What if Olivia's mother from the other side helped her.
Frank quietly pulls into a small drive of the little cottage. He parks the car. Before getting out of the vehicle, he checks on his passenger in the backseat. She was still asleep.
Ellen Dunham answers the incessant knocking of her front door.
"Yes. Yes. I'm coming. Who is it?...Frank? What are you doing here?"
"Mrs. D sorry to bother you. But I need your help."
"It's the middle of the night. Is everything alright with Olivia?"
"She's fine. Look. We need a place to hide. I was wondering if we could use your coach house."
"Of course you can. You said we; who else is with you?" Frank opens the back door of the SUV to show her. It was a woman with her eyes bandaged.
"It's a long story…This woman is also Olivia Dunham. Even if she looks like her, she is not your daughter…and she's hurt. Soldiers are after us. I couldn't think of a place to hide..." She stares at this person in the car who bears a striking resemblance to her daughter and couldn't resist the urge to touch the younger woman's face.
"She's burning up, Frank. Get her in the house quickly." Frank reaches over and carries Olivia into the house. Ellen directs Frank to take her to the bedroom. He lays her on the bed. She notices that aside from the bandage on her face, the woman's hands were also wrapped up. Frank turned to speak to Ellen.
"I'll be back soon. I'm going to hide the car. Will you be OK?"
"Go ahead. I'll take care of her."
As soon as Frank left, Ellen went off to get an ice pack and towel. When she got back to the bedroom, she found this Olivia had turned on her side. She placed the ice pack and towel on the night table leaving her hands free to position the younger woman onto her back. But a simple touch caused Olivia to flinch on reflex and begin to cry out.
"No! Don't! Please don't hurt me!"
Ellen was dismayed. What this poor girl must have been through. By instinct, she reached over to cradle Olivia and to soothe her.
"It's OK. You are safe now." After a while when she began to calm down a bit, Ellen placed the ice pack on Olivia's forehead.
Frank came back and saw how Ellen was tending to Olivia. He offered to take over, but she insisted on caring for her herself.
"Let me do it. You've been driving all night. You should get some rest."
By the next afternoon, Olivia was still sleeping, albeit restfully. Ellen wiped the sweat from the exposed parts of her face. She was relieved to see that Olivia's fever has gone down. She adjusted Olivia's covers and then went to the kitchen to fix Frank something to eat.
Over lunch, Frank tried to explain to Ellen where this woman came from. Except for the physical differences, she looks a lot like her Liv.
"She has been locked up for weeks. There was a chemical explosion. She was lucky to be alive. When I learned of her existence, I knew I had to get her out somehow. Fortunately, there were sympathetic people."
Ellen puts a bowl of soup on a tray and takes it to the bedroom. Frank follows her inside. Olivia, having heard voices outside the room, was already up. They saw her trying to feel her way around. All she succeeded in doing was bang her knee at the foot of the bed. She grunted from the pain.
"Olivia, what are you doing out of bed? Come on." Frank guided her back. Propped up her pillows and helped her to sit up.
"Where are we?" Her voice was barely audible, Ellen guessed from lack of use.
"It's not important. All that matters is that you are safe." A woman said this. She sounded familiar.
"Are you hungry? I've made soup. Why don't you try some?" Ellen put the tray down and picked up the bowl. She held a spoonful of soup to Olivia's lips. It did smell good. Olivia hesitated at first but she was hungry so took a sip. After she was done, the woman wiped her lips with a napkin.
"That was delicious. Thank you." This made Ellen smile.
"You are welcome."
Frank knelt by Olivia's bed. He had been waiting for her to finish.
"Hey Olivia, I'm going to remove the bandages from your eyes. OK?" Olivia nodded.
Frank unwound the gauze around her head. Then he removed the pads covering each eye. The skin around her eyes still had lesions. He waves his hand in front of her. In the dimly lit room, he could tell that Olivia's eyes were still unseeing. She blinked some tears away.
"Can you see my hand?" He waves it in front of her again. She shakes her head.
"No. I can only see shadows."
"Don't worry. Your sight should return in a few days. Ellen will let us stay here for as long as it takes." Olivia had a sudden realization.
"Mom?"
When I found out that Olivia's mother would appear in Season 3, I had to imagine some scenes between the two of them.
I even named her Ellen. It stands to reason Rachel would name her daughter after her mother. Ella being a diminutive form of Ellen.