Walter and Peter carefully helped Olivia step down from the ambulance.
"Cute," Peter said to Olivia once she was standing firmly on the ground. He was smiling at the fact that she chose to wear his sweatpants and MIT T-shirt. "Are you wearing that MIT shirt just to impress guys?"
"Oh, I have plenty of other ways to impress guys," Olivia cracked while she handed Peter his duffle bag. "Your turn to change clothes."
Peter shook his head in amusement and went inside the ambulance to change into some dry clothes.
"Did you hear the news, Agent Dunham?" Walter asked with a giddy grin. "You're going to spend the night at our house!"
"Am I? I must have missed that conversation..."
"They said that you need to be monitored for the next twenty four hours because of your concussion," Astrid explained.
"Really, I don't think that's necessary. I'd just like to go home. Soak in the tub."
"Well, Peter pretty much already made the decision that you aren't going to be left alone tonight," Astrid added. "He made me call Broyles to tell him where you'd be."
"Speaking of Broyles, did he find anything out about who that guy was that managed to talk me into attempting suicide?" Olivia wanted to change the subject.
"His name was Carson. Get this...he worked for Massive Dynamic," Astrid said.
"Why am I not surprised?" Olivia sighed.
"Broyles is having the body shipped to the lab tomorrow so Walter can see if there's anything unusual about him."
"I suppose I'll have to pay another visit to Nina Sharp... see what she knows," Olivia said.
"We have a really nice bath tub at our house. I'll let you borrow my rubber ducky," Walter said out-of-the-blue to Olivia. He was still stuck on the idea of her wanting to take a bath.
"Olivia can borrow your what Walter?" Peter jumped out of the ambulance.
"My rubber ducky," Walter said in all-seriousness.
"Um, Peter, can I talk to you for a minute?" Olivia motioned Peter to the side away from the others. "I know you mean well, but I'd just like to go home. I'll be fine."
"Wow. You're incredible. You get abducted by some mind-controlling freak-a-zoid who convinces you to take a 350 foot plunge into freezing rapids, you almost drown to death, get a concussion along with a three-inch deep gash in your forehead, suffer from hypothermia, get confused about what really happened to you, but now you just want to go home because you're fine. You really don't like other people taking care of you, do you?"
"I'm used to taking care of myself..."
"I know. But that's not the point. You've had two major head injuries in the past six months. You really think it's a good idea to be alone right now when you don't have to be? It's just for one night, Olivia. They said you need to be monitored, and if you don't want to go to the hospital, then this is the alternative."
Olivia glared at Peter.
"I'm not convincing you, am I? Well then, maybe Broyles, a.k.a. the boss-man who signs your paycheck, will have something to say about it," Peter took out his cell phone and started dialing.
"You wouldn't." Olivia said.
"I would," Peter smiled. He held up the phone to his ear. "It's ringing."
"Okay, fine. Stop!" Olivia grabbed the phone out of his hand and pressed the hang up button. "But if Walter makes me eat Ho Ho's for dinner, I'm out of there."
Peter put his hand on her back and gently nudged her to start walking towards the station wagon. "Ho Ho's for dinner? I don't think so. He stopped craving those about a month ago. Now breakfast...breakfast on the other hand could turn out to be a real treat!"
Peter opened the door of the station wagon and helped Olivia get in the back seat. Astrid took her position in the driver's seat, Walter called shot-gun, and Peter took his place next to Olivia in the back.
"It's a three-hour drive back home," Astrid said. "Everyone get comfy."
After an hour of driving, Olivia's headache really started to flair up. Her pain meds did nothing for the pain; they only made her tired. She rubbed the sides of her temple with her shaky hands.
Peter noticed her discomfort. He grabbed her hand away from her face and silently questioned her with his eyes...are you okay?
Olivia didn't want the others to know the real pain she was in. She just shook her head no and was almost on the verge of tears because the throbbing in her head was becoming unbearable and she was seeing flashes of light that blurred her vision.
Peter gently tugged on her arm to let her know she should lie down. At first she was reluctant, but he just kept his hand on her arm and told her with his eyes that it was fine with him that she use him for a pillow. She relented and rested her head in his lap and stretched out her legs on the seat. Peter reached behind the seat in the rear of the station wagon and felt for the blanket that he knew was back there. Grabbing the blanket, he spread it out over Olivia. She closed her eyes and felt comforted when Peter rested his hand on her shoulder.
Walter sensed the commotion that was going on behind him. He turned back to look at Peter. He smiled at his son in a shy way when he realized what Peter had done. Peter stared at his father with one of those looks that said don't say it, Walter. Walter felt like he intruded on the moment so he turned back around in his seat and kept silent.
Olivia was beginning to feel that maybe it was a good idea for her not to be alone tonight. It didn't take long before she fell into a deep sleep.