Ch. 2: The Small Escape

"'Such, such were the joys,
When we all girls & boys,
In our youth-time were seen,
On the Ecchoing Green.'"

-William Blake: "The Ecchoing Green," from Songs of Innocence

Audrey looked up from her work to see Nathan walking in, carrying a little girl in his arms. Following him was a boy, trying not to trip over the large pants he was wearing. In fact, Audrey noticed the girl was also wearing clothes too big for her, as Nathan closed the door, and the boy sat down on the sofa.

"Nathan, what-" Audrey started to say, as he placed the girl next to the boy.

"It's me Audrey! Jennifer!" she exclaimed.

Audrey stood up as her eyes widen.

"Then . . . Duke?" Audrey asked, and Duke nodded back. "Again?"

"What does she mean 'again?'" Jennifer asked, looking at him.

Duke covered his face with his hands. He really didn't want to review every Trouble he was hit with.

"How about we get back on how to return to our real ages?" Duke asked.

"How did this happen?" Audrey asked.

"We were at the park. Jennifer saw this locket, and we thought someone lost it," Duke said, indicating the locket Jennifer was wearing. "A minute later, we're kids!"

Audrey gently removed the locket from Jennifer and examined it. She opened the locket and looked at the contents inside.

"You don't have magical items in Haven, do you?" Jennifer asked. "Because the inscription inside said something about seeing the world through the eyes of a child."

Nathan thought about it and shook his head as Audrey closed the locket.

"Maybe Vince and Dave know something about this," Audrey said. "We'll visit them and see if they can find something."

"Can we get some clothes that fit us first?" Duke asked. "Jennifer and I can't stay in these clothes for the rest of the day! We had to leave our shoes behind! Walking on the street with just socks - not fun!"

Audrey nodded, agreeing with Duke. "Okay, we'll get you some clothes. Nathan, you look after them."

"Why do I have to watch them?" Nathan asked, incredulously.

"Yeah; why does he have to watch over us?" Duke asked with the same tone.

"Because Nathan is an adult, and right now, well, you're not," Audrey said.

"Not that he's much of an adult even when he is one," Nathan muttered.

For his reply, Duke got up and kicked Nathan in the shins. Nathan looked down at him with an amused expression.

"I know; you don't feel that," Duke growled.

Jennifer was curled up on the sofa, huddled inside her too-large clothes, and Nathan felt sympathetic.

"I'm going to try Sylvia's Salvaged Duds," Nathan said. "We should be able to find something there that'll fit."

"All right," Audrey replied. She took the locket in hand. "And I'll go talk to Vince and Dave, see if they can find out anything about this locket." She gathered her coat, and headed out the door.

Nathan looked down at his pint-size charges. Duke had gone over and sat down next to Jennifer, taking her small hand in his. He looked like a big brother with his kid sister, more than boyfriend and girlfriend.

"We'll fix it," Duke was telling her softly. "Audrey and Nate will fix it, I promise."

"Duke," Nathan called, and Duke looked at him.

"I am going to Sylvia's," Nathan began. "Do. Not. Leave. This. Office," he stated firmly. "Stan was about to call CPS on you two, and we don't need to try to explain that you're really grownups stuck in a kid's body. So stay put, and I mean it, Duke."

"Where would we go like this, Nathan?" Duke snapped at him.

There was a noise at the door, and Dwight came in.

"Hey, Nathan, I saw Audrey leaving-" he trailed off, seeing the two children. "Who're the kids?"

"Believe it or not, you're just in time, Dwight," Nathan said, with a small trace of a grin. "Would you make sure these two stay put till I get back?"

"Who are they? Where'd they come from?" Dwight asked.

"You should be old enough to know the answer to that by now, Sasquatch," Duke cracked.

Dwight glared at the boy.

"It's Duke," Nathan sighed. "And the little girl is Jennifer."

"Wow," was all Dwight could manage. "So what brought this on?"

"I'll let Duke fill you in while I go and try to find some clothes more suited to their ages," Nathan answered. "You kids be good now," he finished, directed more towards Duke than Jennifer.

"I will not be a kid forever, Wuornos," Duke growled a response. "At least, I hope we won't," he finished under his breath.

"Look . . . I actually have paperwork to catch up on. I'll bring it back here," Dwight said. "Do you need anything while I'm out?"

Dwight was unintentionally directing his question more to Jennifer than to Duke. He was somehow instinctively drawn to her and he knew why. Jennifer did not look exactly like Lizzie, but her chin, and that sad look in her eyes, reminded him of Lizzie after she found a dead bird in their yard.

Duke and Jennifer saying they were okay brought him back to reality and he left to get his paperwork.

Duke sighed and rested his head in his hands. He was brought his head back up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Jennifer smiling at him.

"You're a cute kid," Jennifer said, smiling.

"I was . . . am a cute kid," Duke said, smiling back. "But you're cuter."

Jennifer giggled and ran her hand through Duke's hair.

"I wondered what you look like with short hair," Jennifer said, putting her hand down. "I like it."

"Thanks," Duke said.

"Your welcome," Jennifer said and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Duke grinned and kissed her cheek. His adult instincts then kicked in and moved his kiss to her lips and began to make the kiss deeper . . .

"Whoa," Dwight exclaimed when he returned, separating the two children. "Let's keep this family friendly, okay?"

"Sure, Dwight," Duke said in a bored tone, as Jennifer nodded. "Whatever you want."

Nathan soon returned with two bags full of stuff, and set it down on the desk.

"It was 'ten cents a pound' day," he began, and then noticed Dwight's expression. "Everything okay?" Nate asked cautiously, seeing Duke sitting on the other side of the room with a rather sullen expression.

"Let's just say they may be kids but they still think like adults," Dwight said with a sidelong glance at Duke. "At least, Duke does."

"Really, Duke?" Nathan questioned.

"Just drop it, okay?" Duke burst out irritably. He hadn't liked being a kid when he was actually a kid, and he certainly wasn't enjoying it any more the third time around. Being a teenager that time had made him want to hurt something. He couldn't wait to grow up-because it meant that he was finally the boss of his life. He looked down at himself, his spindly limbs, his scrawny body. He'd hated being a kid-especially when Simon would come home in one of his moods.

"Why is it always an Age Trouble with me?" he wondered aloud. "First I was turned into an old man, then I was a teenager, now I'm a kid. If we don't solve the Troubles soon, the next time I might end up a baby."

"Why did you turn into an old man?" Jennifer asked.

Duke certainly didn't want to have to tell that story to Jennifer-how his one-night stand with a woman he'd just met had resulted in his daughter and him nearly aging to death in two days' time because of her.

"It's a long story," he sighed.

"They all seem to be long stories with you," she remarked, and Nathan and Dwight looked from her to Duke. Nathan arched his eyebrows at Duke, who got up to snatch his bag of boys' clothes off the desk and began rummaging through it.

Nathan offered the other bag to Jennifer.

"I hope at least something in there will fit you," he said, as she took it. "I kind of had to guess-I don't have a lot of experience in buying kid's clothes."

"Thank you, Nathan," Jennifer answered.

"Nice to see some people have manners," Nathan answered, glancing over at Duke, who scowled.

"Thank you for the clothes, Nathan," he uttered condescendingly. "I'm gonna go change." He stomped off in the direction of the men's locker room.

Nathan escorted Jennifer to the ladies' room and waited guard outside the door while she changed her clothes.

At the Haven Herald, Vince and Dave were closely examining the locket with a magnifying glass.

"I've heard of this locket, it was owned by Josephine Teller," Vince was saying. "Josephine had a child-like mind," he went on. "I guess that was their way of saying she had mental issues."

"Or it was a Trouble," Audrey said.

"Possibly," Vince agreed. "The story goes she was very fond of her younger brother, Samuel. However, he went off and died in the Civil War. Josephine was devastated by his loss, and had the locket made after his death. It was her most prized possession," he added. "She said the happiest times of hers and Samuel's lives were when they were children, and she always wanted to return to those days. Supposedly, she had the portrait carved from one of her brother's bones."

"Weird," Dave muttered.

"It wasn't uncommon for folk to keep mementos of their departed in those days-like those hair brooches that Great-Grandma Tate had."

"Guys," Audrey put in, hoping to head off a Teague's tangent. "What happened to Josephine?"

"No one knows," Vince said. "She just-disappeared-one day. The neighbors found a small girl wandering lost in the woods the next day, wearing Josephine's clothes. At first, the child claimed to be Josephine, and seemed very intellectually advanced for a child, and she knew things that only Josephine would have known," he continued. "But the next day, she seemed to lose Josephine's adult memories, and was acting little girl; she could recognize and remember people, things, and events, but she truly believed she was a child. After that, there's no record. Most likely the little girl was shut away to an orphanage or an asylum. The locket was lost for years, until it resurfaced at an auction in 1956."

"Who bought it?" Audrey questioned.

"A young woman-who also disappeared, back in '57. They found a little girl, claiming to be her, and again, the child seemed to know so much about the young woman for a day or so, and then, the next day, had no memories of ever being an adult."

"They both changed into kids-and then stayed that way-permanently?" Audrey gasped.

"It would appear so," Dave answered gravely. "If Duke and Jennifer aren't returned to their adult state-they'll forget they ever were adults, and they'll remain children . . . and have to grow up again," He peered over his glasses at Audrey. "I think whoever lost that locket may know the answer. So you'll need to find him or her. And time, unfortunately, is not on your side."

Audrey felt her heart beat faster. If she didn't figure this out before tomorrow, the Jennifer Mason she'd come to know, and the Duke Crocker, who'd been her steadfast friend since she'd come to Haven, would disappear forever.

Nathan looked to see Jennifer exiting the ladies' room, carrying the bag, now with her adult clothes inside. She decided to wear a white dress with multicolored stars on it, and a denim jacket. She wore long white socks and white shoes on her feet. Nathan noticed a rose-colored ribbon in her hands.

"Where did you get that?" he asked as he took the bag, and he and Jennifer walked away from the ladies' room.

"I found it in the bag," Jennifer said. "It must have fallen in."

Duke soon joined them, wearing a light blue shirt, a black jacket, blue jeans, and black sneakers. He literally dropped his bag on Nathan's feet when he saw Jennifer and went up to her.

"You're very pretty," Duke said; right now his mind was a mixture of his adult's and child's thought processes. He ignored Nathan rolling his eyes and muttering about "Kids not picking up after themselves," as he picked up Duke's bag. Jennifer actually blushed and giggled.

"Thank you, Duke," Jennifer said, hugging him, which he returned.

They followed Nathan back into Audrey's office, where Dwight was finishing up his paperwork. As Nathan placed the bags down, Jennifer and Duke sat next to each other on the sofa.

"You want me to put it in your hair?" Duke asked Jennifer, indicating the ribbon in her hands, as Dwight whispered something to Nathan.

Jennifer nodded and Duke fixed her hair. Nathan and Dwight were watching because Duke doing Jennifer's hair was absolutely adorable.

"There we go," Duke said, when he was done, and Jennifer felt where Duke placed the ribbon. "Do you like it?"

Jennifer nodded and kissed Duke on his cheek. "Thank you."

Duke really wanted to kiss her back, but he was aware of Nathan and Dwight glaring at him. At first he was upset, but then he laughed.

"You two look like a gay couple protecting their daughter," Duke said, laughing.

"Hey!" the men exclaimed, as Jennifer laughed.

"Finally found you, Chief," Laverne said over the intercom. "Rebecca said she saw you in Audrey's office."

"What is it, Laverne?" Dwight answered.

"Married couple said a couple of trespassers are trying to get inside their house," Laverne said. "Wife requested you because of your . . . strength, if you know what I mean."

Once Dwight got the address, he got up to leave, but looked back at Nathan and the . . . children.

"Um . . . good luck with the Trouble, Nathan," Dwight said. "Remember what I said if they get bored."

Nathan nodded and Dwight left. Duke looked at Nathan quizzically.

"What was that about?" Duke asked.

Nathan was glad that his phone rang and it was Audrey. He answered it, avoiding Duke's question.

"Yes? Parker?" Nathan asked. "They do know about this Trouble? Good, because . . ." Nathan then noticed Duke trying to reach for his phone.

"Let me talk to Audrey," Duke said; maybe someone could talk to him as an adult.

"Hold on," Nathan said to Duke. "No, not you; I'm talking to Duke. So what did you find out about the locket? Okay . . ." Nathan noticed Duke persisted trying to get his phone. "Could you wait a minute, Audrey?"

Nathan put his phone down and got Audrey's laptop. He opened it and pressed a few keys. He motioned for Duke and Jennifer to come closer. Once Duke helped Jennifer into the chair, he looked at Nathan.

"Stay here and watched this," Nathan said and pressed a key. "I'll be outside talking to Audrey."

Duke was not amused when he was what was on the screen.

"A cartoon? You're making us watch cartoons?!" Duke exclaimed, completely outraged.

"I am not making you watch it, but stay here," Nathan ordered. He picked up his phone and continued his conversation with Audrey once he was outside and shut the door.

Duke was definitely insulted, but Jennifer was actually enthralled watching the cartoon. Being babysat, corrected, having to be polite, and now cartoons?! This has gone too far. A minute later, Duke walked up to the door and tested it. He smiled when he found the door remained unlocked. Jennifer looked up at Duke when she noticed him opening the door.

"What are you doing?" Jennifer asked.

"Getting out of here; I'm tired of being treated like a little kid," Duke said, peeking out.

"You can't escape! You'll get caught!" Jennifer said.

"Trust me, I've escaped detention with more crowded halls," Duke said, smirking at her. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"No, Duke."

"I'll let you pick the first place we visit," Duke said, as his grin grew.

"Duke, no."

"I'll even tell you about when I turned into an old man, then into a teenager."

Jennifer's curiosity of a child won against her adult good judgement.

"Okay!" she happily agreed and closed the laptop.

She ran to Duke and took his hand. Duke nodded as he smiled and thanked Jennifer, then began to sneak out of the office.

"Where are Duke and Jennifer?" Audrey asked.

"In your office; Dwight suggested I put on cartoons for them," Nathan replied.

"They're watching cartoons?" Audrey asked. Nathan then heard yelling from Vince and Dave. "Guys? One at a time . . . guys? GUYS! Dave, you start first . . ." Nathan heard muffled talking in the background. "Nathan, Dave believes the more we treat them as children, the quicker they'll forget their adults. Vince thinks he's found a pattern of adults behaving oddly around the same time periods. I'll help them find more information, but keep an eye on Duke and Jennifer."

"Of course," Nathan said, and turned around to see the empty office. "Um . . . Audrey . . . we may have a problem . . ."