It was a sunny, but cool fall day in the town of Haven as Audrey Parker walked towards The Gull. Earlier she had gotten an urgent call from her friend Duke. He had claimed to have found a way to end the Troubles once and for all, but he needed her help. She was at The Gull in no time, no one was there to greet her, so she quickly headed towards Duke's office.
She knocked on the door, and when she received no answer she became worried. She was about to break the door down, but she returned to her senses long enough to try the door knob, finding the door unlocked she drew her gun and rushed in, only to find a very disheveled Duke looking at his father's box with sad eyes.
"Audrey!" He exclaimed as her abrupt entrance snapped him out of his thoughts.
She was concerned for her friend, they hadn't seen that box in years, and nothing good had ever come from it.
"Duke, you called me, remember?" Audrey slowly placed a hand on his shoulder, "you said it was urgent. Did something happen to Luke?"
"No, no, Luke's find. He's with his mother." He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it came out as a grimace. He grabbed Audrey's hand and took a deep breath, "I found a way to end the troubles."
"Well then, why do you look so sad about it?"
"You-", Duke took a shaky breath, "you-Audrey, you have to…die." When he finally uttered the words he put his head in his hands in a fit of despair.
"Oh…" was her reply. Maybe a few years ago she would have done anything to help end the Troubles, no matter the price. If it would have cost her, her life, she would have gladly paid it. But now things were different, she was different. A few years ago she had nothing to lose. She had no family, no friends, Hell she had no life. Her memories and feelings weren't even her own, she was living the life of someone else. It brought a whole new meaning to the term 'identity crisis'.
She had nothing except for the mystery of Lucy Ripley. As soon as she realized that she was actually Lucy, Audrey took up the crusade against the Troubles. At the time it was the only think keeping her in Haven, but all that changed with Nathan.
She had something-someone else to live for. Even as their relationship grew more serious she never quit trying to fix the Troubles. When Nathan proposed he made her promise that she'd never leave him. The underlying meaning was clear to her, Nathan was afraid, afraid that one day the Troubles would leave, and like Lucy, so would Audrey, and Nathan all Nathan would be able to feel is his heart breaking.
Then a few months after their wedding, Audrey realized she was pregnant, she had never seen Nathan so excited. They named her Elizabeth after Nathan's mother, and she was beautiful, she was just one more thing that made Audrey's life a reality. No matter who she was, Sarah, Lucy, Audrey, whoever, she would always be a mother. That little fact, that little reality check, that little girl changed Audrey, like Nathan had. It no longer mattered who she was in the past, now all that mattered was who she was in that moment.
As a few more years passed Audrey still tried to help the Troubled, in the back of her mind she knew that one day she'd disappear, but she still had to try to help these people. It was some subconscious need that she had to fulfill. Even after their second child, a boy they named Royce, she continued to look for a cure.
She didn't tell Nathan about Duke's call, she was afraid he would try and stop her from coming. And even though she was afraid of what would happen if she was successful, if they actually were able to end the Troubles, she still had to try.
"Duke," she said slowly, after a few seconds, "I…can't"
"You said you'd do anything to end the Troubles."
"I said that about five years ago, when all I had were false memories and the mystery of Lucy Ripley." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I can't" her voice broke, "I can't do it Duke. I know its selfish and probably wrong, but I have things to live for now besides ending the Troubles. I have to be here for Nathan and Elizabeth and Royce. I made a promise to Nathan and I intend to keep it."
"I thought you made a promise to Haven. I thought you wanted to help people, Audrey! The Troubles will end when you're gone." Duke said as he brought out a knife from his father's box.
"The Trouble's won't leave forever Duke, they'll be back in twenty seven years, and so will-" she stopped speaking suddenly, she couldn't say it. She couldn't say that when the Troubles returned so would she.
Her abrupt ending didn't go unnoticed by Duke. "And so will you." He finished her sentence for her. "But this time will be different. I have to kill you with this knife and all the Troubles will disappear, and this time they'll stay gone…and so will you."
He looked at her and Audrey noticed that his eyes had turned completely white, like she had seen only once before, when he killed a Troubled boy a few years back, thereby eliminating the Troubles from the boy's family line.
Audrey put her hands up in surrender, she didn't think Duke would actually try and kill her, but when he took a step towards her with the knife, she took one back.
"Duke, come on let's talk about this."
He continued toward her and she kept retreating until her back was pressed up against the wall.
"Duke remember me, it's me your friend, Audrey."
He stood a foot away from her, he appeared calm, nothing at all like the man she saw a few minutes ago. She was silently pleading for the man before her, her friend, to stop. When her eyes met his she realized that he was no longer the Duke she knew and loved, he was now simply a Crocker and his only goal was to kill her.
He let out a laugh that sounded more like a bark. "You're not Audrey Parker, you just stole her life. You don't know who you are, everything you did or know was a lie."
"Is that so?" She questioned angrily. She used to think that about herself as well, that the only thing she had in life was a way to end the Troubles, a way to bring peace to a town that so desperately needed it, but all that changed with Nathan. "Tell me Duke, are Elizabeth and Royce made up too? I may not have had a real life, with real memories before I arrived her in Haven, but I do now. I am helping the Troubled as best as I can, but I need to be here for them too. I need to be here for Nathan, I made a promise!" She shouted.
Duke grabbed her, and pinned her against the wall. "You also made a promise to the people of this town. Which one do you intend to keep?"
Audrey didn't answer, she didn't even try to move, she had accepted her fate, she stared into her friend's white eyes and she was full of regret. She regretted that she couldn't help Duke, she regretted that she wouldn't be there for her children. But most of all she regretted breaking her promise to Nathan.
A single tear left her eye as Duke plunged the knife into her side. The only sound she made was a gasp. She felt the pain for only a moment, but then her body went numb, a natural result of shock or something supernatural from the knife she wasn't sure. This must be what Nathan feels like, she thought.
Duke's eyes suddenly cleared, he quickly assessed the situation and yelled, "Oh my God, Audrey!" he fell to his knees.
She had yet to move, even as blood flowed from her side she was still standing against the wall, the knife protruding from her side. He moved to pull it out, but his hand was stopped by Audrey's.
"No, don't." She took a raspy breath, "leave it in."
"We have to get you to a hospital!" Duke exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He kept a hold of Audrey's hand and led her out of his office and to his Land Rover.
As Duke turned onto Main Street, Audrey seemed to come back to her senses.
"No hospital," She said surprising Duke, "take me to the station."
Duke looked at her, she wasn't looking too good. She was sweating bullets and shaking slightly. Her usually pale completion was absolutely ghostly. She seemed to be struggling to breathe, every time she took a breath the knife in her side moved slightly. She didn't seem to be in any pain, which Duke took as a bad sign, he figured being stabbed would hurt a lot, especially if you kept the knife in. he was really concerned about his friend, even if she wasn't too concerned about herself.
"I mean it Duke," She said, her usually fiery attitude sparking up, "take me to the station." She took a deep breath, "I need to tell Nathan something."
"It can wait," Duke said, "you can tell him after you get out of the hospital." He had no intention of taking her to the Police Station.
"It won't make a difference, "Audrey sighed, "it's too late." She placed her now blood stained hand on Duke's knee, "please?"
He sighed and tried to keep the tears from his eyes. "Are you sure?" He asked hoping to change her mind.
"Absolutely positive." She said with such certainty that Duke couldn't even begin to argue with her.
When they arrived at the Police Station, Duke had barley put the car in park before Audrey was out of the car. She wasn't running frantically into the station, but she wasn't taking a leisurely stroll either. She was walking with a certain amount of confidence in her steps; she was going to reach her destination that was for certain, what would come after was still a mystery.
Audrey entered the station, she wanted to run through the doors, straight into his office and have him in her arms. She wanted him to tell her that everything would be alright, even though they both knew it was a lie. However, when she looked down the hall she could see that his door was closed, and even while dying Audrey couldn't justify barging in, she respected Nathan too much for that, so instead she went to the from desk, where she was met by Stan.
"Officer Parker, so nice to see you…" He trailed off as he took in her appearance, "Oh my God, you need a doctor."
"Stan, it's too late for that. What I really need is to see Nathan, right now." She said calmly. When it looked like he was about to protest she added, "please?"
"But…Audrey," Stan really wanted her to seek medical attention.
"Please Stan. What I have to say is important."
He sighed as he lifted the phone to his ear and pushed the button that would connect him to the Chief's phone.
"I said no calls," Nathan answered after a few rings, "I'm in a meeting."
"Nathan…it's Audrey."