Title: Internal Combustion

Summary: Sequel to What A Long, Strange Trip. If you haven't read that, you might want to go there first. After returning from Tahoe, Walter and Paige try to adjust to the new normal now that they are a couple.

Author's Note: This will be mostly Walter & Paige, but will deal with Toby and Happy as well and pretty much involve the entire team. It will probably be several chapters, but I may not update as frequently as I did with my other recent stories. Real Life is getting really hectic, so please be patient with me.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own /scorpion. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit and no infringement of copyrights is intended.

Chapter 1

It is not time for mirth and laughter, the cold, gray dawn of the morning after. ~George Ade

Paige slowly tip-toed down the stairs from the loft. It wasn't terribly early, but Walter was still sleeping. Although he assured her he was feeling much better, with little or no pain in his abused nose, she still wanted him to get as much sleep as possible. As soon as he woke up he would probably insist on catching up on the work he missed by two days spent chasing her to Tahoe. Walter may have finally admitted to loving her, but he was still Walter. Workaholic didn't begin to describe it.

"Well, well, Ms. Dineen! You certainly look fetching in that lacy little baby-doll number. I take it Mr. 197 successfully located you in time to avert any naughty-naughty with our favorite Navy Seal hunk?"

Paige nearly stumbled and grabbed the railing just in time to prevent tumbling down the remaining steps.

"Toby!" she hissed in an indignant whisper. "What the hell are you doing here and for God's sake, keep your voice down. Walter's still sleeping!"

"Oh-ho! Wore him out, did you?"

"Toby I swear if you don't keep quiet I'll…I'll…I don't know what I'll do, but trust me, you won't like me when I do it!"

She got to the bottom of the stairs and walked straight towards Toby, planted both hands on his chest and pushed him backwards into the office area from which she hoped their voices were less likely to carry upstairs. She recalled the comm system and quickly ran to her desk and flipped the switches to ensure the system was off. She turned around and marched back to where Toby was standing, arms folded and smirking.

"Seriously, Paige, you do look lovely in that. The bright red really sets off your complexion."

Paige looked down, suddenly realizing that she was wearing nothing but the practically see-through nightgown that was the first thing she grabbed out of her suitcase the night before. She had insisted Walter take one of his pain pills before bed and by the time she opened her suitcase, he was already snoring. She hadn't wanted to disturb him by turning on a bright light to find something more suitable. She wasn't sure why she even packed the flimsy thing. She'd had no intention of sleeping in it in the same room with Tim. She supposed that some part of her wanted to believe that she would somehow fall in love with the handsome agent – who was an incredibly nice guy, after all. But in the end he was not, and never would be Walter O'Brien. And he would never see Paige Dineen in a sexy negligee.

"It's even lovelier setting off that becoming blush. If I wasn't totally in love with Happy I'd be giving Walter a run for his money."

"Sssshhhh! Toby, I really don't need your needling right now. I haven't had any coffee yet and I just came down so I could make some in the kitchen down here and avoid making any noise that might wake Walter. I want him to get as much sleep as possible. He needs it to heal properly."

"Heal? Heal! My gosh, Paige, what did you do to the poor man?"

Paige sighed and gave Toby her best angry mom look, then whirled again and made her way to the kitchen area.

"All right, all right!" Toby conceded, walking up behind her and getting the coffee can down from the shelf. "I'll keep my comments PG rated, although I'm hoping Walter doesn't suffer too badly from that old 'don't kiss and tell' ethic. With my own love life in a state of implosion, I may need to live vicariously for a while." He got out a filter and began filling the basket while Paige rinsed out the pot and filled it with water. In a more subdued and serious tone, he continued. "Seriously, Paige, I am the de-facto doctor for this team. I should know whatever it is that Walter needs to heal from."

"His nose was almost broken. The swelling's gone down and last night he said it doesn't hurt anymore, but the doctor in Lake Tahoe said he should see his own doctor in the next day or two just to confirm there's no break. He said he didn't think it was broken, but you can't really tell until the swelling subsides."

"Oh, please don't tell me Mr. Speed Demon wrecked the company car!" Toby wailed.

Paige set the pot full of water down, worried that she might drop it. She was shaking. "No! Is that all you care about, Toby, the car?"

Toby dropped his voice down to the soothing register he used when dealing with distraught patients… or team members. "No, Paige. Of course not. My main concern is Walter, and of course, you. Obviously something happened in Tahoe, but since you began with the injury to his nose, and Walter apparently didn't spend the night in a hospital, his condition isn't likely to be too serious. You, however, appear to be a bit on edge. I'm sorry if anything I said contributed to that."

Paige took a breath and picked the pot back up, carefully pouring the water into the machine's reservoir. "It's okay. You were being… Toby. It's just that I haven't slept much at all the last two nights and I drove us home yesterday." She set the pot on the heating element, then pressed her fist into the counter while she leaned against it, turning slightly to face the man. "I think I woke every time Walter moved. Between worrying that he might need something and I'm just not used to sleeping with another person in the bed, I'm not at my best right now."

"Aha! So you did sleep with our fearless leader!" Toby chided, but he smiled and rubbed her arm soothingly. Paige realized he was just trying to make her feel better by making the conversation more "normal". She had to admit that it would worry her if Toby didn't tease her, especially when she realized she had just admitted to having spent the night in Walter's bed.

Toby fitted the filter basket into its compartment and turned the machine on. Paige quickly grabbed the cinnamon, pulled the basket back out and sprinkled a generous amount into the coffee. Toby grimaced and sighed.

"So while we wait for the coffee to brew, why don't you come over here and sit down and tell Uncle Toby everything that happened – or at least the G-rated version." He guided her towards the couch, where he grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "There, that's better," he commented as she hugged the blanket around herself and sat down. "I wouldn't want Mr. Love Machine to come downstairs and find me alone with his girl dressed in nothing but a… well almost nothing. I might find myself with a broken nose."

Paige's turned suddenly to look at him, her eyes widening as he sat down beside her. "I thought you had no idea what happened?" she asked.

"I don't," Toby replied. "What are you talking about? Did Walter get into a fight?"

"No, it wasn't a fight. It didn't last long enough to be a fight. Tim decked him."

Suddenly Toby was laughing uproariously. "Oh….My…God!" he exclaimed. "So Tim didn't care too much for Walter welching on his gift?"

"It wasn't that," Paige began.

"Do you two think you could talk a little louder? I'm not sure they can hear you across the street!"

The voice coming from behind them startled them and Paige jumped off the couch and nearly dropped her blanket.

Walter wandered over to stand in front of them. He raked a hand through his unruly curls as he looked down at his friend, then over at his girlfriend, who seemed to be wearing little more than a blanket.

May 30, 2016