Disclamer: I don't own Scorpion or its characters.
Walter reluctantly opened his eyes. After spending one month in this awful hospital room, he will be finally returning to his home and his life, a life that he almost threw away because of emotions and dreams that were not for a person like him. Walter O'Brien 2.0 is ready to leave all silliness behind and get his do-over.
~~~One month before~~~
On the first morning he woke up in the hospital, after the morphine had worn off, he could see things clearly. Emotions are dangerous and they can get you killed. Although he would admit that he has a deep admiration and respect for his teammates and he cares for their wellbeing and their safety, this will be as far as he will go from now in terms if EQ. He will never allow himself to be this reckless and stupid again on accounts of unspoken "love" declarations and unrequited feelings towards Paige.
Sure, he was happy that his whole team will be together. He realized that Paige really had a great effect on them, making them cooperate much more efficiently not only with other people but between themselves as well. All the "social experiments" that they have tried up until now have worked. Going outside and having some fun, having meals together and talking about their opinions, all of these things that seemed so trivial before have proven to be beneficial for their working relationship. But, as far as other "social experiments" go, such as flirting lessons, dance lessons and so on, they will have to stop. He will not allow himself to live in a fantasy world where the geek gets the cheerleader just through his sheer intelligence and wits. "I will keep it strictly professional from now on. For the sake of the team and for my own sanity" he vowed to himself silently.
He knew that Paige was sleeping in the chair right next to his bed. He took a moment to take the sight in and look at her beautiful frame. He felt a familiar ache, something that he experienced when he saw her at the top of the cliff. He could have died if she hadn't shown up at that moment. Only because he was a stubborn idiot with romantic fantasies. What would have changed if he told her how he felt and then died? How is that efficient and sane? Efficient would have been to stop whining and find better solutions to get himself out of that mess so that he could continue to help others. They, Scorpion, had a really good thing going. A-class high stakes cases and a lot of people in need of help. So why was he so eager to throw it all away just because Paige was not there? This had to stop.
Paige started stirring in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze immediately sought Walter and was welcomed with an icy stare. "What the hell is up with him?" she though.
"Good morning, Walter. How are you feeling?" she asked and gave him a small smile, while reaching and touching his hand. Walter froze at her touch, which did not go unnoticed by the woman. She frowned and reluctantly withdrew her hand from his.
"As well as you could expect" he responded with his "robot" voice as Paige liked to call it jokingly when they first began their collaboration. He told himself that she only touched his hand because that is how Paige communicates with others and emphasizes her ideas. He wasn't been the only one to receive these touches, so they don't matter as much as he initially thought they did. Sylvester had been comforted by her with the exact same touch when he was lying in a hospital bed three months ago. Thus, his standpoint is correct.
"Do you remember anything from yesterday? From last night as a matter of fact?" Paige was wondering if his attitude was a response to her kiss the other night. "Maybe he heard what I said and felt the kiss on his lips. Maybe he wasn't out cold and he knows", Paige started to reel and blushed.
"I remember everything from yesterday when I was in the car. But besides seeing all the team in my room in a daze and feeling weird and giddy, that's about it"
"Well, you were also very glad to hear that I will not be leaving for Portland anymore", she said with a grin, "I changed my mind. Scorpion is my family and I think that with some very strict guidelines for Ralph, we can really make it work without him feeling excluded. Only if it's ok with you…you are our boss after all" she added shyly, eager to hear his response. Maybe this will be the moment when he opens up to her and finally tells her what she has been waiting for months to hear.
"Of course you are welcome to stay in our team, Paige. You raised our efficiency levels by 47% in the months since you started working with us. I agree that I should have a sit-down with Ralph and explain to him that the field is no place for a child. We will further discuss our terms when I will recuperate and we will resume our activities", he responded flatly.
Paige was taken aback by his coldness and official manner of speaking. She didn't expect a scene from the Notebook, but at least a smile, or a touch or something, anything. After yesterday's events, she felt as if today was the day when she would finally get a confirmation of Walter's feelings towards her so that they could take another step forward in their relationship.
"O-okay…I will go grab a coffee. Do you need anything?" Paige said as she tried to force a smile on her face although she felt disappointed and a bit frustrated.
"Could you please call a nurse? The pain medication is wearing off" Walter lied, thinking that if the nurse came at the same time Paige returned with her coffee, they will no longer be alone in the room and she will give him another dose of morphine which will put him back to sleep, avoiding any other further dangerous topics of discussion.
"Yeah. Sure" Paige sighed and got up from the chair and out of the room in search of a nurse.
Walter looked at her while she exited the room and exhaled a breath that he seemed to have been holding since she opened up her eyes. If he was so adamant about his decision then why is it so hard? Why does he feel the need to touch her face and hear her voice? Why does her absence bother him so much now that she left? "This is pointless. I am the master of my mind. I have to stop right now", and so he did by thinking of difficult equations until the nurse came into the room.
"Good morning, Ms. O'Brien", the nurse greeted him with a warm smile. "I heard that the medication is wearing off and we can't have that now, can we?" She injected his IV with another dose of morphine and silently left the room. By the time Paige came back with her coffee, annoyed by the long line in the cafeteria, Walter was already sleeping soundly.
"What the hell is going on?" she thought and grabbed her bag to go search for the others who were in the waiting area.
*This is my first fanfic, so please be gentile :)
