Title: Hold You Close Again

Chapter Title: Roof Exchange

Summary: "Talk about what?" Paige took a sharp breath. "He's not coming back, baby." "What?" "Walter's not coming back anymore."

Setting: A year after 3x03

DISCLAIMER: All rights go to CBS and relevant parties, as I do not own Scorpion.

Author's Note: Happy Scorpion Tuesday for me! (yay for time differences) Sorry about the MIA. Life happens and I have a major lack of inspiration. I'm now finally able to whip up something, so please enjoy!

Warning: This story chapter contains descriptions of attempted suicide. Reader's discretion is advised.

Present Day

The weight of what happened a week ago was haunting her in her sleep, and eating her up in the day. She felt so heavily burdened with just way too many things happening in her life. The first few days after the incident, she couldn't help but blame herself immensely for what happened. It was her fault she said those hurtful things to him. It was also her fault that she withheld some important information from him. She just didn't want him to worry.

But now, it looks like she's the one doing all the worrying.

How ironic, indeed.

Paige reluctantly got out of his bed in the loft. She glanced to her left; he still was not there. She had hoped that his scent left on his pillows would help her sleep at night, or maybe it would make her see the positive light at her current situation.

Apparently not.

She slid on her shoes and tossed her house slippers to the corner of the room. She could care less now about being neat. She then got dressed, put on her coat and ascended the stairs as quickly as she could. Once she reached the roof, the cold air that blew at her shot her awake. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to come up here in January. She decided to follow through with her original idea, which honestly, worked a lot better when she was just thinking about it in her head.

She approached the parapet slowly and took a little peek at the ground below. Woah. That's high, she thought to herself. Anyway, there was little harm done to try what she wanted. There was nothing good left in her life anymore.

Not since he left.

She placed a foot on the top of the parapet and hoisted herself up onto it, resting in a squatting position to hold her balance. The breeze was strong and chilly, making her hair fly in front of her face, partially blocking her vision. It was advantageous though. That way, she couldn't see how far it was to the bottom.

She stayed in that position for a few minutes, before extending herself vertically. As she did so, she stretched her arms and widened the gap between her feet to keep a good balance.

She didn't want to fall off just yet.

The wind blew again and this time, she boldly took a small step forward on the parapet. It was only about a foot in width, so by the time she took her step, her toes were hanging out a couple of inches in the air. She leant forward slightly and felt the thrill and excitement of being so high shoot through her.

She stretched her arms out fully now and tilted her head back, letting the winter breeze blow away all her burdens.

-SCORPION-

"Mom? Where in the world are you?" Ralph called out frantically from the lower levels of the garage. He was running late for school and needed his mother to drive him through the horrible morning LA traffic. It was still early and the rest of the team weren't in yet. However, for the past month or two, Paige and him were staying in Walter's home overnight more frequently. He couldn't complain though. He enjoyed his mentor's company.

When he was still here, at least.

He rapidly ascended the stairs to the loft, hollering out as loud as he could. "Mom! We got to go! There's a science debate in the morning and I need -"

It was when he saw the house slippers tossed carelessly in the corner of the loft and the empty coat hanger that it finally dawned upon him where his mother went. Grabbing a jacket from his own closet, he dashed up the stairs to the roof, desperately hoping what he thought was going to happen wasn't really what would play out in reality.

He was already panting hard when he reached the top. His heart stopped for a moment when he saw what he saw.

His mother was standing on the edge of the parapet, body tipping ever so slightly forward towards her impending fall.

"Mom?" He called out softly. He didn't want to startle her. He was so nervous, so scared for what's about to happen.

"Ralph." Paige responded after a beat but didn't turn to face him. "Ralph. Go away, please. I don't want you to see this."

"No. You know I won't. Get down, please. I'm begging you." His voice sounded so small from all the way up top of the roof.

Paige inhaled deeply, trying to stop the pain. "You know, don't you. That I screwed up really bad this time."

Ralph stayed silent. He had to choose his words carefully. "It's not your fault, Mom." He finally said.

Paige closed her eyes for a long moment and let the tears roll down her cheeks. "I hurt him real bad. There's no way he's going to forgive me. I HURT HIM." Paige was in sobs by the time she had finished what she wanted to say. Her vision was blurry and she felt slightly lightheaded.

She tipped forward just a little.

"Mom? Maybe if you come down, we could talk about it?" Ralph was desperate. He knew nothing in talking people out of jumping of a ledge. He knew this line might not work all the time, but he was running out of options. He couldn't just watch her.

"Talk about what?" Paige took a sharp breath. "He's not coming back, baby."

"What?"

"Walter's not coming back anymore."

So that's what Mom and Toby were discussing the other day. The business trip was a ruse.

His mother's sobs brought him out of his thoughts. "Mom, he will. You know he will. He just needs some time."

"It's been a week, Ralph." Paige turned to look at him, revealing her tear stained face but more importantly, the worry on her son's face broke her already broken heart. She turns back to face the road and whispers, "He's never been gone this long before."

"That doesn't mean it all ends there, Mom. We've been through so much together." Ralph took a deep breath to stop himself from breaking down. Not right now. "Think about how much he would hurt if he finds out what's you're going to do, Mom. Think about me. Think about us, as a family. We've never been happier. Please don't do anything to change that."

Paige sighed. Her son was right. But still, the guilt inside was still feeding her heart. She whispered in reply, "What if I had already done so?"

"Mom, it doesn't matter. I can't live without you. You know that. Please, get down." Ralph begged her with his puppy dog eyes. He took a few more steps closer to the parapet and stretched his arms out to help her down. She didn't budge. "Please, Mom. Do it for me."

Paige sobbed even harder and the world around her started to spin. She tried to focus her sight on one spot but her vision was blurring quickly. Finally, her legs gave way and she slipped.

And fell backwards right into Ralph's arms.

He stumbled backwards by her weight, but managed to sit the both himself and his mother down on the concrete floor. He tightened his embrace around her and she cried even harder, her whole body shaking. Ralph cradled her gently in his arms and rocked her slowly, soothing her by rubbing his hand down her back, just like how she would if he was upset.

Except that now, she was more than upset.

And Ralph knew because she whispered something that further tore his heart apart.

"I just want to hold him close again."

-To Be Continued...-

A/N: Hi there! Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Do let me know your thoughts in the reviews, all are appreciated :)
PS. the next chapter will go over what happened between Paige and Walter, so stay tuned.