Okay so I know that the last chapter was a bit, evil. So I decided to update again tonight before going to sleep. There will be another chapter tomorrow.

Beep.

Peter's mind was blank and yet racing. The adrenaline that had pumped through his veins over the last three hours was finally leaving his system making him feel drained and useless.

Beep.

He stared down at the tops of his shoes, silently willing them to give him the answers he needed.

Beep.

It shouldn't have happened like it did. He was supposed to be her protector.

Beep.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bishop, but we lost the baby before Ms. Dunham arrived," a female doctor told Peter when he'd stopped pacing in the waiting room. "There was nothing we could've done to save him."

"Him…?" Peter whispered, his stomach wrenching along with his heart as he fought not to crumble to the ground and cry.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bishop," the doctor said sadly, bracing Peter with a hand on his shoulder.

"Olivia? Is she going to be okay?" Peter managed to choke out.

"Ms. Dunham lost a lot of blood by the time she got to us and it was touch and go for awhile," the doctor said evenly. "She's stable now, but we want to keep her here for a week to keep an eye on her. We've put her into a chemically induced coma for the time being to help her heal and we'll pull her out in a couple days once her vitals have stabilized more."

Beep.

Peter wanted to die whenever he looked up at her lying in the hospital bed. She looked so weak and fragile; two words he'd never associated with her until now.

Beep.

"Can I see her?" Peter asked finally.

"In a couple hours," the doctor explained. "Rowan and Maddox should be awake soon though."

Beep.

Rowan and Maddox had cried for awhile when Peter sent them home with Walter and Astrid, but he didn't want them to remember Olivia like this and she needed quiet to rest and not worry about them.

Beep.

"You need to go home and sleep Peter," Astrid argued outside of Olivia's room on day two of her stay there.

"No," Peter turned from her to go back into Olivia's room.

"Peter if you don't go home right now, so help me I will drug you and drag you back to the house," Astrid nearly growled and Peter froze for a minute. "Olivia wouldn't want you to run yourself into the ground when you could be taking care of yourself and the twins."

The mention of the woman he loved made him pause for a minute. "Okay. But it's just to see Rowan and Maddox."

Astrid nodded, happy to have one this battle on any grounds. "They need their dad."

Peter teared up at the mention of his title to them and nodded. "Only for a nap and to spend some time with them."

"That's all I ask," Astrid said quickly.

Beep.

A soft moan came from the direction of the bed and Peter shot up in his seat. Olivia was finally showing signs of awakening. When her eyes finally opened Peter finally let the tears he held back all day fall.

"Livia…" Peter croaked as he closed the very small distance between them so he could cradle her face with his hand.

"Peter…" Olivia gave him a sleepy grin. "What happened? Are the twins alright? The baby?"

"Shhhh, you should be resting sweetheart," Peter said softly, easily dodging her questions.

"You didn't answer my questions, Peter," her voice was strained with panic and fear and he knew he couldn't keep this from her for long.

"Rowan and Maddox are fine," Peter told her. "They're both home with Walter and Astrid."

Olivia's face showed her relief at this news and then turned to worried again. "And the baby…" Olivia moved her free hand to cradle her stomach.

"I'm sorry, 'Livia… you have no idea just how sorry," Peter whispered hoarsely, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Olivia's face crumbled before a sob broke free and tears fell freely. Her shoulders shook as she cried out her sorrow and despair. Peter moved closer to hold her but she jerked back, shaking her head.

"Just go, Peter," Olivia choked on the words and turned away from him in the bed. "Please."

Peter's heart dropped to the floor and his stomach jumped to his throat so that he almost choked. She was going to leave him because he couldn't protect her and their baby. He should've seen it coming, but he had been so torn up over the child they had lost and her recovery that the idea never made it into his brain. Peter knew the blame was on him and he couldn't fault her for believing it so he slowly backed away, unable to tear his eyes from her fragile form shaking with sobs. When he was finally out of the room he had to drudge up every ounce of effort not to crumble to the floor and cry.

Olivia was all he had left and now she wanted nothing to do with him. Did this mean he wouldn't get to see Rowan and Maddox anymore? Deciding that he wanted to see them one last time before Olivia took them away with her, he drove home.

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Olivia cried out every ounce of water she had in her body until her eyes burned with the saline from the IV and she no longer had energy for so much as a hiccup. The time from when her and the twins were kidnapped up until they strapped her to the table kept going through her mind as she grappled with what she could've done differently to save their unborn child. If only she hadn't been pregnant and then she would still have Peter and the twins. Everything would've worked out. They should've been more paranoid about birth control before and waited until the case was finished. How could he possibly want her after she had opened their child to such danger and killed them? He would run away and not look back and Olivia would have to pick up the pieces to raise Rowan and Maddox by herself. Despite the absolute feeling of helplessness, Olivia found that she couldn't blame Peter for leaving her. It had all been her fault after all.

(~)(~) (~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

Peter watched both Rowan and Maddox nap in his bed; both peacefully unaware of the turmoil around them. He couldn't say when exactly he had fallen in love with them, but it had snuck up on him and was lost to them before he could ever stop it. He stroked back the curls on Rowan's head and watched them fall back into her face. She hardly stirred at the motion and slept on, her lips lightly smacking together before she was deep asleep again. Try as he might, Peter couldn't imagine a life without them in it, let alone without Olivia, but he knew he was going to have to try. Just the idea of turning his back on the two babies he had come to think of as his own was like ripping his heart out and he swallowed back the tears that started flowing.

"I have to go," Peter whispered to the sleeping toddlers. "But that doesn't mean I don't love you. Your mom needs me to not be around though so I'll need you to help take care of her for me. She's going to need you now more than ever."

Peter paused to let a shaky breath out and close his eyes against the tears. He let his eyes stay on the sleeping children as he memorized every feature and sleeping noise.

"Maybe with me gone you'll both grow up to be like your mom," Peter said softly. "Strong, smart, with a wicked sense of truth and justice. She's an amazing woman and I know you'll be in very good hands. I love you both so very much."

Peter bent low to kiss each of their foreheads and with one last lingering look he walked out of their lives.