This story is set a few days after the events of S04 E05 'Sci Hard'. The idea sprung from a discussion on the pages of the Scorpion Fan Forum. I hope you enjoy reading it, all comments welcome. Thank you kindly. :)
DADDY SAYS
"Miss Elia!" Cabe beamed as the young woman walked into the garage. "It's been a while."
Zoe Elia hesitated, a little overwhelmed by the effusive greeting. "We've known each other for more than two years," she smiled. "I think we're on first name terms now." She laughed as Cabe stepped forward and shook her hand warmly.
"It's good to see you, Zoe," said Cabe, releasing her from his grasp. The team had seen her a handful of times over the past couple of years, mostly at events with her father. This was the first time she'd been back to the garage and Cabe guessed there was a good reason for the visit which he assumed would become apparent soon.
"Hi Zoe!" Paige was as surprised as Cabe to see Richard Elia's daughter as she walked out of the kitchen. She and Zoe had worked together for a short while at Elia's company so she knew the young woman a little better than the others. Paige put her hot coffee down on the corner of the table and hugged Zoe.
"Hi Paige," said Zoe. "How are you? Oh, hi Walter," she added as Walter ran down the stairs from the loft to greet their visitor.
"Good morning," he smiled. "We haven't seen you here since..." he trailed off, unsure if mentioning the kidnapping incident would be appropriate or not.
"It's OK, you can say it," grinned Zoe, feeling more relaxed now. "Since you rescued me from Mexican kidnappers." She laughed as Walter's cheeks flushed. Her father could be insensitive at times, so she was used to dealing with geniuses. Not that Richard Elia's EQ was as poor as Walter's, nor his IQ as high for that matter, but at least she knew what to expect. "Anyway, that was a long time ago," she added dismissively. "A little bird told me you guys are dating now."
"Yes, we are," replied Paige and it was her turn to blush as she squeezed Walter's hand tightly. Was everyone as Elia's company talking about her and Walter? She didn't really mind – she was proud to finally be with him after so long – but she hoped she didn't bump into too many of her former colleagues in the near future.
"That's cool," replied Zoe.
"Indeed it is," agreed Walter, grinning broadly. Part of him couldn't believe he finally had the woman of his dreams at his side. "Very cool, the coolest thing imaginable. Icy cool, in fact. Absolute zero, that's…that's, um, zero degrees on the Kelvin scale."
Paige giggled. "I think we get the idea," she said. Then she turned her attention back to Zoe. "So, what brings you to Scorpion so early in the morning?"
Zoe opened her mouth to answer, but before she could the door burst open and Toby ran in, closely followed by Happy with Sylvester not far behind. "I won!" exclaimed Toby, taking his hat from his head and wiping the sweat from his brow with his free hand.
"We weren't playing your stupid game," replied Happy, scowling. "You can't claim some kind of dumb victory if no one else was playing."
"Sly was playing, weren't you, pal?" Toby looked at Sly for back-up, but Sylvester knew better than to get in the middle of an argument between Scorpion's newlyweds.
"Thank you for the lift to work," he said, keeping his voice neutral. "But I think tomorrow I'll go back to getting the bus." He bundled past a rather bemused Cabe, who had decided against asking for details of Toby's game, and headed towards his desk, but then he suddenly noticed Zoe. "Oh, hello Miss Elia," he smiled. Then a wave of panic came over him. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
Zoe smiled. "I was just passing and I thought I'd drop in and, well..." she paused and her smile faded.
"Why don't we all sit down?" suggested Cabe, sensing there was more to this visit than Zoe was intimating. Everyone crossed to the seating area and made themselves comfortable.
Happy got herself a coffee from the machine. She was grateful she and Toby had given up on S.T.O.R.K. because she really needed caffeine first thing in the morning.
Toby opened a bottle of water and gulped it down, beginning to wish he hadn't exerted himself quite so much before breakfast. The rules of this new game needed some tweaking, he decided.
"How is your father?" Walter enquired when they had all taken their seats.
"He's doing OK," replied Zoe. "He told me about what happened at the tech expo the other day. I was meant to be there myself, but... but something came up and I changed my plans."
"You were lucky!" exclaimed Sylvester. "I was only there in a virtual capacity and that was terrifying enough."
Zoe nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I figured my dad didn't really thank you properly for what you did for him, so I thought I should drop by and thank you myself." She looked awkwardly at the floor as she spoke.
Paige glanced at Toby. She thought that was a slightly odd thing for Zoe to say about her father and from Toby's expression it seemed he was having the same thoughts.
"Your father was grateful, there was no need for you to come here to speak on his behalf," replied Walter, who clearly had not picked up on the same signs Toby and Paige had.
"But we're delighted to see you," added Paige, smiling and nudging Walter in the ribs.
"Oh, yes, of course," agreed Walter, wishing for the hundredth time that he could get the hang of social niceties.
"I know my dad can be..." began Zoe, unsure how to finish her sentence. "I mean, I know that sometimes he..."
Toby put his almost empty bottle of water down on the floor and looked directly at Zoe. "You're throwing out all kinds of mixed messages right now," he said in his most professional voice. "What's on your mind?"
Zoe sighed. "I guess I feel kinda guilty," she began. "I'm one of Dad's top marketing executives now – not that I deserve that title, or even want it, but my Dad made me quit journalism after Mexico because he said it was too dangerous and, well, now I'm in marketing."
"So you knew that your father's new financial product was not ready for launch at the convention," said Walter, putting two and two together.
Zoe nodded. "I tried to persuade him to push the date back, but he wouldn't listen. A couple of the other guys in my team came up with the ridiculous balloons thing and my Dad loved it. I was so angry I refused to go to the convention."
"So you feel guilty that you weren't there," said Toby. "You know, you being there wouldn't have changed what happened. You'd just have been in as much danger as your dad, Walt and Paige."
"I know," agreed Zoe. "But I still feel bad and I know my dad blames me somehow."
"Blames you? Why?" asked Cabe. "He loves you like crazy!"
Zoe sighed. "Does he? Sometimes I just don't know anymore."
Zoe's statement stunned the team into silence. Cabe, Paige and Toby all exchanged worried glances. Richard Elia doted on his daughter and they had seen nothing in recent months to suggest otherwise so why would Zoe think that way now?
Sylvester was the first one to break the silence. "I have a lot of research to do for Cabe's trial," he said, gathering his bag and almost tripping over his own feet in his hurry to leave. "It's good to see you again, Zoe."
A small smile twitched at the corner of Zoe's lips as he scurried off to his desk. "I made him feel awkward, didn't I," she said knowingly.
"You know Sylvester," replied Paige with an apologetic shrug.
"And, um, I have work to do too," said Happy, mumbling a quick 'Sorry' in Zoe's direction before she also left the group.
"Maybe I shouldn't have come," began Zoe.
"Don't say that," insisted Paige. "You're welcome here at any time."
"Any time," Cabe reiterated, patting her affectionately on the shoulder.
"You really need to talk, don't you," added Toby, encouragingly. "You're among friends here, right, Walter?"
"Um, er..." Walter stumbled over his words.
"Walter!" exclaimed Paige, frowning at him.
"I'm sorry, Zoe, of course you are among friends," Walter began. "It's just that, um, if you need friendly advice about your relationship with your father then I'm not sure I should be involved in the conversation, given our professional history."
"And given that you can be about as sympathetic as a sledgehammer," noted Toby.
"Why don't I make some more coffee and we can talk," offered Paige. "I'm sure Walter has some work to do."
"Thanks," said Zoe. "But Walter, before you go, I need to ask you something about my dad. Do you think he's changed?"
"In what sense?" asked Walter.
"When you first met him, when I was being held in Mexico and he hired you guys to get me back, he was different, wasn't he?" asked Zoe.
Walter looked at Paige, desperate for help with Zoe's line of questioning.
"You're scaring the genius," noted Toby. "I think we should let him go play with his toys."
Zoe giggled at Toby's comment. "Sorry, Walter," she said.
Walter nodded. "I... I wish I could be of more help to you, but..." he shrugged apologetically and walked off just as Paige returned with a cup of coffee for Zoe.
"Don't mind him," said Toby. "Now, you're pretty tense about this, aren't you. Try to relax and start at the beginning. What did you fight with your dad about this morning?"
Zoe gasped and stared at Toby with wide eyes. "How... how did you know?" she asked.
"You had a fight with your dad, stormed out of the house, jumped in your car and drove aimlessly around while you tried to straighten things out in your mind and you wound up here," continued Toby.
"That's exactly what happened!" exclaimed Zoe.
"And you remembered back to the time we rescued you and so you feel safe here," added Toby.
Zoe nodded slowly and blew across the top of her hot coffee. "I... I guess... I hadn't really thought of it that way. I just needed to get away from Dad for a while."
"Father/daughter relationships are pretty unique," said Toby.
"Sure are," agreed Cabe, thinking about the daughter he lost and trying to keep his emotions in check.
"And if you're not used to fighting with your dad then getting out of the house was probably the right thing to do," continued Toby. "It's OK, we can straighten things out. I know it's the biggest shrink cliché in the book, but let's start with your childhood," he continued. "Because I think this goes back further than the tech convention."
Zoe nodded again. She was a little perturbed that Toby had been so accurate with his assumptions, but she really needed to talk. "You're right, we never fight," she said. "The last time I was mad at him was when he made me quit my job at the paper. I know he was scared that being a journalist could get me in trouble again after Mexico, but what's the point of majoring in journalism if I'm not going to be a journalist? It's all I ever wanted to be." Zoe twisted her hair tightly around her forefinger as she spoke. "I learnt my lesson, I would never go into a place like that on my own again, not after what happened." Her voice rose at the end of her sentence and her breath hitched.
"Zoe," Toby began, gently. "Did you ever talk to anyone after Mexico?"
"Talk? Like a shrink, you mean?" asked Zoe. "No, well, only the counsellor from Homeland. She was nice, but I only saw her once and she said I was coping well."
"She was wrong," stated Toby.
"Toby!" exclaimed Paige as Zoe visibly paled.
"Sorry," said Toby. "That was a little blunt. It's only that I think you could do with talking to someone. It's not uncommon for the effects of a traumatic situation to manifest themselves years after the event."
"Oh my god, you think I have, like, PTSD or something?" asked Zoe.
"No, no, nothing like that," Toby tried to reassure her. "Not even close, but the signs are there and I recommend that you address it now. Don't worry, it's easily dealt with, but it could have a lot to do with why your relationship with your dad is causing you some issues right now."
Zoe fiddled with her hair again and tried to process what Toby had said. She took a deep breath before speaking again. "We've always had money," she began. "Plenty of money and I know I was spoilt as a kid. I went to the best schools, when I asked for a pony I got two and we hired two new staff to take care of them. We were always vacationing on the yacht, or a private island in the Caribbean and Dad let me bring as many friends as I wanted."
"You don't strike me as a spoilt little rich kid," noted Cabe.
"I hope I was never like that," replied Zoe. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that we had money, but Dad was so generous. He was never a greedy man, he didn't really care about the money. When I was kidnapped he put up the ransom money straight away."
"He would have given those kidnappers everything he owned if it meant getting you back safely," noted Cabe and Zoe nodded.
"He gave Walt a Ferrari," Paige pointed out.
"Yeah and he didn't seem that bothered that he drove it over a cliff," added Toby and Paige shuddered at the memory.
"He was so worried about Walter," agreed Zoe. "He didn't care about the car. I remember him saying how guilty he felt for giving it to Walter in the first place. He blamed himself."
"It really wasn't Richard's fault," said Paige, quietly. Paige still blamed herself for the accident and even now she and Walter were together she wondered what might have happened if that whole incident had not occurred. She quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind.
Toby leaned forward in his seat and locked Zoe's gaze. "What did you fight about this morning?" he asked gently. "I have a few ideas, but I need to hear it in your own words."
"Money, power, I don't know really," replied Zoe with a shrug. "That sounds totally dumb doesn't it?"
Toby shook his head. "Not at all," he replied. "Go on," he encouraged.
"OK, so, like, three years ago Dad would never have tried to launch an unfinished product," began Zoe. "He wouldn't have cared that it may have lost him investors or whatever, his only concern would have been getting it right. He's always loved proving himself to other people."
"Sounds like someone we know," said Toby, glancing at Paige.
"He doesn't need the money," continued Zoe. "Another six months, or a year, it wouldn't have made any difference to him or the company. But he went ahead and did it anyway and look what happened! He could have been killed, you guys could have been killed and for what? For nothing! For a fake product!"
"And you put this to him this morning over breakfast?" asked Toby.
"Yes," confirmed Zoe. "I guess my timing wasn't great."
"I'm not sure there's ever a good time to question your own father's moral fibre," noted Toby.
"Oh God, it sounds awful when you say it like that," acknowledged Zoe.
"You must have had good reason to say what you did," said Cabe. "I'm sure Richard will understand, just give him some time to cool off."
"I'm really worried about him," admitted Zoe. "I think being so successful has changed him. It's gone way beyond the recognition he thrived on when I was a kid."
"I'd say your analysis is pretty accurate," said Toby with a nod of admiration. "Ever thought about becoming a shrink?"
Zoe laughed. "Anything would be better than marketing," she replied.
"Maybe working so closely with your dad isn't a good idea?" suggested Paige.
"I knew it wasn't right from the start, but I didn't really have a choice. I never do anything I don't want to do, but this one thing… I wish I'd stayed at the paper," Zoe answered sadly. "Marketing is just dumb. I hate it even more now than I did before."
"You should tell him how you feel," suggested Toby.
"Your dad is a reasonable man and he loves you, he'll understand," added Cabe.
"People deal with success in different ways," continued Toby. "When you were a kid he had something else to focus on, it wasn't just all about work. Now you're all grown up and living your own life that focus has shifted a little. He just needs to figure out the right balance and you can help him with that."
"How?" asked Zoe.
"When was the last time he took a vacation on that yacht?" asked Toby. "I mean a proper family vacation, not a long weekend sucking up to clients."
Zoe thought for a moment. "I don't know?" she admitted. "But we do take clients out, you're right about that."
"Basic psychology of marketing," replied Toby. "People are more willing to part with money if you give them a couple of miniature smoked salmon bagels and a swig of something fizzy from France."
"I like smoked salmon," said Paige, casually.
"Great! I'll buy you a bagel next time I'm a little short," grinned Toby.
"I hate the stuff," said Cabe, pointedly, folding his arms across his chest.
Zoe laughed. "You really think it could be that simple?" she asked.
Cabe smiled warmly at her. "As much as I hate to agree with the Doc, he could be onto something," he said. "I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in work instead of dealing with family stuff."
"It won't change things overnight," added Toby. "But if you work on him for a while you'll start to notice the difference."
Zoe thought about the advice they'd given her and she started to feel a new sense of determination. "OK," she said, eventually. "I'll go home and talk to Dad right now." She got to her feet and Cabe, Toby and Paige did the same. "And Toby, I guess I should book myself an appointment with you."
Toby nodded. "I'll get my people to call your people," he said with a wink.
"Thank you," added Zoe with a smile and she turned to leave.
"Are you... are you going already?" Walter came bounding down the stairs as he spoke.
"I have to get to work," she explained.
"Zoe, before you go, I... I just wanted to, um, to..." Walter took a breath and attempted to construct the sentence in his mind, frustrated that he had so much difficulty communicating his thoughts at times like this. "I wanted to say that I respect your father enormously." He finally managed. "And... and I understand that our relationship is not as positive as it once was, but that's... well, let's just say there have been a few unfortunate situations... um, and I can see why your father may consider my involvement to be... um... to be a contributing factor to the unfavourable outcome."
"Like destroying his high tech building and launching yourself into space in his rocket?" offered Toby.
Walter frowned at him. "Yes," he replied abruptly.
"Dad actually talks about you a lot," said Zoe.
"Not good," said Toby, borrowing Happy's favourite expression.
"No, no it's not like that," Zoe explained. "He... he doesn't really blame you for anything. He just..." she trailed off.
"Richard is going through a difficult time, Walter," Paige explained. "When I was working at his company he told me that he really admires you for refusing to leave Scorpion when he offered you such a lucrative position."
"That's true," Zoe confirmed.
"You've not told me that before, Paige?" said Walter, puzzled.
"I didn't think it would be good for your ego," explained Paige.
"And you were correct," said Toby. "We're never going to hear the end of this now!"
"I really should go," said Zoe. "Thanks for listening to me," she added.
"I hope we helped," smiled Paige.
Zoe nodded. "You did," she answered. "I just hope I can do this. I want my dad back."
"Sure you can, kid," said Cabe and with a final smile Zoe left the garage.
"Walter, I want you to promise me something," said Paige, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Anything," replied Walter, gazing lovingly into her eyes.
"Promise me that you'll never let success change you," said Paige.
"Except in a good way," added Toby. "I mean, if you ever feel like kicking all those really annoying character traits into touch, go ahead."
Before Walter had chance to protest, Paige spoke up. "No, Toby, he's just perfect the way he is."
THE END.