This is one of the requests that I did for the AO3 scorpion fanfic exchange. You can read the rest of them as soon as they are posted. Don't forget to let me know what you think of it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Scorpion or any of its characters. I'm just a massive fan that like to write!
He entered his apartment after yet another stressful day. The evening stars peeped through his half drawn windows as the hour marking ten in the evening decorated the large metal clock in the living room. He swiftly slithered out of his leather jacket before carelessly tossing it to the closest object that he could see, in this case an old material sofa that his girlfriend never stopped nagging at for him to replace it with something better. He tottered through the darkened room before reaching the kitchen, grabbing a cold beer and returning to the neglected sofa. The worn down springs tickled his backside even beneath the layers of clothing that already claimed a vast majority of the furniture. After wriggling into the perfect position he smiled with comfort and switched on the sports channel on the television. The loudness of the volume restricted him from hearing the lock that was being fiddled with and the hurried opening of the front door. The doctor's girlfriend stormed into the building, dripping wet from the obvious downpour that must have started quite recently. As soon as he saw her he jumped up, nearly spilling his icy beer, and pounced on the soaking girl. Quick thinking served as a benefit as it only took him less than a few minutes to end up sitting next to the raven haired woman covered in blankets and surrounded in hot water bottles and steamy mugs of coffee, tea and whatever else he could find buried in his cupboards. The television no longer served as entertainment but a mere sound in the room to make the atmosphere that inch more comforting. They sat there cuddling in peaceful and warm silence before the doctor spoke.
"Why did you come here anyway? I mean d-don't get me wrong babe but I was round yours last night and I thought that today was our separate day, you know, time to get straightened up and clean our flats. Why didn't you call? My car has been playing up a lot this week but it would have definitely lasted enough for me to pick you up or me to just go to you."
Others would have interpreted his words as if he was trying to get out of seeing her or as if he desperately wanted to have some time for them to be alone. It was the exact opposite. She knew that. He was the one trying to give his girlfriend-of-five-years some space, it was the least he could do. She wasn't notorious for doing well in relationships, these past few years have defiantly show that. The couple had many highs and lows but somehow they always seemed to end up together in the end yet this wasn't enough to convince them that the same would happen again. So they chose to live alone, separation enabled them to take breaks and breathers. They could freely back away if anything was happening too quickly as well as still have a place that was just for them. Secrets was one of the things that they agreed never to keep from the other. The difficult experiences from the past taught them how stupid it was to hide information from the one they love and they swore never to do the same, ever.
The owner of the apartment snapped out of his thoughts and once again flashed a questioning look to the cuddled body beside him. There was something about the way that she avoided his stare and how she shifted her feet in his oversized toasted converse. Why was she desperately trying to ignore his existence and inquiry? She must have known that he didn't ask it because he didn't want her to be there, didn't she? It was almost as if she was fighting an intense battle with her feelings on whether she should tell him something or not. She was keeping it locked up. A secret. There was no way that he would allow her to do that, especially after the last time.
"Hey, what's up? Babe you have to tell me, ok? Come on. Whatever it is you know that we can overcome it together. Do you still doubt us?"
His voice was no longer soft and caring. She could detect the slight breaking at the end of the last question. Concern. Sorrow. Hearing his disappointment stopped all of her previous doubts and all she wanted to do was tell him. Spit it out.
Her whole body shifted and her hands met as they embraced his waist. As soon as he responded with a similar gesture, her body begun to shake. Not due to coldness but due to the sprouting tears that were now violently escaping from her tear ducts.
"It's not you, i-it's me."
Confusion and curiosity consumed him completely. He pushed her away, maintaining contact by firmly squeezing her shoulders. With one hand he lifted her fallen head, cleared away the tear-stained hair from her face and locked her eye contact with his.
"Tell me sweetie, you have to tell me what's bothering you. Do you hear me? Please, I'm worried"
The sincereness in his voice was too much for her to take. He was being so sweet and yet she carried the power to destroy his whole world with the use of just one sentence. But she knew keeping it from him would cause as much damage as telling him upfront. They agreed to no secrets, no matter how painful. He had to know the truth. He just had to.
"I-I'm p-pregnant" she blurted out quickly, hopping for a positive reaction but at the same time wishing that she could ditch the blankets and run away as far as possible.
Her eyes didn't leave his. She wanted to read him, detect every single miniscule expression that registered on his face. Yet he didn't give anything away. His vision drifted slightly to the floor, his body froze and became a human statue. She was terrified. What had she done? Was he going to go down the rabbit hole like Walter? Was he angry at her, did he feel betrayed or hurt? No this was too much. She couldn't be the one that would cause him all of this. This was all a mistake. All of it!
The blankets fell on the floor as she lifted herself up, out of the sofa, and grabbed her bag ready to leave. Her arm was grabbed tightly by a soft touch. She turned to see her boyfriend being with joy and happiness.
"How long have you known? How far along are you? D-do y-you" before he could finish his question he pulled her down and embraced her lovingly, smiling wider than the Cheshire cat "I am so happy sweetheart" he placed a long kiss on the top of her forehead "I am so happy."
That was all it took. His response. It lifted all of the worries from her shoulders instantly. They became lost in their embraces, once every few moments sneaking in a kiss. The blissful atmosphere didn't leave the apartment. They both fell asleep in that same position: cradling each other in their warm cuddles.
…
The next morning begun on an unfavourable note. It took a while to force the mother of his soon to be born child to go to the doctor but after a long time spent arguing she became exhausted and gave up, letting him win which to him was not a frequent experience. The doctor entered the garage then next morning feeling more elated than ever. He was on a mission to acclaim it to the world in any way possible. Storming into the garage alerted the vast majority of its inhabitants to notice him and respond. Ralph approached, holding a bundle of papers, wearing a pearl white shirt with a purple tie tied around his neck.
"Hi. What are you doing here so early?"
"Long story buddy but don't worry I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. I'm just here to ask if you know where my mum and dad are" he replied, patting the genius on the shoulder.
"Well they did stop by here to grab a few things but they headed back home straight after so you should check there… oh, and after you go to see them, don't forget to come back and tell us that story because as you know my mum can't wait to hear more gossip as usual."
"No problem" he answered right before exiting from the same door through which he entered.
He then sprinted to his jalopy and speeded in the direction of his parent's house. Telling anyone else about his situation before them would just not have been fair.
…
Knocking just once was enough to alert the Curtis household. The door opened which revealed a smiling man in his fifties, balancing a worn-down fedora on his aging head.
"Well hello there son. What brings you to our humble abodes this early in the morning?"
The two men exchanged a firm hug and then entered the house.
"Look Happy! Brody finally had the courage to visit his old folks"
A small black and silver haired woman emerged from the kitchen with a towel dabbing at her oil stained fingers. As soon as she laid eyes on her son she dropped the cloth on the table and paced over to clinch her son.
The family settled down in the dining room and begun to discuss various topics such as Brody's recent job of becoming a surgeon. They shared laughs and stories just like they always did. Brody sat there admiring his parents, observing how content they were. Each touch they shared and each look they exchanged showed him the amount of love they had for each other after so many years together. That was exactly what he wanted, that was his goal.
"So anyway I'm sure that you are curious as to why I decided to visit you… well I found out yesterday that, well I am going to be a father in eight months."
Their attention was captured. Toby turned from his son to his wife and then back to his son again before speaking out.
"Finally! Do you know how long I've waited for this? Happy hand over the $50, I told you that Brody was going to be the first one to give me a gran child."
Happy simply ignored her husband's remarks and approached her son. Without continuing the actions that they thought she would do, she left the dining room and headed for their bedroom. Toby congratulated the father-to-be before looking towards his wife to find out what was happening. The petite Asian returned to the questioning looks of the men with a large object hidden beneath a dusty tarp.
"You could give this to your child. I always thought it would be for my children but genetics chose differently. Here take it, I want you to have it" she slid the object on the table top and pushed it over to the boy.
He followed his mother's actions to find a dollhouse, painted in white and pink paint and decorated on the side with minute flowers.
"This is what I and your father built to fix our relationship every time something went downhill. I want this to be a symbol for your children and your family of how anything can be mended if you have trust. I trusted your father not to mess up the wiring for the lights and somehow they are still working till this day!"
"You say it as if it was some sort of miracle, what if I'm just a good mechanic" replied Toby with a playfully offended voice.
"It was a miracle" Happy hissed at her husband for ruining the speech that she was working so hard on. She brushed off the distraction and continued "Look after it and I hope that you will be gifted with a daughter that will be able to pass it down to her next of kin."
"It's going to be like a pass the parcel game until the doll house breaks- OW!" Toby's shin was certainly sore from the impact of Happy's elbow on his skin but he deserved it. After all the doll house was an impossible object to damage just like the bond that the two geniuses shared throughout the years.
Brody accepted the humble yet powerful gift and embraced his parents as tightly as he was physically able to. He knew the many barriers that the pair had to deal with throughout all of these years. He knew just how much each was hurt and knocked down, but he also knew how each experience brought them closer and gave them strength. Somehow his mother has been able to cope with a gambling addict and wise-ass. Somehow his father was able to forget all of her flaws and past mistakes and love her anyway. They were complete and nothing was capable of separating them. Nothing whatsoever.