OH! Thank you so much to the 4 reviews I got! They were lovely, please keep them because I like to know that people are still reading and are enjoying this. Now I have lots of school work to do considering I am finishing up uni soon and so updates will only come once a week sadly yea I know im upset about that as well, but once I finish school, itll be all good :D Please review!
Reference: "…when was it you lost your imagination?..." (The Same Old Story), "…who I am, what I've done…" (Safe), Magic 8 Ball (Bound), "…he has been like this all…" (Safe), "…it's gone…" (Pilot), Top Secret Speech (Pilot), "…Greg was a jerk…" (The Transformation), "…black, one sugar…" (Concentrate and Ask Again)
Chapter 9 – Team
"Walter, what do you think you are doing? We were told to wait in Olivia's office, not go wandering around the FBI building!" Peter's voice echoed down the empty corridor, he had spent the better part of the last 10 minutes looking for his, for lack of a better term, father and when he did find him, he was staring up towards the halogen light bulbs that were flickering in the middle of the hallway. "HEY! Walter!" the second time his name was called Walter turned to face his son, the vacant expression on his face following through as eh looked at Peter. And as suddenly as the expression had come it was gone and the light had come back to Walter's eyes when he realised that it was Peter he was looking at.
"Oh, Peter. This light, it's fascinating. I was monitoring it to determine the pattern in which it flickers, if you would allow me to…" Peter had now come to stand almost toe to toe with the old man, showing Walter how much Peter had actually grown since he had seen him last, granted that was when he was still a boy. "Walter, the light flickers, that's all. There is no formula or pattern that is attributed to it doing that, now lets go." Peter stepped around Walter, placing his hands on his shoulders and almost steering him back towards Olivia's office, where he feared she would already be waiting for them. "Peter…" Walter stopped suddenly, turning to look his son in the eye before blinking a few times and looking away, "When was it you lost your imagination?" Walter turned back in the direction of Olivia's office, leaving Peter standing in the middle of the hall, mouth agap before he dropped his head and followed Walter over the threshold of Olivia's office.
Closing the door behind himself, Peter turned his increasing anger towards Walter, "Walter, you have no idea who I am, who I've been, what I've seen and what I've done. Do not, for one second think that you have any idea about me. Is that clear?" But by the time he had finished speaking, Walter had become too fascinated with the Magic 8 Ball on Olivia's desk. "WALTER! - " Peter stook a step closer to his father but before he was able to get any closer the office burst open, Olivia coming in first with Charlie not far behind. "…Oh you have no idea, she kicked me out!" They were laughing and chatting about what Peter could only assume was Sonia and the pregnancy. "Oh, Charlie, I'm sure she didn't mean it…but I'm glad you're here, we caught a break…meet our break…" Olivia pointed towards Walter, who had still not put the Magic 8 Ball down, completely absorbed by it.
She took a moment to view the old man once more, she hadn't seen him since they had sighed the paper work in the hospital, where he was unshaven and all but chained to the table and yet here he was standing in her office, wandering around as though he had always been in the world. "Dr. Bishop? Dr. Bishop?" Olivia tried to get his attention, glancing up to Peter for a little bit of help, although all she received was a shrug and a sigh before he moved from his spot against the wall to his father side. "He has been like this all morning…Walter…over here, come on, put Olivia's things down so we can get to work…" As Peter reached out to take the Magic 8 Ball from Walter's hands, their touched and it was as if it snapped Walter out of his daze. "You…you almost died as a child…" he started into Peter's eyes for a moment before a small, sad smile formed on his lips and he turned back to Olivia and Charlie, who had raised an eyebrow at the older man. Walter's smile turned to a bright one when he finally noticed that she was in the room, "Agent Dunham, don't you look lovely!" and Charlie's eyebrow skyrocketed once more.
"Ah…thanks…" she looked behind Walter to see a smirking Peter, the sort of smirk she used to want to slap off his face, and that feeling had returned. "Now, Walter, I was wondering if you could tell me about the safety deposit boxes, do you remember anything about them?" She watched as Walter took a seat at the desk, Peter and Charlie had taken up residence next to each other against the way, Peter with his arms crossed over his chest and Charlie with his in his pocket, Olivia took the seat next to Walter, placing her hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to focus back onto what she was saying. "Dr. Bishop?" he turned very slowly to look at her in the eyes, his face becoming almost sheepish. "Agent Dunham, I would very much like a chocolate milkshake, I haven't had one in so very long…" the smile he gave her was contagious, she gave him a small one in return before turning to Charlie who only gave a small one back before moving towards the door, to retrieve the milkshake the doctor had ordered.
"My lab…my notes…Peter I must have my lab…" He jumped from his seat at the desk before shuffling over to Peter, who pushed himself off the wall to meet his father half way, still muttering about his lab and needing his files. "Walter what are you talking about? Your lab was shut down after, it's gone Walter." Walter stopped muttering and pacing, turning to face his son, shocked at what he had just said. "Shut down? Why would it be shut down…you have no right to take my lab away from me?" He was getting angry now, it was almost like watching a child not get a toy that they wanted. "Woah, Walter, calm down…Hey, Walter…" Peter tried to get Walter's attention, hoping to be able to calm him down, but he turned to face Olivia, an angry glare in his eyes, "What happened to my lab?" his voice was low but the anger seeped through it thickly, and if Olivia didn't know Walter as Peter's father she would be worried. "Walter!" just as they were all about to explode, Charlie and Broyles walked in through the office door, Charlie holding Walter's milkshake, Broyles holding a file and what looked to be a DVD. "What is going on here?"
Olivia looked up to find her boss staring her down, wondering how she had lost control of the situation. "Agent Dunham, is there a problem here?" all but one in the room knew the voice that Broyles had used and they knew that if they didn't defuse the situation things could turn south. "Ah, Sir. Dr. Bishop was just told about the decommissioning of his old lab at Harvard…" Now Broyles nodded, he understood what was going on now but still watching his agent, wanting to know where she was going with the sentence. "Sir, could I speak to you?" she nodded her head towards the corner of the room, Broyles followed but before she turned away she watched as Charlie handed Walter his milkshake, smiling at the old man as he took is appreciatively. "Sir, would it be possible to get access to his lab? It could be of use to us…" she clasped her hands together in front of her, hoping that maybe he would agree to it. Broyles turned slightly, just enough to see Walter taking a deep breath before sucking up almost all of his milkshake in one, Peter and Charlie just watched on, somewhat amused at the sight. "You really think it could be useful to us?" All she did was nod to him and he sighed, "Dr. Bishop, we will get you access to your old lab. Give it some time though, that will have to go through channels."
It did occur to them all as Broyles left that Walter was not paying attention to any of them, his attention had stretched only as far as his milkshake, sucking up the last of the foamy mixture. Once the door was closed no one really knew what to say to each other so Peter decided to bring up the curious conversation that Charlie and Olivia were having when they walked in. "So how is Sonia?" This caused a smile from Charlie, "She is good, she kicked me out of the birthing room while she was in labour but called me back in just as I stepped out. She is good and the baby is good. She looks just like Sonia." Peter and Olivia watched as he smiled, remembering his newborn baby girl. "So um…why are you here? Shouldn't you be with you wife?" Peter laughed as Charlie rolled his eyes but the smiles left the room when Charlie responded, "Well blame your girlfriend, she pulled me in here." Peter cleared his throat and Olivia looked away before moving towards the door and leaving suddenly, the door slamming on the way out. "I'm sorry, it was a force of habit…" Peter shook his head, "It's ok, something is bothering her the last couple of days, I haven't asked ask her about it because it's not likely she would tell me but…" He waved his hand above his head, Charlie understanding exactly what he was talking about.
Turning from the room, Charlie followed Olivia down the hall, watching her go into the change room, running her hand across her head. Following her in, he made sure no one else was around when he spoke, "What's going on kiddo?" Olivia sighed, sitting on the chair not far from him and spoke, "Frank left…" she heard the sudden intake of breath on Charlie's part and then the groan. "Oh, Liv, I'm sorry. Are you - " she cut him off, "It's fine, I'm fine. Now let's get Walter back to his hotel room, I need to go through some stuff before we get the lab for Walter, so…I'll see you later. Go home to Sonia, I'll call you later in the day and see how it's going." In true Olivia fashion she left Charlie at the end of the that sentence, not letting him reply before leaving, but to his luck she didn't see Peter waiting for them outside the change room.
As Charlie came out, moments after Olivia did, Peter came to his side, knowing that Charlie was going to tell him what happened. Charlie rubbed a hand across his mouth, sighing once more, knowing that Olivia was hurting more than she was showing it. "What happened?" Charlie hesitated, unsure of how to tell Peter that his ex girlfriend's current boyfriend had broken up with her, knowing that Peter still loved her, "Come on Charlie what's going on? I haven't seen her like that since…" He trailed off and looked in the direction she went, suddenly knowing the last time he had seen her like that. "He broke up with her didn't he?" Peter dropped his head, trying to understand how someone could do that to her… "How could someone do that…" he stopped short though, knowing that Charlie believed he did the exact same thing, but luckily Charlie said nothing about it, "Come on Peter, I think your father wants to go back…oh yea I was wondering, how come you aren't staying at your place? Can't be more comfortable in a hotel room…" Peter looked towards Charlie, who had made a move towards where his office was, "Well Walter wouldn't want to live in that house again, not after being there for so long with me and mum and now that he knows she is gone, it'd be too hard for him to go back there, and honestly I don't know if I would be able to go back into that house with him as well. It's just too much at the moment." Charlie nodded.
Peter bowed his head towards Charlie in acknowledgement of his understanding before leaving Charlie on his own, going to look for his father instead, hoping that he hadn't gotten lost again. Peter found himself at the cafeteria while looking for Walter, and in desperate need of coffee, stopping to get a cup for himself he decided that he was going to extend his hand to Olivia and bring her a coffee as well before taking Walter home. Looking up after getting his coffees, he noticed Walter sitting by himself in the corner of the room, staring down at his hands, almost ashamed. "Hey, Walter!" Moving to Walter's side, he touched his shoulders gently, Walter jumped, not noticing Peter was there. "Oh, Son. Are we leaving?" Peter nodded slowly before helping Walter from the chair, making for the cafeteria door, but stopping at Olivia's office first. "Walter, stay here. I just need to see Olivia ok?" Walter nodded absentmindedly.
"Hey Liv…" he entered her office and noticed that she didn't even look up at him, opting to focus on her work instead. "Here, thought you could use this. Black, one sugar." He placed the coffee on the desk next to her and this caused her to look up. "How did you know that's what I drink?" She was shocked, she had never told him what she had in her coffee, he just seemed to know. "I pay attention…" with a small smile he turned and left her reaching for the steaming cup of coffee, a smile forming on her face.
"Dunham, the board has agreed to reopen Dr. Bishop's lab down at Harvard with the condition that you are there at all times possible or at least have an FBI agent around when you are not. They also agreed that if you believe he is of help to you in this case they are going to keep him on as part of a new team, that they would like you head…" She looked up at him suddenly, not completely understanding what he was trying to say. "Listen, come and work for this team and you will get clearance above top secret…" He sat across form her at her own desk, watching as she slowly put her pen down and removed her glasses. "…You are the best agent I have and I want you to head the team, with help of course but you will be the only Special Agent, you will have more clearance than any other. They want you, Peter, Dr. Bishop and Junior Agent Astrid Farnsworth. What do you say?"
Olivia blinked at Broyles, trying to grasp what he was telling her, "Um, sir, I don't know if Peter would go for something like that, I think once this is over he will be out of here…" A small smile formed on Broyles face, he knew that deep down, now that Peter had found Olivia again, it would take the end of the world to make him leave her side, whether or not she believed it. "Just think about it ok? Now tomorrow I need these sighed by the Bishop's and make sure that Walter understands what he needs to do. Go home Agent, it's been a long day…" he finished his sentence as if he knew what had happened, but before she could thank him, he was out her door. Sighing Olivia rose from her seat, intent on making it home to a silent house.
Walking into an apartment that smelt like cooking pasta was not how Olivia had thought her evening was going to go. Opening the door, she was not only met with the smell of the pasta but also the hysterical giggling of her niece Ella. "What is going on?" Her voice carried into the kitchen where Rachel turned around to find her half smiling sister. "Oh well, remember how I said that I was going to come and cook one night for you and Frank? Well we decided to come now, Ella was in a good mood to drive so I thought we would surprise you, but Frank hasn't made it home yet so we might have to eat without him." Rachel smiled at her sister, watching as she lifted up Ella from high chair and into her arms, pulling her close, but her smile fell when she noticed the sadness in her eyes, "What happened?" It was as if Rachel was able to read Olivia's mind, and she hated it. "Oh um…Frank left, he isn't coming back but it's ok. Um, you want any help?" She was avoiding the questions and Rachel knew better than to ask more than once.
With dinner done, a sleeping Ella lay in Olivia's arms, both keeping her warm and keeping her company. Rachel had sat across from her in the armchair, a glass of wine in hand and waiting for Olivia to speak, say anything that might get her thoughts off her mind. "Sonia and Charlie had a little girl, named her Jade." Looking down at the sleeping child in her arms, Olivia spoke to Rachel, watching the sweet face nestled so close to her chest she could feel Ella's breath on her neck. "That's great. I'm happy for them. Liv…" Rachel leaned forward, touching Olivia's leg but moving away when Ella squirmed in her sleep, seemingly annoyed at the movement. "…What happened with Frank?" Watching as Olivia opened her mouth once or twice before sighing, "We fought, he left. That's it…" she looked up at Rachel noticing the stare that hadn't left her face, "…Fine. We had been growing apart for a little while, we fought about everything, missing dinners and forgetting things, it was both of us, work was always getting in the way but a few weeks ago he asked me to move to Africa with him, he wanted to give up my job and my life here to go with him, I didn't give him an answer and so he left, packed up and left."
Rachel had finished her glass of wine by this stage, shaking her head and sighing, "And I though Greg was a jerk…" Olivia laughed, "Yea he was a jerk but you got a beautiful baby girl out of it could have been worse." The girls laughed a little, knowing that both their lives were fairly screwed up for different reasons, Rachel for having a failed marriage just after the birth of their child and Olivia for breaking up with her boyfriend of two years, not feeling much sadness or guilt about it and now having her ex on the scene was just throwing everything out. The silent buzzing of Olivia's phone caught their attention as Olivia sighed, knowing that it was going to be another long night. "Dunham…" her usual greeting on her work phone, not many other people called her on her phone at this time of night, "Yes sir. I'll get the Bishop's and meet you there. Yes Sir." Moving Ella towards the couch she ignored the look on Rachel's face, knowing that she had heard the name Bishop in the conversation and knowing her sister, she was going to start poking around. "I got to go, I have to work. I'll see you tomorrow."
Rising from the couch and moving towards the door, Olivia left with the echoing sound of Rachel's voice, "As in Peter Bishop?" A small frown finding her face when she thought about what her sister was trying to get at.
Glancing at her watch Olivia noticed that it was now midnight, Peter would more than likely be asleep and she was going to be knocking on his door, this was not going to be a good night. Just as she raised her fist to the door Peter's voice found her ears, "Walter, stop talking out loud and get some sleep!" She sighed once more before knocking twice, listening to the sound of movement and Walter's voice a little louder, mumbling about some formula. Opening the door was a very tired looking Peter, bags under his eyes, hair dishevelled but what caught Olivia's eyes was the fact that he stood in front of her in only a pair of pajama pants, his chest bare, it had been a very long time since she had seen him that way.
"Seriously?" Peter voice was hoarse, indicating that he had been asleep not long before Walter had woken him up. Olivia only had to nod before he moved from the doorway, letting her inside, and moving further into the room, searching for his pants and a top. "This is ridiculous" he huffed as he dressed, not even bothering to turn away from Olivia as he changed from his pajama pants to his jeans, giving her full sight of his boxers, it was way to late to even bother with being concerned about her being in the room. After some argument and fighting, Peter had Walter dressed and in the car, Olivia following not to far behind, ready for the long day, or night, that was ahead of them.
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