Chapter 7

Because she had fallen asleep so closely entwined with Peter, Olivia was surprised to wake in an empty bed. A note propped against the alarm clock read "Brainstorm – gone to lab. Love – P"

It wasn't even 4 am yet, and Peter's side of the bed had gone cold. For a man who buried his head under his pillow for anything less than sex or the end of the world before 9 am, the brainstorm must've been significant to motivate him out of his warm bed and into work.

Olivia stretched and snuggled under the covers. Without Peter's warmth curled around her, she needed the blankets they'd kicked off earlier. She'd give him a couple of hours with his brainstorm and call him once she and Etta were up for the day, she thought, and rolled over to doze until the alarm went off.

ooo

The morning was a flurry of activity: getting Etta dressed and off to pre-school, getting herself dressed and downtown to a day of meetings at the Federal Building. In between meetings, she coordinated the other agents assigned to their latest case. It was late afternoon, just before she left to pick up Etta, that she had time to call Peter.

Pick up pick up pick up, she thought, drumming her fingers on the desk.

"Peter, I'm leaving to pick up Etta at pre-school. Call me when you get a chance," she paused. "Peter, I love you."

They'd never been the kind of couple that had to confirm their relationship with every conversation. Even Peter, who had become so open about his feelings for her once they'd renewed their relationship (again), expressed himself with gentle touches, smiling eyes, and little gestures. Saying "I love you" was still a gift they gave each other, especially outside their bedroom, yet Olivia felt the need to tell Peter, and even Etta, more often.

She called the lab next.

"Astrid, it's Olivia. I was trying to reach Peter. Have you seen him?"

"He's been in Walter's office all day." The younger woman lowered her voice. "Olivia, I think he found Walter's stash."

"His pot?" Olivia scoffed. As long as she'd known the Bishops, Peter's drug of choice had been alcohol. While he worried about Walter's habits at first, and rolled his eyes at them later, he never gave any indication that he cared to join his father.

"He's been playing Walter's old albums… and it smells like marijuana, just like it did when…" Astrid's voice faltered.

"Well, if he comes out before you leave, would you remind him to call me?" Olivia paused. "And Astrid… if I need to come get him…"

"I'll let you know," Astrid reassured her.

ooo

Afternoon turned into evening; dinner, bath time, and bedtime stories flew by, and still no Peter. Olivia spread her files on the kitchen table, the best vantage point from which to greet him when he returned. She checked her phone multiple times; no missed calls or text messages, signal strength and charge status were both good.

At midnight, she gave in.

"Peter, are you still at the lab? Call me, please, when you get this message."

At 2 am, she gave up and went to bed, more than a little irate at her absent husband… and worried.

The next morning, she answered innumerable questions from Etta about her missing father, in between a hurried breakfast and finding matching socks in the laundry basket. She was tying Etta's tennis shoes when Etta tugged on her sleeve.

"Mama… Daddy didn't go to visit Grandpa, did he?" Her voice quivered a little at the thought of her grandfather AND her father a million miles away.

Olivia closed her eyes. Of all the possibilities that had crossed her mind, time travel had not been one of them, until now. And now, that was all she could think about… it was so like Peter, and Walter, to create an impossible solution to an unsolvable problem.

"No, baby girl, he would never leave us without saying goodbye," I hope. "He's just working hard on a new case since Grandpa's not here to help." She finished the second shoe and patted her foot. "Now, let's get going, so I can go help him, too."

Seemingly satisfied, Etta hopped from the chair and grabbed her lunchbox from the counter. "OK, Mama. Work REALLY hard today, so Daddy can come home tonight, ok?"

"I will, baby girl, I will." And with that, they were out the door and on their way.

Once Etta was safely ensconced at pre-school, Olivia headed towards the lab. After trying fruitlessly to reach Peter, she tried Astrid's number.

"No, he's not here. Didn't he come home last night?" Astrid sounded worried. "He was still in the office when I left… I thought."

"But he's not there, now?" Olivia was beginning to get anxious as well. "No note? No signs of a struggle or any indication of where he might've gone?" She could hear Astrid's quick pace as she headed towards the office.

"No… of course, it's hard to tell if he took any files… they're all over the place. But there's no note." Astrid laughed. "The bong's gone, though."

"I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad sign," Olivia admitted. "Alright, I'm going to follow up on some leads for the Pearce case, but if you see him…."

Astrid tried to sound reassuring and confident. "I'll have him call you."

ooo

Another day passed with no sign of Peter. Astrid came home with Olivia the next night to watch Etta while Olivia went out on the streets to look for him. She tried all their old haunts… the Milky Way, the tiny bar at Damiano's, all the little dives around Cambridge and Allston. She even went to see Ed Markham, much to his delight.

"So you've finally wised up and dumped that guy you came in with last time, eh?"

Olivia smiled ruefully and shook her head.

"Don't tell me, he dumped you? He's more thick-headed than I thought," Ed paused a minute, and then virtually quivered with excitement. "Don't worry, darlin, I'll make you forget that bastard so fast it'll make your head spin."

Olivia shook her head again. "No, Markham, Peter's gone missing. I wanted to know if you'd seen him in the last couple of days."

His face fell. "And here I was hoping that you were coming to see me…Nah, haven't seen him since the last time he was in here with you."

"Well, if you see him…" Olivia's voice trailed off.

"For you, anything. But if you change your mind…" Markham looked hopeful again.

"Thanks, Markham," she threw over her shoulder as she trudged out the door.

She decided to swing by the lab one more time before heading home. Only a few lights were on, the offices were dark, and Gene's lowing was her only response when she called out.

She checked the offices, just in case Peter had decided to crash on one of the couches. Nothing had changed since she'd been that earlier in the day. She headed to the back of the lab to check on Gene; as she passed the white boards, she noticed that Peter had labeled it "DO NOT ERASE" – it contained Walter's last scribbles.

The board was covered in mathematical formulae, both in Walter's hand and another; Olivia and Peter surmised this must've been The Plan that Walter and September had developed. Tonight, there were additional notations in Peter's hand, and they continued on the back of the board.

Olivia sagged into one of the lab chairs near the white board. That wasn't here this afternoon when she and Astrid left. Peter had been back to the lab THAT EVENING.

Etta's question from this morning echoed in her mind. If Peter was working with Walter's formulas for time travel…

She fished her phone out of her coat pocket. "Peter, please…" she swallowed. "Peter, please call me before… before you make any big decisions. Peter… please come home."

Sliding her phone back in her pocket, she headed for home.