My Son, My Son Ch 6 The Beginning, a fringe fanfic

My Son, My Son

By Ldynwaitin

Chapter Six

The Beginning

Peter's shoes crunched the snow under his feet as he walked on the ice-covered lake. Looking up his father was holding his hand. He was leading him across the frozen lake.

"Are you warm enough?" Walter asked him.

"I'm cold," Peter said. He was so hot in his bed, now he was freezing cold.

Walter smiled down at him, "Me, too."

Peter wanted to go home, he was cold and feeling so sick. He wanted to be with his mother.

"Just a little farther," his father told him, he squeezed his hand.

"Where are we going?" Peter asked him. "Why aren't we taking the car?" He had no idea where his father was taking him. Why were they walking on the icy lake?

"We can't get to where we're going in a car," Walter told him.

Peter looked up at him. He didn't know why, but he knew something was wrong. Something wasn't right. "You're not my father, are you?"

Walter kneeled in front of him. He took him by the shoulders. "Of course, I am. Who else would I be? I'm going to make you all better."

Standing up, his father pulled out a small black box from his pocket. Pushing a button, Peter saw a bright light, then a floating doorway appeared over the ice.

"Hold on tight, son." Walter tightly gripped his hand.

Peter felt a tingling through his body as his father walked him through the door, then he stopped.

"We did it," Walter triumphantly declared.

Peter looked around. He was confused, there was nothing on the lake before. Now he was standing next to some kind of machine. He looked up at his father.

Suddenly Peter heard a cracking sound. Looking down he saw the ice beneath them was splitting. They both fell into the water. His father tightly held onto his hand as he tried to break the ice above them. Peter firmly gripped his father's glove. He felt the glove sliding. Peter held the glove as it slipped off his father's hand.

Peter looked up, he saw the leather glove lazily floating in the water. He reached out for his father, the cold robbed him the use of his muscles. He began to sink into the icy water, he saw his father slowly floating up to the ice above them.

He began to feel sleepy. In the darkness of the cold water he faintly saw someone swimming towards him. They grabbed his arm.

"Walter, the monitor went dark," Astrid said. They were staring at the monitor when it suddenly went blank.

"I know what happened," Olivia said. "Walter told me the observer dived in and saved them. He said Peter was unconscious on the drive to his lab."

Walter stared at the blank monitor. Tears began to form in his eyes. "Why didn't he save Peter this time?"

"Look," Astrid said. "It's back."

Peter heard his father talking to someone. Opening his eyes, he saw his mother talking to his father. She was crying. He wanted to say something, but he was to weak. His throat was so dry. As his parents argued, he looked around. He was in his father's lab. But it was different. Things here was different.

"You're in the lab," Walter said to Peter. "Look around, Peter. The board has to be there somewhere. Look for the board, Peter. The one with writing on it."

Olivia saw Peter frown, he struggled to remember. "Peter," Olivia said. "You have to find the board. You need to find the formula."

They all jumped when they heard someone banging on the door. "This is the sheriff's department, open the door. We have an extradition order for, Peter Bishop. We know he's in there. We do not want to use force. But we will if we have to."

"Walter," Olivia said. "How strong is that metal door?"

"I'm not sure," Walter said. "We never tested it." He looked at the monitor, it was beginning to turn dark. Walter touched Peter's shoulder, he leaned over and sternly said, "Peter, you must concentrate. You need to focus on the lab. You need to find that board."

"Walter," Peter hoarsely said. "What does it look like?"

"It's white, with writing on it. Peter, look for it, you have to find it."

Peter opened his eyes. He was standing on the landing in Walter's lab. He heard someone banging on the door. Looking back, he saw that no one was there. He heard his father's voice telling him to look for a board.

He walked into the lab. He saw a boy laying on a gurney. He was covered with a blanket. An IV bag with a blue liquid was hanging above the boy. He faintly heard Walter telling him to look for a white board. He slowly walked around the room. He saw his father and mother talking. She looked so upset. He stopped and stared at her. Her eyes were puffy, as if she had been crying for days.

Everything here seemed to have stopped. Walter and his mother's mouths were frozen open. The IV bag was in mid drip. Walking through the lab, he searched for the board. Stepping to the back of the lab, he walked into blackness. He realized this part of the lab was beyond what he saw that day. Stepping back, he was in the lab again.

He searched for the board, it had to be here somewhere. Then he saw something, off to the side. It was a white board, and it had writing on it.

"Walter," Astrid cried out. "I think he sees it."

The lights above them suddenly blinked. "Don't worry," Walter said. "I foresaw them trying to turn off the electricity. I had Astrid make sure backups were waiting to kick in if that happened." The lights flickered but remained on.

Astrid saw the board growing larger.

"Peter, you need to get closer," Walter told him. "We can't make it out yet."

Peter was so tired. It was a struggle to take a step.

"Walter," Astrid said. "His blood pressure is rising."

"The beta-blocker, Astrid." She handed him the syringe. Walter injected it into Peter's arm. He was relieved to see the blood pressure begin to go down. They heard a slam against the metal doors.

"I'm tired, Walter," Peter sighed. His voice was weak and hoarse. "So tired."

"Peter," Walter shouted. "I promised not to give up on you, but you also must not give up. You can do it. You have to get closer to the board."

Peter took a step closer. He began to see writing on the board. He saw a molecular model of the formula written on the board, chemical abbreviations marked along the structural formula.

"Walter," Astrid shouted. "I think he's seeing it."

Suddenly one of the metal doors was broken through. It crashed on the floor. Olivia moved in front of the gurney. She pulled out her gun. "Walter, get the formula, I'll hold them off."

Astrid ran to Olivia's side. They stood in front of the gurney as four armed men ran into the room.

Olivia held her badge up with one hand and pointed her gun at them with the other. "FBI! This man is under protective custody. Back off, no one is going to touch him." She tightly held her gun.

Astrid stood by her side. "You'll have to kill me to get to him."

"Just a bit longer," Walter shouted.

"That man is a fugitive," one of the men shouted. His name over his pocket was Stecker. "We have an order of extradition. We're here to take him into custody."

Walter had to wait for the right moment. He had to get a clear image of the entire board with the formula. "Peter," Walter said. "Look at the board, you need to get closer."

Peter moved closer to the board. He saw the entire formula. It was there, everything was there. "Walter," Peter gasped from the gurney. "Now!"

Walter pressed a button on his mouse. He saw the screen blink then freeze. He hit save.

"Put your gun down!" Stecker shouted. "Or we will use force."

"Please," Olivia pleaded. "He's not a threat to anyone. We just need a few seconds more."

Stecker took a step closer. "I said lower your gun."

"Walter," Olivia shouted. "Did you get it?"

Walter waited for a sign, he laughed when he saw, 'Saved to memory'. "Olivia, I got it."

Olivia quickly placed her gun on the floor and put her hands up. Astrid moved aside. Stecker rushed to the gurney with his men. He saw a very sick looking man lying on the gurney, with wires attached to his head.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Olivia held her cell phone up. "My boss can explain."

Walternate and Elizabeth walked into Walters lab. It had been six hours since Peter escaped from the facility. They saw Peter laying on a gurney in the middle of the room. Walter was working on writing something on a large glass board.

Elizabeth ran to Peter. He was unconscious. He looked worse than when she first saw him. Four men were standing guard.

"We were told you were coming, sir," Stecker said. "The fugitive appears to be very sick. They insisted that he not be moved. We spoke to an Agent Broyles. He told us to hold them here until you came."

"Yes, you may leave," Walternate said. "The extradition order has been rescinded."

"Yes, sir," Stecker said. He ordered his men to leave.

Walternate stepped up to the board Walter was working on. It was marked with a boxed graph. Letters and numbers were on each box. He saw Walter holding a printed photo, he was writing part of a structural formula on the board.

"I had to enlarge it to see the chemicals used in the formula," Walter said. He pointed to a small pile of papers.

Without a word, Walternate removed his jacket. He grabbed a paper and a black marker. Finding the corresponding box, he began copying the photo on the board. "It will go quicker if we both do it," he told Walter.

Nodding, Walter continued to write the formula. fifteen minutes later, they stood back. They had the formula that would cure Peter.

"I need to start and fabricate it now," Walter said.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe in you. If you'll allow me, I can help," Walternate offered.

They began working on creating the formula.

Peter slowly opened his eyes. Olivia stood up. She went to his side. "It worked, Peter. We got the formula. How do you feel?"

"I think I'm still dreaming," he said. His voice was weak.

"Why?"

"I see Walter and Walternate working together. They aren't fighting."

"No," Elizabeth said. She gently smiled at him. Her hand lovingly caressed his face. "Something brought them together."

Peter saw his mother standing on the other side. "I'm sorry we didn't believe in him like you did, Peter."

Peter smiled, she loved that smile. "Believe me, it took me a while. I will admit, he can be a bit crazy at times. But there is no denying his brilliance and his passion."

He took in a deep breath. He found it hurt to breathe. "I remember my childhood now." He sadly looked at Walter. "He's the way he is because of me. Our worlds were in danger because of me. It was all my fault."

Elizabeth leaned over, and gently touched his face. "Oh no, Peter," She looked deep into his eyes. "It was never your fault. You were born with a disease. Or as my Walter used to tell me, you were dealt a shorthand. Dr. Bishop came to my world to try and cure my son, you. I know his death is what drove him to madness, it was his penance. But there is no denying how much he loves you, Peter. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you." Looking at Walter, she saw him diligently working with her husband to create the formula to cure Peter.

"He fought hard to save not one or two, but three Peters."

"Yes," Peter said. "That has to count for something."

Peter watched his father's working on a formula together to save his life. He never felt worse than he did now. He prayed that Walter found the cure in time. Feeling a coldness that stabbed the inside of his heart, he slowly closed his eyes. Opening them he found he was alone in Walter's lab. Or he thought he was alone.

He saw two boys standing at the landing.

"We waited for them to help you, first," one of the Peter's said. "Before we would go."

"Yes," the other Peter said. "They were so sad. But when you returned, it made them happy again. You made him, happy again."

"But you were unhappy, you were still looking for something."

"It took a while, but you found it."

"Yes," Peter said. "It took me time, but I know now that I finally found exactly what I was looking for."

He walked up to the two boys. Kneeling in front of them, he spread his arms. He hugged them close. The boys whispered to him, "Home is where the heart is."

As he hugged them close, they slowly began to fade away, until Peter was alone, hugging himself.

Walter attached a filled IV bag to Peter's IV. He watched the drip of the blue liquid slowly come out of the bag. Peter was restlessly sleeping. His temperature was at 105. Astrid replaced plastic bags under his arms with fresh bags filled with ice.

Everyone was worried that they were not in time. Walter fixed a sweaty curl that was out of place. Smiling, he stepped back.

Walternate looked at Peter. He was so pale. The shots they gave him would now do more harm than good. There was only one thing that could save him. "Now we wait," Walternate said.

They waited and watched for a sign that the formula was working.

Elizabeth noticed that Peter's hand was tightly gripping something. She saw the tip of a coin peeking out of his fingers.

The sun had set hours ago when they saw his vitals slowly begin to improve. Walter double checked his readings. Tears began to run down his face when he realized that the formula was working. They were in time.

"He's going to be fine," Walter said, his voice was thick with emotion. "He…he's going to be fine, Alice." Astrid hugged him, "You did it, Walter."

"No," Walter said. "He did it, he never gave up on finding a cure. He's extraordinary."

Knowing that the formula was working, Elizabeth and Walternate decided to leave. Elizabeth gave Peter a goodbye kiss. Walternate waited for her at the door. They knew he would choose to stay here, but that was all right. Knowing that he was alive and well, was all that mattered.

Elizabeth hugged him, she whispered in Peter's ear, "I love you, son."

They quickly left. Walternate returned to his world with a little more respect for the Walter of this world.

As Peter slept, Walter played a record. He found it when he was searching for the formula. It was a song he used to play when Peter was a boy. He sat down between Olivia and Astrid. They would wait with him until Peter woke up.

It took nearly losing Peter to make Walter realize that the part of his life that he felt was missing had been there all this time. He paid his penance. He finally accepted Peter as his son. He proudly smiled as he listened to the words of the song. For they finally rang true for him again:

"You'll face life like a man, My pride and joy, My life, my boy, My son, my son"

Standing in the darkness outside the university, two men wearing suits and fedora hats stared at the light coming from the windows to Walter's lab.

"The original genetic irregularity that Peter Bishop appeared with him should have killed him," March said.

"I agree," December said. "But the Bishops were able to work together and cure him again."

"Yes," March said. "It appears that his presence here is permanent."

"I still do not understand how he was able to come back." December said. "I do not think we ever will." They slowly phased out.

As they left, September appeared. "I know why he came back." He calmly gazed at the University. "I am sorry to say that you will have hard times ahead. I wish I could tell you, let you know that, they are coming."

He faintly heard a song playing from the basement, as he phased out.

~~~~~Six Finger Hand, Bottom Left dot~~~~~