A/N: So apparently I'm on a roll. Third story in, what, two weeks? I love Peter and Olivia so much lol. So I just love these two little scenes in 1.16 "Unleashed" that show the progressing of their relationship. I know it irks some people how the Peter/Rachel thing was never resolved on screen, but here is what I think is going on in their heads to lead to that. I'll probably be posting another short oneshot running along the same headcanon sometime soon. Happy reading!


Olivia Dunham was a stone wall. She was an emotional person, sure. Happiness was a treat to be reveled in, joy a goal to forever work toward, fear, anger, sadness to be used to push herself beyond what she thought she could do. She used her emotions to be a better agent, a better person.

But Olivia Dunham did not get jealous.

It was a useless emotion. Petty. And Olivia was not a petty person. She surrounded herself with people she trusted and prided herself in knowing that she was just as important to them as they were to her.

So, of course, this whole thing was ridiculous.

It was a phone call, nothing more. She should be happy that two of the most important people in her life were getting along. They may even be good for each other. Rachel could give Peter a reason to want to stay in one place other than taking care of his father. Peter would take care of Rachel and Ella in ways Greg never had.

So why then did she feel almost nauseous listening to her sister laughing on the phone (on her phone) with a man Olivia was beginning to think of as her best friend?

Peter had sounded so casual when she'd answered the phone. And as soon as she realized it was a social call and not another case, or something to do with Walter, Olivia had felt her heart lighten and the beginnings of affectionate warmth spreading through her body. They were friends. He was calling her at home as a friend. And it made Olivia happy.

Until he'd said he was actually calling to talk to Rachel.

The light and the warmth died into confusion and something she did not want to name. She, of course, acted like it was no big deal. It wasn't. It was her best friend calling to talk to her sister. But that was just it. He was her best friend. And he was calling to talk to her sister. And they were laughing like they were the ones who were close. Hadn't they only met once? She almost never had casual conversations with Peter that involved that much laughing. It was always emotional baggage, trauma, death, gore, the weird and nearly inexplicable. If they laughed together it was about some offhand comment or sarcastic bantering trying to keep themselves from drowning under the weight of what they knew. They'd never just had fun together. For heaven's sake, until a minute ago she'd assumed the only reason he'd call her out of the blue was if it was an emergency. Did that mean they weren't close friends?

Damn it. Now she felt left out and insecure.

But Ella wanted her to continue the story. It was fine. It didn't matter. She could shove it in a box in the back of her mind until later. The only thing more useless than jealousy was wallowing in it.