A/N: As always I don't own the characters or anything to do with Scorpion. Just a bit of fun.
In the weeks and months after Walter's death defying escape from the edge of the cliff, Team Scorpion returned to their normal. When Paige had phoned Drew and told him that they weren't moving to Portland, he had gotten angry. Sylvester, without saying anything, thought that Drew was far too predictable.
Following Walter's release from hospital, life for the team fell into a nice routine. Homeland, the FBI, NSA and CIA all called on Scorpion's services. Even without his Homeland Security badge, Cabe was extremely useful. He kept the Director of Homeland Security in check, and Scorpion benefitted from Cabe's special knowledge of government agency protocol.
His and Walter's relationship improved significantly after the cliff incident. They spent hours talking at the hospital, revealing every little secret both had kept from each other. When they'd exhausted their secret-keeping, they started to build a fresh relationship. Tentative at first, it soon blossomed into a stronger friendship than anything that they had before.
One day, Toby walked in on Walter tinkering with the rocket ship. It was nearly finished.
"I thought you were done with piece of junk," Toby quipped, before taking a small sip of coffee. "You've been working on that thing for months."
"I know," Walter muttered absently. He was trying to fix a particular part, and Toby's gaze was putting him off. "You mind?"
"Snappy," Toby replied condescendingly, but he turned around and walked to his desk, all the same.
The garage door opened and Paige and Ralph slipped inside. Toby checked his watch. They were earlier than usual. Only by a little, but still earlier.
Ralph immediately raced up the stairs and over to Walter, who wordlessly handed him a wrench. Paige followed him upstairs at a more leisurely pace. She stopped and leaned on a book shelf and watched them. Even without communication, they were still on the same wavelength. Walter, feeling Paige's gaze on top of his head, looked up.
His hand carried on tightening a nut with a wrench. As she flashed him a smile, his hand slipped, but his brain didn't seem to notice. After a split second, his brain kicked into gear and he looked down. He pulled his hand out of the machine and stepped back.
"Now, Ralph, if I switch this on, fuel is going to race into the engine and that will…" Walter tailed off hopefully.
"It will start a chain reaction leading to movement," Ralph finished, as he examined the engine closely. "Walter, I don't think this is right…"
"It is," Walter replied absently looking into Paige's soft brown eyes, and he pressed a button.
There was a massive bang, and Walter's attention was immediately drawn to the engine. He could instantly see what the problem was. The fuel line wasn't attached properly. The last thing he had to do, and he hadn't done it properly. Seeing the effects of his mistake pan out in his head, he raced over to Ralph, and pulled him away as it exploded.
The force of the explosion's shockwave blasted the upper floor. Paige was bowled over, but Ralph and Walter took the brunt of it. Walter cradled Ralph protectively as they landed, and he pulled Ralph's face to his chest as searing chards of shrapnel sliced at their skin. A dull thud sounded and he looked down. The force of their fall had carried Ralph out of his arms and across the floor. Even in a dazed and confused state, Walter could see that the child was hurt pretty bad.
As he blinked heavily, trying to staying conscious, he saw Toby examining him. He was talking but Walter couldn't hear. Darkness took him.