Daunting -- Part 2

No inFRiNGEment intended.

Note: Peter fell asleep in Olivia's office at the lab.
On another note, I'm sorry if my grammar mistakes and my poor attempt at writing English offended any of you, I'm doing the best I can, so I do hope you'll forgive me.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Coffee, What Else?

Peter's chin sank to his chest and he started to snore very softly. Slowly, the file he was reading slipped away from his grasp and papers, clips and photographs cascaded onto the floor and under the desk. He did not let go of the now empty folder and his hands quivered. He swayed on the chair and snorted briefly in his sleep.

"We should have known better," was saying Olivia in the phone.

Charlie's voice was faint in the background. She had her back to Peter and was searching a file cabinet. She finally turned around and tossed a bunch of files on top of the rest and the pile wobbled dangerously. She pressed the headset on her ear with her shoulder and skimmed through the files.

"We should have posted a guard inside the room not in front of his door. That was stupid."

She bit her lip and thumbed slowly through a bunch of photographs.

"Liv, you don't have to beat yourself up because he escaped. Stop being so overly critical. This mess happens to be the result of a collective decision. And I must confess I doubt that any guard could have stopped him. You've seen the wall…"

"Yes," she sighed, glancing over the last batch of reports, "you're probably right. But I can't help it. I'm sure I missed something that could give us a clue. Anything that could tell us if the light box had been tempered with?"

"No. Nothing yet on the bomb front."

"I'm sure that…"

"Listen. It's late. Try to relax, go home. Things have a natural tendency to clear up after a good night sleep," said Charlie.

Olivia looked up to Peter and smiled. The younger Bishop had anticipated Charlie's advice. Good for him. There was a time she could do the same and sleep just about anytime, anywhere.

"Yup, I'll do that. Thanks Charlie."

She sat her phone on the desk and rummaged through last week files, stopping to read whatever caught her eye. Before she knew it, she got engulfed in her work again.

"I'm on my way," announced Astrid popping her head in the doorway. "See you tomorrow."

"What time…"

Olivia checked her wristwatch. She had lost track of time. Again.

"Oh, okay. Where is Walter?"

"He's long gone; he said something about poker and margaritas. I didn't ask."

"Okay, thanks Astrid, see you then. Have a nice evening."

"Thank you…" she hesitated, "Olivia, I know it's not my place to say but you should follow Peter's example and get some rest." She chuckled. "I can't believe he's finally asleep. He's been complaining for days!"

"About what?"

Olivia smoothed her hair with her left hand and started fiddling with her pen, her eyes going from Astrid to Peter and back. She had totally forgotten about him. He was slouched on the chair, his head tilted awkwardly on his shoulder and holding on a beige empty folder for dear life. She realized he might have been asleep in her office for quite some time now.

"About the fact that he doesn't seem to be able to find any sleep since he moved in," Astrid explained.

"He moved in… I-I knew that? I mean, he's…"

"Yes, he found himself a nice loft near the river. He couldn't stop raving about the view, the space and the neighbourhood. He settled in last week, just before that young agent died at the warehouse."

"I can't rem… did I authorize that?"

Astrid winced when she realized that she should have kept her mouth shut.

"I wouldn't know. Maybe Broyles went over your head. I guess Peter didn't think it was important. To tell you I mean," she shrugged. "He was so upbeat about the whole thing, it probably skipped his mind."

"Yes, probably…"

"And the Dean found a nice place for Walter here on Harvard campus. Well…" she rapped on the doorframe and raised an eyebrow, "see you tomorrow Olivia."

She left abruptly.

"Astrid, wait!" Olivia jumped from her chair. "You know what? You're absolutely right. Today's work is officially over. What about a drink downtown?"

"Girls' night out, huh?" Astrid nodded with a bright smile. "Okay,"

Olivia grinned mischievously, grabbed her bag and coat, put a throw on Peter's lap and followed her.

She switched the lights off and slammed the door behind them. Gene shuffled in the dark and mooed gently.

-o-

thanks for reading ;)