Author's Note: I am intrigued by the burgeoning relationship between Duke and Jennifer. I know after watching the previews for 4x08 there is a little bump in that road, but I feel like they will figure it out. Until then, here is my take on what has been happening so far. As always, thank you for the comments and reviews.

During the drive from Boston, Duke didn't talk much. He was overcome with confusion and emotion. To believe that six months had passed for the rest of the world seemed incredible. Dave had been pretty convincing though. To him, all of the feelings and emotions of the past few weeks were pretty raw. He had finally accepted that Audrey had to make her own choice, and that he had to respect it. It made him love her more, to see how she was able to sacrifice everything for people she loved, and even for people she didn't know. For her, just realizing that there were people out there that she could help, he knew she wouldn't be able to make any other choice.

But now, he felt anything but acceptance. He had kept his promise to her, he prevented Nathan from going into the barn, but he couldn't believe what Nathan had done. When he realized that the barn was exploding, with Nathan yelling at him to save her, Duke didn't even hesitate. He had never been one for selfless acts, but it seemed the longer he knew Audrey, the more he wanted to be a better person. He remembered being frantic to find her in the supernatural whiteness of the barn, and then nothing but blackness. Thankfully, he wasn't afraid of the dark, but even more thankfully, it didn't last long. The seal tank in Boston wasn't a great landing pad though. It was actually kind of cold.

Duke glanced over at Jennifer, and she didn't notice, as she was pretty focused on driving. She had been pretty chatty for the beginning of the drive, but had quieted down as he became more unresponsive. He needed to make sure he wasn't too caught up in his own crap, at this point he needed her and couldn't risk alienating her.

He had to admit that even though she was a small package, she had a big personality. All intense and ready for action, even though she was obviously scared. He didn't know what to think when she busted into his hospital room, and he certainly didn't know what to think when she took him pretty literally about providing a distraction. He had to admire her methods though.

And now, he was taking her into a situation that God knows what was going to happen. Nathan not in the police department, hiding out from the Guard, Troubles being worse, and Audrey missing. He looked out the window again, wishing time could move faster, wishing they had found Nathan already.

Jennifer could feel Duke looking at her, but she pretended to be very interested in the road ahead of her. She was pretty sure she was crazier than she had previously thought. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, but that was nothing new. Actually, the meds she was on tended to dull her thinking a little, but this situation was so crazy, she felt the most awake she had in awhile. When she had seen Duke on the news report this morning, it felt like her world had turned upside down… again. She had just gotten used to accepting she was crazy, who knew what mental illnesses ran in her family? Since she had never been successful in finding her birth parents, as far as she knew, her parents had met in a loony bin!

She certainly wasn't exhibiting any solid, reputable behavior right now! First, she runs to a hospital to see a man she had thought she had imagined, then she lied her way into his hospital room and then busted the same man out of that hospital by showing her boobs to the orderly! Forget how cute he is, it was just plain nuts.

Jennifer snuck a peek at Duke while he stared out of the window. He is pretty cute, she thought. But, it wasn't just that. There was something about him that she instinctively trusted, even though she didn't have any reason to. Maybe it was listening to his voice in her head for months. It was the exact same voice, too, calling out for an Audrey like he would die without her. She obviously means a lot to him.

No worries, Jennifer thought. Cute or not, taken or not, if he can help me figure out what is going on in my head, then I am all in. She knew that they were heading into Maine to find a Nathan. Supposedly, he can help them find what Duke is looking for. A biker bar was a weird place for a rescuer, but stranger things had happened… today.

She found the turn off, and Duke perked up. She liked seeing that. After trying to talk to him when they started driving, she soon realized he was too preoccupied to carry on a conversation. She mostly had tried because she felt so awkward and uncomfortable, but it had actually not been too bad, riding in silence.

"It's here," Duke said as he motioned to a building that seemed a bit disreputable. He jumped out of the car almost before she had come to a stop. She quickly turned the car off, grabbed her keys, and ran out after him.

They watched the scene in front of them, and it was pretty nuts. The tall, skinny guy was taking hits like he was oblivious. And someone needed to tell him that the whole facial hair thing wasn't working.

She gave Duke the $20, and stayed back. It was nice that Duke was concerned for her safety. He probably just didn't want to have to worry about her and his friend at the same time.

After a minute, it looked like all was well in Duke and skinny guy land, so snacks seemed to be in order. She felt pretty useless, but snacks she could do.

A few minutes later, they were all in the car headed to Haven. She had to say it was nice how concerned Duke was for his friend. It was pretty obvious in his body language. And she was happy that his friend had shaved, he looked much better, even though it didn't do much for his aroma. Oh well, maybe they could find him a nice shower when they got to Haven. He was a bit too close for her in this car!