Yeah I know I have WIPs to work on but this has been kicking around in my head and figured hey, here's a oneshot. Some fluff, some humor, and most importantly, established Waige.
What if our kid's stupid?
Paige remembered Toby asking her that question as if it was yester...no, as if he was right beside her in that car, right now, telling her he was terrified of not being able to connect with a little normal. Of loving someone so much and not understanding them at all. Of not being able to find any sort of middle ground because half of the relationship was too young to bridge some of the gap themselves.
Of course, when someone was really young, it was almost impossible to determine how they view the world. The really young only really care about food and sleep. Genius children didn't talk any sooner than normal children because the ability to speak is largely physical. And Paige knew firsthand that developmental delays had no bearing on a child's intelligence, and some children who walked and talked on the early end of the expected range didn't have any strong correlation to intelligence quotient.
But eventually, everyone began to show what hemisphere of their brain they favored. At that point, their intelligence – in the math, science, logic and patterns sense – could be measured with a test.
What if our kid's stupid?
That was Toby's first question. Paige knew it was going to be Walter's first question, too.
"I'll love our child either way," Walter promised, putting a hand on her knee. "I mean...I love their mother. And she's normal. And I connected with her alright. Wouldn't you say?"
Paige smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I might say that." She tapped the pregnancy test against his leg. "Well enough for us to get to this point, at least," she added with a smirk.
She heard the key in the lock and no chatter, which told her that Ralph wasn't the one unlocking the door. She walked quickly down the hall, reaching the living room just as Walter entered the condo. He greeted her with a smile. "Hey."
"Hey," she said. "Job go alright?"
"If you can believe it," he said. "Our history suggests that when I say oh, this is easy, I can go alone, it would turn into some global crisis that would require all hands on deck, immediately. But fortunately, that's all it was. A one person job. A bit of a relief, I must say."
"Oh, agreed." Paige reached for the envelope Walter was holding out for her. It wasn't sealed, and she peered inside. "Walter, what's this money for?"
"It's your cut from the job."
She cocked her head. "I wasn't on the job."
"Well okay, it's the money from the job. I know you were wanting one of those necklaces downtown but I don't know what stone you like best so figured you could go down and get it with this. It's your anniversary gift," he added quickly at the end, giving more of an explanation.
"Walter, I don't know what to say," she said, feeling her cheeks grow warm.
Walter sat on the edge of the table, pretending to think. "You could say thank you, I love you, maybe a little you look handsome in your new shirt..."
Paige rolled her eyes. "Just throwing out random suggestions there, huh?" She dropped the envelope in her purse and walked over to him. "Thank you, Walter. She closed her eyes and rubbed her nose against his. "And I do love you, and you do look very handsome today."
"Hmmm." Walter smiled.
Paige kissed him, then straightened up and ran a hand through his hair. "So, what did you guys do today?" Walter asked.
"Uh..." Paige bit her lip. "Come into the living room."
"Look at her," Walter said, sliding an arm around Paige as he stood beside her, pulling her to him so their hips bumped.
Katie studied the two blocks she held in her hands. In her left hand she held an O. In her right hand was a K. "Me," she babbled, clapping them together. "Me."
"It's almost as if she knows those are her initials," Walter joked.
There had been other things, too. The interest Katie showed every time they brought her to the garage. The way she stared at Ralph as he worked on projects for college. The way she so clearly loved her mother, but her eyes always lit up in that extra special way whenever Walter was around.
Daddy's little genius, Sylvester had jokingly called her.
The signs had been there. But sometimes the signs were wrong.
"So," Paige began when they were sitting on the couch. "I took Katie in today. To test her I.Q."
Walter raised his eyebrows. "You did."
"Yeah. You know, we all know ours and..."
"How did she do?"
She took a slow, long breath. "Her I.Q. results are one oh two," Paige said. "That's normal. Average. I know these things are somewhat dependent on age, but...Walter, she's not a genius."
Walter nodded slowly.
"Are you okay?"
"Paige, my sister had Multiple Sclerosis. Being told my daughter is normal is not horrifying."
Paige nodded. "Yeah, just...when she gets older..."
"She might be more difficult for me to understand than if she was a genius," Walter admitted. "But I think we're doing okay, as of now."
Paige and Walter both turned to look at the door as they heard the lock turning and muffled talking. Then the door swung open. "We're home!" Ralph announced, marching into the condo with his little sister on his hip.
Her eyes brightened when she saw Walter, and she began to squirm in Ralph's arms. "Daddy!"
"Come here, you," Walter said, patting his knees. Ralph put Katie down, and the girl ran across the room and around the couch, jumping up into his lap. "Did you have a good day?"
"I took a test," Katie said. "Just like Ralph. I'm ready for college!"
"Maybe not quite college," Ralph said, setting down Katie's Moana backpack. "But definitely school."
"Was the test difficult?" Walter asked.
"Yes." Katie nodded. "I'm not smart like Daddy. Maybe when I'm big."
Walter gave a tight smile. "Yeah, maybe."
Paige bit her lip. Maybe Walter didn't care that their daughter was normal. But Katie adored him. She wanted to be just like him.
"Or maybe I be a lay son like Mommy."
"Liaison," Walter said. "Maybe you will be. We'll find out what your special talent is and then make sure you have all the tools to succeed."
"From Aunt Happy?"
Paige chuckled. "These tools aren't the kind you are thinking about that you could get from Aunt Happy, baby."
"Aunt Happy has all the tools."
"These are mental tools," Walter said. "Brain tools." Katie pressed the tips of her index fingers on either side of her father's head and made a drilling sound. "Hey!" He said, shaking his head. Katie giggled. Paige smiled.
A buzzing noise came from her purse, and Ralph peered inside. "Uh, Mom, it's Drew."
"Give it to me." Paige took the phone from her son. Drew and his wife had a daughter just three weeks younger than Katie, and although they were calling less and less now that the girls were getting older, Paige still found herself acting as their personal Dear Abby for raising kids. She wondered what they could possibly want advice on now. She stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Drew?"
"Hey, Paige. How's the fam?"
"We're good. We're good. Is everything okay with Delanie?"
"Oh yes. She's actually why I'm calling, actually."
Paige ran through that sentence a couple times in her head. "Oh?" Was all she could manage in response.
"Yeah, we uh, we started thinking, you know, Ralph's...Ralph's what, the third smartest person to ever exist?"
"Fourth," Paige said. "A girl in India just rocketed all the way up to number two."
"Cool, cool, whatever, but listen, we decided to take Delanie and get her tested, you know, just out of curiosity, no expectations, no pressure, and you know what? One seventy four. I know it's age adjusted and all, but still."
"Wow Drew. You feeling equipped to do this this time around?" Her tone was light hearted, but she couldn't resist throwing in a slight reminder of how he'd treated his first child.
"We're looking into some sort of mediator thing that will help us understand each other as she grows older."
"Good."
"Well listen, we have to get dinner started, it's after five here. But, talk to you soon?"
"Yeah, sure."
Paige hung up the phone, turning back toward the living room. Walter, Ralph, and Katie looked back at her, their expressions displaying mild curiosity. Paige set the phone on the counter and shook her head. "You are not going to believe this."