Chapter 3

Peter woke up much earlier than usual. At first, the dim glow of the rising sun was the only difference; usually, it was up and shining full on into their bedroom window by the time he rose. Olivia, still sleeping, was snuggled in the crook of his arm. He didn't hear any activity or sounds of distress from their daughter's bedroom down the hall.

What the hell am I doing up at this hour?

But when he opened his eyes, his gaze fell on the DVD on top of the player. He remembered. He remembered, and the grief hit him all over again. He eased his arm from under Olivia's head and slipped into the bathroom to shower and dress. He wanted to arrive at the lab before Astrid.

He scribbled a quick note to Olivia and left it on her nightstand, under her phone. He picked up his phone, took a deep breath, and started his day.

The first day of life without Walter.

ooo

At the lab, he checked Walter's office first. Nothing had changed since last night. The papers on the desk were undisturbed, the fold out couch that had been Walter's bed for so long was still just a couch, and the unopened package of Red Vines next to it was still sealed.

He started coffee and checked on Gene.

Guess I'm going to learn to milk her after all.

"Walter, I'm here!" Astrid called cheerfully as she strolled into the lab with a coffee cake fresh out of the oven. "I brought your favorite… cinnamon coffee cake."

"Walter?"

Peter gave Gene one last pat on the head, and headed to the front of the lab to spoil Astrid's day.

ooo

"Let's get coffee. I have something you need to see." Peter steered her towards the coffee pot and poured two cups, handing her one before heading back to Walter's Betamax.

When Astrid joined him, he turned to her and said "I came back to the lab last night after I talked to you. Walter left this for me."

"Is he ok, Peter? I went by the house, but he wasn't there. I thought he might've stayed here last night, or that he was with you." Astrid was starting to worry.

Peter turned on the Betamax and hit the pause button. "Astrid…. Walter left me a message on this tape. I need you to watch it, see if it jogs any memories." He leaned against the table holding the TV and pressed the play button.

He couldn't watch Walter's image on the screen; just hearing his voice was bad enough. As Walter continued, Astrid's eyes filled with tears and the worry turned to anguish as she began to realize that Walter was gone.

By the time the screen went black, tears were rolling down Astrid's face. "Peter, what… I don't understand…"

In two steps, Peter stood in front of Astrid and wrapped his arms around her. Although he'd watched the recording a dozen times by now, it still left him with a painful, empty feeling, knowing that this was all he had left of Walter… this and his memories.

Peter stood with his arms around Astrid, rocking gently. As her sobs dwindled, she pulled away and looked up at Peter. "I still don't understand…"

He pulled a handkerchief from the back pocket of his jeans. "It's clean," he said with a small smile.

"Astrid, I have to ask you something…Does seeing this," he gestured at the TV, "make you remember anything?"

Astrid shook her head slowly. "Should it?"

"Well, this doesn't make sense, even for us… but Olivia and I, we remember… we remember the future."

ooo

Phillip Broyles didn't think it was possible to be surprised anymore. Pattern cases, shape shifters, Observers, alternate universes, megalomaniac scientists creating new worlds...

"So, what you're telling me…" he stared intently at his best agent across the desk, "Is that we all lived a future vastly different from this one, and the reason that Dr. Bishop is not here now is because he's in… he's in…"

His best agent's husband/partner, a person with an odd past himself, was leaning in the doorway of Olivia's office. "He's in the year 2167. In 2036, he went to 2167 in order to stop the invasion that originally happened almost a week ago."

Broyles had a pained expression on his face. "And that made him disappear?"

Olivia looked up at Peter. "Yes, sir, I'm sure Peter can provide the specifics… but that was the plan that he and September developed, and it appears that it was successful."

Broyles stood. "Detail it in the report. All of it. And think about what additional resources you might need now that Dr. Bishop is… is no longer available."

Olivia looked down at her desk. "Yes, sir, we'll have a complete report to you by Monday." She didn't trust herself to look up at either of the men.

Broyles stopped next to Peter in the doorway and extended his hand. "Peter, I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do…"

Peter took his hand automatically, but he was surprised when he looked at Broyles and saw genuine empathy rather than his usual stoic reserve. The image of a much older Broyles looking fondly at his adult daughter and embracing his wife with tears in his eyes flashed through his mind; it was another event that would (probably) never happen now, but it brought a unique perspective to the Broyles standing before him. Peter grasped his hand. "Thanks, Phillip. We're still trying to make sense of it all."

Broyles turned to Olivia before walking out of her office. "That goes for you, too, Dunham," he said gruffly.

Broyles' footsteps echoed through the almost-silent lab. Without Walter's music, an almost constant presence, the space seemed empty and cold. Peter sank into the chair in front of Olivia's desk.

"I don't know how to do this without him."

Olivia smiled sympathetically. "He said the same thing when you were gone."

He shook his head. "Anybody could do the things I did. He was the genius." He looked at Olivia; the even tone of his voice belied the panic building in his eyes. "I'm just a hack compared to him."

Olivia walked around the desk and leaned against it in front of him. "Says the man with the 190 IQ."

"Still 6 points less than his. He was awfully proud of those 6 points," Peter smiled. "He never let me forget it, especially in the early days."

She nudged his leg with her knee. "Do you remember what you used to tell him when he would get worked up about something?"

Peter nodded and smiled again, but with a hint of sadness. "Yeah, I'd tell him that we'd do what we always did… figure it out together."

She knelt by his chair and balanced herself against his legs. "Well, I'm no mad scientist… but we'll get through this together, Peter. We have to."

He nodded, drew a deep breath, and blinked a few times, unable to speak. Olivia leaned her head against his knee and said softly, "I miss him, too."