xofringe314
10-24-2009, 02:11 PM
This is a one shot that I wrote a while ago (and when I say that I mean around the end of Season 1) so it doesn't really work with Season 2. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fringe. It belongs to Fox or J.J. Abrams or whoever. No infringement intended (haha).
It was a secret project; only she and Walter knew. Olivia’s not sure why she didn’t tell Peter. Perhaps it’s because, the project was only an experiment and Olivia had never expected it to go anywhere (well, it did). Or maybe it’s because he’d been so protective of her lately.
“Olivia, don’t go into the tank!”
“Olivia, this bomb will kill you!”
Sure, his concerns had substance (and they were sweet), but Olivia wanted to make her own choices, thank you very much, and Peter’s nagging just made that harder. Plus, she didn’t want to worry him.
As for Astrid, frankly, she was terrible at keeping secrets. If Olivia had told her anything, Peter, Charlie, and Broyles probably would have known by the end of the week.
So it was just her and Walter. He really was a great teacher: patient and always willing to try new things. Of course, the various cases slowed their progress, so it was only after a few months that Olivia could successfully travel between universes.
--
Walter had told her everything: about Peter’s death and his voyage to the other universe to procure another one. Olivia isn’t sure how she feels about the truth. It was incredibly evil to steal the other Walter’s child…but Walter did it out of love and (this is quite a selfish reason, Olivia thinks) if he hadn’t, Olivia wouldn’t have Peter now, as a friend and as a useful asset to the team.
Using this information, Olivia infers that since there is no Peter in the alternate universe, there is no Walter (because Peter was needed to get Walter out of St. Claire’s) and if there is no Walter, there is no Fringe division (or there is, but it’s not getting anywhere without the help of Dr. Bishop). No matter what the possibilities are, Olivia safely assumes that the lab under Harvard isn’t being used in the other universe, so it is the place where she often (as Walter calls it) jumps from one universe to the other.
(Walter hadn’t told her why there was only one universe she could travel to stating, “It’s much too complicated for your average mind. You’ll understand eventually.”)
This is why Olivia is so surprised during her fifth trip when she steps over the boundaries and finds herself face to face with another woman. To be specific, a blond woman. Both Olivia’s jump back abruptly.
“Who are you?” asks the other Olivia (who we will refer to as Alter-Olivia from now on). Olivia bites her lips to prevent asking the same question. She shouldn’t show weakness or lack of knowledge. Besides, she knows who this woman is. It’s me, thinks Olivia. She’s the other me.
--
Walter had always told Olivia that it would be very dangerous to interfere with the other universe. Instead, she was just supposed to observe, and report back without making a fuss of any kind. (It was this kind of work that made Olivia feel like that bald fellow without facial hair. You know, Mr. No-Brows?) And Walter made this absolutely clear: she was not to seek out anybody she knew. Even in a two minute conversation, with the different histories of the universes, Olivia might remember something that never happened or not know about something that did. And even if she did get out of the conversation unscathed, there was always the chance that the person would meet up with Alter-Olivia and mention the conversation that never really happened. And throughout all of this, there was one unspoken command: Do not go looking for John Scott. She didn’t.
--
Meeting your alter-self was probably right below announcing to the world you were from another dimension in a list of things not to do when traveling between universes. Olivia wonders how much Walter is going to yell at her for disrupting the natural course of life. Like he can say anything, thinks Olivia. He stole a person!
Alter-Olivia pulls out her gun and catches Olivia in the action of doing the same.
“Stop!” Alter-Olivia commands. “Don’t touch your fire arm.” Olivia slowly returns her hands to her sides, wondering what would happen if your alter-self shot you.
“Who are you!?” demands Alter-Olivia. Despite herself, Olivia smiles. For the first time in her career with the Fringe Division, she’s got the answers. She knows who this other Olivia is, she knows how she got here, and she knows where she is. For once in her life, there are cards on the table and Olivia’s counted them all. Honestly, she feels a bit like Mr. Jones: mystifying, disappears and reappears almost magically.
“Who are you!?” exclaims Alter-Olivia, her tone and eyes showing that this is the last time she’s going to ask. Olivia considers how she’s going to get back home. It would be best if Alter-Olivia wasn’t in the room. Maybe if she could convince Alter-Olivia to leave, then she could jump back. Then Alter-Olivia would be convinced it was all a dream. When it occurs to Olivia that she’s kept Alter-Olivia waiting long enough, she decides to go the mysterious and vague route.
“You, of course,” she replies cryptically. “Don’t you recognize me?” Alter-Olivia narrows her eyes.
“You’re not me. Because I’m me.” Ah, the self-confidence. It appears both Olivia’s have it.
“How do you know? Maybe you have multiple personality disorder. Maybe I’m just the other half of you,” Olivia suggests.
“If I had that disorder, I wouldn’t know you existed. Now tell me who…or what you are!” Hmmm... Smart, too. This was going to be hard.
“Well, why don’t we explore the possibilities?” asks Olivia nonchalantly. She starts to move about the lab, the barrel of Alter-Olivia’s gun following her every move. This acting thing is so easy, Olivia thinks. I feel like a totally different person already!
“Don’t move!” Alter-Olivia’s voice quavers. Olivia remembers when she would be on the other side of the gun. Trying not to shoot the suspect while not letting them walk wherever they wanted.
“Maybe I’m your long-lost twin sister,” Olivia proposes.
“That only happens in movies,” says Alter-Olivia, gritting her teeth. Olivia immediately thinks of Susan Pratt and Nancy Lewis. Apparently I live in a movie now.
“It’s possible this is a hallucination. Have you had any LSD lately?” Olivia almost chuckles, remembering when Walter had said this to her.
“No! That’s a drug!” Well it seems that this Alter-Olivia hasn’t gone into the tank yet.
“Of course, hallucinations can be caused by a concussion. Have you had any head trauma in the last few days?” Alter-Olivia shakes her head warily. “Well, it could be that you just don’t remember. Head trauma can cause memory loss.” Alter-Olivia pales. Olivia knows what it’s like not to know your own mind. She’s seen Walter struggle with having half of his brain closed off to him and Olivia herself can’t remember anything about the Cortexiphan trials.
“No… no, that didn’t happen,” Alter-Olivia insists. Olivia can tell Alter-Olivia is getting impatient so she moves in for the kill.
“Well then,” Olivia moves on, seeming to accept Alter-Olivia’s answer. “There is another option. It could be that…you’re insane.” Alter-Olivia visibly stiffens. Again, Olivia can relate. Her bad dreams, coupled with her visions of the alternate world, had really convinced her she was going crazy. Olivia wonders how fast she could whip out her gun and place a “badly-aimed” shot into Alter-Olivia’s leg. Probably not fast enough, Olivia muses.
Now is when Olivia is really stuck. She needs to get Alter-Olivia out of the room, but she isn’t sure how. If only Peter was here. He’s good with this stuff. There’s more Olivia’s outside the door? Hey look, it’s a genetically altered hybrid monster? There’s a surprise for you in the hall? Oh hi, Broyles? Nothing sounds good.
“Why don’t you um…be a dear and fetch your hallucination some water.” Olivia says weakly.
“Yeah, like I’m that stupid,” scoffs Alter-Olivia. “You’re not a hallucination and I’m not leaving here without you.” Darn, thinks Olivia, all that for nothing. “I’ve been distracted for long enough. Now get down on the floor in the next three seconds or I’ll shoot.” Olivia sighs; she’s going to have to make the jump in front of Alter-Olivia. She closes her eyes, breathes deeply and remembers Walter’s words.
“W-why are you closing your eyes?” Alter-Olivia stutters. “Open them now!” And then as a second thought, she adds, “Three!”
(Walter had said, “Find the pull from your home universe. Concentrate on it and visualize it dragging you back. If it helps, imagine your friends and family calling for you.”) Olivia feels for the almost undetectable tugging from the small of her back. In her mind’s eye, she can see Peter, Walter, Astrid, Charlie, and even Gene beckoning for her to return.
“Two!”
The first time Olivia had crossed over, she had worried about getting back. The last thing she wanted was to be stranded in an unfamiliar place no matter how familiar it seemed. Fortunately, Olivia soon figured out that all she needed to depart were five minutes and a quiet place. Eventually she cut the time down to three minutes, then two and then one. Olivia wonders if this time, she can do it faster.
“One!”
Olivia feels the fabric of the universe open up for her and she steps through.
--
“Where is Olivia!?” Peter insists. “I know that you know.” Walter merely shrugs.
“I know no more than you do, my son.”
“I’ve called her eleven times! Does that not worry you?”
“I’m sure Agent Dunham’s battery has just run out.” Olivia watches from behind a pillar. This is why I didn’t tell Peter, Olivia thinks. Olivia checks her cell phone and sure enough, there are eleven missed calls. Even though she had her phone, she wouldn’t have gotten them anyway; Olivia’s sure her cell phone company doesn’t have multi–universe coverage.
“Shouldn’t we call the FBI or something? What if she was kidnapped again?” Walter sighs, giving up.
“Peter, I assure you she is safe,” says Walter patting his son on the shoulder. “In a place without a signal for your celly-phones,” he adds.
“Aha! So you do know where she is!” Olivia decides it’s time to reveal herself. She steps out of her hiding place and greets the Bishop boys.
“Hey, Peter. Hey, Walter.”
“Olivia, where have you been?” Peter asks, face full of concern. “You haven’t answered my calls and he—” Peter points to Walter, “knew where you were.” Olivia now realizes that as much as Peter’s worries annoy her, they are endearing, too. And anyway, she really needs someone to watch her back these days. Olivia pulls up a seat for Peter.
“Sit down. We need to talk.”
--
Crack!
The bullet whizzes through the place where Olivia was originally standing and with a thud, embeds itself into the opposite wall. Alter-Olivia stands still, panting, though not from physical exertion. So many questions run through her head. Who was that? What was that? A hallucination? Am I really going insane? As Alter-Olivia walks over to the wall to look at the damage from the bullet, she notices something on the floor.
A muddy footprint.
Alter-Olivia looks out of the window and the sun is shining hard, heating the outside to a steamy eight-five degrees. So this person didn’t come from Boston, at least, she deduces. If only she knew how wrong she was.
Olivia scrambles for her phone to take a picture of the footprint before it dries up. When I tell Charlie about it, he won’t believe me, but I’ll have this for evidence! Olivia smiles triumphantly to herself. She bends down to take a closer look and then she curses. The stranger and Alter-Olivia wore the same kind of boots!
:tiphat:
Disclaimer: I do not own Fringe. It belongs to Fox or J.J. Abrams or whoever. No infringement intended (haha).
It was a secret project; only she and Walter knew. Olivia’s not sure why she didn’t tell Peter. Perhaps it’s because, the project was only an experiment and Olivia had never expected it to go anywhere (well, it did). Or maybe it’s because he’d been so protective of her lately.
“Olivia, don’t go into the tank!”
“Olivia, this bomb will kill you!”
Sure, his concerns had substance (and they were sweet), but Olivia wanted to make her own choices, thank you very much, and Peter’s nagging just made that harder. Plus, she didn’t want to worry him.
As for Astrid, frankly, she was terrible at keeping secrets. If Olivia had told her anything, Peter, Charlie, and Broyles probably would have known by the end of the week.
So it was just her and Walter. He really was a great teacher: patient and always willing to try new things. Of course, the various cases slowed their progress, so it was only after a few months that Olivia could successfully travel between universes.
--
Walter had told her everything: about Peter’s death and his voyage to the other universe to procure another one. Olivia isn’t sure how she feels about the truth. It was incredibly evil to steal the other Walter’s child…but Walter did it out of love and (this is quite a selfish reason, Olivia thinks) if he hadn’t, Olivia wouldn’t have Peter now, as a friend and as a useful asset to the team.
Using this information, Olivia infers that since there is no Peter in the alternate universe, there is no Walter (because Peter was needed to get Walter out of St. Claire’s) and if there is no Walter, there is no Fringe division (or there is, but it’s not getting anywhere without the help of Dr. Bishop). No matter what the possibilities are, Olivia safely assumes that the lab under Harvard isn’t being used in the other universe, so it is the place where she often (as Walter calls it) jumps from one universe to the other.
(Walter hadn’t told her why there was only one universe she could travel to stating, “It’s much too complicated for your average mind. You’ll understand eventually.”)
This is why Olivia is so surprised during her fifth trip when she steps over the boundaries and finds herself face to face with another woman. To be specific, a blond woman. Both Olivia’s jump back abruptly.
“Who are you?” asks the other Olivia (who we will refer to as Alter-Olivia from now on). Olivia bites her lips to prevent asking the same question. She shouldn’t show weakness or lack of knowledge. Besides, she knows who this woman is. It’s me, thinks Olivia. She’s the other me.
--
Walter had always told Olivia that it would be very dangerous to interfere with the other universe. Instead, she was just supposed to observe, and report back without making a fuss of any kind. (It was this kind of work that made Olivia feel like that bald fellow without facial hair. You know, Mr. No-Brows?) And Walter made this absolutely clear: she was not to seek out anybody she knew. Even in a two minute conversation, with the different histories of the universes, Olivia might remember something that never happened or not know about something that did. And even if she did get out of the conversation unscathed, there was always the chance that the person would meet up with Alter-Olivia and mention the conversation that never really happened. And throughout all of this, there was one unspoken command: Do not go looking for John Scott. She didn’t.
--
Meeting your alter-self was probably right below announcing to the world you were from another dimension in a list of things not to do when traveling between universes. Olivia wonders how much Walter is going to yell at her for disrupting the natural course of life. Like he can say anything, thinks Olivia. He stole a person!
Alter-Olivia pulls out her gun and catches Olivia in the action of doing the same.
“Stop!” Alter-Olivia commands. “Don’t touch your fire arm.” Olivia slowly returns her hands to her sides, wondering what would happen if your alter-self shot you.
“Who are you!?” demands Alter-Olivia. Despite herself, Olivia smiles. For the first time in her career with the Fringe Division, she’s got the answers. She knows who this other Olivia is, she knows how she got here, and she knows where she is. For once in her life, there are cards on the table and Olivia’s counted them all. Honestly, she feels a bit like Mr. Jones: mystifying, disappears and reappears almost magically.
“Who are you!?” exclaims Alter-Olivia, her tone and eyes showing that this is the last time she’s going to ask. Olivia considers how she’s going to get back home. It would be best if Alter-Olivia wasn’t in the room. Maybe if she could convince Alter-Olivia to leave, then she could jump back. Then Alter-Olivia would be convinced it was all a dream. When it occurs to Olivia that she’s kept Alter-Olivia waiting long enough, she decides to go the mysterious and vague route.
“You, of course,” she replies cryptically. “Don’t you recognize me?” Alter-Olivia narrows her eyes.
“You’re not me. Because I’m me.” Ah, the self-confidence. It appears both Olivia’s have it.
“How do you know? Maybe you have multiple personality disorder. Maybe I’m just the other half of you,” Olivia suggests.
“If I had that disorder, I wouldn’t know you existed. Now tell me who…or what you are!” Hmmm... Smart, too. This was going to be hard.
“Well, why don’t we explore the possibilities?” asks Olivia nonchalantly. She starts to move about the lab, the barrel of Alter-Olivia’s gun following her every move. This acting thing is so easy, Olivia thinks. I feel like a totally different person already!
“Don’t move!” Alter-Olivia’s voice quavers. Olivia remembers when she would be on the other side of the gun. Trying not to shoot the suspect while not letting them walk wherever they wanted.
“Maybe I’m your long-lost twin sister,” Olivia proposes.
“That only happens in movies,” says Alter-Olivia, gritting her teeth. Olivia immediately thinks of Susan Pratt and Nancy Lewis. Apparently I live in a movie now.
“It’s possible this is a hallucination. Have you had any LSD lately?” Olivia almost chuckles, remembering when Walter had said this to her.
“No! That’s a drug!” Well it seems that this Alter-Olivia hasn’t gone into the tank yet.
“Of course, hallucinations can be caused by a concussion. Have you had any head trauma in the last few days?” Alter-Olivia shakes her head warily. “Well, it could be that you just don’t remember. Head trauma can cause memory loss.” Alter-Olivia pales. Olivia knows what it’s like not to know your own mind. She’s seen Walter struggle with having half of his brain closed off to him and Olivia herself can’t remember anything about the Cortexiphan trials.
“No… no, that didn’t happen,” Alter-Olivia insists. Olivia can tell Alter-Olivia is getting impatient so she moves in for the kill.
“Well then,” Olivia moves on, seeming to accept Alter-Olivia’s answer. “There is another option. It could be that…you’re insane.” Alter-Olivia visibly stiffens. Again, Olivia can relate. Her bad dreams, coupled with her visions of the alternate world, had really convinced her she was going crazy. Olivia wonders how fast she could whip out her gun and place a “badly-aimed” shot into Alter-Olivia’s leg. Probably not fast enough, Olivia muses.
Now is when Olivia is really stuck. She needs to get Alter-Olivia out of the room, but she isn’t sure how. If only Peter was here. He’s good with this stuff. There’s more Olivia’s outside the door? Hey look, it’s a genetically altered hybrid monster? There’s a surprise for you in the hall? Oh hi, Broyles? Nothing sounds good.
“Why don’t you um…be a dear and fetch your hallucination some water.” Olivia says weakly.
“Yeah, like I’m that stupid,” scoffs Alter-Olivia. “You’re not a hallucination and I’m not leaving here without you.” Darn, thinks Olivia, all that for nothing. “I’ve been distracted for long enough. Now get down on the floor in the next three seconds or I’ll shoot.” Olivia sighs; she’s going to have to make the jump in front of Alter-Olivia. She closes her eyes, breathes deeply and remembers Walter’s words.
“W-why are you closing your eyes?” Alter-Olivia stutters. “Open them now!” And then as a second thought, she adds, “Three!”
(Walter had said, “Find the pull from your home universe. Concentrate on it and visualize it dragging you back. If it helps, imagine your friends and family calling for you.”) Olivia feels for the almost undetectable tugging from the small of her back. In her mind’s eye, she can see Peter, Walter, Astrid, Charlie, and even Gene beckoning for her to return.
“Two!”
The first time Olivia had crossed over, she had worried about getting back. The last thing she wanted was to be stranded in an unfamiliar place no matter how familiar it seemed. Fortunately, Olivia soon figured out that all she needed to depart were five minutes and a quiet place. Eventually she cut the time down to three minutes, then two and then one. Olivia wonders if this time, she can do it faster.
“One!”
Olivia feels the fabric of the universe open up for her and she steps through.
--
“Where is Olivia!?” Peter insists. “I know that you know.” Walter merely shrugs.
“I know no more than you do, my son.”
“I’ve called her eleven times! Does that not worry you?”
“I’m sure Agent Dunham’s battery has just run out.” Olivia watches from behind a pillar. This is why I didn’t tell Peter, Olivia thinks. Olivia checks her cell phone and sure enough, there are eleven missed calls. Even though she had her phone, she wouldn’t have gotten them anyway; Olivia’s sure her cell phone company doesn’t have multi–universe coverage.
“Shouldn’t we call the FBI or something? What if she was kidnapped again?” Walter sighs, giving up.
“Peter, I assure you she is safe,” says Walter patting his son on the shoulder. “In a place without a signal for your celly-phones,” he adds.
“Aha! So you do know where she is!” Olivia decides it’s time to reveal herself. She steps out of her hiding place and greets the Bishop boys.
“Hey, Peter. Hey, Walter.”
“Olivia, where have you been?” Peter asks, face full of concern. “You haven’t answered my calls and he—” Peter points to Walter, “knew where you were.” Olivia now realizes that as much as Peter’s worries annoy her, they are endearing, too. And anyway, she really needs someone to watch her back these days. Olivia pulls up a seat for Peter.
“Sit down. We need to talk.”
--
Crack!
The bullet whizzes through the place where Olivia was originally standing and with a thud, embeds itself into the opposite wall. Alter-Olivia stands still, panting, though not from physical exertion. So many questions run through her head. Who was that? What was that? A hallucination? Am I really going insane? As Alter-Olivia walks over to the wall to look at the damage from the bullet, she notices something on the floor.
A muddy footprint.
Alter-Olivia looks out of the window and the sun is shining hard, heating the outside to a steamy eight-five degrees. So this person didn’t come from Boston, at least, she deduces. If only she knew how wrong she was.
Olivia scrambles for her phone to take a picture of the footprint before it dries up. When I tell Charlie about it, he won’t believe me, but I’ll have this for evidence! Olivia smiles triumphantly to herself. She bends down to take a closer look and then she curses. The stranger and Alter-Olivia wore the same kind of boots!
:tiphat: