"Are we doing this?"

"Yeah, we're doing this." Duke responded, his jaw tight and resolute. He started pulling open the buttons at the top of his Henley shirt.

Audrey paused, glancing around at the people behind her. Jennifer was to her left, arms wrapped around herself against the cold and her head angled downward so as to not watch Duke get re-Troubled. It was clear that she didn't approve. Gloria and Ben were standing behind her, patiently. She couldn't tell what the man was thinking, but Gloria already had tears in her eyes. She was getting ready to lose her son, after all. To her right was Nathan. He stood simply on the stone porch, but she could tell that he didn't know how to feel about the situation. He was already on rocky ground with Duke, but he also didn't want anything to happen to Audrey. As she stared at him, he sent her a small supportive smile.

She turned back to Duke, holding the black ball of aether between the fingers of her right hand. She imagined his curse, holding it in the forefront of her mind. He was energized by the blood of Troubled people but, most of all, he was able to end a Trouble by killing that person. Not only could he end that person's Trouble, but he also erased it from the entire family line.

It was just like William had said: the two of them had made complimentary Troubles. While she was able to give them, Duke was able to take them away.

Suddenly, Audrey remembered a moment, nearly eighteen years ago, from when she lived in a foster home. She and another child had been playing with a new toy, but had ended up fighting over it. Her foster mother had come over and taken it away, placing them both in a short time out. "What I give you, I can take away just as easily," she had said.

"I can take away…" Audrey whispered.

Duke cocked his head to the side. "What was that?"

She reached her arm up, hovering her hand over his exposed chest. Just do it Audrey, she told herself. Duke wants this, Ben wants this, and it's the best way to solve everything. Also, just because she was re-Troubling Duke, it didn't mean that she was suddenly going to become that person again. The one who William loved. The one who was evil.

No, Audrey wasn't her. She was better than that, wasn't she?

Would giving a Trouble be stooping to her past self's level?

The blonde frowned and pulled her hand away. She dropped the ball of aether into the pocket of her beige jacket.

"Audrey?" Nathan probed. She could sense him take a step forward and then hesitate, unsure of whether or not to bother her. "Everything okay?"

No, Audrey thought. She wouldn't be like that other woman. There had to be another way. Had her foster mother been right?

She spun around to face Nathan. Surprised by the sudden movement, he froze.

"Where's Aaron?" She asked.

"Huh?" Gloria spoke up. "Why do you want my grandson? Don't you touch him with those powers of yours."

Audrey looked over at the older woman imploringly. She hoped she would understand. "Please, I just… I need to see him."

Ben stepped forward. "I put him down for a nap, upstairs in his nursery."

She sighed. "Thank you." Nathan reached out and grabbed her arm, trying to speak, but she just pushed past and ran into the house. She sprinted up the stairs and down the hall, finding the pale blue painted room easily.

As she crept over to the white wooden crib, she heard erratic pounding behind her. Of course they had followed her. Nathan was first to fill into the room behind her, followed by Ben, and then the others.

"Audrey. What are you doing?"

She spared a quick glance at her partner. "I can fix this." She turned her attention back to the crib. Reaching down, she untangled Aaron from a blanket with little airplanes on it and lifted him into her arms. Thankfully, he was wearing a red plaid collared shirt and plain shorts, and not some complicated onesie. She slid her hand up his back, easily finding the place where the handprint was. She could feel its warmth radiating against her skin.

"Be careful." Duke cautioned.

Audrey smiled down at Aaron, watching as his little blue eyes began to blink open. His lower lip trembled; he was unfamiliar with the woman who was holding him. She closed her eyes and remembered what William had told her about creating a trouble. It took strong intent, the right person, and the aether. The aether and person were already in place. If she could get her intent spot on, this could work.

She hoped.

She pictured Aaron's Trouble, the pain that lived within his cries and the curse it carried. She imagined swallowing up those cries, shielding them from wounding others, and pulling the pain into herself. She visualized the curse flowing out of his little body and into her, melding with her own magic.

A burning sensation prickled at her hand. She gasped and all of a sudden she could feel her, the other woman, filling her mind. For a moment, it felt as if the two were sharing their body. The other woman, whom Audrey somehow suddenly knew was named Mara, felt like pure darkness. It only lasted a few seconds, and then Mara was gone, leaving Audrey with a pounding headache.

The baby squirmed uncomfortably and started to whimper. By the time the feeling had cooled, Aaron had started crying.

Ben rushed forward and coddled the baby into his arms. "Shhhh" He murmured, bouncing up and down to try to calm him.

Nathan marched over to Audrey. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Parker." He said sternly.

"Really, Nathan, I'm fine." She looked up at him, trying to look as composed as possible.

He frowned. "What just happened?"

Audrey held up her hand. She was about to explain when she noticed the glowing aether that covered her skin. "Oh my God." She whispered. "I think I did it."

"Audrey. You're going to have to use more words than that. What in the hell did you just do?"

She held her hand up higher, waving it with pride. "Look! It's… I just… I took his Trouble away. It's like I pulled the aether from him."

"Woah woah woah." Duke pushed his way into the conversation. "Did I hear that right? You took his Trouble away?"

Audrey reached down to her belt with her other hand and pulled out her cell phone. She flipped it open and showed her friends the blank screen. There were no notifications. "Aaron was just crying. No one else died. I'd say he's been cured." She put away her cell phone and then looked back down at her hand. She curled up her fingers, wiping at the smudge until it rolled up into a small black ball. She dropped it into her pocket with the other one.

"Thank you, Audrey," Gloria called from across the room, where she was huddled beside Ben and the once again asleep Aaron. Jennifer stood beside them, looking back and forth between Audrey and the child in awe.

Ben smiled up at her. "Yes. I don't know how you did it, but thank you."