A/N: sorry this is late, I went on a holiday with some friends, but our plane got delayed coming back -_-
Anyway, I don't really like this chapter and I've gone over it more than 8 times.
A Saviour . . . or Three
"You heard what Walter said!" Peter yelled.
They had been arguing for the better part of an hour. The others in the lab trying to act like nothing was going on and go about like normal, but even Ashley knew something was wrong because she kept fussing about, crawling everywhere, trying to get into the office, to get to her parents. Charlie was the unfortunate "chaser" of Ashley, but with Astrid's help they managed to entertain her with the deck of cards. She seemed to enjoy knocking over Charlie's card tower.
"I know what Walter said! But I don't care. This isn't about us anymore! There are still people out there; there will be other's who have survived. We are possibly the only people who can put a stop to this, and if that means being in a dangerous situation, then fine!" Olivia yelled back.
"Walter said that the device will essentially latch onto you, drain you of the energy the fire creates! We don't know what that could do to you? It could kill you!"
"I've had enough arguing with you." She looked down at the floor, solemn.
"I'm doing this, and when I do, I would want you to be the one with me." Her voice became soft, broken, "I'd rather not have to use my memories of . . . that man."
"I can't lose you." Peter took a step forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him. "Ashley can't lose you. I don't want her to grow up without a mom. I don't want to lose you, Liv."
"You won't. But I can't not do something. Especially when we, partially, started this. The creature escaped us and now we can put an end to them. I have to do this, Peter."
"I know." He smiled warmly at her, then leaning to kiss her hair. "But I can't stop worrying about you. You would dive head first into the most deadly of situations if it meant saving a life or two. It's who you are, I know."
Peter knew Olivia, possibly better then herself. She could never let something go. He found her some nights (long before all this happened) asleep at the lab, desk covered in papers, notes, case-related bits and pieces.
oOo
A few hours later, Walter announced the device's completion. They set it up and Peter and Olivia disappeared into the room. They'd decided, for safety, in case something did happen, to use a closer room.
Normally in a situation that involved waiting, Walter would be chewing happily on a liquorice stick. But there was none, so Walter took up pacing . . . again. Mumbling to himself, rambling off formulas for things even Astrid didn't recognise as recent experiments.
Twice already, John and Charlie told the scientist to keep quiet. Broyles, finding the entire situation disquieted, kept quiet, tending to the two ten year olds. He'd taken up telling stories to them. It reminded him of when he'd read to his niece. It was a simple gesture of comfort, safety, security. Something that the two girls needed.
Everyone else just sat around and waited. It was different then their normal-daytime-laziness. They were waiting for 'that thing' to happen, and no one wanted to do anything else in case they missed it or something happened.
It felt like hours had gone by before everyone jumped from the sudden bang of the lab doors opening. Peter stumbled in, carrying Olivia in his arms. A blanket had been wrapped around her and Peter had managed to get his own pants on, but not hers. He placed her on the floor before turning to his father,
"It won't stop, Walter!"
"What happened, son?"
Everyone was gathered around them. Trying to see what was happening.
"Everything was fine, just like last time. The device whirred again and started taking on Olivia's energy. We saw it work."
"We didn't feel anything. There wasn't a wave like last time." Astrid added.
"It was fine. We were about to come back when she collapsed. I could actually see the energy draining form her, the device kept taking it from her."
"Ah, I thought this might happen—"
"You knew! You knew this would happen?" Peter screamed at his father. His face red with anger. But he turned back to Olivia.
"Can someone go and get the device, I shall examine it, find the problem." Walter asked.
John sprinted from the lab, returning with the device in his hands seconds later.
"Ah, thank you. Place it over there." John did as he was told, leaving the device on the table.
"Peter," Olivia murmured,
"Hey, hey. I'm here. How do you feel?"
"Like I'm having the life sucked out of me." She tried to laugh, but only succeeded in coughing.
"Yeah, well, just hang in there, Walter's working on it."
"I don't feel too good, Peter."
Now that he thought about it, she was slowly getting paler. Like the life was literally being taken from her, not just her fire-energy.
They watched Walter fiddle around. Peter cradling Olivia as she tried to stay awake.
"There! I think it's off." Walter cheered.
"You think?" Peter questioned.
"It's off." Walter nodded his affirmation.
"I'm afraid I will have to modify it, make it safer for Olivia to use."
"No, Walter. No more tests, experiments, devices. No more."
He stroked Olivia's face tenderly, watching as colour seeped back into her cheeks.
No one had noticed the device starting to shake on the table, until it was too late. Olivia had just stood up, Peter helping her keep balanced when they heard Charlie.
"Walter!" he yelled,
The device exploded. Shrapnel flew out everywhere, in all directions. But there was the wave, too. It rode out the explosion and spread.
Those closest to the device, Peter, Olivia, Walter and Charlie were thrown backwards. Olivia was thrown onto the desk, the desk breaking under the sudden weight. She landed awkwardly on the floor, her head hitting the ground hard, knocking her out. Charlie was thrown into the wall. Walter and Peter landed on their backs several meters back.
The girls screamed and Ashley started crying uncontrollably.
Eventually, everyone gained their equilibrium again. Astrid, running to the office, checking on the girls and picking Ashley up, stroking her back until she calmed down.
Outside, they could here screams. Not human screams. Creature screams. They were dying.
"How?" Astrid asked, bewildered.
"The device, it must have absorbed enough energy, and it was stored inside, that's why it didn't create the wave earlier. It rode the explosion, like it did with Olivia's the first time." Walter was too caught up in the 'amazing-ness' of it all to notice everything else behind him.
"Liv?" Peter was crouched over Olivia again. She lay limp on the floor.
"Was she hit by anything?"
"I . . . I don't know. She . . . she hit the desk, and I think she might've hit her head." Peter stumbled/crawled towards his wife. "Liv, answer me!" he shook her arm, his other hand checking her pulse and stroking her face.
"What do we do?" Astrid asked as she tried to get Ashley back to sleep. They didn't need a crying child wanting her mother, especially when her mother couldn't help.
"Use Walter's ultrasound device, check to see if she's got any internal bleeding. It should work the same." Charlie suggested.
Peter did that. Keeping her covered appropriately as he moved the wand down her body. Starting with her neck and chest, moving to her stomach.
But he didn't find any bleeding or anything wrong for that matter.
"What is that? It's like . . ." he trailed off, trying to find a word to describe what he was seeing.
Everyone was staring at the small screen, intrigued but unsure of what to make of it.
The realisation hit everyone at the same time.
"Is that . . .?" Peter asked, unbelieving.
"I think it is." Charlie stared in awe at the screen.
On the screen were two small figures, barely visible, inside
"Oh my god!" John asked.
"Her being pregnant does answer a few questions." Walter mumbled, more to himself, but it was overheard by the others.
"What questions, Walter?" Peter asked, his complete focus on Olivia, checking her over constantly.
"The device kept taking her energy because she was still producing the energy. She may have stopped the fire, but the baby hadn't, it was adding to the energy and the device kept taking until it overloaded. Olivia can control it, she can stop it at will, the baby can't—" Walter was cut off mid-sentence by Charlie's voice.
"Babies." Everyone turned to Charlie who was staring at the small screen, "There's . . . there's two . . . things . . ." he waved his finger over the two 'blob-like-images', unable to describe what he was seeing,
Everyone pushed to get a look at the screen.
"She's having twins?" Astrid let out the breath she'd been holding in a half gasp, half laugh.
"Oh my . . . what about Liv?"
Walter pushed past and started examining her.
"Slight concussion, I think. I can make a concoction that will help her wake sooner—"
"No, Walter. Definitely not now."
"Well, she will wake soon, maybe a few hours."
"So she's going to be fine? They're going to be fine?" Peter asked again, just so it could sink in.
"Yes, son. They will be fine." Walter patted his son on the back in congratulations. He started walking away, but stopped and looked at him, his face full of hope.
"Do you think Olivia will name one 'Walter'? If it's a boy, of course?"
Peter just laughed, and so did everyone else.
A/N:
I refused to write smut because there was NOT even ONE REVIEW for chapter 27! So please review and you will be rewarded with smut in the last chapter :D