Duke still hadn't returned over an hour later when Jennifer was moved out of Recovery and into her own room. Audrey stayed with her the entire time and was planted by her side when her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, Jennifer. How are you feeling?"

"Audrey?" Jennifer's voice came out harsh and raspy. "What happened? Where am I?" She winced in pain as she tried to sit up.

Audrey put a hand on her shoulder to keep her lying down. "You're in the hospital. You were attacked. Do you remember?"

"I-" Jennifer's eyes widened in fear as the night's events came back to her. "I remember," she said blankly as her eyes glossed over. She tried to sit up again, this time pushing through the pain and succeeding.

Audrey did her best to help Jennifer sit up as painlessly as possible, but it was almost like she didn't feel it anymore. In fact, looking at Jennifer's eyes, Audrey was not sure she was feeling anything right then.

"Jennifer?"

She swallowed. "Where's Duke?"

"He stepped out for some air after you got out of surgery. Nathan went to get him." Jennifer made no acknowledgement of what Audrey had said. "Jennifer, can you tell me what happened? Who did this to you?"

"I… Um… Duke. Where's Duke?"

Her detached demeanor was starting to scare Audrey. "He should be here soon. Are you okay?" Stupid question. Of course she's not okay. "Do you need anything?"

Jennifer was still staring off into the distance somewhere in front of her. Her voice a barely audible whisper. "I need Duke. Where's Duke?"

"I'll… I'll go find him." Before she could leave to try and find Duke and Nathan, the nurse came in to check on Jennifer.

"Oh good! You're awake! I'll let the doctor know as soon as I'm done here. I'm sure she'll want to talk to you." She began taking Jennifer's vitals. "How are you feeling? Any pain or discomfort?"

Jennifer had no reaction to what the nurse was saying or doing to her. She just kept quietly muttering "Where's Duke?" over and over again to no one in particular.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, sweetie," the nurse smiled as she finished taking notes on everything and started to leave to go find Jennifer's doctor. Audrey stopped her at the door.

"Is she okay? She just keeps repeating the same thing. She keeps asking for Duke even after I tell her he's coming. She's not responding to anything I say or ask her."

"I'll let the doctor know, but she's probably just in shock. She suffered through a bad trauma today so it's not that surprising. It's possible she'll come out of it when she sees this Duke again. That's her boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah. He went for a walk to clear his head and we've been trying to find him."

"If she feels safe with him then she'll most likely become more responsive when she sees him again. So the best thing you can do to help her is to find him."

"Okay. Thank you." Audrey turned back to Jennifer and reassumed her seat next to her. She grabbed Jennifer's hand, but the girl made no acknowledgment that Audrey was there.

With her other hand, Audrey pulled out her cell and called Nathan.

"Hey. Is everything okay? How's Jennifer doing?"

"She's awake, finally. Have you found Duke yet? She keeps asking for him."

"I'm pretty sure I just found him. We'll be back in ten minutes."

"Just, get here as fast as you can, okay?"

"We will. I love you."

"I love you too." She put her phone back in her pocket and turned her attention back to Jennifer, hoping Duke would be able to snap her out of whatever trance she was in. Audrey kept one eye on the door.

Duke just couldn't sit in the hospital waiting for news any longer. He had to get up and do something. He couldn't breathe in that waiting room.

He wanted to go find Alec. He wanted to kill him for hurting Jennifer again. But he a) had no idea where the man was, and b) wasn't planning on going far enough away from Jennifer to look for him. He was also pissed at himself for leaving her alone. He should have stayed in Haven with her or let her go to the city with him. He wasn't going to make that mistake again anytime soon.

He knew Jennifer was safe with Audrey by her side and right then Duke needed to let of some steam. Last time Jennifer received a concussion from that man's hands she was unconscious for days. If Duke was going to spend the next 48 hours planted by her side he needed to get rid of some of his pent up anger. He headed to a gym he knew of nearby.

He dispelled this anger on an unsuspecting punching bag, imagining exactly what he would do to Alec if he ever showed his face near Duke again. He kicked and punched the bag as hard as he could until his muscles were too fatigued to move any more. He went to the gym's showers and allowed the cold water to wash over his body.

He was just about to leave when Nathan walked through the front door. Duke rushed over to him. "What happened? Is Jennifer okay?"

"She's fine, Duke. She's awake and asking for you."

"She's awake?" he was torn between relief she was awake and annoyance with himself for not being right next to her when her eyes opened. He knew the last time Jennifer woke up in a hospital she was all alone, abandoned by the man who was supposed to care about her. He didn't want Jennifer to think he was going to do the same.

Duke led the way back to the hospital, moving as fast as his legs would take him. Nathan showed Duke where Jennifer's room was. Audrey saw them coming and met them right outside.

"Wait just one more second Duke. There's a few things you should know before going in there."

Duke didn't want to wait another second. "What is it?" he asked quickly.

"She's in shock Duke. She hasn't said anything about the attack yet and won't answer any questions directed at her. She just keeps asking for you. She's terrified and needs you to help her feel safe again. So when you go in there just try and keep calm. We don't really know everything that she went through, but it was bad, Duke."

Duke swallowed hard and nodded. He pushed past Audrey and slowly stepped into Jennifer's room. A lump formed in Duke's throat when he caught sight of her. He had always been aware of what a tiny person she was, but lying in that bed she looked even smaller. The marks that had formed on her pale skin depicted an all too accurate recreation of what she had suffered. She had large bruises on both sides of her face. Her right eye was swollen almost completely shut, beneath a deep cut on her forehead. He clenched his jaw when he noticed the distinct finger marks that had formed around her neck.

"Jennifer?" he said as calmly as he could manage. She jumped as he spoke. He lowered his volume and tried to make his voice sound even gentler. "Jennifer, it's me. Duke."

"Duke?" she continued to stare off in the distance. "Where's Duke?" Duke's heart broke at the quiver in her voice. He couldn't help but wonder if this was the thought going through her mind as she was being attacked. 'Where's Duke?' He should have been there to protect her. He never should have left her alone. He knew something like this could have happened.

He took a seat in the chair next to her and grabbed her hand. "I'm right here."

When his hand was firmly in hers, her fingers, which felt even colder than usual, wrapped around his. She finally looked at him. "Duke?"

"Yeah." He reached a hand towards her face, but hesitated. She looked so fragile. He was afraid that if he placed a hand on her she would break into a million pieces. He wasn't sure there was a place on her face her could rest his hand without hitting a bruise. But the look in her eyes, the pain and the fear, told Duke she needed his touch. She needed to know he was there for her. He lightly rested his hand against her neck, like he always did. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Jennifer closed her eyes and leaned into his hand wincing slightly as the pressure between his hand and her injured skin increased. A tear slid down her cheek.

"Hey. Talk to me, Jennifer. What did he do to you?"

She opened her eyes and sat back up as Duke's hand ran down her arm, resting on her forearm. She looked around the room, eyes darting everywhere; the door, window, Audrey and Nathan.

"Jennifer," Duke caught her eye. "You're safe now. Tell me what happened?"

"I… um… I was bored on the Rouge and I missed you so I… I went to the Gull." She looked away from his eyes and down at their intertwined hands. "I was going to open it so once you got there we could go out to dinner. I guess I forgot to lock the door behind me because he showed up. He said he asked around town as to where he could find us. He kept saying he wanted to talk. That he had changed and he wanted to take me back to Boston with him. I told him no. I kept telling him no! But he wouldn't listen! He kept coming closer and closer and the next thing I knew he had cornered me behind the bar and was still coming closer!" Her hand tightened around Duke's. "I hit him. I never should have hit him. I should have known better. But he wouldn't get away and I was scared and didn't know what to do. And he got angry. So angry. He hit me back and threw me to the ground. I hit my head on the bar. He was so angry and I couldn't get away." Her entire body began to tremble.

Duke rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand. "Shhh. It's okay. You're okay. What happened next?" It took Duke every ounce of his self-control to remain calm.

"I don't really remember. From then on it's all fuzzy. I remember he was kicking me and I found a knife behind the bar and I think I stabbed him in the leg. I remember running up the stairs to Audrey's apartment. And… I don't know… everything after that is just blank. All I remember is… pain. And waking up here." And then break into a million pieces Jennifer did. The tears began flowing freely down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Duke! I'm so sorry! I should have listened to you! You must be so mad at me!"

Duke was confused. "What? Why would I be mad at you?"

Even if Jennifer had wanted to answer, her crying had become too violent. Duke's heart broke to see her like that. He climbed onto the hospital bed next to her and wrapped her in his arms.

"We'll be right outside." Nathan and Audrey quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind them, leaving the two to have a much needed alone moment together.

Jennifer had her face buried in Duke's chest and was clinging onto his shirt. She kept muttering, "I'm so sorry."

He wasn't sure where to place his hands. Normally he would run his fingers through her hair, but there was a bandage around her head. He didn't know where else she was bruised and didn't want to cause her any more pain than she was already suffering. "I'm not mad at you, Jennifer. Why would I be mad at you? I'm pissed at Alec, but I could never be mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong."

She picked her head up, but refused to look at Duke. "You told me to call Nathan or Audrey if Alec tried to contact me again. He sent me text messages but I just deleted them. And then I lied to you when you asked if I'd heard from him. You told me to stay on the Rouge, and I didn't listen. I went to the Gull. If I hadn't this never would have happened. I should have listened to you. I never listen. Alec always told me I needed to listen better."

Duke placed one hand on the back of her neck and wrapped the other around her waist. "Don't you listen to a word that man ever said, do you hear me? I am in no way mad at you for any of that. If anything I'm mad at me. I never should have gone to the city. I knew something like this might happen. I should have stayed with you. And actually, I'm glad you didn't listen. You said he asked around about where he could find you, right? Well, what if he had gone to the Gull and it was empty? What if he had asked around further and found out about the Rouge? What if he had found you there, at a place where two cops didn't live right upstairs? Things could have been even worse. You did the right thing."

Jennifer took a couple deep breaths and looked up at Duke. "Really? You're not angry with me?"

Duke leaned in and kissed her forehead as gently as he could. "Not even slightly."

She leaned back down against Duke's chest, still crying, but not as hard as she had been previously.

All too soon the door opened. Duke felt Jennifer tense up, but relaxed as soon as she noticed it was just Audrey, Nathan, and a doctor. Jennifer sat up as Duke climbed off the bed, retaking his position in the chair next to it and holding onto her hand.

The doctor came up to Jennifer, "Hello Jennifer. I'm Dr. Kingston. How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Everything hurts."

"How bad is the pain? On a scale of 1 to 10."

"About a 7, maybe an 8. Unless I move. Or breathe for that matter. Then I'd have to say… 11."

Dr. Kingston walked over to one of the machines Jennifer was hooked up to and increased the rate of her morphine drip. "I'm going to increase your pain medication. Where does it hurt most?"

Jennifer contemplated it for a moment, trying to separate the pain into specific locations. It was so bad it seemed to spread out over her entire body. "My head and my stomach."

The doctor nodded. "Do you remember what happened?"

She tightened her grip on Duke's hand and he brought his other hand to hers as well. She looked down. "Most of it. Things get a little blurry towards the end."

"That's not unexpected. You have a pretty bad concussion, a few broken ribs, and you were stabbed rather deep with something. We had to perform surgery to stop the bleeding. Do you mind if I take a look at he wound in your stomach?"

Jennifer went to shake her head, but the movement made her head spin. "No. It's okay." She pushed the sheets down to her hips and lifted the hospital gown she was wearing to expose her midriff. She leaned back and stared at the ceiling, not yet ready to see the results of the attack.

Duke, however, couldn't look away. There was a six-inch surgical incision extending to either side past the stab would, the entire thing laced with black stiches. And then there was the bruising. He stomach was covered in purple marks that spread up to beyond where she had lifted the gown.

Apparently everything with her wound looked fine because the doctor covered the incision back up and let Jennifer pull her gown back down.

"Any itching or discomfort around the site?"

"Not really."

"How about dizziness or nausea?"

"A little of both. More if I move my head around."

"That's likely just a result of the concussion, but let me know if it gets any worse. Same goes with the pain. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Just try and get some rest. I'll be back to check on you in a few hours. Mr. Crocker," she turned towards Duke, "visiting hours end in 15 minutes and she really does need to get her rest."

Duke didn't look at her and kept his eyes on Jennifer. "If you think I'm leaving her side at all while she's in here and the guy who did this is still loose, you're wrong."

Before the doctor had a chance to protest, Audrey chimed in. "Dr. Kingston, can I talk to you in the hallway for a second?" Audrey led the way to right outside Jennifer's room as Nathan and Dr. Kingston followed. "Look, I know it's against policy, but Jennifer is still terrified. She only feels safe right now when Duke is by her side. You didn't see her immediately after she woke up, but it was scary. She was virtually unresponsive until Duke was right next to her and holding her hand. You said she needs to rest, but I don't think she'll be able to relax enough to rest if he isn't with her."

The doctor considered what Audrey was saying as she turned to look through the door at the couple. "Fine. But if it seems like he's keeping her from getting enough rest I will kick all of you out."

"Trust me. Duke will make sure she gets enough rest. Thank you."

As Dr. Kingston walked away, Dwight came over to Audrey and Nathan.

"How is she?"

Audrey answered, "She's okay. She's awake and Duke's in there with her now."

"Was she able to tell you what happened? Who attacked her?"

"She told Duke what she remembered about the attack, but hasn't said who is responsible yet. She's still scared and in a lot of pain so I didn't want to ask her more than she was able to answer."

"I'm pretty sure Duke has some idea of who it was as well," Nathan offered. "And whoever it was should be afraid of the hell Duke is going to unleash if he ever finds him."

Dwight peered into Jennifer's room and caught a glimpse of her. "Off the record? He'll deserve whatever he gets and then some. As soon as Jennifer feels up to it, let me know and I'll come take a formal statement from both her and Duke." He received a nod from Audrey before finding a nurse to obtain the evidence that had been collected from Jennifer's body while she was still unconscious.

Nathan turned towards Audrey and rubbed her upper arms before leaning in to kiss her forehead. "I'm going to go back to the apartment really quick and grab a few things. And then I was thinking of stopping by the Rouge to pick up some stuff for Duke and Jennifer. Do you need anything?"

"A redo of this day? Whoever did this locked up for eternity?" She sighed. "No. Thanks though. Hurry back."

"I will."

Nathan left the hospital and Audrey took up her post in a chair right outside Jennifer's room.