Chapter 9

A few hours later, Olivia returned to the lab, this time in clothes more suited to traversing the underground labyrinth – jeans, boots, a long sleeved t-shirt, and a lightweight hoodie. She made a pot of coffee and settled herself at a lab table facing the door, her phone and the files for the Pearce case spread out in front of her.

The minutes seem to drag by, but she could tell by the dwindling light that evening was turning into night. She laid her head on the table, pushing away the worry that Peter, like his father, had pushed the boundaries of science and ended up far away from the people who loved him. They had a history of doing just that, Walter and Peter.

Footsteps in the hallway echoed in the silence of the deserted building. Olivia sat up and reached for the gun at her side. She heard Peter's phone, the beeps and buzzes that indicated a dozen missed calls, voice mails, and text messages, and then his voice – rough and hoarse, as if he'd just awakened.

"What, you haven't gotten enough attention? You'd think everyone in Boston was calling me."

The door opened and a disheveled Peter ambled into the lab, carrying a box that contained his phone, still buzzing angrily. "Olivia," he said with a note of surprise. "What are you doing here?"

She studied the man standing in front of her. His eyes were mere slits, red and swollen, and his hair stuck out in dozen different directions. His scruff was well on its way to becoming a beard and… he reeked of marijuana smoke.

He walked over to the lab table and set down the box, rummaging through it for his phone. As he flipped through the missed calls, he ran his hand through his hair. He looked up at Olivia. "Oops?"

She gritted her teeth. "Oops? You've been out of touch for almost three days!"

"Livia, I didn't realize it had been that long." He moved towards her, but she took a step backwards and wrinkled her nose.

"You haven't been answering your phone," she accused him, her eyes flashing angrily. "And all you've been doing is smoking dope?"

"I've been going through Walter's files. Thought it would help," he mumbled.

Olivia shut her eyes and pinched her nose, a sure sign she was frustrated. "Just go take a shower," she said irritably. I'll find you some fresh clothes."

As Peter ambled off towards the shower, Olivia picked up her phone and called Astrid.

"Yes, that's where he was… in the tunnels reading Walter's files and smoking his dope… because he thought it would help him understand Walter." Olivia sighed into the phone. "I know, I know, it's starting to weigh on him."

She listened for a moment, a smile brightening her face. "Yes, I heard her. Tell her Daddy's finishing his work and we'll both be home soon." She paused, listening again. "I will, thank you for everything, Astrid. See you shortly."

Olivia could hear the shower running as she headed towards her office. They kept duffle bags with clean clothes and toiletries there for emergencies. I'd say three days of pot smoking and no showers constitutes an emergency.

When she reached the shower, she called out to Peter. "I've got clean clothes for you." As she walked by the shower stall, an arm stretched out and grabbed her. A much more pleasant smelling Peter leaned out, curls flattened by the water.

"I'm sorry, Liv," he murmured, and pulled her face to his. "Didn't mean to worry you." He bent his head and kissed her gently. His lips moved languidly over hers, his tongue tracing her upper lip until she relaxed and leaned into the kiss. Convinced she wouldn't run away, he moved his hand to cup her face and deepened his kiss until they both were breathless.

Olivia looked at him and blinked rapidly. His eyes were tired and bloodshot, but his trademark smirk was still there. "Care to join me?"

She looked crossly at him, but her eyes belied her expression. "Maybe when you smell better," she said softly and walked off to collect her files.

A few minutes later, Olivia returned to the shower area. She expected Peter to be out by now, but the water was still running and he was nowhere to be seen. Cautiously, she pulled back the shower curtain and found Peter, eyes closed, leaning against the back of the shower. His shoulders were slumped and his head was bowed.

"Peter?"

When he didn't respond, she dropped her clothes on the chair alongside his, and touched his arm gently as she entered the shower stall.

"Peter, what's the matter?" She cupped his face in her hands and tilted it up to hers.

He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and leaned into her, resting his forehead against hers. "I'm so sorry, Olivia. I keep doing this to you."

"I was worried," she whispered, barely audible above the water coursing over their shoulders. "We… I didn't know where you were." She leaned into his embrace and leaned her head against his shoulder, relaxing for the first time in days. As the tension left her body, the tight grip she'd held on her emotions loosened as well and she felt her eyes well with tears.

When Peter felt her trembling, he nuzzled the side of her face until she looked up at him. "Olivia… I'm right here. What's wrong?"

Her breath hitched. "I saw you working on Walter's formulas. I thought… I thought you might be trying to find him."

"Liv…"

"Etta asked me if you were going to see Walter… Peter, I was afraid you were gone." She tried to hide her emotions, but the stress won out and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

Peter cupped her cheek and wiped away the tears that had fallen. "Livia… shhh, I'm here." He wrapped his arms around her and rocked slowly, holding her as the tears came. "I'm here…" He closed his eyes and let his still-heightened senses take over: the warmth of Olivia's body tucked into his, the sound of the water reverberating in the shower stall, the scent of Olivia as he buried his face in her hair.

As he felt her breathing slow, he began nuzzling her, dropping kisses along her neck. One arm, wrapped around her waist, held her close, tucked between his outstretched legs. Her skin felt like silk under his lips. He brushed her hair away from her neck, seeking the sensitive spot behind her ear that always made her gasp when he found it.

"I'm here," he whispered as he found that spot and nibbled. "I'm here," he told her, before tracing her clavicle to his favorite spot, the little hollow between her neck and shoulder. He loved to kiss her there, to map the outline of her shoulder with his lips until she shivered from the rasp of his scruff against her.

"I'm here," he murmured to the cleft between her breasts as he moved down her body. He could spend hours here, teasing her nipples into pebbled nubs, caressing the fullness of her breasts in his hands. Her body had changed since her pregnancy, but the changes made her even more beautiful in Peter's eyes, no matter how much she protested to the contrary.

He grasped her hips as he knelt before her, the water cascading down his back. "I'm here," he whispered to her navel, before leaning his cheek against her barely curved belly. He traced the faint silver lines at her hips, proof that Etta had been there. He ran his tongue along the crease of her thigh and felt Olivia's fingers in his hair as he eased her leg over his shoulder and nuzzled her soft blond curls.

Every sensation, every sound, every touch was more intense for him. He closed his eyes and leaned into her, remapping the familiar territory of her body with a new appreciation – the soft heat of her skin, the sound of her moans and the tug of her fingers in his hair as he teased her with his lips and tongue. He wanted to drink her in, to never leave the musky warmth of her.

"Peter…" she breathed his name, barely audible above the falling water.

"Hmmmm?" he hummed against her clit, and smiled as she moaned and her fingers tightened in his hair. He lost himself in her, thinking only of how she felt under his mouth, around his fingers, and how to elicit more of those breathy sounds of pleasure she made as he found the right combination of fast and slow, hard and soft, here and there and rightthereagainplease!

She leaned against the wall, grasping his shoulders for balance. He could feel her fingernails carving tiny half-moons into his back as he continued. As amazing as she felt pressed against his mouth, he wanted her wrapped around him now. As he started to stand, he grazed kisses across her hipbones and thought he heard her whining in frustration.

When he straightened, he covered her mouth with his and leaned into her, deepening his kiss and running his hands down her sides. He remembered the shelf built into the shower, just the right height for him as he slid his hands under her ass and lifted her to the shelf. Her legs wrapped around him instinctively and he gave a deep sigh of contentment as he buried himself in her.

"Peter, don't ever leave me." Her voice was a whisper; he could barely hear her over the sound of the water echoing in the shower, but the worry and pain in her voice was clear.

Her head rested against his shoulder and he nuzzled her cheek until he could see her face. "I'm here, Olivia, I'll always be here." He murmured into her hair as he began to move against her.

He said a mental 'thank you' to whoever installed the shower (and the shelf) in Walter's lab, then remembered it WAS Walter… and William Bell, back in the early days of their partnership back in the 70's. Knowing those two…. He wondered briefly how they'd managed to get the shelf just the right height, then pushed the thought from his mind as Olivia's arms tightened around his shoulders and her lips grazed his. And then he decided that rational thought was vastly overrated when a beautiful, naked woman was moaning in his arms, and he lost himself in her again until they leaned against each other, breathless and sated.

"Peter, don't go away again."

"I'm not going anywhere…" Yet, he thought.

Yet… she thought.