lucifer didn't have any actual offensive capabilities against the blood specifically, and it couldn't hurt him . . . nothing. Lucifer would just get a bit of blood on him. "You're pissed at Nathan," Duke said. "Which -- fair. Who isn't pissed at him sometimes? He's a very aggravating guy." Nathan glared at him. "It's okay to want revenge --" he started. Mike shook his head. "No. No, look, when my wife died, my trouble activated. Yesterday I cut myself. I thought I was being careful, but some of the blood must have went down the drain. I don't want you dead, Nathan." "Then stop it!" Nathan said, backing up a bit as the blood started creeping towards him again. At least it couldn't move very fast. "I can't. I don't know how to stop it. I'm telling you the truth!" "Jordan," Dwight said warningly, as she stripped off her gloves and crouched over the puddle. "Duke's trouble protected him," she said, and set her hands into the puddle. It scattered again, just like when it had been tased. It seemed to take a little longer this time for it to start to reform again. "Looks like it doesn't like mine either." "Good job," Duke said. "You bought us an extra six seconds."
Octavia	"Neither of your troubles help us for long," Octavia said, shaking her head. (In her mind, of course, Duke's didn't help them at all, and only harmed him. She thought that went without saying.) "Lucifer?"
Lucifer	Lucifer shrugged. "I can give it a spirited try?" he said. He stepped forward and shoved a finger right into the puddle. It didn't as much as react. He frowned, pulling his hand back. Licked it. "Hm. Definitely blood."
Havenites	That met with a chorus of disgust from the Havenites. "Pretty sure we established that, babe," Duke said, faintly amused. Until the blood oozed forward again. "Here we go again," Nathan muttered. "I can shock it again, but I can't hold it back forever," Jordan said. "We need to find a way to contain it!" Jennifer said. "How?" Mike asked. "Where?" asked Dwight. "In Mike?" Jennifer suggested. Mike madly shook his head. "I don't want to do that." "It might kill him like the others," Dwight said. "Make it even stronger." Duke swallowed, shifting forward. "It didn't kill me. It tried to, but I just absorbed it."
Octavia	Octavia's eyes were wide on him, immediately. "Jaka, no."
Lucifer	"Duke," Lucifer started. But he didn't know where to go with that. Don't do it? He's not worth it? He didn't really have the right to use that argument, did he?
Nathan & Duke	They weren't the only ones concerned. Nathan tried to tug Duke backwards, resulting in a brief tussle as both he and Duke tried to put themselves in front of the other. "That was just a few drops," Nathan said. "You have no idea what that much troubled blood will do to you!" "Maybe not," Duke said. "But we all know what that much troubled blood wants to do to you. And anyone else who gets in its way." Four people had already died. Duke wasn't letting anyone here be number five if he could possibly help it. He flicked Octavia an apologetic glance, then one for Lucifer, telling him (hopefully) to hold her back if she tried to stop him. To protect her, if he tried to go after her when the blood rush hit him. Then he dropped to a crouch and pressed his hand, palm down, into the puddle.
Octavia	Yeah, Octavia absolutely tried to charge at Duke to knock him away from the blood before he was reaching for it. So have fun with that, Lucifer.
Lucifer	Duke was charging right at something that could kill him and terror struck Lucifer immediately, inescapably. He wanted-- he wanted to let Octavia do what she wanted to do. Save Duke, no matter what, and-- And four people had already died. (He wasn't sure he'd have forgiven either of them if they'd stopped him from saving Chloe.) It was a split second decision. Octavia moved. So did Lucifer, his arms closing around her waist, pulling her back.
Octavia	Stopping her right in her tracks. Octavia knew she wasn't going anywhere, now. The clawing at Lucifer's arms was automatic, but pointless. So she screamed. Frustration on the surface, bone-deep fear right below it.
Duke & Dwight	Duke would appreciate Lucifer's efforts later, when there was room in his mind again for anything that wasn't blood. It worked. In that as the blood on the floor tried to bubble up over his hand, his trouble absorbed it. The puddle rapidly shrunk, and if Duke was shuddering with every pull of his trouble and letting out tiny, pained grunts -- well. At least the blood was still pouring in, instead of of any of his coming out. The last of the sentient blood vanished into his skin, and he stayed where he was, muscles locked, head bowed, his face hidden by his hair. "Duke?" Dwight asked, reaching for him. His fingers only had time to barely brush Duke's shoulder before Duke shot to his feet, his hand locked around Dwight's throat, his eyes glowing an eerie, blank silver. "Don't touch me!"
Lucifer	"I'm sorry," Lucifer whispered against Octavia's hair. He let her go a moment later. Now he had to go to Duke. "Let him go!"
Octavia	Octavia didn't go after him, because she knew better. Instead, she put herself in front of Jennifer again, without even thinking about it. (Like she wasn't thinking about the way her hands were shaking, either.) "Jaka," she called, "yu na kik thru." But she didn't know whether he would. That had been... a lot of blood.
Havenites	Duke wasn't listening. He had Dwight -- all nearly 250 pounds of him -- a full foot off the floor, pressed against one of the wooden support pillars. With one hand. "Duke," Nathan tried. "This isn't you!" Jordan made a disgusted noise, already pulling Mike as far from Duke as she could get. "Duke," Dwight managed with clear effort, as he grappled at Duke's wrist. "Stop!" Somewhere between the four of them, the message got through. The silver faded from Duke's eyes, though his lips curled into a sneer before he dropped Dwight back to the floor. He'd no sooner gotten control of of himself than the blood surged in him again. He doubled over with a groan, backing away from all of them until he ended up slumped on the floor, knees nearly to his chest, which heaved with the effort not to just. Go on a killing spree. "Is he dying?!" Jennifer asked, her voice high and tight. "What if he's dying?!"
Lucifer	"He's not. Dying," Lucifer snarled. He wasn't about to let Duke back away from him. He was the only one who could afford not to. He was on the floor moments later, reaching for him. "Duke."
Octavia	Octavia wanted to join them so much it almost hurt. But she could only look on in horror, Jennifer's question still ringing in her ears. (Her own scream, too.)
Duke	Lucifer. Lucifer was safe. Lucifer could put Duke out in an instant if he needed to. Duke's hand shot out again, this time to wrap around Lucifer's wrist. He squeezed, hard, trying to give all the aggression in his system somewhere to go. "Keep --" he gasped. "Keep them back --" He didn't want to hurt anyone. Anymore than he already had.
Lucifer	Pain shot through his system because-- right-- Duke could still hurt him. Lucifer's upper lip curled up as he tried to repress it, to avoid showing it even as Duke's fingers bore down into his skin. "I will," he said tersely. "Just hold on, love."
Nathan & Duke	Nathan watched them, unsure how to feel about someone calling Duke "love". About two someones who were clearly so in love with his ex. ". . . Let's make sure Duke got it all," he said, and started herding everyone but those two someones out of the room. Duke's hand slowly unclenched from Lucifer's wrist. He lifted his head, leaning it against the wall behind him, and opened his eyes. They were exhausted. And brown. "So . . ." he said softly. "That sucked."
Lucifer	Lucifer's wrist ached badly. For a moment there, he'd thought he'd even heard something crack. But either it had been a figment of his imagination, or his celestial healing had taken care of it the moment Duke's fingers uncurled from his wrist - and that made it irrelevant. Because Duke's eyes were brown. And he was alive. He let out a sigh as something in him unclenched visibly. "Yes," he said, brushing hair away from Duke's face. "Are you all right?"
Octavia	Duke's eyes were brown. Octavia rushed to them, practically collapsing onto her knees on the floor next to them. In lieu of words, she searched Duke's face for -- what? She wasn't even sure. She looked ready to cry, as much as she was trying to fight it back. "Duke."
Duke	Duke gave her a very shaky smile. Almost as shaky as his hand was when it came up to brush her cheek. "Hey. I, uh. I guess I owe Jennifer some explanations, huh."
Lucifer	"That's hardly the most important issue on the table here, Duke," Lucifer muttered. "You bloody ridiculous pirate." Somewhere in the middle of those words, he'd tugged Duke into a hug, his other hand groping helplessly for Octavia.
Octavia	Octavia had just about managed to use her own shaky hand to press Duke's against her cheek. And now she was more than willing to lean into the both of them, even though she was a little more careful with Duke than with Lucifer.
Duke	And Duke . . . let them. He was sore and shaken and not sure how he felt about clinging in front of his ex and the rest of Haven, no matter how much he wanted to. But he could let them cling. He could fit his forehead into the crook of Lucifer's neck and let Octavia hold his hand against her cheek and just feel them there and whole. And hopefully never find out what he may or may not have done to Lucifer's wrist.
Lucifer	"It's okay," Lucifer found himself mumbling. "It's okay. You were good." He wasn't sure why.
Octavia	Octavia wasn't going to question it, either. Just murmured, "You were." And kept clinging.
Duke	Maybe because Jordan had just called him an “evil sponge”? Duke nodded against Lucifer’s shoulder. “I’m okay,” he repeated, as much to himself as to them. “I’m not — not my dad. I controlled it.” He swallowed. “. . . Mostly.”
Lucifer	"No, you controlled it," Lucifer corrected him softly. "No one got hurt, and everyone lived. Because of you."
Octavia	Octavia said nothing. Just gently moved Duke's hand away from her cheek, so she could clasp his hand between both of hers, instead. Like that did anything.
Duke	Duke remembered pinning Dwight to the wall, but he didn't argue. Dwight had had worse. From Duke himself, even. He took a long, slow breath, and manged to let it out without it shuddering too much, then slowly pulled away from them again. "We should make sure they didn't find anything." He could fall apart later, when there was no chance of Jordan McKee seeing it.
Lucifer	Lucifer almost wanted to protest, but-- no, this was Duke's call. "I doubt there's anything to find," he said, pulling away, and up onto his feet.
Octavia	Octavia pulled herself together as she was getting to her feet, like pulling a game face back on. She held her hand out for Duke to help him up, though.
Duke	Duke took it, giving her hand a firm squeeze. "I fucking hate this town."
Lucifer	"There are certainly grander places in the universe," Lucifer agreed, still watching him worriedly.
Octavia	Octavia just squeezed Duke's hand back. And tried not to think about seeing the blood get absorbed in it. She was not even a little bit successful.