Hard to believe this is the end of this one already, but I'll be busy for a bit. Thanks to all of you who've reviewed/alerted/favorited. You all rock!

There is potential for a sequel here, but only if you ask for it. And I'm sorry if the spacing in this story annoys anyone-it keeps acting weird for me.

I don't own anything to do with Fringe.

If you enjoy this chapter, please review!

That Fine Line-Chapter 4

Olivia knew she should have taken a nap but she was way too excited. Today, whatever day it was, was her day of escape. Escape from Peter's real father, a cold-hearted bastard she intended to destroy. For the thousandth time she had to tell herself to relax. She closed her eyes and thought of Peter, and all her senses went into overdrive.

When she opened her eyes she was shocked that she could see! Even though she knew the lighting had not changed in her cell her vision was pretty good. Sadly, there was nothing much to see. An air conditioning vent way too high to get to, and surprisingly no cold air return vent on the floor anywhere. And there was the door...Olivia got up and walked over to the door. She touched it again. It wasn't like any door in her unvierse. One could tell it was a door but it didn't seem to have any real definition to it. And then there was the viewing window a few feet from it. She tapped on the see-through part. It was some kind of high-grade, bullet-proof glass, she was sure. If Sam hadn't promised his return she would have spent the rest of the day trying to somehow break that glass.

Olivia pressed her forehead against the glass. She could see down the dark corridor which now appeared considerably lighter, but there was nothing to see. Olivia wondered how many other people had been held captive in this room, how many had died dreaming of their escape. The thought made her shudder and she shook it away.

Thinking she should try to get rid of her nervous energy, Olivia walked to the middle of the room and plopped onto the floor. She got into the lotus position and a mantra popped into her head. Peter. Peter. Peter...She felt herself start to calm down.

"That really works, huh?"

Olivia's eyes popped open and she could see a tall, older man standing above her.

"Who-"

"Relax, Dunham. It's me. At your service."

She looked him over. He looked so familiar, but it wasn't Sam Weiss as she remembered him. This man was much older with much less hair and what he had was gray, not black. Then it hit her. The bus driver! When I didn't have a 'Show Me' ID card!

Sam watched as recognition crossed her face and he smiled. "I told you I was taller and older than I appear."

She cocked her head at him, wondering how it could be.

"It's a perception thing. Let's get going." He extended his hand and she took it as he helped her up. Then he leaned down, his voice a whisper. "Here's how this works. I can only get myself through, but you can get through also. Right now. Just focus on it. Let me get out of the way first."

Before Olivia had a chance to respond she saw him walk through the door as if it wasn't even there. He turned and stared at her from the hallway several feet back from the door, his eyes boring into her.

OK. You can do this, Olivia told herself. She took a deep breath and focused all her energy on the door. Instinct told her to start walking, so she closed her eyes and moved forward. When she opened them she was standing next to Sam Weiss in the hallway. She let out a muffled gasp.

"Great job, Olivia!" Sam whispered.

Their victory was short-lived as someone ran towards them in the hallway. The second the young man's face appeared around the corner in the dark hallway Olivia scanned it for recognition. Seeing none her mind responded quickly.

The fireball that was his body was huge and came out of nowhere. Sam jumped back against the wall.

"Whoa! You can do that?" Sam yelled, as the man's body slumped to the floor in a burning pile. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Sam grabbed her arm and raced down the dark corridor. They found a door on the side and threw it open. He pulled her hard into the stairwell.

"Take my hands," he said a little out of breath, "and think yourself home."

Olivia grabbed his hands, closed her eyes, and concentrated on her world, trusting him. The air around them changed. It smelled and tasted different.

When Olivia opened her eyes, she was amazed at what she saw. They were standing outside Sam's bowling alley in South Boston, their hands still joined. Sam appeared as she remembered him-shorter, younger, with an almost full head of dark hair and full dark mustache and beard. We made it! her mind screamed.

Sam opened his eyes and smiled at her. "You did it, Dunham. My star student."

They let go of each other and stood there. Exhausted.

The realization hit her that she was free. And home, almost.

Olivia lunged at Sam and gave him a giant hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much!" Tears of joy trailed down her face, and then she sobbed outright, releasing all the stress of her days in captivity.

"S'OK, Olivia," Sam said softly, trying to comfort her. He held her until she calmed down.

Olivia pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. "So..what's next?" she asked trying to pull herself together.

Sam started walking toward the front door of the bowling alley. He turned to look at her making sure she didn't fall over from exhaustion. "We get something to eat and drink. Crossing universes is very dehydrating."

Olivia followed him still shocked by all that had happened. She wanted to ask him how many times he had crossed back and forth between worlds, but decided to leave it for another time. Real food and drink sounded wonderful. Even if it was just a hot dog and soda from the bowling alley. Then her thoughts shifted and she thought about Peter, and Walter, and Astrid, and her sister and niece.

Sam held the door open for her and then followed behind her down the long staircase. "After you get some solid rest, we'll talk about getting you home." His voice echoed down the stairway. He knew the Olivia Dunham from the other universe was there, posing as the real Olivia, and blatently conning everyone. She didn't need to know that now, but he knew he'd have to tell her in a day or two. It was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to. What a mess the Walters' had made. He wished he didn't have to help clean it up.

Olivia opened the lower stairway door with a shaky hand, and Sam grabbed it from her holding it open. Why did the good ones always get hurt? He thought to himself.

The End