Author's Note: This has been floating around in my head since the night of the series finale; it just took me a year to actually sit down and write it. That's life, I guess :)
"I'll be here in case any more come across."
He says it without thinking, because that's who he is. Agent Lincoln Lee, defender and protector, not of universes (because that's always been her job), but of people. The ones he loves - he would lay down his life for them in a heartbeat. And the ones he doesn't even know - he would sacrifice himself for them as well.
Saving a universe is too big, too abstract a purpose to drive him. But putting himself in harm's way so that others may live… That, he can do.
The tension in the hallway is high for several minutes after Olivia vanishes back to her universe with the boy, fingers twitching toward triggers at every sound, soldiers and agents positioning themselves to cover every line of sight. But nothing comes through, no bald-headed Observers stepping out of thin air to strike mercilessly at the human race.
"Maybe they can't cross on their own…"
Liv's whisper breaks the silence, as she speaks what everyone is thinking, what everyone is hoping. Maybe Olivia is still the only one who can cross at will; maybe the two Observers who made the jump were simply caught in her wake.
Maybe their universe is still safe from invasion.
They hold onto that hope right up until the moment the air ripples and the screams begin.
Somewhere within the first ten seconds, Lincoln realizes this isn't a fight they're going to win. The Observers are simply too fast, vanishing as they're shot at, only to appear behind men and snap their necks. And bullets meant for Observers ricochet off walls and into human flesh instead; soldiers dropping from their own shots.
"Cease fire! Cease fire!"
It's Liv's voice shouting out the order, and though every fiber of his being screams at him to keep fighting, he knows she's right. Sometimes, surrender is the best option, or at least the one that lets them stall the Observers for as long as possible.
The sudden stillness is broken only by a ringing in his ears and the moans of injured men, as the gunfire ceases and the echoes die out. And then they wait, hoping against hope that the Observers will not simply slaughter them all.
"Which one of you is in charge here?"
It's the first time he hears an Observer's voice, and the flatness of the tone is unnerving. Still, he speaks quickly, because he can't let these things touch Liv.
"I am."
Liv stares at him in horror, but he shakes his head, willing her to stay silent. And as all the Observers turn their attention towards him, he sees her slide quickly around the corner and out of sight. He knows she'll be back once she has a plan of attack, but for now, she's out of the line of fire, and he breathes a quiet sigh of relief.
His attention is swiftly brought back to the not-men in front of him, though, as the one who appears to be the leader speaks.
"Where is the boy?"
Again, its voice alone is enough to send a shiver down his spine. No one should be that unaffected by the carnage in this hallway; no human could stand there with a man's blood on their hands and a body at their feet and feel nothing. And he is all too conscious in that moment of his own humanity, but he buries the fear and stands strong.
"What boy? I don't know what you're talking about."
The Observer tilts its head at his answer, and then he feels a sudden pain in his head.
"Your cooperation is not required. You will tell us what you know."
The pain increases exponentially, and through the haze of agony he realizes that this is the mind-reading that Olivia spoke of - the one form of interrogation he can't fight. Any minute now, they will know what he knows, and he can't keep them from it.
All he can do is buy Olivia time.
He will protect the boy. And Olivia will turn back time and save both worlds - he has absolute faith in her, faith that gives him the strength to lift his gun and pull the trigger.
Time will be rewritten.
He just hopes that when it is, he won't remember dying.