Title: Son of Men
Chapter: 7
Rating: T
Summary: When a message comes through the typewriter, it's going to turn everyone's life upside down.
Author's Note: It's the weekend, time for another chapter! I didn't forget :) So here's chapter 7 for you to read. I hope you enjoy what I'm posting. If you do, drop me a note, as a review or in private. I'm always just a PM away :)
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The summer sun was searing when they arrived at the weak spot. Part of Peter was still hoping that Olivia's attempt to cross them over would fail, but part of him also wanted to cross over and find out for once and for all if he really did have a son or if everything just had been one of Walternate's desperate attempts to bring him back.
They had agreed on a weak spot in Manhattan, far away from their meeting point in Queens though why Olivia had insisted on a particular spot on the Southwest side of downtown, he couldn't quite understand. There had been two spots close to the Queensboro Bridge which would have given them easy access to Queens and made their track to Forest Park a long but walkable distance. He wasn't going to question her decision though. She knew the other side better than he did and whatever her reasoning was for choosing that particular spot, he would accept it.
Their hands were locked, fingers tightly intertwined, as they walked into a small, deserted street just off Battery Place. Cars were parked at the dead end ahead, trees lining up behind them while the blue water of the Hudson River glistened in the sun off in the distance. This was their destination, their weak spot. The place where they would cross over to the other side.
Neither of them wanted to be there, but they both knew that they had to. Olivia took a deep breath, then stopped in the shade of one of the low buildings surrounding them. She squeezed Peter's hand, letting him know that she was ready. She felt him move in closer to her, wrap his arm around her waist while she closed her eyes and lowered her head towards the ground.
Concentrate and think. That was what Walter had pounded into her head. Concentrate and think. Concentrate and think. Her whole body started to tingle. Concentrate and think. Concentrate and think. She was shivering slightly. Concentrate and think. Concentrate and think. And then she felt the cool shade ripped away from around her and the hot sun burning down on her.
Her eyes snapped open immediately. The cars that had been parked in front of them were gone. As were the trees. What lay in front of them was a concrete desert which came to an abrupt end only a few yards away where the greenish water of the Hudson River splashed against the quay. They had arrived at their destination.
It took Olivia a moment to adjust to her new surroundings, to comprehend that she had really done it, that she had crossed them over. Her body was still shaking lightly, nausea creeping up as she swayed on her feet. Closing her eyes, she tried to steady herself and fight the nauseating feeling. This was new, it had never felt like this before. Not the first time, not the second.
She felt Peter's arm tightening around her waist, pulling her even closer to him which steadied her immediately. Her head dipped to one side and she rested it against his shoulder for a moment, trying to force her body to return to normal. First, the nausea vanished, along with the light-headedness, and then her body stopped shaking. All these new sensations had gone as fast and unexpected as they had washed over her.
When she opened her eyes and turned to her side, she found Peter looking directly around her. He had that intense expression on his face that he always donned when he was in a place where he didn't want to be, doing something he didn't really want to do. They were back in his home world, the place where all had this had started – the place they both had vowed they would never return to.
And then there was concern in Peter's eyes, the concern Olivia had seen so often before. Concern for her and her well-being. His arm was still tightly draped around her waist, holding her close to him, clinging to her as if he was holding on for dear life.
"C'mon," Olivia said softly, a faint smile on her face as entangled herself from his embrace, "We've got to get going."
She turned around and started to walk down the street. When Peter turned, he was startled by what he saw. What was the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in their world was stretching before them as the Brooklyn Battery Bridge. A three lane highway cast a shadow over Battery Park which lay fenced in right in front of them. For a moment, he just stood there, then jogged down the street to catch up with Olivia. In silence, he followed her around a few corners until they found themselves under the bridge and right in front of a yellow cab.
He didn't notice the sigh of relief that escaped Olivia, neither the small smile that played across her face when she headed directly for the cab.
"Olivia," his voice was a whisper when he walked up next to her just when she was pulling open the back door of the cab. She answered him with a "trust me" just before she slipped onto the back seat and indicated for him the follow suit. The cab door closed with a loud 'clunk' which didn't even cause the driver to look up at them.
"I'm not accepting fares at the moment," he spat at them without even looking up from the news he was reading on the electronic pad that was perched on the steering wheel in front of him.
"Hello Henry. Long time no see."
Olivia's warm voice caused the driver's head to pop up and turn around. He was startled at first, but then a wide grin appeared on his face.
"Indeed. I didn't expect you to see you again."
"I didn't exactly plan to come back here either. But things have changed."
Henry tilted his head to one side, "Who's he?"
Peter reached out his hand, "Peter Bishop."
"Oh, Peter," Henry chuckled as they shook hands, "You're the sort-of I assume. Henry Higgins."
"Sort-of?"
"Long story," Olivia told Peter before she turned back to Henry, "He's the definite now. And we need your help."
"Ah, yeah, come to Henry when you need help," there was no mistaking the sarcastic tone in Henry's voice, "Last time I helped you, I had Fringe Division on my tail."
Olivia grimaced, "Sorry. I hope they didn't cause you too much trouble."
"You have no idea, lady," he paused shortly, "So, what can I help you with this time?"
"We need some info. And we need a ride."
"The latter I can help you with. The first I'm not so sure. Depends on what you need to know."
"I need info about me."
Silence filled the room while Henry started to fidget in his seat. He was a clever man, so it didn't take him long to figure out why exactly Olivia Dunham had come back to this side after everything she had gone through. He answered her with a nod, "Let's take a drive while we talk."
He turned towards the passenger seat and reached right under the glove box, fidgeting with a small box that was attached to the underside of the dashboard before he sat back in his seat and started the engine.
"Last time it cost me 300 bucks to replace the tracker."
"Now you come prepared."
"Hey, you never know when someone like Olivia Dunham stumbles into your cab. You better be prepared."
Olivia laughed and leaned forward towards the front seat, "You've been keeping tabs on me, haven't you?"
"Oh, c'mon, when a woman jumps off your boat in the middle of the East River, telling you she's about to go home to a different universe, you gotta check that out, right? You gotta make sure she's not pulling your leg."
"What happened?"
"She didn't recognize me. So I knew she wasn't you. I still didn't quite believe the whole alternate universe angle though."
"But you do now."
Peter's interjection caused Henry to look up at the rearview mirror and lock eyes with him. The cab driver quickly shrugged his shoulders before he turned his attention back on traffic in front of him.
"You're here because of her, aren't you?"
Olivia leaned back against the seat as Henry turned the car North onto Broadway, "What makes you think that?"
"I think she got herself into a little bit of trouble."
"And just how little is that trouble?" Peter cut in again.
"I've been checking in on her now and then to make sure she was doing okay, all right? So last week, while driving down her street, I notice these guys in a car parked outside her house. Didn't think much of it until when I pass by her house again a couple hours later, the guys are still there. Sitting in that black car in the summer heat. Made me kinda suspicious. With her being kidnapped before and all."
"They're still trailing her?"
"No," came Henry's short reply.
"Henry," Olivia pressed, "What are you not telling us?"
He raised one hand in defense, "Okay, okay. So I turn the corner and there I see her running out of the back alley, her baby in her arms. When she sees me, she jumps into the backseat and tells me to drive her to this address in Queens."
"And?"
"And what? Dropped her off at the corner of Broadway and 45th. That was the last time I saw her and the boy."
Olivia turned to look at Peter. No ruse, no ploy. The message had been real. Somewhere in this city, there was a little boy who needed help. Peter's son.
Peter shook his head at her silently before he turned to his side, staring out the window. He really did have a son with Olivia Dunham. Just with the wrong Olivia Dunham. And with the urgency that the messages had been sent through the typewriter, he had to assume that his son was in danger from his own grandfather. How much more fucked up could his life get?
He felt Olivia's fingers curl around his hand and squeeze it lightly, but he didn't turn to look at her. He couldn't. Instead he leaned forward and rested his forehead against the cool window and closed his eyes.
"He okay?" Henry asked from the front, observing the couple in the backseat through the rearview mirror.
"We've got to get to Queens, " Olivia answered him, deliberately ignoring his question, "Can you take us there?"
"45th and Broadway?"
"She's not going to be there anymore," she took a deep breath, "Just drive for now."