MARRIED BY MISTAKE
AN: I haven't written anything in a couple of weeks. Christmas was more than a little nuts at my house. This is my feeble attempt to jump back in. Tell me if you want to know more. Reviews are the way you'll let me know you're interested.
Walter O'Brien always liked to plan for every eventuality. At times his plans had to be made on the fly, but even in an emergency, he could typically come up with something feasible and predict the outcome with a reasonable amount of accuracy.
However, sometimes life sneaks up on a person and pounces. Even an exceptionally smart person.
This was one of those times.
He never saw it coming. How on Earth was he going to explain this to Paige?
The genius stood frozen, staring at his phone, hoping Sylvester would call back and say it was all some stupid practical joke. When his cell didn't oblige, he jammed it in his pocket and ran agitated fingers through his hair mentally rehearsing possible delivery methods. Something told him stating bald facts would not be received well in this case.
OXOXOXOXOXO
Paige slouched on an uncomfortable vinyl bench in the tiny waiting area of the so called 'airport' on a wretched, isolated private island somewhere off the coast of Turks and Caicos. She'd had enough of being stuck on islands for three lifetimes. She aimed a resentful glare at the sluggish ceiling fan which barely stirred the sticky air as it creaked and wobbled with each slow rotation.
The whole mission had sucked from start to miserable finish. All she wanted to do was get home, hug her son, and face plant on her bed for a day or ten. She was sleep-deprived, sunburned and sickened by the things they'd encountered over the last few days.
Team Scorpion took the job based on the recommendation of a friend of a friend who heard about the way they'd rescued Richard Elia's daughter from a drug cartel in Mexico. The clients were frantic and willing to pay any amount to get their sixteen year old daughter back from the clutches of the cult that lured her and her eighteen year old boyfriend away from the safety of home. The creepy and charismatic leaders convinced the both of them to cash out their college funds and run off together to this pimple on the backside of the Caribbean.
The parents' fear had resonated strongly in Paige and she was full of sympathy for their predicament. It was harder still to think about the consequences those kids would be returning to face. Likely they'd both need months of counseling and deconditioning and the boy was going to need a good lawyer. Perhaps Sylvester could be talked into taking the case.
Although the team had successfully infiltrated the compound and covertly recovered the kids, it was unfortunate Scorpion wasn't able to uncover any blatant illegalities the cult itself committed. In short, it meant they had to leave the organization in tact to prey on other vulnerable people. That fact frustrated Paige the most.
What in the hell was keeping Walter? He was supposed to be pulling strings trying to find them a ride home.
This horrible slice of Hades boasted only one small commercial flight per week. She and Walter had to stay behind because the plane had a limited number of seats. Kylie was the clients' daughter and she obviously had to go first. Toby was tasked with keeping the frightened girl sedated and calm.
Kylie's boyfriend Brady, and Cabe, who had him under arrest on kidnapping charges, both claimed spaces too. Arresting the boy was the only way to extricate him from the cult since he was considered a legal adult. The Homeland agent wasn't about to let another prisoner out of his sight and Paige certainly didn't blame him after what he went through with Mark Collins.
Finally, it was medically necessary for Happy to get the single remaining seat. She was pregnant and dehydrated, unable to keep anything down. She was in need of an IV infusion of fluids and electrolytes not to mention peace and quiet to rest.
While Paige understood and heartily agreed with the reasons the others had to go first, she was desperate to get home to good old LA, the bumper to bumper traffic, the smog, the fires and all. The thought of waiting another week was pure agony.
'Uh, oh,' she thought as she spied Walter walking through the doorway with a nervous expression on his face, 'That look can't mean anything good.'
Keeping her irritation to herself, Paige tried to smile at him reassuringly when she said, "I'm guessing you didn't have any luck?"
The seat huffed an annoyed sigh in her stead as her boyfriend plopped down on the bench beside her. He shook his head. "Uh, no. I was successful in finding us a way home. We leave tonight."
"Best. Boyfriend. Ever!" Paige exclaimed. She was overcome with appreciation for his efforts so she grabbed him by the ears and planted a firm kiss right on his mouth expressing her sheer gratitude.
Walter grinned sheepishly back at her when she drew away and she whooped softly in relief. "Well, that's the only good news. The flight isn't exactly first class," he said.
"At this point, I don't care if we have to swim part of the way," she answered.
He chuckled, and squeezed her hand. "I don't think that will be necessary."
"What exactly are the arrangements?"
He threaded his fingers through hers and scooted closer, "Um, do you remember Jim Corbin?"
Paige narrowed her eyes in concentration for a moment trying to dredge up the memory, then she nodded and said, "Was he the lieutenant who came with us on that mission in Bosnia? The one where we rescued a pilot?"
"Yes. That's him. He has a military buddy who's coming back from a supply run to Puerto Rico. It's not far out of her way to swing by here and pick us up on the way back."
"Wow, that was a minute ago. What made you think of him?" Paige asked, sincerely confused.
"You said you wanted to get home by any means necessary. I took you at your word and thought back to every contact we've made who wouldn't mind doing us a favor." Walter shrugged.
She pressed her cheek to his shoulder. "Well, I'm suitably impressed. You really did pull out all the stops."
"The plane should arrive in the next couple of hours barring complications or unforeseen circumstances."
"Bite your tongue. I'm hoping for something to go smoothly on this trip. I want to get as far away from that disgusting cult and its disturbing compound as I can as soon as possible. And I never want to think about this mission again. I just want to put this whole experience behind me."
Paige felt Walter go momentarily tense beside her. He fell immediately silent and shifted uneasily in his seat. When she looked up into his face, he wouldn't meet her eyes.
'Great. Just great,' was her thought, but she didn't say it aloud. Instead, she asked, "Walter? What is it? What aren't you telling me?"
It was then the stammering started. "Um,…N-nothing. Nothing to, uh, worry about. A minor detail. Th-that's all. Easily remedied. If-if you want. It-it's fine. All good."
Paige gritted her teeth to keep from sniping at him. Whatever the 'minor detail' was, it wasn't his fault. Probably. Okay, maybe.
She took a deep breath and made herself say as calmly as possible, "Let me guess. One of us has to stay behind? Or we have to parachute out over the garage? We have to ride strapped to the wings? Just spit out the bad news already. And make it quick so I can scream internally and get it over with."
"It has nothing to do with our method of transport at all."
The tenuous hold Paige had on her patience snapped. "What then?! What mess have we gotten ourselves into now, Walter?"
"We're married, okay?" He blurted, cringing as if waiting for her to strike.
She bit her lip, but it was no use. She started giggling while he looked at her like she had lost all sense.
When he didn't join in the laughter or even crack a smile, she quickly sobered and asked, "Are you serious? Did I miss something? I'm pretty sure I would have remembered marrying you. Unless those fruitcake shysters drugged me or brainwashed… Wait. What day is this? Am I missing time…?"
