"I'm not willing to lose one of my legitimate agents." - Colonel Broyles

Fear Not Death

Summary: I'm not afraid to die. Their conversation takes a grim turn.

When the dust had settled, Peter Bishop pushed himself off the ground. He examined himself; nothing was broken. Looking around he tried to find Olivia. He remember being separated from her for only a minute, just before the floor above just caved in on them. Where did she go?

His view was obstructed by fallen rubble but he could hear a faint sound coming through from the other side.

"Olivia?"

As if in response to his query, he also heard a groan as well.

"Hang on, Olivia. I'm coming."

This was an already old building. The structural collapse just made it a whole lot dangerous to be in.

Peter gained purchase on top of rickety furniture and climbed over ceiling beams to get across. He choked back his worry when he saw Olivia lying unmoving on the ground.

From his vantage point, he wasn't able to see how badly she was hurt.

"Olivia." He repeated, as he turned her over gently. She coughed and spit up a mouthful of blood. That was not good. Not good at all.

For a split second, a flood of emotions flashed across his face. What if this had been his Olivia? He shook off the thought. She wasn't of course. Even so he was not willing to let her die like this. He cared too much to abandon her now.

"Hey." Peter stared into half-lidded eyes. "Hey." He felt her neck. Relief washed over his face mixed with a few tears. Olivia was alive, but her pulse was weakening. "It's OK. I forgive you. Now please don't die." She was oblivious to his presence. He had to get her help.

Peter knew that by moving her now would probably aggravate her injuries. Still it was better than staying here.

He gathered her up carefully into a protective cradle and made for the nearest exit. It wasn't going to be easy. The floor they were on had dropped below grade and the door out of here was above them.

Broyles and the rest of the defence force were waiting outside. When he saw Peter carrying a prone Dunham, he barked orders into his walkie-talkie.

"Send medics to my position ASAP!"

Fighting fatigue, Peter's knees buckled with Olivia still in his arms. He shook his head when Broyles offered to take her from him.

"No. Gotta keep her warm." Peter said between breaths.

He was right. Olivia's body was growing colder once they emerged from the building. Someone handed Broyles a blanket, which he used to drape over Olivia. She looked near death.

PREVIOUSLY

The moment he saw Walternate marched back into his world with his Olivia, Peter's first impulse was to run. They were not alone. Behind him was a complete invading force. The other Olivia had told him to expect as much the day before.

His father's intentions were far from noble, and he knew that the real victims here were the two Olivias. He used one to ensure his weapon get assembled and used the other to guarantee safe passage to this world.

When the shelling started, all Peter wanted to do was keep this Olivia close by him. Despite all the lies, he didn't view things as either black or white. He lived his whole life with shades of grey. That made it easy for him to trust her without question. In fact, she was leading them back to the relative safety of their side, when the building they took refuge in collapsed on top of them.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

Peter fought back a terrible headache. He felt like roadkill. When he opened his eyes, he looked up at the concerned face of Philip Broyles.

"Welcome back Mister Bishop."

He didn't even know when he had lost consciousness. Peter looked around anxiously. He was lying on a cot in what looked like a makeshift hospital. Medics were busily tending to Olivia in the adjacent cot.

"A broken rib pierced her right lung." Broyles explained. "She lost blood from internal hemorrhaging, but she'll live." Peter stole a glance at her still form. She looked pale as a ghost.

"One more thing, Peter. Their Fringe team secretly made contact with us. They are willing to switch her back with our Olivia."

"When?" He moved to the edge of her cot to take hold of her icy hand.

"Midnight. This operation is strictly under the radar. Walternate is not even aware of the trade. Will you be able to handle it on your own?"

"Yeah."

The location chosen for the exchange was as far away from the main battle as possible. It wasn't that far, but if Peter had to help Olivia on foot, they needed an hour to get there.

By the time Peter came back to the tent, the medics had dosed Olivia with enough stimulants for the trek. They also taped her up good, so her pain was noticeably bearable. He was still wondering if it was a good idea; he watched as it took two people to assist Olivia up to a standing position. She had to lean forward on the person in front, while someone else pushed her up from behind.

Peter replaced them and held her to keep her steady. Olivia was barely standing on wobbly legs.

"Let's get going." Peter was astonished. Even in this condition, she can still muster so much bravado.

Under the cover of darkness it was hard to see where they were headed. It was a good thing Peter had GPS coordinates. He occasionally paused to check his readings and looked over at Olivia. She was walking on her own by now never once betraying how much pain she was in. Several times he wanted to stop to let her rest, but she refused and insisted on continuing.

About two thirds of the way, when Peter stopped Olivia slammed to a halt right into him. His concerned escalated when he clearly heard her laboured breathing. From the sounds of it, he knew she probably was developing pneumonia.

"Five minutes." He held up one hand for emphasis. She acquiesced.

Peter guided her to a nearby tree and eased her down. Olivia closed her eyes momentarily while taking a shaky breath.

"Here." Olivia accepted the salt pills Peter gave her. "This should help." She popped them into her mouth letting the salt dissolve on her tongue.

A quietness fell between them, before Olivia spoke up.

"I'm not afraid to die."

Peter was shaken by her admission. He watched as she stared into the distance.

"Don't say things like that."

She smiled. "I'm not, you know."

"You are not going to die. Not today." She was touched by his optimism.

"They taught us to say that when I was a kid. It kinda replaced the Lord's prayer before we go to sleep."

Peter gave her words some thought.

"But I've learned that it's OK to be afraid."

"You know. When I was in Iraq, there were times when I thought that I wasn't going to make it, but the fear of death kept me going. It taught me to revere death not look it in the face."

Peter thought how lucky he was not to have to face death on a daily basis. It just made him appreciate what she had gone through her entire life.

"Olivia. I think you are..." He turned to her before continuing to speak. Olivia's eyes were closed. He shook her, but she was unresponsive. "Damn." He had to hurry now.

He carried Olivia on his back the rest of the way. At last, he got to his destination, but he couldn't see where his contacts were. He started to cry overcome with a sudden sense of helplessness.

"Peter." It was said so quietly, he barely registered hearing his name. "Peter. Over here."

"Olivia?" He wiped away his tears with one hand.

Sure enough, she and the other Broyles waved him into the bushes.

Broyles proceeded to unburden him of the unconscious Olivia and lowered her onto a litter on the ground.

Peter heard Broyles say thank you and assure him that she will be OK, while he watched his Olivia kissed and hugged another of his operative goodbye.

"Take care of yourself, hon."

"I will."

She only paused briefly by her double to say something before joining Peter.

When they were halfway back to their side, Peter dared to ask a question. "What did you say to her back there?"

"I told her to live."

I know this wasn't going to write itself. So I tried to draw from all the deathbed confessions I have ever watched and milked one of my own. If this doesn't get your sympathy, I give up. Not everything is so black and white in the world(s). Why wouldn't Peter and Olivia find it in their hearts to forgive her? One way or another, they would learn who she is through their experiences.

I don't own Fringe, but I can still dream.