Ok, so I was watching the movie 'Sliding Doors' the other day (AMAZING film, go watch it now!) and the song "Thank You" by Dido was played during the credits. When I looked up the lyrics, I thought I might be able to make a decent fic out of it... and this is the result! So, it's not a songfic per-say, just an 'inspired by'.


Thank You

Bitter. Her tea was bitter. God only knows how a simple tea could be so bitter. It was herbal tea, for crying out loud! And yet, it was bitter, and revoltingly so. A perfect way to start a perfect day, Olivia thought bitterly. That was a terrible pun, but she didn't even notice as she left the small coffee shop and got into her SUV.

Massaging her temples, the young agent closed her eyes, rested her forehead on the steering wheel and mentally slapped herself for drinking so much last night. It was supposed to be only one drink with Peter, but then things got out of hand. She'd gotten carried away, injudicious. Peter had insisted on buying her another drink, and then she'd bought him another, and so on and so forth until both were almost completely wasted. She remembered calling a cab for them, but the details from then on were fuzzy. The cab had dropped her off first… Peter had helped her up the steps and into her apartment... Nothing had 'happened' between them as far as she knew. After all, she'd woken up alone… but oh God, what if something had? The more she thought about it, the greater the pressure on the inside of her head became.

Just get to work - get there before you're late.

Olivia opened her eyes and focused on turning the key in the ignition and placing her foot on the gas petal.

Just drive. Concentrate on driving.

She navigated the streets slowly and cautiously. An accident was the last thing she needed on a day like this, and the rain-washed streets would only contribute to the odds. Before she pulled her car into the underground parking lot, the FBI agent caught a glimpse of the sky. Gray, gray, gray. A promise for more rain and no sun.

Once her car was parked, she glanced at her practically untouched beverage sitting in the cup holder. As disgusting as her tea was, she decided to take a sip in an attempt to warm herself up, if only a little bit. But it was cold. Cold, bitter tea. Feeling defeated, Olivia threw the drink out on the way up to her office. There, she was greeted by a large pile of paperwork that lay waiting on her desk.

"No…" she mumbled aloud at the sight of the pile. No sooner had she sat down and begun rubbing her temples again to ease the throbbing when there was a knock at her door. At first, she didn't answer, secretly wishing that they'd just go away if she didn't respond.

Knock, knock, knock.

Olivia gave in and replied without bothering to look up. "Come in."

"Hey," the visitor greeted her. It took a moment for her brain to register that it was Peter, but when it did, her head snapped up. Something inside her responded to his voice like a dog to a hunting call… and made her smile ever so slightly. He gave her a sideways look. "Are you ok? You look like hell."


He chuckled at her sarcasm. "I brought you something." Peter was smiling kindly at her and holding… was that a cup of coffee? Olivia had only just realized that he had been carrying something. He walked over and sat on the edge of her desk, offered her the cup.

Olivia accepted it graciously. "You're a life saver, Peter."

He grinned again. "Thought you might be needing this, I know I did already."

Olivia glanced up at him as she sipped her much needed coffee. Peter was referring to last night, but he wasn't acting weird about it at all. Despite the fact that Olivia had no idea what may have transpired in the sections of her memory that were blank, she wasn't at all uncomfortable around Peter. She was beginning to feel warm all over, and she knew well enough that it wasn't just from the steaming coffee. He had just turned her shitty day upside down just by being with her for no more than a minute. That in itself said a lot about things that Olivia wasn't able to fully admit to herself, but she knew they were there anyways.

"Did you have a good time last night?" Peter asked casually, interrupting her train of thought.

"I did, I..." Olivia trailed off. She had started to ask him something about what had happened the previous night, but stopped herself before her words took off with minds of their own.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "You…?" He prompted her to continue.

Olivia bit her lip. She cast her eyes about her office to double check that they were alone and that the door was closed before opening her mouth.

"I… I was just wondering what – what exactly happened when…" She leant toward him and spoke, almost in a whisper, "when you helped me to up to my apartment?"

Olivia waited for him to react to what she said for what felt like en eternity. A thousand different possible responses ran through her head, but not one of them were remotely correct. Much to Olivia's embarrassment, Peter laughed. Olivia could feel her face go red. She waited as patiently as she could for his chuckles to subside.

"Oh, Olivia," Peter sighed and shook his head. "Having a little memory lapse, are we?"

Olivia shot him a look but she was still smiling.

"You were far more wasted than I was," Peter began very matter-of-factly, "so I had no choice but to help you into your apartment or worry that you had wandered off somewhere -,"

"You were worried about me?" Olivia teased.

"No, I would have worried had I not had to practically carry you through the front door," he corrected her with a smirk. "I laid you in bed, tucked you in for the night, and you were passed out before I had even left the room." At Olivia's relieved expression, Peter smiled and rolled his eyes. "Nothing happened, Liv."

Olivia nodded and looked down at her coffee, suddenly feeling very stupid for asking such a question. Peter was a good man; he wouldn't have taken advantage of her.

"Thank you," Olivia managed to say, "for last night, the coffee…" she gestured to the empty cup in her hand.

Peter shrugged. "Hey, I'm just looking out for you."

"I'm fully capable of looking after myself-," she began to protest, but Peter cut her off abruptly.

"It's worth it." He replied with an amused grin. "You're quite the character when you're drunk."

Olivia laughed, blushing. "Do I even want to know?"

Peter thought for a moment. "Most likely… not." She raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, it's nothing that would ever make me think any less of you," he said with a hint of a grin, but his eyes were honest. He could read her every emotion like they were written out on the pages of a book - and she knew it - but found that it didn't bother her because… well, because it was Peter.

"I promised Walter I'd help him with some test on some tissue sample or other," Peter said. "The man's been raving about that parasite we found since five in the morning."

"Have fun with that," Olivia joked. Peter caught her sarcasm and nodded in fake appreciation.

"Oh, believe me, I will," he sighed. "Stay outta trouble while I'm gone, ok?" He winked at her on his way out the door.

Olivia nodded and watched him leave.

Wow. What a guy.

She rolled her eyes at herself and was about to start on her paperwork but paused. Something was different. Puzzled, Olivia gazed at the pile for a moment. Weird… she thought it had been a much higher stack before Peter had come knocking.

This chapter is loosely based on the first & second verses of the song... and I'm debating whether or not to write another chapter for the third verse....?

And the only way I'm gonna decide is if you click the pretty little button right down there and let me know whatcha think!!!