AN: GUYSGUYSGUYSGUYSGUYSGUYS! I think I might actually have a direction that this fic is going! I mean, I don't want to get ahead of myself here. I don't have a full on plan or any idea how it's going to end and updates will still be few and far between, but I have bits of plot and stuff! It's exciting for me! Obviously it's going to be AU to the show now where Jennifer is still around, but I'm going to try and make it kind of fit into what is going on in the show. (Part of me wants to write her into every episode that airs and then add this onto the end.) There will be a flashback scene at some point to events during the season premier and what Jennifer was doing that entire time. But for now, here's the next chapter. A fairly long one for you all!

The remainder of the night was restless for both Duke and Jennifer. Jennifer faded in and out of a light sleep, being constantly awoken by nurses coming in to check on her, people talking loudly in the halls, pain, or the quietest unfamiliar sound scaring her out of her sleep.

Duke couldn't even force himself to close his eyes, afraid something might happen if he looked away from her for even a second. His mind kept jumping back to the times he had almost lost her before. The unrest he felt after hearing she had almost been incinerated in the coffee shop. The panic of seeing his own brother looming over her with a knife. The dread of knowing the rougarou was after her and seeing the Haven Herald ransacked. This was worse than any of that. He never wanted to see her like this, in this much fear and pain, ever again.

Around 7am Jennifer finally gave up sleeping. While she didn't suffer through anymore full-fledged nightmares, she did relive the past 24 hours every time she closed her eyes and felt more exhausted than she had before.

Breakfast came at 8, but Jennifer had no appetite. She was hungry, but her head was still pounding and the idea of actually eating made her nauseous. She poked at the bowl of cheerios with her spoon, trying to force herself to take a few bites.

"You really should eat something," Duke tried coaxing her, rubbing and holding onto her free hand with his. "You must be starving."

Jennifer shrugged and leaned back against her pillows. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before bringing a spoonful of cereal into her mouth and forcing herself to chew. Duke saw how much of a labor it was for her to swallow the small mouthful before she abandoned her eating attempt.

"Hey," he reached up and ran his hand over her hair. "Talk to me. What's up?"

"My head hurts. Being stuck in the hospital with a pounding headache is an all too familiar feeling for me." Her hand tightened around Duke's. "But at least you're here with me this time." She smiled at him. "Still, the sooner I can get out of here the better I'll feel."

Duke was about to suggest she call he nurse to see if they could do anything about the pain when the morning nurse, Julie, and Dr. Kingston came in.

"Hey Jennifer. How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm okay. Mainly just tired," she responded.

Duke wasn't going to let her get away with that. "She said her head's still hurting and she hasn't eaten anything."

Jennifer was torn between being annoyed with Duke for tattling when all she wanted was to go home, and thinking it was sweet that he was worried and cared so much.

Dr. Kingston looked through her notes. "Is the pain still at an 8?"

Jennifer sighed, giving in to telling the doctor the truth, even though it might extend her stay. "Yeah. No worse than it was last night, but no better either."

"Still dizzy and nauseous?"

She nodded.

"What about everywhere else? Your broken ribs and the wound in your abdomen."

"They're probably at about a 6."

Dr. Kingston continued to take notes on everything she said. "I'm going to start you on some different, stronger pain meds, and give you something to combat the nausea so hopefully you'll be able to eat something."

"How long do I have to stay here for? When can I go home?"

Dr. Kingston gave her a small smile. "At least a few more days. I want to run a few tests this morning to make sure there haven't been any further complications with the concussion or the surgery. I would have like to have seen your headache begin to fade by now. The concussion might be worse than we originally thought, but you shouldn't worry about it until we finish the tests."

"What kind of tests?" Duke queried.

"CT Scan, X-rays, MRI. We'll compare them to the scans we took yesterday to make sure things aren't getting any worse. Then I want to run a few cognitive tests. All very routine after a head injury." She paused to see if either Duke or Jennifer had any more questions. When they remained silent she continued, "I'll put in an order for the tests. A nurse will be by soon to change your bandages and take you down. If you need anything in the meantime just hit your call button." With another smile she was out of the room.

Jennifer let out a long breath and began fiddling with the two chains hanging around her neck.

"Are you nervous about the tests?" Duke enquired. He was, but would never say as much.

"No. I remember this all from before. I just really want to go home."

Duke kept forgetting that. How not new this all was to her. She had been through all these test once and the experience is now seared into her memory. "Audrey told me that Dwight wants to take a formal statement from you when you're feeling up to it. No rush though. Just whenever you are ready."

"Tell them he can stop by this afternoon if he wants."

"Are you sure? It can wait a few more days if you want to wait until you're feeling better."

"I just want to get everything over with so I can put it all behind me again."

Duke understood and had to agree, although he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to do that. He looked over at Jennifer, who was lying back with her eyes closed, trying to will the pain away. The two sat in silence until the nurse came and changed Jennifer's bandages. Before now, Duke hadn't seen what she looked like under the bandage on her head. Dried blood matted her dark hair, masking the extent of the injury underneath. He could tell it had to hurt a lot, a suspicion that Jennifer's reaction to the nurse poking around in that area confirmed.

It wasn't long after that when they brought a wheelchair to bring Jennifer down to her tests. Duke helped her transfer from the bed to the chair. As soon as she tried to stand up, another wave of dizziness hit her and she collapsed into his arms, clinging to him for support. He eased her into the wheelchair as gently as he could.

Jennifer reached behind her neck and unclasped the chain of her new dolphin necklace and pulled the penny over her head, knowing she would have to take them off for the exams anyways. She had only been wearing them for a few hours, but she felt as if she was no longer complete with their absence. "Hold on to these for me, will you?" She handed them to Duke.

Duke slipped the penny around his own neck, and then to try and elicit a smile out of her, clasped the dolphin charm there too.

His attempt was successful. Jennifer almost laughed at the delicate charm hanging there. "That's a really good look on you."

"You know what? I agree. I may not give it back."

"You'd better!"

He bent down to kiss her forehead. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "See you in a bit, okay? I love you."

Jennifer would never tire of hearing those words come out of his mouth. "I love you too," she responded before she was wheeled away.

Duke had wanted to go with her, but the nurses told him to stay behind. They had people down there that could help her stand up and sit back down if she needed it. Reluctantly Duke went with Nathan and Audrey to the hospital cafeteria to eat some breakfast of his own and drink about another gallon of coffee. Duke participated in the discussion long enough to tell them that Jennifer was willing to talk to Dwight whenever, but then he let Nathan and Audrey carry on their own conversation. He was anxious about being away from Jennifer for any length of time.

Duke arrived back at Jennifer's room at the same time they were wheeling her back in. She smiled and visibly relaxed as she saw him. Duke noted that she was a lot paler than she had been when they had taken her. Getting in and out of the wheelchair and various imaging machines had taken a lot out of her and her head was now pounding harder than it ever had before. Even though they were just doing their jobs, the male nurses touching her and helping her stand up had made her extremely uneasy. She was relieved that Duke was there to help her back into her hospital bed and was content with not moving for the time being... unless she was going home, but that wasn't likely to happen.

As soon as Jennifer was just about settled, there was a knock at the door and another doctor made his way in.

"Jennifer? I'm Dr. Landry, a neurologist here at the hospital. I hear you have a pretty good head injury going on."

"Yeah, well, this headache sure isn't the result any hangover."

Duke's heart jumped a bit at her words and tone sounding more normal.

Dr. Landry chuckled. "No. I'm sure it doesn't. Which means I do need to ask you a few questions to make sure everything's still working properly. Is that okay?"

Jennifer nodded. "Shoot."

Duke hadn't realized how just worried he had been until Jennifer answered all the questions about the year and the president and last Sunday correctly and he felt himself relax. It wasn't too long before all the doctor's questions were answered and he declared that everything was perfectly fine with Jennifer mentally.

Dr. Landry left and the room filled with an easy silence. Duke looked over at his girlfriend, noticing that some of the color had finally returned to her cheeks. But she still looked exhausted. He went to reach for her hand, which was already waiting for his. He brought her hand to his lips and planted a kiss on her fingers.

Jennifer smiled as the familiar scratch of his facial hair brushed over her skin. Alec had been obsessive about shaving, both for himself and with Jennifer. Hair anywhere but the top of the head and the eyebrows was dirty and uncivilized. Oh how Alec must have hated Duke the moment he saw him. Between the facial hair and the ponytail. When Jennifer had lived with him she thought she agreed with those views, but now she knew that was just silly. Now she loved Duke's facial hair almost as much as she loved him. The tickle of it whenever he kissed her had become a comfort to her.

Duke linked his fingers in and out of hers, unaware of the mental conversation she was having with herself. "Do you think you could try get some sleep now?"

Jennifer sighed, but nodded. She was exhausted and probably looked even more so. "I think so." She scooted over on the bed and pulled Duke towards her until he kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed as well. When she was safe in his arms she closed her eyes, knowing that having him this close to her would keep the nightmares away.

The next time Jennifer woke, she actually felt a bit more rested. The ache in her head had subsided a bit, now being more of a 6.5 instead of an 8, and she was actually able to eat a bit of the mac 'n' cheese she was brought for lunch. After lunch visiting hours began and, as Nathan predicted, Vince and Dave were through that door as soon as they were allowed. Vince brought her a bouquet of flowers, and Dave had come equipped with a box of chocolate and a balloon with a giant pink flower sporting the sentiment 'Get Well Soon!'

"Aw! You guys didn't have to come. And you certainly didn't have to bring me anything," Jennifer said while accepting the flowers from Vince and sniffing them. "They're beautiful, Vince, thank you." She handed them off to Duke to put on the table next to her hospital bed.

"Of course we did, my child," Vince told her, giving her arm a squeeze.

"You, after all, are our favorite reporter that we employ right now," Dave pushed his way past Vince to deposit Jennifer with his own gifts.

Duke rolled his eyes. "You realize that she is the only reporter you employ right now, right? Making that statement a lot less meaningful than it's supposed to be."

"Oh balderdash! That just makes us even more fond of her."

"Yes," Vince cut back in. "It's because of her we get to do even less work ourselves. That's most definitely something to be fond of."

Jennifer lifted the lid on the box of chocolates and breathed in the sweet aroma. "These smell delicious, Dave! If I wasn't afraid they'd come back up I'd eat them all right now."

Vince hit his brother's arm. "See?! I told you she wasn't going to be feeling well enough to eat something as rich as chocolate!"

"Yeah but now she has something to look forward to when she's feeling better and out of here. Unlike your flowers which will be dead in a couple days."

"Well a couple of days is all they need to last for because then she'll be out of here and won't need anything to help cheer up this dreary hospital room!"

"Which is why I also brought the balloon." Dave motioned to the balloon floating overhead.

Duke looked back and forth between the two of them. "Really guys? You're doing this now?"

But Jennifer just smiled. No matter what happened, the way these two bickered with each other would always be a constant in her life. "How are things at the Herald?"

"Oh don't you concern yourself with that, my dear. Vince and I have got everything covered."

"Not with another 'gas leak' I hope." When Vince and Dave looked sheepishly at each other she knew she had hit the nail on the head. She shook her head. "Look, at least let me email you the article I've been working on. You guys can finish it."

"Seems fair enough. As long as you send it as is and don't do any more work on it."

Jennifer put her hands up as in defeat. "I'll tell Duke which file it is and have him send it so I won't be tempted." Truth was she knew that looking at her laptop screen was going to add even more to her headache so having Duke send it worked better for her anyways.

"Deal." Then the brothers shared a look. A look that Jennifer, who had now been working with them long enough to get a good read on them, knew as one where each was trying to get the other to ask a question they both wanted, and really didn't want to ask.

"Just come out with it and ask whatever it is you guys are wondering."

"Well, we just wanted to know-" Dave started but couldn't finish. He looked to his brother for help.

"We just wanted to know what, if anything, you want us to publish about what happened last night?"

Jennifer hesitated before answering. She hadn't really thought about it yet. Haven wasn't exactly the biggest city around and most people knew who she was either from the paper, or from hanging around the Gull while Duke was working. People were going to know something happened soon enough. Would she rather put it out there for everyone to read about, or deal with the stares and questions of curious Havenites?

Before she had a chance to come up with an answer, Duke cut into the conversation. "How did you guys even know something happened?"

"We have little birdies everywhere," Dave informed him. "One of them told us the Gull was swarming with cops, another told us Nathan and Audrey were seen rushing Jennifer to the hospital."

"To be honest though, that's is really all anyone knows. Including us."

There was a knock at the door and Dwight, sporting his usually bullet proof vest, came in, followed by Nathan and Audrey. The latter two had been in a few times in the morning to check on everything and bring Duke and Jennifer whatever they needed. They were also looking just as tired and exhausted as Duke and Jennifer.

"Hey Jennifer. How are you feeling?"

Jennifer knew Dwight meant well, but she was getting really tired of that question. "I'm okay. I take it you're here for my 'official statement'." It wasn't a question.

"Unfortunately, yes. We need something in the file for when we find and can charge him."

"We'll come back later." Vince grabbed his brother's arm and headed towards the door.

"Wait," Jennifer called out before they got very far away. "You guy have been so great to me this past year, you deserve to know what happened. And," she paused. "And all of Haven is going to know that something happened soon enough. Might as well give them the story all at once instead of me having to answer the same questions over and over again individually."

Duke squeezed her hand to pull her attention. "Are you sure?"

No. But Jennifer nodded anyways. The reporter in her knew that stories like this had a way of getting out. Might as well be on her terms where people can get all the facts straight, instead of letting the rumor circle run wild.

"If there's anything you don't want us to put in there, just let us know and we'll be sure to keep it out."

There was a moment of silence in the room before Jennifer realized that everyone was waiting for her to start. She took a breath and clasped Duke's hand for support with one hand. Jennifer gave them all the very dry version of events. She was actually rather embarrassed by the situation she had gotten herself into, so she tried to justify it by first giving them a brief story about how they met and how kind he was, and how in what seemed like an instant everything changed. She told them how he sent her to the hospital once before and left her when she started hearing voices. She left out the incident with the bottle of pills.

When she got to more recent events, Duke helped her out, letting people know how they had run into Alec downtown and the events that transpired there. But it wasn't long before Jennifer was on her own again, informing everyone about what went down at the Gull. It was easier to sort through her thoughts this time, now that she felt safe and knew Duke wasn't mad at her. She was able to give them a more accurate play-by-play, but after stabbing Alec her memory was still blank. She wondered silently if it was more due to her head injury, or if she had repressed it.

Audrey finished off the series of events by letting Dwight, Vince, and Dave know what had happened after they heard Jennifer scream for them.

"You did great, Jennifer." Dwight almost put a hand on her shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze, but thought better of it. She had become visibly tenser and more jumpy as the recollection went on and the memories came back again. "I just need to know whatever else you can tell me about Alec so we can identify him. Age, height, last name, etc. This was we can issue an arrest warrant and put out an APB."

Jennifer gave him the best physical description she could and ended by telling Dwight, "His last name is Starling. I'm sure his Facebook is public so you can find pictures of him there."

"Perfect," Dwight scribbled down everything she had told him into his notebook. "Thanks, Jennifer. I mean it. You did really well." His phone rang and he gave her a smile before heading out of the room to answer it.

"I think we'll head out now too," Vince spoke for the first time since Jennifer's started talking. "That paper's not going to write itself, you know?"

"Thank you, guys, for stopping by. And for the gifts. I wish I could tell you when I'll be back to work but…"

"Don't you worry yourself with that, my dear. Just focus on getting better."

Jennifer nodded and Dave and Vince started out into the hall.

"Vince. Dave. Wait up for a second." Duke looked at Jennifer and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting it go to catch up to Vince and Dave.

Jennifer immediately felt uneasy at his absence. Her now empty hand subconsciously found its way to the dolphin charm around her neck, rubbing it between her fingers.

Audrey and Nathan came closer. "Stan is on his way for the next watch. Once he gets here Nathan and I are going to head out, but we'll be back later tonight. Do you want us to grab anything for you or Duke?"

"I need my laptop at some point so I can send an article to Vince and Dave, but that's all I can think of."

Dwight hung up his phone and came back over. "I heard you say Stan was on his way. How's he doing? I heard he caught his girlfriend cheating on him the other day."

"Someone cheated on Stan?" Jennifer jumped at the chance to focus on someone else's drama. "That's awful! He's so sweet!"

"Yeah. He basically caught them red-handed and she told him everything."

It was this point in the conversation that Duke came back over. "Is he going to be in the right state of mind to stand watch outside, or is he going to be distracted?"

"No. He'll be fine. He seems more determined than ever to catch the bad guys now. Keeps getting confessions out of them too."

"Besides, Alec isn't going to try anything while I'm in here," Jennifer pointed out. "There's too many people around. He's too smart for that."

"I still like the idea of there being someone with a gun right outside just in case." Duke sat back down in the chair next to Jennifer's bed.

"I agree," said Dwight. "Better safe than sorry." He pulled something out of his pocket. "I almost forgot. I grabbed this for you." He handed Jennifer her cell phone. "We recovered the texts he sent you and put them into the file as evidence." He paused. "I also thought you might want this." He handed Jennifer a piece of paper. It was a restraining order. "It's really just a formality. Alec will be brought up on assault charges at the very least when we catch him. This just gives us another excuse to arrest him if he comes near you again."

Jennifer nodded and handed the papers and her phone to Duke. She didn't want to deal with either of them yet.

"I have to get back to the station. Fill those out whenever you feel up to it and give them to me or Audrey or Nathan to file. Let me know if there's anything you need."

"Thanks, Dwight."

As Dwight left, Stan stuck his face in the doorway and waved to Nathan and Audrey, letting them know he was here.

"I guess that's our cue to head out too." Audrey placed her hand on Jennifer's leg and gave it a little shake. "Get some rest, okay? You too," she turned to Duke.

"Same goes for you guys."

"And thank you again," Jennifer said. "You guys literally saved my life. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there." She hadn't really taken a second to think about it yet. How close she had come to dying. If Audrey and Nathan hadn't been just upstairs, she might have bled to death alone on the ground outside the Gull. She suppressed the shiver that thought tried to send through her spine.

"I just wish we could have done more," Audrey admitted with a sigh. "We'll see you guys later tonight." And with that she and Nathan headed out the door.

Once again, Duke and Jennifer were alone. That's how Jennifer liked it. She wasn't sure if it had been due to the amount of people around her, or the fact that the door had been opened and the hospital halls were noisy, or if it had more to do with once again going through everything that had happened, but her headache was back in full force. She was happy to be in the easy silence that surrounded her and Duke.

"I asked Vince and Dave to send me the article they were writing about what happened so we can make sure there's nothing in it that you don't want the entire town to know."

That explained why he had run after them as soon as they left. And she greatly appreciated it. "Thank you. Have I told you you're amazing lately?"

"I know. I am pretty amazing," Duke stated matter-of-factly with a straight face that made Jennifer smile and shake her head at him. "But not nearly as amazing as you are."

She felt herself blush as she looked down, before leaning back and closing her eyes.

"Does your head still hurt?" Duke asked.

Jennifer nodded. She heard Duke start to move and knew what he was about to do. They pretty much had it down to a science now. Jennifer knew just how much to move over so Duke would have enough room. He knew just how to lie to avoid any of the tubes and wires connected to her, and just where to place his hands to not cause her any pain.

Jennifer sighed as she pillowed her head into Duke's chest. Just being that close to him seemed to take away some of her pain. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the noise in the hallways. She felt Duke's thumb began to stroke her side right where his hand rested on her and he began to hum. She focused on the tune she recognized, but couldn't quite place. Focusing on him quieted her mind. Before long the exhaustion of the morning and the lack of sleep last night once again caught up with her. Her earlier nap had been recharging, but all the energy she had gained from that was drained by all the people that had been in her room earlier and all the talking and remembering she had done. She was lulled to sleep by Duke's humming, his heartbeat, and the rise and fall of his chest.