WriterFreak001:

This story is solely based on the promo for 2x01 "Satellite of Love." If you don't like spoilers, I don't recommend reading this story.

Title | Just a Kiss

Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)

Description | Just something I cooked up after watching the first Scorpion S2 promo. :)

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for romantic themes. Enough said.

POV | Omniscient 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!

Just a Kiss

Written by WriterFreak001

Part 1

~ SCORPION ~

Paige was completely restless; her fingers tapped loudly and incessantly against her desk as she stared into the soul of her computer screen. Cabe had called everyone, telling them he had been reinstated as a Homeland Security agent, wanting everyone to meet up at the garage by ten so he and the new director of Homeland can go over the details. The whole gang, except for Walter and Cabe, were present and were all waiting in their own way for the remaining members of the team to make their appearance. And for reasons she cared not to admit, Paige was very agitated about seeing Walter again.

Because Scorpion's income wasn't the greatest since Cabe's resignation from Homeland, Paige took on her old job at the diner to make up for the loss of revenue. She worked odd hours, sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning and sometimes all day. She believed her boss, Nemos, was overworking her to make up for quitting her job many months ago. Working as a waitress again reminded her how stressful her job as Scorpion's liaison was compared to bussing tables and taking people's orders. She thought she would like having a break from her endless hectic life with Scorpion, but she missed the action, the silliness and the adventure.

But most of all, she had missed Walter.

Because of his accident, he, too, was taking a break from saving the world. He was busy recovering from his injuries, and while she did make a few trips to the garage every now and then to check up on him, their meetings were brief (mainly because she had to race to the diner for a shift or because his pain meds were making him drowsy), and they never had time to talk about their fight or their moment at the cliff.

It's possible they'll never have the chance, too.

But for some reason, she could hardly contain her anxiety as she waited for Walter O'Brien to walk through the front door. Perhaps it was because they would be spending more than twenty minutes inside the same room together, or it's because the afterthoughts of her kiss were finally catching up to her; she didn't know. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, either. Today was also the first time she had seen Happy and Sylvester in weeks. Toby often babysat Ralph for her while she worked, and when the shrink was busy psychoanalyzing paying clients at his side-office, Cabe would watch over Ralph. While it's been a while since she'd seen Happy and Sly, she knew they, too, were very busy individuals. Happy had been employed as an extra mechanic at her father's auto shop, and Sylvester spent a lot of his time with Megan at the hospital. She felt bad for not checking up on them, but… with limited time available, what was she supposed to do?

"Miss Dineen," Toby's casual and relaxed voice brought her out of her thoughts, forcing her to acknowledge his presence whether she really wanted to or not.

"Toby." Paige gave the shrink a pointed look.

Toby cracked his knuckles and leaned against the side of her desk. "You're unusually frantic on this fine, fine morning."

She forced a smile. "Too much coffee."

"While that may be true due to your Nazi of a Former Boss overworking you at that overrated diner we once commandeered many centuries ago," Toby smirked and twirled his hat on his finger, "I'm not thinking it's the coffee that's making you constantly flick your eyes from your computer to the door every thirty-seven seconds. Do I sense a bit of anticipation for a specific super genius from my favorite translator?"

"Of course not." Paige answered almost too fast. She bit her lip and looked away from Toby for a split second before adding, "I mean, of course I'm anxious about Walter coming back. Everyone is. But what you're insinuating is strictly unprofessional and incorrect. I keep looking at the door because I'm wondering when Cabe's gonna get here."

Toby chuckled. "Sure you are."

"I am," Paige said defensively and quietly.

"If you were wondering why Cabe was taking so long, you'd subconsciously check your watch, not the door. If I'm being blunt," Toby crossed his arms and tried to hide his smirk, "whether you realize it or not, when you look towards the door, you're not looking for Cabe. You're looking for Walter. Cabe told you what time he was going to show up; it's not even 9:45 in the morning yet." Toby was having a lot of fun with this. Maybe a little too much. "Sequentially, you would check the time if you were waiting for Cabe, not the door. Walter, however, said he'd be over as soon as his checkup with his doctor was completed, and that, my dear friend, bears no time limit. Checking your watch for Walter wouldn't make sense. Checking the door, however, would."

Paige balked but quickly recovered and rolled her eyes. "You over-analyze things way too much, Toby."

"Hide behind your brick wall all you want, Paige; just remember," Toby grinned and pointed to his temple, "I know schtuff."

His comment received another eye roll from Paige as he strutted away from her towards the kitchen. Paige knew Toby was right about his analysis, but he didn't have to know that. As she tried to make herself a little bit more productive by pulling out old casefiles to examine, the squeak of the front door caught her full attention, and she found his dark brown eyes immediately, sending the man walking into the garage a small smile. She wasn't the first to react, though. As she rose to her feet to greet Walter, Sylvester beat her to it, pulling the genius into a big bear hug.

"Careful, Sly." Toby said from the kitchen, "Walt's still recovering from surgery; don't want to squeeze him to death."

Sylvester ignored the shrink and rocked his best friend side to side. "I've never been so happy to see you, Walter! So glad to have you back!"

Walter, with his good hand, patted Sylvester's shoulder blade and forced his response out through a tight, gravelly voice, "It's good to be back, Sly."

Sylvester squeezed Walter a little tighter for a few more seconds before releasing him; Walter had to bite his tongue to suppress an oncoming cough. Quietly, he dropped his backpack off at his desk and wheeled around towards the stairs, giving both Happy and Paige quick glances before looking at the group as a whole. "I'm going to go and change; I'll be back in five."

As he marched up the stairs, Paige considered following him, thinking he would need help getting changed as he had in the past. She remained still, though, for many seconds, wondering if following her boss to his private quarters was really a good idea; she wouldn't be too worried about Walter's reaction since she's helped him change before, but she was certainly and undeniably mortified of Toby's possible response. He would never let her hear the end of it if he ever saw her making her way up to Walter's loft just seconds after her boss had announced to the team that he was going up there to change clothes. She bit her lip and weighed her options carefully; if she didn't go up there, Walter could hurt himself while trying to change. If she did, she'd have to risk hearing an endless string of jokes and teases from Toby until he would find something new to mock. She pressed her glossed lips together and glanced at each of her friends. Happy was at her desk, pounding at a thin sheet of metal; Sylvester was engrossed with his computer (probably playing a virtual chess game), and Toby was whistling as he made breakfast in the kitchen.

She sighed and looked up the steps.

To the loft, it is.

With a spring in her step, she swiftly ascended the stairs and braced herself for any abrasive comments from the Peanut Gallery but received none. She hoped, for her sake (and for Walter's) that they didn't even notice her sudden departure.

~ SCORPION ~

Walter silently groaned as he tried worming his way out of his t-shirt without using his right hand; the task was certainly difficult, but it shouldn't be altogether impossible. He had most certainly tackled much more challenging tasks than what he was currently trying to do, but that small assurance didn't make the struggle any easier. In the past, he didn't really have to worry about changing his clothes; since he was at home all day and without company most of the time, he usually stayed in his sweats, only changing them when he absolutely needed to. Occasionally, whenever Paige would visit and check up on him, she'd help him with the buttons… with the zippers... with the typically simple things he wasn't able to do with his hand in cast, but now that the team had been reassembled, he didn't want to appear weak or useless. If he couldn't even dress himself properly, how would the team perceive him? Paige, thank God, was the only one who knew about his day-to-day struggles, and even though she hadn't been able to help him all of the time, he was certainly grateful for any hand she was able to lend during her brief visits - even if he didn't always gratify her.

As he continuously battled with his shirt, he really wished he had asked Paige to come upstairs to help him, but he didn't want to give others the wrong impression nor did he want to embarrass her. Asking Paige to accompany him to his private loft after announcing he need to change clothes would fuel Toby's insatiable need to comment on his relationship with Paige, which was another obstacle Walter desperately wanted to avoid.

Just as he was about to give up on the T-shirt and focus on his jeans, slow and evenly paced footsteps brought his attention to the opening between his bedroom and the living space as his saving grace mystically floated towards him. Thank God. "I figured you might need help," Paige said softly as she stopped in front of him and lightly smiled. "I would have followed, but…"

"You didn't want the team to insinuate incorrectly," Walter guessed, and she nodded curtly.

"Exactly."

"Good call." Walter swallowed. "And perhaps, once we're done up here, you should go downstairs first… and take something with you to make them think you came up here to fetch something in case you need some sort of alibi."

"Okay," Paige muttered as she slipped her fingers underneath the lip of Walter's shirt, gently tugging it over his head, "I'll do that." She slid the material off of him and tossed it to his bed before bending down to reach for his dark grey button-up. Without talking, Paige glided both sleeves over Walter's arms, carefully pulling his cast through his right cuff, and swiftly fastened the buttons. "There. Shirt's on."

"Thanks," Walter pursed his lips, unsure what else to say. It certainly wasn't the first time she helped him dress, and he doubted it would be the last, either. He was going to be wearing his cast for quite a while, and because he preferred Paige helping him dress over Toby, Sylvester or Happy, he didn't particularly mind. Plus, it was efficient (at least, that was the excuse he was always telling himself).

"Do you," she paused and looked towards his belt (or lower; he couldn't tell), "Do you need help with your jeans?"

Walter ran his left hand through his hair and awkwardly looked away from her. "If you don't mind..."

Without looking at him or saying anything, Paige unbuckled his belt, slid it out of its loops and dropped it onto the floor before working at the button above his zipper. He counted the seconds before he heard the zip and held his breath as she slowly slid his jeans down his legs. Even though it wasn't the first time she had removed his pants, he still couldn't get used to being so exposed to this woman; he wasn't sure he wanted to, either. Or maybe he did.

He couldn't decide.

Paige reached for Walter's slacks and pulled them up to his waist and buckled them quickly. She tried so hard to hide her blush, but she was hot and flushed all over. She had had dreams that started with her stripping Walter out of his clothes but for very different reasons.

She never thought the opposite would be such a turn-on.

She mentally slapped herself. Walter was her boss. Nothing more. But still... he was her rather handsome boss who obviously cared for her in ways that made her toes curl any time she thought about every kind thing he had ever done for her and her son...

To distract herself, she focused on securing Walter's belt around his waist and then rose to her feet. "After I fix your tie," Paige said as she reached for a striped, dull tie, "we'll be done here."

Walter nodded and gulped as her slender fingers grazed his shoulders. She softly bit her lip as she looped Walter's tie around his neck and mindlessly rested her palm over his chest once she was finished. "There," she muttered, "As good as new." As she turned to leave, Walter unconsciously clamped his palm over hers and wrapped his fingers around her hand. She slowly turned back to him and gazed into his eyes. "Yes?" She figured he needed something.

"Um," Walter let out a breath, "Thanks."

She smiled ear to ear. "You're welcome, Walter."

~ SCORPION ~

"Is it just me," Toby waltzed over to Happy's desk, "or does Paige seem to be acting a little weird."

"Weird how?" Happy glanced up from her project.

"Oh, I don't know… She was a little fidgety and snippy earlier, and every time I mentioned Walt's name, she bit her bottom lip." Toby latched his fingers behind his head and leaned slightly backwards. "That has to be symbolic right?"

"You're the shrink," Happy blinked, "you tell me."

"Well," Toby hummed, "I do have the world's best instincts." He smirked and circled back towards his desk, wanting to check up on something. He remembered the night of Walt's accident. After the nurse shooed the team out of the room, Paige had stayed behind despite Walter's doped up state. Toby had a hunch that something happened that night, and Paige is too embarrassed to divulge. The hospital system was easy to crack, and when he pulled up Walt's security feed, he decided to display it on the monitors near Happy's desk. "I think," Toby grinned as he skipped towards Happy, "I think I figured out a way to find out why Paige is being so strange these days."

"How?"

"I have a hunch," Toby shrugged as Sly, who was also curious as to what Toby was about to show Happy, walked up behind the shrink and the mechanic.

Toby pointed to the screen, "This is Walt's hospital room the night of his accident. I'm trying to find the footage of the time after we left."

"Why?" Sylvester steepled his hands as he stared at the monitor.

"Because something tells me Miss Dineen is keeping something to herself…. Something she doesn't want us all to know." Toby replied, keeping his attention forward.

"Should we really invade her privacy?" Sylvester frowned. "I mean, people keep secrets for reasons, Toby."

"Says the one who had been dating Walt's sister for three entire weeks before telling brother dearest about your romantic entanglement with Megan." Toby deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"That's different."

"So are your socks," Toby mumbled.

"Hm?"

"Nothing," Toby sighed. "Oh!" He paused the video feed and pointed to the screen. "That's Paige!"

"Very good, nimrod." Happy feigned an impressed response as she rose to her feet and crossed her arms. "This feed better be worth it."

Toby played the feed and all three geniuses watched Paige speak to Walter. The audio feed wasn't the greatest so there was no sure way of telling what she was saying, but Paige Dineen visiting Walter with nothing but the moonlight illuminating her figure wasn't the most surprising detail of the video. In fact, Toby was growing a little bored until…

"HOLY SMOKES!"

"...I'm v-very uncomfortable right now," Sylvester stammered as Toby's eyes popped open. Happy, however, remained as stoic as ever. She was a bit surprised, but the pull between her boss and her friend wasn't something new. She expected something like that would happen soon enough – just… not when Walt was unconscious.

"Paige Dineen," Toby was now grinning ear to ear, "You little vixen."

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

This started out as a one-shot, but I think I'm going to give it at least three parts. :)

Let me know what you think! :D