Breaking Point
Written by:Addie Price
Summary:'It was a war, Peter. And every war has its casualties. I'm just sorry it had to be Olivia who was made to suffer.' Everybody has a breaking point. And Olivia may have just met hers.
Words: 1,645
Note: So sorry for the delay! I know, it's been over two weeks since my last update. But in my defense, I was in Alaska last week for spring break and the week before that I had no time to write since I was doing a ton of last minute work at school.
Just so you know, I only have two more chapters and an epilogue lined up for this. Hopefully, I'll finish things up around the end of the season. Thanks again for reading and please review!
Rated T for brief language and my own paranoia.
Disclaimer: FRINGE is the property of FOX Broadcasting Company and its associates. I am in no way affiliated with FOX nor do I own any of the characters depicted in this story.
"When you open your mind to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth."
- Walter Bishop
Astrid and Lincoln work quickly to find Bell's new host. It isn't hard to see that Peter is losing his patience with every passing moment. He walks past Olivia's sleeping form in the chair every other minute and each time he does, his hands or eyes flit towards her unconscious body, as if to draw her in with his movements and shield her from the rest of the world as she sleeps.
But there is nothing to be done to speed up the process. Lincoln contacts their potential host body's brother, but Broyles has refused to let them move forward without his presence. And while Peter and Walter have been working to synthesize an antidote for the poison they will inevitably have to introduce to Olivia, he too frustrated and upset to be much help to Walter, who quickly loses the little patience he has and sends Peter away.
Peter goes to leave the lab, passing Broyles as he exits the room. The agent looks at him as he walks by. He reaches out a hand, resting it comfortingly on the younger man's forearm. "We'll figure this out, Peter. I promise."
Peter nods gruffly at him in response before walking out, slamming the door behind him.
Broyles turns to walk into the lab, shaking his head at the two agents sitting there, at a loss for words about Peter's current state. He instead directs his attentions to the agents, asking what news they have for him about their potential new host.
Astrid's fingers play quickly over the keyboard, bringing up the man's file. "Harvey Oswald, 67 years old. He was in a car accident ten years ago and has been completely brain dead since then. He isn't married and doesn't have any children that we know of. He's been on life support since the accident.
Broyles nods. "What's keeping the doctors from taking him off?"
"His brother. He's extremely religious and believes that Harvey's time of death should be up to God, not him. That God will take him when He is ready and not a moment before. We've already contacted him, but so far he isn't budging."
"Have you explained our situation?"
Lincoln shakes his head and answers. "I didn't think we could, sir. He isn't in an intelligence or military position. He's a civilian; he works for a bank. He has absolutely no clearance. It'd be a breach of protocol and national security to tell him anything about what's going on here.
Broyles stares at the agent for a moment, his eyes hard. "Agent Lee, Fringe Division is so far outside of protocol that the word shouldn't even exist here. We've broken it more times than any government institution has in the history of the intelligence community." He turns to Astrid. "What hospital is Harvey Oswald located at?"
Astrid is surprised to find that Harvey Oswald isn't that far. As they pull into the parking lot at Mercy General Hospital, she knows that it makes sense for Oswald's brother to move him here. Mercy General is the best hospital in the United States and, by extension, the world. If anyplace was going to bring Harvey out of his coma, it would be here. But she's gone over the files with Walter and Peter and Lincoln and Broyles. And she knows that there is no chance Harvey will ever wake up. Right now, all his brother is waiting for him to die.
Harvey's brother rises to greet the three Agents and Peter as they step into Harvey's room. It took a lot to convince Peter to come with them; Astrid managed to tell him that he'd be more helpful to Olivia here than at her side in the lab with Walter, but she suspects it was more the prospect of having something to do instead of sitting around that convinced him to come. Broyles shakes the man's hand, his features stiff. They're counting on Harvey's brother for a lot and the senior agent isn't hopeful for the outcome.
"Mr. Oswald," Astrid says, greeting the man. "Agent Astrid Farnsworth, I spoke with you on the phone. Thank you so much for meeting us here on such short notice."
The man shakes her offered hand. "Please, call me Richard. And it was no problem at all; I was going to be down here anyways, I just had to change the time. And when the FBI requests a meeting with you, you don't refuse."
Astrid nods. "Either way, we really appreciate it." She takes a moment to take in the man's appearance. He's not slender, but he isn't overweight either. His hair is gray and thinning and he appears to be in his late fifties. His voice is strong, but not in an unpleasant way, with a slight Southern twang. He's wearing a gray polo and a pair of work jeans and heavy boots.
Oswald nods, then moves to stand behind his brother's bed, looking over the comatose man at him. "If this is about Harvey, I haven't changed my mind. When God wants him, God'll take him. Until then, Harvey stays here, with us."
Lincoln steps forward, raising his hands up apologetically. "Mr. Oswald, I understand your reluctance. I, too, am a religious man. But did you ever stop to think that God wanted to take Harvey when he was in that accident? And that by keeping him artificially alive like this, you're going against his wishes?"
Oswald shakes his head. "Harvey didn't go into the coma until a week after the accident. Lasting brain damages, the doctor said. And he wasn't declared brain dead until a month after that. If God had wanted Harvey with Him, then He would've taken him in the accident. But He didn't. God gave us a chance to save his life and put him on life support. Harvey goes when he's good and ready and not a moment before."
Broyles is the first to break the silence that follows. "Mr. Oswald, we need your brother's body. It's a matter of life or death."
"Yeah, Harvey's!"
"Sir, I am this close to requisitioning this body in the name of National Security."
Oswald moves around his brother's bed, his steps threatening. "You won't do a damn thing," he says, his voice low, a fist raised towards the senior agent. "My wife's a lawyer."
An impasse. That's what Peter would call this. A moment where nothing good can happen and good is nothing for them. They need Harvey Oswald's body to become Bell's new host, for Olivia to be saved from herself. And they can't do that without Richard Oswald's cooperation. He knows that Broyles doesn't have a warrant to seize the body and he can see that Oswald will take them to court if they do. They wouldn't be able to explain their reasoning's for the seizure to a judge without losing credibility and they would most certainly lose the case.
Which is why Peter decides to take a different tact and steps forward, his heart boldly on his sleeve.
"Mr. Oswald, how long have you and your wife been married?"
Oswald grunts. "'Bout forty years."
"I take it you love her very much?"
A nod. "'Course I do."
"Would you do anything for her?"
"Yes. I would fight an army for her."
Peter sighs. "Then you can understand where I'm coming from. Mr. Oswald, I too love a woman very much. And she's really, really sick right now. We've tried everything to help her but nothing so far has worked. Your brother is the last chance we have to save her. If we can't take him with us right now, she'll die. I can't let her die."
Astrid has rarely seen Peter's emotional side, but she can see that his words are taking an effect on Oswald. The man is looking between Peter and his brother, his eyes welling up as he twists the wedding band on his finger. He crosses to room to the body and leans down, kissing his older brother's forehead before turning to look out the window in his room. He speaks, his words almost too low to hear. "Take him. Quick. 'Fore I change my mind."
Broyles nods to Lincoln, who leaves the room to find someone who can help them move Harvey. Broyles follows behind him, nodding a quick thanks to Peter. After acknowledging the gesture, Peter speaks up again to Oswald, his voice sincere. "Thank you, Richard. You have no idea what you're doing for us."
Oswald nods. "Just save your girl, will ya?"
Peter smiles. "I'll do everything I can. Promise."
And in that moment, at that change in the tides, Astrid can't help but feel that everything is going to work out.
