Sometime in the middle of the night someone curled up on the couch in his arms. He remembered vaguely scooting back to make room for two bodies and he remembered the comfort he felt in the way they had fit together. Yet Peter was still surprised to wake up in the morning to find himself cuddling Olivia's body against him on her couch. There was barely enough room for her and she was hanging off the edge of the cushions. He scooted back as far as he could and the arm around her abdomen pulled her back against him. She barely stirred. Smiling, Peter buried his nose in her hair and breathed her in. It was delicious. He could spend forever like this.

After a long while Olivia rolled over. Eyes closed, she kissed him tenderly on the lips. "Good morning." she mumbled with a smile.

Floating on air, Peter touched her soft beautiful face. "It is, isn't it?"

Olivia's eyes flew open. Startled she fell off the couch. "Shit!" she cursed.

Peter sat up in alarm "Livia!"

"Oh my god." She breathed on the floor, covering her face with her hands. "Oh my god."

Concerned, Peter reached for her but she slapped his hand away. "Stop. Peter... stop." he felt the burn of rejection smolder in his stomach and spread like wildfire. It crushed his soul... Fighting back the urge to ask her what was wrong, Peter patiently waited.

Eventually Olivia sniffled, wiped her nose with the back of her hand and raked her fingers through her golden hair. "That wasn't what you thought it was. I need you to understand that." she told him, still avoiding his gaze.

Peter swallowed. "Which part? The curling up next to me in the middle of the night? Or the part where you kissed me on the lips and whispered good morning?"

"Both..." Olivia whispered.

Peter bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. "What about the part where I found on the brink of death yesterday? When I nearly lost you forever Olivia? What about the part where you still won't tell me exactly what the hell you were doing?" He asked.

The FBI agent bowed her head, avoiding his eyes.

"Okay, lets try this one: how about when I carried you out of the lab last night and you told me you loved me?" He breathed.

Horrified, Olivia winced, unaware she had uttered her secret aloud in the midst of her stupor last night. "Please don't..."

Fighting back the urge to continue to question her endlessly, Peter stood up and grabbed his car keys from the table. "I understand Olivia. Believe me. I understand." he mumbled and let himself out of her apartment.

Olivia curled up on the floor and despite her reservations not to, she started to cry.


"I messed up, Charlie..." She whispered. "I messed everything up between him and I..."

"I don't deserve to be happy..." she said shaking her head.

Charlie put an arm around her. "Olivia why would you think that?"

"Because... Just look at my life. Every relationship I've been in has ended in betrayal. In pain. I can't keep getting broken anymore..."

Charlie kissed her temple. "Liv did you ever think that you had to go through all those endings just so you could reach a new beginning? That you just had to find the right person? You'll never find out if Peter is the right one if you don't try, Livy. He cares about you. And I can see you care about him." Charlie told her, repeating the words he had said to Peter the night before.

Olivia sniffled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Besides, if he didn't care, would he have carried you home last night. Would he have tucked you in bed? Would he have spent the night on your couch just to make sure he could keep an I eye on you? To make sure you were safe?"


After Charlie had left, Olivia took a quick cold shower to cleanse her body of all the torment she had put herself through. When she dressed, she actually thought about what clothes to wear and what top was more flattering etcetera etcetera. Trivial things that she had no interest in. But today she wanted everything to be different. She took her time, slowly running her brush through her hair as she stared at herself in the mirror.

When she could no longer bear putting off the task any longer, Olivia left. On her way to the Bishop home she stopped to get two cups of coffee and a hot chocolate for Walter.

As she drove the distance to their home, she forced herself not to rehearse what to say when she saw Peter again. She was done thinking. She knew she would know how she felt as soon as she laid eyes on him.


"Agent Dunham!" Walter's eyes lit up in surprise and childish glee.

"Good morning Walter." She smiled sweetly. "Sorry to drop in without calling."

"Nonsense. Come in Olive, come in!"

She nodded with a smile and moved past him into the house. Olivia pulled a styrofoam cup from the crook of her arm. "I brought you some hot chocolate." she smiled and held the cup out to him.

Walter clapped his hands in excitement. "Hot cocoa..." he mused happily and took it from her. "Thank you!"

She smiled, loving the intense joy he felt at even the simplest of things.

"I was just preparing a late breakfast, I don't suppose you would like some as well?" he asked.

"No. But thank you Walter." She bit her lip. "Is Peter home? I brought him some coffee..."

"Ah yes! He's upstairs sleeping. Best not to disturb him, he's rather irritable in the morning."

Olivia smiled again. "I think I'll just go up and set it next to his bed so it's there when he wakes up."