This took me like two days. Man, writing has been hard lately. But I wanted to get something out this week, and after the last episode, even though it had nothing to do with this, I started thinking about how overly giddy Walter would be about this situation, and yeah, this came out of it.
Walter was usually good at pushing things out of his mind if he needed to focus his attention on work. It was actually something he prided himself on. He had that work ethic that a lot of employers wished that their staff had.
But not today.
It had been over four hours since Paige had come into the room and showed him the pregnancy test, and although he had always thought no news – no good news, at least – could be so detrimental to his work, he hadn't been able to think about anything else for more than ten seconds since.
Paige was sitting in the recliner, giving him space to work. She had her iPad out. She was probably playing that game where you furnished homes and the other players on the game voted on the best ones. Walter wondered if she just found the graphics soothing or if she internally wanted a house to decorate herself.
They could get a house. They didn't have a lot of money, but they'd be selling the condo, and Ralph would be eligible for more scholarships next year, which he would almost certainly get. If she wanted a house, she would get a house. She certainly deserved that.
She looked up, catching his eye. He smiled.
"Walter," she said, her cheeks pinking up. "You keep staring."
"Sorry," he said, the smile still on his face. "Sorry."
She smiled.
Walter could feel his face flushing. "I'm being an idiot, aren't I?" He pushed out from the table, shifting the chair so he was sitting facing her.
She frowned, standing up and setting the iPad down. Walter's eyes shifted to her midsection as she crossed into the kitchen. She dropped onto his lap, her feet pointing toward the table, and she put her arms around his neck. "Why do you feel like an idiot?"
Her eyes were soft. Walter couldn't help but just look into them for a moment. Then he spoke. "I'm being what Toby would call a total sap. But I just can't believe…" he shook his head slowly. "I can't believe we're having a child. I just…" he slid a hand up to cradle her neck. "I'm feeling so many things and all of them are good. And I feel like maybe I shouldn't be so…one track minded. I need to do this job but instead I…" he shook his head again. "You're pregnant."
She lowered her head, resting her forehead against his. "Yeah, I am," she whispered, putting one of her hands on his jawline. She tipped her head and he lifted his chin so their lips could meet. The kiss lingered. Their kisses usually did. "I'm glad you're so excited, Walter," she whispered.
"It's not too much?" Memories of their first few days together, on that island, were still fresh in his mind.
"No," she said.
"You're sure?"
She gave him a look that was both amused and affectionate. "Positive. It's so much different than before. It's nice. It's really nice."
"Ralph?" It was a fraction of the words that made up the question that he wanted to ask. But he didn't want to use Drew's name. Not now. Drew didn't deserve to be part of this moment. But he knew, instinctively, that while Ralph's biological father had been a part of his life the first few years, he couldn't have been this thrilled when he'd been told. No one felt like this and then threw it all away.
"Yeah," she said, giving him the answer even though he hadn't asked a coherent question. But she was still smiling, her thumb caressing his cheek.
"I love you," he said, emotion evident in his voice. He'd said as much when she told him, then wrapped her in his arms and kissed her hair and rocked her gently. But he needed to say it again. He hadn't told her in four hours.
He blamed the fact that he had a stupid deadline. A stupid, stupid, inconvenient deadline.
"I love you too," she said, her hand sliding up into his hair and then back down to his jaw. "So much, Walter."
The arm that wasn't around her waist, holding her on his lap, shifted so his hand was against her abdomen, reaching it at the same moment their lips met again. He deepened the kiss, pushing gently against her mouth, and she made a little sound in the back of her throat as his tongue stroked hers. When their lips broke apart, she smiled at him again, almost as quickly as another smile came over his own face.
Paige gave a little giggle and wrapped her arms back around his neck, tucking her head down by his. Walter hugged her back.