Making Up Lost Time: One Shot
Paige whipped her head around; everything was happening so quickly. All she could see was flashing lights and people running around seeming to not know exactly where they were going.
She caught sight of Toby and made her way toward him. "Where is he? Where is Walter?" That had been the only thing on her mind. Toby knew how to handle situations like these and he calmly walked her over to the nearby ambulance. She saw Walter being wheeled away on a stretcher and she ran toward him; Toby sighed.
Paige was going so fast she practically ran into them. There were two men pushing him; they were big, stocky, and intimidating. She paid no attention to their physical attributes. The paramedics lifted Walter up into the ambulance and turned around to face Paige before she could step on.
"Are you family?" The one man held his hand in front of her and she tried to push around.
"No I'm not but-"
"Then you can't ride with him. I'm sorry you will just have to meet us there at the hospital. There isn't much room for you anyways."
Paige's eyes darkened and she took a step closer to the men.
"Listen to me. That man in there is alone; I promised him I would not leave him. I don't care if there is not enough room, I will fit into the smallest crevice if I have to. Now get out of my way and let me do my job."
The paramedic was taken aback by how straightforward she was. He groaned; he wasn't in the mood for arguing with civilians. They stepped out of her way and closed the doors behind them. They monitored Walter's IV but for the most part he was stable. Paige sat down next to him and gently took his hand. She shook her head and spoke softly so that no one could hear, "You crazy genius. I thought we agreed to stay away from hospitals?" She didn't notice Walter's eyes flutter. He had so much to say, but he was too weak to form words. He would have smiled if he could as he heard Paige's angelic voice sing to him. "Go to sleep my love, go to sleep, when you wake I'll be here." The next thing he saw when he woke up was the hospital walls.
Walter slowly opened his eyes. They weren't adjusted and so he squinted at the bright fluorescence lights. He saw Paige asleep in a chair next to him with her head resting on his arm.
"You think they would have a dimmer" he spoke hoarsely.
Even after being bitten by a lethal snake he was still his normal sarcastic self.
Paige shot up from where she was and laughed at Walter. She was ecstatic to see him acting lively.
"I'll put in a word to the nurse staff for you."
She pulled out her phone quickly and texted the team that he was awake. They had been in and out, but Paige had been the only one that never left. He could tell that she had been crying.
She took a moment just to look at him. Walter waited for her to say something. Anything. Her face suddenly grew angry and she hit his shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for, and jeez, since when are you so strong?" He held his arm close to him. That woman always confused him.
"What the hell Walter! Why on earth would you put yourself in such risk? I have been sitting here for hours just waiting for you to wake up. You can't do that to me. What was going though your mind?!"
He gulped and cautiously replied, "We didn't have time to test if it was the right snake otherwise. Trust me if there was another option I would have gladly taken it."
She sighed and rolled her eyes knowing that in his mind, that was the logical justification. "You, Walter O'Brien, will be the absolute death of me. At least try to be more careful next time?"
Walter knew that he had upset her in some way; his low EQ always got in his way. He tried to think of how Paige would handle this situation. He didn't think it was appropriate to ask Paige how to interact with Paige.
"Um, well I can tell that you're upset," he paused and looked up for some signal that he was on the right track. Paige nodded and he continued, "So how about I make it up to you?"
"And what would you happen to have in mind?"
"Well it may not be February 14th anymore, but it is simple enough to hack into the restaurant's website and get those reservations I promised."
She squeezed his hand in agreement and smiled. "It's a date; and no backing out this time," she teased.
He grinned back at her but then it quickly faded when he looked at the clock and realized something. "Paige, it's past seven why aren't you at your exam?" He had helped her study this week because even though he didn't value liberal arts, Paige did. He couldn't understand why she was here with him and not there.
"Some things are more important than a silly test Walter. How about you get some rest ok? I will still be here when you wake up." He nodded and was peacefully able to rest. Paige stroked his hair and pushed it away from his face and kissed him lightly on the forehead.
**Well that was my first one shot. This no-scorpion-Monday has got me down in the dumps so I figured why not a story about the latest episode? Tell me what you think is going to happen next week!**