Of Turkey And Thanksgiving

Two : Surprise, Peter!

It's getting dark and cold. Peter had gotten a fire going twenty minutes ago, and now the four of them are sitting down in peaceful silence, sipping ginger ale. Well, there had been four of them earlier; Olivia had excused herself, presumably for a bathroom break.

"How is the house-hunting going, Peter?" His mom asks him as he studies the pictures on the mantelpiece. There's a picture of his parent's wedding, and one of them on vacation, but the rest are mostly of Peter and Olivia in varying stages of their childhood.

"Slowly." Peter shrugs, smiling as Olivia returns to take her spot next to him. At his mother's questioning gaze, he nudges Olivia's shoulder. "This one here," He grins as she turns to face him, "is kind of picky."

"Hey!" Olivia protests even though her eyes are bright with mirth. "I'm not picky. He just keeps suggesting the weirdest places. Besides, we're in no hurry, so why rush into anything?"

Walter speaks up from his spot in front of the TV that's playing old Spongebob reruns. "Well, I suppose the apartment is certainly more than enough for the two of you, dear. But what about a nursery?"

As Peter observes her, Olivia's eyes grow wide, as if alarmed. He takes her hand in his own; they've talked about this and agreed on what they want. Besides, this is nothing new from Walter. In fact, it's a whole lot more subtle and preferable than his efforts to drug their coffee and lock them up in the office together.

"Hence the house-hunting," He smiles, sharing, for the first time, with his parents their intention to start a family. Elizabeth smiles brightly while Walter is less reserved, clapping his hands in glee.

"Oh, this is wonderful news, Peter! Wonderful!" He grins, almost laughing in glee. "I'm sure we can clean out the guest room, in fact I'll just go-" Walter gets up and starts wandering towards the guest room. Peter, watching in amusement from his spot on the ground, calls out for his father.

"Walter, what are you doing?"

"Well, you and Olivia both have rooms here, and we have plenty of space. I'm sure we could find space for a nursery somewhere, and I'll learn to keep my inventions-"

"Walter," Peter cuts him off mid-sentence. "Walter, we're not moving in." He says with a laugh in his voice that quickly dies once he catches sight of Walter's crestfallen expression.

"But we have so much space, and it gets so lonely around here." Elizabeth stands up and guides Walter to the couch, sitting down next to him.

"Walter, they're grown-ups, now. They have their own lives and they need their space. We can't just ask them to move back in and start a family here."

"Besides, aren't we getting ahead of ourselves, here? There isn't even a baby yet." Peter throws in. Olivia chokes on her drink, prompting Peter to lightly hit her back a couple of times.

"I'm fine," She says hoarsely. "Just choked." Peter eyes her questioningly for two seconds before nodding and pulling her closer to his side. Walter breaks the silence with a loud, exaggerated yawn.

"Time for bed, Walter." Elizabeth smiles, prying his mug from his hands and putting it away. "Come along now, you've had a big day."

"Good night, Walter." Peter smiles at his father. Olivia echoes his sentiments as everyone exchanges good-nights. Elizabeth guides Walter to the stairs but stops just short of the first step.

"Oh, and Peter, I only had time to set up Olivia's room. Is that alright?" She asks with a cheeky grin. Peter suppresses the urge to roll his eyes at his mother's attempt at subtlety.

"That's fine, Mom. Good night."

Elizabeth nods and with one last smile, she and Walter make their way upstairs, leaving Peter and Olivia alone.

He holds Olivia tight and murmurs in her ear even though he doesn't have to. "Remember the last time we sat here together?"

"Hmm," Olivia hums contentedly, moving to rest her head against his shoulder. "Christmas." She says softly with a reminiscent smile.

"That was one hell of a Christmas." Peter states, one hand running through her hair.

"Because we made out here like a couple of teenagers?" Olivia teases, eyes drifting close.

"Well, that was great too, but I was thinking more about the part where you finally got it through your thick head that I love you." He grins as she pulls away and sits up to wrap her arms around his neck.

"I love you too," She reminds him as he pulls her in for the kiss they've been wanting all day long. Her hand travel from his neck to his hair, fingers nestling in his curls. He pulls her closer until she's practically in his lap and when they pull apart, they're both breathless and dazed.

Disentangling herself from him, Olivia stands up and holds out a hand to him. Peter lets her pull him to his feet and lead him upstairs, into her childhood bedroom where so much has happened. As he closes the door behind him, Olivia tugs on the hand she's still holding and pulls him into bed.

When she has him flat on his back with her hovering above him, he has a pretty good idea of what to expect. But then she tucks her hair behind her ear and smiles.

"I was going to wait until we got home to tell you." She confesses, and he's officially lost.

"Tell me what?" He smiles, brushing back stray locks of golden hair. She catches his hand and presses it against her cheek, keeping it in place with her own as she leans into his touch, eyes closed with a smile on her face. He's never seen her look so serene, at peace and happy.

When she opens her eyes, they're bright and sparkling even though he detects a hint of doubt in the very back of her green irises.

"Sweetheart, what is it?"

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as if bracing herself for something big. And then she looks him square in the eyes and speaks the second best three words he's ever heard, after I love you.

"Peter, I'm pregnant."

~ HAPPY THANKSGIVING! ~

Well, there you have it: one Polivia baby, coming right up! That's another thing to be thankful for. Well, it might take a while but yes, Etta is now here in my AU. And you can bet your Fringe-lovin' hearts that I plan on keeping her around for a long, long time once she gets here.

So, that's it for now, Fringies. I'll see you at Christmas, I guess. Pregnant Olivia! Festive flirting! Spiked eggnog (for everyone else)! This is so exciting!

Wait, is it? Exciting? I'm hyper and excited by everything right now so… you tell me. Caffeine!

Happy Thanksgiving and if you're courageous enough to brave Black Friday, stay safe, lovelies!

E Salvatore,

November 2012.