Chapter Title: Heart and Arm

Chapter Genre: Humour, spit…swapping?

Chapter Rating: G for gross

Chapter Notes: "Does anyone have a mint?"

Takes Place: two days after 1.02 "The Ghost Network"

Poem: "Ah, Not This Granite Dead and Cold," by Walt Whitman

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Fringe. Surprised? ;)


"The indomitable heart and arm—proofs of the

never-broken line,

Courage, alertness, patience, faith, the same—

e'en in defeat defeated not, the same"


Astrid was carrying another box of laboratory supplies that Homeland Security had purchased for Dr. Bishop to use; it was early in the morning before Olivia was to show up, but the Bishops were there, Walter at his microscope and Peter off getting Starbucks to help them wake up.

She was walking past Dr. Bishop when he made a face. "Ugh, what is the horrid smell? Are you chewing on a butterscotch?"

"Yes," she replied, feeling a bit embarrassed for eating candy so early in the morning.

"Throw is out! In the hallway's trash can, not in here!" he ordered angrily, pointing towards the door.

Irritated for being chastised so early in the morning by a man who couldn't remember her name, Astrid set the box down heavily on a stool and huffed over towards the exit. She leaned out the doorway and tossed the hard candy in the trashcan across the way, then took a deep breath to recall her mantra.

"Be patient, be patient, be patient," she murmured as she closed her eyes.

Feeling a bit better, she shut the door again and fished her pack of Orbit out of her back pocket. She popped her last piece into her mouth and returned to her job of moving the boxes from one side of the lab to the other.

"Don't like the smell of butterscotch, doctor?" she asked, trying to make amends as she lifted the box off the stool once more.

Gene mooed pitifully, obviously wanting to be milked. Dr. Bishop looked up at the cow and then at her.

"Those bastards at St. Claire's would feed butterscotch pudding to us on Mondays. Horrible, horrible stuff," he said with a shudder.

"You don't have a problem with spearmint, do you?" she asked, not wanting to part with the breath-freshener.

He smiled and shook his head. "Not at all. In fact I'd like some right now."

"Sorry, that was my last piece," she apologised.

"That's okay," he said with a shrug, holding out his hand.

Astrid frowned. "I don't think Peter would approve of me transferring germs to you."

"I could obtain germs in worse ways. Give me the gum," he ordered, holding out a glass slide.

She could tell she really didn't have a choice in the matter and as much as she didn't want to, Astrid took the piece of Orbit out of her mouth and placed it on the small glass plate. The doctor quickly produced a scalpel out of his lab coat pocket and proceeded to split the already chewed piece of gum down the middle. She grimaced as he selected a half and began to chew it. He offered up the specimen slide to her and though she hesitated, she still took her half.

Dr. Bishop made a face and spit his half out, trying to hand it over to her.

"Residual butterscotch flavour. Won't you go help our good friend Gene out, my dear?" he asked, nodding his head towards the bovine as she accepted the used gum in a tissue.

"Of course, Dr. Bishop," she said with a sigh, shaking her head, tossing the tissue and gum into a waste bin nearby.

Astrid almost rolled her eyes, but decided that being disrespectful would probably not be good for her career. She dug a pen out of her lab coat pocket and scribbled on the inside of her wrist, "need more gum." It was going to be a long day.


A/N: DUDE. This was the second TLIA piece I had written and I couldn't believe my eyes when the mint/gum thing showed up on 1.07. Well played, J.J. Abrams. Well played.

The poem line I used regards virtues that will keep a person strong/ undefeated, end when they have technically lost. I think Astrid has more patience with Walter than anyone because she's got inner-strength.

Random Fringe Prediction: The song "Someone to Watch Over Me" was something that Walter would sing to Peter's mother. Aw, how sweet :)