This story is for entertainment purposes only, I don't claim the characters from Fringe as mine, and any similarity between real and fictional characters is completely coincidental. Parent's are responsible for their underage children's internet use, not me.

The basement of the Kresge Building had become lonely and quiet, it sensed that Peter had left, and now it felt dated and out of sorts. Like the lab, Walter had also aged, his shoulders slumped, the gray pallor of his deeply lined face and the dead expression in his eyes reflected his sorrow. "I need to explain... to make him understand... I had to save him, I had to do it."

The way his eyes shifted around and the timbre of his voice reminded her of the first time they met. Years of incarceration in a mental hospital caused his erratic behavior then, but now it was the consequences of his actions catching up with him and his tormented conscious.

"Broyles gave his permission to use Bureau resources to try and find him, but the bottom line is this, Peter's been here by choice, we can't force him to come back." Olivia wore her own cloak of bitterness, she stood with her hands in her pockets and looked past Astrid, her eyes fixed on Walter's sad state.

"Walter, here, drink this. You don't want to get dehydrated." Astrid handed him a glass of water laced with a sedative. His personality had become volatile and manic and self- medication was his way of coping.

"I have agents searching flight and train manifests and car rental records. His description has been circulated through law enforcement data bases but my guess is he's gone underground. Walter, if you could remember something he said, it might give us a clue." Olivia kept her professional facade in place, but underneath the calm she was angry. The feeling of resentment towards the elder Bishop was nothing compared to how furious she was with herself. She should have told Peter what she knew and forced Walter to tell him what he had done. Nina was right, she was afraid of losing him, and like his father it was for selfish reasons. Their deception grew and tightened around them, and now only the truth would unlock the shackles of mistrust, but what really held them prisoner, was the simple fact that Peter might never forgive them.

"I don't remember, I don't know where he would have gone. Olivia it's been three days, do you think he's all right and he'll come back?" Walter held his hands in front of him and nervously twitched.

"Peter's been through many difficult situations, he'll get through this one too, give it some time, he will come back." Astrid tried her best to reassure them all.

The black cloud that hovered over them dissipated when Olivia's phone rang. She answered it and her expression changed to deadly serious before growing pale.

"They found him! He was hitchhiking, the driver who picked him up noticed he looked ill and when he stopped the car, Peter got out and collapsed. The staff at the hospital they took him too, found his ID, they called the local police and his name turned up in the system and they in turn called Broyles." She paused to catch her breath or possibly to gather her thoughts. "He's been in a coma for over twenty four hours. It might have to do with the injuries he sustained on the bridge, but it seems unlikely."

Walter stood, visibly shaking. "Olivia, please, let me go to him or let me bring him back to the lab. Let me try to save him."

Astrid went over and urged Walter to sit down. "If we bring him here, what can you do that the doctors at the hospital can't?"

Walter looked at Astrid, but pointed at Olivia desperately. "She can at least talk to him, make him understand."

"How? Astrid looked at him quizzically.

He looked at Olivia with pleading eyes.

"Synaptic transfer, is that what you want to try?" Olivia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It worked with Agent Scott, it can work with Peter." Walter was frantic. "You can find out what happened to him and you can tell him that I did it to save his life. He'll come back for you."

......

Olivia, stripped down to her bra and panties, floated on her back suspended in the enclosed tank of water. Like the previous two times, she had monitors placed on various points of her body and a probe had been placed at the base of her neck. A cocktail of Ketamine, Neurontin, and LSD had been injected into her arm.

A comatose Peter arrived at the lab only after Olivia had begged Broyles for his cooperation. He lay on the gurney he was brought in on, his skin was sallow and even unconscious he appeared tense. The doctors who treated him could find no reason for his condition, he breathed on his own and with the exception of an IV placed in his arm to replenish fluids, he looked like he was in a restless sleep. Astrid watched the computer screen in front of her. Monitors had been attached to him as well as the probe on his neck, and she would keep vigil over him while Walter guided Olivia through their shared dream state.

"Olivia, can you hear me?" Walter's voice was calm, commanding and focused. He watched the computer screen and could see Olivia in the tank, her hair fanning out around her, her eyes closed.

"Yes, I can hear..." She stopped in mid-sentence and realized her mind had led her elsewhere. "I don't know where I am? I don't recognize this place. It's dark"

Walter turned to Astrid, "Her brain rhythms and Peter's haven't connected yet, but she's almost there."

She was surrounded by the dark and disoriented. "Who's here? Peter?" She turned in a circle, peering through the darkness.

Suddenly, a girl with dark brown hair appeared with her back toward her. She was almost as tall as Olivia and dressed in skinny legged jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. When she turned around, white headphones dangled from her ears, she was listening to music.

"Who are you?" Olivia felt confused, the girl looked no older than twelve or thirteen.

The girl took the headphones out of her ears. "They're my favorite band right now. MGMT, have you heard their new music?" She smiled and the light around her brightened. "My name is Gillian, I'll take you to Peter, but first I'm supposed to tell you some important things."

"What things? Gillian, who are you?"

"It's okay, don't look so worried. Sam asked me to talk to you. Sam Weiss, from the bowling alley."

"Sam? I don't understand."

"He said that you need to quit being such a wuss, well he didn't exactly say wuss," Gillian snickered. "We both know what he means. He said you have to face your fears."

Olivia could only nod her head at the young teen, she felt fragile and vulnerable and her insecurities made it difficult for her to speak.

"Peter couldn't cross over, he needs Walter's help to do that. He wants to know what happened to his parents." The girl stuffed her headphones into her pocket. "He needs you Olivia, to help him. He wants you to tell him the truth. Don't keep stuff from him."

"Yes, I know. I know I was wrong."

"It's not really your fault, you should never have been put in that situation, but you know what grown ups are always telling us... take responsibility for your actions, think of the consequences." There was a hint of drama in her voice as she mimicked a parent talking to a child.

Gillian's words made her feel apprehensive and uncomfortable.

"You wouldn't feel that way if you admitted your true feelings. I know you care about him and you know he cares about you. So what's the problem? It seems simple enough. I mean, I just turned thirteen and that was easier to figure out than my pre-algebra."

Olivia looked sad. "I know, but there are reasons why I have to... we have to be careful. We've never talked about it, but I think he knows too."

"Sam says not to let the past stand in your way. It's not hard to let yourself feel if you really want to. I'm here to tell you not to be scared, to be honest with Peter, and to help him find his parents." Gillian tucked her hair behind her ears and looked at Olivia sternly. "And, you need to admit it to yourself, you're falling in love with him."

"I don't know if I can, it's confusing and sometimes I think my feelings are trivial." Olivia whispered.

"That sounds funny coming from you. See, when you're my age, it's like every thought I have is trivial, but you're an adult, not a kid, so you really don't have an excuse." Gillian took Olivia by the hand and walked with her through the dark.

"He's over there." She pointed to a patch of iridescent light. "I have to go now, remember what I said, okay?" Gillian smiled, then stepped back and faded into the darkness.

"Astrid, their brain rhythms, look!" Walter pointed out the waves on the computer screens, they were moving simultaneously and in unison.

Astrid looked down at Peter, he looked relaxed, and the color was returning to his face.

They stood next to each other on a rocky beach, the air was cool and salty and the light around them shimmered.

"Hey Liv, it's okay… I'm okay, don't look so distraught. I don't know about you, but I think these messengers seem to be getting younger all the time." Peter smiled at her, the lines around his eyes crinkled up.

"Peter, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I let Walter convince me not to. Can you forgive us?"

"I don't know, what he did was more than wrong. He tries to justify it, but I don't see how he can."

"You have to give him a chance to explain... he told me the whole story. It will never be right, what he did to you and your mother, but for your own sake, you need to hear him out. I don't know if his reasons will tell you what you need to hear, but you owe it to yourself to listen." Olivia reached out and took his hand, it felt warm and comforting in hers.

He gave her that look she had come to recognize. "You sound like the voice of reason, but this isn't about logic. Think about how angry you were when you realized what he had done to you and the other children in Jacksonville. They used Cortexiphan to further their own agenda, you had no say in it, you felt helpless, you can't tell me not to be angry."

"Everything Walter's done may seem selfish, but what he did to you was out of love. He saved your life. You have to come back with me, he needs you." Olivia said quietly.

"Walter needs me? That's it?" Peter scoffed at her. "Did Gillian tell you anything else?" He pulled her closer to him and his grip tightened on her hand.

Olivia felt giddy from his close proximity and when her legs buckled under her, he caught her and held her. She looked at him. "Please Peter, I don't know how to feel anymore, I am afraid."

He smoothed her hair back away from her face and looked down at her. "I had to leave, I didn't know if I could trust you, and that hurt."

A tear trickled down Olivia's cheek, she looked at him intently and her eyes told him what he needed to know. "I'm so sorry."

"I know John kept secrets from you, he felt he had no choice, and you've kept a secret from me, almost for the same reason, but we don't have to let that be the final word." He bent over and kissed her on the forehead, it was sweet, caring and without guile. "I think the munchkin was trying to tell us not to fight our feelings."

Olivia put her arms around his neck and Peter instinctively found his lips brushing against hers, light, feathery and gentle. A faint breeze urged them to hold each other closer, their arms trapping the sensation of longing between them.

"You see Liv, this isn't so bad, is it? In fact I think we could get really good at this if you're willing." He whispered the warm words into her ear.

"Peter, please come back, if you won't do it for yourself, do it for me."

"It's inevitable isn't it? And if I do come back, it will be because of you. Can you accept that?"

"Yes, I can." She laid her head on his shoulder.

The cool mist swirled around them, the shimmering light settled over the water, causing it to sparkle back at them like a sea of diamonds, Olivia closed her eyes and everything went black.

"Olivia, Agent Dunham... can you hear me?" She opened her eyes, and found she was on the floor, a blanket wrapped around her, resting in Walter's arms. "Did you talk to him, did you explain?" He whispered to her.

It took her a moment to recognize where she was and she struggled to rise to her feet. "Peter? Is he all right?" She looked toward the gurney.

Astrid looked back at her with a huge smile and stepped aside. Peter's coloring looked almost normal and he was awake.

Olivia walked over to him, still wrapped in the blanket, wires dragging on the floor behind her and stood next to him. He reached up with his hand and she took it in her own, it was warm and comforting. His smile lit up his face and his eyes twinkled.

"Peter, you came back." She whispered the words, remembering what had happened.

"Yeah..." he murmured. "A thirteen year old girl explained it to me."

Astrid watched the computer monitor, their brain rhythms were still dancing in unison with each other, and now, so were their heart beats.

~End

Author's note: This was written for Gillian, and all of us other shippers.