WriterFreak001:

I have had this idea for a while (since Deception) and now that I'm done with Mind Games, I want to explore this idea. If you've read anything I have written before, then you should know that I tend to incorporate some dark stuff into my FanFictions. This story (I haven't decided if it will be a one-shot, or a multi-fic yet) will start from a very dark premise in which some of you might not be comfortable reading. I am placing this warning at the beginning of the FanFiction because I don't want any flames from people for being "surprised."

I will tell you right now, this story's focus will be primarily on the aftermath of rape except for this chapter. If you are not comfortable reading forward, that is fine with me. Some stories are not for everyone. If you should choose to continue reading, be my guest; but be warned and don't be mad at me.

Title | Broken Pieces

Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)

Description | After everything Walter has faced while working as a government contractor, he encounters what might be the most difficult challenge of his life. He finds a catatonic Paige in her apartment after receiving a call from Cabe that her car had been totaled during the night. When he approaches her, she falls apart, and he doesn't know how to mend her broken pieces. What he learns might not be a problem he can fix, and he might have some difficulty accepting that premise – especially when it involves the woman he has grown fond of over the last several months. Will Walter be able to heal Paige's shattered heart, or is his EQ too ill-equipped for him to be there for her when she needs a shoulder to cry on? Read and find out.

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for traumatic experiences, language and suggestive themes.

POV | Limited Third Person

Disclaimer | While CBS owns Scorpion, I am the owner of this masterpiece.

Claimer | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something should be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

WARNING:

PLEASE READ A/N AT THE BEGINNING BEFORE YOU CONTINUE!

Broken Pieces

Written by WriterFreak001

Prologue

~ SCORPION ~

Foolish heart...

Looks like we're here again...

…

Paige grinned to herself as she drove home from the university after her night class was over for the week. She had been taking night classes for a while now, and a few weeks ago, she started her second semester in hopes to finish her degree by the end of the year. Ever since she told Walter she had resumed her education, he had been very supportive of her decision; even though she knew he didn't particularly see the value in Liberal Arts, he set aside some of his time to help her study. Sometimes, he gave her nights off from work so she could catch up on some of her homework and have the extra time to write her written assignments. In the last few weeks, Walter had been very helpful; he offered to let Ralph stay at the garage during the nights she had classes so she wouldn't have to worry about a late-night sitter or getting him to bed when she returned. Walter even took Ralph to school the following mornings too. The 197 IQ genius's generosity was almost too much, but Walter was adamant about wanting her to succeed. And the smile Ralph received every time he was being dropped off at the garage was well worth it.

Walter truly was a better father figure for Ralph, and Paige couldn't believe how blind she was, at first, to see it; she wanted Ralph to have a good-standing relationship with Drew – what mother wouldn't want her son to bond with his biological father? But Drew had been gone for over a month now, and Paige had a strong feeling that he wasn't returning anytime soon. The last time he called was three weeks ago when he claimed that the Portland Seadogs coach had wanted him to pitch for the rest of the baseball season. Paige, to be honest, wasn't really bothered with Drew's continual absence, but Ralph was a little bummed when he received the news. Luckily, extra time with Walter lessened the blow for him, and she often wondered if letting her son spend some nights at the garage was Walter's way of ensuring the boy that he was deeply cared for.

The reason for Walter's generosity wasn't important to Paige; she was just glad to have someone in her life who adored her son and cared for his wellbeing. She trusted Walter wholeheartedly, and she knew he would never let anything happen to her son. He did mess up once, but his lesson was quickly learned, and unlike Drew, Walter always set aside time outside of work to spend an afternoon or an evening with Ralph – giving Paige some time to herself; if she wasn't working on her homework, she was relaxing. Given her line of work, it was hard to find time to relax, but now that Walter was sharing some of her responsibilities with Ralph, things were easier for Paige.

As Paige lost herself in her thoughts, she failed to notice the broken glass in the road and before she knew it, a tire popped. "Oh no no no no no no no!" She shrieked as her car skidded left and right down the road until the front of her vehicle wrapped around a palm tee. The airbag deployed and pressed hard against her chest, slamming her against her seat. Paige released the breath she had been holding, and the first thing she did was grab her phone and her purse before hopping out of the vehicle to assess the damage.

While she had a mini heart attack as her car spun in various directions, she was, for the most part, fine. A little frazzled and bruised but fine. The front right tire was blown out, and the right corner of the fender was smashed in. The back of her car wasn't damaged, though. "So much for having a safe car for my kid," she murmured to herself as she pushed her hair back and glanced at her surroundings. She was a few miles from her apartment on a less popular street where very few cars travel at night. Ever since Walter asked Cabe to escort Paige to her class last month, she had found an alternative route to the university that enabled her to avoid most of the city traffic.

While she didn't want to call Walter and bother him so late at night, she really didn't have any other option. She needed to have her car towed and also needed a ride, and the last thing she wanted was to ride in the back of a police cruiser.

As she pulled out her phone to call Walter, a low battery symbol blinked on the screen and then it shut down completely. She cursed under her breath. She could try pressing the emergency hotline on her car, but she didn't really want to make a big deal out of mostly nothing. She opened her car door to hop back inside when she spotted a gas station in the distance; the gas station would have a phone she could use to call Walter. She considered staying in her car in hopes that a Good Samaritan would turn up, but that could take hours, and she didn't have the patience to wait. She slammed her car door, locked it as she dropped her phone into her purse and headed for the gas station as it started to rain.

~ SCORPION ~

"Excuse me?" Paige called for the cashier as she walked into the Shell station and made her way to the counter.

A blonde teen with purple streaks in her hair looked up from her magazine and popped a pink bubble with her teeth before working her gum back into her mouth. "What is it, lady?"

"Do you have a phone I can use? Mine's dead, and I really need to make a call." Paige waved her phone into the air, hoping the teen could help her out.

"There's a payphone outback behind the station," the cashier pointed behind her and popped another bubble. "If it doesn't work, then you're out of luck."

Paige opened her mouth to say something, but she kept her thoughts to herself and nodded before exiting the building. She walked around the station and spotted the payphone; it was exactly where the teen girl said it was. She frowned when she saw a man with a black hood draped over his face standing by the phone. Instinct told her to go back inside the station and wait patiently until he was gone, but she really needed to call Walter and a towing service as soon as possible. As she took another step closer to the payphone, she mindlessly tugged her purse closer to her side and clenched her fists. Her knuckles were white. The feeling in her gut told her to leave; she felt queasy. Being alone at night in Los Angeles wasn't smart, and even though the hooded man could be harmless, she decided to trust her instincts and turn around before he noticed her. She swiftly turned the corner and decided to wait out the weather inside the station.

But as she turned the corner again, a hand covered her mouth, and she was jerked behind the building with brute force. Everything happened so fast; she fought. She struggled. She tried pushing him off of her, but he was too strong. She kicked and scratched and peed all over her captor as an attempt free herself. He cursed and punched her face. Hard. She bit back her tears and continued fighting. But he fought harder. Her efforts were useless against her attacker.

He was just too strong.

Too strong.

But she didn't' stop fighting.

She bit him in the arm as hard as she could.

But this hooded man was hurting her. And hurting her. And hurting her.

But she fought and she fought and she fought.

…

Her screams were muted by the pouring rain.

~ SCORPION ~

Walter woke up earlier than usual and smiled how Ralph was curled up next to him in his bed. While the boy had his own cot to use at his disposal whenever he stayed the night, some mornings, like this morning, Walter would find the ten-year-old genius fast asleep in his bed, and the sight always brought a smile to Walter's lips. He lightly ruffled the boy's hair and slid out of bed to take his morning shower. Since he was already up, he might as well stay up. It was five in the morning.

By 6:30 AM, Walter was showered and dressed for the day. Ralph had school at eight, and he promised he would drop him off so Paige wouldn't have to worry about waking up on time. If the boy wasn't up by seven, he would run up and wake him. For now, Walter didn't mind leaving Ralph up in his room to sleep; the boy was still growing. Sleep was important for growing children. Plus, Paige would kill him if he ever let him stay up past midnight. The last time he did something behind her back – teaching Ralph decryption, things didn't bode well. Granted, there was a positive outcome after the Overt Target incident, but Walter didn't dare risk his progress with Paige by going behind her back again.

While he enjoyed spending time and being a friend to Ralph, he did learn his lesson and realized he needed to be more than just Ralph's friend and mentor – he needed to be the adult too. So since Paige started letting Ralph spend a few nights at the garage, Walter became a tad more responsible with the boy, making sure he went to bed on time and got up for school – no matter how silly he thought it was that Ralph still taking classes with kids his age. Why Paige wanted her son to attend school with other kids his age was beyond Walter, but he knew Paige was a good mother so he respected her decision.

By 7:30 AM, Sylvester was at his desk, and Toby was just walking in. "Happy's gonna be late," Toby called out to Walter who was preparing some breakfast for Ralph in the kitchen. "She was called in by Cabe about a half hour ago; not sure on the details, but some car had been wrecked in the middle of the night and was left on the side of the road. Cabe wanted some mechanical insight as to how the car was wrecked in case the wreckage involves a missing person…," Toby stretched his arms and yawned. "Or, something like that."

Walter scraped the slightly burnt scrambled eggs onto a plate for Ralph and placed two slices of burnt bacon on the side before turning off the stove and putting the pan into the sink. He turned towards Toby. "How do you know about Happy's whereabouts before I do? Usually Cabe calls me first, and then I send whomever is needed for the case if it isn't for the entire team."

"Uhhhh," Toby scratched the back of his neck, "I plead the fifth!"

"It's a simple question," Walter blinked and crossed his arms. "Should be a simple answer."

"Toby and Happy are sleeping together!" Sylvester exclaimed before Toby could say a word. Sly immediately clamped his hands over his mouth.

"Way to go, Sly!" Toby grumbled as he walked up to the human calculator and flicked him in the ear.

"Sorry!" Sylvester clapped his hands together, "You know how much I hate deception! Besides, Walter is our boss; he shouldn't be kept in the dark about your relationship with Happy!"

Of all of the things Walter had expected to fly out of Sylvester's mouth, the fact that two of his employees were sleeping together was certainly not one of them. His shock was almost as bad as when Sylvester told him he was dating Megan. Walter grimaced at the thought of – he shivered and pushed the thought away. He tried playing things cool. "Well…," Walter forced a chuckle. "It's, um, it's about time the two of you…you know, did it."

"Did it?" Toby hooted with laughter. "I bet you don't even know what it's even like to do it, Walter. You wouldn't even know what sex was if it hit you in the face!"

Walter's smirk faded quickly. "I know what sex is, Toby."

"Knowing is one thing," Toby chuckled as he retreated to his desk. "Experiencing is another."

Walter balked, but as he tried to come up with a comeback statement, his cellphone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket; it was Cabe. "What is it, Cabe?"

Walter spotted Ralph coming down the stairs and pointed to the kitchen. Ralph nodded with a smile and headed for the kitchen as Walter pointed towards the plate of food.

"Late last night, the front right wheel of a vehicle ran over some glass and swerved into a palm tree on a not-so-popular road. It was just sighted an hour ago. By the way, Happy's with me, assessing the damage." Cabe explained slowly.

"Yeah. Toby was telling me about it. How does this pertain to us, exactly? Missing person's case?" Walter asked as he ruffled Ralph's hair.

"You're not going to like what I have to say, kid." Cabe murmured through the speaker.

Walter gulped. "Whatever you're going to say, just say it, Cabe."

"The car belongs to Paige."

And before Cabe could explain, Walter scrambled to his desk, grabbed his things, told Toby to take Ralph to school after his breakfast and stormed out of the garage without a single word.

He sped like a madman towards the location of the wreck.

~ SCORPION ~

Walter bolted out of his car and flung towards Cabe who was standing next to Paige's wrecked Chevy. Cabe told him everything he knew and said a team had been sent to Paige's apartment complex to see if she was home. A woman matching Paige's description had arrived at the gas station down the street, requesting to use a phone and was instructed to use the payphone behind the building. She wasn't seen again, and the security cameras of the gas station were a bust – the weather had messed with the system and nothing could be salvaged. While Cabe told him to wait for confirmation, Walter couldn't sit still. He pulled up his computer and hacked into the gas station's surveillance system, using his phone as a Hot-Spot. He had to see for himself if Cabe was telling the truth. He skimmed over all of the footage. Nothing. Absolutely nothing!

Cabe startled him when he touched him on the shoulder. Walter lifted his eyes towards Cabe and held his breath. "She's there…. She's home. She was taking a shower when the team had the landlord unlock her apartment for them. She probably called a cab last night and went home. The investigation will now be handed over to the LAPD since there's no missing person anymore; they might stop by her apartment later and ask her to make a statement. Perhaps…," Cabe shrugged, "you should go over there and check on her. Just to make sure she's okay."

"Okay." Walter nodded with relief. She was home and safe. Though, he couldn't help but wonder why she would call a cab and not him to pick her up. It seemed odd for Paige to use cab service to get home; then again, he was busy watching Ralph so it's possible she didn't want to disturb her son's sleep. Yeah. That was the only explanation that made sense. That had to be it."

Walter hopped back into his car and sped down the road until he reached her complex. He parked in a visitor's spot, got out of his vehicle and took the elevator to her apartment floor. He knocked on her door. No answer. He pressed his ear against the wood but didn't hear any water running. He dug through his briefcase and pulled out the spare key Paige had given him a few weeks ago and inserted it into the keyhole. He gave the handle a turn and pushed the door open. The apartment was quiet. He frowned. Where was she? He walked towards the hallway and headed for her bedroom. He sighed with relief when he saw her lying down on her bed; her sleeping attire was odd, though. It was too warm for Paige to be wearing sweats this time of year.

He called out her name as he approached her. She didn't respond. He circled around her bed, and every fiber of his being boiled with anger when he saw the dark bruises on her face. Both eyes were black, and her lips were cracked and swollen. He noticed her fingernails; they were raw and chipped. As much as he wanted to storm out of the apartment and rip apart Los Angeles to find the person responsible for her injuries, something told him he needed to stay. Something told him she needed him to stay. He knelt down to the floor and carefully pushed back her hood; more bruises unveiled themselves. He tried speaking to her again, but she didn't respond. She didn't even blink.

He didn't know why but he felt the need to comfort her, though he didn't know how. It pained him to see her in such a state. He raked his hand through his hair and felt defeated. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to be there for her, and not knowing was driving him insane.

He remembered when he was recovering from his snake bite; he was sleeping in the room at the Summit, and he was sure he felt a pair of soft hands hold his as he slept. The feeling of Paige's hands touching his after his brush with death soothed him and brought him a sense of comfort he never felt before. So… he slowly reached for her hand and covered it with his own.

She flinched at his touch, but he didn't retract his hand.

"I'm not going anywhere…." Walter spoke softly; he didn't know what else to say. What could he say? "I promise."

And then she started to cry.

…

And as he heard her aching sobs, he felt like he had failed her.

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

So… even if you hate this story, I'm going to continue it. I love putting characters into testy situations in order to see how they react to certain scenarios. This will be a mini multi-chaptered story. Not as long as Deception or Mind Games but long enough to keep me preoccupied.

So… love it or hate it, please review and let me know what you think.

There are lyrics at the beginning of each chapter; I will post the artist and the song where those lyrics came from at the end of the final chapter.