A/N - So here it is folks, the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm working on yet another one as we speak, so keep an eye out.

Make me really happy and review folks!

Thanks again

:)

Chapter Fourteen – Walking On The Sun

She delayed going to see Simon. She didn't want to intrude but she did want to see him to see if he really was ok. She went at night after a long day of finishing her paperwork, using her badge to by-pass the visiting hours. She knocked on Simon's door lightly before entering. He was reading a science magazine, one of the ones that Walter often had, ones that she could never really follow. He lowered it when he saw her, smiling slightly when he spotted the small bunch of flowers in her hand. The cuts on his face, now cleaned and dressed looked far better than they had in the barn. His hands were bandaged as well, only his fingers sticking out from the white.

"More flowers. Why does no one bring anything to drink?"

Olivia smiled as she settled the smaller bunch in with the ones that were in a vase beside the bed.

"Because that would be a bad idea. I wish I had known that you liked those magazines, I could have raided Walter's supply."

"Too late. Check out the cupboard."

She tugged open the small cupboard and found a tall stack of the magazines.

"Julia has me covered."

Olivia chuckled as she settled herself in a seat beside the bed.

"You look much better than the last time I saw you."

"Top of the line medical expects, six hours of surgery and two hundred and ten stitches will do that."

"Two hundred and ten?"

"Yeah. It's been a while since I added to my scars."

Simon shifted slightly in his bed.

"So the case is closed?"

"Definitely."

"Good."

"So, how long do you have to be here?"

"Another couple of days. Then Julia is insisting on family time."

"She's worried about you."

Simon nodded slightly.

"I know. And for the first time in a very long time, I can see why. That's why I've decided not to take the job at Massive Dynamic."

Olivia frowned. She wondered briefly if Nina Sharp knew that news yet. Simon had been headhunted by Massive Dynamic for a reason.

"Really?"

Simon sat back against his pillows with a slight sigh.

"Working with you has been fun, it really has but it made me a realize something."

"What?"

"I want a life, a real one. I don't want everything to be classified."

"You had a moment."

"More than one. Do they get any easier?"

Olivia shook her head, offering him a slight smile.

"No but it takes less effort the more moments you have."

Simon nodded.

"Noted."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Relax for a while; maybe go on a trip with Julia and her husband. They never got a honeymoon because Julia insisted on being there for my graduation."

"And after you've gotten bored?"

Simon laughed slightly.

"An old friend of mine is looking at doing some studies in Antarctica."

"Sounds….cold."

"Well, the penguins seem to enjoy it."

"So you're going to study penguins?"

"Someone has too. He thinks he might have found a new species."

"How long will you be out there for?"

"A few months. After that, who knows?"

Olivia smiled.

"You could get a dog."

"And have a permanent address. It's all rather exciting. And I don't think Julia could be any happier with the arrangement."

"Well, if you change your mind, Walter would love to have you around."

"And you too?"

Olivia caught Simon's eye and could see the seriousness behind the question.

"Simon-"

"Forget it. I have."

"Liar."

Olivia sighed and examined Simon out of the corner of her eye. He was looking at the exposed scratches on his skin with immense concentration.

"You're a lot like me."

Simon raised his head.

"How so?"

Olivia stretched her legs out on front of her, feeling a slight throb in her foot.

"Before Peter, my whole life was classified too. My sister still doesn't know the full extent of what I do. And very few people knew about my history. Even the man I was involved with was a closely guarded secret."

"What changed?"

Olivia shrugged slightly.

"Peter has a great way of reading people, of seeing things that always get missed. He saw the lies and the walls I had built up to protect myself. He hates secrets. Being with him meant being honest, not just with him but with myself."

"That's never fun."

"But it's worth it. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have Peter. And I would hate to think of the type of person I would be."

Simon nodded slightly and Olivia offered him a small smile.

"Take your break and see what happens. Have a few more moments and one day you'll turn around and you'll see something you never noticed before."

Olivia stood and put her hands in her pockets.

"I had better get going."

Olivia stood and paused before moving closer and laying a quick kiss on Simon's cheek.

"Thank you for your help Simon. It would have been much harder without you."

"You would have been fine. I'll bring you home a penguin."

"As if a cow in the lab wasn't enough."

Simon laughed and she flashed him another smile before slipping from the room. She hated to admit it, but she would miss Simon. She hadn't been lying when she told Julia that he was a good guy.

When she arrived home, Peter was watching TV, a beer in his hand. He smiled when she came through the door.

"Hey stranger. How is Simon?"

Olivia sighed as she sunk into the sofa beside him. She took the beer from his hand, taking a deep swallow before handing it back.

"He didn't take the job at Massive Dynamic."

Peter flicked off the TV, his focus completely on Olivia.

"Why? By the sounds of it, he was going to have a scientist's dream working there."

"I know. He said he didn't want to have a classified life anymore. And I think his sister had a hand in it."

"You can't blame her. I mean, how many times has Rachel asked you to get a safer job?"

"I lost count."

"Exactly. Does he have a plan?"

"Antarctica. Apparently, there is a new species of penguin that desperately needs to be researched."

"So he's going back to origins then?"

"Something like that. I realized something tonight."

"What's that?"

Olivia winced as she pushed off her boots, pulling off her sock and checking her foot. The dressing was still in place and there was no blood. Always a good sign. Peter leaned down and ran his hand gently over her foot.

"Has it been bothering you?"

"Only a little. It's the boots more than anything else."

"I'll change the dressing and you can fill me in on your revelation for the evening."

Olivia smiled slightly as Peter got off the sofa and headed for the bathroom. Seconds later, he was back on his place on the sofa, Olivia's foot propped up on his lap.

"Ok, continue with your story."

"Simon's is like me. Or how I was before you."

"How so?"

"Closed off, everything a secret."

Peter frowned.

"I hope that is a compliment."

"It is. I don't know what I would do without you. I would have to change my own dressings for one thing."

Peter chuckled and finished the dressing on her foot. When he was done, Olivia sat up straighter, shrugged off her jacket and snuggled back into Peter's side.

"I told him that he was welcome to come back any time he wanted. He offered to bring me back a penguin."

"Well, that would make Walter's day."

Peter pressed a kiss to her temple and she let out a happy sigh. The comfortable silence was broken by the loud rumbling of her stomach. Peter chuckled.

"Have you eaten?"

"An apple and Walter's milkshake."

"What do you feel like?"

Olivia shrugged slightly and tightened her grip on Peter.

"I don't know. But I'm more than happy to stay here."

She pressed closer, moving to find his lips with her own. His hands found their way into her hair as the kiss deepened, her fingers skimming the hot skin under his shirt. He was working on her buttons when her stomach rumbled again, louder and more insistent than before. Olivia felt his wide smile against her mouth before he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

"I need to feed you, Dunham."

Olivia frowned.

"Good way to spoil the mood."

Peter grinned and stood, moving to the kitchen.

"You know, one day we will be married and you will have to listen to me more."

Olivia smiled and followed him into the kitchen.

"Married huh?"

Peter nodded as he got bread out of the packet and popping it into the toaster. He turned his arms across his chest.

"Yeah. You don't think about that?"

"Sometimes."

"Are you surprised?"

"No. I just…."

Peter moved closer to her, pulling her closer by her hips.

"I love you, Olivia Dunham. With you I want to stay in one place. With you, staying in one place isn't scary anymore. I've found my home."

Olivia never would have said the words out loud for fear of mocking. But a simple fact was that she was Peter's and he was hers. Their lives were so intertwined now that losing him would be a loss of limb, a loss of life itself. He was part of her now.

"You're not going anywhere are you?"

Peter studied her as she pretended to think.

"Not if you keep feeding me. And get me a penguin."

"I'll get right on that."

He pressed a sweet kiss to her lips before releasing her and focusing on the toast again. Olivia stood back and watched him work, not able to wipe the stupid little grin off her face.