Song lyrics from Road Trippin' by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

It was too bloody early in the morning for this.

Olivia walked into the Whitehorse, bag packed for the closest thing she'd ever get these days to a road trip. She loved The Academy to pieces, but was glad to be taking the weekend off for Rachael's wedding in Boston. John, Astrid and Charlie all had people to see in New York, so they decided take time off together and meet up at the wedding and on the way home. Peter had offered to drive her to the train station, so he'd asked her to meet him at the Whitehorse. She found him stacking beer bottles behind the bench. "Hey," he said, raising his head from the bar, revealing his glassy morning eyes. "You got everything?"

"Yeah. Thanks so much for doing this, Peter. I really appreciate it."

"No worries. Do you want a coffee?"

She laughed and raised the two thermos-mugs she was holding. "Actually, I brought some for you."

"I'm touched, Dunham," he said, taking one. "We should get going. You have an eight hour train to catch."

Olivia groaned at the reminder of her long journey as they trudged out to his car. He didn't bother her as he drove, allowing her to fall asleep soundly beside him. When he stole glances to see that she was alright, he was struck by how at peace she looked. In the settings in which he had gotten to know her, she was a whirlwind – whether she was having fun with the guys, working hard or stressing out over something she felt too responsible for. But here, in the car, where nothing was coming after her and the guys weren't around to joke with…It was remarkable to see her so still.

She woke just as the sun was barely starting to rise over the woodland farms of Virginia. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Peter smirked next to her. She had a cute yawn. It made her look so young.

"Are we close?" she asked.

"Not remotely."

"Wonderful," she murmured, taking a swig of her now-cold coffee. She gazed sleepily out the window at the passing fields. "Look at all the cows."

"Yeah, we must have passed a thousand of them while you were sleeping. I always get a little nervous driving around them. It kind of got ingrained in me while I was in India."

"You were in India?"

"Rajasthan mostly - in the countryside. I was doing a Motorcycle Diaries kind of trip when I ran out of money, so I ended up getting some work there as a wild land fireman. The locals held cows as sacred, so I was convinced that if I ever hit one on the roads, I'd be lynched by an angry mob of Hindus. It never happened, but I guess I never lost the paranoia," he smiled, remembering the country fondly. "It's a pretty cool place, Livia. The people over there – they have next to nothing, but they're so much happier than anyone I've met in the US. It so beautiful it blows your mind. I'd kill to go back one day."

Olivia was secretly impressed by the passion with which he spoke. Despite having lived all over America, she had never been to another country – mostly because she couldn't afford it after paying off her degree. One of the things that drew her to a job in the FBI was the opportunity to learn languages and travel. It amazed her that Peter was still so young, but he'd done pretty much everything that a person could do. He lived with a type of freedom that was exhilarating, but also scary to her. He could probably leave Quantico tomorrow if he felt like it. Olivia wasn't like that – she had enough responsibility to weigh her down in one place for a thousand years.

He glanced at the cows again as he drove, and out of nowhere started laughing.

Olivia turned to him. "What?"

He smiled. "I just remembered something – when I was in high school my friends and I were driving around one weekend, and we ended up on a farm in the middle of the night," he laughed. "We just went around making baby goats faint until the farmer chased our asses out of there with a shotgun. It was hilarious."

"Making goats faint? How'd you do that?"

"When goats get scared they just sort of freeze up and fall over. It's really funny to watch. We must have spent a full hour in that field yelling at baby goats to make them fall over."

"That's so mean!" She laughed and slapped him playfully.

"Oh come on, we weren't hurting anyone. It's a natural defence mechanism that we took advantage of for our amusement." She still didn't look quite convinced, so he pressed on defensively. "Come on, Livia, are you telling me you've never done anything remotely bad?"

"I've done plenty of bad things, but not for any fun reasons."

"Seriously?"

"Peter, I spent most of my childhood either on military bases or at a strict Catholic boarding school. My Mum's religious. It's kind of been instilled in me to be good."

He laughed. "Strict Catholic boarding school, huh? That must have been fun. All girls, right?"

"Not exactly. The boys' school was next door."

"And anyone who was caught sneaking into the other school's dorms late at night was burned at the stake?"

"No, the girls were just locked in the dungeon until the end of their pregnancy and the guys were castrated," she quipped.

"Livia, don't even joke about that – you know that's a guy's greatest fear, right?" He glanced at her. "Did you ever try sneaking into a guy's room late at night?"

She laughed. "No way. I didn't have boyfriends in high school."

"Why not?"

"I kept to myself, mostly. The only guys who showed an interest were either really seedy or I just wasn't interested. But back then I generally didn't trust men from the outset. I went on a few dates early on in college, but Lucas was the only really serious boyfriend I've ever had. But I bet you had a whole slew of girls running after you in high school."

"Yes and no," he said honestly. "I had that whole 90's misunderstood bad boy look going on, so when girls finally got bored of the jocks, they'd start looking my way. But then they'd figure out that it actually wasn't cool to date an outcast, so they never stayed for very long."

Olivia was struck by that. Maybe in a different way Peter was just as lonely as she had been in high school. "But seriously," he said. "You've never done anything bad for fun?"

"Not that I can remember."

"Oh, that is unacceptable," he said, pulling over.

"Why are you stopping?" she asked as he got out and walked over to open her door and pull her with him into the cold air's pre-dawn glow. "Peter? What are you doing?"

"Come on," he said, pulling her towards the roadside fence of one of the farms and hopping over it. She glanced around, and seeing that no one else was there, followed Peter onto the farm.

"Peter, this isn't our property. We're going to get caught."

"Shush. You'll wake up the cows," he said as he stopped in front of one, inspecting it as it slept upright. "If you've never done something bad for fun before then cow-tipping is the perfect introduction to the wild side. Come over."

"Cow tipping? We can't do that!"

"OK, it is a little bit mean, but it's funny too, so just go with me on this, alright?"

"I don't know…"

"Are you chicken? Coz if you're too chicken we can keep driving…" he trailed off.

"Is that a dare?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, now I have to prove you wrong, don't I?" she said, taking her place beside the cow. They both placed their hands on its side, trying to stifle their laughter, and pushed against the sleeping cow. As they tried desperately to tip it over, it was too heavy for them, and all they did was wake it up. The cow was not happy, and chased them over the fence as they turned and ran to the safety of their car, lying back on the bonnet to look up at the disappearing stars while they caught their breath. They were both in hysterics, but especially Olivia. She wasn't used to being spontaneously ridiculous, but Peter had a way of making all things fun.

After they calmed down, they got back in the car and finally reached the station. Peter waited on the platform for her to make sure she got on safely. "I almost forgot," he said as they waited, pulling an iPod out of his pocket and handing it to her. "You can borrow this for the ride. I figure you could get a couple of hour's worth of music on the train before the battery dies. I put some songs on there I thought you might like, they're in a playlist under your name."

"Thanks so much, Peter." She fiddled with the huge mp3 player in her palm. "I've never used one of these. They're so expensive. I don't know anyone who owns one."

He showed her how to use it until her train arrived, where she thanked him sincerely with a warm hug. "Text me when you get there to let me know you're safe."

"I'll be fine."

"I know. I'd just prefer some conformation."

"OK, but you worry too much about me," she sighed. "I should go." She threw a sweet smile back over her shoulder as she boarded the train and found her seat, thumbing the confusing iPod until she found Peter's playlist marked "Olivia". She munched on a pack of M&Ms and soaked up the song, watching the sun rise over the passing countryside.

Road trippin' with my two favourite allies
Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies
It's time to leave this town
It's time to steal away
Let's go get lost
Anywhere in the U.S.A.

Let's go get lost
Let's go get lost
Blue you sit so pretty
West of the one
Sparkle light with yellow icing
Just a mirror for the sun

Just a mirror for the sun

After eight hours, she finally reached Boston and caught a taxi to her Mum's house. On the way, she texted Peter: Hey im safe n sound in Boston, thanx 4 the music : )

A minute later she received her reply: No worries. Give your sister my best wishes. Be safe, c u when u get back. Ps. try n have some fun, u deserve it : )

She smiled and put her phone away as she reached the house, where her Mum and Rachael were waiting for her. There had apparently been relatives over all day to help prepare for the wedding, but they had left before she got there. Marilyn Dunham had been working like crazy putting everything together with Rachael, wanting to ensure that her daughter's wedding day was as perfect as possible. They had set up tables for the reception for about 80 guests in the large garden, which was beautifully decorated, even with lanterns and fairy lights in the hedges. Marilyn was an avid gardener anyway, so the yard was already beautiful, but now it was stunning. The three of them had coffee out there and caught up on what they'd missed in each other's lives.

"Are you still enjoying Quantico?" Marilyn asked.

"I'm loving it. But the course can get pretty stressful. We just had our first major cut-off of students, but thankfully everyone I know passed. I found out then that I was in the top quarter of the class."

"The top quarter! Oh, Olive, I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Mum."

"How was the trip up?" Rachael asked Olivia.

"Long, but it could have been worse, I guess. Peter drove me to the station, so at least I didn't have to get up even earlier and get a bus."

"Peter?" Rachael asked. "Wait, isn't he that cute bartender you were telling me about?"

"Yes, he's the bartender, but I never said he was cute, Rach. Don't put words in my mouth."

"Well, is he?"

"Rachael, leave your sister alone," Marilyn said, smiling at the 'rescue me!' look Olivia had shot her.

"Oh, I just remembered," said Rachael. "I need you to try on your dress, Liv. I had Jodie stand in for you when we got them because you two are exactly the same size, but we've got Marissa on call if we need to make any last minute alterations. Would you mind?"

"No problem, Rach. Where is it?"

"It's in your room."

Olivia walked up the stairs of her teenage home with mixed emotions. She felt nostalgic at seeing that not all that much had changed, but also felt a little bit of dread at the thought of what this dress might look like. She stepped inside her room to find that it was exactly as she had left it the last time she visited from college – her athletics and debating trophies from high school, her photos, her CDs and books – everything was in the same place. Then she saw the dress. She was surprised at how simple and elegant it was. Slipping it on, she found that it fit her perfectly and smiled at herself in the mirror. This wasn't bad at all. In fact, she kind of liked it. She carefully took it off and changed before heading back down to her family.

"Nice choice, Rach. You don't have to worry, it fits perfectly."

"That's great! I tell you, this wedding's been more stressful than I thought it would be! But the hen's night tonight should be a lot of fun. We're just heading into the city for dinner and drinks. Your coming, right, Liv?"

"Yeah, of course. It's going to be great seeing everyone again tomorrow. I can't remember the last time the whole family was together – all the cousins and everything."

"Yeah, we're really lucky," said Rachael. "All the servicemen managed to get leave for the wedding. And of course, I'm grateful you were allowed your weekend off and that some of your friends are coming too. Two guys and a girl, right? Are either of those guys potential husbands, Liv?" she asked cheekily.

"Rach, why don't you focus on your own wedding before you start planning mine," Olivia groaned. "Thanks for inviting them along, though. They've been great friends to me and I can't wait for you both to meet them." She yawned and shook her head to clear it. "Do you still need a hand setting things up here?"

"No, we've pretty much done everything that can be done before tomorrow," Marilyn said.

"OK, well do you mind if I duck out for a bit before we go out tonight? I have a couple of errands I want to take care of while I'm in town."

So Olivia borrowed her Mum's car and drove around the neighbourhood, glad to be back in a place she recognised as home. She picked up some flowers and went to the local military base. Her father was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery, but there was a plaque for him at all the bases in which he had worked. Boston was her father's home town, and this base was the one where he first graduated as an officer.

She made her way through the base, occasionally bumping into an old acquaintance, until she reached the memorial. It was a simple fountain with a statue, and behind it a wall with all the engraved names of the soldiers from the base who had died in combat. Her eyes went directly to her father's name. She made an effort to come here every time she visited, so she knew its position well. She laid her flowers at the base of the wall among other people's tokens of grief, and knelt down so she was at eye level with the plaque, running her fingertips along its engraving.

Master Chief Petty Officer

Rick Samuel Dunham

Persian Gulf War

19th of November, 1986

She didn't remember much of her father, but when she was a child, she always missed him terribly. When she'd lie awake at night listening to her stepfather hit her Mum, she'd close her eyes and imagine she was with her father in sunny Florida. She saw Jacksonville every night in her dreams. If her father had never died, her whole life would have turned out so differently. And from what she did remember of her father, the last thing he deserved was to die as suddenly as he did.

Now, all she could think was that it was a real shame he couldn't see them now – that he couldn't see how well she was doing at Quantico, see how happy his wife was, or give Rachael away at her wedding.

Olivia took a breath. "Dad," she whispered in no particular direction. "I don't know where you are, or what I believe in…" She wiped a single aggravated tear from her cheek. "But I hope that somewhere out there I'm making you proud," she whispered, and letting her fingers drop, she closed her eyes, laying a simple kiss on the cold stone.

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