Fringe
'So.' Olivia said, glancing at her dæmon. 'Thoughts?'
Cuimhne tilted his head, confused. 'You look fine, I don't see what that has to do with the case.'
Olivia rolled her eyes, letting out a small laugh. She could only really laugh with him and he knew it, rolling over as she sat down next to him, scratching his back. 'You know what I mean. Parallel worlds, people trying to attack us. Thoughts?'
The german shepherd does his best interpretation of a shrug. 'It's weird but life is weird. Not like we haven't seen weirder.'
Olivia chuckled, standing up again. Cuimhne stretched, jumping down next to her. 'So we heading to FBI or Harvard?'
'Harvard.' Olivia said, stepping outside. 'Peter says Walter has an idea.'
'Walter always has ideas.' Cuimhne said, refraining from chuckling as they entered a crowd. 'Doesn't mean they're any good.'
Olivia stifled a laugh as they arrived at Hertford, the two of them keeping their expressions neutral as they walked in. Olivia allowed herself a smile as they entered the room, Peter, Walter and Astrid smiling back at her. Cuimhne moved towards the other dæmons and Olivia didn't need to watch him go.
They were happy here.
Peter sat, staring at the picture. Goidte was on his lap, nervously picking at his shirt. He sighed, putting the paper to the side and stroking the monkey's back.
'I'm sure it doesn't mean anything, Te.'
She looked up at him, face scrunched up. 'But what if it does. What if Walter-'
'Don't.' Peter said, eyebrows furrowing. He glanced sideways, to the room he knew Olivia was in with Etta. 'Walter's gone. This could have nothing to do with him.'
'But-'
She stopped again as Olivia lent round the door. 'Can you give me a hand? Etta's insisting on speaking only in Spanish.'
Peter rolled his eyes. 'Does Etta know enough Spanish to keep that up?'
'No.' Cuimhne said, knocking his nose against Goidte's back. She moved onto his back, gripping his fur slightly too tight. 'But she still knows more than I do. Thank you for that.'
'You're very welcome.' Peter grinned, kissing Olivia's cheek. 'I'll get her to speak English.'
Goidte jumped onto his hip as he passed Cuimhne, scurrying to his shoulder. He smiled as he entered the kitchen, swinging Etta into his arms and listening to her babble. He'd worry about the tulip and Walter later.
'I can't lose her, not again. Please Walter. I can't lose her.'
Walter sat down next to his dæmon, letting her lean against her. Briseadh was almost as big as he was, but she was curled in on herself, making herself as small as possible. A lot of her fur had been pulled out, mainly by herself but some by Walter.
'It'll be fine.' His voice shook as he spoke and he ran his hand along the gorilla's arm. She shivered, moving to rest her head on his lap. 'We fixed it. Peter's safe. Goidte's safe.'
'But what happens when it's not. What if they find out?'
'They won't, Bris, I promise, they won't.'
Briseadh let out a soft cry, gripping his trousers. 'But Astrid knows. Astrid knows and she'll tell Peter and...'
'Shush.' He soothed, looking up and around. Peter, Astrid and Olivia were talking, probably about the virus they'd just stopped. Peter, sat down while doctors rushed around him, looked up and smiled at Walter. Walter smiled back and kissed his dæmon's forehead. 'Astrid thinks we're mad. They all do. It'll be fine, I promise.'
Briseadh nodded slowly. They sat just there in silence, waiting to go home.
Astrid spun around, looking for Walter. He had been there five seconds ago, he couldn't have gone far-
'Astro?' She turned, eyebrows raised. Walter blushed, head lowering. Behind him, Briseadh scratched her head. 'My sweet rolled away.'
She nodded, pursing her lips. On her shoulder, Zamjenik chuckled slightly, wings twitching. Astrid shushed him, turning back to Walter. 'Okay Walter. Well, tell me if you're going to leave again.'
He nodded happily, shuffling over to Gene. Astrid shook her head, holding out her hand for her butterfly dæmon to land on. Smiling to herself, she drifted over to Walter's desk, slowly moving things back into their proper place. If she didn't, he'd accuse her of moving them out of their proper place.
'We need a new job.'
Astrid smirked down at Zamjenik. 'And who exactly would hire us, Zam? Can't exactly tell people what we've been doing for the last two years.'
Zamjenik chuckled, flying to land on the back of Walter's chair. 'We're going to be stuck looking after Walter forever, aren't we?'
Astrid across the room, at Walter stroking Gene's side, at Briseadh laughing as Gene nuzzled her face. 'Yeah. But that's not too bad, is it?'
Zamjenik scoffed.
'Dunham is going to be a pain in the neck.'
Broyles laughed, standing up and walking out from behind his desk. Pimpinan was on her perch, angled so she could stare out of the office without anyone outside seeing her. He stood next to her, stroking her feathers.
'She's been on one case, Pim. You can't really make judgement.'
The eagle tilted her head, glaring at Phillip. 'One case and she's already dragged in a mental patient and a con man to help her. I really think I can.'
He laughed again, looking out the window to the other Agents. Dunham was talking with Francis, smiling softly at something he said. Broyles shook his head, moving back to his desk. Pimpinan make no move to follow him, still staring at Olivia Dunham and her dog dæmon.
'The Bishops were an asset to this case and likely will be for future cases.'
The eagle snapped her head to face him. 'You're going to let her keep them?!'
Broyles raised an eyebrow and his dæmon huffed, leaving her perch to land on his shoulder. She frowned at the email he had up.
'Massive Dynamic being difficult?'
'They always are.' Broyles said, sighing.
'This was a bad idea.'
Ilmu climbed across the table, ignoring the fact that Nina was ignoring him. She was staring at the computer, typing slowly, trying to get used to her new arm. He walked towards her awkwardly, missing a couple limbs from the accident that took her arm. She had a replacement now but it was difficult to make new limbs for spiders you couldn't touch.
'It'll all work out. I promise.'
'And if it doesn't?' Ilmu said, coming to a stop between her arms. He briefly looked between them, amazed by the apparent lack of difference. 'We can't just take in two little girls. We won't be able to help them.'
'Well, we're better than nobody.' Nina said, finally looking down at him. 'After what Walter put Olivia through, do you honestly think I could just let her go into the system. God knows what she's had to deal with already, we can't add more. And we're not leaving her sister behind.'
Ilmu sighed. 'We're not going to make good parents, Neen. Not with Bell's plan.'
'We'll just have to try. We'll worry about Bell later.'
Ilmu grumbled, stumbling away from her. They were both too stubborn.
William stared out the window of the boat, at the very spot his new universe would be formed. His dæmon was on the other side of the room, uninterested. She had seen the view, had memories the view and so no longer cared about the view. It didn't matter. It would be gone soon.
'Don't you think it's beautiful?' Bell asked, not turning his head.
Mendax looked up briefly from the chessboard. That, she never grew tired of staring at. 'What? The view or the fact it will be gone soon.'
Bell turned his head slightly so he could see her without losing his view. 'Why can't it be both?'
Mendax finally turned away from the chessboard, from thinking of their next move. The two had argued about the next move many times. Her tail flicked around to rest next to the bishop, protectively. 'You can't make a sacrifice and keep all your pieces.'
'No.' William nodded. He turned back to the window. 'But you can lose one piece and still keep the rest.'
Mendax stared at him, eyes wide. By now, there was no point arguing with him. She curled around the bishop.
'Not if it's the wrong piece.'
Olivia Dunham's dæmon was the same in both universes but she was different. Lincoln's dæmon was the same in this universe, before she disappeared in front of his eyes. He held Nauja a little closer now, and she wrapped herself a little tighter around his neck. His poor ermine dæmon, who faded into dust in front of his eyes. He can't focus on her now, can't even look at her really. So he looked at Olivia.
Olivia whose dog dæmon meant loyalty, obedience and intelligence over there and meant playfulness, precision and viciousness over here. He's not sure when he started preferring one version of Cuimhne, of Olivia, over the other but it's probably around the time the other Olivia arrives out of the blue at his apartment, the other Lee's apartment, with several bottles of wine and a sad smile.
'Here's to one year over here.' He said, later when suitable drunk, leaning against her.
'To you. All of four of you.' She said back, the other Olivia. She looked up at him and her smile isn't sad, their dæmons curled together.
He fell in love with her that night and she would never be the other Olivia again.
Etta cried when Ateities Settled. She was thirteen and in her parents' house, the house they hadn't been in for 10 years, holding a bullet she felt was important but had no idea why. Ateities was walking further and further away from her, although not so much to hurt. No distance was enough to hurt, not anymore. The Observers made sure humans were Separated from their dæmons from age six, so that they could take their dæmons away for punishment, without killing the person. More efficient, they said.
Ateities stalked back to her as she leant against the wall, her mothers jewellery box was next to her, the bullet in her hand. Her dæmon, a wolf, pressed against her side and looked up at her.
She paused, looking at him. Something was wrong, something felt different. She blinked a couple times and he blinked back. He was Settled. Their parents were gone, she didn't even remember their dæmons. Her mother's was big, her father's small but she knew no more.
'You can't.' Etta whispered. 'Please, Ate, you can't.'
He blinked. 'We'll have to report this to Broyles.'
Ateities stalked off again, ignoring the problem. Etta sat by herself and cried.
He tilted his head. She tilted her head back.
'You shouldn't have told him that.' She said.
'You shouldn't be here.' He said back.
Perhatikan scuttled down his arm, along his suit toward his hand. She had been back in their home timeline, waiting where all dæmons waited, uncaring like all dæmons did. Then he felt something and she was there, to feel it with him. 'You shouldn't have thought about the boy.'
Her human, September the others called him, looking down at her with a frown. They were stood outside the Bishop's house, staring in and watching Elizabeth Bishop delight over having her son back. 'I couldn't not think about the boy. The thought just happened.'
Perhatikan would have frowned, if beetles were capable of such things. She wondered, for a brief second if she had Settled that way because she normally had no use of expression. 'We are supposed to be in control. We could get in a lot of trouble.'
September tilted his head, staring through the window at the small boy being hugged by his mother. He thought of a different boy, the boy with his genetics.
'We need to go.' His dæmon said.
He nodded.