Title: The Stakes are High
Author: SamSpade
Rating: PG
Summary: Olivia needs Peter, even if it's just a hallucination.
Spoilers: The Abducted
Home. Although it was New York and she was sopping wet and locked in a gift shop located within the Statue of Liberty, she felt the relief of being home. She pushed at the locked doors, groaning at the irony and she felt she had to run, escape but at least she was here.
As quickly as the relief had washed over her, she watched as everything seemed to fade as quickly as she'd gotten there. Thankfully she'd found a woman in the gift shop and had to hope her message would reach Peter.
Did he even know she was missing? It had been two weeks. Did he have any idea where she was? She hoped the message would reach him.
She tried to hold on, focused in any possible way on staying but as she fought, she felt stronger arms ripping her from the water, her body reacting in kind and pulling her back to a world which was not her own.
No amount of screaming and pleading, nor praying or begging would help her. She heard Walternate order the guards to take her to a cell and sedate her. This was not what she planned. She had enough time, she wasn't sure why it didn't work.
Although she kicked and screamed, tried to free herself from their hold it was no use. Two against one and they were twice her size and she was physically exhausted from the journey between worlds. She felt the first needle and fought the sensation, told herself she could fight the drugs but her eyes grew heavy and her body limp. A moment later she blacked out.
She was sore. She couldn't explain it, remembered the tank and then being dragged out. It didn't account for the awful pain she was in right now. They'd done something to her but she wasn't quite sure what while she was sedated.
She moved to sit up. The darkness an unfriendly reminder and she knew again no amount of pleading or screaming would save her. She didn't know how long she sat in the darkened cell, waiting for someone, something to happen.
She had managed an escape once, she would do it again. She wondered why she couldn't be like the Olivia she was as a child, start fires with her mind. Certainly Walter had told her it was because as a child she'd been frightened. Believe it or not, she was pretty terrified of Walternate. It didn't seem to matter though. She had no control over her ability. She had no way to get home and sitting around waiting for something to happen wasn't like her.
She moved to lie back down and glanced across the room. Even in darkness she could make out the shadow of Peter Bishop. Of course he wasn't really there, he was in her head and the last bit of sanity she felt like was slipping away. "You again." She breathed, not at all grateful for the company because she knew she was alone.
"I could leave if you want." Peter told her but she didn't object. Watched instead as he walked over towards and she moved to sit up, as if she was actually making room for his presence. Peter sat down, or what appeared to be Peter though she knew she was probably going crazy. She no longer cared. It was a side effect of all the shit they'd put her through and she'd deal with the ramifications of it when and if she ever made it home.
"Don't go," she told herself or rather Peter and he nodded sitting beside her. "I had an imaginary friend once, as a child." She said aloud and realized that was now what Peter was to her. "I guess you are a lot like that to me." She breathed wishing she could reach out and touch him. As real as he felt to her, the kiss they'd shared a week ago, it wasn't real. She knew that and it bothered her more than she cared to admit.
"I'm not going anywhere," his voice echoed in her ears and she could swear she felt his hand on her back. She shivered involuntarily letting out a nervous breath.
"You're not real." She said more to herself then him.
"Real is just a matter of perception." He stared at her and she moved to rest her head on his shoulder. He certainly felt real. His body was warm and her eyes closed. Another sigh and she swallowed the tears she felt building inside.
"I did what you said. I tried to get home. I don't know what to do anymore. I can't just wait for Peter to show up." She rubbed at her eyes, not allowing the tears to fall. "He's not going to come for me. No one will. You said it yourself, I'm the only one that can save me and I can't even do that. I don't know how, Peter."
"But you do." He answered softly. "Do you remember that day that you crossed over with the others? Do you remember what he said, what you all did?"
She sighed heavily, a knot in her stomach and she could swear Peter was trying to comfort her as she felt soft circles on her back as his hand caressed the pain away. "Walter made us all stand in a circle with our arms spread apart. He was telling us to relax to free our mind. I've tried it. I don't have the strength."
"Only because you don't believe in yourself, Olivia." His hand didn't stop moving and she wished that none of this had happened. That she had the strength months ago to tell Peter the truth about where he was from.
She was confident in many things but she had feared Peter learning the truth would have grave consequences. This was never what she anticipated. "What am I supposed to do?"
Peter shifted slightly looking down at her, "you already know the answer. I don't have to tell you that."
She laughed. It seemed as if it was the first time he wasn't fighting with her and he wasn't even real. Pulling back knowing he'd be leaving soon, she didn't want to be alone "don't go," she whispered hating the darkness confines of the cell.
"I'm not." His voice answered. She shifted to lie down, her head falling gently into his lap and her eyes closed. She could feel his fingers in her hair.
"I need to get to Harvard, to Walternate's old lab." She knew the answer, she just wasn't sure why she hadn't considered it sooner. It was after all how they'd gotten home, finding essentially a doorstop to hold the door that had already been opened.