Saving the Future: Timelines
Spoilers: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3 (all episodes).
Disclaimer: I don't own Fringe, wish I did.
Peter laid with the ice pack on his head when he heard a knock, groaning he got up and walked to the front door. A day after nearly dying, he felt like shit and wanted nothing more then to stop the pounding of his head.
Opening the door, he was met with instant relief in the form of a certain blond FBI agent. She had a smile on her face upon seeing him, the first since he had told her the truth...she'd force a smile but none were ever this bright or reached her eyes.
"Don't tell me there's a case...please, my head is pounding still. I'm about ready to draw the line on Walter's experiments because they've nearly killed all of us in one form or another."
She held out a box of migraine medication, "does wonders for the pounding, I usually pop them after crossing universes. If they can work for that, I'm sure they'll work for your headache."
He took it and opened the door, walking inside. He heard the door close and knew she had followed him inside. "Sorry about the mess, I didn't have the energy to go upstairs or the equilibrium."
"Its rather clean since I was last here," she followed him into the kitchen, he leaned against the counter as he popped one of the pills. "When did the spring cleaning occur?"
Peter chuckled, "I came back and found it a mess...first thing I did was stay up all night cleaning and washing. I think I got to bed about four before Broyles called at five to say we had a case."
"Walter was a mess, he tried to survive on his own...he was scared to be sent back to St. Claire's. He told me that he didn't expect to make it back alive but dying trying to save you, to do the right thing was better then going back to the hospital."
He nodded, "you know in the end...this is my fault, everything that happened. I mean I know that Walternate made the switch and did all the tests on you and she...well enough said, but in the end if I had just faced the music instead of running we wouldn't be here. I think about it and I think I honestly question myself about why I ran...I had a family. I had a father, no matter how screwed up things are there, a sister and friend in Astrid and I had you...I had no reason to question what I meant to you all." He gave a soft yet depressed chuckle, "and now I've nearly lost you...that's hanging by a thread that could snap at any moment, Astrid is cautious about talking about things other than a case and Walter, our relationship is stronger then before when it should be the exact opposite." Sighing, Peter looked at her. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for running, if I apologize for anything else it'll cause an issue so I'm sorry for running."
Olivia found herself surprised, she never thought he'd had given it all much thought. She believed that he had tried to forget it all but he had laid serious thought into it...knowing that his running had started the chain reaction. She found herself more surprised that he wasn't apologizing for sleeping with her alternate or not knowing the difference, he was apologizing for it all by apologizing for his running. Peter's eyes the entire time were full of pain and not physical pain, he wanted to move on but was cautious to overstep a boundary or say the wrong thing on fear of her snapping.
He couldn't be more wrong, despite the issues between them, she wouldn't let him far outside her sensory range when they were working together or in the same room. She had to know he was there with her, she had to have her safety even if it was at a distance and Peter was her safety, her calm and her home...without him she'd loose it again. The day before had just caused her to panic, first with the Observer and then with Walter's failed experiment...she didn't let it effect her but the entire time her brain was saying 'you can't loose him' and it would repeat over and over again.
The only time she relaxed was when he opened his eyes and looked at her, she had been leaning over him with one hand on his chest the other clutching the phone still...he had cracked a joke with her and relief filled her body when he said 'should have drank it sooner if I knew it would get you closer' and she couldn't help but crack into a grin. She had wanted nothing more than to curl up in his arms at that moment, hear his heartbeat with her ear and forget the world but she didn't...they had too much work ahead of them to do that.
A/N: Its about to get freaky...just to let you know, by the time the epilogue comes three timelines will get crossed. Chapter 4 you meet the girl who changes everything and from there things change. Just so you know, in the second to last chapter we meet Alt-Livia again. For those of you who wonder where this is going...I honestly can't give away things or it will ruin the entire fic.