Fic: Slow the Rain (Part Three: Mosquito)
So I am fucking exhausted from my flight but had to post something up for IDOF, even though I missed it by a day. (I haven't even done my fifty comments for the fics posted today... but I just got back a few hours ago.) I don't have that much this year, unfortunately - real life has been a bitch for the past couple of months, so I've been busy with that. Anyway, without further ado, here's part three of the Slow the Rain series!
Title: Slow the Rain (Part Three: Mosquito)
Fandom: Fringe/Lost Crossover.
Pairing: Olivia/I think you all know by now.
Rating: PG.
Spoilers: Up to Fringe 1x20 (the finale) and Lost 5x17.
Words: 1515.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.J. Abrams and ABC. The fic and chapter title belong to Ingrid Michaelson.
Author’s Note: This took me a little (a lot) longer, but hopefully it’s enjoyable all the same. I appreciate any feedback you may have, whether critical or not.
Part One: I'll See You in My Dreams
Part Two: Charlie
- - - - - - -
The night after Nina Sharp hands Olivia the name card is the first night Olivia’s dreams shift.
She’s still on the island - there’s no doubt about that.
The breeze that hits her face is warm and sticky; humid, perhaps, is a better word for it. And she’s running. Running as fast as she can. At first, she thinks she’s running away from something, running for her life. But then she catches a glimpse of something up ahead: a tuft of black hair, a wisp of red, followed by echoes of laughter and childish shouts. The fleeting thought of stopping flies out of the window as she realizes she’s chasing after something, and so she surges ahead.
A flash of light momentarily blinds her, hindering her view, and by the time she looks around again, she finds herself standing on a sandy bank of a small lake.
The sound of laughter reaches her ears as she scans the body of water. And as her eyes come to rest upon the highest rock above the water, she spots him. Her heart leaps into her throat in surprise, and she can only stare in disbelief as he leaps off with a jubilant cry, his wavy black locks lifting with the momentum of the jump. The very next second and the boy has plunged into the cool water below.
He breaks the surface moments later, a large grin on his face. He calls out to the cliff above, and when Olivia follows the direction his eyes have taken, she comes upon a girl - a girl whose picture she’s seen so many times before. The girl with the long red hair and freckles… and here she is now, in the flesh. The girl shakes her head in refusal to the boy’s challenge, instead choosing to sit down on the rock and shift forward slowly, so that she ends up with her legs dangling over the edge.
Then she does something unexpected.
She looks up and directly into Olivia’s eyes.
As Olivia raises a hand to wave, as she starts to walk forward to tell the two children to come with her, there is another flash of light.
And Olivia wakes up.
- - - - - - -
“Peter.”
His name is the first thing she says when she arrives at the lab during her lunch break. The brown-haired man looks up at her, giving her a nod of recognition before he moves his keys from his teeth to his now-free hands. “Hey, Olivia.”
She starts to ask for Walter, because what she has to say she wants both men to hear, but before she can open her mouth the man in question reappears from behind one of the lab benches, brandishing a pair of scissors.
“Hah! I’ve found it!” the older man exclaims, his voice triumphant and filled with satisfaction. He looks around the room and seems startled to notice Olivia’s presence, and adds a more subdued, “Oh.” A pause. When he speaks again, his voice seems more cheerful - as cheerful as Walter can be, at the very least. “Hello, Olivia. I thought I heard you for a minute there.”
“Hello, Walter,” Olivia manages a tight, though nonetheless genuine, smile.
“What can we help you with, Olivia?” Peter asks as he sorts through this week’s purchases from the grocery store. Olivia takes note of the Fruit Loops with a smile.
“I think I may have a lead on the missing children’s case we’ve been working on.”
This seems to get both Walter’s and Peter’s attentions, and they both look at her expectantly.
“What about it, Olivia?”
“You remember the dreams I’ve been having, about the island?”
“Of course. But what does this have to do-”
“-Two of the children were in my dream.”
- - - - - - -
“Are you saying-” A brief pause. “Are you saying that I should go to the island?”
“Well,” Walter says, his tone patient yet at the same time suggesting that what he was saying was quite obvious. “Yes.”
“But, Walter, this island doesn’t even exist.”
Walter pauses and frowns for a moment. Then, slowly, he says, “Actually, Olivia, I believe it does exist.”
Olivia doesn’t know what to make of this.
“Walter,” Peter interrupts, “Do you hear what you’re saying? You’re saying that this island - that Olivia’s been dreaming about is something that’s actually real. You’re saying that she could take a boat over and visit it.”
“Yes,” comes the reply, tone matter-of-fact.
“Do I want to know?” Peter’s voice is laced with skepticism.
“It’s quite simple, really,” Walter says. “A theory, of course, but a very simple one. Have either of you heard of Oceanic Flight 815?”
It sounds familiar, but Olivia can’t quite put her finger on it.
Peter’s brow furrows in thought. And then, “You mean the flight that disappeared years ago? The one that was headed for Los Angeles?”
“Yes!” Walter nods, excited. “Thought to have crashed, though many think otherwise. It is my belief that they have somehow been transported to an island - much like, if not the exact one, that Olivia dreams of. Similarly, I posit that these two kids have somehow been brought to the island.”
“Walter, none of these kids disappeared in a plane crash,” Peter is quick to point out.
“Except,” Olivia starts. “one of them did. It was an old case, from years ago, but we reopened the case file because of some similarities to the other disappearances. The girl in my dream last night - she was originally reported missing by her mother. The police found her later, healthy as ever, on a dock in Los Angeles. Two months later, the girl was being sent to Australia to see her father when her plane crashed in the ocean. None of the parts of the plane were ever found, but there was very little chance she was still alive.”
Silence fills the room.
“Interesting…” Walter mutters to himself, and then probes gently, “You mentioned several ‘similarities’ this case had to the other ones, Olivia. What were they?”
A few minutes pass before she responds.
“The missing children all had a parent or close relative who worked for some research company, or drug company… I think it was called…” She paused again. “Mittelos Bioscience.” Another pause. “Yes, that was it. Mittelos Bioscience.”
“You’re sure about this?” Peter questions.
“Quite certain,” comes Olivia’s response. “Why?”
“Well, this shouldn’t come of a surprise to anyone,” Peter begins. “But if I’m not mistaken, Mittelos Bioscience was - is - a subset of Massive Dynamic. Massive Dynamic bought it over years ago.”
- - - - - - -
Two nights later, after poring over numerous case files, Olivia falls asleep to the sound of the pounding rain.
In her dream, a storm is brewing on the island.
She’s standing in the drizzle as thunder roars and lightning strikes in the distance. The wind is fierce, blowing past her with such fury that she wonders how long it will take before she succumbs to it and is blown away. It is then that she becomes aware of a hand against the small of her back, a quiet whisper - barely audible in all this - in her ears. She turns, and she can’t help but smile when she sees who it is.
“Hey,” she says, her voice quiet.
The wind howls around her, and the thunder is loud, but she can hear the answering, “Hey” in response.
“Will you answer a question?”
“That depends on the question.”
A pause.
“Are the children here?”
“You know the answer to that,” the blonde replies, squeezing her hand.
A sigh from Olivia, and she turns so she can see the other woman’s face. “Then will you tell me who you are?”
“You also know the answer to that, Olive.”
Another pause, and this time it’s the blonde who speaks first.
“Will you answer a question?”
“That depends.”
This earns Olivia a wry look from the blonde.
“Are you going to stand out here in the rain?”
“Maybe,” Olivia replies, half-expecting a protest. “Yes.”
“Okay.”
“What?”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you at home.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
- - - - - - -
When she wakes up, she can smell the rain in her hair. She thinks of the missing children and of the beautiful, unnamed woman, and almost instantly, she knows what she must do.
She waits until a reasonable hour of the morning, and then picks up the phone.
Someone answers the phone on the third ring.
“Charles Widmore.”
She hesitates. The voice is cool and smooth around the edges, and Olivia isn’t sure what to make of it. She had expected a secretary - but trust Nina Sharp to get her Widmore’s direct line.
By the time she hangs up the phone, she’s managed to arrange to meet with him. Because of their conflicting schedules, the earliest date they settle on is on a Thursday, two weeks later.
But it’s better than what she’d hoped for, and much better than nothing at all.
It’s then that she realizes she never did tell Widmore why she wanted to meet with him.
She never mentioned the island once.
In fact, she hasn’t mentioned her reason for contacting him at all.
- - - - - - -
Title: Slow the Rain (Part Three: Mosquito)
Fandom: Fringe/Lost Crossover.
Pairing: Olivia/I think you all know by now.
Rating: PG.
Spoilers: Up to Fringe 1x20 (the finale) and Lost 5x17.
Words: 1515.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.J. Abrams and ABC. The fic and chapter title belong to Ingrid Michaelson.
Author’s Note: This took me a little (a lot) longer, but hopefully it’s enjoyable all the same. I appreciate any feedback you may have, whether critical or not.
Part One: I'll See You in My Dreams
Part Two: Charlie
- - - - - - -
The night after Nina Sharp hands Olivia the name card is the first night Olivia’s dreams shift.
She’s still on the island - there’s no doubt about that.
The breeze that hits her face is warm and sticky; humid, perhaps, is a better word for it. And she’s running. Running as fast as she can. At first, she thinks she’s running away from something, running for her life. But then she catches a glimpse of something up ahead: a tuft of black hair, a wisp of red, followed by echoes of laughter and childish shouts. The fleeting thought of stopping flies out of the window as she realizes she’s chasing after something, and so she surges ahead.
A flash of light momentarily blinds her, hindering her view, and by the time she looks around again, she finds herself standing on a sandy bank of a small lake.
The sound of laughter reaches her ears as she scans the body of water. And as her eyes come to rest upon the highest rock above the water, she spots him. Her heart leaps into her throat in surprise, and she can only stare in disbelief as he leaps off with a jubilant cry, his wavy black locks lifting with the momentum of the jump. The very next second and the boy has plunged into the cool water below.
He breaks the surface moments later, a large grin on his face. He calls out to the cliff above, and when Olivia follows the direction his eyes have taken, she comes upon a girl - a girl whose picture she’s seen so many times before. The girl with the long red hair and freckles… and here she is now, in the flesh. The girl shakes her head in refusal to the boy’s challenge, instead choosing to sit down on the rock and shift forward slowly, so that she ends up with her legs dangling over the edge.
Then she does something unexpected.
She looks up and directly into Olivia’s eyes.
As Olivia raises a hand to wave, as she starts to walk forward to tell the two children to come with her, there is another flash of light.
And Olivia wakes up.
- - - - - - -
“Peter.”
His name is the first thing she says when she arrives at the lab during her lunch break. The brown-haired man looks up at her, giving her a nod of recognition before he moves his keys from his teeth to his now-free hands. “Hey, Olivia.”
She starts to ask for Walter, because what she has to say she wants both men to hear, but before she can open her mouth the man in question reappears from behind one of the lab benches, brandishing a pair of scissors.
“Hah! I’ve found it!” the older man exclaims, his voice triumphant and filled with satisfaction. He looks around the room and seems startled to notice Olivia’s presence, and adds a more subdued, “Oh.” A pause. When he speaks again, his voice seems more cheerful - as cheerful as Walter can be, at the very least. “Hello, Olivia. I thought I heard you for a minute there.”
“Hello, Walter,” Olivia manages a tight, though nonetheless genuine, smile.
“What can we help you with, Olivia?” Peter asks as he sorts through this week’s purchases from the grocery store. Olivia takes note of the Fruit Loops with a smile.
“I think I may have a lead on the missing children’s case we’ve been working on.”
This seems to get both Walter’s and Peter’s attentions, and they both look at her expectantly.
“What about it, Olivia?”
“You remember the dreams I’ve been having, about the island?”
“Of course. But what does this have to do-”
“-Two of the children were in my dream.”
- - - - - - -
“Are you saying-” A brief pause. “Are you saying that I should go to the island?”
“Well,” Walter says, his tone patient yet at the same time suggesting that what he was saying was quite obvious. “Yes.”
“But, Walter, this island doesn’t even exist.”
Walter pauses and frowns for a moment. Then, slowly, he says, “Actually, Olivia, I believe it does exist.”
Olivia doesn’t know what to make of this.
“Walter,” Peter interrupts, “Do you hear what you’re saying? You’re saying that this island - that Olivia’s been dreaming about is something that’s actually real. You’re saying that she could take a boat over and visit it.”
“Yes,” comes the reply, tone matter-of-fact.
“Do I want to know?” Peter’s voice is laced with skepticism.
“It’s quite simple, really,” Walter says. “A theory, of course, but a very simple one. Have either of you heard of Oceanic Flight 815?”
It sounds familiar, but Olivia can’t quite put her finger on it.
Peter’s brow furrows in thought. And then, “You mean the flight that disappeared years ago? The one that was headed for Los Angeles?”
“Yes!” Walter nods, excited. “Thought to have crashed, though many think otherwise. It is my belief that they have somehow been transported to an island - much like, if not the exact one, that Olivia dreams of. Similarly, I posit that these two kids have somehow been brought to the island.”
“Walter, none of these kids disappeared in a plane crash,” Peter is quick to point out.
“Except,” Olivia starts. “one of them did. It was an old case, from years ago, but we reopened the case file because of some similarities to the other disappearances. The girl in my dream last night - she was originally reported missing by her mother. The police found her later, healthy as ever, on a dock in Los Angeles. Two months later, the girl was being sent to Australia to see her father when her plane crashed in the ocean. None of the parts of the plane were ever found, but there was very little chance she was still alive.”
Silence fills the room.
“Interesting…” Walter mutters to himself, and then probes gently, “You mentioned several ‘similarities’ this case had to the other ones, Olivia. What were they?”
A few minutes pass before she responds.
“The missing children all had a parent or close relative who worked for some research company, or drug company… I think it was called…” She paused again. “Mittelos Bioscience.” Another pause. “Yes, that was it. Mittelos Bioscience.”
“You’re sure about this?” Peter questions.
“Quite certain,” comes Olivia’s response. “Why?”
“Well, this shouldn’t come of a surprise to anyone,” Peter begins. “But if I’m not mistaken, Mittelos Bioscience was - is - a subset of Massive Dynamic. Massive Dynamic bought it over years ago.”
- - - - - - -
Two nights later, after poring over numerous case files, Olivia falls asleep to the sound of the pounding rain.
In her dream, a storm is brewing on the island.
She’s standing in the drizzle as thunder roars and lightning strikes in the distance. The wind is fierce, blowing past her with such fury that she wonders how long it will take before she succumbs to it and is blown away. It is then that she becomes aware of a hand against the small of her back, a quiet whisper - barely audible in all this - in her ears. She turns, and she can’t help but smile when she sees who it is.
“Hey,” she says, her voice quiet.
The wind howls around her, and the thunder is loud, but she can hear the answering, “Hey” in response.
“Will you answer a question?”
“That depends on the question.”
A pause.
“Are the children here?”
“You know the answer to that,” the blonde replies, squeezing her hand.
A sigh from Olivia, and she turns so she can see the other woman’s face. “Then will you tell me who you are?”
“You also know the answer to that, Olive.”
Another pause, and this time it’s the blonde who speaks first.
“Will you answer a question?”
“That depends.”
This earns Olivia a wry look from the blonde.
“Are you going to stand out here in the rain?”
“Maybe,” Olivia replies, half-expecting a protest. “Yes.”
“Okay.”
“What?”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you at home.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
- - - - - - -
When she wakes up, she can smell the rain in her hair. She thinks of the missing children and of the beautiful, unnamed woman, and almost instantly, she knows what she must do.
She waits until a reasonable hour of the morning, and then picks up the phone.
Someone answers the phone on the third ring.
“Charles Widmore.”
She hesitates. The voice is cool and smooth around the edges, and Olivia isn’t sure what to make of it. She had expected a secretary - but trust Nina Sharp to get her Widmore’s direct line.
By the time she hangs up the phone, she’s managed to arrange to meet with him. Because of their conflicting schedules, the earliest date they settle on is on a Thursday, two weeks later.
But it’s better than what she’d hoped for, and much better than nothing at all.
It’s then that she realizes she never did tell Widmore why she wanted to meet with him.
She never mentioned the island once.
In fact, she hasn’t mentioned her reason for contacting him at all.
- - - - - - -