A.N. Hello once more lovely people. I apologise for the lengthy gap in proceedings with this project, I didn't realise how long it had been. I have complicating circumstances - I lost my dad last month, he fought hard against cancer for several years, but it is unrelenting and indiscriminate, he lost his fight. Just when we got the news he was down to mere months left, I was half pushed and I half jumped away from work, which enabled me to spend the last six months of his life caring for him, which I am very grateful for having the opportunity to do. Now however I feel directionless, and unsure of what I want to, or even can do. Urgh... I'll figure it out one day…

In the meantime, pottering here is a welcome distraction. Thanks to Frank, Crazy Awesome Sox, and Almariado who have helped keep this ticking over in my mind and encouraged me to write on. I probably should never admit it, but writing for me is a fluid process. As I try to form an entity which changes and reacts to things it and I encounter as we go. Do not underestimate the influence you have had with your comments and encouragement. I appreciate it immensely.

And now for something completely different...

3, Floats & Theories

Stepping outside, back into the brisk wind and with the sun now down, early evening had brought with it the cold. A reminder that even though they were enjoying the first warm spell of the year, New York was still within the reach of a swipe of winter's tail. The sky remained clear so the cold was able to steal in with the moonlight. Beckett and Dunham both gathered their jackets around them. Kate was also mindful of her companion's condition, and suspected she would welcome not having to hike too far, but then again, she had no idea of where their destination would be at this point. "So, where to?"

"A place called Bell, Book and Candle." Olivia answered her eyebrow twitched, and a teasing smile appeared on her lips. "Seems appropriate," she thought that the name might appeal to Kate, it certainly did to Walter – the Walter who had discovered it in the first instance. He was different now to the man she knew then, although the place was the same and he still liked it, as she found out when she brought him here during their last visit to Massive Dynamic. Though for him it was his first and as far as he was concerned it was her discovery, not his. "and they make their own root beer," this was what interested her most now, she could almost taste the creamy spiced drink already, the idea of which consumed her thoughts unhealthily, when she got like this she struggled to concentrate on anything else, it was ridiculous, but also very real as was its grip on her. "It's incredible!"

Beckett snorted, enjoying the easy banter which had so quickly developed between the two of them. In Castle's absence, she had missed it over the past few days, even though she still had the boys. Somehow with Castle, it had always been different. "Get a cab?" she asked, "I'd be guessing you don't feel like a long walk tonight."

"No, not really." Olivia admitted, glancing down at her distended middle and smoothing her hand over the straining buttons on her jacket. For now it was fastening, but in a few more weeks it wouldn't, then again in a few more weeks she probably won't be needing it anymore. She expected that this would be her last assignment from Broyles before the baby came. That alone was enough to make her heart leap in her chest, so little time left and she still felt far from ready. She wondered if anyone ever really did and thought probably not, especially not first time parents.

Beckett stepped to the kerb and within seconds she'd hailed a cab. She opened the door and slid inside moving across the seat settling in behind the driver, leaving space for Olivia in the seat closest to the kerb. Olivia ducked inside somewhat ungracefully, but grateful to be out of the wind.

As soon as the door was closed the cabbie spun round "Where to ladies?" he asked with a gleaming smile, a bubbly attitude oozing from the man.

Kate intended to leave Olivia to direct their cab because she knew where they were going, but she had yet to give any directions. Instead she was grinning back at the driver, her face lit up from the inside. A look of surprise yet mixed with familiarity and genuine happiness. "Hey" she greeted, suddenly there was emotion choking her throat, her eyes filling becoming glassy. She held the driver's eyes for just a few seconds, but evidently it was enough to both confuse and concern the man.

He twisted round in his seat further, now fully taking in Olivia's presence. A look of panic began building on his face. "You, uh… you're not…" he gesticulated to her bulging belly, eyes wide and his breathing rate increasing rapidly, "You want me to get you to the hospital?" He turned to face forward once more, "OK!" he called, checking his mirrors, about to peel out into traffic at speed.

"Henry!" Olivia called sharply, pulling his panicked glance back to her through the mirror, meeting his eyes there. "It's OK, I'm not in labour." She allowed herself a soft laugh, her smile flashing brilliantly once more. "We're just going for lunch. Bell Book and Candle, west 10th please."

The driver huffed out a sigh of relief, tipping his head back "Thank god!" he breathed, "For a minute there I thought I was going to have you delivering in the back of my cab."

Olivia felt elated at meeting this man again, well this was the first time she had met this version of him, but Henry Arliss Higgins had in a very real sense played a large part in her survival. Without him she believed she wouldn't be in this place, here, now, with the memories she carried and Peter waiting for her at home. The shift in both space and time had muddied the issue beyond sense, but she felt the truth and positivity of his influence. This man, any version of him, would always hold a very special place in her heart. Her emotions were generally a bit of a mess these days and she felt the world tilt with the hand of fate once more, joy bubbled from within her and the baby began thumping a beat on the taught skin of her belly, a response to her heightened emotions. Without Henry, she probably would never have been. 'All roads lead here' she thought.

Remembering what Henry over there had told her about himself, about his family – Jasmine and Laura she recalled – and wondered if he had found them here on this side, in this time. She scanned the area beyond the partition of his cab, and sure enough on the visor she saw two very familiar smiling faces in a photo placed where he could see it while he worked.

"You have any kids?" she asked casually from the back seat as they made their way through traffic, Henry relaxing into the drive.

"Yeah a daughter, Laura." He supplied easily, tilting the visor so she could see the photo more clearly. "The light of my life." She could feel the truth and passion in his words, just as she could over there when that Henry had spoken of his little girl. Experience had taught her that there were probably discrepancies in their lives, between here and there, then and now, some minor, others more telling but she felt that here - as there - Henry was living for and because of the love of his family.

"She's beautiful" Olivia told him and now she understood what she couldn't have comprehended before; just what his child meant to him. Her own baby already held her heart in a vice, yet she had also set it free. Olivia recognised both fragility of life, and the power love lent to strengthen once it was present in yours. Peter had shown her the way to that revelation, but it was her daughter whom was drawing her a map.

Henry's soulful brown eyes met hers in the mirror "Thank you." He said nodding respectfully. "Is this your first?"

Olivia's face already glowing became incandescent when her grin flashed. "Yes" she said simply.

"It'll change your life." He said, with no hint of a warning, there was only warmth, and truth.

"I know" though something quiet and instinctual whispered to her that while she already loved her baby, beyond anything she had ever felt before, beyond what she had previously thought possible, equal but distinctly different for the feelings she held even for Peter - she suspected that until the time came to actually meet her, that she would remain entirely clueless.

Henry took them the rest of the way in only a couple of minutes. "There you go ladies." He said as he pulled up to the sidewalk right outside the restaurant. Olivia stepped out first leaving Kate feeling a little confused by the exchange she had just witnessed. Olivia seemed oddly pleased to see the man and while he seemed happy enough to chat, he didn't seem to indicate that he knew her. Kate sensed that Olivia on the other hand, held barley contained affection for him, generated beyond the context of this meeting.

But then she didn't find it too surprising either. The word 'enigma' was one which instantly popped into the forefront of her mind when she thought about Dunham. Not that she knew her at all well, but what she had seen told her that there was a lot bubbling under the calm and collected surface of this woman, she could sense it, simmering. She idly wondered what it could be that would cause her to ignite.

Olivia left the door open for Kate, then moved to the front window. "Thank you." she said to Henry, meaning so much more than gratitude for just this moment. He seemed to sense something powerful too, probably only from her emotion, he turned to face her fully. Curiosity evident in his eyes, and soon being pulled in by the sincerity in hers. Kate watched on, a very interested observer.

"You're very welcome." he said his tone solemn.

Olivia gave a nod, then a small smile touched her lips. She slipped a hand into her jacket pocket and pulled a bill free. "Believe in yourself Henry," she said handing it to him. "You're a good man." She backed up a little with a nod. Kate slid across to get out and as she moved she noticed that it took Henry a couple of extra moments to collect himself. He scrubbed a hand over his face, then swiped the back of his hand over his eyes, clearly emotionally affected by her new companion, though not in an unpleasant way it seemed.

'It's those eyes' Kate found herself thinking. Already she had felt the impact of being held by the gravity of Olivia's scrutiny. It seemed Henry was now also in her orbit and judging by his reaction, she thought he felt the oddity of it. But also she thought he recognised on an intuitive level, as she had, that Olivia Dunham exuded trustworthiness and somehow instinctively inspired confidence and managed to convey more than a mere an impression that she was a genuine, earnest soul, who you would be willing follow into the fire.

Olivia leaned down, as best she could, offering a final soft "Bye." just before Kate pushed the door closed. Kate heard their driver chuckle, the kind of laugh let out when feeling relived and reassured. She saw the whiteness of his teeth reflected in the mirror, then he pulled away and was gone.

Olivia looked at Kate who tilted her head and raised her eyebrows, asking without asking, 'what just happened?'

Olivia snorted, and shook her head her eyes drifting close on a slow blink. "Long story."

Once seated inside Kate slumped back against the back of the booth's bench with a heavy sigh, she pushed both hands through the hair at her temples. Knowing exactly what that type of body language meant, Olivia dared ask, "Tough case?"

Kate nodded tiredly. Now she had taken time out and managed to unwind somewhat, she began to feel how fatigued she truly was. Luckily the place was well lit, the lighting mimicking natural light. She was grateful for it, if they had dimmed the light down she thought she might have fallen asleep right there on the comfy bench. "Yeah," she sighed, "though some of that is probably to do with missing Castle." Again she understood the question in Olivia's eyes before it was asked, much like she would if she were talking with him. "Book promotional tour."

Olivia nodded, thinking about how she felt the burden on her increase on occasions when Peter was absent. It was never so much about workload as it was about missing contact with him. Their working relationship felt so natural and organic, it was from that foundation that everything else was built upon. When it was disrupted and she found herself having to work alone, she felt slow, bogged down, cumbersome.

She can't remember much now - from before - but she does recall the sense of incompleteness she felt then, which had only intensified once she encountered Peter, who was then nothing more than a conundrum to her. With his presence came the realisation, a certainty, that there was a missing element in her life, though at the time she didn't know what it was or where those feelings had ventured from.

When she and Peter were together, Olivia felt buoyant, the greater the pressure exerted around them, trying to press them down, the faster they would ascended to the surface.

"Is it something you can talk about?" Olivia asked. Knowing all too well the issues of confidentiality, but also knowing how the pressure could be relieved by talking things through, especially with someone who had a professional interest.

She watched Kate mulling over that question and those issues, weighing up the advantages against jurisdictional issues. Olivia fished in her jacket pulling her badge, flashing it with a practiced flip of her fingers, she quirked her eyebrow. "I promise not to step on your toes. But I figured you might find talking it though useful."

That drew a tiredly amused snort from Kate. "Sure" she said with a shrug. 'Nothing to loose right,' she thought.

"But first," Olivia said sliding a menu over to Kate, "The Bulge and I demand sustenance."

It wasn't long before a waiter arrived to take their order. In the time it had taken them to get from the coffee shop to here, Olivia had changed her mind on what she wanted to eat. A burger no longer appealed, instead she decided to go with the grilled chicken. Kate ordered a burger for herself, and also asked for two to go once they had finished their meal.

"Could we get a couple of glasses of water and two root beer floats please," Olivia added, insisting that Kate had one too as the drinks were the reason she had thought to come here in the first place.

Once the waiter left, Kate read the look on Olivia's face, clearly now expecting her to fill her in on the details of her case. She sunk back making herself comfortable once more. "I should say that this really isn't going to make great lunchtime conversation."

Olivia smirked, "If you knew the things I have seen and had lunch over at the lab, you would not be concerned about denting my appetite. In any case, that is next to impossible at the moment." She said patting her belly fondly.

Kate still had some reservations, especially given the nature of the crime, but she genuinely would welcome a new perspective on everything they currently had. "OK then, but consider yourself warned." Olivia nodded signalling Kate to continue.

"Male vic, mid-thirties, healthy and athletic, found dumped on West 77th, close to Central Park West in a parking garage entry way." Olivia nodded not too familiar with the area, but she sensed there was some kind of significance to the location. "You'll like this; it was very close to a psychotherapy clinic," That caught her attention, made her mind race as she formulated questions, but rather than interrupting, she intended allow the Detective to run her through it at her own pace, it's what she would have expected if their positions were reversed. "So far we don't know of any connections the vic had to the place. Not an employee, or a patient, but we are considering that it may not be entirely coincidental either.

"Multiple stab wounds, our ME says the vic was disabled with the first blow, from behind directed to his right kidney, which was followed up with a localised second strike. Most likely he was unaware – no defensive wounds – then he was finished off once he hit the floor, a stab to the base of his skull, very precise, very quick. Weapon was double pronged and curved, needle sharp."

Kate broke off, but Olivia knew there was more, the case had disturbed the detective, and she didn't think a clean kill like she had just described would do it. The waiter returned with two tall glasses of ice cold water, placing one in front of each of his guest, "Your food will be with you shortly," he said. They thanked him as he walked away. Kate took a long swallow of her drink and Olivia waited. She could see Kate shuffling her thoughts into order, she saw how the process altered her companion's mood as she sunk deeper into the details of her case. Her eyes darkened, her brow pinched and she swallowed thickly before continuing.

"There was a notable post mortem injury," Kate hesitated once more. With her history she always found dealing with stabbing incidents traumatic, but then this one had the added weird element and it had thrown the entire team. "There was a significant portion of transected muscle tissue. Cleaved from the victim's body."

After that Kate drew to a halt, not knowing if Olivia would want her to continue on, despite her earlier assurances that her constitution was a strong one.

Olivia realised this, and knew that Kate would need further prompting. Throughout the description a picture had been building in her mind, of the scene, the victim and courtesy of her profiling background, also one of the killer. Instinct and curiosity demanded that she now find out as much as possible, already hooked into the details, even though she was sure it was not even remotely connected to a Fringe event. In all likelihood, if it was, she would already have known about it. However, she realised then how much she had been missing this in recent months, working through the puzzle. She wasn't sure if it could be attributed to 'pregnancy brain' but of late, she had felt slow and sluggish. She had expected the physical effects of the pregnancy, but had not anticipated that she would also experience the same mentally. But now, in this moment, she felt the information stirring her thoughts, images, ideas and hypotheses forming with fluid ease.

There was no question of her stopping Kate now, she wanted to know it all. "Where was the tissue taken from?" she asked, "And was it discovered at scene?"

Kate shook her head, "No, it was removed. A search of the immediate area came up blank. As to your first question, it was from his buttock. His right buttock was completely removed, not without skill according to the ME, to quote her it was 'very clean work'."

"No blood trail?" Olivia questioned, to which she received a confirming head shake from the detective seated opposite her. "Taken with a purpose then." Her mental picture was becoming ever more vivid, she now thought she knew the conclusions Kate and her team were formulating, she thought they would be the same as her own. "It was a carving fork wasn't it? The murder weapon."

"Yes." Kate confirmed, "We think it was. Though it's not yet been discovered, the pattern was very distinct, we're trying to find a match. Also as the tissue was cut so cleanly, we think a long blade butcher's knife was used." Kate paused willing herself to put their theory into words, but still finding the concept absolutely alien and difficult to think about, never mind give credence to by verbalising her suspicions. "We can only think of one reason for someone to go to that kind of trouble."

Olivia looked across to the menu still standing on their table, "Prime rump."

Kate nodded and saw how Olivia's jaw had set with her teeth clenched together in grim understanding, the muscles and tendons working sympathetically in her neck. She reached for her water, and Kate hoped that she hadn't managed to spoil Olivia's apatite after all. She was about to find out either way. Their dinner was on final approach.

Olivia's was placed down before her first, she took a final swallow of her water and Kate observed the transformation as she pushed unappetising thoughts of possible cannibalism aside. She saw for herself how compartmentalisation worked and wondered if she had the same tells. She thought she probably did and that was how she was able to recognise it on Olivia's face now she was seeing it happen before her eyes. Olivia's face relaxed, she caught the waiter's eye, smiled and thanked him as he put the root beer float down beside her plate.

He swiftly set Kate's meal down along with a second float. "Can I get you anything else?" he asked politely.

"No, thank you," they both answered.

"Enjoy your meal," the guy said and then he was gone.

Kate snorted at that, hoping that they would, but already regretting having brought it up now and thinking they should probably not continue this any further, at least until they had finished. But true to her word, Olivia began tucking into her meal without further reservation, she went right for the chicken too. Impressive. "You really weren't kidding when you said you couldn't be put off?"

Olivia gave an amused eyebrow raise and lopsided grin, "You don't get a belly like this without serious dedication," she said, "I promised Peter I was going to get fat and that I would enjoy myself while I was at it."

Admittedly she had no idea how the Agent looked before she was pregnant, but from what Kate should see, the only extra weight Olivia was carrying was all baby weight. Her 'bulge' as she had referred to it, was compact and all in the front, from behind she still looked slim and athletic. "Are you kidding me?" she blurted, "You look great! You must be the envy of all the women you meet."

Olivia shook her head, "You should meet my sister." She smiled at the thought, "She tells me regularly how much she hates me for not 'splurging out in all directions'."

The small exchange had lightened the mood significantly. Kate felt her stomach rumble as her appetite returned. She tucked into the burger with more enthusiasm than she thought she possibly could just a couple of minutes ago, when she thought she probably should have ordered a salad. It truly was an excellent patty and she was going to need it in order to keep her going once she returned to the precinct.

Kate reached for her glass and was about to take a sip of the root beer float when Olivia stopped her. "Wait," she said, "according to my father in law, there's a technique to 'deliver the perfect blend of sugary goodness'." It was one she had to be re-taught, right here in this room, but she knew it was a lesson Walter didn't mind revisiting one bit. It was also wisdom she thought deserved to be passed on, so she gave Kate a demonstration, plunging her straw though the softened ice-cream forcing it to the bottom of the glass, "He says you should always suck through the ice-cream and I think he's absolutely right."

Kate gamely followed suit, jabbing at her own floating mass of cream on top of the now wildly foaming drink to suck through the ice-cream as instructed. "Oh wow! Yeah, that really does it." She smiled around the straw, going back in for more right away. She knew exactly who would appreciate a lesson in root beer float drinkology. "I have got to bring Castle here for one of these. Though actually that could be really dangerous," at the thought she shook her head despairingly, "he has the enthusiasm of an overactive child and has a tendency to obsess over food."

There was a warm chuckle from across the table, "Sounds like Castle and Walter – My father in law – would love each other, although I would stipulate that if ever they should meet, they should never be left together in the same room without proper supervision."

With that thought Olivia ploughed back into her meal. As she ate she found her thoughts returning to the information Kate had supplied her with regarding the case; the primary location and the victim. Then she thought about proximity of the crime to the psych clinic - it felt like a taunt - and the park. They resolved into single entity, a construct of how she expected the scene and the space around it to be. Such a mental image probably should have put her off eating, but her life had ceased to comply with the ideal of 'normal' standards a very long time ago. Her attention was drawn to the remaining chicken on her plate, beautifully cooked, with a slight hint of smokiness probably provided by the grill. She focused on the charred bar marks across the flesh and traced them with the tip of the knife.

She wondered what trace evidence they had found at the scene, if any. In truth she would like to go and take a look for herself.

Olivia looked up to Kate, who read the look in her eyes which were wide and bright, shifting agitatedly with tiny ticks before they settled with intensity. Then she asked, "Did you check the park nearby for signs of an illegal fire?"