Title: Five Times Walter Almost Told Paige He Loves Her (and One Time He Did) #5
Summary: Part 5. Walter and Paige go to Bermuda on a case. In a setting dripping with romance, will Walter finally be able to tell her? A "5 Things" Fic collaboration by WeBuiltThePyramids, WriterFreak001 and FoxPhile. Cover art designed by WriterFreak001.
Author's Note: This fic is part of a collaboration between WeBuiltThePyramids, WriterFreak001 and FoxPhile, inspired by discussions on the Scorpion FanFiction thread on FanForum. Each Author has written two stories that, together, make up the collection. The stories are best read in order. You can find information on the next story in the series at the end of this chapter. Links to all the stories can be found on my profile page.
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 5 – Dancing in the Eye of the Hurricane
"You can dance in a hurricane, but only if you're standing in the eye." ~Brandi Carlile
They were nearly back to the garage when Walter's cellphone rang. He fished the instrument out of his pocket, his movements hampered by the very damp fabric. He noted the caller id and turned to Paige.
"It's Cabe," he informed her.
"Ugh," she moaned. "That's it. Toby jinxed it. He had to talk about celebrating our last case and now we've got another one before the day is out."
"Yea, Cabe," Walter said.
"Hey Walt," came Cabe's voice from the instrument. "Sorry to interrupt your um… dinner with Ray,"
Paige cocked her head at the unmistakable emphasis in Cabe's voice. She wondered just how many people on the team were in on Ray's little trick. Was there a conspiracy going on?
"I just got a call from big brass in the Navy. They've got a computer problem and they want the one and only Walter O'Brien's help. I need you back at the garage pronto so we can catch a helo to Miramar."
"Uh… I'm actually on my way. Should be there is just about five minutes."
"Oh."
Now Paige noted a distinct tone of disappointment in Cabe's voice. She wasn't just imagining this, was she?
"Uh… I don't suppose you might know where I can find Paige, do you?" Cabe's voice asked.
"I uh… I can get in touch with her," Walter replied. "The two of us will meet you at the garage in a few minutes."
Paige noted a small smile on the genius' face and thought he might be suspecting the same thing she was suspecting. For a moment, she wondered if Cabe really had an actual case for them, or if he was just doing some plotting of his own. Then she realized that if Cabe was in on the 'Get Walter and Paige together' plot, he wouldn't interrupt Ray's contrived dinner party for two. On the other hand… if he somehow knew of the disaster at Escala…
"Should we drive around for a few minutes to make your story seem legit?" she asked.
She couldn't be certain in the twilight, but Paige thought Walter might be blushing.
"We could drive around for an hour and I don't think Cabe would be fooled. Delay is inefficient, especially if this is a legitimate case."
Paige darted a look at her passenger. His grin was sheepish, but it was there. She wasn't just imagining things, Walter must also suspect that there was more than one member of Scorpion playing matchmaker. She responded with a small smile of her own, then turned back to her driving.
"I don't care what Cabe says, I'm not leaving the garage until I can get you out of those wet pants!"
"Wh…what?" Walter squeaked.
True to her word, Paige refused to leave the garage until Walter had a chance to shower and change into dry clothing. He smiled as he briskly toweled himself and began to assemble a clean outfit for their trip. Paige could be as fierce as a mother lioness when the welfare of Scorpion or its members were concerned. Walter suddenly realized that, where Scorpion was concerned, he needed to trust Paige as much as he wanted her to trust in him. If they were in a relationship, she would not let that interfere with Scorpion. She cared for the team as much as – perhaps more than – he did.
He felt some of the tension that had wound him for several days falling away. He was still nervous about telling Paige what he needed to tell her. He still needed to get it right – the right setting, the right words, and the right privacy. He still worried how she would respond. Would she tell him she loved him, too? Or would she tell him he'd waited too long? The possibility of the latter gave him a chilly feeling in the center of his chest and caused him to sweat. But he was less concerned now about the effect of either response on the other love of his life – his team. With renewed determination, he decided that he would simply tell her, the next time they were alone together; provided the setting held something of what he understood as romance. Paige deserved romance; he didn't want to neglect that element.
He dressed quickly and was about to go downstairs when Sylvester announced his presence from the kitchen.
"Walter?" he yelled. "Are you decent?"
"I'm dressed, if that's what you mean," Walter replied.
"Good," the math genius said as he hustled around the corner and into Walter's bedroom. "I need to talk to you before you go."
"Cabe's not going to like that. He's in a big hurry to get going." Walter sighed and made a hand motion indicating that his friend should get on with it.
Sly began to pace. "Megan… before she died… Megan asked me to look out for you. She was worried about you." He stopped and turned to look Walter in the eye. "You're about to blow this, Walter, and Megan will never forgive me if I let you do that!"
"You're not making any sense, Sylvester. What are you talking about?"
"YOU!" Sly replied. "You and Paige. "Megan understood how you feel about her and she knew how Paige feels about you. She was afraid if somebody didn't push you, you'd never make a move and it's beginning to look like she was right."
Walter sat down on the bed, shoving aside the shirt he'd discarded. It wasn't soaked, as the pants were, but there were damp spots on it, so Walter decided he needed to hang it up. He grabbed it and made his way to the bathroom.
"I… I've come to realize that I have feelings for Paige, Sly. In fact, I love her. I've been trying to tell her, but it seems like something always happens to get in the way." He looked around for a hanger. Not finding one, he just tossed the shirt over the shower curtain rod. It would have to be sufficient for the time being. He returned to where Sly was back to his pacing.
"You love her… you love her…" the younger man was muttering. "That's good… that's GREAT! Then you have to tell her that."
"Like I said, Sly, I've been trying to tell her. In fact, that's why I went to Tahoe. But every time I try to tell her, we get a case or I get soaked or… something."
"I happen to know that this next case is in Bermuda. It's incredibly romantic there, Walter. It will be the perfect place. Do you know they have whole businesses there that help people coordinate romantic proposals?"
"I'm… I'm not ready to propose, Sly. But I'll… I'll keep that in mind." Walter couldn't help smiling at his friend's enthusiasm. "How do you know so much about this?"
"It was one of the things Megan always wanted to do. One of the things we didn't… didn't get to." Sylvester's face clouded over with sadness for a moment. "She… she got too sick before we could do it." Sly managed a small smile before he continued, looking down at his feet. "I started looking into it, and I thought… it would be the perfect place to… to propose. But I never got that chance." Looking back up, his eyes bored into his friend's. "Don't blow your chance, Walter. Paige isn't sick, thank god. But you can't afford to wait until it's too late."
"I always wondered…" Walter whispered, musing to himself.
"I wanted to marry her, Walter. It wasn't just… just a ploy. I loved her."
Walter rose and wrapped his arms around the man he'd rescued as a kid, who was now his brother. "I know you did. I know. It's just nice to… to really know."
The two men parted, but Sly stopped Walter once more before he went downstairs. "Make sure Paige really knows how you feel about her… soon."
Walter made his way downstairs where Cabe and Paige were talking.
"This case is extremely sensitive. The Navy wanted just Walter to go, but I told them he needed you along to help him deal with any personal interaction issues. It was a near thing, but I made them see things my way."
"You make me sound like some sort of idiot savant, Cabe. I'm perfectly capable of interacting with people without causing a problem," Walter said as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs.
The agent and the liaison turned together. "No, you're not," They both said, in unison.
It was midnight by the time they finally boarded the military transport that would take them from Miramar Air Station to Norfolk Naval Base on the other side of the country. Since Cabe knew Paige carried a go bag in the trunk of her car, he refused to budge on the subject of her going home to change out of her Escala finery. Getting into a helicopter wearing four-inch heels was a challenge.
Flying in a military transport jet was always in interesting experience. Generally, the space was shared with troops or a small number of other military personnel… and cargo. Usually, the cargo had the better accommodations. Paige was currently sheltered behind a stack of cargo trunks, changing into casual slacks, a comfortable shirt and shoes more suited to travel. She carefully rolled her black dress and tucked it into the side of her go bag, hoping that it would not suffer too much from the poor treatment. Although it wasn't her intent, since she'd had no idea Walter would be there, the dress had a very gratifying effect on the genius. She hoped it would get the chance to do that again someday. Returning from her shelter, she rejoined Walter and Cabe and strapped herself into the jump seat for the remainder of the trip to Norfolk.
"Cabe says we should get some sleep while we can," Walter whispered, indicating the agent who was lightly snoring. "We've got about six hours in the air before we get to Norfolk, then we'll be briefed on the plane to Bermuda and expected to get right to work."
Walter reached over and pulled her shoulder strap snug. His hand lingered a moment on hers, while he glanced around at the others on the plane. Most were napping, but a few were reading and two were playing games on a handheld device. He sighed, then leaned back in his seat, wrapped his arms around his waist and mumbled, "Good night."
Paige closed her eyes and tried to take his advice.
Cabe remained behind in Norfolk. Paige and Walter were briefed, as promised, on the short flight from Norfolk to Bermuda. The crew of a small Navy vessel had been found adrift in life boats about 20 miles northeast of the island. They had apparently been drugged because none of them had any memory of how they got in the life boats or what happened to the ship. The ship was found scuttled. Although it was a small ship, like any Navy vessel there were computers on board and those computers contained some classified information. Walter's mission was simple – salvage what he could from the computers and find out if the information contained on them had been compromised.
The two were ushered quickly off the small jet that landed them at the Bermuda International Airport and whisked to a small meteorological base on the eastern end of the island, not far from the airport. Paige knew Bermuda was small, but she never realized how small. Their escort explained that the airport was situated on one of the widest sections of the island, which was just 21 miles long and 2 miles wide at its widest point.
While Walter worked, Paige had ample time to think. They were locked in a small windowless room with a coffee station, a small refrigerator stocked with drinks and a supply of snacks and MREs if they got hungry. A pair of cots flanked one wall, and there was a tiny bathroom, also windowless. Paige realized the Navy escort was serious when he told them that security around this mission was paramount and they would not be allowed to leave the room or have outside communication of any kind for the duration. It would have been an ideal environment for a serious talk if not for the Navy Shore Patrol officer stationed at the door. Paige could only hope that Walter would work quickly. He hardly needed her skills unless he went completely off the deep end and decided to insult the SP. In that event, there wasn't much she could do in the face of the armed and highly trained sailor. Maybe Cabe should have sent Tim on this case?
The thought of Tim brought Paige back to the subject of Walter's mysterious actions of late. He insisted he needed to talk to her, but his adamant need for privacy thwarted his intent every time. He'd said he only needed to say "a few words". If that was the case, couldn't he have simply whispered them to her? What was this all about, anyway? Paige didn't want to allow herself to hope. She'd been disappointed by Walter too many times in the past. Too many times, she thought he was warming to the idea of a relationship – she could see it in his eyes and feel it in his rare touches – only to have him pull back and spout nonsense about relationships threatening Scorpion's equilibrium. As if she would let anything sabotage the team that had done so much for her son.
For a moment, Paige allowed herself to think about how she would respond if Walter did tell her he wanted to explore a relationship. How would he do that, anyway? Would he ask her on a date? Would he simply suggest they spend more time together? Would he kiss her and let that do his talking for him?
They'd been in a few very romantic situations recently. If he wanted a relationship, why didn't he take those opportunities to tell her? It was all very frustrating and confusing.
She wondered if he had waited too long. Was she even still willing to take a chance on this?
If he'd told her before Tahoe – before Tim - but Paige knew Walter wasn't ready then. Back then, Walter didn't know what love was. She wondered if that had changed. Was that why he went to Tahoe?
Would it be enough now for him to simply ask her out? That's how most relationships began. But with all she'd been through with Walter O'Brien, Paige felt she needed more from him. She deserved more from him. Something that would let her know that all the waiting and heartache were worth it.
After sitting nearly motionless for several hours, Walter announced that he was done.
"I'll contact Naval Intelligence," The SP officer said, pulling out a satellite phone.
Paige got up from where she was lying on one of the cots and walked over to the desk. "What did you find?" she asked.
"Nothing, actually," he responded. "Which is a good thing, really. No signs of tampering, all the data is intact. But that still doesn't shed any light on what happened to the ship," he sighed.
Paige laid a hand on his shoulder. She knew he was tired. "I have an idea," she announced, getting up and walking over to the SP.
It took some doing, and it wasn't completely ideal, but Paige pleaded a case of claustrophobia to the SP and convinced the man to allow them to take a short walk on the nearby beach while they waited for their escort to return. After hours of mute silence, suddenly Mr. Shore Patrol got chatty.
"It's none of my business, but you two are… aren't you?" He smiled knowingly and winked. "I get it. I'll have to keep you in sight, so no hanky-panky on the beach. But I'll try to stay out of listening distance. It's late afternoon; maybe you can work things so you can stay the night on the island. My girlfriend surprised me and flew here a few weeks ago for my birthday. We got a room at one of the beachfront hotels. Really nice – really romantic," he said.
Paige blushed, but didn't respond. If the man thought she and Walter wanted a beach rendezvous, and that got him to let them outside, she wasn't going to correct him.
"Thanks for this," Walter said as he and Paige walked along the tiny beach, enjoying the late afternoon sun and the calming effects of the crystal blue ocean waves lapping against the shore.
The SP explained that most of the beaches in Bermuda were like this one; short stretches of the signature pink sand that hugged one of the hundreds of small coves around the island. This one was within the confines of the meteorological base, and thus was deserted. After his little explanation, the SP hung back and allowed them to continue on, cautioning them not to wander past the small outcropping that divided this cove from the next.
The temperature was dropping quickly and Paige began to wish she had brought a light sweater. She thought Bermuda was in the Caribbean and was surprised to learn that it was actually in the mid-Atlantic, at about the same latitude as North Carolina. May was the start of summer on the island, but the temperature often dropped to the 60s or even the 50s at night.
Walter stopped and sat down on the sand, patting the spot next to him in invitation.
"The beach always reminds me of Megan," he said, wrapping his arms around his knees and rocking a bit back and forth.
Paige hoped she wouldn't have to deal with a melancholy Walter. The thought didn't make her feel very good about herself, although she knew she would always support him, whatever he needed from her. But she was at her own emotional limit right now. She needed to know if she would be supporting him as a friend… or as something more.
"I've never understood the fascination people have with beaches," he was saying. "But Megan really liked it, so I used to take her, whenever she was well enough to go. We'd get some of the junk food she loved and she'd sit on the sand and stuff her face. I've never seen her so happy – at least, not until Sly. Sly made her even happier."
He paused and Paige sensed he was looking at her. She turned to look back at him. After a moment, she realized he wasn't looking away. He reached a hand over and took hers, looking down at their linked fingers. When he looked back up he was smiling.
"Paige…" he began.
The look in his eyes was intense. Paige had seen that look before, but in the past, he usually looked away. As she waited, expectant but also unnerved, his eyes widened. Suddenly, he stood up, bringing her to her feet with him.
"What?" she stammered, confused.
"We've been through an earthquake together… and a tornado. Have you ever been through a hurricane?"
"A hurricane?"
Following his gaze, she saw what alarmed him. The sky to the southwest was dark and threatening. There was an odd orange tinge below and around the mass of clouds.
"We need to get back!" he shouted and, taking her hand he took off at a run back towards where the SP was waiting.
Seeing them running, the sailor immediately drew his sidearm. Paige hoped the man realized that if they were running toward him, they were hardly attempting some sort of escape.
Walter pointed behind them and shouted, "HURRICANE!"
"What are you talking about? It's too early for hurricanes!" The man shouted back. Then he looked up where Walter was pointing. Shock bloomed on the man's face and he replaced his gun and ran toward them, ushering them quickly off the beach and into the scrub that separated the beach from the road and the buildings on the other side.
"Come on!" he urged, flinging open the door to the station and waving them inside. Once in the building, he immediately got out his satellite phone.
"I don't understand," Paige said, panting. "I thought hurricanes were easy to track. Shouldn't we have gotten some warning?"
"It's not even hurricane season yet," Walter commented. He took several ragged breaths before continuing. "And we've been completely cut off from communication. There are sometimes rogue hurricanes that hit out of season. While hurricanes brush near Bermuda frequently, direct hits aren't very common. When they do happen, they are often a surprise. A hurricane will start its path up the Eastern Seaboard from Florida and suddenly veer east towards Bermuda. That's what happened with Joaquin last year. It wasn't a direct hit, but it passed close enough to cause severe wind and water damage."
The SP closed his phone and walked over to where the pair were seated on a bench. "It's a hurricane, all right. Yesterday evening they thought it was headed towards the Georgia coast. Then it suddenly turned west and now it's headed straight here. The last few flights off the island for tonight have been cancelled – even private flights are grounded, so it looks like you two won't be going anywhere tonight."
"You mean we're stuck here?" Paige moaned, looking around the tiny office.
"No," the SP assured her. "Lieutenant Mitchell is on his way. He should be here in just a few minutes. He'll get you to one of the hotels that is taking in stranded tourists. Most of the cruise ships have put out to sea to avoid the storm. They can't stay at the docks or they risk serious damage. Any of their guests who weren't on board when they left are stuck on the island now. So whatever hotel you wind up at is likely to be pretty crowded. You might wind up bunking in the lobby, but you'll be perfectly safe. The building codes in Bermuda are real strict when it comes to hurricanes. Even in the worst storm a building might get a damaged roof, but the structure will stand."
Paige looked towards Walter. He hesitated, then put an arm around her and drew her closer. He looked up at the SP. "Officer? Would it be possible? That is… Paige here… I think she would like to call her son, if that's possible." He turned to look at Paige. He shouldn't need confirmation, but in case he did, she smiled at him. She desperately wanted to talk to Ralph.
"I'm… I'm not really supposed to let you guys use the phone."
Paige's face fell and she turned her head into Walter's shoulder.
"She's… she's really upset," Walter pleaded. "It would help a lot if you would let her call her son. He's just ten."
The SP looked thoughtful a moment. Then he smiled. "I guess it would be okay – but real quick, okay?"
Paige jumped up, then turned and put her hands on either side of Walter's face, bent down and kissed him quickly. "Thank you, thank you!" she cried, then she ran over to the SP, and eagerly took the phone.
After a few moments, they heard a horn honking outside. The SP went to open the door, only to be greeted by sheets of rain that blew inside. He turned back to the couple sitting on the bench.
"I guess the lieutenant doesn't want to get out of his car and I can't say that I blame him. You're going to have to make a dash for it."
"What about you?" Paige asked.
"I'll be fine, miss. I got my scooter here and don't live far. I'll get a little wet getting home, but I been wet plenty times before. You two best get moving, though. In my experience, Navy lieutenants aren't known for their patience."
Walter and Paige stood and approached the door. "You run for the front door, I'll get in the back." Walter said. Then they were dashing through the rain, down the long walkway to the street. Paige reached the car first, although she suspected Walter purposefully stayed behind her. She tore open the front door of the car and quickly climbed inside. The wind caught the door and ripped it out of her hands. Walter, who had opened the back door and was about to get in, stood up and grabbed her door. Checking to be sure she was inside, he shoved the door closed, then got into the back seat and reached out to grab his own door and close it.
The noise of the storm was deafening, but inside the car it was quieter.
"Sorry I didn't get here soon enough to avoid you two getting soaked," their driver said as he quickly turned the car around and began to drive back towards the airport.
"It's all right," Walter responded, trying to wipe the wet curls out of his face. He thought for a moment of wringing his shirt out, but he didn't think it would be nice to create a big… or rather bigger… puddle in the man's car. "I'm beginning to think I'm doomed to get wet anytime I'm with this woman."
"Walter!" Paige laughed. "You can't possibly think I'm responsible for the hurricane… or for the ice… or the champagne."
"No, I don't. But there was the tornado… and the dam… and the submarine… and the sprinklers in the mall. Before you joined Scorpion all of our jobs were… dry."
He smiled to let her know he was only joking. It was true that their jobs before Paige joined were dry and safe… but also boring. Plus he knew that Cabe and Homeland Security were more to blame for the conditions they so often found themselves in, not Paige.
"I like this," Paige said.
"What?"
"Us… laughing… joking… I like that."
Walter smiled.
The trip across the island was certainly exciting. The most harrowing moments came when Lieutenant Mitchell eased the car across a very narrow bridge and onto the causeway – a short, narrow land bridge that connected the airport to the main island. Paige could see waves crashing across the bridge and wondered if they might not get swept away.
"Don't worry, folks. It's been a while since we had a hurricane strong enough to cut off the causeway. We'll be fine. I wouldn't recommend trying to walk across, though." He pointed at a small group of people doing just that. "People get swept away from here."
"Is this… is this a big hurricane?" Paige asked. Hurricanes were something that hit the Eastern US and the Gulf. She knew there were Pacific hurricanes as well, but they never hit the California coast.
"Well, it's a category 3 right now, that's pretty big. It's just starting, though. It's gonna get a lot worse than this as the eye approaches. After the eye passes over, it shouldn't be too bad after that. We're getting the northeast side of the storm first, which is where the strongest winds are. It should pass pretty quickly, too. This hurricane is moving fast, it should be all over by tomorrow morning."
Worse than this? Paige thought. Rain was falling sideways past the car windows and winds were wiping the tall, slim palm trees until they bent over. Paige was surprised they didn't snap in two.
Within a few moments of crossing the causeway, the lieutenant pulled up under the portico of a sprawling hotel.
"I'll go inside with you and make sure you're settled," Lieutenant Mitchell said. "No hotel is likely to turn you away in this weather, but the American consul was asked to make sure you two were taken care of, and it's up to me to make sure he keeps his promise."
The three went inside and before long, Paige and Walter were settled in a corner of the hotel lobby, beside a fireplace that Paige suspected was rarely used. There weren't many other refugees here, but there were enough that the lobby hummed with a mix of low conversations. Furniture had been pushed aside and two large couches were pushed up against the glass doors that faced the nearby ocean, to make sure the impromptu guests didn't wander over there, despite the warnings of the hotel personnel. They were offered hot tea or coffee, and Paige gratefully took a steaming cup. She grimaced at the bitter taste, but the warmth felt good.
"We should probably try and get some rest," Walter suggested. "The clerk said things will get really noisy when the brunt of the storm hits, and we won't be able to sleep through it."
Paige nodded and gulped the last of her coffee. She lay down on the rollaway bed and rested her head on the pillow. She knew this was a top notch hotel. Even the pillows and mattresses on the rollaway beds were top quality.
"Paige?" she heard Walter whisper. "Are you still awake?"
"Mm hmm," she answered.
"I…" he began.
Paige waited. After a moment she turned over so she could face Walter, lying on his own cot.
"I…" he repeated.
He was obviously struggling to say something, and Paige wondered for a moment if this was the mysterious 'thing' he'd been trying to tell her. She waited.
"I… I'm glad you're here," he blurted. "I mean… I'm not glad you're going through a hurricane. And I'm definitely not glad that you're in any danger. But I'm glad… I'm glad that we're together."
"If I have to be stuck in a hurricane, Walter, I'm glad it's with you, too."
"Oh… that's good then. Well, good night."
Paige sighed. "Good night, Walter."
"Paige, wake up!" Walter urged, gently shaking Paige's shoulder.
"Mmm... what?"
"You need to wake up. The eye is right over us. We should go outside and see!"
"Walter? Are you nuts?" Paige sat up on her cot, rubbing her eyes. "There's a great big storm out there and you want to go out in it?"
"That's just it, Paige. We're in the eye right now. It's totally calm. Come and see."
Paige reluctantly rose from her bed and followed Walter. He walked carefully among the other beds until they got to a corridor that lead into other sections of the hotel. They passed a conference room, where Paige saw groups of additional beds, all occupied. Apparently the hotel was hosting quite a few more refugees than she originally thought. They turned a corner, and reached a door, which Walter opened, leading Paige outside. He carefully jammed a bit of cardboard into the door lock. "So we can get back in," he whispered.
Paige breathed in the air. It smelled amazing. "It's like the whole world has been washed clean," she remarked.
"Come over onto the beach," Walter encouraged, grasping her hand and pulling her along with him. "You'll have to wait until your eyes adjust to the darkness, but you can see the walls of the storm all around us."
Paige looked out over the ocean. The water was churning, but Walter was right. The wind was completely calm and there was no rain. Her eyes began to adjust and she could see what looked like a giant white wall of water a short way out over the ocean.
"Is it… is it moving toward us?" she asked, not wanting to find out what it would be like to be hit by that wall.
"Yes, but it will be about another five or ten minutes before it gets here," Walter assured her.
"In that case, let's get back inside before five minutes!"
Walter took her hand and pulled her into an almost hug. "Don't worry, I'll make sure we get back inside before it hits."
He began to sway, holding her and intently watching the eyewall at the same time. Then he spun them around, a movement made somewhat awkward by the sand.
"Walter? What… what are we doing?"
He smiled back at her. Paige recalled the last time he'd held her like this. They were on a case then… just pretending. Paige didn't think Walter was pretending now.
"We're dancing… dancing in a hurricane. Seems sort of appropriate for Scorpion, don't you think?"
"I think that song is 'Rockin' Like a Hurricane'."
"I heard another song on the radio the other day," he answered. "'You can dance in a hurricane, but only if you're standing in the eye.' I didn't get too many of the other words, but for some reason that stuck with me. I just… for some reason I thought we should do it. We're standing in the eye… we should dance… in the hurricane. We might not ever get another chance."
Paige shook her head and laughed. "Walter O'Brien, I don't think I'll ever understand you!"
Suddenly, they were blasted by a gust of wind and what felt like a wall of water slapped Paige in the face.
"Uh-oh, we better get inside!" Walter shouted. A noise like a freight train seemed to follow them as they dashed towards the door. Walter quickly removed his cardboard lock block and shoved Paige inside, following quickly behind.
Paige stood, gasping in the corridor. Her clothes were sodden and her hair was dripping. She wondered if Walter had a clue how romantic the last few moments had been. She still wasn't sure if she and Walter had any future, but she was sure she would remember that last few moments for the rest of her life.
The next morning, Lieutenant Mitchell picked them up shortly after breakfast and drove them back to the airport. Along the way, they saw a lot of torn up trees and other minor damage, but for the most part the island weathered the storm well.
They took a commercial flight to Charlotte and from there back to Los Angeles. Paige felt a little uncomfortable boarding the flight with so many other people, since she felt she must look terrible with her hair ratty from the night before, but most of the people on the short hop weren't in any better condition. In Charlotte she was able to make basic repairs in the ladies room and they called the garage to let everyone know they were on their way home. Paige was pleased to hear that Toby and Happy spent the night watching Ralph. The pair were clearly working things out. After she hung up, she began to think of the sleeping arrangements in her condo and determined that she would have to change the sheets on her bed as soon as she got home.
The whole gang met them at LAX, Ralph running up to hug his mother tightly as soon as he caught sight of her, then he reached over and gave Walter a similar hug.
Not surprisingly, on the ride home Toby cranked up the audio system and played "Rockin' Like a Hurricane" in honor of their experience. After the third rendition, Paige begged him not to play it again.
"So, how was it, anyway," Toby asked. "The hurricane, I mean."
Walter and Paige looked at each other.
"Wet!" they both answered.
End Note: Be sure to check out the next story in this series, written by the awesome WriterFreak001.
July 23, 2016