Disclaimer: Totally don't own these characters, or this world. I just like to be a part of it.

Author's Notes: Heads up – time shift again.

You guys ask for a longer chapter? You get a longer chapter.

And please thank my beta, because without her, this chapter would have been way too confusing for anyone outside my head.

Here's the promised Tuesday update!

And, so it Begins

"Daddy, where's Mommy?"

As much of a relief as it was for Nathan to hear Juliet's voice so strong after only being awake for such a short time, he wanted in that same moment to throttle Audrey for not being there. Deep down he knew that Audrey would want to dive into solving the case as soon as she could, but it stunned even him a little when she was already gone in the morning when he woke up, leaving only a note on his phone that she was at the station following up on something and would be back soon.

The doctor had arrived soon after Nathan had woken up and pulled out Juliet's breathing tube, saying it would be better to have her up and breathing on her own. A few hours later, Audrey was still MIA (no one at the station would cop to seeing her, but Nathan knew deep down they all liked her more than him anyways, so who knows what bribery was going down there in his absence), and Juliet had started to wake up. The nurses had all come to check on the pretty little girl, and talked to her as Nathan dialed Audrey more times than should have been necessary, but now she was fully awake, and like every little kid, asking for the person who wasn't there.

Nathan rubbed his hand over his face and tried to look upbeat for his little girl. "She had to run into work, sweetie. She'll be here soon." And as if on cue, his phone beeped with a text message from Audrey that simply read, "BRT".

"Silly daddy. Aren't you the boss? You should have told her not to go in."

Nathan grinned at Juliet. The things that kid said. "You would think I was the boss, huh. Sometimes your mommy just doesn't listen." Nathan leaned over and scrunched up his features into a funny face, causing the little girl to giggle. Normally he would have playfully squeezed her nose, but as he was reaching up to do so, he stopped himself, because that would have been the first noticeable thing for her that she couldn't feel anything. And how do you explain something like that to a six year old girl? He was a few years older than her when his affliction kicked in the first time, and his explanation had come in the form of countless doctor visits and various tests to ultimately determine he had idiopathic neuropathy. Even now, he's not too sure why that's what he was initially told – it's not like Havenites back then didn't know what the Troubles were. But maybe that was just the easiest way to explain it to a little boy why he suddenly can't feel anything or anyone anymore.

For the briefest of moments, Nathan considered doing the same to Juliet. It would be easier than trying to explain to a small child what supernatural afflictions were, but he knew he couldn't do that. He would have to explain to her exactly what was going on. And, if he was being honest with himself, and his life, that would also make explaining flying cows a lot easier as well down the road if it ever came to that.

Dammit, where was Audrey. Even if he knew deep within his soul that telling Juliet about the Troubles was the way to go, Nathan still wanted to consult with Audrey about all of this. Maybe she wouldn't want Juliet to know about what exactly the Troubles were. He couldn't see why she wouldn't, but who knows. Where the hell was she? It's not like Haven is a huge city. Even if she actually stopped at every stop sign on the way from the station to here (which she never in her life had come to a full stop at each stop sign) it still shouldn't take this long for her to get here. There was a small seed growing deep in his stomach that he was desperately trying to keep buried. Was she avoiding him and Juliet because she was worried that since the Troubles were back, she might be forced to leave? And she was already starting to push them away – much as she had done to him almost a decade ago – so that if she did have to leave, in her mind, it wouldn't hurt them as badly? God, he hoped not. He couldn't handle her pulling away. It had been torture all those years ago, and that was before they had become a single unit. He couldn't even conceive how bad it would be now, since not only did he have himself to worry about, but more importantly, he had Juliet to worry about.

"Daddy? When can I go home? I want to play with Uncle Duke. He promised me he was going to take me to Rosemary's for cupcakes."

The tiny voice broke Nathan out of his deep thoughts, and he smiled at his little girl. God, she was just like her mother. Those impossibly blonde curls, the deep blue eyes, the singular drive for cupcakes from Rosemary's. But of course, she just had to inherit his stupid curse. Why couldn't she have inherited Audrey's immunity to everything? Instead, it was his fault that his angel had a crack in her wing. He was going to do everything in his power to fix it, and he knew without a doubt that he could, especially if his second half was by his side. "Hopefully soon, baby girl. But, you know, you're going to have to be careful these next few days. You have quite the boo boo there from falling off Uncle Duke's boat." Nathan nodded towards her neck as he spoke.

Juliet shrugged in her bed. "I can't feel it Daddy, so I must be ok."

And at that moment, Nathan suddenly realized how he sounded to Audrey all those times he said very similar words to her after being injured. "You know Juliet, just because you can't feel it, doesn't mean you're not injured." And there he was sounding just like Audrey. Talk about déjà vu. "There's something we actually need to talk about…" Nathan stopped mid-sentence as Juliet's eyes lifted from his own and floated to the doorway, her face breaking out in a massive grin. Oh, thank god. Finally, Audrey.

"Uncle Duke!"

Nope, not Audrey. Nathan mentally smacked his forehead, but turned around to see the visitor, and had to smile as he watched Duke walk in. As much as he disliked the guy, he had to respect how much Duke looked after Juliet, and in that moment, he seemed to care more about Juliet than her own mother did. He strode in carrying a big Get Well Soon balloon, and a small square box that had a Rosemary's sticker on it, which undoubtedly held a cupcake.

"Hey Bug, how you doing? I brought you a surprise." Duke nodded his head towards Nathan, but strode straight to Juliet, and handed her the white box, which she eagerly opened. "It's chocolate peanut butter. Your favorite." As she opened the box and reached in, Duke leaned in close to her like they were conspiring together on something secret, but he made sure to stage whisper so Nathan could hear. "Now, you just keep that between the two of us, ok? We don't want the spoilsports to foil our fun, do we?" He jerked a thumb back at her dad, and Juliet's eyes went as wide as saucers as she glanced over Duke's shoulder at Nathan, and then when she looked at him again, she nodded in agreement.

"Of course Uncle Duke. It's our secret."

Duke leaned down to kiss Juliet's forehead, but her attention was completely on the chocolaty goodness in front of her, and everyone else in the room was tertiary at that point. Duke tied the balloon to her bed rail, and then turned towards Nathan, trying to speak a little quieter than usual so as to not rouse Juliet from her current focus. "Where's Audrey?"

Nathan looked at Duke as he stood up and gestured with his head towards the door, but leaned down towards Juliet before moving. "Hey Sweetie, Uncle Duke and I are going to go have a grown up chat out in the hallway. Just call us if you need us, ok?"

The little girl didn't even acknowledge his presence, as the cupcake was the only thing on her mind at the moment. Yup, definitely her mother's daughter.

Nathan led Duke out into the hallway, and started pacing as soon as they were out of the room, rubbing the back of his neck, dimly aware that once again he couldn't even feel his nervous tick. "I have no idea where she is Duke, and frankly, it's pissing me off. Why isn't she here? What exactly is more important than her daughter being in the hospital?"

"Nathan, you need to calm down. She's probably just grabbing some extra clothes or something."

Nathan wheeled around. Both frustration and anger seeped from his eyes. "No, she's at the station. She's working. She's literally working instead of being here. I know she's hard headed and driven, but, god." Nathan raked a hand through his hair, trying to dissipate the emotions boiling within him. It wasn't often that Audrey set him off, but she sure was doing her best this time.

Duke could almost see the anger boiling out of Nathan, and it was unsettling. He knew that he was overreacting because of the situation, but still. But then again, how would he be reacting if he was in Nathan's shoes? First you learn that your daughter is in the hospital, then you learn your own Trouble has reactivated, and then your wife, your rock, is MIA. And deep down, he would have to be worrying that Audrey might go MIA permanently this time. Yup, he'd be overreacting too.

Duke knew he had to be the one with the level head at the moment though. If he couldn't calm Nathan down before Audrey arrived, the fireworks those two would create would be unbearable. And they wouldn't be the fun kind of fireworks. No, they would be the full on, screaming, throwing things, kind of fireworks that can only come from two people who were both so hard headed that neither could get beyond their own fear for the other to actually do anything productive.

"Nathan, come on. Yeah, her not being here is not cool, but you have to understand where she's coming from on this one. Not only is she freaked out that her daughter is here, and then she finds out that you're back to being Pinocchio, but come on. You have to realize that she's freaking out that her time here in Haven might be up. We all know what happens when The Troubles appear. She normally does too, and then she goes away. Don't you think that has to be scaring the hell out of her? The whole cycle is off. None of us know what's going on, and now that she has you and Juliet, there's no way she wants to leave – if that's even what has to happen. So she's out there already looking to find a way to stop whatever is going on so that she can make sure she stays with you permanently. You need to be doing that too! You know you two work better as a team, whether it's physically together, or just working on the same case. You need to be doing that now. Talk to Audrey. Tell her what you're feeling, and tell her you're going to make this all ok. I really think she needs to hear that, and she needs to hear it from you."

Duke mirrored Nathan's motion of raking his fingers through his hair, and turned away from Nathan. His heart was pounding, and he was both terrified and angry in the same breath. He didn't even want to think about the fact that Audrey may really disappear this time. By some grace of god, they avoided it the last time, but who knows if they could cheat fate twice in a lifetime. He turned back around to look at his friend, whose shoulders were now slumped, and who was staring at the floor while rubbing the back of his neck. He had to feel bad for the guy. His life had been essentially on cloud nine these past years – he had finally gotten with the girl of his dreams, who inexplicably wanted to be with him too, he had had a child as he always wanted, and was successful at work. And now, his world was crashing around him.

He was about to speak when he heard footsteps running down the hallway.

"I'm here, I'm here!"

Duke turned to see Audrey rushing towards them. She flicked her eyes to his as she moved past him into Nathan's arms, and he could see that look she used to give him all those years ago when she had learned a piece of information that was troubling her. He wanted her to tell him everything in that moment, but he knew that she would have to switch back to family mode for now. And something told him she would want to talk to him in private about it – away from Nathan. Scary how much the past quickly caught up to the future. Here they were again, her keeping valuable information away from Nathan to protect him. Duke shook his head slightly, and peeked into Juliet's room as his two friends embraced.

"Hey Bug, I have to get back to the boat." He pointed towards her so she paid attention. "Now, I think you're going home today, so you better have those cards ready and waiting for me, ok?" He winked at her and grinned when she smiled back at him.

"You got it Uncle Duke!"

He waved back at her as she waved goodbye, and he nodded at Audrey and Nathan as he walked by them. He could only hope those two decided to act on that full trust for each other they keep swearing they have. The only way they would all get through this is if those two would work together.

Audrey pulled back from Nathan, and grabbed his hand. "What did the doctor say?"

Nathan sighed. "He took out her breathing tube and said she should perk up rather quickly, and being your daughter, she completely has. I'm betting they'll let us take her home in a day or two. I think they'll want to just keep monitoring her vital signs at this point."

Audrey let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "That's great news. She's doing ok then?"

"Yeah. She's been asking for you, but thankfully Duke surprised her and distracted her." He couldn't help giving her the dig, and knew he was cruel for doing it.

Audrey winced, pulled her hand from his, and moved past him into Juliet's room, but was stopped by Nathan's hand on her arm, pulling her back. She looked down at his hand, and then looked questioningly into his eyes.

"Audrey, wait."

"Nathan, come on. I want to see how Juliet is."

Nathan shook his head. "She's been fine this long without you, she can survive a few minutes more. We need to talk." Nathan looked in at Juliet to see that she was still occupied and then pulled Audrey a little further away from the door. "Where have you been? Why would you leave Juliet like that? You didn't even wake me before you left this morning."

Audrey pulled her arm away from Nathan, and brought both arms around to hug herself, not able to meet Nathan's eye. "Nathan…"

Nathan reached over and pulled her chin so that she would have to look at him. "No, you need to tell me. I don't appreciate you just up and leaving. We're a team, both personally and professionally, and you can't just abandon that." Dropping his hand from her chin, Nathan grabbed both of Audrey's arms, pulling her closer to him. "Look, I know you're scared, but I'm scared too. But we can fix this Audrey. You and I, together. We'll figure out what's going on, and we'll fix it."

Audrey looked past Nathan towards Juliet. "What are we going to tell her?"

Nathan sighed. "We're going to tell her that there are things called the Troubles, and that she and I have them, but that you and I will protect her from them always. That's all she needs to know right now."

Audrey looked back up at Nathan. "What are we going to do?"

"We are going to figure this out." Nathan let his hands drop from Audrey so that he could turn and look at Juliet. "Someone's going to have to look after her for the next few days, and I just don't trust Duke."

"Nathan…"

"No, this is something I need to do, but you need to be there too. She needs her mother. And we'll both start pulling strings to see what we can find." Nathan turned back to Audrey. "It really pissed me off that you left us this morning. I know you want to figure out what's going on, and I do too. But we'll only be able to do this if we do it together. Understand?"

Audrey could only nod. She knew Nathan would be angry, but he rarely ever vocalized that anger to her.

"Good. Now let's go see our daughter." Nathan turned to follow Audrey into the room, but stopped to lean against the door. His anger was boiling just beneath the surface, and he knew a lot of it had to do with fear. He felt slightly better now that he and Audrey seemed to be on the same page, but still, something wasn't right.

Nathan watched as his two girls embraced and could hear Audrey teasing Juliet, causing the little girl to fall into a fit of giggles. His heart began to feel a little lighter, but that seed of dread continued to grow, and he couldn't help but worry as he watched the girls interact.

As Nathan leaned back in the uncomfortable hospital chair - which he was grateful he couldn't feel - watching Audrey sitting next to Juliet on the bed reading her a goodnight story, he replayed the day in his head. Even though Audrey hadn't been there when Juliet woke up, she had stayed all day, even making him be the one to leave and get food. She had talked about everything with their little girl, and was the perfect mom she always had been. Even though he could tell that she was trying to keep all negativity out of the room – which kind of bothered him, because she never did say what she had been up to all morning – she eventually tackled the elephant in the room, and started explaining to Juliet about what the Troubles were. Audrey of course weaved it into a fantastical story, but made sure the little girl knew that there were very real truths to what she was saying. Thankfully, she left out all of the scary Troubles – they would continue to shield Juliet from those until the day they died – but she told her everything else. Finally, it had come to her explaining to Juliet about what was going on with the little girl, and had looked to Nathan for support. He had jumped in and carefully explained to his daughter what her life would now be like. It of course didn't seem to really affect the little girl – she was only six after all – but at least they had bridged the first conversation. He knew that there would be many more like this in the weeks and months to come as Juliet adjusted to her new life. Nathan was already imagining countless injuries and trips to the hospital, and he was already wondering if there was a way they could pad her room and just keep her there until the Troubles went away again.

He shook his head slightly as Audrey finished the book they were reading, and laid it on the table next to the bed. She pulled Juliet close to her and kissed the top of her forehead. "Are you getting sleepy Juliet?"

"Mmmhmm." Juliet nodded her head against Audrey's side.

Nathan could see her eyes drooping and knew she would be asleep in a couple short minutes.

As Juliet snuggled into Audrey, she quietly whispered, "Mommy, your skin is always so soft." Her breath evened out as she fell into a deep sleep.

Audrey and Nathan locked eye contact, and stayed silent for a few heartbeats. It was Nathan that broke the silence.

"She can feel you too."