Substitute

A/N: Things get a little more interesting from here...

The next morning, Lincoln and Charlie had just gone on a dangerous mission, unfortunately, Lincoln was once again injured while on the field. "Ugh..." Lincoln groaned, every move Charlie did to help the younger man to the infirmary made his injured leg and side burn with excruciating pain.

"I told you to move out of the way, man," Charlie muttered, trying not to jar his partner around too much.

"How was I supposed to know you were serious? You were smiling!" Lincoln snapped, pain and agitation making him irate.

"It was the gas! It wasn't me!" Charlie protested.

"Yeah, you're right, it was the gas, after I specifically told you to use your oxygen tank!"

Charlie didn't think Lincoln's face could get any redder. "I did!" He sputtered.

"I told you not to stop!" Why couldn't Charlie just follow orders today? If Charlie had just followed orders they wouldn't be in this mess. Sure Charlie would have a pretty big headache right now, but still, they would have been able to finish the mission much sooner... well, at least Charlie would have.

"I had to get you out of the way!" Charlie yelled back defensively. Was it just him, or was Lincoln's mood steadily getting worse each day?

"I was perfectly fine, I didn't need you to push me out of the way!" Lincoln knew they were probably making a scene but he was too frustrated and too much pain to care right now.

"Well I'm sorry that I was concerned for the life of my partner and friend!" Charlie said sharply, turning to glare at said friend.

"Gah! Ah shit..." Lincoln gasped, his eyes widening. The sudden jerking movements created by their argument caused him to stretch his wounds, tearing them slightly. Charlie caught him again from collapsing and hurried the pace.

"Sorry," Charlie muttered. "You okay?" he asked worriedly. True, Lincoln had had wounds far worse than this, but he never lost this much blood so quickly before.

"I'll be fine as soon as we get to the infirmary," Lincoln sighed. The two continued toward the medical wing in silence.

"Hello again, Agent Lee," Melissa, the Nurse that had been primarily taking care of Lincoln when he got burned, smiled at him as he and Charlie walked in. She frowned in concern at his injuries and went to get her supplies.

"Hey there Melissa, nice to see you again, how's kid?" Lincoln asked, trying to put off all pain from his face. Lincoln was of course referring to Melissa's puppy back at home, 'Kid'.

"He's just fine, getting bigger each day," Melissa replied with a fond smile. She grabbed her supplies and prepared to treat him. Charlie watched her work, wondering again how it was that Lincoln got almost every female he met to fall for him, and he didn't have such luck? He knew Melissa had a crush on him but was too shy to do anything about it... poor girl, she didn't stand a chance. "Wow, this looks bad," Melissa frowned.

"It's just a scratch," Lincoln shrugged, smiling lopsidedly. Lincoln slipped into the act of nothing being wrong, pulling off acting like a goof while he was inwardly distressed. He did not want to bring others down with his dark mood, especially not someone as kind and gentle as this girl. Charlie could handle it, but he wasn't sure others could. They wanted to see their leader strong and in control, not a wreck and snapping at everyone.

"You think you're being cute, don't you?" Melissa teased him, cleaning his wound up and preparing to seal it.

"I am cute, I don't have to think I'm being cute," Lincoln teased back.

"Are you two done flirting?" Charlie asked teasingly, chuckling a little when Melissa's cheeks burned bright red.

"We're not flirting," Lincoln protested. "Right Melissa?" he asked with his best "charming" smile. Poor girl.

"R-Right," she cleared her throat. "Right you are Agent Lee, we're just having a pleasant conversation," she corrected herself. She was proud of herself. She first met Lincoln when he had been burned and only fleetingly saw him when he was completely healed... he was quite the male specimen, there was no doubt there. She didn't think she stood a chance with someone like him though.

Charlie was impressed. "Fair enough," he said, his hands up. After Melissa finished up and bid them farewell, the two men walked back over to the main hall. "You sure you're okay on your feet? Melissa said it'd take a while for your wounds to heal up and that you shouldn't walk too much," Charlie mentioned.

"I'm fine now, she's good at her job," he shrugged. "You still owe me a beer by the way," Lincoln reminded him.

"Damn, I thought you'd forget," Charlie grinned.

"You never pay anyone back do you?" Lincoln shook his head.

"Of course I do..." Charlie gave him his most serious and seriously fake looking expression. "Hey man, I'm really sorry about earlier," Charlie said suddenly, feeling the guilt return as Lincoln let a pained expression form in his face as he sat down at his desk.

"I understand, it's fine, just... try to just do as I say next time, okay? Don't be a hero," Lincoln shrugged. Charlie shook his head, wondering what was on his friend's mind that would make him talk like that. Before he could question it though, Lincoln got a call. "Lee," he answered.

"Lincoln!" It was Olivia.

"Olivia?" The men sat up straighter. Charlie looked on questioningly, noting the spooked look in his commanding officer's face. "What's wrong?" Lincoln asked in alarm, his heart racing in his chest. She sounded almost like she did when she had called him from China-town. Something was wrong, terribly wrong!

"Henry – he – he, he's gone! I can't find him anywhere!" She said in hysterics. Lincoln could hear her moving around, heard tearing and breaking sounds... she was ripping her apartment apart looking for the boy.

"Stay right there, I'll be there as fast as I can, do you hear me? Just stay there!" Lincoln told her quickly, moving to stand and groaning in pain at the sudden movement. While normally they would have the technology to fix an injury very quickly, some injuries took longer to heal to ensure the body did reject the treatment... this was one such treatment, and it only served to hamper Lincoln's efforts at the moment.

"Hey! What's going on?" Charlie questioned, standing as well and watching in shock as Lincoln practically ran out of his office, even in as much pain as he was in. "Hey! Wait a minute!" Charlie said, following him. "Sir!" he called, hoping that would let Lincoln know how serious he was.

Luckily, it worked and Lincoln slowed to a stop in the main hall, ignoring the looks everyone was giving the Chief. He glanced over at him, Charlie was expecting something, but he wasn't smirking or looking smug, Lincoln gave him a very serious face. Uh oh. "Henry has been taken. Olivia can't find him anywhere in her apartment. I'm going to go over there, you're in charge while I'm gone, do what you need to do to find him," Lincoln ordered.

"What? You can't leave in your state! Look at yourself, you've about to fall over! Look, I'll go over there, you're place is here, you need to take control and-" Charlie was interrupted.

"My place is with Olivia!" Lincoln suddenly yelled. He knew where his place was, he knew his job was to be the head of Fringe Division, his "place" was there, but at the moment, he just couldn't think that way. He had a promise to keep and he was damned if he didn't keep it! There was silence all around him. The other nearby agents had heard well enough and were stunned by the sudden explosion. Lincoln quieted down and turned to Charlie. "There is no time to argue, don't make me pull rank. I trust you can handle this. I'm worried Olivia will do something crazy, okay? You're in charge until I get back," Lincoln ordered.

"Understood, sir. Go to her," Charlie said respectfully once more, making his friend smile slightly.

"Thanks Charlie," Lincoln said in relief.

"No problem, buddy," Charlie nodded, watching his old friend speed off. The incredible pain was obviously not enough to keep him from the one he loved. This was why nice girls like Melissa didn't stand a chance. Charlie turned to the other silent agents and frowned. "Alright, listen up! I need lists, cameras, witnesses, I want every bit of information you can get on Agent Dunham's previous abduction, we've got a missing "man" to find!" Charlie began, barking orders left and right.

While Charlie coordinated with teams to track Henry down, Lincoln drove furiously to Olivia's apartment, hoping she didn't disregard his order and go off to search for her son. When he got to the apartment and knocked on the door, he was surprised to see Olivia standing there, shaking like a leaf. She wasn't crying, she wasn't allowing herself to cry, he knew she was trying to be tough, but she looked bad... very bad. "Linc..." she said, blinking furiously. She would not cry, damnit. "He's gone, he's gone!"

Lincoln's body screamed at him in pain but he ignored it. However, Olivia wasn't blind enough to miss how much of a pained expression he tried to hide. While she subconsciously wondered what was wrong, she was too distracted at the moment to comment about it, instead, she pulled him over to sit on the couch. "I'm here now, everything is going to be fine... I put Charlie in charge while I'm here, he is searching for Henry as we speak. I'll join him in a bit but right now I'm here for you," Lincoln said as they sat down. Olivia was a little speechless but then, could she expect any less from him? "Olivia, what happened? Tell me everything," he ordered softly.

Olivia took a breath, before she started to hyperventilate and nodded, reassured that he was there for her and trusting him completely, like she always had. "I first noticed something was off when I woke up... not long ago," she admitted. "I was just so tired, I hadn't slept much, as you know, and..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

"Go on," Lincoln said, moving just a little closer.

"I never woke up during the night, When I did wake up I flew out of bed, thinking my poor baby would be crying but... I didn't hear anything. I thought he had died while I slept!" She said fiercely. "What if he died? What if he had been crying and I didn't here him? What kind of a mother am I? I killed my own son!"

Lincoln shook his head and pulled her close. "But you didn't, you didn't, you hear me? None of this was your fault, 'Liv" Lincoln reminded her, holding her tight against him. Olivia leaned into his warm embrace, feeling safe and cared-for, something she had been resisting, but she'd be damned if she were going to reject him now.

"Could it... could it have been the people who abducted me?" She asked, her voice trembling a little. She wanted to, oh God how she wanted to, but she would not let herself cry! She had to be strong, for herself and for Henry.

"I honestly don't know," he said with a deep frown.

"Lincoln... I didn't find him in his crib but all the doors and windows were locked," she told him seriously. Lincoln stared at her for a moment, his expression rigid and serious, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. The only thing he could think of was that it was either someone who had access to her apartment or had been there before...

Lincoln reached over to his phone. "This is Lee," he began. Olivia watched him, wondering what he would do.

"What can I do for you Captain?" Astrid asked.

"Is Lieutenant Francis still there?"

"Yes sir, he is," Astrid said, glancing over to where Charlie had pulled every resource he could think of for a man-hunt, including herself.

"Have him send an investigation team to my location," he ordered.

"Right away sir," Astrid said as professionally as ever.

"Thank you agent," Lincoln said, tapping his phone again. Olivia and Lincoln sat and waited in mostly silence, both deep in thought but neither leaving each others' side. Olivia was almost lulled to sleep by being surrounded by the sound of Lincoln's strong heart and the feeling of warmth and security when there was a knock on the door. Lincoln smiled at her and went to answer it.

"How can we assist, sir?" A young female agent asked.

"Agent Dunham's child has been kidnapped from this apartment but there is apparently no trace of who did it or how," Lincoln explained.

"We'll do our best, sir," the agent swore. The three investigators went at it, using the best technology they had available to aid them. Unfortunately, they could not find anything. "I'm sorry, sir, ma'am, we couldn't find anything other than footprints from the front door to the crib," the agent apologized.

"Are you sure?" He asked, feeling his muscles tense with worry and agitation.

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry sir..." another agent nervously apologized.

"It's fine, you're dismissed, thank you agents," Lincoln said with a wave of dismissal. When the team left, Lincoln returned to a wide eyed Olivia who was staring off into space. "'Liv?" he probed. He wanted so badly to go off and join the investigation, he had to find Henry and beat the crap out of whoever took him, but he had to make sure Olivia was okay. "Hey, are you okay?" Lincoln asked her, who hadn't said a word since the team arrived.

"Stupid question, Linc," she finally said with a weak smile as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, sorry," he smiled sadly back. He walked back over and sat with her. When he opened his arms and Olivia actually moved into his embrace again, it had surprised him a little... he wasn't about to start complaining though. He sighed inwardly and rested his chin atop her head. Part of him, despite the circumstances, felt immensely content, having Olivia in his arms like this. "I swear to you I'll do everything in my power to get him back," he promised. "I should go help the investigation," he said suddenly, moving to stand.

"Wait, you're injured," Olivia tugged at him, stopping him from getting up all the way.

"I'm fine," he brushed it off.

"No, your not, you're as bad a liar as I am," Olivia shook her head.

"Henry is more important now than my own welfare," he told her. Olivia stared at him, a little bit in wonder, a little bit incredulous. While she knew that he would be a great asset to the investigation, Charlie could handle things for now, she didn't want him to further injure himself and... if she were being honest with herself, she didn't really want him to leave her side either.

"You should take better care of yourself, Linc... you're too damn reckless all the time," she argued.

Lincoln smiled sadly and nodded. "I'm only ever really reckless around you, 'Liv..." he told her, half-seriously, trying to lighten the mood. That line would make any other woman swoon, however, Olivia wasn't like other women. Olivia, despite the situation and her desperation to find her son, couldn't help but snort and smile a little in amusement.

"You're cheesy around me too..." she teased half-heartedly. "Lincoln... I know this sounds crazy coming from me but... I don't want to be alone right now. Will you... stay with me?" she asked, her eyes wide. She was surprised with herself for asking but she suddenly felt extremely vulnerable, and hated herself for it, but she really didn't want him to leave. "Just a little longer, Charlie is capable of handling this for now," she reasoned. It was true, Charlie may be the less serious of the three but he was still good at his job and hand leadership qualities... Lincoln was just more natural at it and took his job more seriously than Charlie.

Lincoln was speechless by her request but didn't say anything about it. Instead, he sat back down and pulled her closer. He was torn between wanting to find Henry and being there for Olivia but... in the end, she was right, he was too emotionally attached to this "mission", it might be best to just let Charlie handle things for now and help him tomorrow. He could feel her trembling but she was still holding back. If she kept that up, she would have a real breakdown this time. "'Liv, it's me, you don't have to act so tough, you don't have to be so strong, you're allowed to feel like shit... I won't think any less of you," he whispered.

Olivia nodded in understanding and closed her eyes. Maybe she didn't have to be so strong... she was so tired, this shitty world was running her down and it seemed to want to drag everyone she care for along with her.

Soon enough he felt her tremble again but this time saw the tears. Lincoln's hold on her tightened, pulling her flush against him and rubbed her arms soothingly. Olivia cried against him for a good while, hating herself for it but unable to stop. Lincoln kept his hold on her but neither spoke. After a while he felt her go limp in his arms and knew she had fallen asleep. Lincoln pulled her with him as he made himself comfortable, intending to be there when she work up, and leaned back. He shut his eyes and in no time, was fast asleep as well.

Looking back he would remember this moment as being the first time in a while that he had slept so well.

TBC...

End A/N: Oh noes! Not Henry! Who didn't see that coming? FINALLY something with Lincoln and Olivia, huh?

Shout-Outs:

katiekayx: You're so needy! I can only do so much, woman D: glad you like it though :P have I mentioned how much I love your reviews? XD

AnneRG: Glad you liked it! Yesss I wouldn't mind having Lincoln's hands on me either XD lol...

Jill Cohen: How do you know it'll be Lincoln that saves the day? XD

Fallen Heart: Yeah, I like stories that ease into certain things, such as romance, it's a tad bit more realistic in my opinion... though I could be exaggerating this lol. Glad you like it!