Hey everyone! I am FINALLY back! I know, it's about time- my VERY extended absence from writing this story was ungrateful and rude, and for that I am endlessly sorry :(
*~*~*The majority of the reason for the delay on this story was from a dangerous combination of both procrastination and writer's block that I experienced while writing the next chapter of it. Being an avid fanfiction reader myself, I have been in the shoes of us readers who constantly come across stories we are fond of, but must wait an unfair amount of time for an update on. However, other than the procrastination I put on completing this chapter (the majority of the reason why I have updated so late), I also spent the last two weeks in the hospital with a kidney infection, which gave me absolutely no access to the internet (though I swear on this story that I did jot down ideas for this chapter on paper while there!), and just three nights ago, right when I was finally bursting with ideas, silently writing (as to not wake up the parentals) every night until 4 AM, and a good five pages into this chapter, I was suddenly evacuated from my house, because I live in California, and there's literally a gigantic wildfire going on right in front of my home. Now at my cousin's house, I decided to wrap up this chapter already for my amazing readers to indulge on, and get started on the next chapter at last :) *~*~*
As always, I am incredibly nervous about your reaction to this chapter, so please please PLEASE make my day and review it! I am totally open to constructive criticism as well, but I kindly ask for no flames 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Fringe. :( Or Ghostbusters (you'll see why I mentioned that...) ;D
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Previously from I'll Always Be There to Catch You When You Fall:
Trying to move her as little as possible, he used one arm to hold Olivia up around her waist, and used the other arm to awkwardly pull the shirt over her head. Proud of himself, he successfully finished putting the t-shirt on her, all the while as she remained unconscious. She did flutter her eyes open a few times or open her mouth a little as if to say something, but she was too deep into her slumber to truly wake up.
Peter then grabbed the same throw he had used just a few hours ago and covered her with it, since her fever hadn't gone down very much after the surprise bathroom fiasco.
Smoothing her hair away from her face once more, he kissed her forehead for the second time that night before finally turning off the bedroom lamp.
After going back to the bathroom to discard Olivia's wrecked blouse, throwing away all the scattered buttons that had flung off of it, and setting a cold glass of water and a large plastic bucket next to her bed in case she needed them, he settled himself onto a couch in the living room to get some very important rest.
It wasn't until his head finally rested onto a very soft pillow that he realized how tired he was, and soon was sound asleep on the couch before he could even take off his shoes.
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She was dreaming away, lost in a quiet world full of no nightmares or disturbing, unexplainable revelations. The inside of her mind was absolutely blank and quiet, relentlessly fighting her fears away so she could just have merely a few hours of peace and let herself forget about the chaos her life consisted of.
Although she was plunged deep inside the levels of her subconsciousness, some more alert part of her realized how rare it was for her to be sleeping in such serenity as she was now, let alone to actually be sleeping in the first place.
The sacred tranquility was soon interrupted however, by the morning rays scattering over her eyelids, lazily waking her up.
Slowly, the binds her subconscious has tirelessly fought to keep a hold of unwillingly began to loosen, and the comforting blank canvas in her mind began to start coloring itself without her consent. It silently began to paint disturbingly familiar pictures that instantly slammed her back to the cold, hard reality her life was now, showing no sympathy to the fact that she wanted to be reminded of her unfathomable worries as little as possible.
Sighing in disappointment from waking up too soon, then immediately feeling guilty for doing so since she hadn't slept so well literally in months, Olivia Dunham slowly opened her eyes.
Right away, she was blasted with blinding sunlight that was forcing itself through the curtains from the large windows on either side of her gigantic bed, and she groaned in frustration, turning her sore body around so that she could hide her head in the huge plus pillows. The pounding sun did not mix well with her aching headache, and she fought back the childish urge to pull the throw draped on her over her head and stay in bed all day.
Time passed until slowly, the half-awake agent groggily slipped off of her enormous bed. Feeling cold, yet experiencing hot flashes at the same time, she changed out of her extremely wrinkled black trousers and into a navy blue shade of small cotton shorts instead. She then grabbed an oversized dark-gray long sleeved shirt randomly lying on her dresser and traded that for the white top she had on as well. Too lazy to go searching for her fuzzy blue slippers however, the young agent walked barefoot across the glossy oak wood flooring that led to the bathroom, hastily rubbing her eyes to help herself wake up on the way there.
Although she definitely felt more awake from finally getting a decent amount of sleep, Olivia still felt awful. Her throat was sore from emptying her stomach a few hours ago, her head was pounding in what she was sure was the beginning of a migraine, and she felt weak to the bones.
But as she stepped into the bathroom, she at least managed to smile in satisfaction when her feet made contact with the cool tile floor, chilling her abnormally warm body.
Unfortunately, the pleasant feeling vanished as quickly as it had come once a cold sweat began to cover Olivia, triggering an unusual sense of panic to course through her as well. Painfully pushing the uncomfortable feeling aside, she concentrated hard on lowering her queasiness to a non-gagging level, since she was furiously determined to prevent herself from emptying her stomach yet again. She desperately squeezed her eyes shut and took deep breaths, while unconsciously leaning onto the bathroom door to support her frail body as well.
Gradually, she began to feel better.
Releasing the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in, Olivia weakly pushed herself off of the door and finally walked to the pristine white sink, her original destination before her stomach had cruelly attempted to detour her to the toilet instead. Her chest was hurting and her head was still pounding painfully, but at least for now she felt sort of all right.
Quickly splashing some cold water onto her face from the sink and massaging her temples, all was calm for the moment until the young agent looked at her reflection in the mirror.
In that split second she had turned her head up and seen her mirror image, several thoughts slammed into her mind at once.
First, Olivia's eyes widened in shock when she saw her practically unrecognizable face. Sure, she had been feeling horrible lately, but she didn't realize how much of an affect it had taken on her appearance! Her usually rosy lips were a faint pink color, there were dark shadows that seemed engraved in their place under her eyes, and her hair was embarrassingly messed up and tangled.
Secondly, seeing her reflection also opened the gate of memories from last night that her buzzing mind hadn't seemed to find the chance to think about yet. Sure, in the past few moments her thoughts had drifted towards last night, but the realization of what had occurred just hadn't dawned on her completely. She remembered falling asleep at work, being woken up by Peter-
Peter! Somehow, she had entirely forgotten about him also! The young agent was pretty sure he had gone home after carrying her back to her bed from the bathroom last night (since that was the only logical explanation she could muster up to explain why she had woken up on her covers), but a surprising feeling of sadness swept over her at the thought. It had felt so unbelievably good to have someone take care of her, to hold her and not judge her for being so weak and exposed...
Trying to shake the depressing thought away, Olivia finished washing up and gloomily dragged herself towards the kitchen to make a small breakfast that her queasy stomach might approve of. But as she passed the cozy living room, a flash of brown hair caught her attention and she did a double take, running quickly back to the lounge.
There, looking as sweet as could be, was a completely unconscious Peter, awkwardly laying on the little loveseat that was too small for him, resulting with his feet clumsily hanging off of it. His arms were folded together and his face was completely in peace.
Even in her ill state, Olivia couldn't help but crack another smile at the picture before her.
Still grinning as she did so, the young agent silently left to grab a large teal-colored blanket from a nearby cupboard and kindly draped it over him.
But just as she turned to walk to the kitchen, an idea popped into her head and she was suddenly inspired. Oddly bubbling with excitement, she unnaturally giggled in delight as she began cultivating a plan to make breakfast for Peter. And why not? In just the past few hours he had taken care of her more than she had been cared for in ages, and he completely deserved some appreciation for what he had done! Plus, someone had to make use of all her groceries...
Before she knew it, Olivia was baking muffins and frying eggs, while cutting fruits and making toast on the side. Unable to remember the last time she had done something as... normal as making breakfast, even with Rachel and Ella around, she was so absorbed in her own little world that she didn't notice the green-eyed male on her couch slowly stir and begin to wake up....
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Mmm...
Eggs. Pancakes. And holy cow, were those really mouthwatering blueberry muffins he could smell in the air?
As the delicious aroma of a decently cooked breakfast teasingly swirled around him, Peter Bishop finally began to wake up from his unusual slumber.
Massaging his sore shoulders at the same time, he slowly got up from the loveseat he had been sleeping on (trying to remember where the blanket mysteriously covering him had come from at the same time), and began shuffling towards the kitchen, where the source of the delicious smells were obviously coming from.
As he flexed his arms and ran a hand through his smooth hair to help wake him up, the "handsome genius" could swear he could hear someone humming from the kitchen...
His curiosity peaked, Peter carefully walked to the source of the sound, making sure to keep quiet so that he wouldn't be noticed.
When he finally reached the kitchen though, he couldn't help but let out a full-blown smile at the sight before him, even having to clasp his hand over his mouth in order to stop himself from laughing out loud.
Chopping and cooking like there was no tomorrow, an unusually laid-back Olivia was pulling out some freshly-baked blueberry muffins from the oven, quickly trying to find a spot on her jam-packed counter to place them. Peter's eyes practically bulged open at the amount of food she had cooked, from French toast preciously balancing on the edge of the smooth countertop, to omelets simmering on the stove.
But what really made Peter's day from the refreshing sight in front of him was Olivia herself. Although it was apparent that she was still fighting off her nasty cold- it seemed like she was covering her mouth to cough every thirty seconds, and there was a slight fatigue to her movements- he had honestly never seen her in such a happy mood before. She was smiling and almost laughing to herself as she slid some sizzling bacon onto a plate, and he could hear her humming the Ghostbusters theme song softly to herself, carelessly dancing along to the song at the same time.
He had never seen her in such peace, yet so happy and carefree at the same time. She looked absolutely perfect and adorable to Peter, and he felt that he literally couldn't stop smiling from the amazing sight before him.
As he leaned against the doorframe of the cozy kitchen, arms crossed across his broad chest and marveling to himself about her beauty, not just externally, but internally as well, a sudden brilliant thought occurred to him and he mischievously grinned, almost too excited about putting his plan into action.
Treading cautiously across the smooth tile floor, so that she wouldn't hear him over the crackles and pops of food being made and her own gentle humming as well, Peter sneakily snuck up behind the young agent, until he was standing right behind her.
Grinning madly, he slid his warm, large hands around her cool, petite waist while simultaneously breathing into her ear, "Good morning, 'Livvie."
Olivia, who had been completely lost in her own world up until that moment, dropped the white-hot pan of simmering bacon she was holding in shock. She helplessly watched as it clanged down onto the stove clumsily, before losing its balance and falling quickly to the ground, straight towards Peter's feet.
Swiftly taking in the scene before her, Olivia's carefree mood immediately vanished as her mind went into FBI-agent-mode, and without even needing to think about it, she cried, "Watch out!" before quickly whirling around to heave Peter away.
Suddenly finding herself in an intimate position with Peter, Olivia's heartbeat immediately quickened, as she found herself face-to-face with Peter, their lips merely inches away from each other, grabbing onto his rather muscular arms ('When did that happen?' she couldn't help wondering at that moment), and pushing him away from the dangerously hot object.
Safely away from the "threat," silence filled the room as the two hypnotically watched the black pan lazily fall onto the ground and wobble around loudly, before making a complete stop right where Peter had been standing a moment ago.
Meanwhile, the young Bishop was wondering exactly what had just happened, from the three-second kitchen-object fiasco, to the electric, unexplainable moment he had just shared with Olivia when their lips had been teasingly close to touching. His hands were still firmly around her tiny waist while hers were still clinging to his arm, but it wasn't until he felt her let go and turn around that he was pulled back down to reality and turned his head to look at her.
Peter's never-ending concern for her heightened once more at the image before him. Olivia had suddenly turned ghostly pale, a sheer layer of sweat covering her forehead, and her stunning blue eyes wide open from an intense amount of discomfort she was obviously experiencing yet again. The oversized gray shirt she was wearing had fallen over her right shoulder to expose a familiar bra strap and shimmering bare skin there. Leaning onto the food-covered counter before her, he could hear her taking barely audible breaths as she tried to push away the unruly pain she was feeling.
In one swift stride, Peter was by her side once more. He tenderly put his hand on the small of her back, moving it in circles in a comforting manner before crouching down to her level and soothingly murmuring to her, "What's wrong, sweetie?"
Taking him by complete surprise, the overwhelmed blonde simply whimpered out loud in response to his question and turned wrap her limp arms around his neck and bury her head into his captivating chest.
Through all the anxiety Peter was currently experiencing over her health, the thought of how perfectly Olivia's soft, warm body happened to fit into his arms when he wrapped them around her managed to slip into his head.
Without warning, a sudden, powerful wave of adrenaline passed through him suddenly, and a possessiveness to always protect this amazing, selfless woman for as long as he lived engulfed Peter.
Olivia on the other hand, hardly had the time, nor energy, to even be thinking about the undeniable sparks that went off between her and Peter just a mere thirty seconds ago. No, she couldn't, because frankly she was going through complete hell. Simply turning around to move Peter away from the stupid pan had given her the feeling of having the wind knocked out of her, and she cursed herself for such weakness. Now, all of her unpleasant symptoms from last night were returning to her in full throttle, and she could barely contain the frequent need to empty her stomach, or at least to contain her feeble bones from shaking.
Peter's strong, solid arms felt unexpectedly comforting to her, even more so when woven around her small frame like it was now. His embrace seemed to hold the extraordinary power of cradling her away from all the bad in the world... but her unsettled stomach was demanding for attention, and she unwillingly untangled herself out of his embrace.
Feeling the bile speedily racing up her system, Olivia barely managed to gasp out a measly, "Excuse me!" to Peter before she dashed towards the nearest bathroom in the flat.
She was hardly able to make it to the pristine restroom before the bitter bile had reached her throat. Olivia found herself unable to prevent her body from shaking as the gruesome process of emptying her stomach began once more, but she stubbornly tried to maintain a sense of control on it anyway.
Although she was precisely aware of exactly whose arms she had been wrapped around in just a minute ago, the agent was startled to feel two memorably strong hands softly keeping her tangled hair away from her face.
Still feeling immensely embarrassed by the vulnerability she had shown last night when he had come to help her in this very same bathroom, Olivia dejectedly attempted to push away Peter with the meager amount of energy left in her, but he easily resisted, instead bending down and wrapping his arms around her waist to help support her falling frame.
Several minutes later, Olivia was finally done. Gritting her teeth and fighting the inevitable weakness her body was captive of, she determinedly pushed herself up from the ground. Her skinny arms were shaking from the effort, and she could feel Peter's hands on her waist, pulling her body up, but she persisted anyways.
Completely silent, flushed the toilet and cleaned up any evidence of what had happened, blinking furiously also in order to keep back tears. Her memory was foggy of exactly what happened in the last twenty-four hours, yes, but she remembered what precious emotions she had spilled out in front of Peter last night, and she refused to show any tears again.
Peter meanwhile, had taken his hands off of the blonde agent's waist, since he knew too well Olivia was trying to fight off the truth about how feeble she was, even when she would look at herself in the mirror and knew it was staring at her right in the face. The last thing she wanted was his help, regardless of how crucially she needed it, since it would most probably break her guarded personality.
As much as he understood this, it was still brutally painful to watch her slouch around the bathroom in so much pain, from both inside and out.
By the time Olivia had finished uncluttering the small tile bathroom, Peter had made up his mind about something he had been thinking about ever since he saw Olivia's ill state in the lab last night.
Letting her at least walk out of the bathroom so they would have more room to talk, he grabbed her hand immediately after and commanded, "Olivia, stop."
The blonde turned around slowly, shock and fear clear across her face. Peter had a good feeling that she knew exactly what he was going to tell her. Taking a deep breath, he tried to tell her his idea in the gentlest manner.
His large hand was still holding her much smaller one, and he squeezed it gently before softly, but surely saying, "You need to see a doctor."
Olivia instantly opened her mouth to argue with him, without a doubt, but he quickly rushed on, saying "I can't stand to see you like this! 'Livvie, you need help, you need medical attention. And-"
Peter suddenly stopped, taking a moment to think about what he was going to say next. Precious minutes passed by as he decided. All of a sudden, he gently took Olivia's tiny hand and wrapped it around his two sturdy ones. At this gesture, Olivia quietly looked down to stare at what he had just done.
Finally, Peter spoke.
"And sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere. As long as I'm around, Agent Dunham," (his eyes crinkled cutely and he flashed a teasing grin to her as he said that), "I'm going to make sure you're taken care of."
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THERE! FEWF! FINALLY, I'm done (with this chapter)!
I had the most absolute WORST writer's block ever, and I'm so relieved to be finished with this bloody chapter! Hahaha :)
Anyways, PLEASE review! This chapter was so hard to write, and I think you can tell, but I need your input to know that! Please please PLEASE review, because the more reviews, the more motivated I will become to write better and faster! You've already gone so far as to read this chapter (something I am extremely grateful for!)- why not complete your journey with a review on it as well? ;)
-A3