Chasing Ghosts
Written by: Addie Price
Summary: 'She doesn't remember. And she isn't sure she wants to anymore.' Peter and Olivia are chasing the ghosts of a life they once had. Sequel to Breaking Point.
Words: 2,212
Note: This story is the sequel to my other fiction, Breaking Point. It is highly recommended you read that before this, as it sets up everything for this story.

Rated T for brief language and my own paranoia.
Disclaimer: FRINGE is the property of FOX Broadcasting Company and its associates. I am in no way affiliated with FOX nor do I own any of the characters depicted in this story.

"There are times when the only choices you have left are bad ones."

- Special Agent Philip Broyles

The psychiatric ward at the Bell Memorial hospital took up half of the entire floor. She isn't entirely sure what it is exactly called; the inmates, doctors and nurses all refer to it simply as '3 North.' The northernmost half of the entire third floor, dedicated completely to the cases within Massive Dynamic's large employee sector. Cases of paranoia, of schizophrenia, of incurable OCD. Cases of stress-induced psychotic breaks. Cases of amnesia, of memory loss.

She had only been alone in her mind for a week. She had stayed in her hospital room for two and a half days after awakening, after finding the man who called himself Peter sitting at her bedside. The doctors checked her over countless times and wrote out multiple prescriptions for pain pills and physical therapy, all of which could be acquired within the hospital. They then discharged her from the ICU and sent her to a room in 3 North where she could continue her recovery and where the doctors were trained to take on tough cases of amnesia like her own.

Despite the psychiatric nature of 3 North, however, Olivia likes it at the Bell Memorial Hospital. The food is awful, but the people are friendly enough. Her roommate is a woman named Remy, an intelligence-gatherer for Massive Dynamic who suffers from extreme paranoia after a psychotic break.

Olivia is visited everyday by the man called Peter. He comes and sits with her three times a day, for about half an hour each time. Sometimes, they sit and talk. Sometimes, he just talks and she listens as he tells her intimate details of her former life, the one she can no longer remember. Sometimes, they simply sit in comfortable silence, gaining reassurance from each other's presence.

She knows that, somehow, she and Peter have a relationship extending farther than just coworkers. The doctors at 3 North have told her that they've worked together for the past three years, that the two have become close over that time. But they never tell her details, as if they are trying to force her to remember him. And she wants to remember. She sometimes wants so badly to remember. She just can't. And sometimes, she isn't sure if she really wants to.

There is a piano in 3 North. She finds herself sitting at it one day, staring at the ivory and ebony keys. She reaches out with a slender hand, gently stroking the keys but not daring to play a note. She knows that, somehow, this instrument plays a role in her life. She just can't remember how.

The sound of someone clearing her throat interrupts her reverie. She looks up to the source to see a nurse standing nearby, eyes kind as he gently smiles at her. "Ms. Dunham?" Olivia nods at him. "Mr. Bishop is here to see you."

"What time is it?"

The man is unperturbed by her question and answers quickly, used to much stranger questions and reactions from 3 North's patients. "12:30."

Olivia nods and turns back to the piano, pressing lightly on a key, but not strong enough to draw a note. "Like clockwork." She nods to the nurse. "Okay."

The nurse leaves and comes back a beat later, accompanying Peter. He smiles gently as he sees her and moves forward more quickly, reaching towards her but pulling back at the last moment, afraid to touch her. The nurse leaves them and Peter sits down next to her, reaching out with a hand and pressing a key, drawing a clear note from the instrument as, inside, a hammer hit a wire.

"I played for you once," he says, keeping his eyes on the keys. "There was a piano in Walter's lab. Walter wanted me to play for you, and I did. You asked for some Bach, but I said it was too stuffy. I thought that you needed to loosen up a bit." The corners of his mouth quirk up at the memory. "I played you jazz. You seemed to like it. At least, I hope you did. I loved playing for you, Olivia." He looks up at her, eyes light with the memory. "Could I play for you again?"

She nods her consent and he begins to play, drawing a sweet melody from the keys as his fingers danced over them

Olivia lets the music wash over her in waves, taking her back to a different time. All of a sudden, she is in a dusty old room, lab equipment and machines surrounding her as she leans on a piano, watching Peter play for her. She feels emotions she didn't know existed wash over her, engulfing her and drowning her in a memory she can't remember.

But then the music is over and the moment is gone, taking her vision with it as she collapses against the piano, panting heavily and drawing a loud plunk from the instrument.

"Olivia?" Peter's voice is frantic as his hands reach for her, fluttering over her as he pulls her towards him, pulling her nearly into his lap. "Olivia!"

After the nurses took Olivia away and Peter confirmed with her doctor that she would be okay after a few hours of much-needed rest, Peter returns to Walter's lab at Massive Dynamic to find answers.

"She just fainted," Peter says to his father as he finishes his story, unimpressed with the feigned look of interest on Walter's face. "Right there, in my arms. She started convulsing, but it wasn't a seizure. It was…different, somehow."

Walter is shuffling around his lab now, picking up things and continuing long-forgotten experiments.

Peter's frustration increases as the man seemingly ignores him. "Walter, are you even listening to me?"

Walter looks up at him, as if startled by his presence. "Of course I'm listening, son. But this development comes as no surprise to me. After everything Agent Dunham has been through, it would come as no shock to me if she had seizures daily. In fact, judging by the lack of any new developments after she woke up without her memory, you should be overjoyed at any change in her condition. Most likely, it is a good sign that her body is finally showing signs of repairing the damage down to her mind. Not to mention the poison that most likely took a physical toll on her and the battle that took both a physical and mental toll."

Peter sighs in frustration. "And how is her passing out and subsequent convulsions a 'good sign,' Walter?"

The scientist echoes his son's sigh and pauses in his work, opting instead to look at his son full-on and explain. "The fainting and convulsions mean that her mind is finally healing enough to know that something is wrong. It is catching up on the trauma inflicted on her body. She needs time now, Peter. Her mind needs to heal. Let her heal."

The door opened then, revealing Astrid and Lincoln as the walk in, followed by a heavyset middle-aged man, ending any possibilities of a full-out argument between Peter and Walter.

"Really, you guys couldn't have found a more fit body for me?" the man complains, plopping himself into a chair while panting heavily. "It's going to be quite the task, getting this man back in shape.

Peter snorts, walking forward to relieve Astrid of the heavy boxes of equipment and supplies from Walter's old lab. "It was hard enough finding you that body, Bell. Now's not the time to get picky."

"You could've tried a little harder."

Astrid interrupts then before their argument turns into a brawl. "Walter, we got those things you wanted from the lab. And William had us bring a few extra things back, too."

Walter moves over to them, rubbing his hands together. "Ah, excellent. Well done, Aether." He begins rummaging around in one of the boxes. Behind his back, Lincoln mouths "Aether?" to Astrid, but she simply smiles and shakes her head, completely used to Walter's quirks by now.

Peter leads Astrid and Lincoln away from the two scientists and into a back corner of the lab. Once he is certain that neither Walter or William are trying to eavesdrop, he turns to them, careful to keep his voice low. "Olivia had an episode today. Walter says it's a good thing, but I don't believe him. Walter may know now how the Other Side injected Fauxlivia's memory into Olivia, but he hasn't the slightest idea on how to retrieve her memories once more. I need you two to talk to Nina Sharp and figure out a way to see if the Other Side has any possible cures."

Astrid raises a hand to stop him. "Wait a second. You want us to spy on the Other Side?"

Peter nods. "Exactly."

"Now, I may be wrong since I only know about this 'Other Side' from what you've told me, but isn't spying on them a little…dangerous?" Lincoln interjects, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And stupid?" Astrid adds.

Peter shakes his head. "They won't have any way of knowing that you're watching them. Just talk to Nina; I'm sure she'll have some sort of tech to communicate with or watch the Other Side. If not, I can modify some of Walter's old technology for you to use. Okay?"

He leaves them then, going over to Walter and William to help them with their latest project. Astrid turns to Lincoln, eyes wide. "We need Olivia back."

Lincoln nods. "I've never even met her officially and I agree."

The room she wakes up in is dark. Olivia can hear someone else in the room, their breathing slow. A single light clicks on, illuminating the room from the single lamp within it and revealing the person who is sitting in the room with her.

Remy sits on her bed on the opposite side of the room, her hair swept back from her pace, eyes wide as she watches Olivia. They are in their room, on their own respective beds. Olivia shuts her eyes against the light, turning her head away from her roommate.

"I told you he was bad news."

Olivia opens her eyes to look back at Remy, squinting at her in the harsh light. "What?"

"That man, Peter. I told you from day one that I didn't like him." Remy shifts on her bed then gets up to move by Olivia, joining her roommate at the end of her bed. "He hurt you, Olivia. I saw it. He hurt you."

Olivia sits up in her bed, raising a hand to rub at her eyes. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"You two were sitting at the piano. He played something for you and you had your eyes closed. When he was done, you collapsed against him and started convulsing. It scared me. He did it to you. That's never happened before. He did that to you. Two of the nurses brought you here."

"What did Peter do after that?"

Remy looks up at her sheepishly. "Well, since I basically attacked him, he couldn't do much. I managed to chase him out before a guard tackled me."

Olivia raises her hand to her forehead, rubbing away her weariness. "So are we in lockdown?"

"Yeah, you and I are. Sorry about that."

Olivia shrugs. "That's okay. We get better food in lockdown anyways."

The two sit in silence for a full minute before Remy speaks, having to clear the trepidation from her voice. "What were you two doing?"

Olivia is silent for a moment before answering. "We were just talking. He told me a story, about something that happened before I was in here. He said he played the piano for me. And then he asked me if I wanted him to play it again. So he did."

She pauses, looking over at Remy. "And then I must've blacked out, like you said, because I don't remember anything up until waking up in here."

"Are you sure?"

Olivia narrows her eyes at her. "What do you know?"

Remy looks away, almost embarrassed. "You talk in your sleep."

"What did I say?"

It takes a moment for Remy to answer. "You kept repeating the same thing, over and over. 'I remember. I remember. I remember.'"

Olivia turns away from her friend and closes her eyes, facing the wall beside her bed. She's scared. She doesn't remember and she isn't sure she wants to anymore.