Substitute

A/N: I hope ya'll like "slice of life" chapters, because you're getting one! Enjoy?

Warning: This isn't really much of a warning, Lincoln is just a little naughty in this chapter

It had been a long, trying two days. They had two Fringe Events in a row but they managed to solve them both rather quickly in that time, quicker than normally. Maybe it was the fact that the cases weren't as big as, let's say, the giant hybrid human-host-using, egg-laying spider that seemed to have a crush on poor Charlie, half a year ago, or the sheep-host-using-eating-their-way-out-of-humans mad-scientist bug-creator a couple months ago... why was it always bugs? Maybe it was just the fact that some people wanted to spent actual "quality" time with each other, not just on missions.

"So I was thinking," Olivia began that evening as she shut her computer down, after finally wrapping up the last Fringe Event case they had to deal with.

"What about?" Lincoln queried. He had walked over to mess with her and Charlie. Charlie had left a few minutes ago to get "a snack for the road" while Lincoln and Olivia joked about him having more than one mouth to feed. He had just huffed and walked off, leaving them laughing while he secretly smiled to himself, finding it more amusing than he let them know.

"How'd you like to have breakfast at my place tomorrow?" She asked him, watching several emotions filter through his eyes. Finally, his emotions settled on one and he grinned playfully.

"Oh? Are you inviting me to spend the night?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hmm, I dunno, if you play your cards right, one day I just might..." Olivia smirked back. It certainly wasn't a bad thought. During the week they had been seeing each other she had been getting closer to Lincoln, finding things about him that she never knew, and he about her, but the more time she spent with him, the more she began to realize that she had been missing out. Now, now she couldn't imagine not being with Lincoln. More in the relationship was definitely a nice thought.

"I can't wait," Lincoln grinned wolfishly, leaning over her desk.

And that was how Charlie found them, moments later. He cleared his throat and gave them an arched eyebrow. They jumped slightly but didn't move away from their positions, just looked back at him with a mutual half-annoyed look. Charlie rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Hey, I'm planning on heading to the bar before home, either of you want to join me?" he asked curiously.

"No can-do, buddy, I've got way too much work and emails to write," Lincoln answered seriously. Being the only leader of Fringe Division until they could find another Secretary of Defense with better leadership skills than his own, kept him in pretty tight communication with the rest of the leaders of the government, including the President.

"How 'bout you, 'Liv? Wanna join me?" Charlie looked over at Olivia who had just finished packing her things.

"Sorry, Charlie... I've got a date with my little man at home," she told him. Leave her son with her grandma at home while she went out with Charlie and avoided alcohol? She didn't think so. "No Lincoln, my other 'little' man..." Olivia teased, watching in great amusement as a surprised and slightly affronted look crossed his face.

"Oh I'll show you 'little'..." he teased back, receiving a wink from Olivia and another disgruntled sound from Charlie.

"I see... I see how it is..." Charlie muttered, pretending to be stricken and trying to ignore his perverted friends' antics.

"How 'bout you ask 'bug-girl'? Olivia grinned.

"Her name is Monna," Charlie corrected, straightening his posture defensively. "And maybe I will," he retorted. Maybe things weren't going too well between them at the moment, but maybe she wouldn't mind having a drink with him?

"Take it easy," Olivia laughed. "Well, I wish you two the best and I hope she doesn't bug you too much..." she grinned cheekily. While Lincoln laughed Charlie merely rolled his eyes. "I better go, see you later Charlie, -you, come with me," she said, turning to Lincoln and literally tugging him by the front of his shirt to a more secluded area. While most people had already gone home, they still didn't want to risk it... it wasn't like it was wrong for them to be dating, they just didn't want it to look like Lincoln was displaying favoritism among his "underlings".

Lincoln shrugged at Charlie with a mock-helpless look as he let himself get dragged off. Charlie shook his head, though with a little smile at his friends' antics, and went off with his bag of pretzels to the garage. "We gotta stop meeting like this," Lincoln said playfully, letting Olivia take the lead and pull him into a fiery kiss.

"You're right," she ran her hand through his already messy hair as she slanted their lips. "This has got to stop," Olivia said just as playfully, in between kisses. Lincoln whirled them around, pressing Olivia against the wall and pulling her tighter against his body. Their breaths came out in rasps, not able to keep their hands off each other. The kiss slowed but the passion they felt for each other still burned within them, slowly consuming them. At times like these, they wished they had more time alone. "Don't stay up too late, Colonel..." Olivia said after forcibly pulling herself away. She kissed him lightly one last time, saying she'd see him in the morning, and slipped out of his hold.

"Say goodnight to the little Dunham for me," Lincoln called to her, casually leaning against the wall as he watched her leave.

"I will!" Olivia promised as she jogged over to the garage. She was eager to see her son again but if she looked back at him now, his clothes rumpled, hair a mess, lips swollen, and leaning against the wall in that sexy way she knew he was, she'd never leave. She could feel his eyes on her but she would damned if she looked back and allowed him to trap her! Olivia breathed a sigh of relief – and a little bit of frustration – when she exited the building, making her way to her car.

The drive to her mom's house wasn't long and before she knew it, she was greeted by a tired but happy Marilyn with a sleeping Henry in her arms. Olivia again felt bad about dumping her son on her mom like that but was eternally grateful for having her help. She accepted her son and his supply bag, wished her mother a good night, and continued on her way home, every once in a while glancing lovingly at her still sleeping son. Once she got home, she carefully carried Henry in, not wanting to wake him, and managed to get in with everything she had in her arms and reset the security alarm without making too much noise. She set his bag and her's down and carried her son to his crib, gently laying him down and tucking him in.

"Did you have a good day today, baby?" She cooed softly, moving her hand down his face tenderly. Henry kicked in his sleep but settled right away, turning his face toward her. Olivia smiled adoringly and knelt by his crib, just watching him. She knelt there for what seemed like hours before she realized how sore she felt from the awkward position. She decided sleep was a good idea before Henry woke her up again, so she went to bed.

Luckily, it hadn't taken Olivia long to fall asleep. She had to admit to herself that she was feeling a little more secure now that Lincoln had personally installed a new security system in her apartment – even though she firmly told him that it wasn't necessary, - he wouldn't take any chances though. So, as it always did, night slipped into day, even if Olivia had been woken up every two hours on the dot. It was early in the morning when the silence in the apartment was broken, though softly.

Olivia's apartment door opened quietly. Lincoln knew he was early, but this wasn't the first time he did this. Olivia had given him an apartment key not long after they had started dating. At first Olivia had been surprised and had whipped her weapon out at him, making him jump and put his hands up, much like he had when the other Olivia had done the same. The only thing Olivia scolded him about was making such a racket coming into the apartment and waking her up... so he changed his tactics and used covert-ops to sneak into her apartment from then on.

He reset the alarm and placed his laptop carrier down quietly. He moved through the apartment like a ghost, using his training to aid him, and peeked into Henry's room. He did this always, every time he visited; he would make sure Henry was there and safe. He crept over to the boy's crib and peered down, noticing that the boy was awake and looking about. The boy noticed him and immediately began giggling, grinning up at him, happy to see him. Lincoln smiled reached down, moving to pick him up.

"Shh, you'll wake your mother up... you know how she is when she doesn't get her beauty-sleep," Lincoln grinned at his own little joke, bouncing the still giggling child in his arms. Olivia was awake, even for as early as it was, she knew that Lincoln would be visiting and wanted to catch him this time... unfortunately, she had forgotten just how good he was of being silent. When she heard him speaking softly to her son, she crept out of bed and sneaked over, peeking inside the room. She watched Lincoln play with Henry, seeing the adoring look in both of their eyes and feeling her heart swell. She cleared her throat, making her presence known to the two most important males in her life.

Lincoln was startled by Olivia's sudden appearance. Olivia noted that instead of dropping the boy, like she figured most might have, Lincoln pulled him closer to his chest. It just went to show how protective he was of the child. "'Liv? What are you doing up so early?" he asked her after he relaxed.

Olivia shrugged and smiled. "What would you like for breakfast?" she asked him.

"I'll eat whatever you make," Lincoln smiled back as he placed Henry down.

"Now I know you're sucking up," Olivia teased as she lead him to the kitchen.

"There's plenty to suck up in this relationship..." Lincoln grinned.

"Oh you're nasty," Olivia laughed and reached over to grab things from the fridge. She could feel him behind her and smiled when he drew his fingers along her back and over her waist. "Careful hot-shot, or you're not eating..." she playfully warned him as she pulled back and kicked the fridge shut.

"Maybe I just want you for breakfast..." he smirked, pinning her to the fridge. Oh how she'd like to take him up on his offer... the look he was giving her was enough to make any woman's knees buckle, but, again, she wasn't like most women. She was stronger than that. She was, damnit! Olivia shook her head and ducked under his arms. She wasn't quick enough to dodge him when he suddenly pulled her into a searing kiss, though.

After kissing him for what seemed to be hours and almost forgetting breakfast, she pushed him into a seat at the table. "Behave," she told him.

"Yes ma'am!" Lincoln smirked.

Olivia prepared what she had for breakfast, which, thanks to her mother who was tired of seeing nothing really nutritional in her daughter's fridge, was quite a lot. They sat and ate a hearty meal of eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice... though they both wished they had some coffee, which was too rare nowadays. After breakfast, the two sat at the table and talked, just talked, nothing more, nothing less. They spoke about anything and everything until the phone rang.

Olivia got up from the table and went to answer her phone. "Dunham," she said, not bothering to check the caller-ID.

"Hello, honey! I didn't wake you, did I?" Marilyn asked.

"Hi mom. No, I was already up... having breakfast with Lincoln," Olivia explained.

"Having... did you and he...?" Marilyn trailed off.

"No, no, ...not yet anyway," Olivia smiled, glancing over to where Lincoln was cleaning up. How sweet. He was definitely sucking up to her... she wondered what he had up his sleeves.

"Oh, alright, it's none of my business anyway, I just hope the two of you use protection..."

"MOM..." Olivia sighed.

"I'm sorry honey." No she wasn't. "I called to ask if you know where I left my remote for the tv?" Marilyn asked. By then, Lincoln had finished rinsing and putting the dishes in the dishwasher and had walked over.

"I don't know mom, I haven't exactly spent enough time at the house to know where you put things..." Olivia explained, now feeling Lincoln directly behind her. What was he doing? He was distracting.

"I was wondering if maybe Henry had accidentally knocked it into his bag? He was doing all kinds of cute kicking things with his feet and I must have not noticed if it fell... could you check for me please?"

"Let me see, hold on a sec," Olivia said, swatting Lincoln playfully and peeking into her son's bag, where it sat nearby. She found the controller, and told her mother so. By then Lincoln had begun rubbing his hands up and down her arms, distracting her further and making her shiver a little. "Just use the buttons on the tv for now, I'll drop it off later," Olivia told her, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Alright, thank you sweetie," Marilyn said and the connection was cut. Olivia turned around, over to where Lincoln was standing very near to her. Lincoln smiled innocently and leaned forward, caging Olivia between the counter and his body, with his arms on either side of her. Olivia smiled back and reached up, trailing her hand up his chest and to his neck. Neither knew who leaned over first but they didn't care, all they knew was that in seconds they had their hands on each other and were kissing deeply.

The stumbled back, blindly heading over to the closest room, Olivia's room. They fell upon the bed, fumbling with buckles, shirts, frantically, desperately trying to feel each others' heated skin against their own bodies. Just as they began to get lost in the kiss, and dive head first into sensation, into lust, love and pleasure, they heard the now familiar cry of a baby. They reluctantly stopped, slumping against the bed and each other in defeat, laughing at the absurdity of it all. "I should probably..." They were still grinning. They may have been interrupted, but they weren't about to start complaining, they wouldn't change this for the world.

"No, you relax, I'll get him," Lincoln offered.

"When did you become so sweet?" Olivia asked, resting herself on her elbows as she peered up at him. The sun shown softly on his lean body, giving him a glow over his exposed arms and broad back as he turned to sit on the edge of the bed. The amber light over his athletic physique gave him the impression of a Greek god... not that she'd ever tell him that, his ego was big enough. All the same, she bit her lip as she watched him.

"I'm a sweet guy!" He answered playfully turning his head to give her a lazy smile.

"Sometimes..." She agreed teasingly.

"Always!" Another toothy grin. He sat on the bed, pulling his pants back up and smiling at the feeling of her wandering fingers along his neck, shoulder, back... "Play nice..." he warned her, turning his dazzling green eyes back to smile at her.

"Or what? You gunna pull rank? I just love it when you take charge..." Olivia teased. Actually, she did like it when he got all serious and boss-like, it gave her an odd thrill. She blinked then with the realization that she kind of always did.

"If you put it that way, I just might... if I knew you liked it when I took charge, I'd have been ordering you around more often," Lincoln laughed. That was, of course, not what she meant, and he knew it, but he enjoyed the look of fond annoyance that crossed her face.

"Not what I meant," she retorted.

"Oh I know," he continued to snicker. "I'll be right back," he smiled and slipped out. "Heeey buddy, don't cry... I'm the delivery-man, gunna take you to your mom now for some breakfast," Lincoln told Henry as he lifted him up. Henry didn't look too convinced. Lincoln grinned at the child in his arms and kissed his little head as he pulled him closer to him. "See? There's mom now..." he continued to speak to Henry. "If you're charming, she'll feed you... believe me, I have experience with that," he said, grinning over at Olivia.

Olivia smiled back in amusement. "Don't listen to him, Henry... he only thinks he's charming," she said playfully, making room for Lincoln to sit next to her on the bed.

"See that, Henry? That there is called denial..." Lincoln laughed.

"Yeah, that works both ways, lover-boy," Olivia teased. Henry, at this point, hadn't exactly stopped crying, but now had that uncertain look in his face. It almost looked like he couldn't decide who to believe... but he was still just a couple weeks old baby.

"Didn't you just feed him before breakfast?" Lincoln asked after they settled.

"I did, but it was a while ago. It was," she glanced at the clock and raised an eyebrow. "That was two hours ago..." she told him. Had they really been goofing around for that long? Maybe that saying was right, time flew when you were having fun...

"Time flies..." he grinned, seemingly reading her thoughts. He was good at that.

Olivia sat on the bed, carefully moving her baby to be fed and pulling her little blanket over them. Lincoln sat next to them, watching her do this. Olivia noted that he didn't blush nor look away this time, but he didn't have a lewd expression either... he was more focused on the baby than anything else, though he couldn't really see him. Again, while maybe it might have in the past, it didn't feel weird at all to her that he watched them like a father would watch his wife and child, in fact, it felt perfect. "'Liv?" he began, interrupting her musing.

"Yeah?" she asked curiously.

"Will you go to dinner with me tonight, after work? Just you and me?" he asked her, his eyes now trained on her's. He cared deeply for Henry and loved spending time with him, but he craved spending alone-time with Olivia as well. He just hoped there wasn't a sudden Fringe Event tonight...

Olivia smiled and nodded in agreement. "I'd love to," she told him. What could the night hold for them? The possibilities were endless. They only knew they would make the most of it.

TBC...

End A/N: Things are coming along nicely for the couple! I wonder what travesty will pull them away from each other this time? HAHAHA! Ehem, kidding? Maybe... I dunno, lol, you'll just have to wait and see!

Shout-Outs:

katiekayx: It's true, they're happy and awesome and I love them XD I can't wait for more either! Lol

Fallen Heart: Omg me too! I'm happy I got you addicted, it means I'm doing something right lol.