WriterFreak001:
As promised, here is my Scorpion Christmas Special. :)
Title | One Insatiable Moment of Absolute Insanity
Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)
Description | [This Story contains some spoilers for 1x12 "Dominoes"] For the first time of his life, Walter O'Brien may have discovered that Christmas does in fact hold personal value to him after all. (This story will explore Walter's thoughts before, during and after the Christmas party at the end of "Dominoes.")
Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for brain stuff and lots and lots of fluff.
POV | 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!
One Insatiable Moment of Absolute Insanity
Written by WriterFreak001
- One-Shot -
~ SCORPION ~
Since Happy had disappeared from the hospital while the team was visiting Owen Cooper, Walter had to finish the Rube Goldberg machine while Sylvester, Cabe, Megan and Toby decorated the garage. Paige still had some last minute shopping to do so she told everyone she and Ralph would stop by closer to three, giving the rest of the team an adequate amount of time to transform the garage into a Christmas wonderland. It took Walter two hours to complete the Rube Goldberg machine, and by the time he re-entered the kitchen area of the lower level of the garage, he was impressed with the hard work this team had put in to make Christmas Eve special for Paige and Ralph.
"You look surprised," Toby noted as Walter walked about the room. "Didn't think we had it in us, did you?"
Walter ignored the behaviorist as he headed for the stairs. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Being that it was Christmas Eve, it was tradition for everyone to open a gift before the festive holiday the next day. While the team had never made a major deal out of Christmas before, they each decided they would recognize the holiday and celebrate it for their newest family members.
And that meant giving everyone gifts too. Paige had mentioned once that she and Ralph usually opened one gift on Christmas Eve and then opened the rest of them on Christmas Day. Since the holiday celebration was in honor of them, Walter thought it would be a grand gesture to copy Paige and Ralph's Christmas tradition. Without some guidance from Cabe and Paige, the group of geniuses wouldn't even know how to celebrate Christmas. After all, neither one of them had the best Christmas memories.
Walter decided he would bring down his gift for Cabe and leave the rest of them in his room for Christmas Day. As he started to leave his bedroom, he stared at the tiny wrapped box sitting on the corner of his bookshelf, wondering if he should bring it down too. He didn't have to give it to her right away but would like to give it to her without curious eyes and ears invading their privacy. Realizing that there was a small possibility – a possibility, nonetheless – that he would not see Paige and Ralph on Christmas Day, he walked over to his bookcase and grabbed the box before sliding it into his pocket. With everything that he needed, Walter left his room and headed back downstairs.
"Hi Walter." Ralph said as the 197 IQ genius descended the stairs.
"Hey Ralph." Walter smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.
"I saw you on the news today with Mom and the rest of the team." Ralph beamed as the two of them made their way towards the kitchen.
"Did you, now?"
"Yeah. My sitter didn't think Owen would make it, but I told her she was naïve. She doesn't know you guys like I do." Ralph grinned as Paige walked up to them.
Walter glanced at her for a moment before turning his attention back on Ralph. "Did your mother tell you how brave Owen was, and how well she was able to keep him calm while we tried to figure out how to get him out of that sinkhole?"
Ralph looked at his mother and then back at Walter. "No. She didn't."
"Maybe," Paige smiled as she bent down to straighten out Ralph's red vest, "that's because I was barely keeping it together back there. I tried my best, but after a while, Owen had started panicking. I don't think I was a lot of help, really. Still, he was a very, very brave, young boy, Ralph. And guess what?"
"What?" Ralph's eyebrows lifted as Paige ruffled her fingers through his hair.
"He's read I Want an Alien for Christmas." Paige said as she took her son's hand.
"Really?"
"Mhmm." Paige nodded and then kissed Ralph's forehead. "Listen, there's a lot of cooking to be done in here so why don't you," she poked his nose, "go and try to beat your high score on Proton Arnold."
"Okay." Ralph nodded as Paige gave him a quick hug before he darted for the arcade game.
As Paige pushed herself off of the floor, she flashed a quick smile at Walter and then returned to the counter to start cutting up a head of lettuce for the salad.
Walter walked up to her and stood behind her with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "You're wrong, you know?"
"Hm?"
"Keeping Owen calm for as long as possible was a great achievement, Paige. Had he been in full panic the whole time he was down there, he might have gone into shock. If anything, by helping Owen stay calm, it increased his chances of staying conscious because of his collapsed lung. You really came through, today, so don't sell yourself short, Paige." Walter explained before he picked up an already-washed tomato and started cutting it into wedges.
"Thanks. I think." Paige sad as she circled around him and grabbed a few carrots; she skinned them and then sliced them into thin slices before dumping them into the salad bowl.
After Walter dumped the tomatoes into the bowl, he excused himself from the counter and made his way over to Sylvester. He had an apology to make.
"Is everything all right?" Sylvester asked as he looked up from his computer.
"Yes," Walter nodded.
"Is there something you need?"
"I want to apologize for earlier." Walter said as he stood in front of Sylvester's desk. "I was frustrated and used my frustration out on you when I shouldn't have. As I have said before, Sly, you are the bravest person I know, and you continue to surprise me with your valor."
"Today was tough on everyone, Walter. You don't need to apologize." Sylvester answered quietly. "You're right. I should have had my head on straight back there. I made a huge calculation error which could have cost Owen his life had I realized my error any later."
"But that's not what happened," Walter shook his head. "Yes, you made an error. Yes, you realized it. In the heat of the moment, I had forgotten about your recent hospitalization; yelling at you didn't make the situation any better."
"Walter, thank you for your apology. It means a lot. However, had you not yelled at me, I might not have been there when the rocks began to slide again. I feel somewhat ashamed, actually." Sylvester confessed with a sigh.
"Why?"
"Because after you had yelled at me, I realized you were right and I figured I wasn't cut out to be a part of Scorpion anymore. If it wasn't for Megan, I would be long gone by now." Sylvester looked away from Walter.
"Sylvester, I'm going to be honest with you." Walter said. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Paige and Megan watching them from a distance, but he didn't mind. They could be his witnesses if he ever lost control in the future.
"Okay."
"There will be times when I'll be frustrated with you. You know as well as I do that I am constantly frustrated with Toby –"
"– and don't I know it, too!" Toby stated while still sitting at his desk.
"– and occasionally, I get frustrated with Happy and even Paige. I've gotten very frustrated with Cabe too. I have a tendency to use my anger and frustrations out on you guys, and there's a good chance that the cycle won't stop. But, no matter how many times I get frustrated with you, Sylvester, I'll never think you're worthless to the team. You have a family here, and don't think I haven't noticed how strong you've gotten since the first time we met. Am I making sense?"
"Perfectly," Sylvester smiled. "Thanks Walter."
"Mark it down in history, folks." Toby said as he made his way over to Sylvester and Walter. "On Christmas Eve, 2014, Walter O'Brien acknowledged he had some form of EQ and indirectly apologized to almost everyone in the entire room."
"Only you would ruin a perfectly good moment," Cabe rolled his eyes and shook his head in dismay.
"What?" Toby shrugged. "Walter and heartfelt apologies do not happen often!"
"At least he apologizes, Toby." Sylvester deadpanned, causing everyone but Toby to laugh.
"Hardy har har." Toby mumbled as he mocked Sylvester. "I apologize…sometimes."
"But do you ever mean them?" Sylvester raised an eyebrow.
"Not usually." Toby shrugged. "But then again, it's just how I am."
"You can say that again," Cabe murmured audibly, causing both Paige and Megan to laugh as Toby rolled his eyes and left for the upstairs. He asked everyone to let him know when dinner was going to be ready.
It was another hour before everything was ready, but they decided to wait for Happy to return before having dinner. As Sylvester helped Megan with a few extra decorations Paige had brought over when she brought Ralph to the garage, Cabe plugged in all of the Christmas lights with Ralph's help. Paige was washing some of the dishes, and Walter helped dry them and put them away.
As she cleaned the last dish they had used to bake the rolls, Walter noticed that Toby had returned and was hanging a Mistletoe near the center of the table. "I don't get it," Walter frowned.
"Don't get what?" Paige asked as she placed the cleaned dish on the counter. Walter picked it up and started drying it.
"Why people – namely Toby – should resort to superstition in order to indulge in romantic gestures with another person. Mistletoe is just a plant. It's not like something bad will happen if two people stand under a mistletoe and do not give in to the superstition." Walter put the dish away and leaned against the cupboard.
"For one," Paige chuckled, "it's a fun tradition."
"I recognize how it could seem fun for some people, but at the end of the day, a Mistletoe is just a plant. Indulging in romantic gestures to satisfy certain sexual desires while standing under a dying plant seems a bit impractical, if you ask me."
Paige shook her head and laughed. "But that's exactly what romance is, Walter." She leaned against the counter as her arm brushed against his. He stiffened from her slight touch. Goosebumps crawled up his spine. She turned to face him. "I know you have a hard time understanding and expressing emotions, but you love your sister, correct?"
"Yes."
"And you'll do whatever you can in order to help her?" Paige raised an eyebrow.
"Of course."
Suddenly, Paige smiled. "You see? You're willing to go above and beyond to help your sister in every way you can. Some might call your desire to cure MS impractical or label it as wishful thinking. However, despite what people think, you're still willing to help her."
"Okay," Walter nodded. "I think I can see what you're getting at."
Despite his response, Paige continued. "It's the same sort of concept for romance; love is almost always impractical." Somehow, Walter felt as though she was talking directly at him instead of in a general sense. "If you really love someone, you'll go against all reason in order to hold onto her." She looked back towards a humming Toby and then met his gaze again. "Using a mistletoe may be illogical, and it might be considered a superstition, but for some people, they're willing to forget about practicality for a few minutes in order to share a fun and silly moment with someone they love or find special."
Walter watched as Toby moved the mistletoe closer to where he and Happy were going to be sitting. Then he shook his head and moved it back to where it was originally. "I still don't get it."
"And you don't have to," Paige laughed as she squirted some Germ-X into her palms and rubbed her hands together. "Sometimes it's best to just nod, accept it and move on."
"My brain's not wired to do that." Walter sighed as Paige planted her feet in front of him.
She stood on her tiptoes and brought her lips to his ear, and whispered, "It's never too late to practice," sending shivers down his spine.
As she pulled away from him, her gaze did not break from his. When a click of a door brought both of them back to reality, it was then when he realized that Paige had around his neck. He assumed she had wrapped them around his neck for better support when she leaned upwards to whisper into his ear. It seemed as though it would have been a logical move. She unlatched her arms from around his neck and headed for the table. Walter followed a few seconds afterwards as he tried to process what had just happened.
As Paige circle back and pick up the turkey, Walter noticed his sister was trying to add more Christmas lights to a MERRY CHRISTMAS banner. Without saying a word, he took the lights from her hands and began coiling them around the banner. Everyone else pitched in to set the rest of the table as they heard Happy say, "Hey everyone." Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked in her direction. "Uh, this is…my dad, Patrick."
Patrick waved hello.
Megan said, "Hi" as Sylvester waved.
Cabe was the first to officially greet Patrick, however. "Welcome, Mr. Quinn. You got a great girl there."
Patrick nodded with a kind smile as Toby walked up to him to shake his hand. "It's a real pleasure to meet you." Walter noticed how Happy smiled at Toby as her father shook the behaviorist's hand. Slowly, everyone greeted Patrick and told him good things about Happy's involvement with Scorpion.
Once everybody sat down, Cabe proposed a toast. "I'd like to congratulate everyone for working their asses off today to save Owen. Because of all of you, a little boy will be able to spend Christmas Eve with his parents today. Unfortunately, not every child has that chance, but Owen does, and you guys deserve the recognition for your intelligence, bravery, patience and persistence to save that little boy. Needless to say, I am damn proud of you guys. So…, keep up the good work."
After his toast, Walter first clanked his glass with Cabe's and then turn towards Paige who was clanking her wine glass with Ralph's tall chocolate milk glass. Then she turned towards him and tapped her glass with his; her knuckles grazed his fingers. As Walter took a drink from his glass, Ralph circled around his mother and held up his glass of chocolate milk. Paige giggled at Ralph's enthusiasm while Walter lightly clanked his glass against Ralph's. Ralph then squeezed behind Paige and sat back down before downing a large gulp of his chocolate milk.
Eventually, all of the food was served and eaten. Walter found that it was the best time to exchange gifts so he handed Cabe a rectangular box with a bright red bow on it. Cabe lifted the lid and pulled out a new pair of pilot-styled sunglasses.
"Oh yeah. That's nice." He grinned after placing them over his eyes.
Happy and Toby exchanged gifts next. Happy pulled out a toolset as Toby asked, "Who brought me a gift?" Toby reached into his bag and pulled out a brand new black hat. "Okay. Touchdown!"
"You got your hat back!" Paige explained.
'Oh great.' Walter thought as he looked at a smiling Toby who was putting on his new hat.
"I'm back!" Toby rose from his chair and spun around with a smile as he made his way towards Happy.
"Look at this," Happy waved her new wrench.
"Huh?" Toby raised a brow as she stood up. "This is awesome," he said and gave her a quick hug. "That's very nice of you."
"Now you'll stop moping." Happy deadpanned as they sat back down.
Ralph walked over to Cabe and handed him his favorite Christmas book. Cabe looked pleased and picked Ralph up, placed him on his lap and started reading from I Want an Alien for Christmas.
Walter watched his sister stand up and tap Sylvester's shoulder. Sylvester rose to his feet and stood in front of her as she pointed to the mistletoe. As Sylvester bent down to kiss Megan's cheek, Walter looked away. He wasn't repulsed with the budding relationship happening between his sister and Sylvester; he just felt a little uncomfortable.
"See?" Paige muttered as she leaned close to him. "Look how happy your sister is."
"I won't disagree that buying into certain superstitions can bring a sense of pleasure and or happiness to some people, but that doesn't negate the fact that I can't relate to it." Walter mumbled for her ears only. "All I see is a dying plant hanging above their heads."
"Give it time, Walter. I'll find a way for you to see the magic one of these days." Paige whispered before handing him a bagged gift.
Walter pulled out the tissue paper and was a little confused as he took out a green sweater with a candy canes and ornaments pattern adorning it. He placed it against his chest and looked down on it. Then he looked at Paige.
She laughed. "It's silly. You need a little silly in your life."
He chuckled at the ridiculous sweater as he slipped it on over his head. Paige helped straighten it out when it began to light up like a Christmas tree.
"Look at that." Cabe laughed as Walter looked down at his sweater again before sharing another gaze with Paige as he bit his lower lip.
Before he could say something, however, Toby pointed towards the other room and said, "Hey guys. We got Ralph's present in the next room."
In seconds, Ralph rose to his feet and started running towards Toby. As everyone slowly made their way into the other room, Walter caught up with Ralph and guided him towards the Rube Goldberg machine. "Okay, so we made all of this for you pal." Walter pointed towards the record player and added, "All right. Press the button."
Ralph heeded Walter's instruction, and the record player started to spin, rotating an elongated wire hanger towards a curvy line of dominoes. Walter noticed how amazed everyone was – especially Ralph and Paige – as the Rube Goldberg machine unfolded in front of them. Walter was proud of his design; to say the least, it was perfection. As the machine ended, it started snowing inside the garage.
"Oh! Do you see that?!" Paige exclaimed as she looked at Ralph, but the boy was so amazed that Walter could tell he was replaying the scene within his mind. Walter turned around and bumped Sylvester's fist before looking back at Ralph and Paige again. As he turned to wish his sister a Merry Christmas, he heard Paige exclaim, "It's amazing!"
Walter looked up towards the falling snow as everybody marveled at how white the garage was becoming. Then he looked at Paige and noticed how joyful she was in response to Ralph's beaming smile. She finally caught him staring at her. "What?"
"Nothing," Walter shook his head. "Just, um… Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." Paige smiled and held his gaze for a moment longer before she collected a fistful of snow within her palms and threw it upward. He didn't know why, but he continued to watch her as she danced in the snow; seeing her filled with a lot of happiness made him feel at ease. And for once in his life, he didn't question what he was feeling. He simply accepted it.
~ SCORPION ~
A few hours later, after everything was cleaned up, Happy and Toby left to drop Patrick off as Cabe took Megan back to the hospital. Sylvester accompanied them because Megan had asked him to help her bring some of the Christmas decorations back to her hospital room. She wanted to liven the place up a bit. Being the kind spirited guy that Sylvester was, he couldn't refuse.
Ralph was fast asleep on the couch, and Walter and Paige were finishing up the last of the dishes. Once they were done, Paige walked over to Ralph to wake him up, but Walter stopped her by reaching to grab her arm. "Let him sleep for a while longer…."
"Okay." Paige nodded. Instead of waking him up, she dropped a blanket over him and kissed his forehead. Then she returned to Walter and said, "We go upstairs to avoid waking him up?"
"Good plan." Walter nodded before they made their way up the stairs. They sat down on the couch and stared at the wall in silence. Finally, Paige was the first to say something.
"Thank you for tonight, Walter. This will definitely be a celebration that Ralph will remember for many years." She twisted over to meet his gaze and squeezed his arm. "You really came through tonight, making this celebration special for us."
"To be honest," Walter confessed, "We usually don't celebrate Christmas. At least not together. In the past, I would visit with Megan at the hospital. Toby, Happy and Sylvester would do their own things. We decided we would do something together in honor of our expanded Scorpion family."
"Well, it was sweet." Paige smiled. "And hopefully, next year, you guys will decide to do it again."
"Maybe." Walter shrugged.
"So…," Paige leaned closer to him. He gulped. "Did you enjoy yourself tonight?"
"I found the festivities appeasing." Walter replied as he looked down and watched Paige's fingers walk up his sweater. He could then smell the alcohol on her breath and noted that she seemed a little tipsier than her usual self.
"Oh?" Paige inched closer to him. He involuntarily scooted backwards. "And you like your sweater?"
"Yes. As strange as it is, it's comfortable." Walter gulped. She inched closer. There was no more room left for him to move.
"That's good. It feels comfortable." Paige mumbled. Her fingers danced along his sweater; he didn't know how to respond. "And what do you have to say about mistletoes now? Has your opinion changed?"
"No." He shook his head. "They still don't hold any value to me."
"Are you sure?" she questioned him as she climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I'm certain." Walter gulped. Everything he was currently feeling was strange. While part of him felt uncomfortable with her being so close to him, the other part didn't want her to leave. He didn't understand those mixed feelings, making him feel a little weird.
"What if I were to tell you there's a mistletoe hanging above us?" Paige asked as she pointed upwards. Walter followed her finger and saw the plant hanging above them. Toby must have placed it there in case the one near the table failed to work.
"I would tell you not to buy into the superstition." Walter replied as he felt her fingers twisting within his hair.
"And what if I want to?" She challenged.
"Paige, you're drunk." Walter deadpanned; he didn't have any other responses to give her. He could feel her warm breath brushing against his chin; it sent shivers down his spine. "Paige," he muttered her name as she inched closer. Her lips were only inches away from his. "Paige, you're drunk."
Her eyes slowly flashed open, and she smirked. "Am I?"
His eyes widened at her response when he realized what her challenging statement could mean. Before he could say anything, Paige covered his lips with her finger and whispered, "You may not appreciate mistletoes, but I do." The moment she removed her index finger, she kissed him hard on the mouth. Her lips played with his as he stiffened from her sudden touch.
Then, all at once, every emotion he had felt around Paige came flooding out of his mental compartment, giving him everything he needed to give into his desires. He caught her off guard when he suddenly cupped her face and kissed her senselessly. Their kisses were wet and messy and out of control. Walter's fingers threaded through Paige's blonde locks as hers twisted in his curly brown ones. When they heard Ralph calling out for Paige from downstairs, they had the dignity to stop what they were doing and remember they weren't alone.
"C-coming!" Paige called out towards the door to the stairs. Walter inhaled a deep breath as Paige climbed off of him. Walter realized how disoriented they were and silently told her to fix her hair and straighten her dress. He had to smooth out his sweater as well.
Then he finally said something. "You're not drunk. Are you." It wasn't a question. In the heat of the moment, he had forgotten that Paige barely had more than two glasses of wine – an amount, given her size, that wouldn't impair her senses or her judgment.
"No." Paige replied as she combed her fingers through her hair. "I'm not."
"Then why…?" Walter didn't need to finish the rest of his question for her to understand what he was trying to ask.
"Sometimes, Walter, we have to do crazy and senseless acts in order to take a risk and spend a small, irrational moment with someone we find unbelievably special in our lives." Paige smiled before making her way to the stairs. "Good night, Walter." As she walked down the stairs, he remembered his gift. He scrambled to his feet and called out her name. She stopped halfway down the stairs as he caught up to her. He glanced over towards Ralph and noticed that he had fallen asleep again. She noticed it too before turning to look at him. "What is it?"
Walter guided her down the stairs and led her to the back area of the garage where they had held a feast only hours ago. When they were standing where he wanted them to stand, he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "Here." He placed it in her hands. "It's uh…it's for you."
She slowly opened the box and lifted an eyebrow as she pulled out the remote Walter had placed in there before he left to spend Christmas at Zuma Beach with his sister. "What is it?"
He took the box from her and tossed it away from them before taking the remote from her hands. He pressed a button and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas started playing in the background. "You like to dance. The last time we danced, if I recall, we were interrupted."
"But you hate dancing." Paige wasn't convinced.
"You're right. I usually don't like dancing. It involves physical contact with other people; however, when you and I danced at that banquet, I was intrigued by the mathematical appeal of the music and the dancing pattern we swayed to." Walter said, but what he really wanted to say was that he enjoyed losing himself inside her gaze.
Paige smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Remembering where he was supposed to place his hands, he rested them against the small of her back as they started swaying back and forth.
Paige rested her head against his shoulder as he held her close. Walter pressed his lips against the top of her head and could smell her lavender shampoo. They danced for several minutes of silence as the music played. When the track was done, Paige lifted her head from Walter's shoulder. Against all reason, he felt compelled to kiss her again, but he was afraid they would lose all sense of their surroundings as a result. "Why?" she finally asked.
"Hm?"
"Why did you want to dance with me, Walter?"
Walter could tell her a million reasons why he would want to dance with her again, but decided he would wait to tell her every single detail. Instead, he smiled and said, "To share one insatiable moment of absolute insanity with you, Paige."
As Paige smiled and pulled him down for another heated kiss, Walter was beginning to realize that because Christmas and crazy superstitions like mistletoes were important to Paige, he was able to see how the holiday and its festivities could serve some measurable value to him as long as Paige and Ralph were in his life. And for the first time, he didn't care about the next step ahead of him; all he cared about was Paige and the crazy, unexplainable moment he was sharing with her on Christmas Eve.
~ SCORPION ~
WriterFreak001:
Well? What did you think? I wanted to try something a little different in regards to how Walter responded to Paige's kiss in this one-shot as opposed to how he responds in "Deception."
Anyway…. Merry Christmas! :)