So I'd gotten a couple of requests back months ago when we were seeing Megan's last episodes about this topic, but I didn't have the time to tackle it then. And today I got another person asking, plus there have been some posts made about it on Tumblr, and I decided to actually start working on it now. This fic will have Waige, Quintis, a lot of Paige/Sly and Walter/Sly friendship, and, of course, a ton of mentions of Melvester.

By the time Paige got out of the shower, Walter was already in bed, his iPad propped up on his knees. "Whatcha reading?" she asked him, tightening her robe around her. The window was cracked open, and it was a little chilly to someone who had just been in a steam filled bathroom.

"A thesis on dark matter," he said, swiping with his finger. "I think the basic science is valid...it's a bit sparsely sourced, though." He looked over at her. "If you're ready to sleep, I can finish it in the morning."

"Uh..." she hesitated. "I don't think I could fall asleep just yet, but..." she flipped the covers back and scooted underneath them, sitting up against the headboard. "But I would like if you finished that in the morning because I need to talk to you about something."

"Oh. Okay." He shut off the iPad and set it on the nightstand.

"So when you were out helping Ralph practice driving..."

"Toby." The mechanic giggled through her protests, clearly only objecting to his lips on her neck for show. "I swear to God, Paige and Sly are right there."

Yep, Paige thought, smirking over at Sylvester. Just for show.

Toby caught her eye and grinned triumphantly a split second before Happy twisted around and mashed her lips against his. "There, satisfied?" she asked, her arms curled around his neck.

"Temporarily." Toby said. Happy lifted the hat off his head and set it on her own, turning back to her work.

"They're so adorable," Paige said, studying the puzzle in front of them. "Are you sure you're not just pretending this is hard for my sake?"

"3D puzzles are considerably harder than traditional puzzles," Sylvester said. "And this isn't the colorful Super Fun Guy," Sylvester said. "That would make it a lot easier on both of us. But this is a grayscale model, so that complicates things." He picked up another piece and secured it, biting his lip.

"Something the matter?" Paige asked, cocking her head.

"No," Sylvester said. "Not at all. Why?"

"Because I know you, Sly. And that was a lie."

He stared at her for a long time, then relented. "Okay." He set a puzzle piece down. "I am...thrilled for Happy and Toby getting approved by the adoption agency. I really am. It just...it just gets me thinking, is all."

Paige risked the question. "About Megan?"

Sylvester nodded. "Her giving birth was never an option. Never. We were only together nine months, it was too early to start talking about that even if she were healthy. But...I do know that had she not been sick..." he shrugged. "I'm sure I'd be a dad by now. And I know I freak out about a lot of things, but whenever I think about that...I don't get scared. It makes me want to do it."

Paige pressed her lips together sadly. "I'm sure you guys would have been great parents, Sly." She thought she saw a piece to add to the puzzle, and she picked it off the table and leaned forward. Nope. She set it back down, then looked curiously back at Sylvester. "What do you mean it makes you want to do it?" Megan is dead. Megan's been dead for four years.

"Megan froze some of her eggs," Sylvester said, exhaling heavily as he spoke, as if revealing the secret was a huge relief to him. "And she told me a month or so before she died that she was making sure that I would be able to use them, if I ever wanted." He picked up a puzzle piece and turned it over in his hands. "She said it didn't matter to her if I used them or not, but she wanted to be sure that I knew it was an option. And I'm not a kid anymore, Paige. When you were my age, Ralph was in Kindergarten. I know I can do this, and I want to do this, I just...the process, there's a lot of steps involved, and..." He trailed off. "I've just been thinking more and more about it lately."

Walter was silent. Paige wanted to know what he was thinking, but she could tell by the look of concentration on his face that he was still processing what she'd told him. He leaned against the headboard, his fingers laced together, his thumbs drumming against each other as he stared straight ahead. Then he sighed, licked his lips, and looked at her.

He didn't speak, but she knew he was ready for her to continue speaking to him. "It's costing Sylvester seven hundred dollars a year to keep the eggs in storage," she said. "It would cost at least ten thousand dollars to attempt to thaw and fertilize them, and implant them in a surrogate. He can do it, but..." her lower lip curled under. "Walter, how would you feel if I told Sylvester I'd be the surrogate?"

Silence. Then "I...I mean..." he frowned. "I wouldn't have interpreted this decision as mine to make."

"Walter." She rolled on her side, sliding a hand over to him, up over where his hands rested on his lap. She curled her fingers around his. "This isn't a decision I can make by myself. This affects you. I wouldn't be able to participate in the same capacity at work for a time, and..." she spoke softly, her tone gentle as she voiced her real concern, "I would be carrying your sister's baby. Your sister who isn't here anymore. I care about Sylvester, but I haven't indicated to him yet that I may be able to do this, I'd have to get tests done anyway to make sure I'm able to do it but I will not take one step down this path if it's going to be too much for you."

"No," Walter said suddenly, shaking his head. "It won't be."

"You can take some time to think about it, you know," Paige said, smiling affectionately at him. "This isn't work; you don't have to evaluate in a matter of seconds. She let the fingers on her free hand trail lightly through his hair. "Why don't you sleep on it and we'll talk in the morning? Then we can include Ralph too. Does that sound okay?"

When he nodded, she smiled, reaching up behind them to switch off the light. They both shifted their weight scooting, fully under the covers. "Night, Love," she whispered, curling her arms under the pillow and realizing that she hadn't removed the towel from her hair.

She considered getting up, then decided she was just too comfortable.

Please let me know what you thought on this first chapter, if you have any thoughts! And as always, thanks for reading.