A/N: So I had this idea a few nights ago (at time of publication). It should be pretty quick, but who the hell knows, since...well, you'll see. I can't really describe it without basically telling you all what happens in the A/N, so I'm just going to stop talking and let you read. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: Sadly, no, I don't own Fringe. *pouts* But, some very talented and very rich people/companies do...so please don't sue me?


The Thoughts In My Head (Keep Me Awake)

Olivia thinks of the future.

She thinks of what could be. She thinks of what may happen, and the choices they may have to make.

She imagines a future with Charlie. She imagines her friendships in five years. She imagines their relations with the Other Side and their doppelgangers.

Her future with Charlie is a warm one. She imagines every detail of the scene she keeps coming back to, redefining it every time.

The room is the same as it's always been, her comfortable living room with the worn-out couches and the crowded coffee table and the TV at its ever-so-slight angle for maximum viewing capability. The lighting is warmer, though, brighter somehow. She likes to joke that it's because he lives here; Charlie just brushes her off with a laugh and throws it right back at her. They never can decide which one of them is the reason.

He comes in through the front door like he always does. She can hear his key turning in the lock and looks up from the case file she's reading. As the door opens, she flips it closed and stands up to greet him.

"Hey, you," she says with a smile as he enters.

"Hey, Liv," he replies, sounding tired but smiling back.

He puts away his coat and steps out of his shoes, then crosses the room to give her a quick kiss. "Did you have anything in mind for dinner?" he asks.

"Not really," she replies. "Any new leads?"

He shakes his head. "Sadly, no. The Bishops are working on the body, but until their autopsy is finished we won't have anything."

She sighs. "Typical."

"Hey, cheer up, Liv," he says. "It's not all doom and gloom, you know."

"Oh, really?" she asks, half-teasing.

"Really," he says, and kisses her again. "How about dinner out tonight?"

"I love you," she laughs.

It's over dinner that he surprises her even more. He, in true Charlie Francis fashion, slides the ring box over when she asks to look at the check. When she looks up in surprise, he gives her a slightly shy grin and says, "Open it, Liv."

She does, and inside is what she suspected: a ring. Charlie's grin says it all, but he puts it into words anyway. "Will you marry me, Liv?"

Of course she says yes, and when they stand to leave she pulls him in and kisses him. Finally.

She pictures where her other relationships will go, too. Following the scenario about Charlie - the way it always does - her imaginings lead her down each friendship.

"Hey," she says, leaning against the doorframe.

Peter turns. "Hey," he replies. "What brings you here?"

"Just thought I'd stop by and say hello," she tells him. "Also, I've got information for Walter on the case."

Peter grins. "Ah-huh. I see how you are. You just came by because of the case."

"Shut up, you," she laughs as he opens his arms for a hug.

"Hey, Walter!" Peter calls. "Olivia's here!"

Walter's excited voice comes from deeper in the lab. "Agent Dunham!"

She walks deeper into the lab to say hi and drop off the file Broyles gave her. She and Broyles are still close, and probably always will be; they trust and respect each other, an important thing considering how much they've been through.

Walter beams at her as she walks in, and Astrid greets her with a warm "Hey, Olivia" from behind her table. Lincoln's here too for some reason or another, and he semi-absently waves before he looks up and realizes it's her. He's so surprised that his glasses, which were sliding off his nose anyway, fall off. He curses as he ducks down to retrieve them, and she laughs.

"Nice to see you too, Lincoln," she chuckles.

She hands Walter the information and glances around the room with a smile. All that's missing are Charlie and Broyles, and then their little Fringe family is complete. She's very glad she met these people.

Even when she pictures relations with their doppelgangers on the Other Side, she finds a sense of contentment; she hopes things will turn out better in the future. So that's what she pictures.

"This is awkward," Fauxlivia declares.

"A little," Olivia agrees. "But it's also kind of necessary."

"I mean...it will be interesting watching them all interact," Peter adds. Since he's the only one without a doppelganger, he's in here with them, overlooking the scene in front of them.

"Interesting is one word for it," Broyles says. "My doppelganger was dead when he came through, and it was still the strangest experience of my life."

"Alright, well," Olivia sighs. "Are we ready?"

"They don't look ready," Walter remarks. No one comments on his presence.

"Send them in anyway," Peter sighs.

Fauxlivia presses a button on her earpiece. "Guys, go on in."

Suddenly the room below is filled with two of everyone. Charlie, Astrid, and Lincoln all face their doppelgangers from the Other Side. Olivia can see the differences: alternate-Lincoln's hair is more wild and he doesn't wear glasses, and he walks in side-by-side and laughing with alternate-Charlie, who has a scar under his left eye and a much more casual demeanor. Alternate-Astrid is dressed in military camouflage with the Fringe Division logo in red and black on her sleeve, and refuses to meet anyone's eyes, even her doppelganger's. Fauxlivia explained that it's because she's autistic, something that made them all hold some degree of sympathy for her.

At first, no one moves. Alternate-Lincoln and alternate-Charlie stopped talking the moment they saw the prime universe Charlie and Lincoln, who stare back in silence. Astrid looks half-shocked and half-concerned as she takes in her doppelganger's appearance, and though alternate-Astrid doesn't meet prime-Astrid's eyes, she does look a little shocked herself.

"What the hell is this?" the two Charlies ask at the same time. As one, they turn toward the one-way mirror (they're in an interrogation room, since the two Olivias had both agreed it was the best way to watch their friends meet each other), both glaring accusingly at the glass.

"Liv, I know you're back there," Charlie says.

"You too, Livvy," alternate-Charlie agrees.

"Did you two come up with this?" demands alternate-Lincoln.

"They had help," Peter says through the speaker.

"Peter!" Lincoln protests. "Really?"

"Is Walter in there with you?" asks Astrid.

Walter comes to the speaker. "Yes, Astro," he says, and Astrid rolls her eyes. "Agent Broyles is here too!"

At the sound of Broyles' name, alternate-Astrid finally looks up, and Olivia can see the brief flash of pain on her face before she finds her own eyes in the mirror and looks away again. Alternate-Lincoln and alternate-Charlie flinch too.

"Guys, I know it's hard," Fauxlivia says after Peter manages to move Walter away. "But Broyles is still alive over here. Deal with it."

"Liv," groans alternate-Lincoln. "You can't really expect us to just -"

"Drop it, Lincoln," sighs alternate-Charlie.

Meanwhile, Charlie, Lincoln, and Astrid seem to have been having a silent conversation. "So you're all from the Other Side?" Astrid asks.

Alternate-Astrid nods in response. "There was a thirty-four percent chance something like this may occur," she says. "There's a sixty-three percent chance that we're in our own universe and an eighty-six percent chance that we're in theirs."

Astrid looks a little overwhelmed. "You deal with percentages?"

"Yes," alternate-Astrid replies. "I'm good at it."

"I'm good with code," Astrid offers. "Not too bad at the sciencey stuff either."

Alternate-Astrid nods semi-absently. Astrid sighs.

Charlie shakes his head. "I am never going to understand this alternate universe stuff."

"Neither am I," agrees alternate-Charlie. "I've got enough to worry about without adding in alternate universes and doppelgangers and whatever."

"Oh come on, Charlie, you know the arachnids haven't been active in a long time," alternate-Lincoln protests.

"Hold up, arachnids?" Charlie asks, bewildered.

Alternate-Charlie looks at him. "You were never infected?"

"Depends. What infection are we talking about?" Charlie fires back.

Both Lincolns give him a look, but alternate-Charlie answers. "Mutant creature? Laid its eggs inside its victims, me included?"

"That happened," Charlie says slowly. "But Liv and Walter and everyone were able to figure out a way to get rid of them."

Alternate-Charlie shakes his head. "That's not what happened to me. They found a way to keep them suppressed, but I can't get rid of them."

Charlie glances pointedly at the mirror. "Did you try poisoning yourself? That's what they did to me."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" protests Olivia over the speaker. Charlie grins and rolls his eyes.

"Moving on," Lincoln says.

Alternate-Lincoln considers him. "Glasses?" he asks. "Really?"

"What?" protests Lincoln. "Tell me you're not wearing contacts."

Alternate-Lincoln shifts uncomfortably. Alternate-Charlie looks at him with an incredulous grin.

"You wear contacts, Lincoln?" he asks.

"Yeah, take his silence as an affirmative," Lincoln says.

Alternate-Charlie grins while alternate-Lincoln glares at his doppelganger. "You know they're going to tease me forever now, right?"

"Didn't think of that," Lincoln admits. "I'm not as close with these guys as you are. I'm getting there, but...not yet."

Alternate-Lincoln relaxes. "It shouldn't take long," he says, elbowing alternate-Charlie in the side and earning a raised eyebrow from both. "After all, I managed to win this guy over in a matter of days."

Olivia and Fauxlivia share a look. "They seem to be getting along well," Olivia says.

Fauxlivia shrugs. "We're an easy bunch to get close to. Even Astrid."

The two Olivias turn back to the glass, united for once in something that could become friendship.

She thinks of these things, but she doesn't dream them; her dreams are filled with something different, something warm and fierce and quiet. She lies awake at night and thinks of these things with moonlight streaming across her face on some nights and the lights of the city doing the same on others, wondering if any of them could possibly come to pass.

Hoping as she imagines that at least the first two will come true.


Charlie remembers the past.

He thinks back on a lot of things. He's been through a lot - they all have - and yet he keeps finding his thoughts drawn back to three particular events.

He remembers when he first met Olivia. She'd literally walked into his life the day of her first real mission. It was her first week in the FBI, and she'd walked into the briefing room already talking. She'd given orders as naturally as if she'd been doing this for a year instead of a week, and the room had stood in stunned silence until he got them moving by shouting "Alright, you heard the agent! Let's move it!" Hours later they'd found themselves in the middle of a firefight and he'd seen the moment she panicked. Still later they found themselves crouched low, waiting to make a move. They'd been waiting for an hour already, and he'd been watching her eyes dart around feverishly, anxiously, panicked, looking for an escape. He'd simply made his way over to her and said, "Dunham." She'd looked at him, her eyes full of fear, and whatever had driven him to come over in the first place also drove him to say the four small words that would later become their code when one of them was having a hard time: "You're gonna be fine." Her eyes had cleared, and she nodded; later, after the mission was over, she'd find him and invite him out for a drink, where she'd tell him that she knew she could trust him because he hadn't said "you heard the lady" during the debrief. He had addressed her as "Dunham" again, and she'd forcefully corrected him: "Olivia." They'd been friends ever since.

He remembers John Scott's betrayal and subsequent death. It had broken something in Olivia, something that until that day he hadn't realized was even there. She was good at hiding her emotions, covering how she felt up with facades and bravado. He suspected he was one of maybe three people she'd ever let her guard down with - him, her sister, and John Scott. Finding out about his betrayal and then losing him so suddenly was hard on all of them, but he knew it was hardest on her. He'd told her "it'll get easier," but he'd seen that she hadn't believed him; later that day he'd found her in the park. She'd told him to go away, but he was more stubborn than that and she knew it, so eventually she let him stay. He hadn't pushed her to talk about it - he wasn't like that - and as dark gray clouds had started to roll in, she'd talked on her own, about how if she'd just been stronger, if she'd been able to see John Scott for who he was instead of who she wanted him to be then maybe they wouldn't be here. It was one of only a few times he'd seen Olivia Dunham cry, and he'd held on to her with one hand and his umbrella with the other as it began to rain and she mourned a man she thought she knew. Later, she'd apologize for crying on him, and he'd brush it off and murmur, "That's what I'm here for, Liv." Then would follow a halfhearted argument about no, that wasn't the reason at all, that ended with Olivia laughing. He was mostly just glad he'd managed to cheer her up.

He remembers the parasites. He remembers chasing the mutant creature into the trees, finding the man's body, and then simply pain - unbearable pain. When Olivia had found him, the pain had mostly subsided, but it had lingered, and to this day he still sometimes feels the ghost of the agony. Walter had done everything he could once they realized the thing had left its larvae inside him, but once they poisoned him his only thought had been clinging to life. He remembers thinking that he still had so much left unsaid, to Sonia, to Broyles, to Peter and Walter and Astrid. To Olivia, whom he'd realized in that moment was the true love of his life. He remembers that she was there, she was always there by his side as he lay on what was potentially his deathbed with live larvae wriggling under his skin, trying to get out. He remembers a sense of tremendous relief when they managed to kill the larvae and give him the antidote, when he realized he was going to survive to fight and die another day. When he realized he'd get his chance with Olivia after all.

He remembers these things, but he doesn't dream them; his dreams are filled with something different, something cool and calm and passionate. He lies awake at night and remembers these things with moonlight casting his face in shadow on some nights and the lights of the city doing the same on others, wondering how he could have missed what was right in front of him for so long.

Grateful that when he finally found it, she let him in.


They both live in the moment.

They have to. With jobs as crazy as working in Fringe Division, they've learned to savor every moment, even the hard ones, the sad ones and infuriating ones and especially the happy ones. They've learned to whisper "You're gonna be fine" before every mission, just in case one of them doesn't come back; learned to steal a quick kiss in case they can't anymore. They've learned to be grateful every time they lay awake at night, imagining and remembering.

She shifts next to him, and he opens his eyes; he wasn't asleep yet anyway.

"You okay, Liv?" he murmurs.

"I'm fine, Charlie," she replies, and he can hear the smile in her voice just like she can hear the protectiveness in his. "Just repositioning."

"You know I worry," he says.

"And you know I can take care of myself," she reminds him pointedly. Then she smiles again. "I appreciate being worried over, though."

"No you don't," he laughs. "You just want me to go to sleep."

"Well, maybe," she chuckles.

He reaches up to brush her hair out of her face, then proceeds to run his fingers through it. She smiles again drowsily.

"Mm...keep doing that," she half-orders.

"Enjoying this, are we, Liv?" he teases.

"A bit," she laughs. "You could make it a little more exciting, though."

He takes that as an invitation to kiss her, which she doesn't object to.

"We do need sleep, though," he murmurs.

"Sadly," she sighs.

He smiles, letting his hand travel back down her side; all she's in on top is a bra, leaving most of her skin exposed. She shivers under his touch.

"Stop that," she protests.

"Do you really want me to?" he asks, voice low.

"Yes," she laughs, though he can hear the No in her voice.

He does stop, letting his hand rest on her waist for a moment before he pulls her closer, his arm around her back.

"Feeling possessive tonight?" she asks, and he can hear her already falling asleep. She hears it in her own voice, but can't bring herself to care.

"Just a bit," he replies. He buries his face in her hair, breathing in her familiar scent.

"I love you, Liv," he murmurs in her ear.

"I love you too, Charlie," she mumbles back, her voice fading on his name as she falls asleep.

He looks at her for a moment more before closing his eyes.

And their dreams blend together in a beautiful mess until there's nothing left but each other, and the strength of their love.


And that's it. We're done. I hope you enjoyed, this was fun to write, and also kind of challenging because of the present tense and omnicient POV. Please leave a review telling me what you thought!