Archive of Our Own

A post in which I ramble on about Lincoln Lee's background and what we know about him, that could be loosely construed as meta. This is mostly to sort out fanon ideas, and my headcanon, for Lincoln based on what we heard/saw in Season 3 and Season 4 of Fringe. I'm sharing in case it's of interest, or helpful, to others.

To start with just what do we know about the Lincoln's from the episodes, other than their obvious involvement in their respective Fringe Divisions?

Things we learn in S2/3 about alt!Lincoln:

• his father was a respected jurist who Walternate knew of and it appears may have died recently as Walternate gives his commiserations to Lee in 2x22 "Over There Part 1"

• based on a comment in 3x05 "Amber 13259" he has a brother

• based on Charlie's joke in 2x22 "Over There Part 1" he might have a sister too

• partners with Liv for 2 years mentioned in 3x01 "Olivia"

Things we learn in S4 about Lincoln, primarily in 4x17 "Everything In It's Right Place":

• at least our!Lincoln's mother died when he was a kid

• he (both) moved from Teaneck to Philadelphia

• he (both) worked in his dad's hardware store in high school

• Liv mentions meaning to give alt!Lincoln's locker items to his parents plural

• we also see a man and a woman under an umbrella grieving at the funeral

• we don't appear to see many others there, no brother or sister seen or mentioned

So, first up is the weirdness with parents. To start with it seems like Lee's father isn't dead in the alternate S4 redverse timeline – that or his, presumably, step-mom had remarried. However, I don't know if Liv would have described his step-mom and her new husband as Lee's 'parents' to Walter in 4x18 "The Consultant" unless it's for simplicity's sake. Even so I still I find it more likely she would've only said his step-mom if so and therefore that it is his dad standing at the graveside.

Sticking with the assumption the couple are his step-mom and dad, then why is his dad not dead here? My personal theory is a ripple effect from amberverse Olivia not crossing over to see Walternate. Walternate has clearly ended up at the same conclusion Peter was stolen by the other universe, but he didn't have that same direct confirmation from Olivia and neither was Peter alive to retrieve in this timeline. Walternate in S4 does to me feel like a character who is less revenge drive, who dealt with the 'death' of his son, so I think initially Walternate might have given more thought to Bishop Dynamic and technology of his world in this timeline, making for significant improvements. So if it was cancer or some other potentially curable illness alt!Lincoln's dad had then maybe they managed to catch it sooner or treat it more effectively due to the better tech.

Other more random theory is whatever killed Lee's dad in the original redverse timeline didn't just didn't happen or the illness simply was spotted sooner for no reason other than by chance and things turning out slightly differently. Either way it seems his dad is likely to be alive in the altered timeline. Now there's some extra conflict if you want a Lee fic where he remembers the old timeline, if it turns out the new one has given him his dad back.

An aside from the above, why I am I so sure he has a step-mom? When we get the two Lincoln's discussion about their childhood etc, our!Lincoln mentions moving to Philadelphia after his mom's death and at no point there does Lee saying 'hang on, your mom died?' The fact he doesn't question that detail, or the others in the discussion, implies that they did indeed have very similar lives up until graduation. In which case I'm inclined to think the woman at the grave is his step-mom.

Alternate reading could of course be that's other relatives such as an aunt and uncle at his graveside, no step-mom and his dad still dead, but I'm going for the other explanation myself.

So, next point. How do we reconcile jurist-Lee's dad of S3 with Lee's dad who owned a hardware store as mentioned in S4? Naturally it's not like he couldn't do both, but it would seem somewhat unusual as it sounds like a busy job.

My headcanon is that after Lincoln's mom's death his dad moved them across country, giving up his demanding job for something simpler so he could care for his son himself and trying to move on by starting a new career with the hardware store that is something he can share with, a family business.

Cue years on, hardware store is doing well, Mr. Lee meets a nice woman, starts moving on with his life personally post-Lincoln's mom. That relationship gets serious, he remarries, more kids on the way (Lincoln's half brother?) and he thinks about getting back into the job he was so good at and that he possibly also misses. This is how I reconcile him being a jurist and having a hardware store. I think once it was successful and their family life more stable again he went back to being a jurist.

How about the background of our!Lincoln who so easily gives up living here for another universe? I tend to think his dad never remarried Over Here or that if he did he still died from whatever had originally killed Over There's Mr. Lee. By the way he acts, searching for belonging, I don't picture our!Lincoln with any meaningful family ties left Over Here, with exception of Jules Danzig and her kids, where it's likely to be somewhat painful after Robert's death and so likely to drift apart with time anyway. From an interview with Seth Gabel he mentions our!Lincoln with no parents Over Here, that is obviously how he plays him and that was how I'd been picturing the character too even before I'd heard of it.

That also leads me into the next area – Lincoln's siblings. I can't picture our!Lincoln with any myself, but this does tie into the fact I believe his brother, and potentially a sister too, will be from the 2^nd marriage of his dad's and if his dad did not remarry Over Here then no big family around waiting for him, which further ties into him apparently having no ties Over Here for when he moves universe.

There's nothing in canon that precludes them being full siblings instead of half-siblings or step-siblings, but that's how I'm reading it. There's also the issue of whether he does or does not have a sister, the possibility hinging on alt!Charlie's comment in 2x22 "Over There Part 1".

LINCOLN LEE: Going to a strip club later?

AGENT FRANCIS: Someone's got to visit your sister.

It could be ribbing without anything backing it but I don't know many people who'd say that kind of thing to someone who doesn't in fact have a sister, figuring much more likely he does have a sister based on that. My thought is still she's a half-sister or more likely a step-sister. Not figured out if the fact he doesn't retort is just because that sort of jibing is so common between them it doesn't warrant anything except for any witty comebacks to be had or if it could show he's not that close to his sister. I think a good argument could be made for him having a step-sister and a fairly younger half-brother.

Of course, if he has siblings, why did we not see them at his funeral in 4x18? If they're both step-siblings then perhaps they simply weren't close enough, though you would think they would still be there in support of their mom. My guesses are that they either couldn't make it there in time or they have issues with his job or the military funeral.

Travel-wise, do we know if Zeppelin travel is as fast as planes? It could be they were away and literally couldn't get back for it or indeed maybe they're internationally based or on holiday, if so, what vehicles get used in redverse for those distances? Are boats and longer haul journeys on them more standard in this universe? I'd be ever so amused if Over There, randomly, the Titanic hadn't sunk for example but to get back on point for Lincoln.

As for animosity there are several potentials that could keep them away from the funeral:

1. that his brother and/or sister disagreed with his work, the Ambering during quarantines killing people. Like the rest of Fringe Division he would have been a hero to most of the population but not everyone will agree, as I'm sure redverse is likely to have anti-ambering movements or those otherwise unhappy with the solution presented as the only choice, which relatives could be members of or sympathetic to.

    

2. that they blame Fringe Division for his death and don't want to be part of the military funeral going on. It's an honour to have but could also be considered by some an unwelcome extra reminder of why he died.

Lastly, there's one other inconsistency for alt!Lincoln that stands out for S4 and irks me no end as I am particularly time aware for the shows that I love. In 3x01 "Olivia" he says to Olivia.

LINCOLN LEE: Olivia, come on. I've been your partner for two years.

Yet in 4x17 "Everything In Its Right Place", Liv mentions.

BOLIVIA: He's been my partner for six years, and yet he wouldn't tell me his middle name.

If we accept that Lincoln with a gun aimed at him was in a rush pulling a figure out of his head and it was in fact slightly wrong, closer to or actually at 3 years by then, then there's the passage of time on the show to account for the difference. But at a stretch all of S3 and most of S4 does not appear to equate to another 3 years. To walk you through my estimations see below.

S3 times

The timeframe for Liv's espionage in 3x01-3x08 is said by Broyles in 3x08 "Entrada" to be 8 weeks, only 2 months.

BROYLES: (enters. disappointed) Eight weeks... and none of us suspected anything. Did she give you any indication at all where she was headed? Anything you might have overlooked?

3x11 "Reciprocity" mentions Olivia being back for a few weeks, 2-3 likely.

OLIVIA: The last few weeks have been really hard for me. I've been so focused on what the other Olivia did to me that I... I just haven't thought about what she did to you.

As well as in 3x14 "6B" Walter mentions no new cases for weeks and how it's meant not seeing Olivia, him missing her.

WALTER: Oh, nothing special. But for the past couple of weeks, no new cases and... somehow that has translated into... never seeing Olivia. And I, for one, miss her.

3x18 "Bloodline" also has:

SECRETARY BISHOP: You weren't told because it was classified. Our Agent Dunham returned safely to our side weeks ago.

Also, VPE as not detectable until 8-10 weeks and in "Immortality" she was said to be 6 weeks pregnant, so at most a month since "Immortality" events.

FRANK STANTON: Liv, how long you been pregnant?

BOLIVIA DUNHAM: Six weeks.

And:

ROSA OPORTO: Viral Propagated Eclampsia is dormant until pregnancy and undetectable before eight to ten weeks. So until we get the results of today's screening, nothing is certain. You may not be a carrier at all.

3x20 "6:02AM EST" has Marilyn mentioning Henry is 3 weeks old.

MARY: Well, Doctor Marna said two weeks, and he's three weeks old yesterday. You worry too much. Besides, the fresh air's gonna do him some good.

Add these all up and by my calculations S3 is over the span of 4-4.5 months. Now what about S4?

S4 times

4x01 "Neither Here Nor There" it is mentioned:

WALTER: (fussy) Maybe the barometric pressure. You can't tell me there's not something different in here. This whole place has felt funny for the last week.

ASTRID: Walter, it's been a week since we agreed to work with the other side.

4x03 "Alone In The World" has:

WALTER: Oh... just minor hallucinations, of course, by my self-medication. That was weeks ago. I - I'm much better now.

And:

OLIVIA: I drew it from memory. I've been seeing him in my dreams for the past three weeks.

This puts 1 month as a reasonable estimate on the time before Peter's return at the end of 4x04.

Moving on 4x07 "Wallflower" seems to date start of season 4 events as 2-3 months ago vaguely.

AGENT LEE: (serious tone) I used to believe just a few months ago that, uh, I understood the world we lived in.

And 4x13 "A Better Human Being" has Olivia saying of the time since Peter returned:

OLIVIA: Three months. Peter, I know who you are, and I know who I am.

Those make it at least 4 months in S4 up to 4x13 and at a guess about 5 months up til 4x17.

So, I make it at a stretch 1 year over the course of 3x01-4x17, but more likely 9-10 months. At best that would add up to 4 years for Liv and alt!Lincoln to be partners in the altered timeline. Raising a lot more questions about why Liv joined Fringe Division 2 years earlier in the altered timeline and how that affected her relationships with people including Lincoln. Food for thought (and plot bunnies).

Anyhow, if anyone sat through this and has any ponderings/questions/plotholes/random desire to chat about Fringe characters, do feel free to comment. :)