Disclaimer: I don't own Fringe, much to my dismay.

Spoliers for Jacksonville, The Bishop Revival and What Lies Below.

A/N: This is my first time writing anything for Fringe and after watching Jacksonville, I couldn't resist the urge to expand on Peter and Olivia's relationship a little. I hope you enjoy it!

"It's too late. I failed. I failed and I'm supposed to be the one who can stop things like this."

There's a look in her eyes he's never seen before. He's not quite sure what it is exactly but standing in doorway, illuminated by the harsh light of the hall, she looks so fragile. So broken. Afraid.

Peter can't resist the urge to touch her and he reaches for her. Her skin is warm beneath his hand. Soft. He's wanted this for so long- to be able to touch her and now that it's happening, it almost doesn't even feel real. Her gaze is now turned onto him and the intensity of it and the intimacy of the moment itself makes his heart skip a beat. "Olivia. You...," he trails off and swallows the lump that's formed in his throat as he idly traces his thumb over her cheek. "I've never met anyone who can do the things that you do."

And he means that in every way. The incredible things he's seen her do. The miracles he's watched her work. The things she's done to him. Those, those, things are the most important to him. He can watch her save a life and solve a case but the way she's changed him- shifted herself into the center of his universe- that's what truly amazes him.

He leans closer to her and his heart begins to pound in anticipation. This isn't the most appropriate time for what he's about to do- not with the hundreds of lives that are at stake- but he can't put it off any longer. He's waited so long for her. For this. He's not going to relinquish his chance now.

"Peter. I'm scared."

He can see it. The fear is there, plain as day. Her guard is down now. There's no wall up. No shield. No defense. It's unfamiliar and invigorating and so hauntingly beautiful.

Peter has never once seen her battle the emotion of fear. Not during the challenges and dangers they face on a daily basis. Not during Walter's experiments. Not while he held a gun on her in a parking garage. Not even hours ago when they pumped her full of Cortexiphan and expected her to revive a faded ability to become a glimmer of hope- literally and figuratively- for a certain group of people in a certain building in the sprawling city of New York.

Seeing her under the influence of the drug terrified him but he didn't even pick up on a hint of reluctance or hesitance coming from her.

He knows there must be about fifty different things she could be scared of now and he doesn't know which one is causing the confession and he really doesn't care to find out because all he wants to do is comfort her. She looks so much like a small child as she stands in front of him, like any added stress would cause her resolve to snap like a toothpick.

"Don't be," he whispers tenderly, closing a little more of the gap between them.

Her lips part and he can feel her warm breath mingling with his own. Her eyes are fluttering shut and his are doing the same and the rest of the world has faded away. It's just the two of them now and they're in this together.

Peter can still hear the words that Walter had spoken days before. "She's exactly what you need. Someone who can see right through you."

And for once, Walter makes sense.

She is what he needs and what he wants and now he can see she's everything to him. He can see himself fulfilling Walter's prediction. Marrying Olivia. He can even see himself in the hideous purple tux his father hoped he'd wear and he can see her- as his wife- calling Walter dad as he wanted her to.

They'd make an incredibly dysfunctional little family unit but it wouldn't matter because he knows they'd be happy.

And he's just centimeters away from happy when Olivia suddenly pulls back.

"Peter, I'm scared," she repeats, more like an explanation this time.

She hurries off to the window under the influence of her sudden epiphany and his hand hangs usually at his side for a moment before he crosses his arms over his chest. He's disappointed but a sense of pride settles over him because she's doing the two things she does best.

Saving the world and giving him another reason to love her.