"Fringe, FF Season Six1: 'Resolution Deferred'…"
Summary: The latest reset of the timeline has left a serious paradox centering in one already rather put-upon person…
Part II…
"I feel ridiculous, you guys making all this fuss over me." Astrid sighed as she sat with Walter in the back of Peter's car, Walter anxiously holding her hand.
"That's ridiculous…We're long overdue for fuss over you." Peter replied. "That's so, eh, Walter?"
"What? Oh, yes…Absolutely…" nervous smile.
"I will be fine." Astrid squeezed his hand.
"Yes, of course…" Walter nodded. "Can we go faster, please, Peter?"
"I won't be fine if we crash, Walter. And right now I'm fine. No pain at all." Astrid noted.
"Listen to Mom, Dad…" Peter, grinning at Astrid in the rear view mirror…
"Such a good boy we have, eh Walter…" Astrid, affecting Jewish mother accent…
"Yes, certainly. Now, about your vision this time…" Walter began…
….
Bishop Lab at Harvard…
"So Nan Astrid will be ok, you think?" Etta eyed Olivia.
"She'll be absolutely tip-top…Walter and Peter are just checking." Olivia smiled.
"Ok…" Etta nodded.
Phone buzz…Olivia pulling… "Agent Bishop…"
"Agent…Bishop…" Etta mimicked, cool tone…
"Say you're good…" Olivia grinned… "Yes, it's Agent Bishop, what's up?"
She paused, listening intently.
"Ok…Dr. Bishop and my husband are escorting Mrs. Bishop to the ho…Doctors. Can we arrange to have the…Item…Preserved until we can get there? Good…I'm sure we can get one of us out there by tomorrow morning at the latest. Ok…Fine. Thanks." She closed the phone.
"You're going away?" Etta, a bit anxious…
"Not right now and maybe not me, we'll see." Olivia noted gently. "But if I or Daddy go, we'll be back before you know it, ok?"
"O…k…" reluctantly.
"Now…" Olivia grinned. "I think it's high time for us to watch a movie before we have to get you ready for bed, ok?"
"Ok…" nod. "Can we watch one of Grandpa's?"
"No, we cannot." Frown. "Has Grandpa been showing you his old video's again?"
…
Indian restaurant near the townhome of Nina Sharp…
"I hope you know what you're doing, Philip." Nina smiled across the table at him. "Vindaloo here is not the vindaloo you get at the standard Indian place…If you're not used to it, you will remember this place for a long time."
"Sounds good. The vindaloo." Broyles nodded to the concerned waiter.
"Always my hero…" Nina grinned.
"You have to give me some chance to show off…The Bishops and their in-laws always get the glory roles." Returned grin, then relaxed smile, leaning back…
"So how are you, Nina?" he eyed her.
Sigh… "It's been a hell of a last few years…" she looked at him. "And you?"
"Ready to retire…" he gave wry grin. "Any chance you know of a wealthy young lady with connections who'd care to take on a broken-down old war horse like me?"
"I know one who'd leap at the chance…" she eyed him, slightest of smiles. "But I doubt you have any intention of retiring anytime soon."
"Soon's a relative thing…" he shrugged. "Nina…Not meaning to talk shop…And following up on my question…" he paused.
"I'll never get over the truth about William, Philip." Saddened look. "But I have the comfort of knowing it was the fear of death that drove him to his actions…And if the stories Olivia and Peter have told us are true, I know in our original existence he died a hero. I can try to remember all that and forget the rest."
"Good…" Broyles nodded. "We've seen what fear can drive people to…Fear of death, fear of loss…I imagine William was as much fearful of losing his dreams of a better world as he was of death. And we both know how loss nearly destroyed Walter Bishop."
"Yet William's darker legacy lives on…" Nina sighed. "Now I'm talking shop…"
"At least they're a devil we know and have defeated…" Broyles noted. "It's the information on these so-called Observers that worries me…But…" he frowned. "It's time we did ourselves a favor and let these things sit for one evening. I'm sure even ZFT…" he gave a sheepish grin to Nina's "You were saying?" look as his phone buzzed.
"Broyles…" he addressed the phone. "Yes? When? Is a medical team in place? Have you contacted the Bishops? Really? Can you comply with the agent's request? Good. Any other signs of activity? All right. I'll be there by early tomorrow morning, call me if anything changes."
"What?" Nina eyed him. "Philip, if you have to go…?"
"Soon enough…But no need to forego our dinner…" he smiled. "I don't want to pass on that vindaloo."
…
Massachusetts General Hospital…ER…
"So you've had three attacks of abdominal pain but no cause identified?" the ER doctor attending Astrid asked, she shaking her head.
"We told you that…There's no need to repeat the entire medical history…" Walter frowned as he stood by Astrid, holding her hand.
"Sir, please…" the doctor frowned.
"Walter? Let him do his job…" Peter urged.
"Fine but she should have an MRI and a PETT scan at least, as soon as possible…We could have done it in my lab…"
"We don't have a MRI in the lab, Walter…You know that." Astrid, frowning. "Just your homemade PETT. Which probably is better than anything they've got here…" she grinned at the startled doctor.
"MRIs, eh. They're easy to whip up…" Walter noted. "Just fancy electromagnets and…"
"He has a PETT scanner?" the ER doctor eyed Peter.
"I helped him build it…It is quite a neat one." Peter nodded.
"Alright…You two dragged me here. Lets just do this, ok, boys?" Astrid eyed Peter and Walter.
"Mom II is laying down the law, Walter…We'd better be good." Peter smiled.
"Yes…Of course…Now as to the bloodwork I want you to do…" Walter addressed the bewildered doctor…
….
"So the agent ZFT turned is dead? Ms. Mackey?" Nina eyed Broyles.
"I'm afraid so…" he sipped at his wine.
"Suicide?"
"Doesn't quite sound like it…" he shook head. Hmmn… "That vindaloo lamb is excellent." He eyed the waiter who nodded, relieved.
"At least drink a little water, Philip." Nina sighed as Broyles ate happily. "You're making me wonder if you're not one of the shapeshifters or one of Peter-and-Olivia's Observers."
"I got used to hotter stuff during my tours in the Middle East and Asia…" Broyles smiled. "But maybe just a little." He took a sip. "It's very good, you sure you won't try some?"
"I have, it's delicious, but nowadays I'd be sick for a week…" she sighed. "How could ZFT have murdered her in that kind of a detention facility? And why, after you've been able to interrogate her for two months, even had our people in to see her and determined she'd been conditioned somehow? What was the point? Sadistic viciousness, proof they're still alive, as you were saying?"
"Possibly. And I imagine part of the point. But I would guess she had knowledge we hadn't accessed that would have been valuable to us and dangerous to them."
"Well…Philip, I hesitate to mention it, knowing you weren't happy that we concealed our work on John Scott from our then Agent Dunham…"
"I'm afraid that procedure won't be of any use here…" Broyles sighed.
"Oh?" Nina eyed him. "Why…Hmmn…"
"I didn't want to mention it over dinner…" he gave wan smile…
"Like incident two…The ham radio operator?" she eyed him.
"It seems he may have been more important than we realized…And perhaps a better inventor than we gave him credit for…"
"Well, at least we ate most of dinner first, for once…" she smiled.
"I'm still up for dessert…I'm rather fond of gulab jamun." Broyles noted.
"My hero…" Nina, warm beam.
…..
"Ok so, so far, nothing unusual?" Olivia, on phone in the lab, pacing a bit.
"Nothing…" Peter's voice. "MRI is negative, vitals are excellent, X-ray, negative…But we are waiting on the bloodwork."
"Right. Well, Etta's hopefully asleep and nothing further's in from Maryland as yet."
"Walter wants to see if you can have the body shipped to the lab…And maybe, if we could go…Or just me. Naturally he wants to stay near Astrid."
"Of course…Already gave the instructions…I can go, you should stay with him. I'll leave when you get home." She told the phone. "Peter, I was just listening to Astrid's recording on her vision. It's just like the other two, only a bit more vivid, if I get her right."
"She mentioned it seemed so…Anything stand out?"
"The same as before…It's definitely Michael she saw in her visions. And Walter, with him…"
"Walter has told her what little he can remember and we've told them both…It could just be dreams based on that."
"She described Michael very well…And the future, she had details…"
"Which details we can't confirm, as Walter's lost all memories of his time there…" Peter noted. "I'm not saying she's not seeing them in the future or Michael here now. But she would have reason to dream about it. She…We…All might have lost him forever, if Michael hadn't arranged his return."
"I know…But given this evidence of temporal anomalies in the other and this universe…" she paused.
"I agree it's possible this has something to do with Walter's travels…" Peter replied, calmly. "But lets be cautious before we jump to conclusions. ZFT is up to something and I don't want Walter…Not after all he's been through…To start thinking he's responsible for things he had nothing to do with."
"Nor do I, really Peter."
"I know. And I know, it sounds odd that Astrid…Someone so linked now to Walter…Would be getting anything real about these happenings unless Walter were involved…"
"As much time as you and Astrid think Walter needs…" she told the phone. "I won't say a word."
"Me and Astrid…" sigh. "Though you know, Liv…It's kinda nice to have someone else to share worrying about him with…I know you and Etta love him and worry about him but…Don't laugh."
"You have a mom again…For him at least…" she smiled at the phone. "I'm not laughing…Now…Maybe later…For now, I'm just so glad for you both. And her…"
"And you have a mother-in-law…Actually two…" he chuckled.
"And I love 'em both dearly…"
"Thanks…I'll get the parents home as soon as I can. You should get some sleep if you're heading out."
"I will. Love you, Peter. And tell the…Parents…I love them."
"Done. See ya."
"Yeah."
She closed the phone and went to the little room with day bed where Etta was sleeping…Crawling in beside her…
"Hmmn…" the little girl rolled over.
"Etts? Sorry."
"Is Nan ok?"
"She's fine… They'll be home as soon as the doctors finish seeing Astrid. How's about we get back to sleep, ok?"
"I gotta tinkle."
"Ok, go…" grin…Watching from the bed as Etta went out, then laying back on the bed.
Out in the main lab, Etta paused to take the cell phone lying on the lab counter, dialing as she entered the bathroom in back.
"Hello. This is Etta Bishop. I'm sorry but you said I should call if my mommie or dad was alone with me and the others would be away. Yes. She's here now, in my grandpa's lab…Sleeping. The others took Astrid to the doctors'…I think they meant to the hospital. Yes, I can give her the needle if I just have to break the skin, I've got it hid." She hung up.
