A/N - So here is chapter two...

Read, review and enjoy

:)

Chapter Two – Anchor Me

The whir of the office was the same, another thing that she had missed. Agents moving in and around each other, offering her smiles. It had been a while since she had been there, generally sticking to the lab or home when it came to paperwork. It allowed her to keep her family first. She made her way to Broyles office, knocking on the door and waiting for permission to enter. When it came, she slipped in, smelling the oak from his desk mixing in with the paperwork and fresh ink. He wordlessly handed her a coffee and a doughnut, watching as she settled herself in a chair. He sipped at his own coffee, an untouched doughnut in front of him.

"How is Etta?"

Olivia smiled.

"Growing quickly. However, there is some confusion between ducks and cars."

Broyles smiled a rare, wide grin.

"Better that than a swear word I guess."

"True."

Olivia finished the doughnut, trying to measure what Broyles was going to tell her. If this case was as urgent as the others, the doughnut and coffee would not be present. She glanced at the files on his desk.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Broyles sighed.

"I'm not sure where this falls exactly. But five children have gone missing in the last few months."

"Kidnapping?"

Broyles shook his head.

"No ransom demands. No bodies. The children have simply disappeared."

"So simple missing persons?"

"Nothing simply about those but there is something else. There is a connection."

Broyles opened a file on his desk.

"Five children, all six years old and all the result of IVF."

Olivia frowned.

"Is that along the same vein as designer babies?"

"Eugenics I believe is the correct term. And IVF is considered a level below it."

"Playing God."

"Precisely."

Peter had fantastic timing. He knocked briefly and entered the room. He helped himself to a coffee from the tray and a doughnut.

"Morning Broyles."

"Peter."

Peter turned to Olivia with a wide smile.

"Kathleen was free."

"Etta would have been happy."

"Deliriously so. I felt distinctly unloved."

Olivia chuckled, waiting for him to take a seat before handing him the file.

"Five six year olds have gone missing in the last few months. Broyles thinks that it has something to do with the fact that they were all designer babies."

Peter whistled low under his breath.

"That's costly."

Olivia frowned.

"How much?"

"It all depends on how many times they had to do it before they got pregnant as well as all the treatments to get them to that point."

Olivia turned back to Broyles.

"The families?"

"Some come from money, others used their entire lifesavings on that one treatment."

"Any of them look suspicious?"

"Not really. I personally interviewed each one of them when this all happened. There was nothing to indicate that any of them had anything to do with it."

"What about the clinic where the children were designed?"

Broyles handed them another file.

"Trualific Science is a small company, limited number of scientists."

"How many?"

"Four with the ability to help transplant the kids."

"Any of them look good for it?"

Broyles frowned.

"Not really. None of them had anything to gain on taking the children. This is why I wanted you in on this. We need to find the link. And I have an idea."

Broyles handed them yet another file, this one thinner. When Olivia flicked it open, the first thing she saw was a picture of a little boy in a suit, his face serious.

"That is Michael Wainwright. He's the sixth designer baby."

Peter smiled slightly.

"Serious looking kid."

"Try child prodigy. This kid is already doing University level papers and he sits on the biggest inheritance in the country."

"How much?"

"We are talking millions. His parents were killed in a car crash four years ago and he lives with his Aunt just outside the city. I met with the Aunt a couple of weeks ago, I didn't like her."

He glanced at Peter.

"I want you to meet her, see if you feel what I do. She controls the money; she gets it if something happens to Michael."

Peter nodded, taking the file on Michael and flicking through it.

"There's something else."

Broyles stood and started pacing.

"Each one of these kids are smart beyond their years, talented in one way or another. One was a painter, a writer and even a mathematician. They all just turned six when they were taken. For some reason, that age is important to whoever took them. I want you to find out all the normal things, what, when, where and why. I want to ensure that this Michael kid is not another victim. He needs to be protected."

"When does he turn six?"

"In two weeks."

"So we have two weeks to find out what is going on?"

Broyles shook his head.

"I know, I hate to set a time limit."

Peter stood, offering Broyles a smile.

"We're on it. Are those the files on the kids?"

Peter pointed to the box sitting on the corner of his desk. Broyles nodded and Peter grabbed the box before turning to Olivia.

"I'll put this in the truck."

Peter slipped from the room and Olivia stood, studying Broyles for a moment.

"What's the catch?"

Broyles frowned.

"Sorry?"

"There's something that you're not telling me."

Broyles paused, offering her a small frown.

"You've been hanging out with Bishop too much."

"Tends to happen when you're married. So are you going to tell me? Why this case?"

Broyles nodded slightly.

"I did the math on this one. You know how likely it is for a child prodigy to be born into the general population?"

Olivia shook her head.

"Incredibly rare. And the fact that there were six born in the same country, let alone from the same lab, is unbelievable. Someone had a hand in this. And I want you to find them."

Olivia examined him for a moment, trying to figure out if there was something else. But she could see his anger and his frustration. The same look that was there every Fringe cases that they ever did. If he was hiding anything else, he didn't show it.

"Fine. I guess we'll be at the lab if you need us."

"Keep in contact."

"Will do."

Olivia took her coffee and left the office, heading back into the parking lot. Peter was waiting by her truck, his face pulled into a frown as he read the file in his hand.

"Penny for your thoughts."

He lifted his head and smiled at her.

"Just reading up on these kids. We are talking some serious intelligence. Check this out. Cassie Jane Burton solved a college level mathematical equation when she was four years old. And Emily Geller was writing poetry at the same age."

"That's fascinating and a little scary."

"I know. I'm feeling a little stupid."

Olivia glanced at the two trucks.

"We should go home and drop the truck off in case Kathleen needs it."

"That was my thinking too. She said she was having trouble with her car."

"Did she say what?"

"No but I told her I would have a look when I could."

"We have a new case, it might be a while."

"Hence my insistence she uses the truck."

Olivia gave Peter a quick kiss as he opened the door for her, closing it carefully behind her. He followed her home. He parked the car in the garage, calling Kathleen while they were in the truck on the way to the lab. When they got there, Walter glanced up, a hopeful look on his face.

"Do we have a case?"

Olivia smiled and placed the box on the edge of the table.

"Kind of. Some missing child prodigies."

Walter nodded slightly.

"Wunderkinds is the Germen term for it. Peter could have been one of those."

"Or not, Walter. I didn't do math until I was slightly older than four."

Walter shrugged.

"You never could see your potential. But it doesn't matter now."

"Why?

"Because you have a beautiful wife and my darling grand-daughter. What more could a man need?"

Walter went back to polishing his test tubes, Astrid smiling beside him. Olivia took the box and with Peter in tow, headed into the depth of Walter's office.