Title: The Morning After

Summary: Walter and Paige and the relaxing Sunday morning. Waige fluff. There's no plot here. Get your minds out of the gutter! This fic is rate T.

Author's Note: This plot bunny was inspired by a conversation with WeBuiltThePyramids on FanForum about things we'd like to see for Walter and Paige.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own /scorpion. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit and no infringement of copyrights is intended.

Chapter 1

Paige opened the tent flap and peeked inside at her sleeping son. He was snuggled deep into his sleeping bag, the material rising and falling with his even breathing. She knew he was a master at masking sleep, so for all she knew his tablet was nestled against his stomach, and he was just waiting for her to close the flap so he could get back to whatever game he was playing or – as was more often the case these days – whatever scientific article he was reading. Still, after the busy day they'd had she was pretty sure Ralph was sound asleep.

She closed the flap again and returned to sit with the adults – or most of them. Toby and Happy were slowly dancing to the low music in one of the darker corners of the rooftop. Walter, Sly and Cabe were sitting around a table, sipping beers and chatting, while Ray and the woman he'd introduced that morning as Kellie – he'd emphasized the 'i-e' at the end – were at a table by themselves. Paige wondered briefly if those two would stay the night or go elsewhere. Their interactions and body language led her to believe this wasn't a completely new development, but it might still be too early for them to comfortably share a tent with a crowd of relative strangers around. She got her answer when Ray rose and presented his hand to his friend with a very ceremonial flourish. Kellie took his hand and stood up as well.

"We'll be taking off now, peeps," Ray said with a wave as he strutted alongside Kellie towards the door, her hand set lightly below his elbow. "Thanks for the grub!"

"It was very nice meeting all of you," Kellie said as she passed the table where the others were seated.

Cabe rose and extended a hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, too, Kellie. I sincerely hope we'll be seeing a lot more of you!"

Kellie nodded, "I'd like that." She beamed at Ray. "Ray talks about all of you so much, but I never dreamed that half of what he said was true!"

"Well, I hope it was the better half," quipped Cabe.

"Are you implying that I embellish my tales, my lady?"

Paige laughed. She could imagine what someone not familiar with Scorpion and their work with Homeland might think of some of the cases they worked on. It would certainly stretch the belief of the average person.

"You have to admit, Ray, some of what you told me about this group was pretty fantastic. It wouldn't be the first time a man told tall tales to impress a lady."

Kellie was looking around as she spoke, apparently checking to be sure they had not forgotten anything. Finally, she pointed back to the table where they'd been sitting. "I forgot my sunglasses, Ray. Can you get them for me?"

"Sure," he replied, and dashed over to their table to grab the forgotten item. When he returned, Kellie took the glasses and dropped them into her bag.

Paige approached the other woman. "I do hope you can join us again soon, Kellie. I love these guys, and Happy, too of course, but it's been ages since I've had the chance for some real girl talk, you know?"

Kellie laughed. "I'll have to make sure Ray keeps me informed on Scorpion's social schedule. Maybe next time I can bring my son along. He's a couple of years younger than Ralph, but I'm sure they can find some interests in common. He's not a genius like your son, but he's a pretty accomplished video game player."

"Well, to be fair," Paige said, "these events are usually not planned. But anytime you're free at the last minute, you - that is you and your son - you'll both be more than welcome."

Kellie nodded her thanks. She and Ray disappeared through the door and down the stairs.

Paige turned back to the three men. "Ralph is sound asleep and I'm going to join him. It's been a really long day. I've packed up the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator. I trust you three can finish cleaning up?"

"What about Toby and Happy?" Sly asked.

"If you can pry them away from each other, then they can help, too. But I wouldn't hold my breath. Now that Happy is divorced and finally wearing Toby's ring, those two can't seem to focus on anything aside from each other, except for actual cases."

"I think the three of us can handle it," Cabe said. "It's mostly paper plates anyway. Just a few glasses and utensils and serving plates to actually wash. I'll get started on KP duty. Sly, you clear up the trash. Walter, you can help bring the washables down to the kitchen."

"Yep, I'll be down in a minute," Walter agreed.

He walked Paige over to her tent. "Are you going to be warm enough out here? I wouldn't want you or…um… or Ralph to catch cold."

"Walter, are you offering to keep me warm?" Paige teased in a whisper.

"I umm… uh… I… "

Their own relationship was still very much in the early stages. It had been months since Paige told Tim that she simply didn't have the feelings for him that she ought to if they were to pursue a serious relationship. And she was only interested in a serious relationship. He'd asked again if there was something – or someone – holding her back. Her first impulse had been to deny it, but she figured if she was dumping the guy, he at least deserved the truth. She admitted that her feelings for Walter were still strong, and although she hadn't fully forgiven the man for his interference, she couldn't have those feelings for one man while she was dating another. It just didn't feel right and it never would, she told him. Within a week Cabe came to the garage one morning with the news that Tim was reassigned to the FBI's Seattle office and would no longer be working with Scorpion.

At the time, Paige had no idea why Walter hadn't immediately jumped at the chance to pursue what had been interrupted in Tahoe. She'd approached him after about a week and told him that if he wanted to explain about that, she was ready to listen. He'd stumbled over an apology for his actions, told her that he was concerned that her relationship with Tim might eventually take Ralph and Paige away from Scorpion. Paige knew he still wasn't telling her everything, but she wasn't sure what the rest of the story was. It was still possible that she was wrong about how he felt about her.

About three weeks later Walter suggested he, Paige and Ralph have dinner together, "like they used to". She agreed and they began to slowly work their way back to where they were. After a few weeks of the return to status quo, Paige decided she should take the advice Ray Spiewack gave her so many months before.

"Walter," she approached him one evening, having made her way up to the loft. Her nerves were a jumbled mess and she suddenly realized she shouldn't be so hard on Walter if he'd been unable to do this.

"Yep. I'll be down in a minute. Do you want to go to Betty's tonight, or that new Italian restaurant?"

"Neither, Walter. I need to talk to you about something and I really need you to be completely honest with me."

Walter looked up from his desk. "I'm… I'm always honest with you."

"Good. Then I need you to answer a simple question." Paige took a huge breath. She thought for a moment of backing down and asking Walter something completely unimportant. But this was something she needed to know. She steeled herself. "I need to know… Walter, are you in love with me?"

Walter continued to look up at her, but didn't answer. Had he not heard the question? That wasn't likely, they were less than ten feet from each other. Was he trying to find a way to soften the blow? Also not likely. Walter didn't know how to do that. After a moment, he stood up, walked around his desk and stopped just inches away from her. For a moment, Paige thought he was going to take her hands in his, but instead he merely clasped his hands together. He looked down at the floor for a moment, then looked up, directly into her eyes.

"Yes," he said. "I've wanted to tell you that ever since Tahoe. That's why I went. But when I arrived I saw you and…and…him… kissing and… I thought… I'm not sure anymore what I thought, but then you found out about what I did and everything just seemed to go out of control from there. Later Cabe told me that I owed it to you to leave you alone. He said I wasn't ready to give you what you deserve and… and he was right. The thing is, I still don't know if I'm ready. I'm not sure I'll ever be ready. But the answer to your question, Paige, is Yes, I do love you… and… I am in love with you.

Walter took a deep breath and stepped back to lean against the desk, stumbling a bit as if he were physically exhausted. Paige almost reached out to steady him until she realized she felt suddenly unsteady herself. She gripped a chair for support.

"Well, now that we've put everything out in the open, what should we do?"

"I disagree," Walter replied. "We don't have everything out in the open. You know how I feel, but… but what about you?"

Paige looked at him, dumbfounded. Did he really not know? Again, she realized she shouldn't assume. After all, she was the one with the high EQ, but she hadn't known – not for sure anyway – how Walter felt.

"I… I love you, too, Walter."

"All right then. Now we have all the facts. I'm sure we can come up with a reasonable plan to deal with these feelings."

"You mean like before, where we stick to being professional colleagues and try to pretend that we don't have feelings?" Paige inwardly cursed at the way her voice wavered.

Walter smiled. "No, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Walter pushed away from the desk and took a step towards her. "I propose, however, that we do repeat one of our experiments." He took one of her hands in his and placed his other hand on her waist, drawing her close. "Only this time, in light of this new data, we agree to be more honest about the results."

"Oh…Okay," she agreed.

Then Walter's lips were on hers, warm and soft and gently appealing to her to open to him. She complied, and realized she had one hand gripping the curls at the back of his neck, while her other hand was gripping his shoulder. She recalled their earlier "experiment", and was pleased to note that this time Walter had no problem deciding what to do with his hands. One arm was around her waist, holding her firmly to him while the other hand was entwined in her own hair, urging her closer as if their mouths could somehow fuse together. She felt as though all the warmth in their combined bodies was pooling between them when Walter's tongue began a delicate exploration.

At the time, Paige was sure they would have wound up in Walter's bed if she didn't have to pick up Ralph from school. In the weeks since, Paige found that Walter was much more hesitant about advancing their physical relationship than she would have thought possible in a healthy man in his mid-thirties. In fact, very little had changed. They still had dinner together – the three of them – a few times each week – although the atmosphere between them was much more relaxed. Once – and only once – Walter came up behind her when they were working alone together in the garage. He placed one hand on her shoulder, leaned down and whispered "I really do love you, you know." Then he'd returned to his own desk with his cup of coffee and they continued working quietly together for the rest of the day.

Paige often wondered about that one incident. Was it simply that Walter – despite his normal inability to sense or understand emotions – understood how confusing their lack of progression was for her and wanted to reassure her? Or was it just a fluke and he really had no idea what relationships between loving couples were all about?

Not that Paige thought sex was everything; but it was something and it was most definitely something that she was eager to try out with Walter O'Brien!

She sighed. The way Walter was hemming and hawing made it obvious that her flirtatious teasing made him nervous. It was adorable, but also let her know she needed to bide her time. She didn't want to rush him into something he wasn't ready for.

Paige gently laid a hand on Walter's shoulder. "Easy, there. You're bunking with Sylvester tonight, remember?"

"Right, right. Well, good night then. If… if you need anything… blankets or… I'll be just over there." He pointed in the direction of a tent on the opposite side of the roof, from which they could already hear the sound of moderate snoring. Walter made a face. "Don't worry about waking me up," he said and grimaced.

Paige ducked into her tent. Checking to be sure Ralph was sleeping, she took off her shoes and belt, loosened the zipper on her skirt, then grabbed her pajamas and crawled into her sleeping bag. It was awkward changing that way, but she simply couldn't sleep in her day clothes as most of the others did. And even though Ralph was asleep, she wasn't sure he wouldn't wake and get a view of his mother he hadn't seen since he was about a year old. That was something no young teenage boy needed.

Paige's ability to sleep late was a victim of single motherhood. Stretching in her cozy sleeping bag, she grabbed her phone and groaned silently. It was just a few minutes after six a.m. on a Sunday morning. Glancing over at the other sleeping bag, she was a bit surprised to note that it was empty. Willing herself to calm down, she realized Ralph was more than likely downstairs either in the bathroom or getting an early breakfast. There was no need to panic. She decided she could enjoy the feeling of languishing in bed – or what passed for bed in their makeshift campsite on the roof.

"What if they hear us?"

Paige recognized Happy's whispering voice coming from the tent next to hers.

"No one will hear us. Everyone's still sound asleep. It's barely six o'clock. C'mon sweetie pie honey bunch. The baby's due any day and then we won't be able to for SIX WEEKS! We can't afford to waste a single opportunity! You remember what that was like last time? And since your dad has Gracie for the weekend… how long has it been since we've been able to spend the morning in bed?"

Paige panicked. What if Ralph came back and Toby and Happy were….? Would he even know what was going on? Maybe they were quiet lovers, but somehow Paige didn't think so. Maybe Happy would put her foot down, but she didn't think that likely either. Happy wasn't exactly into girl talk, but they'd grown closer during Happy's first pregnancy and that included a few conversations with specifics about Toby's prowess that Paige could have done without knowing. In that department Happy was enviably satisfied. Given her own situation, Paige really didn't need to hear how happy Happy could be.

She scrambled out of her warm cocoon and bolted out of the tent, thanking whoever might be listening that Ralph had left the tent unzipped. Moving as quietly as she could, she made her way over to the door. The soft snores coming from Walter's tent told her that Sly was still there, but he would just have to deal with the upcoming entertainment himself. She needed to make sure that Ralph was downstairs, and that he stayed there.

Halfway down the stairs, Paige realized that her bare feet were freezing and her light pajamas, while comfortable within the warm sleeping bag, were completely inadequate for the drafty garage. She ducked into Walter's loft, hoping she might borrow a pair of his socks and maybe find a sweatshirt or something. No way was she going back up to the roof.

Turning into the living room she noticed a blanket wrapped figure curled up on the sofa. Although the only thing visible outside the blanket were some toes on one end and a few strands of brown hair on the other, she knew without a doubt that it was her son. She paused, suddenly much more concerned about the temperature of his feet rather than her own. She approached quietly, made a quick adjustment to the blanket, then moved to the other end, leaned over and placed a light kiss on his head. Ralph was at an age when boys shy away from a mother's kisses, and recently Ralph insisted he no longer needed to be tucked in bed at night anymore, so this was a rare treat. Satisfied that her son was warm and comfortable, she proceeded past the bookcase towards the bedroom area.

"Paige?"

"Walter!"

"What are you doing here?" they both asked, in unison.

Paige recovered first, realizing that Walter had every right to be in his own bedroom, even if she thought he was still in his tent on the roof. Instead, he was sitting on his bed, wearing a dark blue robe that looked thick and warm. The comforter was pulled up to his waist. He appeared to be reading, judging by the tablet that now lay beside him. The robe revealed a V of chest with a sprinkling of hair. For all they were now officially "dating", Paige had almost never seen Walter anything but fully dressed.

"I um… I woke up early and I… "

She really didn't want to relate what she'd overheard, so she decided on a tiny white lie instead.

"I noticed that Ralph was gone, so I… I came down looking for him."

Walter sat up straighter, setting aside the tablet he was reading. "Ralph is out in the other room. Why are you um… here?"

The note of excitement in his voice had to be her imagination. The entire team was just upstairs and her son was sleeping a few steps away, with nothing but an open bookcase separating them. Absolutely nothing was going to happen, that was clear. Maybe what she overheard on the roof was playing tricks with her? Or maybe she was just frustrated?

"I was… cold. Really cold," she answered. "I was hoping maybe I could borrow something?"

Walter moved to get out of the bed.

"No!" Paige waved him back, suddenly unsure of whether she wanted to see what he might… or might not… be wearing under that robe. "I can find it… your um… all your clothes are right here in the wardrobe." She moved around the bed to the chest that contained most of Walter's clothing.

"Are you going to go back up to the roof?"

"What?" She turned, clutching a pair of Walter's socks to her chest. "Um… no… no. I thought I might just… um… sit… with Ralph… in the other room." She paused, thinking that might be awkward, that Walter might think he should sit with her. There was no point in both of them watching a teenager sleep. "Or I could go downstairs and… and get some work done."

"You don't want to just go back up to the roof? Sly's snoring was too much for you, too, huh? I didn't think it was that loud outside of our tent."

"Sly? Oh…no… it's not Sly." She turned back to the wardrobe and opened another drawer, hoping to find a sweatshirt or hoodie.

"It's still early. You could go back up and get some more sleep. Ralph will be fine here."

She turned back again. She could feel herself blushing. "Um… No. It's… Toby and Happy. I woke up and they were about to um…. And their tent is right next to mine and…"

Walter looked blank for a moment, then he smiled. "Well, they are married now. And in case you're worried, I'm not the least bit jealous that Toby is having sex with my ex-wife. Gauging by the expanding Quintis clan, it seems to be something they do regularly. I'm happy they're happy."

Paige stared at him, cocked her head to one side, then grinned and stifled a giggle.

"Paige," Walter turned serious. He reached over and flipped down the comforter on the other side of the bed. "You don't want to go back up to your tent and I can tell you don't really want to sit out there with Ralph. You're also the only office manager I know who actually has all her paperwork done before she closes the office on a Friday night, so there's no work for you to do downstairs. You're freezing, why don't you just get into the bed with me?"

Paige sucked in a breath. She glanced out at the other room, then looked back at Walter.

He pulled the comforter back a little further. "You asked me last night if I was offering to keep you warm," he said. "That's all I'm offering…. right now."

The smile he gave her was one of invitation… and promise. Paige shivered. Absolutely nothing was going to happen between them this morning - that was clear. But soon…

She set the socks back in the wardrobe and closed the drawer. Then she climbed onto the bed and under the covers, settling back against the pillows and pulling the comforter up around her shoulders.

Walter held up an arm and beckoned. Paige searched his face for confirmation. He nodded and she scooted closer, bringing the covers with her as he wrapped an arm around her. He was blissfully warm, and as she stretched her legs out, she noted he was wearing a pair of long, fleece pants. She tucked her frozen feet under his calves. He didn't complain. Languishing in bed on a Sunday morning with Walter was definitely something she hoped to get used to!

Walter opened the bedside table drawer and pulled out another tablet. "Would you like to read the Sunday paper?" he asked, handing her the tablet. She nodded, took the tablet, turned it on and began skimming the Arts section. He picked up his own tablet and resumed reading. After a few moments, he turned and placed a kiss on her head. "I love you," he said.

In the living room, Ralph turned over on the sofa and smiled.

October 9 – 22, 2016