AN: Thanks to gameoff for the long PM review and the corrections.
So, here's the final part. Just in time for tonight's episode. There may be a short epilogue later, but for now I'm looking forward to finding out what kind of actual reveals about the Observers are in store for us.
Needless to say, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my wild theories, and if you have any corrections to share I'd be grateful for those too.
Astrid had kept true to her word, staying close to the monitors and Walter the whole time Peter was in the tank. But it hadn't really been necessary. She had never seen Walter this lucid or focused in the three years she had known him. He was constantly rushing from one bit of equipment to the other, fiddling with dials, checking readings, monitoring the Observer's vitals and fine-tuning the flow of drugs. Actually, Astrid started feeling a bit superfluous.
"By God, he's done it!" Walter suddenly exclaimed, startling her. He pointed at a small black monitor that showed two fuzzy green columns. One was labeled 'Mr X' the other 'Peter'. Astrid could see that they were now approaching each other and began to overlap, until they morphed into one single column.
"So what do we do now?" she asked. "You told Peter you would be guiding him."
"We wait." A proud smile played around Walter's mouth. "There is no need for guidance. This young man knows what he's doing."
"Is there really nothing we can do?" Astrid asked. Inactivity was not something she enjoyed.
"Well, we will have to make sure our bald guest is stable. And we may have to extract Peter in a hurry, should his condition become critical."
Astrid walked over to the gurney where the injured stranger lay. She noticed that his pupils were moving rapidly under his closed eyelids. "I think he's dreaming."
"I think he's meeting with Peter," Walter corrected her. Suddenly an alarm started to sound from one of the monitors. "Oh dear, his blood pressure is dropping. Quick, Aspro, 2 cc's of midodrine intravenously."
"I'm on it," Astrid replied as she reached for a syringe.
Walter kept watching the monitors like a hawk, while casting quick, worried glances at the patient. To his relief the downward trend of the Observer's blood pressure readings stopped, but it remained at that new, low level.
"Oh, this isn't good, I don't like it," Walter muttered. "I think we should get ready to pull…"
He was interrupted by yet another alarm, this one more urgent than the last.
"His pulse rate is spiking!" Walter shouted. "It's only a matter of seconds until he goes into cardiac arrest. We have to get Peter out NOW."
He hurriedly pushed a button that sent a different mix of drugs into the line connected to Peter's IV. At the same time, they heard a loud bang from the tank.
"Oh no no no no, this can't be happening," Walter moaned as he started to run towards the tank, Astrid close behind him. When they threw open the doors, they saw Peter thrashing in the water, his flailing limbs connecting again and again with the sides of the tank. His right hand was bloody where his desperate struggle had ripped out the IV needle.
Walter managed to get a good grip under Peter's armpits, and with unexpected strength gave a mighty heave that pulled the young man out through the opening with him and Walter ending up in a heap on the floor. Astrid was ready with a blanket, but Walter shook his head.
"Quickly, I need 5 cc's of the agent in IV bag no 2." He grunted as one of Peter's elbows collided painfully with his ribs, but he managed to keep his hold one the slippery, writhing mass of limbs until Astrid returned with the syringe.
"Where do I put it?" she asked.
"A vein, any vein," Walter gasped.
Astrid nodded, and with a silent apology to Peter she wrestled one of his arms to the ground and knelt on it with both knees to keep it still while she administered the drug.
It wasn't long until Peter's struggle began to subside, and Walter was able to release his death grip on him.
"Will he be okay?" Astrid asked as she draped a blanket around Peter, who had started to shiver violently.
"Too early to tell," Walter said, sitting up so he could help to support Peter. "He must have pulled his IV before he had absorbed the full dose of the inhibitor, so his mind was still entangled with the Observer's as he a started to wake up. I can only hope we were fast enough to administer the rest of the dose before…"
He pointedly looked over to where the Observer lay. The monitor by his gurney was showing a flatline, which was underscored by a continuous beep.
They were distracted by Peter startling awake, drawing in a huge breath.
"Peter!" Walter called out. "Can you hear me? Are you with me?"
"Walter…" Peter gasped. "A map of Boston… QUICKLY!"
Astrid took off for the office, while Peter cradled his head in his hands, groaning in obvious pain.
"Son, what is it?"
"God, I don't know how long I can hold on to it. DAMMIT, WHERE'S THAT MAP?"
"Here!" Astrid pushed the open road atlas at Peter. He grabbed hold of it like a drowning man, only to have his eyes roll back in his head and his whole body going rigid.
"Oh no! Walter, I think Peter's…"
Astrid broke off as she saw Peter's hand starting to glide over the map, his fingers tracing a pattern over the maze of streets. Finally they zeroed in on an area by the docks, the circles growing smaller and smaller until a trembling digit pointed to one spot. Walter quickly extracted a sharpie from the pocket of his lab coat and marked it with an X.
As if on cue, the tension drained from Peter's body and he fell back against Walter's chest. Slowly his eyes opened, locking with Astrid's who was still crouched in front of him. "Did we get it?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.
Astrid nodded, a big grin spreading over her face. "Yes, Peter, we did," she confirmed. "I'll call in the location right now."
Peter nodded, his head turning as he tried to peek over Walter's shoulder.
"The Observer. Is he…"
Walter shook his head. "He didn't make it."
"Shame," Peter mumbled as the veil of unconsciousness started to descend over his mind. "I still had… so many questions…"