Chapter 5

Finally! I hope this is worth the wait, it's set over here, characters involved are Walter, Peter, and our one and only Olivia Dunham 3 Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fringe. This fic is for fangirling purposes only. And I once read, one should write what one needs to write. So yeah ;)

"Don't forget the M&Ms, Peter! I'll go look for some cream cheese."

"Yes, Walter. I won't forget about the M&MS."

Peter walks towards the chocolate and candy section of the supermarket, and stops as he finds the bags of bright colored chocolate candy he was looking for. He grabs a couple of them and puts it in his shopping cart. Those chocolate candies, although they do seem rather futile and irrelevant, actually bring back memories. 'Our first year together,' Peter thought. That one case in which they had the little guy who up till now Peter suspects is an Observer of some sort, and that was the case when Peter got to know Olivia's profound love for M&Ms.

"These bloody strawberry flavored death! How can you still sell these? Didn't I tell you to get rid of them?"

'Oh, God. Walter.' Peter thought. 'Not again.' Peter pushes the cart and walks swiftly towards his dad.

"Walter. Please."

"This is unacceptable, Peter. Do you know how bad this is for our health?"

"We're not getting any of those, okay. So it doesn't matter. Now give me your cream cheese and let's go pay."

"If this is what you're feeding our young generation, what happens in the future is actually your fault!" Walter puts the package of pop-tarts back to the shelf and gives the salesperson a supposedly-intimidating look. The salesperson just stands there, not really understanding what's going on, and slightly trying not to laugh.

They reach the cashier and Peter pays for the grocery. They're going to visit Olivia today at the hospital, and this is going to be Peter's first visit. Olivia has been there for a week but Peter hasn't seen her since they met at the Opera House, when Olivia managed to cross back to our universe. Walter insists on making her some pie and he also said that they should bring some of her favorite goodies. Peter is actually still unsure about all this. What would he say to Olivia? Would she even want to see him? Should he even go there?

"Oh, Peter, can we stop by at the record store?"

"Are you buying Olivia something? Come on Walter we don't really have much time. You'll need time to bake your pie and we don't want to be too late."

"Oh, yes, I thought it would be nice to bring her something.. musical. A CD, perhaps. Jazz. Yes, jazz. Baking the pie won't take long, no need to worry, Son."

Peter just nods and follows as his dad walks to the closest record store. Since he isn't looking for anything in particular, he just wanders around, flipping through some random CDs and DVDs.

Wake you up, in the middle of the night to say
I will never ever walk away again
I'm never gonna leave this bed

So, you say go, it isn't working and I say no, it isn't perfect so I'll stay instead
I'm never gonna leave this bed

He starts to listen to the song that's playing in the store. 'I will never ever walk away again.'

He feels silly for a while. Why is he paying so much attention to this song? He has to admit that it is quite catchy, but the words just seem to fit his situation so perfectly. He feels like he's in high school, you know, comparing his life to a song or vice versa.

'But I should stay.' he thought. 'Even if Olivia tells me to go.'

"Peter? I'm done. Let's go."

Things are never perfect. They will never, ever be perfect. But perhaps him staying - with the real her, fighting against all this together, will make things better.

Peter takes a deep breath.

"Yes, Walter. I'm coming."

"This way, Mr. Bishop."

"My, thank you."

The nurse opens the door and lets Walter walk in. Peter follows cowardly behind him.

There she is, lying in her hospital gown. Now no more cables are attached, she looks strong and stable. Her eyes are closed. For once, Peter is mesmerized. He remembers how worried he is when they were at this same situation a year ago. Olivia crossed to the other side for the first time and came back hurt. They even thought she was not going to make it but she did. Peter remembers his feelings when he was about to say goodbye to her, for what he thought would be the very last time. She looks more serene, now. Peaceful, in a way. 'I could go on like this forever,' Peter thought. 'Just looking at her.'

"Olivia." Walter calls her name.

"Walter. You shouldn't-"

She opens her eyes. She blinks a couple of times and finally manages to get a grip of reality.

"Oh. Hey, Walter." She looks at Peter but just gives him a cold smile.

"I can see that you're getting better! How are you feeling, dear? I brought you some pie. It's pecan! I also brought you this splendid jazz CD, and also some chocolate and many other little things!"

Walter opens his shopping bag and now Olivia can see what exactly he was talking about.

Olivia smiles, "Thank you, Walter. Really."

"Would you like to eat the pie now? Should we all share it?"

"Well.."

"I'll take that as a yes. I'll go find some cutleries. You two stay here."

Walter walks out of the room quickly, now leaving Peter and Olivia alone. Just the two of them. In the same room. For the very first time, after she came back. After the whole switcheroo. They both feel awkward, Olivia just keeps staring at the wall in front of her, playing with her nails, while Peter just stands there, hands in his jeans pocket.

He finally looks up to her. 'I'm going to break this stalemate.' He thought.

"Olivia."

"Yeah?" She looks at him, her face emotionless but her eyes tells everything. Those calm, green eyes. From it you can see a hint of despair, yet those eyes still look as bold as ever. He notices that their eyes are so different, hers and her alternate's. Hers look calming, just like a deep blue ocean, while Altlivia's look actually more rough and rowdy. He curses inside his own head and hates himself for not noticing the difference soon enough. He should've noticed. He shouldn't have needed Olivia to literally cross back and give him the wake up call.

"Liv. Look. I'm sorry."

"Peter.."

"No. Just listen. I'm sorry. For everything. For what happened between us. Between you, me, and.. that imposter. I'm sorry."

She just looks at him in the eyes, seemingly not willing to say a word.

"You have all the reasons in the world to hate me. You can, if you wish, not listen to what I'm saying. You can ask me to leave. You can do anything you want. But here's the thing, I'm staying."

"What?"

"I'm staying. I'm going to fight for this. For us. I'm never going to leave, ever again."

"But Peter. Why force it?"

Peter has nothing to say. He stares down at his shoes, trying to avoid her eyes.

"She's from your universe, Peter."

...

"Maybe... she's the right person for you."

"Olivia. Do not say that. Please."

"Look, Peter-"

"You belong with me. You said it. You said it yourself. I belong with you. And you belong with me, Olivia."

"Peter.. I can't."

"I know you were going to react this way. I know you'd tell me to go. But now, let me ask you something. How am I supposed to forget everything? The two years I've spent with you, with Walter.. you were the one who brought us back together as a family. What happened these last couple of months.. heck I didn't know that was coming. But we made it. We went through it. We've been through a lot together, Olivia. Case after case, weirdness after weirdness, universe after universe, we made it through. You were protecting me from time to time. When I told you I've never met anyone who can do the things that you do – I meant it. And sometimes that makes me think that you wouldn't need someone like me, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Don't tell me to give up on us, Olivia."

"But you.. and her."

"I thought she was you. I didn't know. I swear to God, Olivia, I didn't know. The whole time."

Olivia looks down in dismay. She grabs her blanket and just stays silent.

"If I knew that she's who she is.. God, Olivia, I'd never treat her that way."

"What way?"

"...As if she was you."

...

"Liv, I promise, okay? This time I'll never leave. I'll never leave you. Ever. I'll stay. I know things are going to be rough, but what's the point in going through all of it if you're not with the person you love?"

He comes closer and holds her hand. He feels a hint of warmness, something he's missed for quite a while.

"Do not give up on us, Olivia. Just, don't."

Olivia just looks at him, not really knowing what to say. A part of her wants to let go of his hands, but a part of her wants to hold it still. She misses him. This is the real him. She's finally with him. This isn't a voice that's in her head, this is him.

"Anyone fancy some pie?", suddenly there's Walter's voice. He stands in front of the door, with plastic plates and forks, and pauses for a while. Normally Olivia might feel like letting go of Peter's hands, just to avoid the awkwardness and everything, but this time she doesn't. She doesn't really care anymore. She knows she wants him. And today he made it clear that he wants her too. She holds his hand tightly, as if she'd never let go.

Walter smiles. Perhaps it was the pie that's making him so excited, but most likely it's what's happening in front of him that made him feel jolly.

A/N: PETER AND OLIVIAAAA (THIS TIME THE RIGHT ONE! YES!) OMG. YES. Okay. I just had a brief shipper moment. Anyways, I hope you guys like where things are going.. I don't know what to do yet with Altlivia, honestly. Comments and opinions are always welcome. Oh and the song is from Maroon 5, "Never Gonna Leave This Bed". I love the acoustic version of it, and I somehow thought it fits the whole situation. Probably it's just me, mhm. Anyways, SEE YOU IN CHAPTER 6!

P.S. Do not forget to vote for Fringe for the People's Choice Awards and tune in for an all-new Fringe this Thursday! THE JOURNEY HOME IS ABOUT TO BEGIN ;)