I started these missing scene entries as a way for me to attack and try to conquer my writers block and to deal with the sadness of losing one of my favorite shows. I apologize if you read this entry and are less than impressed. This week, I found it hard to find something to write about that felt hopeful and I'm less than satisfied with the result. The tone the show has taken with the last two episodes has been unrelentingly dark and is definitely taking a toll on me. It's hard enough to lose a good show but to watch characters you have come to love suffer so, well, as Walter might say, "You're harshing my mellow, man!" As to what happens on Fringe in the coming weeks, I hope this is just the dark before the dawn. Thanks for reading.
"Kiss Mommy!" Etta laughs. Olivia watches the tape and remembers Etta telling Peter to do that, demanding it, really. It was Etta's third birthday. Olivia had been upset with Peter. Not angry, really, just the normal frustration parents have with each other over a parenting decision. Peter had insisted on getting Etta yet another present; a toy tool set. It wasn't the gift itself; Olivia knew Etta would love it because Etta, like her father and grandfather, loved to tinker with tools, it was just that Etta didn't need more presents. With the ones from Walter and Astrid, and Nina and Philip, plus the ones she and Peter had already wrapped, Etta had more than enough gifts.
"Her room is overflowing with toys as it is." Olivia had said to Peter as he wrapped the tool set.
"There's always room for more toys," he'd answered with a smirk.
But there was a party to get ready for so Olivia had hidden her annoyance, or so she'd thought; she couldn't hide it from Etta, because Etta knew. Etta always knew when Mommy was ticked off at Daddy. Peter said she'd gotten that from Olivia.
"It's that Dunham Empathy gene," he'd said, "Either that, or it's just because she's extraordinary at everything, which is courtesy of me, of course."
That remark had cost him a pillow to the head. Ultimately, it didn't matter where the ability came from, all that mattered was that Etta always knew when they were out of sorts with each other, and she did not like it one bit. So much so, she would try to "fix" them. "Hold hands," she'd demand. "Kiss Daddy," she'd whine. Funny thing was, her "fixes" usually worked. One touch and they'd forget their disagreement. And so, that day, Etta was trying to "fix" them again and her first request, after Peter had declared her "Queen of the Day," was for him to, "Kiss Mommy!" So, they kissed, their disagreement disappeared and Etta had squealed with delight.
After they were out of the amber, and reunited, Olivia knew Etta could still sense the strain between she and Peter, and on Olivia's first night back, when Etta had offered her bedroom to her parents, it had been impossible to conceal it completely. Etta had showed them her bedroom.
"I can move my stuff out of the room and you guys can have it." She'd said, smiling shyly at them.
Peter and Olivia had exchanged uncomfortable looks. Peter said nothing; he was deferring to her and would abide by her answer. But what would her answer be? Olivia looked at Peter, her eyes asking, are we still apart? The answer wasn't yes and it wasn't no; but it was complicated, and wouldn't be answered that night.
Olivia had shaken her head and said, "You know, Etta, you keep your room. We'll be fine out here."
Peter had given Olivia a quick look and nodded at Etta. "Yeah, kiddo. Your Mom and I can sleep anywhere. You keep your room."
Etta had looked at them, with one eyebrow raised and an expression that Olivia recognized even after twenty-one years apart; Etta wanted to "fix" them, and Olivia almost wanted her to try; but she knew, and Etta knew, that demanding Peter, "Kiss Mommy!" wouldn't fix the divide between them. Etta didn't say anything and the moment passed. She gave them a quick nod and walked away. Peter and Olivia slept apart.
Tonight, she had told Walter, "I'm hanging on by a thread," but what she really meant was, "We're hanging on by a thread," she and Peter. They wouldn't survive another separation because, apart, they were weaker, unformed, and unstable. That's what Etta sensed, that's what made her want to "fix" them. Olivia had been right when she'd told Peter that Etta wanted them to be together. Their daughter knew they were stronger together than apart; they always have been and when Peter got back, she would remind him of this. This was for Etta because, more than revenge, more than recognition as the one responsible for destroying the Observers, more than being a symbol of the resistance movement, what Etta wanted was for them to be together and they could give her that, couldn't they? Olivia hoped it wasn't too late.