Fringe Fic: But at What Price Damocles?
But at what Price Damocles?
Rating: PG
Show: Fringe
Pairing: Olivia/Peter implied but not explicit
Spoilers: 2:14 Jacksonville
Disclaimer: Not mine. No money made here. No money to be made from suing me either. They belong to JJ.Abrams
The woods she walks through are dark, but the mists that cling to the trees and ground glow with an unnatural light, as though backlit. Water drips from unseen branches in the depths above as she walks forward, the damp loam giving softly beneath the tread of her boots. She needs to be somewhere. She is needed. Her bones feel it and her chest is tight with anxiety, but she can’t remember why. No one is there, and she scans the forest, peering hard at the shadows in the tree trunks. Maybe she needs to find the little girl, but no-the little girl is gone. She was the little lost girl, she knows that now. That little girl gave her back her fear.
Leaves and sticks crack and snap beneath her as she moves faster, breath pluming out behind her in the crisp air, tangling her hair as Olivia courses the darkness, turning left, spinning right, trying to get her bearings. Someone is lost out here, and she’s the only one. Time is running out, she can feel it seeping away.
Through the trees, in the distance, a hazy golden light transects the dark columns of the forest and she doesn’t think, just runs for it, leaping fallen logs, pounding through the neck-breaking twist of tree roots like they don’t exist, and a part of her knows they don’t, but she is preoccupied with the screaming of the wind through her hair and the sharp, cold pain of the air as she gasps for breath, gripped with her fear.
Then the light is gone.
The forest floor slopes down a steep bank and Olivia stops at the edge of the scene. The river at the base of the bank is frozen, a sheen of ice and silent water reflecting a bridge; some old wooden beamed relic connecting a quiet road leading away into the night. The bridge is broken, wood splintered. The guard-rail is askew, split outwards. Something broke it.
Then she sees the lights. Two golden highbeams dimming beneath the ice. There is no sound. She never heard a sound. Maybe it was the screaming in her ears. This time she screams out loud “No!”and there are two voices. She jerks her head and the observer is next to her, mirroring her position, blank faced and impeccably dressed.
They both look back at the car sinking in the river.
“We have to save him.” emerges simultaneously.
“Save who?” Olivia gapes at the stranger as he glances back at her, speaking her words.
“It couldn’t be avoided in this timeline.” The Observor almost sounded regretful, staring back at the scene.
No help was coming. Flinging herself down the loose bank towards the river, Olivia looked back, a forgotten question forming on her tongue, but he was next to her, splashing ahead into the water, then sinking beneath, straight down, feet first like a leadened weight, black hat held tightly to his chest. She leapt after him.
She could not feel the water, the sheen of ice was thin and gave way as she plunged down, the world glowed golden, flowing around her as she sank. Her heart beat slowed, a background gong ringing out the time and her strokes in the water reverberated with a discordant echo. The car was below her, still sinking, rolling slowly as it died, one headlight then the next blinking out. The water kept flowing golden and flickering around her. The Observer swam with an economy of grace, already at the driver’s door, pulling it open and dragging out a limp form. Spinning smoothly, the unnatural man rose from the depths towards the surface with the body slung over his left shoulder as the darkened vehicle continued it’s silent roll. Olivia turned to follow when something caught her eye.
It was pale and glowed within the darkness. The current kept its grip on the lifeless machine, slowly twisting it up and onto its hood, spinning the passenger side around to face her.
It was a child’s hand, still against the window.
Golden and flickering, she floated away, motionless in her horror.
It was Peter.
Olivia awoke, thrashing and gasping in her sweat soaked bed sheets. The golden flashes flickered behind her eyelids every time she blinked. Her bedroom was dark, her windows let in only the distant glazing of a streetlight. It was a dream, it wasn’t a dream, where was she? Gulping air she kicked her blankets away and tried desperately to grasp reality. It all bled together in her mind. Other worlds, portals, doors to be passed through for a price. Another side that wasn’t heaven, maybe it was hell. She hadn’t been there long enough to be certain. Had she been there at all? Does Peter glow?
“Please don’t tell him.” Walter begging her, a man lost to his desperation.
As clear in her mind as if he had just spoken them in the room, but the silence only echoed back her breathing and the pulse pounding in her ears.
He was dead. He was alive.
“Damn you Walter.” It was a hoarse whisper. There was a lump in her throat and the loss was choking her.
It was too big a secret; something that broke universal rules and defied reality. She couldn’t keep it, not from Peter. He had been dressed for her tonight, he watched her every move so closely these days and she had let him, let him in. She had wanted to let him in. Now all she saw was a flickering after-image when she looked at him.
Peter would know. Peter would know that Walter was responsible for her and whatever she saw. Walter had done many horrific things, but always in the name of science. Peter could forgive the sentiment if not the act, but kidnapping was different.
She didn’t think she could forgive the madman.
fin
Rating: PG
Show: Fringe
Pairing: Olivia/Peter implied but not explicit
Spoilers: 2:14 Jacksonville
Disclaimer: Not mine. No money made here. No money to be made from suing me either. They belong to JJ.Abrams
The woods she walks through are dark, but the mists that cling to the trees and ground glow with an unnatural light, as though backlit. Water drips from unseen branches in the depths above as she walks forward, the damp loam giving softly beneath the tread of her boots. She needs to be somewhere. She is needed. Her bones feel it and her chest is tight with anxiety, but she can’t remember why. No one is there, and she scans the forest, peering hard at the shadows in the tree trunks. Maybe she needs to find the little girl, but no-the little girl is gone. She was the little lost girl, she knows that now. That little girl gave her back her fear.
Leaves and sticks crack and snap beneath her as she moves faster, breath pluming out behind her in the crisp air, tangling her hair as Olivia courses the darkness, turning left, spinning right, trying to get her bearings. Someone is lost out here, and she’s the only one. Time is running out, she can feel it seeping away.
Through the trees, in the distance, a hazy golden light transects the dark columns of the forest and she doesn’t think, just runs for it, leaping fallen logs, pounding through the neck-breaking twist of tree roots like they don’t exist, and a part of her knows they don’t, but she is preoccupied with the screaming of the wind through her hair and the sharp, cold pain of the air as she gasps for breath, gripped with her fear.
Then the light is gone.
The forest floor slopes down a steep bank and Olivia stops at the edge of the scene. The river at the base of the bank is frozen, a sheen of ice and silent water reflecting a bridge; some old wooden beamed relic connecting a quiet road leading away into the night. The bridge is broken, wood splintered. The guard-rail is askew, split outwards. Something broke it.
Then she sees the lights. Two golden highbeams dimming beneath the ice. There is no sound. She never heard a sound. Maybe it was the screaming in her ears. This time she screams out loud “No!”and there are two voices. She jerks her head and the observer is next to her, mirroring her position, blank faced and impeccably dressed.
They both look back at the car sinking in the river.
“We have to save him.” emerges simultaneously.
“Save who?” Olivia gapes at the stranger as he glances back at her, speaking her words.
“It couldn’t be avoided in this timeline.” The Observor almost sounded regretful, staring back at the scene.
No help was coming. Flinging herself down the loose bank towards the river, Olivia looked back, a forgotten question forming on her tongue, but he was next to her, splashing ahead into the water, then sinking beneath, straight down, feet first like a leadened weight, black hat held tightly to his chest. She leapt after him.
She could not feel the water, the sheen of ice was thin and gave way as she plunged down, the world glowed golden, flowing around her as she sank. Her heart beat slowed, a background gong ringing out the time and her strokes in the water reverberated with a discordant echo. The car was below her, still sinking, rolling slowly as it died, one headlight then the next blinking out. The water kept flowing golden and flickering around her. The Observer swam with an economy of grace, already at the driver’s door, pulling it open and dragging out a limp form. Spinning smoothly, the unnatural man rose from the depths towards the surface with the body slung over his left shoulder as the darkened vehicle continued it’s silent roll. Olivia turned to follow when something caught her eye.
It was pale and glowed within the darkness. The current kept its grip on the lifeless machine, slowly twisting it up and onto its hood, spinning the passenger side around to face her.
It was a child’s hand, still against the window.
Golden and flickering, she floated away, motionless in her horror.
It was Peter.
Olivia awoke, thrashing and gasping in her sweat soaked bed sheets. The golden flashes flickered behind her eyelids every time she blinked. Her bedroom was dark, her windows let in only the distant glazing of a streetlight. It was a dream, it wasn’t a dream, where was she? Gulping air she kicked her blankets away and tried desperately to grasp reality. It all bled together in her mind. Other worlds, portals, doors to be passed through for a price. Another side that wasn’t heaven, maybe it was hell. She hadn’t been there long enough to be certain. Had she been there at all? Does Peter glow?
“Please don’t tell him.” Walter begging her, a man lost to his desperation.
As clear in her mind as if he had just spoken them in the room, but the silence only echoed back her breathing and the pulse pounding in her ears.
He was dead. He was alive.
“Damn you Walter.” It was a hoarse whisper. There was a lump in her throat and the loss was choking her.
It was too big a secret; something that broke universal rules and defied reality. She couldn’t keep it, not from Peter. He had been dressed for her tonight, he watched her every move so closely these days and she had let him, let him in. She had wanted to let him in. Now all she saw was a flickering after-image when she looked at him.
Peter would know. Peter would know that Walter was responsible for her and whatever she saw. Walter had done many horrific things, but always in the name of science. Peter could forgive the sentiment if not the act, but kidnapping was different.
She didn’t think she could forgive the madman.
fin