HEART

Summary: Following Peter's recovery, he is returned, in time, to his parents. He grows up in his native universe, where lives struggle to survive crisis after crisis on a continuing basis. Unless a son can stop a father from walking a destructive path, and take another way.

The moment Elizabeth had agreed to let Walter return the boy, he worked day and night in earnest to make it an actuality. He knew what it was like to lose a child and did not want to let the boy's parents experience further pain and suffering by his own hands. This was the right thing to do he told himself.

It had taken him less time to reconstruct the gateway to the other side than Walter had initially thought. He was able to salvage much of the components from the bottom of Reiden Lake, once the ice started to melt. He busied himself with making the device buoyant for the trip over, while Elizabeth nursed the boy back to good health.

After ten days in convalescence, Peter had grown thin. For that matter, so had Elizabeth after spending long hours by his bedside.

Elizabeth fed him split pea soup, on account Peter had expressed a dislike for most things vegetable. Of course pea was still a vegetable, but she had added ham, so it was different. If Elizabeth had to guess, he probably liked the texture of the soup. It pleased her when he would ask for seconds.

The day Walter sent Peter back, Elizabeth helped him get ready in the parlor of their beach home. She watched him put on one of Peter's old sweaters. The sleeves were a bit short for him. She had to buy him a new coat, because her son didn't have one that would fit him.

Elizabeth put a toque on his head. When she was done, her hand stayed on his cheek for a moment. She desperately wanted to take him in her arms, but fought against the urge. Instead she reached for his scarf. When they looked at each other again, Peter gave her a shy smile and brushed away a stray tear that had rolled down her face.

Walter waited for them at the lake, where he was free to work without anyone seeing. He stood next to a rowboat, while his machine floated on the surface of the lake.

He knelt down and spoke to Peter in a gentle tone.

"Remember what I showed you, boy?" Peter nodded. "Excellent." He then lifted him up and into the boat.

The boat started for the gateway, with his every stroke. The portal shimmered behind his head, as he rowed toward it. He paused briefly to give a wave to shore. Elizabeth barely had time to return the wave, before he was gone for good.

Walter put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"He's going to be fine."