nightcathedral | Put one foot wrong and I'm gonna fall...

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Put one foot wrong and I'm gonna fall...

It's nearly three in the morning when Olivia slips out of her room and heads down to the lab where Tony Stark had a sensory deprivation tank set up for her. She moves quickly and quietly, and doesn't bother switching on the lights when she enters the lab, leaving the blue glow of the monitors around the room to light her way - she's hoping that the less she does, the less JARVIS will take notice of her, and maybe he won't wake anyone to tell them what she's doing before it's too late. There are letters on her bed to Steve, to Jane, to Tony and Bruce, and between that and her absence, and whatever security cameras she's sure are monitoring this room, that'll have to do to explain where she's gone.

She eases the door quietly shut behind her, and crosses the room to the bright steel table where the syringes full of Cortexiphan Dr. Banner managed to synthesize are already laid out. Olivia picks one up, grimaces a little, and slides the needle into the big veins just below her wrist. Maybe this is what went wrong the last time. Maybe she needs a dose of the drug to get her to the right place. She's praying that's what it is, because otherwise, she's running out of ideas or other plans.

The empty syringe makes a soft ringing sound as she tosses it back into the tray. Olivia's already all but running up the stairs to access the tank. There's a breathing apparatus dangling over the top, just like in Walternate's lab. She grabs it, fits it into her mouth and takes a breath, and slides into the water with hardly a ripple.

For a minute, nothing happens. Olivia floats in the tank, eyes closed, just breathing and thinking of letting the universe pass through her, just like Walter told her the first time. Thinking of home.

Between one breath and the next, she vanishes, with only a swirling disturbance in the water of the tank to mark that she was there at all. The room stays silent, the tank empty, for another minute or two.

Then the tank explodes in a roar of heat and light, a ring of fire spreading outward and taking hold anywhere it can, blackening what it can't. Olivia tumbles out of the tank along with the water and lands with a crunch in the shattered glass from the tank, choking and gasping while the fire that wasn't put out by the flood dances up the walls.

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Steve follows, flicking an uncertain look at Peter. The other man looks like he wants to go after Olivia himself, but he stays put, so Steve walks into the lab alone.

"Agent Dunham?" It's tentative. He doesn't exactly loom- doesn't try to, anyway - just sort of sticks slightly closer than is necessary for his own comfort as much as hers. "They're- You'll be all right, won't you? They won't try to hurt you."

Because if they do there are going to be some very awkward concussions in the near future. He'd rather not have to mow through Olivia's friends.

Olivia glances up at him in surprise - both at his use of her title and at how close he is. He's stopped glimmering, thank God. Everything's going to be fine, and there's no reason to be nervous. She even manages a smile and a little laugh at Steve's question, and shakes her head as she turns away again, heading for one of the cabinets where they usually keep spare clothes in case of blood or slime or... whatever.

"I'll be fine. My boss is going to interrogate me about everything, and Walter's going to want to run a lot of tests - don't be alarmed if he comes at you with a Geiger counter - but they're not going to hurt us." Not that he'd asked about him, but she wants to make sure that's clear anyway.

"They're not like the other Fringe Division. The one I escaped from." She winces a little, feeling that's unfair - they all had their reasons for what they did, misguided though they may have been - and adds after a moment, "They haven't had to be."

She does still have clothes here in the lab. She pulls them out, along with a spare outfit of Peter's - it won't be a perfect fit for Steve, but better than a hospital gown - and holds that out to him. "You can change in one of the offices. Just don't touch... anything, really - I have no idea what Walter has lying around these days, so it's probably best to be safe."

Steve takes the clothes, looking down at them as he tries to remember how they work. It's funny, the things that unexpected trauma do. You feel fine, and then all of the sudden...

"I don't agree with that," he says, very quietly. "The Strategic Scientific Reserve could have just been the Allies' Hydra. In some ways, we had chances to be as bad as Sk- as Schmidt and his people. It would have made things easier."

His hands fist around the clothes. "There's no excuse for treating someone the way those people clearly treated you."

Before she can answer he bobs a little nod and shuffles off to the office to change, leaving her alone - and Peter standing in the door.

"He likes you," Peter says. He doesn't sound surprised, even though there's something protective and a little scared swirling in his gut.

Then he stops to think about what he just said and says, a little incredulously, "Captain America has a crush on you. Here I thought I was done thinking the things to come out of my mouth sound strange."

Olivia doesn't know what to say to that even if Steve had given her time to respond. She turns toward Peter as he speaks, her expression immediately going incredulous.

"No he doesn't," she answers with a flickering almost-smile, shaking her head. "He's just a friend, and he's worried about me."

She pauses for a moment, and then turns away from Peter just a little and starts changing as quickly as she can. He saw her in her underwear shortly after they met, this shouldn't be more awkward than that... but it is, somehow. Trying to ignore it, she goes on, "I was kind of shaken up when he met me, after I got away from the other Fringe Division, and I looked worse than I do now. And tonight was..."

Olivia laughs softly, turning back toward Peter as she buttons up her shirt. "I blew up the tank Stark set up for me in his lab, when I tried to get back here. Set the lab on fire, Steve had to pull me out... I guess he has reason to be worried." He doesn't have to be, but she can see why.

Peter doesn't say anything to that. Given how long it took her to accept the idea that the two of them could-

It's a relief. That's all. And that's all he's going to think about it. A smile breaks across his face as she describes an above-average week. "Sounds like you've been busy. When you say Stark, do you mean 'I am Iron Man' Stark?"

He's not looking forward to when Walter and Broyles and Astrid all get here. Yes, it will be an indescribable relief to have the entire team together again - but he'll also have to explain what happened between him and the other Olivia. All of it. No one else can break that news.

Steve eases back into the room, looking like he would happily sink into the floor. The pants aren't a terrible fit, but... Well. He and Peter might be similar heights, but their build couldn't be more different. The sleeves of the shirt look like they're about to rip open, and he can't even get the buttons to properly close. He finally gave up rather than risk tearing the shirt, leaving it hanging open.

"Um."

Edited 2011-10-29 03:34 (UTC)

Olivia snorts a little at Peter's question, grinning in amusement at the fact that he even knows that. And she apparently just spent weeks living in a mansion with Peter's childhood heroes. Their life is so strange. "Yeah, that's the one. He wasn't happy with me."

She's still buttoning up one sleeve when Steve comes back out, and she has to bite back a laugh when she turns to face him and sees the trouble he's having with the shirt. "Oh. Um... we'll get you clothes that fit better as soon as we can."

Footsteps echo down the empty hallway outside the lab - just fast enough to be pointedly not running - and a few moments later the rest of the team rounds the corner and bursts through the door. Astrid and Broyles pull to a halt a couple steps inside, looking like they hadn't actually expected to see Olivia here. Walter doesn't.

"Olivia!" She barely has time to brace herself before Walter reaches her and pulls her into a tight hug. He lets go after a few seconds, only to take her face in his hands and meet her eyes for a long moment, like he's searching for something. Apparently he finds it, because he smiles at her and says, "Oh, it's wonderful to see you, dear!"

Olivia finds herself grinning despite herself. Yeah. She's definitely home. "Hello, Walter. I missed you too."

Steve gives the shirts one hopeless little tug before the real welcoming committee comes pouring in, somehow managing to seem like far more people than they are. Steve is a little startled by the man running over to grab Olivia's face, but she's clearly used to it, and he's clearly happy to see her.

...Right, that's probably Walter.

Peter grins, a proper one this time. "Walter, don't make her want to leave again before she's been back a day."

To Broyles and Astrid, he says, "It sounds like she's had a more interesting time than we have the past few weeks - and not on the other side."

Broyles glances to Peter at his words, but doesn't say anything. Astrid, however, frowns and asks quietly, "If she wasn't on the other side, where was she? How did she get back? Does she-"

She cuts off abruptly as Olivia manages to extricate herself from Walter and looks back toward them. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see all of you," she says, still grinning. She glances back to Steve for a second before gesturing to the rest of her team. "Steve, this is Walter Bishop, Agent Broyles and Agent Farnsworth. Captain Rogers was helping me in his universe, and he seems to have been pulled over with me when I crossed over. Which... I wasn't trying to do at the time, so I honestly don't know how I'm here."

She's not complaining, but she does need to understand. That's the only way to be sure she doesn't do it again, and for them to find a way to send Steve home.

Walter turns toward Steve as if noticing him for the first time, and studies him for a moment before walking past Steve to a set of shelves, where he starts searching for an instrument of some kind - Olivia doesn't want to know what.

"Perhaps you don't need to try. When you were a girl... Your ability, your crossing over is triggered by emotion, rather than intention - in this case, a combination of fear and... love." He finally finds what he's looking for, turns with the Geiger counter in hand, and calmly walks back to start scanning Steve with it. "What were you doing at the exact moment you arrived? Were you in physical contact with each other at the time?" He flicks a glance at Steve's borrowed clothes. "Holding hands, perhaps, or having interc-"

"Walter!" Olivia snaps, looking utterly mortified.

"Not a judgment, Agent Dunham, simply a question. If you were in a heightened physical and emotional state, it would explain-"

"No!"

"No!" He yelps it at the same moment Olivia does, recovering from his personal horror long enough to manage the word. He takes the geiger counter - gently, but firmly - and plucks it out of Walter's hands, setting it safely aside before he edges around the man to join Olivia at the other side of the room.

Yes, she said not to be alarmed if he did what he just did but - it's kind of hard not to be. "We were asleep. Agent Dunham had injured herself trying to cross over, and I'd been pretty badly burned pulling her out. We weren't- we didn't-"

He manages several more half-formed syllables before taking a deep breath and composing himself. He nods to the two others present, throwing a small salute and somehow managing to look serious despite the ridiculousness of his outfit and his own temporary speechlessness. "Agents."

Walter's surprised enough by the geiger counter being taken from him that he doesn't respond immediately. Olivia can't help but be deeply grateful for that. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she murmurs a brief, "I'm sorry, he's always like that" to Steve as he reaches her, and lets out a slow breath before lifting her head again. Not even that can make her wish she hadn't come back, but she does kind of want to melt into the floor at the moment.

Broyles is doing an admirable job of not reacting to that momentary outburst. "Captain." He nods in response to Steve's salute, just as serious. His gaze flicks back to Olivia after a moment. "Dunham. I understand you've already been through a lot, but if you could explain what you do know-"

"Where were you burned?" Walter asks abruptly, now eyeing Steve with a frown that might be suspicion. "Agent Dunham has obvious cuts and abrasions, but you, Captain Roberts, appear to be unharmed."

"My back, my feet, and from the feel of it, minor burns on my arms and ribcage. And you can call me Steve, if that's easier to remember." He answers calmly, without hesitation, and then turns his attention to Broyles. "It might be easier to explain who I am and where she's been, and work backwards from Agent Dunham's arrival in my universe, sir. If you don't mind my saying so."

"He won't remember," Peter says, vaguely amused. "And Walter, he's not burned because his genetic makeup was altered as part of a supersoldier program and his cells have a self-insulating system of regeneration. If I'm remembering that right. Right?"

The last is directed at Steve, who stares at Peter like the other man has once again given him an unexpected punch to the psyche.

He kind of has. Strangers - strangers who aren't part of SHIELD in some way - shouldn't know that.

"Peter..." Olivia says, shooting him a warning look. Calling him Captain America was bad enough - she doesn't even need to look at Steve to know how he'll react to Peter having that knowledge.

"How did you know that?" Walter asks, obviously speaking to Peter though he's still staring at Steve with a combination of suspicion and, now, very obvious fascination.

Olivia takes a breath shifts her stance a little, straightening and drawing herself up a little as she focuses on Broyles again. She's starting to feel like she might want to get Steve out of the room before Walter comes at him with a syringe or something. "Sir, I'd be happy to explain everything, but Captain Rogers has been through more today than I have, and there's nothing he could tell you that I don't know." Not strictly true, but details on SHIELD and the Avengers probably aren't necessary for Fringe to know.

Astrid glances between Steve, Olivia and Broyles, and offers, "I could arrange for a hotel room for him, if..."

He collects himself enough to smile at Astrid. "I'll be fine with whatever arrangements you make."

As for letting Olivia deal with this on her own, he appreciates the offer, but-

But Peter has other plans at the moment. "Actually, I'd like a word with Olivia, if you wouldn't mind explaining your part in things, Captain Rogers," Peter says. He does his best to sound apologetic. He didn't want to gutpunch a childhood hero, but sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

Without waiting for an answer he, comes over to rest a hand on Olivia's arm and guide her over to a corner of the room. "Please listen before you lecture me. I'm assuming you want to help him get home?"

A pause, but only a brief one. "Based on what I know- based on the way he reacted to it- I don't think that's a good idea." Peter kind of can't believe he's saying this. "I haven't read anything new in a while, but Olivia, if what's written in the comics here holds true for him there, he's going to get killed. Tony Stark is going to kill him."

As soon as Steve confirms that he's okay with it, Olivia nods to Astrid - and as soon as Broyles gives her the nod too, Astrid moves to a computer to set it up. Whether or not he goes now, they're not getting him home tonight, and he's going to need a place to stay sooner or later.

Olivia's a little taken aback at Peter's interruption - and a little annoyed, to be honest - but murmurs a quick "excuse me" to Steve and lets Peter lead her across the room. And his explanation... is the last thing she expected to hear.

"What?" Olivia whispers sharply, flicking a glance back to Steve before focusing on Peter again. "Peter, just because you know who he is... that doesn't mean everything you read has to be true. I've met Tony Stark, Steve trusts him... They're friends. He was ready to tear my head off when Steve got hurt because of me, he wouldn't..." She can't see him doing that. Not to Steve.

"Best friends, actually. I don't know what happened - like I said, I haven't read anything in a long time." Peter massages his forehead with two fingers and manages a tiny laugh. "I'm not saying everything written about them is true, but if a detail that classified is, what else might be? That's my point."

"Um, Agent Dunham?" Steve is in a corner, holding Walter off with what he thinks is an IV stand. Apparently explaining his part in Olivia's crossover attempt wasn't enough to satisfy the man's curiosity. Considering the fact that he was half-conscious for the aftermath, Steve can't exactly blame him. Still, it would have been nice to get past "She showed up when I was out on a walk" and "we were trying to help her get back" before being... Attacked isn't the right word, exactly, but it's close.

"Walter." Peter breaks away from Olivia, planting himself between Walter and Steve and taking the IV stand, mostly so he can point it reproachfully at his father. "Stop harassing the American icon."

Edited 2011-10-29 21:47 (UTC)

Olivia sighs, and follows Peter back toward the others. She'd really thought that once she got home, everything would be... well, as simple as anything ever is in her life anymore. That was clearly a deeply misguided belief.

Walter's backing off, albeit with quite a bit of grumbling about how he needs clear information to determine what happened, and something about blood and tissue samples - Olivia decides Peter's more than capable of handling him for the moment, and homes in on Broyles, who looks like he'd like to get out of the madhouse as soon as possible. She can't blame him.

"Sir, I think it might be best if I send you a written report and meet you later to answer any further questions you might have. Tomorrow?"

She breathes a sigh of relief when he agrees - one less thing to worry about this instant, at least - and turns back toward Steve, Peter and Walter.

"Walter, I will tell you everything you want to know, just please stop scanning him. If a blood sample is really necessary, we'll get it for you another time. Peter..." she sighs, unable to keep the exhaustion out of her voice. "Can you find me the books, please? Anything you think might be relevant..."

"No," Steve says, startled. "I'm not trying to be difficult, but no. I won't be giving anyone any blood or tissue samples. I hope you can understand - no matter what you might know about me, it's still classified where I come from. The research involved is still restricted."

He frowns, trying to parse out if he's making sense or not. "This might be America, but you're not my government, if that makes sense. I'm sorry."

Peter winces, knowing how well Walter is going to take that, before he nods to Olivia. "Don't worry about it. I'll see what I can dig up. Walter, let's get you home, and we'll get the details from Olivia tomorrow. All right?"

Olivia eyes Steve for a moment, and then nods shortly. She's not going to force him into anything he doesn't want to do - if it's truly necessary to figure out how to get him back, he can make that decision when they come to it. "I understand. That's fine."

She glances back to Peter and hesitates for a second. She wants to ask if she can talk to him alone before she meets with the rest of the team again, get whatever's between the two of them sorted out. She's never been good at this, but you would think after they talked in the hotel room on the other side, this would be... easier, somehow. It's not.

Finally, all she can really say is a soft, "Thank you, Peter. I'll see you tomorrow. Astrid, if you can tell me where Steve's hotel is, I'll dr-"

She stops. Grimaces. Fights down a momentary seething hatred for the other Olivia and everyone on the other side who helped that woman steal her entire life. "Someone please tell me you know where my car is. And whether I still have an apartment."

He smiles, relieved at her understanding. "Thank you." '

"Your car is being held in one of the FBI's impound garages. I'll get it out tonight. Rachel has been dealing with your apartment when none of us can - the mail and everything." He sets the IV aside and manages a very small smile. "It's been taken care of."

Steve looks down at his open shirt and fiddles with the buttons, suddenly realizing just how much he doesn't know about this entire situation. "I can get a cab, if it's an inconvenience."

He might mean 'check in and then wander the city until I can actually consider sleep', but they don't really need to know that.

Olivia smiles in relief at Peter's answer - especially his mention of Rachel. She's been trying not to think about that, what Rachel and Ella must be feeling with all of this going on when they can't even know the whole story, but if Rachel's still in town and dealing with things... it has to be okay. And God, she can't wait to see them.

"Thank you," she says again. Astrid walks up to her with a printout of the information on Steve's hotel room, and Olivia takes it with a grateful smile. "Walter, Astrid, I'm very glad to see both of you. And Steve..." She glances at the hotel information, and nods a little - it's the same place they had Walter and Peter staying before they found a house. "We can share a cab, and I'll drop you off. It's on my way."

Peter half-laughs on his way to shuffling Walter out the door. "It's for you, Olivia," he says, as though that should be all the explanation she needs. As far as he's concerned, it is.

Steve watches them go with relief. He's gone back to plucking uselessly at Peter's buttons, dreading the moment when he gets dropped off and finds himself alone with nothing to occupy him but the idea of being alone. "Can I ask who Rachel is?"

Olivia waits until they're alone in the lab - again - before walking across the room to grab the phone and call a cab. She grins again at the mention of Rachel. "My sister. She and my niece were staying at my place before I left, but I wasn't sure they'd still be in town."

The cab company picks up; Olivia studies Steve quietly while she asks for a cab to be sent to the Kresge Building. After she hangs up, she gestures for Steve to follow her as she starts for the door.

"I am very sorry about Walter. He's not good with people, and he gets... fixated on certain things, but he'll get past it. Are you okay?"

Steve stares at her for a second and then - he can't help it - he laughs. "You know, Colonel Fury asked me almost the exact same thing when I woke up. Oh-" The last is startled. He somehow managed to pull one of the buttons off of Peter's shirt. "Sorry. And yes, I'm fine. I'll be fine."

He studies her, the worry returning. "Are you? I could ride with you to your place, if- I mean, I don't have to if you'd rather I didn't, but it should be easy enough for the cabbie to find a hotel, I'd think."

She flicks the lights off and holds the door to the hall open for him. She's not sure she believes he's fine, but she'll let it go. He did, when their positions were reversed.

His question startles her - she stares at him for a second, giving him a bemused little smile before nodding. "Yeah. Of course I'm fine. And you don't have to do that. I'm sure you'd like some... time to yourself, after all this..."

"I'll have plenty," he says, stepping into the hall with a quiet 'thank you'. "I'd as soon see you all the way home beforehand."

Steve scratches the back of his head. "You know, in some ways, I'm kind of... glad this happened. If you'd just vanished I think part of me would have always wondered if you'd made it back safe."

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