This is my Henry Story. I hope you all enjoy. It has AltLink/AltLiv, P/O, and Lincoln/Astrid as the secondary ships. I originally started writing this years ago as a Henry meets Peter fic, but in light of recent events I finally got the motivation to finish it. I hope you enjoy.
I do not own Fringe and make no profit from this work of fiction.
The first time he meets his father he's fifteen and scared. He had just crossed over into a Top Secret Fringe Division Meeting. There practically is no Fringe Division over here, but one minute he's in the Boston Science Museum and the next he's standing in front of the man he knows must be his father and the woman who looks like his mother.
He holds out his Show Me, but by that time, the very pissed off, very pregnant, Olivia Dunham is storming out, his father on her heels. There are five visible exits and if he wanted to escape he could probably do it rather quickly with minimal loss of life. But he was not his mother and he knew diplomacy was probably the best course of action.
Someone escorts him to a room where someone named Broyles asks him a few questions until his father interrupts saying something about a "Walter". He apparently holds a high enough clearance to boss around the junior agent babysitting them and he carefully ushers him out of the room.
"My name is Peter Bishop. Your mother was undercover in our universe and well, I'm sure you know by now how babies were born. I'm- sorry. This all must be very overwhelming."
The whole situation is awkward and he can't stop staring at his father, looking for their similarities and there are too many to mention. They have the some brow, same eyes. His hair is lighter but he could easily pass for the man's son.
"Mommy I want to go home. I don't like being here."
The Blonde Olivia was talking to a little girl dressed in a pink leotard. They were discussing a missed dance recital, and Olivia mumbled something about flashing her badge so she wouldn't get in trouble. Upon further inspection the little girl was dressed as a flower.
The girl ducked past three security guards and past their out- of-date biometric sensor. "Daddy!"
Peter gently lifted the girl onto his hip and carried her towards the car.
"Who's that?" The little blonde girl asked pointing at him.
"This is Henry. He's working with Daddy." Explaining his existence to his little sister would be a little more than complicated and the tiny blonde pats the seat next to him in the- what was the word- station wagon.
"Hi Henry! My name is Natalie. We're going to visit my grandpa because he's very smart and wanted to see my leotard Aunt made for me. I'm a chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium, I'm a natural bug repellent because bugs are icky even if they are crucial to the survival of most pollen-based plants."
"You're a very smart little girl."
"Bugs are icky. Flowers are pretty. Duh."
"Natalie Dunham, be nice to our guest."
"Yes, Daddy."
He briefly wonders why her last name is not Bishop, but then quickly realizes that Dunham must be her middle name. The car ride is mostly silent, music on the radio and the girl, his sister, Natalie is obviously quite bored. He has nothing to talk about with her- he's seventeen and the last time he'd even seen a child Natalie's age was at least weeks ago. Procreation wasn't exactly popular when they were having oxygen issues in their Earth's atmosphere.
Boredom getting the best of her, she hesitantly grabs his hand. He can't really explain what happens next- he sees a dance recital where she has a lead role with older girls in her class, he sees her painting earlier in the day, clad in a bright pink apron in a sea of blue smocks. There were 30 kids in her class and she had already done the week's homework and was painting a landscape of the view out her treehouse window when she was five.
Henry saw everything and knew everything- Peter and their grandfather had spent weeks planning this treehouse- this coup de grace of their relationship. It was like putting together 20 different jigsaw puzzles at the same time. He could see the big picture and the little pictures and- Peter never had a treehouse- Natalie was too young for a tree house- he saw things that Natalie possibly couldn't have understood at the time. The tree house was five feet by four feet on an Oak Tree that faced the north.
Natalie snatched her hand away as if burned, "That's never happened before."
He suddenly misses his grandmother violently, and the cookies she used to bake on his birthday. Her death was hard for all of them , but he has the strangest feeling that Natalie was special like he was. Special enough to know how to get memories out of people. He realized they are at their destination, something on the other side of town and if his memory was correct they were on the Harvard University campus pre-Amber.
There were students walking around, and electricity and- Natalie is dashing out of the car and heading towards the Biology building. His father is yelling for her to stop, but somehow he knows that down two flights of stairs, third door on the right-
Was a very large lab. Natalie's already gone towards the back of the room, leaving him with an old man and his assistant. The old man is his grandfather- if he remembers the treehouse scenario correctly. He is the smartest man in the world (according to Natalie) and keeps candy in the top drawer in his office- but that's not really important.
"Sometimes what we perceive is not exactly what we desire, Mr. Bastian."
"Maybe we need to add more oxygen to the reaction." Bastian is barely older than he is, but he is assisting one of the smartest men in their universe. He has glasses and taking notes through some transcription device while the two of them huddle around the small machine on the counter.
The two are making some substance that involves something sweet smelling and turning it into something that resembles a candy web. The "Walter" hands him some and he eats it- it tastes like raspberries and chocolate. It's delicious since both are a rare delicacy over there.
"This is my masterpiece Bastian! I should at least get a cooking show out of this!" The older man looks up at him finally and drops the vial he was holding. Candy Webs erupt suddenly in the spill zone and he can't help but laugh.
Happy demeanor gone, Walter suddenly looks suspicious, "You look just like Peter when he was a boy."
"Walter-" Peter starts, but not before Walter's got a syringe in his arm injecting with him a sedative.
When he comes to, they're arguing about a vagenda and DNA testing and Bastian is ranting about calling an "Astrid Link". He sits up, calling his glasses to him and getting his earphone by habit. Something stops his wallet halfway to him, and Olivia is glaring at him, perplexed.
"Henry's awake." Olivia pointed out, waddling over towards him. "From what I remember from the other universe there was a very nice taxi driver named Henry, which I can't assume is a coincidence. I can also infer that the other Olivia was keeping quiet about you at our debriefs because she knew better. Cortexiphan is your system and you didn't know about us."
"Cortexiwhat?"
Walter brings up spreadsheets of information, slides, genetic composition models, and as much as he loved science, he was having trouble keeping up with the older man's pace. His younger sister (still in costume) falls asleep halfway through the presentation on Walter's lap. There's cotton candy on her face and her flower pedal headband had been discarded on the floor.
"I apologize for my- hasty use of drugs, son. I hope you'll come to forgive me for it. Having a grandson is a bit of a shock."
Henry nods before sticking his hand out. "Henry Dunham, pleased to meet you."
Olivia has seemed to warm up to him a little because she quietly explains the power requirement for the Bridge, and then instructs him that he will be coming home with them. They live in Boston, in a rather nice home with two spacious floors.
He supposed this is where the rich people lived before Fringe Division moved in down the street. Not quite sure as to 'why', but he is somehow stuck with a sixty pound girl in his arms. Phones were ringing (how old school) and Olivia and Peter had gone inside leaving them in the car. Natalie asleep on his shoulder. This was one of those "big brother" moments, and he was well-versed in the very busy parents scenario. He'd slept in the car many times.
Exhaling deeply, he unbuckles the sleeping child from her seat and lifts her up, following his father and his wife into the townhome. Their various bags float behind him, he's too tired to care about carrying them with his arms. It's very open, cluttered in spots, but between medical journals and old case files was a spotless kitchen and trail of toys that led to what he assumed was Natalie's room next to the living room.
Her room is a disaster, she's got paint on the floor, discarded tiaras shoved in the corner and crayons everywhere. Tucking her into the bed was a mission upon itself and Henry briefly wonders if he had been raised over here- with a father who hadn't grown up in the military, and an army brat for a mother-
"Daddy?"
"It's Me, Allie." Henry whispers, pulling the covers up to her arms.
"'Night Henry."
Henry finds the spare bedroom relatively easily, and it was obvious no one had actually stayed in the room. It was small, but matched the décor of the rest of the house- the desk was covered with old lab reports and one of them had tacked up a picture of Natalie's next to an X-Ray of what appeared to be a small animal growing inside someone's arm. Interesting.
Henry attempts to do his homework but realized it was fruitless without the cloud files. That were in another universe. There went his perfect attendance record. Charging his ear phone was equally as unimportant and he finally gave up before flopping down on the mattress, alone with his thoughts.
He had always assumed that his- powers- were genetic, but now he knew that this- Cortexiphan was responsible. And that his grandfather had given it to his mother when she was pregnant, probably against her will. There seemed to be no limit to what he could do- moving things with his mind, he discovered new things every day, and apparently Natalie did too.
Peter and Olivia were arguing again, but they were talking quieter than before and his father was begging for her understanding. Natalie was dreaming about rollerskates.
His life was definitely going to be crazy from here on out, he might as well be well-rested. Peter stuck his head into Natalie's room, and then his before giving him a small wave, "Get some sleep, Henry."
"I wanna hear the story behind that some time." Henry replied in the dark, motioning towards the x-ray.
"Sure thing, Kid."
Blinking at the harsh rays of sunlight, Henry was awoken by the strangest noise. Which he then realized were birds chirping. People had pet dogs that barked loudly. Glancing at the clock to his right, 7AM on the dot, heavy footsteps were moving around the house.
He supposed it was time to get up.
Opening the door to his room, Natalie clad in a bright blue misbuttoned sweater, skidded past, a huge smile on her face.
"Can you help me?"
Henry re-buttoned her cardigan, and then padded to the kitchen where a plate of food was thrust into his hands, "We wake up at 6:30- out the door at 7:20. Breakfast is required. Coffee is optional."
Olivia disappears into the kitchen and brings a whole pot of coffee and the four of them blink awkwardly at each other while they eat the most delicious bacon he's ever had. He eyes the coffee suspiciously, he'd seen it in magazines and knew the hydroponic farms in South America were trying to grow it again-
"Sorry. I forget that they don't have coffee." Peter explains, pouring a white substance into the mug with the some sugar. The coffee goes in next and Henry takes a sip- it's good. Weird but good. It didn't taste like it was worth 100 dollars, but some people, like his mother who remembered coffee, would pay top dollar for one cup.
"You'll need clothes and- anything else you feel you need. We have a lot more consumer products over here- not as concerned about the environment on a governmental level, blah blah. We're gonna drop you with Walter and Sebastian will take the two of you to Walmart or something later. Olivia and I are going to drop Natalie off at school, go to work, and hopefully meet the lot of you at Dinner at 7. I forget anything Livia?"
"-Don't eat any of Grandpa Walter's food!" Natalie chirped from beside him. Olivia laughed at that (albeit quietly) and went back to reading the report in her lap.
"We're going to try and find that damn Typewriter to get a message to your mother today, to let her know you're okay and then we'll figure out a way to get back."
Apparently there used to be something called a bridge, but his side had destroyed their machine years ago after his grandfather's incarceration.
"Okay, sounds good."
"Walter may need to go to the city today, just follow Agent Clark's lead, okay, kid?" Olivia sighs, unlocking the door, "Have fun."
Agent Clark also known as "Marissa" was an enigma. A crazy hot, crazy strict enigma. She was more security agent than anything, but from the moment he was ushered inside the lab, he was debriefed, given an itinerary and checked for contaminants.
She had a team- Bastian worked primarily science projects with Walter, while she worked security and there was another junior agent who acted as her assistant. She also got Walter's Red Vines and ran errands for everyone.
"I used to have an Astro who did all of these things, but she's been promoted away from me."
"Agent Farnsworth calls every day Walter."
"But she's not here, is the point. I miss her. But we have a conundrum to solve today gentleman!"
Apparently Walter had a box of ideas. Create flavored Candy Webs. MacGyver a bomb out of certain things. Busy work, really. Every day he picked a project and worked on it. Today was different- The doors whip open (which shocks even Agent Clark) and a stretcher is being wheeled in with a man kneeling on a stretcher administering CPR to a woman.
"Walter get this out of her, NOW."
What could only be described as a Scorpion Bee had its stinger and pincers in a woman's throat and it appeared to be stuck. It was horrifically green and very angry, poison leaking out of the wound and onto the stretcher. It was the size of a small cat. There's no way that happens naturally-
"Agent Lee-"
"Don't you fucking "Agent Lee" me. If you're gonna make the call make it, but you can do it after the bulletproof- whatever this is- is out of my partner."
Jaw officially dropped, he realizes that the man is his stepfather. Apparently visiting this lab was off limits to the rest of Fringe Division, but this Lincoln didn't care. Of course on his side they had Fringe Hospitals and clinics in every major metropolitan area. Here they didn't have that luxury.
Walter grabbed a syringe from his cabinet and injected between the skin? Shell? of the creature. The claws retracted and Walter injected a few other things into the woman on the table. "Astrid, dear this is going to hurt a lot and I'm sorry about-"
He doesn't finish the sentence because he's pulling the giant stinger out of the woman's neck before she can prepare for it. It's at least five inches long and the poor woman is screaming in pain. Henry had never seen a woman scream like that- her was body convulsing and she obviously had a fever from the poison. Grabbing the ice pack from the freezer near his feet, he put it on her neck and prepared a saline drip.
"Very good!" Walter praised. "Now I feel rather dizzy and numb from touching this fascinating creature-" Walter managed to get it into glass case before he passed out.
Agent Clark stormed off towards the back, phone in hand while Bastian and Claudia stood around awkwardly. Nothing was helping the situation. They had a passed out old man and a dying woman- the two of them had obviously never seen a class two fringe event before. The key to Fringe events was to stay calm and help in whatever capacity your security clearance allowed. He had been reading his father's training materials since he was a child.
"Walter has a scalpel somewhere?"
Claudia handed him a scalpel and thoughtfully prepared another saline drip for Walter, "I need a- what is it called- microscope! And a syringe. I also need any data you have on this- scorpion bee and pull up any info Walter has on genetically combining two significantly different creatures."
"Who the hell are you?"
"Henry Dunham, pleased to meet you." Henry shoved his hand out and shook the man's hand. He wore glasses unlike his father and seemed very reserved. Thankfully he had always been good at learning new information on the fly and after a quick scan of the notes he deduced which genes had been spliced, the creature's attributes and even though he was flying blind, with old tech at that- he manages to get the thing to hold still long enough to sedate it and draw some blood.
He cuts off a tiny portion of the remainder of the stinger and some slides of the poison it was leaking before covering the cage with a towel. He was used to carrying others in his science classes, so it was refreshing to have Bastian (who had a degree in Biochemistry) actually assist with some of the procedures.
Claudia mainly holds Astrid's hand and irrigates the wound.
"This standard Fringe stuff over there?"
"No. We have a machine that can scan DNA from any creature and make an antidote in 12 minutes. Very efficient."
Five hours, three very pissed off FBI agents and a pissed off scorpion bee later he has an antitoxin and two living, breathing patients.
"Astrid?" Lincoln begs, praying that the antitoxin works. Her bright eyes blink up at them and she smiles.
"Don't try to talk- I think the creature may have damaged some of your throat muscles." Henry frowns, "We need an Otolaryngologist to consult and try to repair the damaged tissue. I've had Claudia fetch some ice chips for you to suck on. You'll be okay."
"You saved Astrid's life. She's like a daughter to me." Walter chimes in much later while they're being driven to dinner. "I just want to say thank you."
"I think that Bastian deserves some of the credit too, Grandpa."
"I suppose he does."
He'd seen his father with his mother, head over heels in love with her for as long as he can remember. He was the one that held the family together, he was the voice of reason. He was a fair man. For years he doubted that he was Lincoln's son, his mother was dating someone right before they got married- it was natural to question it. The one thing he never doubted was Lincoln's love for his mother
So watching him- another version of him- crying at his patient's bedside was heartbreaking. He was in love with her, just like his father was with his mother. Quietly moving to the other side of the bed, he placed a chair next to Agent Lee so he could sit down. "She's gonna be okay Da-Lincoln."
Lincoln doesn't seem to catch his slip-up, "She told me not to touch the giant box of scorpions. Like a good partner."
A tear falls down Astrid's cheek and Lincoln wipes it away. "No tears remember?"
Astrid reaches for his front pocket, and procures a small ring. Her voice is quiet and scratchy but she croaks out a small, "Yes."
Lincoln starts shaking and he barely gets the ring on her finger. "I love you. "
"Come on Brat it's field trip time." Clark offers no congratulations, no thanks, just ushers him towards the door. He knows it's not his place, he doesn't know these people, but he likes to think that Lincoln Lee is a great man in any universe.
The three of them are almost out the door and he turns to scream, "CONGRATULATIONS!" at the top of his lungs. Walter stops, perplexed but Lincoln yells back, "We're getting married!"
Henry doesn't mention the tears falling down his grandfather's face.
Walmart is a mall. It has everything one could possibly want and Walter is apparently very rich. They buy supplies for his next experiment, laundry detergent and then he gets socks and underwear- it takes them three hours to go through the three-level complex.
Clark drives them to dinner at McDonalds near Fringe Division HQ (and their townhouse).
He supposed he was expecting coffee and real steak dinners but the five of them huddled around a table was nice. Natalie regaled them of stories on the playground while Peter and Olivia talked about their open and shut case that turned into an alleyway shootout. With their minds.
"I created an antitoxin from a Scorpion Bee that attacked Astrid."
"Welcome to the family."
Somehow knowing that Natalie could push her thoughts into his head was comforting.
Of the many weird things that had happened to him during the week, talking to his mother via typewriter was probably the weirdest. It had been years since the Universal Bridge, and why they hadn't bothered to quantum entangle anything else was beyond him.
But he was pecking away in Walter's lab while he was giving his lecture. Clark was at his back making sure he wasn't giving away government secrets, and the other two were tidying up the office.
If this was his life (no school, guarded freedom) he was okay with that.
His mother was worried (as usual), his father was willing to open the bridge up (unusual) and all and all the vacation from the poor excuse of a school was great.
For a security agent, Clark was pretty horrible because she jumped whenever the door opened.
"Chill, Marissa, it's just me. I'm taking the kid to lunch."
"Dr. Bishop, I know how important your work is, and I know I've complained about babysitting Walter before, but really your son is safe with me." He'd never seen someone go from passive to kissass that fast in his life. Clark was obviously not suited for babysitting duty and was most likely on some sort of disciplinary action.
"It's not you, Agent."
They walk a few blocks to a pub and he eats something called a cheeseburger (which is delicious) while his father regales him with stories of his youth.
He instantly loves his father. Lincoln was a good man, a great man even but there had always been something missing from their relationship he couldn't quite put his finger on. He had always loved school, reading, even if it was a little basic for him. Lincoln liked mountain biking. Extreme Sports. Nascar. Hated travelling. They lived in New York, they would always live in New York.
He was the complete opposite. Henry had been the first twelve year old at the unambering of Washington D.C. The first fifteen-year-old in the Boston Science Museum. He lived to travel, to learn. And now he was really was somewhere completely new and exciting.
Peter had these amazing stories about living in foreign countries, living off his wit, being- free- it was hard not to like him. He was very in love with the woman who was definitely not his mother and even though he was a loner, he had put down roots when it mattered and was obviously very smart.
"Everyone calls me Dr. Bishop even though my only degree is honorary. I know this isn't- probably what you were picturing but you're my son. I figure you need to know about me before deciding whether you want to trust me or not."
"I was on a semi-illegal field trip to the Boston Science Museum when I crossed over. I used my father's signature to secure a Science Club field trip. I just wanted to see the unambering."
"You're a smart kid, if that's the only reason why you wanted to be there, because I know on good authority that's a government coverup. The first tear. And that stuff rattling around in your backpack was surveying material like you were gonna steal something. Like the other unambering thefts."
Henry doesn't feel guilty in the least, "Artifacts from our history that just get bagged and tagged and shoved in a museum. I collect Pens."
Peter laughs and hands him one out of his pocket, "I know a trick if you ever need to get it to work."
Peter drops him off at home before heading back to the office and Natalie lets herself into the house a few hours later. He'd already typed up Walter's lab notes for the day and was apparently meeting Bastian online in a few hours to play a game called Dinosaur Hunter Extreme.
"Are we gonna eat dinner?"
"Um, sure."
"Are you gonna help me with my homework?"
"Sure."
"Do you have Daddy's credit card still?"
Henry knew where she was going with that. Lifting the keys to the station wagon, he packed his sister into the car and they went to Walmart. He was expecting that they were going to buy candy or something pink and/or fluffy.
His sister leads him to the art supplies and comes back with one set of colored pencils.
"Something tells me you'll need these. I have 10 years of scribbles to catch you up on."
They get home and she has a huge bucket full of colored pencils and in the excitement he's tucked the pencils back into his bag.
The fallout from Lincoln's little indiscretion gets pretty much everyone in trouble. They're being summoned to D.C. to be disciplined and his Not-Stepfather stands proud, Astrid's hand in his own the entire time he's being yelled at for breaking protocol.
"Dr. Bishop is a certifiable expert in all things weird and frankly, my actions saved my partner's life and the countless others who have been afflicted by the Basilisk Scorpion Bee. Without his help- Agent Farnsworth would be sitting in a medical facility for the rest of her life, unable to move or speak."
"And why is this young man here?"
"I saved her life, sirs. I've come to, to, support Agent Lee's decision. Walter Bishop may be crazy but he is the smartest, kindest man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and you cannot fault Lincoln for going to an esteemed former colleague with extensive knowledge-"
"That's quite enough, Mr. Bishop. You're all free to go. Don't make this a habit Agent Lee."
Natalie is possibly his favorite person in the entire world.
She twirls around in tutus, paints on walls and generally does anything she can to cause mischief. They are soulmates at a cosmic (non-gross) level and if he believed in fate or destiny, it was so that he could meet his little sister and pull pranks on the man who could have been his father to loosen him up. To laugh with a little six year old girl.
Their latest adventure involves re-arranging his Boston office while their parents are off on a case in Nevada. It took the two of them, but they con the guard into letting them inside the building after hours with the help of their combined powers and he knows it's wrong but they're already on the high security floor.
The desk is facing the opposite direction, his computer is in the closet and the rug is near the door instead of under the desk.
If he knows his father, there is a picture of him and his old partner in the bottom desk drawer- grabbing it out of the drawer he places it on the desk. Robert's death was probably what made him so protective of his Mom and Charlie in his universe. What made him care so much about Astrid in this one.
He packs up the munchkin and heads home, to find their house was broken into. Anyone stupid enough to break into their house so close to Fringe Division was stupid, they had cameras everywhere. Grabbing Natalie's hand he gave it a quick squeeze, "Now remember what we've been practicing."
"Uh huh. Push them away." Allie whispered.
Mentally preparing him for the intruder, Henry made himself appear invisible and covered his eyes at the sight in the kitchen.
"This baby is coming out, Peter. I can't take it anymore." Olivia huffed, reaching for Peter's shirt collar. His father blushed quickly, checking around them before allowing himself to be pulled into her grasp.
"You were only pregnant with Natalie for 2 weeks." His father was smiling and- that was his cue to leave.
"It's been four months and she's coming out. Now."
Watching his "parents" have sex in the kitchen was definitely not something he wanted to do. So he motioned for them to leave. Quickly.
Charlie Dunham Bishop is born at exactly four hours later.
Henry's not exactly sure why Natalie calls her "Audrey" but the name sticks. Natalie is obsessed with the baby. Coos at her constantly. When she finally gives the baby up, for his turn to hold, he understands why.
When he touched Natalie it was like a spark went off in their minds. With Audrey it was even more intense. He could feel everything –
"She's hungry." Henry whispered handing the baby to his- stepmother. Mother was just too weird. "I'll take Allie home and let you get some rest. We'll be back in the morning."
"Astrid and Link volunteered to bring us home." Henry added quickly, "I learned my lesson about driving without a license."
It wasn't his fault that over here they had much less energy efficient cars and it ran out of gas. And that the mean police officer decided to write him a ticket.
He loves Natalie more than anything.
So when allegations of child abuse come from a teacher at her school, her teacher, he sees red. He overanalyzes everything, a paper cut on her finger last week- a bruise on her arm from swinging upside down on the monkey bars.
His father is livid- absolutely livid because if there is one thing he's learned from his time with him: is that you do not mess with his family. Olivia can barely talk him down, his father is malicious when he needs to be and this was one of those "normal people" situations and not a Fringe situation and his brain and body can't make up their minds on what to do.
They fight about stupid things like private school and making the guy's skin fall off. So he makes the tough decision, finds where the guy lives and sets his house on fire with his mind.
Olivia is upset (not that upset) and he calmly explains that it's his family too.
After the fire incident, Olivia makes him enroll in school.
There's a gifted students school that has ties to Harvard and MIT, and Henry thinks they've all forgotten that his stay there is temporary. He has mountains of homework, coming in halfway into the semester was a giant game of catchup he'd never win. Writing was hard enough, there were different kinds of pens and why they still wrote on paper in 2026 would always be a mystery to him.
He gets his first A and his father puts it up on the fridge.
Admiring the handiwork, he grabs the chicken cans out of the freezer and starts to prepare dinner for the three of them. Peter was out of town on a case with Link and he knew how much his NotMother tended to skip eating when she was working. A little nudge with his mind made sure his baby sister slept peacefully while he was cooking and Natalie was 'doing homework' in her room until he was finished.
"They're letting us use tablets next week, thank god." Henry smirks, noticing that his sister was suddenly in front of him, not needing to communicate telepathically anymore.
"Being invisible is pointless if you can tell I'm here." Natalie pouted. Olivia breezes in five minutes later and blinks at the two of them oddly before sitting down to dinner. They had more spices over here so he did his best to season everything appropriately.
He puts the towel over his shoulder when they're done and she stops to smile at him. "You look so much like Peter it's- uncanny."
"I'll take that as a compliment. I know this must be weird for you, and I know that my mother isn't exactly the best person for lying to you about this, but I just wanted to say thank you for letting me stay here with you."
"You're family, Henry. You're always welcome here."
The eight months he spends in the other universe are- eye opening. Thought provoking. It gives him a whole new perspective about life. Science. So even though he's been in school and made friends (Olivia insisted he be "normal" which meant school not something called "homeschool" with Walter) he leaves halfway through the quarter and goes home.
It wasn't that he didn't miss his mother. It's not that he didn't miss Lincoln. But walking into the new Bridge Room was probably the hardest thing he'd ever done. He missed his sisters. And his father. And the girl he almost asked out but couldn't remember her name now. He'd almost been gone an entire year from the life he carefully cultivated and now-
He had to slip an oxygen tank into his backpack.
He had 26.78 that he couldn't spend.
His life had lost some meaning.
But his mother, he missed her and he tried to focus on that instead.
"Mom!" Henry smiled, wrapping his arms around the slender woman.
She had been crying, but wiped her eyes and she hugged him back, "Your Pops and I just pretended you went to college early. He woulda been here, Henry but-"
"I know, Link's a busy guy."
He had so many questions. Why didn't she tell him about Peter? Why didn't she tell him about going to the other universe? He does his best to wait until they're away from the lower ranking agents, this is his family and he takes that very seriously now. Privacy was a luxury he could barely afford.
"Why didn't you tell me about the other universe?" He was defensive and his mother wasn't giving him any answers.
"I have sisters. One- so weird and great and whatever this Cortexiphan stuff is, it allows us to communicate with a freakin' baby, and my cousin! Ella is the smartest girl I've ever met, and she's on the fast track to Fringe Division leadership. NotGrandpa Walter is brilliant, and such a good guy and if I didn't love you, Ma, I would have stayed over there with Dad and Olivia and never looked back."
"The other universe has it's appeals, kid."
His mother was deflecting.
"I know it hurts to think about- but this is my life too, Mom."
"What do you want me to say, Henry? I'm sorry for following orders? I'm sorry for being a liar? Because I'm not. I did what I did and it might not have been the right thing, but Olivia and Peter would have come over here and taken you. They would have raised you right along with Natalie and never given me any thought. History was repeating itself and I panicked. Hell, Olivia could come over here right now and snatch you back. But you're my son."
He'd heard the story of course; woman gives birth in Chinese Marketplace. He had 17 years with his mother and before now he'd never doubted that his mother wanted what was best for him.
"I saved four lives over the span of eight months. I fell in love. And despite what you may think about Dad- about Olivia, they're not the bad guys in this situation. Olivia let me live in her house, watch her children. I didn't feel like a freak for the first time, and- now I don't know what I'm going to do with myself."
The ride home is silent.
He goes up to his room, which had been cleaned by his mother, his science achievements, his photographs. Olivia had given him something called a duffel bag before he left- the backpack he'd brought over now seeming tiny and abandoned somewhere in Natalie's room.
There were clothes and mementos, things that didn't really mean anything at the time, but he held on to them like a lifeline. His first plane ticket. Olivia's card in case he were to inadvertently crossover again. A Digital Camera that was top of the line over there- which was almost ancient here. Something about the lenses and the bulk-
It was a gift from his father and he would come up with a way to maintain it if it killed him. At the bottom of the bag are his Show Me and his ear phone, which he begrudgingly realizes he should put back in. It was stupid to miss Boston. To miss a home that wasn't really his, but he did.
"Three hundred and 15 missed messages, 100 videomails, 48 multimedia messages, and 70 updates to the Sprint Earfinity Network."
"Hey, Kid- your mom's getting kinda worried about you. Let us know how the museum trip went- if you're getting one of those shrimp things let me know how they taste. The Bigwigs think a lot of people might be allergic- who doesn't get allergy shots nowadays-BEEP"
He was in for a long night.
Henry falls asleep somewhere between the 200th and 201st Message.
"Dunham, man you shoulda seen this thing- this Art Museum from ten years ago, man the footage is all over YouTube, priceless artworks- your sort of thing. It's all over the internet, dude."
Resting his head against the duffel bag, he jerks awake when it vibrates against the plastic and makes a godawful noise against the glass of his desktop. Digging through the bag, the vibrations stop and he finally finds the cellphone tucked between pairs of jeans.
"Nina, I sent the cellphone over already, so if you're going to lecture me about talking to my grandson then go right ahead. I'll rebelliously ignore your comments as per usual."
He should not be getting transdimensional voicemails from his Grandfather.
"-As I was saying son, I have attempted to entangle the two cellphones we are both holding as a form of communication between both worlds. I fear Fauxlivia- your mother- has got the typewriter under lock and key and I have been banned from communicating with the other side in fear that I make an army of shapeshifters and invade neutral territory- ooh fresh Red Vines!"
Calling Walter back would have to wait until tomorrow. Or until he could figure out a way to charge the practically dead cell phone in his hands. His father's "be prepared" motto ringing in his ears was mocking him. Of course Walter would forget to charge the battery.
Dragging himself over to his bed, he hoped that his mother wasn't going to make him go to school tomorrow.
"I've never taken you for a history buff, Dunham."
Another subtlety of his home universe: Personalized Digital Libraries were available for everyone with a Show Me. Actual books were guarded by teenage volunteers for minimum wage. The stuff he needed was old enough to be the archives, but insignificant enough not to warrant a digital copy.
"Science Track kids tend to look forward, not behind." The girl is wearing a cardigan that is at least 10 years out of date, and glasses that were popular in the other universe. She was an art student, apparently she had the look down.
"I need some books on Electronics Circa 2000."
"Why?"
"I need to reverse engineer a power source and cable for a cellphone from the 80s. It's a- pet project. And that belt buckle should go in the front, not the back."
The girl looks positively offended, but turns the belt around so the buckle is in the front. "Why should I let you into a library you don't need to get into? And how would you know how the belt goes?"
Henry digs into his backpack and throws a magazine at her. "My little sister is a fashionista. I've got 12 more where that came from, but I need to get in there."
"Well you'd need to get plastic gloves and those are hard to find as it is- as to not degredate the-"
"My father's the head of Fringe Division. Nothing is hard to find." He came prepared for such a stipulation and throws the extra box at her. "Now can we get started or what?"
Five hours, dinner and seven calls from his mother later, he'd finally found the books he needed but Mira, as she was apparently called, did not want him testing things in the library. He had already made the wiring at home, but he needed the patent information to see the output-
Mira was fully engrossed in the magazines and the cellphone and didn't pay much attention to him. "The printing is so crude, but it makes such a nice gloss."
He's not sure why she cares. They rarely printed anything on paper anymore. "The paper is glossy, they use something called pigment to stain the paper that way. They have these things called printers that heat the pigment up and then it makes copies."
"Marry me."
He's elbows deep in wires and metal pieces but Mira sounds so serious he chokes on his own spit.
When he finally manages to drive himself home, he almost had the wire complete but he'd need a soldering gun or a heatlazer that was above his security clearance. Trudging up the stairs, he slams his bag on his desk, and sitting on his windowsill is a soldering gun circa 2000.
After he sleeps (a lot) and manages to drag himself into school the next day, Mira is waiting in the parking lot for him. "Gold will conduct electricity better than that crap you're using."
The tiny gold wires in his hand are extremely valuable and she must have gotten them by stripping them out of one her precious relics from the past. History doesn't have the appreciation here that it does over there and he realizes that she must feel as trapped as he does. No one cares about toasters or history anymore. So she studies Art to have access to the library- she's brilliant in her own right- smart enough to work around the system that eludes them both.
Something strange comes over him, and he kisses Mira, in the middle of the parking garage where everyone is watching. It's strange, it's his third kiss, but the only one that's mattered. Pulling away, the urge to flee overcomes him and before he realizes it, he's shoving Natalie's colored pencils at her and running in the other direction.
He calls her from his car, panic attack subsiding, and invites her to come to his house after school. Somehow she's climbed the tree up to his window and starts ranting in barely understandable English.
"These are colored pencils. A complete, non-used, brand new set. Made from wood. This is both impossible and impossible." Her dark hair whips back and forth while she talks, and she paces the floor of his room like she'd done it a million times.
"These are worth millions of dollars. There's no way you got them from your Dad."
Henry decides some things are easier to explain by showing, "I need a power source. I'm going to take you to get it with me, but you need to promise me that you won't tell anyone."
"Duh."
"Exhale Hard. Now."
The two of them land, not-so-gracefully- in Olivia Bishop's living room, knocking over the lamp. He'd never brought anyone over with him, let alone travelled here. They had told him that Cortexiphan was tied to emotions and apparently they were right.
"Henry!"
His father had just made Christmas cookies, their tree decorated in the living room. The three of them blinked at each other awkwardly, and he figured he had two minutes before agents would be dispatched to the house.
"Is that a real Christmas Tree?"
Yanking Mira up the stairs, he ran past the kitchen into the junk drawer where Olivia kept old batteries. "Dad. Call me! Walter has a phone!"
He forces the two of them back into his house and passes out on his bed.
When he wakes up, Mira has a cooling pad on his forehead and his legs are propped up with pillows, "My mother's a nurse."
Three more hours of tinkering, and he finally gets a charge to the cellphone. Mira's barely looked up from her sketching the entire time, but she kisses his cheek when he finally gets a charge. She packs up her stuff and goes home and he instantly misses her barely remembers to put his cell phone away and his ear phone back in before Lincoln comes home. Walter was doing well, so were his siblings and cousin. He was attempting to tweak their connection but then Lincoln was busting in, giving him an odd look.
"I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that."
"Thanks, Link- Lincoln."
Lincoln has never hesitated about talking with him, so seeing him nervous was definitely memorable. "I want to know about the other universe."
"Like Peter and Olivia?"
"I want to know if I'll come home one day and your mother will be crying because you left us. I've read the casefiles and I've met Olivia and Peter. They are- good people. And I'm sure you've enjoyed your little vacation to the other side, but Henry you're one of the brightest kids I've ever met and we'll need your help if our universe has a shot."
He wasn't sure what his step-father was saying, but he knew it was important.
"Fringe Academy is actively seeking you to join FD. You have firsthand knowledge of inter-dimensional travel and if Peter's reports were accurate scientific advances. I'm not going to sugar coat it kid, so here it is. In eight months I'm going to ask you to join the black ops division of Fringe Division. They will send you to the other universe to spy on their scientific advances or most likely dissect you in a lab. I have no authority over Black Ops and I honestly don't know what they're doing half the time."
He can't sleep that whole night. Stay and be used for evil or leave his mother and potential girlfriend. Breakfast was served promptly at 9 and as usual his parents were all work, all the time.
"Link, there's no way that North Texas is going to accept level three status. You've met the governor and we can't afford to have another cessation otherwise the president will secede us." His father has scrounged them up some lemonade for breakfast and if he's lucky his requested trip to Florida will secure them some of the new oranges-
"The blight is still there, and we can't have anyone living there if nothing grows. The AOzone is barely a concept and we need tree growth to make up for the difference."
The doorbell rang and Henry ran to get it, surprised to see his father at the other side.
"Henry."
"Dad." The hint of surprise in his voice is unintentional, but he hugs the man and invites him inside. "Olivia. Lincoln."
To say Lincoln is surprised is an understatement.
"You did request that the head of our science division come to visit, Director Lee. Walter has been blacklisted as per your government's request. That means me."
"Peter- I'm-"
"I know, Liv. I know." He kissed his mother's cheek and smiled. "I'll ride with the kid."
They're on the first zeppelin out to North Texas. The whole way there the three of them are locked in the conference room, arguing about custody, about visitation. He's almost 18, which means he should be included in the conversation but Lincoln is playing the Dad card, and Peter's playing the Angry Father card.
Part of him wants to bust down the door, but the other part of him is just sad that it's come to this. It was even giving him a headache but they would be docking in an hour, he just needed to eavesdrop for a bit longer. Headache increasing, he moves from where he was crouched on the floor back to his seat but he finds himself unable to move.
The world starts to spin around him, and suddenly he's in Olivia Bishop's living room.
"Hi, Henry!" Natalie gushes, but this is not the ten year old he's just left. She's practically an adult, purple streaks in her hair, and wearing what can only be described as a tutu. The girl next to him is also a teenager and he realizes that must be Audrey. She looks so much like he does, same sandy hair, same eyes.
"Nat I'm gonna pretend I know what this is, because I really don't."
"Natalie and I- can do things together." Audrey explains, standing up to shake his hand, "Audrey Dunham. I'm not your sister per se. Neither is she. In my universe I was born first. Before you or Natalie or Thomas- but that's not the point. The point is that, in another time, in another universe you destroyed the world. And that's setup a chain of events that creates a serial killer praying on our family. I've tracked him as best I can, but I need your help."
"What? How can I help?"
"In every universe, one of us is stronger. This universe it's you. The next universe over it's supposed to be Natalie Bishop, but their universe collapsed before we could get to her. I can only travel a few dimensions forward or back and I need to find the universe where this all started so I can save my family."
Olivia walks into the living room just then, but doesn't see them. She tidies up her living room, picking up a stray toy off the floor. Audrey perks up from her playpen in the corner and she sees them. Their eyes lock and Henry has the oddest feeling of-
Olivia's got her gun drawn and he appears. Not him, but the other him, the crazy serial killer him and-
"I had a feeling I'd find you here." Older, Very Scary, Creepy Him says.
"-NATALIE! NOW!"
They'd been practicing in case something like this were to happen, and he focuses all of his energy into his hands, and from there onto the intruder. He feels his energy join with his sister's and even a little spark from Audrey, and the man disappears into a flash of light.
He collapses onto the floor, five of his sisters hovering over him.
"Audrey what does this mean?"
His invisible sister chose to keep the rest of them invisible, but he could still see her faintly. She was intently staring at their mother, obviously emotional. "I lived an easy life, Henry. My universe was intact, I had no other universes or Walternates, I lived in a blue house with white shutters with my four little brothers and sisters. My father was a scientist and my mother was an investigator in the marine corps. We had brunch every Saturday and I was going to go to MIT."
His hospital room was bare, save for his little sister tucked firmly against his side. Olivia had left to call this in, and Audrey was hidden from view in the recliner that faced the window. NotNatalie had taken a liking to her baby sister and was thankfully keeping her occupied.
"Grandpa Walter would just make us candy and Grandma would tuck us in and read to us. Henry came in the middle of the night and decapitated my siblings, and then cut their hearts out. He showed them to my mother and then cut her eyes out before killing her. My father was picking me up from a friend's house and he was in the house- then I suddenly wasn't in my universe. I didn't know about Cortexiphan or universes. I liked Math."
"He killed my mother while I was in school. Left my father alive to suffer. My Henry had been dead for weeks by then- he- he- was an archeologist and on assignment in China. He ripped a hole in my universe so big that-I barely got out alive."
Henry didn't understand how he could help. But he knew he needed to try.
He catches the next taxi and heads downtown to the Show Me Office. He legally changes his name to Bishop and before he can stop himself he heads to the home he knows the former secretary of defense lives in. The man was on permanent house arrest- all of the news networks reported about the crazy man who almost destroyed the universe. Henry just didn't know it was his grandfather.
The small house has flowers out front, some white variety Henry isn't familiar with, and was once covered with a blight that went on for miles. The grass is growing, and he's sure that's bread he smells coming out of the window.
"I knew you'd come one day." Walter smiles, as if he were a normal man watering flowers outside of his house.
"I need your help."
Epilogue
Olivia returns to his hospital room, Henry gone and a note scribbled in eyeliner on the mirror. Panicking, she runs around the floor she finds her daughters at the vending machine with another little girl. Where Natalie looked like she did as a child, the other little girl looked exactly like Rachel when she was five.
"Allie was thirsty." Natalie explains swiping her Show Me at the machine. She hands the can of juice to the other little girl and hands a note to her.
Dear Mom,
Please take care of little Natalie. Her family is dead and there's a psychopathic killer on the loose. There will be more details to come, and please tell the other Olivia that I am doing my best to keep Henry safe. I promise.
Fringe Division Order #819100-IIBD91.
Sincerely, Audrey Dunham
Fringe Division Interdimensional Agent
On a whim Olivia typed in Fringe Division Order #819100-IIBD91 into the computer and it came up with a massive file. Names, Dates, Places. Pictures. Videos. With an interdimensional serial killer loose she did what she did best-
She made a plan to catch the bastard and get her stepson back.
Olivia,
Be Back Soon.
-Henry