Chapter one
She knew it was going to hurt. She knew even before she walked out of the garage, still reeling from the fight and that blond interloper unexpected revelation… She just didn't anticipate it hurting that much. On her way to the condo, she had to remind herself that it was for the best, that she was protecting everything she hold dear. That mantra kept her going through her daily routine until she found herself in bed… alone. That night, she cried herself to sleep, her nose buried in a pillow that smelled of him. That night and all the nights after that, she slept ill, waking up suddenly to check the empty space beside her, her heart breaking once more when she realized that this sweet dream where he was holding her hand and whispering one of those silly nicknames she secretly loved so much was just that, a dream.
The days weren't so bad. She could immerse herself in her work, determined to make Team Centipede a creditable company. She kept her geniuses in check, calming Sly's nervous breakdowns, Happy's bursts of anger and dodging the Doc "we need to talk" moments. She was good at handling geniuses, wasn't she? She negotiated contracts, met potential clients, went through all the paperwork needed to create this new business. They all badly needed the cash and she was a good manager. She was...efficient and good at connecting with people.
She dealt with her son's stormy moods with patience. He had, after all, every right to miss his father figure. She wished there was a way for Ralph to meet with Walter from times to times. The boy was getting more withdraw every day. He was spending most of his time on his computer, working on some project. He had helped with some of Centipede's cases that needed his hacking skills but his success had not seemed to cheer him up. She had a nagging feeling that those achievements felt hollow to him if he couldn't share them with his mentor. To be honest, she missed sharing her success with the older genius too.
When, a few weeks after "that night", she met him by chance at one of their prospective client office, she had to reminds herself that she was angry, that she hated the very sight of him to not run to him and beg him to stop that nonsense. Luckily, that brainy intruder was there too and her smug smile was enough to spark her ire all over again.
The garage was so empty at night it was almost unbearable. Once, he was perfectly happy to be on his own at the end of the day. But it was before her, before he had a family to share this space with him. Without them, the garage wasn't a home anymore, just a hollow shell where he was protected from the outside world. Before that night, a few weeks ago, when he had stood there, watching the woman he loved walking away from him, he would have scoffed at the idea of a "deafening silence". Now he knew that it could be. He missed the small sounds made by Paige cooking in their kitchen or Ralph typing at his computer. That silence was hurting him, killing him slowly. To keep the pain at bay, he had tried to revert back to his old "robot" persona, but the outcome hasn't been favorable. He just couldn't ignore his E.Q anymore.
He was looking discontentedly at a few pictures on his computer, pictures of his perfect little family, the one he missed so much, when a detail suddenly caught his eye. His favorite picture of Ralph had been renamed and was now called:09-22-14 d4 d5. He didn't have to think twice to understand: the day he met Ralph and their first moves on the improvised check board were very vivid memories. The genius had a small smile, the first one in many weeks. His boy had managed to hack into his computer, definitely not a small feat! The pride he felt at that accomplishment was overwhelming and for the first time since that terrible night, he was, for a few seconds, nearly happy. Doubt however quickly intruded. How was he to answer? Ralph was reaching out to him and he had to respond to it. He had to find a safe way to do it but it was inconceivable not to try his hardest. After more than half an hour reflection, he finally devised a plan which guaranteed safety and was really easy to implement. He opened the office suite on his computer and started typing a few lines, carefully worded: "Hello Buddy, I hope you're doing well. Things at the garage are not what they used to be but I'm managing. I learnt that you were successful in the last case you were on. I'm very impressed by your skills. How did you manage to get through those firewalls? I'm very proud of you but please take care and be safe. If anything were to happen to you..." He stopped there and left the file open on his screen before returning to the program he has been working on for the last week, a fairly basic task that should bring a few bucks. His mind wasn't in it anyway and he finally returned to his note wondering how he would know if he had been read. For a few minutes he stared at the screen until he noticed the name of the file. It wasn't called c4 Nc6 anymore. The name was now: IloveyoutooDad. Ralph was Paige Dineen's son indeed, capable of rocking your world or breaking your heart with five words.