A/N - Thanks for the reviews guys! This story is going places...it's rather interesting to be dragged along for the ride.
So read, enjoy and review
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Chapter Two – Read My Mind
When Olivia woke up, Peter wasn't there. She called out his name but got no answer. His side of the bed was cold and she sighed as she closed her eyes, trying to find sleep again. Peter had been quiet all week. She didn't like this version of him. His sleep was disturbed as well and this threw off her sleeping patterns. She wasn't used to this. He had never been like this before. He was restless and agitated. He didn't tell her why and she was getting sick of it. Sleep now a distant dream, she pushed off the covers and moved into the kitchen needing coffee. She paused at the kitchen table, frowning. There was article after article laid out on the table, highlighted names broke the black print. The only one she recognised was Elizabeth Miller, the woman that they had found at the park. Olivia stood at the kitchen counter, sipping her coffee looking at the clippings. At least now she knew why Peter had been so distracted. She just didn't understand why he hadn't told her. Coffee finished, she got her phone and hit the speed dial, waiting for him to answer.
"Hey Liv."
He sounded tired and distracted.
"Can you me at Peaches in half an hour?"
"Liv-"
She heard the protest in the three letters of her name and decided not to leave him with any option.
"Peter, please. Half an hour."
Peter sighed.
"Ok."
She hung up before he could change his mind and went to get dressed, determined to get to the bottom of this before it was too late. It had taken years for Peter to knock down her walls and she didn't want Peter to start doing that to her now. She loved him too much to be closed off now.
Peter was there before her. He hadn't shaved and his eyes were dark with tiredness, the bags doing nothing to help. He watched her and she slipped into the seat across from him and offered him a smile.
"Morning."
"I ordered for you."
"Thank you. The usual?"
"of course."
Peaches was a pastry café that was known for many things but it was the fruit slices that had quickly become Olivia's weakness. The main one being the rhubarb and strawberry slice with a soft, butter pastry and tangy crumble. Then there was the coffee. Strong and full, it was the best place to get a cheap cup that was near her apartment. It was almost sad that they knew her name here. It would have made her slightly more depressed if it didn't mean the occasional free slice and coffee when the owner Bruce was around to see her. She watched Peter play with his fork, his eyes on the glass of water in front of him.
"Peter, I need to talk to you."
He nodded slightly, avoiding her eyes.
"Peter, please look at me."
He sighed and for a moment, she thought that he would ignore the request, but then he looked up. The only thing that she could see, the one thing that she didn't want to see was guilt. He was hiding something that was big enough to make him feel guilty. And that made her feel even more concerned.
"Peter, you need to tell me what is going on with you. No lies, no gimmicks, I want the truth. I deserve that."
Peter opened his mouth to speak, pausing as their food and coffee was placed in front of them. He waited until the waitress was out of earshot before starting to speak.
"That woman, Elizabeth Miller, she's been bugging me."
"How so?"
"Something about her, I can't explain. So, I started digging deeper."
"I saw the articles on the table. Is that why you've been gone in the mornings?"
"Yeah. It's the best time to get to the archives. I went back fifteen years."
"What did you find?"
"It's taken a week but I think I found a Fringe case. I needed enough to convince you. To convince Broyles."
Peter pulled a file from his coat, handing it to Olivia. The clippings on the table had been a mere sample of what he had found. Going back fifteen years, there was case after case of people found in the same park, all with memory loss, all with no medical explanation as to why. There were a few other things to. Peter had taken samples of the plant live around the area, testing it for components that may cause memory loss, trying to explain what was going on. He even tested the water. Olivia closed the file and after a moment of thought, moved to the seat beside Peter. She took his hands in hers.
"Never do this to me again."
Peter shook his head, frowning.
"I didn't want to bother you with something stupid. What if I was just being irrational?"
"Then be irrational with me. I didn't like being on the outside. Not with you anyway. Promise."
She ensured that it was a statement, not a question. She was determined not to give him a choice in the matter. Peter smiled slightly.
"I promise. Sorry."
He leaned forward and kissed her, something that he had been far too distracted for lately, only having time for brief moments of affection. She sighed into his lips, enjoying the contact that she had sorely missed. He stroked her face, resting his forehead against hers.
"I really am sorry."
"Just don't do that again."
"Ok."
Olivia stood and moved back to her seat, the fruit slice looking far more delicious than it had a few moments ago. She moved aside the flowers that sat on the centre of the table and placed the file between them.
"Ok, Mr Bishop, start explaining."
Something was wrong. It had only been a week, she shouldn't be feeling like this. She should still be feeling strong. The weakness didn't kick in until three days before on her last count. Either she was getting worse or there was something wrong with Elizabeth Miller's memories. Erica closed her eyes and concentrated. She didn't know how she did it, all she needed to do was to think of the face of the person that she fed from and seconds later, there they were. An entire life flicking through like a film. She knew that Elizabeth had two children, both difficult labours. Her husband was a rebound after a nine year relationship with a Latin man. She still felt guilt about a dog she hit with a car when she was learning to drive. She secretly hated cats, barely tolerating the three she had at home. She lost her virginity when she was fourteen. She sometimes ordered takeout and then pretended it was her own cooking. Her sex life with her husband was a little boring and she wished he would spice things up. She was scared of dying alone. She hated the smell of vanilla. All the little things that made Elizabeth a person were Erica's now. And she found nothing to tell her why Elizabeth's memories were not working. Erica sighed and curled deeper into the sofa, trying to ignore the soft thumping in her head. From here, it would only get worse. Eventually the pain would become too much and she would have two choices; to feed and be pain free or wait for death to take her. Neither option appealed.
Olivia didn't have the heart to tell off Walter too. She knew that he would do almost anything that Peter requested and this, as far as she could see, was one of the safer requests. She did however, ask for a complete rundown. It took almost two hours for Walter and Peter to explain the results with the plants, even though she would have been more than happy with a basic breakdown. With his promise in tow, Peter was telling her everything, there would be no cutting corners on this information. She had to admit, he had done impressive research. He had commandeered one on Walter's whiteboard's pinned on the victim's pictures and connecting all of them to the park. They were all local to Boston and it was clear, whatever was doing this was originating from the park. Just after her rundown, Broyles entered and she sat back as both Walter and Peter went through it all again with that irrepressible Bishop enthusiasm. When they were done, Broyles sat back with a sigh, glancing between the two men.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes Sir."
"So if it's not biological, as you have clearly shown, than what is it?"
Peter frowned.
"That's one thing we can't be certain of."
"And what makes you think this is a Fringe case?"
Peter smiled slightly.
"If we have ruled out the biological, what else is there?"
"So what's the next move?"
"Personally, I would like to put the park under surveillance."
"That is the local park Bishop, hundreds of people are in and out of there every day and that's not counting the tourists. And with the weather the way it has been lately, you can, in all likelihood, double those numbers."
"I'm aware of that but these people all have one thing in common aside from the park."
"What?"
"The girl they all claim know their name. Like I told Liv, that memory would only be there after the fact. We need to find this girl."
"So you think she's doing this?"
Walter cleared his throat.
"It could happen. I did research in this area many years ago. This girl could be feeding on these people."
"How?"
"We cannot be certain until we find her."
Broyles glanced between them before turning to Olivia, who did nothing to hide her small smile. Broyles may have been their boss but he had no idea how this little team ran. It looked like chaos, as if no work at all could get done. But in reality, the chaos hid a well-oiled machine that people never saw. To Broyles, this theory must have looked like a complete mess. He couldn't see the beautiful symphony that was there in the research and theories.
"Dunham?"
Olivia glanced at Peter, seeing the complete confidence there. If he believed it, that was enough for her. But he had done enough to convince her that something was going on in that park. Big or small, it was costing people their lives.
"I think it's something that we have to do Sir. Just a few agents for a few days, just to see if there is anything suspicious. After that, we can go it alone."
Broyles stood and adjust his suit and his tie.
"Fine. Keep me in the loop."
When he had left, Walter took a deep breath.
"That man makes me feel nervous. I need cake. Aspen!"
Walter strode into his office and Peter laughed as he took a seat in front of the whiteboard, tapping a pen to his lip. Olivia moved behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders.
"It seems impossible, doesn't it?"
Olivia frowned.
"What does?"
"Finding this girl. She's been off the grid for fifteen years. She's gotten good at hiding."
"Well, we've had far more practice with finding hidden things than anyone else. We will find her."
Peter turned his head slightly, kissing her hand.
"Thanks for the support by the way."
"What are girlfriends for?"
She delighted in the way the word sounded. It wasn't a label either of them used often. To be honest, to Olivia it sounded like they were in high school again. But nothing else fitted. The way she felt about Peter didn't real fit with any kind of label. So girlfriend and boyfriend would have to do until someone came up with something better. She leaned down and kissed the top of Peter's head before going back to examining the board in front of them. They had a lot of work to do.
