~Worth the Risk~

[Walter, Paige] Romance

Waige story beginning

in the garage after a exhausting day at

work.

Once the team arrived back at the garage they all pretty much

collapsed in a comfy spot. As they should, considering the

extremely stressful case they were working on for the last four hours.

Happy went to her trailer, Toby was lying face first on the red couch

right by the entrance, Sylvester relaxed in his desk chair after

pumping some Germ-X in his hands. Walter didn't see Paige in the downstairs

of the garage, so he assumed she had gone to pick up Ralph from his babysitter.

Since, everyone was tired, including himself, he decided not to work on his rocket

and to just head up to the loft to get a nice shower and then crack some encryption software on his computer. He was far to exhausted to take the stairs two

steps at a time, so instead he tread slowly up the steps, hitting each step on his way

to the loft. Once he got there, he picked out the clothes he was going to wear to sleep

and walked into the sitting area, right outside his bedroom. He was nearly scared to death when he saw Paige sitting on the couch, tinkering with her phone. Thoughts

consumed his mind wondering what would have happened if he decided to shower

without coming in the room, Paige would have been feet away from him in the shower.

Paige had been sitting up in the loft since they arrived, just to get complete silence and

tell Ralph that he could have a sleepover with his friend from school. She never liked leaving him alone with his babysitter all night, because she knew how it felt to have that responsibility. She never really liked being in her apartment alone, just because it was, well, lonely. So, she decided to sit in the loft for an hour or so before heading out. She hardly even noticed Walter enter the room, until she heard him breathing heavy.

"Are you okay?" She asked, with a small, concerned grin.

"Um.. Yes, I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting you to be here. I thought you had gone to pick up Ralph, is the babysitter still watching him?" Walter answered, full concern in his voice.

Paige deeply appreciated how caring Walter was about Ralph. Nobody, other than herself, ever cared about Ralph enough to ask of his whereabouts or how his day had gone, not even his father. "No, the babysitter dropped him off at his friends house, he's having a sleepover tonight." Paige answers simply.

Walter smiled, "It's amazing how well he has adjusted to things like that so quickly. It's great he's finally fitting in and creating friendships, none of us could have ever done that. You're a great mother, Paige." Walter told her with a proud tone.

Paige was thrilled with his reply. He's never really told her she was a great mother before with full confidence. He's evolved just as much as Ralph has, and it was definitely showing. "Thank you, Walter. That was very sweet." She replied, just after the words came out of her mouth she jumped up and gave Walter a tight hug.

Walter surprisingly returned the favor and a smile formed on his face. "You're welcome."

After hugging for a full minute, Walter counted the seconds, Paige pulled away, "I should probably head back home, it was a busy day."

Walter's smile faded, "Oh uh, yeah. Have a good night." Walter said with a disappointed tone.

Just as Paige started to head for the stairs something possessed Walter to stop her. He grabbed her arm, "Please, don't go." Paige turned around, confusion struck her face. "I mean.. Um.. You sh-shouldn't be driving if your so tired, maybe you should stay here. You can sleep in my bed and I'll take the couch. Plus, nobody's home anyway so it will be lonely. " Walter replied quickly, making sure to clear her confusion.

A smile formed on Paige's lips, "Thank you, Walter. But, I don't want to steal your bed. You need rest just as much as I do."

"It's fine, I'll manage. Please, it would be my fault if something happened while you were driving, plus it's more efficient. There's no need to go home, you can borrow some of my clothes." Walter offered again.

"Fine. I don't want you feeling guilty if something did happen. Do you mind if I use your shower?" She asked.

Walter wanted to shower, but he could wait. "Uh, sure let me get your clothes, follow me."

Paige followed Walter to his bedroom where he quickly found a white t-shirt and some sweat pants and then gave her a towel and told her she could change in his room and he would wait in the sitting area. She agreed and went to shower. About forty-five minutes later she was all done. She slowly opened the door and walked into the sitting area, where Walter was supposed to be sitting. She figured he had gone downstairs, so she walked slowly down the steps and headed towards the kitchen. Walter was sitting at a stool and was drinking a bottled water, while staring at the blank wall.

"I'm done, so if you want to shower or change you can." She said softly.

"Okay. Oh let me get you an extra blanket, it gets cold because of the window." Walter stated as he ran up the stairs in the loft and grabbed a plush blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. Paige followed.

"Thanks, I can sit out here while you change if you would like." Paige said, with a yawn following.

Walter didn't really feel like showering anymore and since he wasn't sleeping in his bed, he didn't really need to. "No, that's okay. I'll just change out here. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Paige replied and then quickly walked to the door and left it cracked open, so she could hear her phone if Ralph called.

Walter set up the couch with a few pillows and a comforter, so it would be more comfortable. Even though he was tired, he couldn't sleep, so he lied on the couch and tried to get Paige out of his mind, which was a very hard task. Hours went by and it was already 2 AM. He pretended to sleep when he heard footsteps coming from his bedroom.

Paige tapped on his shoulder, "Walter, are you awake?" She whispered softly. Walters eyes fluttered open, "Yes, is everything alright, is Ralph okay?" He asked, assuming she had to go pick up Ralph.

Paige smiled "Ralph's fine. I'm just having a hard time sleeping. Usually Ralph comes to my room during the middle of the night, either with a bad dream or just because he wanted company, so I guess I'm a little lonely. Will you come lay with me?" She asked, knowing it was hard for her to have Ralph at a sleepover and because the couch was not comfortable at all, he decided to go.

"Sure." He said, he stood up and ran a hand through his hair. He slowly followed Paige back to bedroom. Paige went back to the right side of the bed, and Walter laid down on the left, turning away from Paige, considering they weren't in a relationship, even though they both secretly wanted to be in one, it was a little awkward. They both laid there in a comfortable silence and stared at the ceiling. After about fifteen minutes Paige turned to Walter, who had now transitioned to his back, "Walter, why did you really want me to stay?" She asked. This question had been plaguing her mind since she got in the shower. Walter claimed he didn't have emotions so why did he want her to stay, why did he agree to sleep in the same bed as her?

Walter seen this question coming sooner or later. He had always told himself that love was imaginary and that it didn't exist and that he didn't have emotions, but as he got to know Paige he wondered if he was wrong. "Because I care about you, and I didn't want you to be lonely."

Paige's expression was blank, she had expected him to say something smart or say it was efficient, like he said before. "I care about you too, Walter." Was all she could say.

Walter smiled at her comment and felt an urge rush over him. Without thinking he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, and saw she was happy about what just happened, then she kissed him hard on the mouth, she threw her hands around his neck and one hand traveled to his curly hair. Slowly they pulled away from each other and smiled. Paige rested her head on his shoulder and Walter wrapped his arm around her waist. A couple minutes went by and Walter fell right asleep, holding the women he had fallen in love with from the moment they met.

To Be Continued..