Back with a new chapter. Thanks to all who are continuing to follow this story.
I own nothing to do with Fringe, the show.
Please review. It really does make my day.
Come To Pass-Chapter 3
Olivia Dunham watched as they both peeled their dark gloves off at the same time, and stuck them in their coat pockets. It was another record-breaking cold day in Manhattan, and Olivia wondered to herself when this current cold spell would snap. She also realized, glancing around the aseptic-appearing hospital room, that this was their third visit here to see the mysterious man Lincoln had pulled from Hudson Bay.
Lincoln Lee gestured towards the chair closest to their witness's bed and then pulled another chair next to the one now occupied by his partner. As she looked the still man over, Lincoln stole a sideways glance at Olivia. After a 10-hour shift, she still looked put together. He didn't know how she did it. To him, his partner, Olivia Dunham, was the toughest woman he ever knew and his repect for her ran deeply. He saw her break her concentration on their witness, if one could indeed call the sleeping man that, and he quickly looked away from her in an effort not to get caught staring.
Olivia Dunham turned and gave her partner a slight smile. "Has anyone heard from Dr. Gardner today? Is there an update on his condition?" Olivia asked him as she started to unbutton her wool coat.
"Well," Lincoln started gently, "the MRI showed no brain damage, no sign of a stroke or blunt force trauma. Technically, he should wake up anytime now. No hits in CODIS, and so far no one's called since his picture went out." Lincoln pulled his arms out of his sleeves, and threw his wool coat over the back of his chair. "You think he'll be able to tell us anything when he wakes up?"
Olivia just shrugged and rubbed her hands together. "Don't know. We could really use a lucky break. We still don't have any idea what those shapeshifters were after, or why. And how many more of them are out there."
Lincoln nodded his head in agreement and stood up. "I'll grab you a coffee, OK? And a sandwhich. I know you haven't eaten in hours. Any requests?"
Olivia gave him a broader smile. "Surprise me."
Lincoln laughed. "That could be dangerous, you know. I'll be back." He gave her a slight wink as he disappeared out the glass door, closing it slowly and completely behind him.
Olivia sighed as she turned her attention back to the man in the bed in front of her. How did you get in the bay? She said to herself. Olivia took a good long look at the man she had come to nickname John Doe. His coloring was significantly better than the first time she'd seen him. There were mutiple scratches on his face, and she mentally checked off the scenarios in her head that could have caused them. A bar fight. A fight with a woman, or a man, or a mugger. Definitely a violent situation.
Olivia placed her arms on the siderail and started humming a tune softly as her stomach started to growl. She closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted to ask this man when he regained consciousness. She didn't know why, but Olivia felt he could offer little information on the shapeshifters found dead just yards away from where he was pulled from the freezing water.
When she opened her eyes she saw the man staring at her, and it startled her. He lifted his arms as though it was an effort to do so, and worked his jaw.
"Water," the stranger told her, his voice scratchy.
Olivia jumped from her chair and picked up the pitcher on the rolling table and quickly poured some into a glass. There was a straw next to the glass. Olivia ripped it open, placed it in the glass, and maneuvered the glass to the stranger's lips. He took a sip, swallowed it, and then took another.
When he stopped sipping, he let Olivia pull the straw from his lips, and she replaced it on the table.
"Excuse me one second," Olivia told him as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and hit 2 digits. It didn't take long for him to answer.
"Forget something, Dunham?" Lincoln said in her ear.
"He's awake! Hurry back!" was all she said. Olivia hit one button and put the phone back into her pocket.
After Olivia replaced her phone in her pocket, she looked up to find the man staring at her, as if assessing her. He looked younger than he did in the water. A few days' growth of stubble filled the lower half of his face, trying to hide some of the scratches. His eyes were the intense blue she remember from before, the day they rescued him. When he suddenly opened his e-
"Do I know you?" the man asked her, interrupting her thoughts.
Olivia caught the slightest hint of an accent, which made sense since they were in Manhattan, one of the biggest melting pots in the country.
"My name is Agent Olivia Dunham, with the FBI. What is your name?" she asked the man trying to hide her anxiousness at getting answers.
He was quiet for several seconds, moving his jaw in contemplation. "I...I don't know. Where am I?"
The man turned his head and looked at his surroundings. "A hospital."
"You're in New York University Medical Center. My partner Agent Lee pulled you out of Hudson Bay 3 days ago. Do you remember how you got there?"
There was silence again, and then the sudden sound of Lincoln bursting through the door, looking at the site before him.
"Hey, it's good to see you awake Mr... I'm Agent Lee," Lincoln said nodding his head, and setting two styrofoam cups on the bedside table.
"I...don't know. I don't know how I got here. What day is it?"
Lincoln sat down in the vacant chair. "Today is January 20th, 2026."
The man in the bed made a scowl, as though Lincoln had said something unpleasant.
"Where were you born? Did you grow up here in New York?" Lincoln asked the man. "You sound like you have a little bit of an Irish accent."
"I...I think I grew up in Boston, but I'm not sure why I say that. I know New York, or, I did..."
Lincoln gave Olivia a look and then turned his attention back to the man. "I pulled you from Hudson Bay 3 days ago. Do you remember how you got there? Do you work on the docks?"
"N-not recently," the man replied, looking at Lincoln's face.
Lincoln could see the frustration growing there. "We found 4 dead people not far from where you were in the water. Were you in a fight? Was someone after you?"
The man continued to stare at Lincoln, his eyes blazing with frustration, as he tried to sit up. "I...don't know. I can't seem to remember-anything."
Lincoln caught sight of a lone tear in the corner of one of the man's eyes, and he knew he didn't have much time left. "Is there a loved one we can call for you? Someone who might be worried about you, who can tell us who you are? Someone in the city?"
"There was a woman, but,...I can't remember her," he said focusing his attention now on Olivia, who could also see the tears forming.
"It's OK. We'll call your doctor and let her know you're awake. Excuse me." Olivia got up from her seat just as the door to the room opened and a nurse stepped inside.
"He's awake!" Olivia quickly told her. "Can you get Dr. Gardner on the phone? I'd like to talk with her," she told the nurse softly.
The nurse nodded her head. "Yes, she wanted to be notified when he woke up. I wouldn't be surprised if she came in in the next hour to see him," she told Olivia. The nurse turned toward the man in the bed. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she told him, and then the nurse left the room.
Olivia gave her partner a look, then she looked back at their witness. "We're going to go now and let you get some rest. And some food. We'll be back tomorrow. Is that alright?"
Lincoln loved the way his partner could use tact, even in the most delicate of situations. He hid the smile that was trying to form on his face and turned back toward their witness.
"I guess," the man replied. "But I'm not sure how I can help the FBI," he said a bit gruffly.
They both nodded at their witness and then exited the room. Once Lincoln let go of the doorknob, he let out a long breath and turned toward Olivia. "I dunno, Liv. I have a bad feeling this is gonna be complicated."
Olivia just looked at Lincoln as they walked towards the nurses' station. She hoped he was wrong, but her gut told her he was probably right.
Please review!