"In the Light of Any Universe" - Fringe Meme Fics (R)
Disclaimer: Fringe belongs to JJ Abrams, Bad Robot, and all the grand high mucky mucks of Fox, I'm just playing with the characters for a little bit. I'll return them mostly unharmed, promise. No copyright infringement is intended and no money was made from this. Any similarity to any other story not my own is coincidence.
Title: In the Light of Any Universe (Ten Song Meme)
Rating: R; rated primarily for a few swear words
Timeline: Whole Series/Multi-Universe; each section is noted
Pairing/Characters: Multiple
Genre: Meme
Author's Notes: This is meant to be a response to the ubiquitous ten song meme (writing a piece for each song that randomly plays) It should be noted that while I did take my inspiration from the songs, the story may or may not directly relate to the song(in other words, I just went with the flow and wrote what the muse gave me *grin*)
(Olivia/Peter - Blue Universe - Sometime season 2)
"Allison's Theme - Bear McCreary"
"Dance with me," Peter says, holding out his hand in open invitation.
"What? Here? Now?"
I look around the recently organized lab, absently noting that Walter's been busy with his label maker again.
"Here... Now..." he replies.
"Peter..." I protest, but he's not taking no for an answer. His hand is warm in mine; his body solid against my own as he pulls me to himself.
"But there's no music," I point out.
"Really?" Peter replies, almost as if he's genuinely surprised.
We start to dance in silence, and it's surprisingly easily for me to follow his lead. It feels far more natural than I had ever thought it would; not that I've been spending hours imagining dancing with Peter. Still...
"You don't hear that?" He asks with a small smile. "For once in my life..." he starts to sing softly in a unselfconsciously off-key voice. "I have someone who needs me... someone I've needed so long..."
"Peter..." I protest, trying to stop, but I'm half laughing and making no real effort to pull away.
Undeterred, he continues to sing. "For once unafraid, I can go where life leads me..."
His hand slips from my waist and to the small of my back where it rests, warm and intimate. I can feel the heat of his touch, even through my jacket.
"You really can't hear it Olivia?" Peter asks again with a small smile. "And somehow I know I'll be strong..." he sings as he waltzes me past Gene. The cow lows as we dance past, the sound echoing against stone walls.
We've made our way back to the center of the lab, and Peter stops a moment to pull me closer still. My head goes to rest naturally on his chest as our waltz turns into a sway and Peter's song becomes a hum that I can feel vibrating along my skin. His heartbeat thrums intimately in my ear and I'm startlingly aware of my own in that moment. I close my eyes and feel the beat fall and rise against his. It almost overwhelms me and I stop to catch a breath in an effort to anchor myself.
"Olivia?"
I listen to the sound of his voice without opening my eyes.
"Olivia, it's okay..." he soothes. And it's only until he does so, that I realize that I'm crying, small, salty tears that trace down my cheeks. "Shh..." he soothes, the sway of our dance turning into rocking intended to comfort. "Shh..."
"I don't know why I'm crying." A partial truth at best. I try and pull away, distance myself in more ways than one, but Peter won't let me. He holds me instead, rocking me in a silence that is anything but silent.
"I really don't know why I'm crying," I repeat, my voice muffled in his warm shirt.
"It's okay, Olivia."
I feel more tears threaten when I feel the soft brush of Peter's lips on top of my bent head.
"For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of, long before I knew..."
The words are whispered into my hair. It feels like they're wrapping around me as surely as Peter's arms are holding me.
"Someone warm like you, would make my dream come true..."
I smile into his shirt where he can't see, though I'm certain that Peter somehow knows what I'm doing.
"Dance with me," I say quietly when I've found my voice again.
Peter laughs. "What, here? Now?"
"For a start," I reply, more bold than I thought myself capable of being, even a few short minutes ago.
He grins. "But there's no music," Peter teases playfully.
"Don't you hear it?" The reply comes more easily to my lips than I would have imagined it could. "For once in my life..." I sing as Peter smiles and leads us into another waltz around the lab...
(Nina and Young Olivia - Amber Universe)
"Olivia's Theme - Fringe Soundtrack”
"Olivia?"
The girl ran past me in a blur of green silks, wild sunset hair, and tears.
"Olivia?" I called out in concern as the sound of a door slamming echoed down the hallway. I made my way to the teenager's room and stood before the still vibrating door. "Olivia?"
"Go away!"
"Now Olivia, you have to know that that's not going to happen."
"I said go away!" The girl shouted again through her closed door. I took a deep breath and opened the door slowly.
"And I remind you, that you have know that that was never going to happen," I repeated, taking in the sight of my adopted daughter curled in a disheveled tangle on her bed. "Olivia," I said gently. "Olivia, are you okay? Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?"
I caught a glimpse of torn dress. "Did he hurt you? Did Ben hurt you?" It came out as an unintended growl.
"Yes..."
I pulled out my cell phone, and without a second thought, began dialing.
"Wait... no..." Olivia said as she looked up with red rimmed eyes. "I mean..."
I eyed the tears in my daughter's dress.
"We broke up. He broke up with me, Nina."
I sat down next to her on the bed and fingered one of the tears in the green silk of her dress. Olivia's eyes widened.
"Oh! Oh no. This isn't... Ben didn't..." Olivia ducked her head. "I just... my dress just got ripped..." She bit back a sob. "It ripped when I got out of the car. It just... it just ripped..."
And this time, she did sob, a sound that tore at my heart. I opened my arms and Olivia lay her head in my lap.
"Oh my dear."
I stroked a hand through her hair, gently working at the tangles. "Oh my dear. My dear."
"Why? What's wrong with me? What did I do wrong? Why doesn't he want me?" She asked in a rapid fire succession, tears staining her voice.
"Nothing. There's nothing wrong with you Olivia," I assured her.
"Then why, Nina? I don't understand," she confessed through her tears. "I thought... I thought we were in love... that... that he was the one..."
"The one..." I repeated softly. "Oh my dear..."
Olivia sat up.
"Don't you think it can happen, Nina? Haven't you ever felt like there's someone that you just fit with; that filled up all the empty spaces inside?"
My thoughts drifted to Walter... William... others... I wasn't entirely certain what Olivia saw in my eyes while I did, but I watched her shake her head sadly. I reached out a hand to smooth back her hair from her tear stained cheek.
"Olivia," I replied gently, treading carefully. "Olivia... you mustn't..." I took a breath, considering my words. "You can't expect someone else to complete you. You have to find it within yourself."
"What about love?" She asked innocently.
"Love..." I replied slowly. "Love is... many things Olivia. But my girl, it isn't the only thing, and you can't let it define you."
Olivia gave me the incredulous look that only a teenager could have when told that life and love weren't the fairytale they always thought that they were.
"I'm not saying this to hurt you my dear. I only... I want you to be happy, Olivia, and to know that it's you that can create that happiness. You mustn't depend on anyone else to do that for you."
I brushed back another tendril of her hair.
"I fear that I'm not explaining this at all well. I'm afraid that I'm not very good at this 'mothering' part of mothering."
Olivia gave me a watery sort of smile. "You doing just fine, Nina," she assured me. I smiled back.
"Thank you my dear. That's very kind of you to say, even if it's not entirely true."
I took a small breath.
"I think that perhaps this is a moment for a sister, yes?" I asked gently. "Should I go find Rachel?"
Olivia bit her lip and nodded slightly. I nodded once in reply before going to the door. I stopped, my hand on the doorknob before turning to look back.
"I am sorry about Ben. If you still want to talk later..." I left the offer open.
"Thank you, Nina; really."
I nodded once more and stepped out of the door. I turned in the direction of Rachel's room, pulling out my cell again as I did so. "JC, I have a little task for you..."
(Olivia/Peter - Blue Universe - Established relationship)
"Paperweight - Joshua Radin"
"Peter..."
I smile.
"Peter, are you watching me sleep?" Olivia asks, her eyes still closed and her face soft with sleep.
"Maybe," I admit, trying to sound embarrassed by the admission and failing miserably.
"Maybe?"
"You know..." Olivia says slowly. "That some people might find that just a bit creepy... and did I mention, I am an FBI agent, so I sleep with a gun..." she adds with a teasing smile.
I brush back the loose tendrils of her hair. "Mmm..." I reply mildly.
Olivia gives a small laugh.
"What time is it anyway?" She asks.
"I'm not telling you."
Olivia finally opens her eyes to give me a look.
"Nope," I confirm with a grin. "Because if I tell you, you're going to want to get up. And I for one, think that you should stay right here."
"Peter..." she says with a small laugh, trying to sit up and get a look at the alarm clock behind me.
"Uh-uh..." I counter, reaching behind my back without looking and turning the alarm clock face down.
"Peter..."
"You should call Broyles, tell him you can't come in today."
"And when he asks me why that is, what exactly do I tell him?"
I make a show of thinking it over for a minute. "Tell him you can't come in because it's raining," I reply, taking a moment to listen to the sound of the rain falling down all around us.
"I can't come in on account of the rain? Really, Peter, that's what you think I should go with? Because this is Boston; it always rains here."
"That's just it, you've caught a cold from being out in the rain yesterday when you were helping me round up Walter."
Olivia raises an eyebrow.
"You're very ill... in fact..."
I lean forward and press my lips to her forehead.
"I think that you may just have a fever," I whisper against her warm skin.
"A fever? You feel confident in making that diagnosis with this very scientific method, do you?"
"I was at MIT... and... I'm very confident in saying that I think that you're really hot," I counter with a smile, unable to help myself.
Olivia groans at the cheesy line, but she's laughing all the same, and that more than makes up for any teasing that I may receive about it later. Gently, I push her back down into the sheets. "I really have to recommend that you stay in bed today."
"Okay, I have to know... has this approach ever really worked for you?" Olivia teases.
"That depends..."
She raises an eyebrow as I hover above her. "Depends?"
"On if you're going to stay here in bed with me or not."
She laughs and turns her head to make a small show of coughing before looking back up at me.
"Well... it might be a good idea if I did."
"You know, I really do have to agree."
Olivia laughs, a sound that I could get more than used to, and pulls me down to her...
(Walter; Olivia/Peter - Merged 'Verse?)
"The Light - Sara Bareilles"
Peter reaches out his hand and I watch as Olivia hesitates just a moment. The room shakes, rattled by what feels like the sound of a thousand storms raging around us. The only light in the room is that of the machine, and it shines like a star gone supernova, an engine of creation and destruction.
"Peter..."
My voice is lost and small, but I can't seem to help that. "Peter..."
"Trust me Olivia," I hear him tell the girl, though I have no earthly notion of how it could be possible for me to hear the words. "Trust me..."
Next me, Walternate stands tense and upright and next to him our version of Astrid. His version of the girl stands poised before a monitor, strangely glued to whatever it's telling her, rather than anything her senses can tell her about the monster of a machine that's swallowing my son and the girl that's always been his anchor in one way or another.
Olivia takes Peter's hand, and I think that that sound I hear is my own voice as I cry out in protest. Peter guides Olivia's hand into the machine. She lets it swallow her. She places her other hand into the machine without Peter's guidance. And now they're standing pressed together, Peter's feet in the machine, and Olivia's hands... Olivia's...
"Olive..."
And almost, I'm surprised to hear Belly call out with me... almost... because of course somehow he's here with me and all of the others.
And the storm... that infernal machine... begins to devour my darling children. I want to look away, but I can't. I watch in horrible fascination as Peter ages into an old man... and as strange as that is to see, stranger still is it to see Olivia as that fresh faced girl of my fractured memory. Then she's an ancient woman and Peter's a man of middle years. A progression of mismatched ages overcomes them both in rapid succession until finally there are two children clinging fiercely to each other in the center of a storm.
"This is my favorite time of the day..." Olivia whispers into the storm, taming it with a breath.
"The sunrise," Peter agrees. "When the world is full of promise..."
I close my eyes as the light blooms around us like a white tulip, and the universe... every universe... follows the children into the light...
('Fauxlivia(Red)/Peter - Blue Universe)
"One Kiss - Sweetbox"
The day I knew I was in trouble was the one where I kissed him. I kissed Peter with no other thought in my head but that I wanted to kiss him...
(AltLincoln/Fauxlivia; Amberverse Lincoln/Amberverse Olivia - Amberverse/Redverse)
"Intro - XX"
Their Olivia smiles shyly at something he says and lays her hand on his, and they both seem so blissfully unaware of the effect they have on each other. But it's easy as hell to see that they're both busy enjoying how they feel. I look over to my Olivia where she and Broyles are talking. I can't ever imagine her smiling like that at me. And I realize, that really, I wouldn't mind if she did.
"Never happen," I tell myself under my breath.
She and I are way past shy... or furtive touches that make our pulses race; we're far too busy pretending that we aren't really aware of how we feel about each other. Hell, we're so busy pretending, we can't even take a moment to actually feel... that awareness. Sometimes I'm scared that we're so busy pretending things about how we feel, that we don't actually feel anymore. Or at least, we can't really enjoy how we feel... ever...
"No furtive touches."
I practically jump when I feel a touch on my shoulder and I'm reaching for my sidearm without a second thought.
"Hey there, easy partner," Olivia says as she drops her hand and sits down next to me on the bench. "You okay?"
"What? Oh, yeah... yeah. Sorry. I guess I'm just a bit jumpy, what with everything, you know?"
She looks over to our counterparts.
"Yeah," she replies simply.
We sit in a familiar sort of silence. Olivia gives a short, almost bark of a laugh. It feels a bit forced coming from her. She tosses a nod in the other Lincoln's direction.
"Think he'll ever have the balls to tell her?"
I smile, and it feels a little bitter on my lips, like my face just might finally crack from the strain.
"Think she'll ever let her defenses down long enough to let him?"
Olivia turns her head to look at me and her eyes are dark with suppressed emotion.
"Not in this Universe..."
"Guess it's a good thing then... that there's more than one..." I reply in a low voice.
"Good thing," she agrees.
"Somewhere out there then..." I say, unable to keep the melancholy hope out of my voice, even if I had wanted to.
Olivia nods. "Somewhere..." she agrees, a touch of wistful hope in her own voice echoing mine. And for once, we're not pretending, and we're not hiding... we're feeling the same damn thing and letting each other see it. I reach for her hand; grab it, and she lets me. We fall back into silence, holding hands and watching our counterparts enjoy being blissfully unaware....
(Olivia/Peter - Futureverse/Blue?)
"Found My Place - Augustana"
She's an old woman when he finally finds her again. She's sitting on the porch swing of Walter's old house rocking with a small girl curled up in her fragile arms. And he's just been standing here across the sidewalk, in the shadow of the trees, observing her. He wants to go to her, tell her how sorry he is, and that he's finally home. But how can he? If he really does love her, and God knows just how much he does, Peter knows he can't do that to her.
And then September is silently there.
"You really are a fucking bastard, you know that?"
The Observer says nothing.
"Okay you two, time for dinner," a young woman says as she steps out onto the porch.
"Just a few more minutes," Olivia says, her voice quavering on the late spring breeze.
"Aunt Olivia..."
"Please Ella."
Ella smiles. "I think that's my line Aunt Olivia."
"It used to be," Olivia concedes as she strokes the child's long red-gold hair.
"A few more minutes," Ella allows and steps back inside the house.
"Tell me again," the child demands in that way that only a child can do and expect to get away with. "Tell me about the magical boy."
Olivia smiles.
"It was sunset when I meet him, the magical boy from another Universe. He found me in a field of white tulips..."
"Tell me if she was happy at least," Peter demands.
"She is alive," September replies.
"That's not what I asked."
"And yet, it is my answer."
"You really are a fucking bastard. You and the whole damn lot."
The Observer is silent as he holds out a hat to Peter. Peter takes it from him, hating everything about it, from its black color to its very shape.
"And the minute I saw him..." Olivia says, her voice drifting to the trees. "The minute I saw him, I knew he would change my life forever. I knew then and there, for probably the first time, what love was." And for minute, she looks up, and Peter could swear that she sees him.
"Just like a faerytale..." the child sighs. "It was love at first sight."
"It was," Peter and Olivia say at the time.
"She was happy when she thought about you," September says unexpectedly. Peter turns to look at him. "And she thought about you every day."
Peter is silent a moment. "Thank you," he says finally.
September nods.
"It is time to leave."
Peter nods in return. "Lead on MacDuff," he quips, trying his damnedest to not look back.
The Observer is silent as he leads Peter away...
(Elizabeth - Anyverse)
"Fur Elise Beethoven"
Elizabeth set the test tube into the kit gingerly before perching herself on the lip of the tub. She didn't need a kit to tell her what she already knew, but she felt that Walter would need the science; he would trust it, and it would make it real for him as nothing else would.
"Peter..." she whispered to herself, trying out the sound of the name. "Peter..." she said again, loud enough this time that at the walls picked up the echoes of her voice, sending them back to her with a subtle new cadence. "Peter..."
She took a moment to look over at the testing kit, the angled mirror reflecting light that curled through and around the test tube.
"He'll want to teach you everything. And he'll be so proud of you; we both will."
Elizabeth pressed her palms to her belly, quietly humming Fur Elise.
"I'll teach you to play father's old piano... and how to waltz... girls like a boy that can dance..."
She was interrupted in her daydreams by the sound of the front door pushing open and falling shut.
"Elizabeth? Elizabeth, you'll never guess what discoveries William and I made today! We're going to revolutionize science! Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth rose and smiled to herself in the bathroom mirror.
"Elizabeth?"
"In here Walter," she called, adjusting the EPT kit on the counter one last time. "I'm in here..." she called again just as Walter opened the door.
"Elizabeth?"
"Walter, I'm so glad you're home. I've made some discoveries myself," she said with a quiet smile...
(Astrid; Nina - Blueverse)
"One Moment More - Mindy Smith"
Astrid took a quick scan of the patrons crowding Brews Brothers before turning her attention to the woman sitting across from her. Nina returned Astrid's look with a steady one of her own. She waited expectantly, deliberately ignoring the way that the younger woman's hand tightened around the small object in her hand.
"I don't like spying on them," Astrid said into the sound of Nina's silence, uncomfortably aware that it seemed to be smothering the animated murmur of the crowd. "I don't want to do it anymore," she repeated in a louder voice. "This is the last time."
Nina finally held out a hand. "Of course," she replied. "No one is forcing you."
Slowly Astrid's fingers unclenched. Palm flat, she slid the object underneath her hand across the table and to Nina's own waiting hand. The older woman picked up the flash drive with black gloved fingers. She rolled it thoughtfully in her grasp.
"I'll just arrange for Lauren's transportation to... what hospital my dear? Or perhaps you've chosen a hospice instead? I understand that there are several here in Boston that are quite comfortable for those last..."
"Stop..." Astrid interrupted. "Just stop..."
Nina fell silent.
"How is she?" Astrid finally asked in a broken voice. Nina let the younger woman wait in tense silence. "Nina..."
"She's stable," Nina replied. "I have the best doctors and resources at Massive Dynamic focused on your girlfriend's case. Of course if you'd rather..." Nina said, letting her words hang in the coffee scented air.
Astrid shook her head silently, to which Nina nodded her own in reply. The older woman slipped the flash drive into her pocket and took a sip of her coffee.
"Take comfort in knowing that we all do things for love that we never thought we'd be doing," Nina said quietly. "That we'd never do otherwise," she added. "If given the choice."
Astrid's eyes burned as she looked across the table.
"I want to see her," she ground out. "I want to see, Lauren."
"Any time you'd care to," Nina replied simply.
"And the second she's well... the minute you find a cure... this ends."
"I never thought otherwise my dear," Nina replied.
Astrid rose stiffly.
"I look forward to our next meeting."
The FBI agent said nothing, simply left the older woman sitting at the small table, sipping her coffee. Nina watched with a curling smile as the girl walked out into the Boston rain without even an umbrella to protect her...
(Olivia/Peter - Future'verse)
"Untitled 3 - Sigur Ros"
"You found me..."
She reaches out a trembling hand to brush it over my stubble shaded cheek.
"I was looking for you... I've been looking for you... trying to get back to you... but now... now..."
"I've found you..." Olivia whispers. Then she smiles, and it is sunlight dancing with shadows. And I want to lose myself in her, and never be lost again. I kiss her, tasting home. I kiss her until we're both breathless and the very Universe whispers around us.
"You found me..."