WriterFreak001:

I've been suuuuper busy with my job so I haven't had time to sit down and update "Kill Switch" or "Poaching." I am really, really exhausted so I'm just going to post this short one-shot instead and then update "Kill Switch" and "Poaching" sometime this week. I know you've been waiting very patiently for the next installments, but I've just been mentally drained this past week from work, and it's not even the HOLIDAY season yet!

Anyway, here's my one shot. :)

Title | I'll Be Here

Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)

Description | WAIGE Post-2x08 "Area 51"

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated M (just to be safe).

POV | Limited Third Person

Disclaimer | While CBS owns Scorpion, I am the owner of this masterpiece.

Claimer | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something should be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

I'll Be Here

Written by WriterFreak001

One-Shot

~ SCORPION ~

Walter couldn't believe it! He absolutely, wholeheartedly couldn't believe that everyone – every single one of his friends – was giving up on his sister. Megan needed to live. She had to! Walter could save her! Walter could save her, and everything will be all right again. He'll download the contents of her brain into a hard drive and safely implant it into a new vessel. It was going to work. It had to work. He just… he just needed more time. And money. And… and…

He kicked the dumpster next to the garage as hard as he could and let out a scream of frustration. He kicked it again! And again! And again!

Why? Why did Megan give up so easily? Why did she not want to live anymore? Did she not have faith in him? Did she not trust him to make her better? To save her? To harvest her memories and give her a new body? He could make her better! BETTER! One day, she'd be able to walk again and do all of the things she hadn't been able to do since she was diagnosed. She could be everything she had ever wanted to be! The possibilities were endless!

Walter could save her!

He could save her!

He really could!

But… what was the point if she didn't have faith in him anymore? What was the point in even trying if all she was ever going to do was give up? What was it? WHAT WAS IT?!

Walter needed to break something. He needed to break something. He needed to break something! Anything! Anything he could hold between his hands and smash it as hard as he could against the wall. Against the ground. Against whatever would make it explode into a thousand little pieces in front of him. He hated feeling powerless. He hated being handcuffed as his sister was dying. He promised he would save her, but he had barely scratched a dent into his research, and unless, by some miracle, he could find a way to save her, there was nothing he could do.

He had to face the facts.

Saving Megan was hopeless. Saving Megan was nothing more than a childish dream he concocted because he couldn't fathom losing his best friend... His confidante… His sister…. What was he ever thinking?

Walter let out a shaky breath as he quickly wiped away his tears.

Megan was dying….

…and there was nothing he could do to save her.

~ SCORPION ~

Paige hated the way Walter stormed out of the loft. She wasn't trying to upset him or make him feel powerless or inferior; she just… she just didn't think it was healthy for Walter to negate the emotional impact his sister's condition was having on him. Though facts were useful, he needed to face his emotions now before she… before she….

Oh God. Paige couldn't help her tears as they streamed down her face. She felt so sorry for Walter… and for Megan… and for Sylvester. Why did life have to be so cruel? What did Megan do to deserve so much pain and suffering, and why did Walter deserve to lose his sister? Or Sylvester, the love of his life?

It wasn't fair!

It just wasn't fair!

Paige covered her mouth with both palms to muffle her loud sobs as they filled the loft. She understood why Walter would rather use facts to explain his sister's worsening condition, and she understood his desperate desire to save her, but if somebody didn't prepare him… if he didn't prepare himself… Paige feared no one would be able to bring Walter out of his pain and his sorrow and his guilt.

He needed to grieve, and facts… facts… weren't going to help him…. They just weren't. They might provide some… comfort, but… then what? They wouldn't help him cope. They wouldn't help him understand Megan's condition through her eyes or from her heart. Facts would only keep him away from fully moving forward and accepting his sister's…

Paige needed to be there for him…. She had to help him. She had to prepare him and be there for him in every way. He was going to need her. He might not realize it nor want it, but Walter needed her. He really needed her.

Perhaps now more than ever.

~ SCORPION ~

Walter eventually collected himself and slowly made his way to the loft. He didn't want to work on his rocket. He didn't want to work on the hard drive he uncovered today. He didn't want to do anything.

He was giving up.

He was done. Just done with everything. Every single damn thing.

After he had quietly slipped into his apartment, he stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw Paige, sitting at the table with her face buried in her arms. But what was she still doing here? Why was she here? To hurt him even more? To smack him in the face with her words again? Or, was she just here because she accidentally fell asleep?

Without a word, he found it within him to walk past her. He didn't know why she hadn't left for home yet, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He would just pretend she wasn't there. That would be the easiest thing to do.

And yet, despite himself wanting to avoid her, he still cared for her. He still felt very protective of her. He still… loved her. He had to make sure she wouldn't get sick or wasn't uncomfortable. He slowly approached her, careful not to wake her, and found her slightly shivering. Instinctively, Walter reached for a throw blanket and slowly draped it over her shoulders. Noting that she seemed somewhat comfortable sleeping with her head tucked into her arms, he started for his bedroom.

"W-Walter?"

The genius stopped walking and slowly turned to meet Paige's red, puffy eyes. He frowned. Was she… crying?

"Is that you?"

"…Yeah." Though every cell in his body screamed at him to bolt into his room and not encourage whatever impending conversation awaited them, he didn't move. He wanted to, but he didn't.

Eventually, Paige pushed her hair back and bit her lip perceptibly. "About what I said earlier," she looked away from him, "I'm sorry." She waited for Walter to say something – anything – but he stayed silent. "It was… inconsiderate, and I shouldn't have ambushed you like that."

Walter shoved his hands into his pockets and took a step towards her as he stared at the floor. "You were crying."

Paige found his swelling, red eyes and slowly nodded. "So were you."

Walter didn't deny it.

Paige's voice quivered as her heart jumped into her throat. "H-How's Megan?" He didn't answer so she didn't press him further. Instead, she asked, "How's your r-research coming?"

He didn't answer that one either.

"I, uh," she really had nothing else to say, "I should, um, I should get going." She scrambled out of her chair and avoided Walter's gaze as she started for the door. Out of nowhere, warm fingers grabbed hold of her wrist, forcing her to stop walking. As much as she wanted to turn around, she didn't move. She didn't want him to see the tears now falling down her cheeks.

Walter, through his desperation, was grateful she didn't turn around. He didn't think he'd be able to muster up the courage to speak if she saw how defeated he felt. He knew he needed her, but… he didn't know how he needed her. He just… he just needed Paige; he didn't have an explanation. There were no words to describe how he felt… how he would feel, and that… that scared him.

"Megan's... Megan is dying." Walter spoke softly, and the way his voice cracked broke Paige's heart. "Sh-she's dying…, and she doesn't think I c-can save her in time. She's given up. E-Everybody's given up."

Paige slowly faced him and impulsively cupped his cheeks, allowing him to see her tear-stained face as she softly wiped away his tears with her thumbs. "Don't say that, Walter. Megan has always believed in you."

He pulled her hands away from his face and backed away from her, shaking his head violently. "She doesn't want to fight it anymore. She doesn't want me to save her…." He raked his hands through his hair and fell to the floor. "She wants to leave me, Paige! Like everybody, she wants to leave!"

Paige quickly wiped more of her tears away as she quietly approached him and dropped to her knees before taking his hands in hers. "Walter," Paige curled her fingers around his and squeezed his hands as though latching onto him would keep him from further distancing himself from her. From his emotions. From everything. "She doesn't want to leave you, Walter."

Walter, unaware of how close Paige was to him, stared into her watery eyes, desperate to understand what she was trying to say. "Then w-why would she give up? W-Why would she give up fighting?"

Paige opened her mouth to answer, but she really had no idea. She could tell Walter that Megan was tired of fighting..., but would that answer satisfy Walter? Would he be able to accept his sister's declining condition if he understood how physically, mentally and possibly emotionally drained Megan must feel? "I… I don't know." Before Walter could try to push away from her out of defeat and disappointment, Paige acted quickly and cupped his face again. "What I do know is that Megan loves you, Walter. She loves you and would never willingly leave you." She paused and carefully thought out her next train of thought, not wanting to send him storming out of the loft again. "I know you're scared, Walter. I know you want your sister to live, and believe me, we all do. We all want Megan to be perfectly healthy and live a full life, but… despite what we all want… despite what you desperately need, you're factoring out your sister's feelings…, and… and until you realize what Megan wants, you'll never be able to move forward."

She closed her eyes and touched her forehead to his. "I know you want to save her, Walter. We all do. But… But maybe," her eyes fluttered open and found him staring up at her in hopelessness and defeat, "Maybe," her voice cracked as she gently rubbed her thumbs underneath his eyes and forced a sad smile, "Maybe what Megan needs is for you to be her brother… and not her doctor." She lightly pressed her lips to his forehead before kissing his wet cheek and then his nose. "Okay?"

Walter looked anywhere but Paige's eyes as he processed her words. He thought he knew what Megan wanted; he thought she wanted to live and be healthy. Was it wrong for him, as her brother, to want her to have all of that? Was it wrong for him to want to save her? To cure her? Wasn't it his duty to save her? To protect her? Wasn't it?

"But if I don't save her," Walter finally met Paige's eyes again, "then what damn good am I? What's the point of having an IQ of 197 if I can't find a way to cure her?"

"Maybe," Paige gently caressed his cheek, "Maybe you're not meant to save Megan. Maybe Megan's illness… her death… will be what ultimately drives you to eventually, one day, find a cure for MS. You save hundreds of lives every week, Walter. You are much more than just a man with an IQ of 197, and Megan knows that. The fact that you've spent years researching MS means the world to her, and even though… even if…," she quickly corrected herself, "even if Megan dies, her death shouldn't stop you from finding a cure. Whatever you do, Walter," she kissed his cheek, "don't give up on finding a cure for MS. For Megan, for your sister, don't give up."

He was silent for a moment, and then he pulled her hands from his face and laced his fingers with hers, "I can't lose her, Paige." His voice broke. "I can't lose her."

"I know," Paige blinked back her tears and brought his palm to her lips. "I know you can't, but you won't." Paige then gently placed their hands over his heart. "Because she'll always be here… within you and in your memories. So… even when… if… she goes, she'll always be a part of you, Walter." Paige forced another smile, "Always."

"I," he inhaled deeply as he quickly brushed his wet cheeks with his fingers, "I don't know how to be just a brother to her."

Paige gingerly kissed his fingertips. "Just be there for her. Spend time with her. Make her smile," She reluctantly grinned. "Make her laugh and… and reminisce together." It broke her heart to see Walter in so much emotional pain, and she wished she could help him, but she wasn't even sure she knew how.

Walter processed Paige's advice and nodded slowly as he rubbed his arm across his face to wipe away his tears. "I…," he paused and searched for comfort in Paige's misty eyes, "I don't know if I can do that alone." He felt so powerless and useless, and he hated it. "W-will you…," he let out a deep, shaky breath, "C-Can y-?"

"I'll be there, Walter." Paige pressed her fingers to his lips and reassured him with a small smile. "I promise, Walter, I'll be right there next to you."

"A-And now?"

Paige, taken back by the innocence in Walter's voice, closed her eyes, touched her nose to his and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere." Several seconds of silence passed between them before the young mother opened her eyes and gazed into Walter's deep brown irises. He glanced down at her lips as she bit them. She leaned in slightly but stopped short, unsure if kissing him was okay…. There was a time and a place for everything…, and she didn't th—

Walter – taking her completely by surprise – suddenly crashed his lips against hers and kissed her hard on the mouth. Overwhelmed by her emotions as much as he was, she threaded her fingers into his hair and kissed him passionately, allowing him to lean her backwards and pin her to the hard floor. He laced his fingers with hers and held them above Paige's head as he sloppily and senselessly kissed her. She wrapped her legs around him and moaned quietly into his mouth as he instinctively rocked himself against her, and before he knew what he was really doing, he pulled her into his arms, rose to his feet and carried her to his bedroom.

Paige, the moment after her back landed on the soft surface of Walter's bed, clutched the front of his shirt as she kissed him and slowly freed its buttons before gliding the material off of him. She then loosened the hem of his undershirt from his pants and pulled it up and over his head before dropping it to the floor.

Walter slid his hand underneath her shirt and lightly pressed his palm to her stomach, just needing to feel her soft, warm skin melting under his. Paige peeled off her white blouse and softly moaned as he feathered kisses along her collarbone. She then reached behind her and unhooked her bra before discarding it and bringing his hands to her breasts as he brought his lips back to hers and kissed her senselessly. She unbuckled his jeans and pushed them down to his ankles before she stripped out of her pants as well.

Paige's mind went swirling as Walter kneaded her breasts with his large, calloused hands. She hadn't been loved and touched like this in years, and as much as she wanted to be intimate with Walter... and… as much as she wanted him to continue touching her… and kissing her… and rocking against her as he massaged her hardened nipples, it didn't feel right. Walter was too emotional…; they were both too emotional…. Sex should be the last thing they should be doing.

As he started to peel down her panties, she tore her lips from his and covered her hand over his to stop him. "W-Wait," she entwined her fingers with his wandering hand and brought it to her lips. "We shouldn't be… we shouldn't be doing this."

Walter wasn't sure he understood Paige's sudden withdrawal. He thought… he thought she wanted this… didn't she want this?

Paige, seeing his confusion, cupped his face and kissed his forehead. "Hey," she grazed her fingernails along his cheeks and gazed into his questioning eyes. "It's okay…. I want this… I do, but," she bit her lip, "but we're not thinking properly…. We're both emotionally vulnerable, and I don't want either of us to rush into something we might not be ready for."

Walter reluctantly rolled off of her and stared at the ceiling, unsure how else to respond. Paige noticed his flash of disappointment and hovered slightly over him as she weaved her fingers through his curly hair. "Just because I don't think we should… you know…," she covered his heart with her left hand and weakly smiled, "it doesn't mean I don't want to be here… with you."

Walter glanced at her but didn't say anything.

She lowered her lips onto his and kissed him softly before she wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek against his chest. "You don't have to worry about anything tonight, Walter," Paige whispered as she tightened her embrace around him. "I promise," she kissed him again, "I'm not going anywhere."

Walter instinctively curled his arms around her bare back and pulled her impossibly closer to him. "Paige?"

"Hm?"

He lightly kissed the top of her head. "…Thank you."

Paige smiled. "You're welcome, Walter."

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

This story was increasingly difficult to write because of how depressing it is. Please let me know what you think.