Author's Note: So I was listening to Nathan Sykes' song "Over and Over Again" (feat. Ariana Grande) and watching the song's music video when inspiration struck. I could picture Happy and Toby in the song lyrics. I have seen other writers pen stories based on song lyrics, so I thought I would give it a shot. I do not own this song, the show's characters, or the supplementary quotes. This is the first piece of several installments in which I will write a bit about Happy or Toby based upon the song's lyrics. Hopefully I'll be able to get the second set up in the next few days. Please pardon any grammar errors; I will be editing those in the next couple of days when I have more time. You are welcome to read and either PM me or leave a review with your thoughts about this. Happy reading! Bonne nuit à toi!
From the way you smile
To the way you look
You capture me
Unlike no other
From the first hello
Yeah, that's all it took
And certainly
We had each other
Happy could remember the first time she met the Doc. She's been working on some project for her latest motorcycle restoration. She'd had her earbuds in, Linkin Park on full blast, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Whipping her blowtorch mask off, ticked that she'd been disturbed, she was ready to let go a string of expletives when she realized it was Sly who'd gotten her attention. He pointed to Scorpion's newest member, a genius psychiatrist by the name of Tobias M. Curtis. Instead of going to introduce herself, she stood there, taking in this man called Toby: his tall, lanky frame; his dark brown jacket and boots; and the casual way he stood while talking to Walt and Sly, a khaki messenger bag slung across his body. But, the two features that really captured the mechanic's attention were the hat and his smile.
Toby's hat, reminiscent of a style from days gone by, was perched atop his head. It gave him an air of intelligence mixed with a bit of self-assertiveness. But, what really drew Happy to the genius doctor was his smile. It was one of humor, of self-deprecation, of finding fun in every situation. Behind that smile lay hidden an introspective intelligence; painful childhood memories; moments of fun and awkwardness; laughter, tears, and pain. His smile was unlike anything Happy'd ever seen. It captivated her so that it took her a moment to realize that Toby had caught her staring. Walt and Sly had gone back to their separate corners; Happy was grateful neither person (nor a thankfully-absent-for-the-day Collins) witnessed her apparent interest in the newest team member. Toby raised his eyebrows, a smirk replacing his easygoing smile, as if to say, "You see something you like?" To cover for her embarrassment, Happy shot him an icy, death glare in response before slamming her blowtorch helmet back over her face. Toby moved onto other things after a moment, but Happy went through the motions of her work. Her thoughts were still stuck on her newest colleague – his curly hair, his cocky self-confidence, his easygoing smile. She had an inkling he would become someone important to her, to the team, but she never realized how far she would go and how hard she would fall in the end for this genius from New York State.
And I won't leave you
Always be true
One plus one, two for life
Over and over again
"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake... they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you." ~Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
From the heat of night
To the break of day
I'll keep you safe
And hold you forever
And the sparks will fly
They will never fade
'Cause every day just gets better and better
Toby couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he started falling for Happy Quinn, the mechanical prodigy, but he could remember a distinct moment when he knew he felt something for her. Happy rarely showed emotion, but when she did, it revealed parts of her soul that she had kept buried and hidden for years, for one reason or another. This particular day, about a year after Mark Collins' departure from the team, a private company had hired Scorpion to assist in the location of a missing set of siblings.
These children – a boy and two girls, ages two, six, and seven – had been kidnapped in the middle of the night from their foster home. The foster parents, desperate to locate their little ones, had hired this company and Scorpion to help. The fear was the children had been kidnapped by their deranged birth father, a monster who had broken out of prison where he was serving a life-sentence for the murder of their mother and baby brother. Though Scorpion and the other individuals involved did their best, in the end, it wasn't enough. The precious children had been found beaten to death, their mutilated bodies thrown into a shallow canyon north of Los Angeles. Their father had been captured not far from the crime scene. He did not seem remorseful in the slightest; in fact, he seemed thrilled with the horrendous acts he had committed, believing them to be some sort of sick challenge he had confronted and won.
After Scorpion wrapped up things on their end and returned to the garage, Happy retreated to the garage rooftop. Walt drove Sly home, but Toby stayed around for a bit. He'd planned to go to a casino near his apartment, release his frustration and anger in a late-night round at the card table. However, something compelled him to go up and check on Happy. What he saw left him speechless. The petite mechanic was curled up on a bench in the rooftop's corner, her knees drawn in tightly to her chest. Her head was tucked in between her chest and knees, and Toby swore that – over the sound of late night L.A. traffic on this humid August night – he could hear sniffling. From what Toby knew, Happy had had a rough time in foster care. But though they were best friends, Happy did not open up to the psychiatrist often. At the moment, all Toby wanted to go to Happy, wrap her up in a hug, and just hold her while she cried. This protective instinct he felt toward the mechanic, Toby realized, was neither surprising nor unexpected. He deliberated for a moment and decided it was best to let her cry through it, giving her the space he thought she needed. However, as he turned to leave, Happy looked up. He expected a violent reaction, angry accusations of him invading her space and to leave her alone. However, she never said a word; the haunting, sorrowful look on her face and the glossy sheen of tears in her eyes drew him to her. Toby sat down and opened his arms to her. She fell into his embrace, her silent tears leaving a dark stain on his grey tee. He held her close to his heart as she cried; he was afraid she could feel his heart beating faster the longer she was in his arms.
After a time, her breathing slowed, and Happy fell into an exhausted sleep. All the while, Toby held her, never letting her go. He knew that she was his best friend, and he was hers. Yes, he had his fiancée Amy, but something about his relationship with Happy was different. Even though he was a brilliant psychiatrist, he didn't know how to deal with this flurry of emotions he was feeling. But one thing he was sure of, the emotions he felt, the thoughts running through his brain as he held Happy, were ones he would never forget. In the midst of his pain and anguish, that memory only grew stronger…and so did the clarity of his feelings for his best friend.
And I won't leave you
Always be true
One plus one, two for life
Over and over again
"I actually fell for you before I even realized I did." ~Unknown