"History Repeats Itself" will get an update tomorrow, I swear. But for now the mind juices have squeezed up another unfinished fic for me to go nuts over. Hopefully this one will stay short and sweet and get us through Over There week. Picks up after 3.12 "Concentrate and Ask Again".

Not forgetting the Disclaimer this time: I don't own any of the characters from FRINGE. There ya go.

Part One

For the last few days since reading Simon's note, Olivia became more and more withdrawn. The words were too much for her and she was falling apart on the inside. She was able to avoid the Bishops when she could and then put up a mask in Peter's presence.

Now that she knew the truth, there wasn't much point in how she went about her life anymore. She could fight to the end to save her universe but in the end she began to doubt if there was any hope for her side. If Peter was destined to control the machine and pick which side survived, even if he wanted to save both, what if he only could save one? He would have to pick the side that matter more to him. He would probably pick the Olivia that mattered more to him. The one she was not.

As she sat at her bar stool, the same one for a third night, she began to believe that even if she hadn't been switched with Fauxlivia, she couldn't accomplish with Peter everything that she did. She couldn't be fun even if she tried. And she knew, without a doubt, that she wouldn't take less than a month of dating to get into bed with him.

All these thoughts and Olivia barely sipped the top of her whiskey glass. Drinking at the bar around the corner from her apartment helped the first night, but now it only provided a change of environment that was running thin. It didn't allow her to escape her thoughts.

She ended the night early noticing on the TV News that was severe windstorm was set to hit anytime now. She stepped outside with a subzero breeze stinging at her face as she fought to round the corner back to the warmth of her apartment.

Just two blocks away from her building, she began to hear a strange noise coming from the alley. It sounded almost like whimpering. She stopped and waited. Sure enough, someone was there, hiding behind the trashcans.

Quickly the figure ran over to another trashcan, prompting Olivia to pull out her gun.

"Who's out there?"

The wind began to pick up and Olivia saw strands of blond hair floating upward. There was rustling. The figure was finally coming out of hiding, still in the shadows but even then Olivia could make out the shape of she saw.

She lowered her gun.

Infront of Olivia was a small child, no older than 3. Even when Olivia got down to eye level, most of the little girl features were hidden by the darkness.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Where's your mommy and daddy?"

"At home."

At home? That wasn't the answer Olivia was expecting. The child had to have been lost. There was just no other excuse…

"Who are you?" asked the child.

"My name's Olivia. I'm a cop. You shouldn't be out here. Come out and I'll help you find your parents, okay?"

The child took a few cautious steps until she was out of the shadows. The nearby streetlight was flashing the whole time, weakened by the storm. In the light, the child revealed herself causing Olivia to stumble back.

Her eyes. One pupil was extremely dilated. Olivia had seen the haunting image before but she refused to believe it. But Olivia had a good memory, even of her nightmares. This little girl had every single feature, from the coat to her little shoes, that Olivia remembered.

"You're…" she said. She wanted to say she wasn't real. It just wasn't possible. "Olive?"

The little girl blinked at the sound of her name and magically her eyes were normal again. It really was her. She looked up at Olivia. "I remember you," she said. "In the forest. You were there to protect me."

But still Olivia was in disbelief. "How…how did you get out here?"

"There was a man."

With that information, Olivia could only assume that that child had to have been abducted. But then where was the abductor and why was she out here alone? Surprisingly, she wasn't even asking for her mommy and daddy?"

The wind threw the trashcan in the alley with a loud clatter, spooking 'Olive' into running into Olivia's arms.

"They're coming back," said the little girl as she began to cry.

"Who? Who's coming?"

"I don't want them to."

Olivia looked around only to find trash and things flying around from the cold air. They were alone but Olivia believed she was in another dream. The wind was getting harder and colder. So Olivia picked the child up and hurried down the street through the windstorm until they finally arrived back at Olivia's apartment. As soon as she closed the door, Olivia thought that this would all go away. But now she was back in her apartment with that little girl still in her arms who was still crying and shivering. Olivia noticed that she had dirt on her face and she was pink all over from exposure to the cold. Olivia had no idea how long the little girl had been out there but given her terrible state, it had to have been a long time.

Olivia carried her to the bathroom and started a warm bath. All the while her mind was reeling. What was she to do? Call the police? Call Broyles? Call Walter? How was she going to explain to any of them that the little girl she saw in her drug-enduced nightmare in Jacksonville had suddenly appeared just a few blocks from her home?

Despite this, the child was now in the bath and was beginning to recover. She wasn't crying anymore. "Do you feel better, Olive?"

The little girl nodded.

"Where are you from?"

"Jack and Jill."

"What?"

"I'm from Jack and Jill."

Olivia knew what "Jack and Jill" meant. It was how she had mispronounce Jacksonville until she got to preschool.

The child started to yawn. "I'm sleepy."

Olivia checked her watch. It was now past 2 in the morning and 'Olive' was worn enough. After drying the child, Olivia grabbed a t-shirt from her drawers that fit 'Olive' like an over-sized nightgown.

She carried 'Olive' to the bed. "You'll be comfy here, okay?" she said to her. "And we'll go look for your mommy and daddy in the morning."

"Don't go, Wivvy. I'm scared."

Olivia knew that 'Olive' was referring to being scared of 'them'. And she remembered her running from the same terrifying thing in the forest, never knowing what it was.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said, brushing the hair away from 'Olive's' forehead. "You're gonna be okay."

Quickly, Olivia put on some nightclothes and crawled into bed by Olive's side. She set the lamp on her nightstand to a dim so 'Olive' wouldn't be sleeping in the dark tonight. It didn't take long before the little girl curled up to Olivia's side and fell asleep.

A part of Olivia still believed she was dreaming. There would be no control over what happens next if she was though, and that was the scary part. But Olivia seemed very determined to protect this girl tonight. So that tomorrow, she would wake in the morning alone in her bed and without the haunts of the night still around.