I wrote this fic for WeBuiltThePyramids during the Fic Exchange on AO3. A month later, I realize it's not on FFN yet! I'm about to correct that.

Dear Mom & Dad

Ralph couldn't believe he had actually agreed to this...

He could hack into a foreign naval submarine, no problem. He could even crack heavily encrypted CIA files (if he wanted). But nothing, absolutely nothing, could prepare him for the greatest feat he would ever have to do, and he was scared out-of-his-mind.

He had given speeches before and had actually excelled in them, but when he was in front of a courtroom during the trial against his college professor, and when he was giving presentations to fellow classmates in school, his speeches contained solid, hardcore facts. Intelligence. Knowledge he could ramble in his sleep.

But this? The speech he was about to give was on a completely different level of public speaking. There were no numerical facts, no knowledge he could hide behind, nothing. He should have declined when he had the chance.

Why did speaking from the heart have to be so hard for him? So hard for every genius? Why couldn't he excel in all facets of the mind instead of just intelligence. A true genius should be a master of all things. Right?

As he stood up, with mic in hand, he slowly cleared his throat as if he could stall minutes instead of seconds. He glanced around the large room, needing an exit strategy. Any exit strategy. But no matter how much he wanted, needed to escape, he knew he couldn't. He would live to regret it, most definitely. His mom and Walter might never forgive him, and he couldn't live with the shame of ruining their special day.

Toby would never let him forget, and he would be forever known as the wimpy kid who fled his mother's wedding reception. Not a catchy title at all. If he chickened out and didn't survive this harrowing ordeal, he could just imagine what his tombstone might say. That thought made him shudder.

Exhaling the deep breath that he didn't even know he was holding, he slowly unfolded the paper in his hand and awkwardly flattened it against his small chest. He then flipped the paper and cleared his throat again before opening his mouth to speak.

Feedback squealed over his quiet voice, and he flushed with embarrassment.

He. Could. Do. This.

He had to.

He must. He absolutely must.

Ralph's hands were sweaty, so he gripped the mic tighter, hoping he wouldn't drop it mid-speech. Letting out another breath, he closed his eyes for a second and tried calming his nerves before trying again. "Um," was the only sound that escaped his shaky voice. He paused, about to freeze up and crawl into his internal shell before a soft, comforting hand wrapped gently around his elbow and tugged on it. He turned slightly, his eyes meeting his mother's smiling ones.

"It's okay, Ralphie," she whispered in a loving, sympathetic tone, "You don't have to do this if you're uncomfortable with it. I," she paused and corrected herself as she touched Walter's knee with her free hand, "we won't be mad or upset. Promise."

Ralph, beyond his own understanding, shook his head no. "I gotta do this," he mumbled quietly and away from the microphone. "I want to do this."

His mom and his new dad shared a knowing glance and smiled ear to ear.

"You've got this, buddy." Walter cheered lowly, reaching over to give the boy a fist bump. Ralph eagerly bumped his small knuckles against Walter's larger ones and grinned widely, his nervousness almost completely gone.

He turned back towards the crowd and raised the mic to his lips, his confidence skyrocketing. "When I was asked to give a statement for today's events, I agreed without hesitation, not knowing how much it would entail. I spent weeks upon weeks trying to perfect a speech with multiple algorithms, but as you could expect, the results were rather awful." He paused when he heard laughter. "I knew I couldn't ask my mom because I wanted to surprise her. I knew I couldn't ask Walter because he would have done the exact same thing I initially did, but his results would have been worse."

Another roar of laughter.

In his peripheral vision, he could see Walter shrugging without denial as his mother nearly lost herself in her fits of giggles. Her forehead briefly dropped to her husband's shoulder before she straightened and composed herself. Ralph beamed at the sight, the marriage of his parents seeming more real by the minute. He even chuckled a little when he heard his mom's quiet snort.

"There were others I could have asked for help, like Sylvester, Toby, Happy and Cabe, but for different reasons, reasons I prefer to keep in the dark, they seemed inadequate too." He discreetly gave an apologetic look towards the four he mentioned but didn't pause in his speech. "So," Ralph caught his inspiration standing in the back with a proud grin coloring her lips. She was winking and giving him a thumb's up, and his smile grew to his ears. "when I was lost and didn't know who to ask, I did what any kid would do." He paused for dramatic effect. "I emailed Grandma."

Everyone – except his mother – hooted with laughter. He turned towards her as she lifted her eyebrow and gave him a stern look. He pressed his lips together tightly, knowing he was going to probably get an earful sometime in the future about his confession. Luckily, everyone except those who worked for Scorpion didn't seem to know whom his grandmother was.

"In three words, Grandma was able to help me through leaps and bounds, and I appreciate her support. When I explained my dilemma via email, an hour later, I received a response from her, and she wrote: 'Write a letter.'" Ralph held his speech in front of him and cleared his throat again. "So, I wrote two – one to each of them, detailing every reason I could think of for why they are important to me. I brought the abridged versions with me today."

Without a word, Ralph turned towards Walter and Paige, ignoring the guests.

"And right now, I'd like to read the first one, and it's for my mom." Ralph said as he spoke into the microphone but kept his eyes on his mother for a minute longer before turning his attention to the sheets in front of him.

"Dear Mom,

I like it when you smile. When it was just the two of us, when I struggled in school and you struggled as a single mother, working multiple jobs, no matter how hard life had been for us, you always came home with a smile. Sometimes, those smiles were sad. Sometimes, they were tired. But my favorite ones were when you were happy because when you really smiled, my bad days at school instantly got better." Ralph paused and turned towards Paige to see her grinning with a tear in her eye. He returned her expression, feeling more empowered. "We've lived on the streets more times than I can count, more times than I'd wish to remember, but it didn't matter where we lived or how we survived because you carried us through. You fought for us the only way you knew how, and I admire your strength, Mom. You know no bounds, and you never give up. That's always been inspiring.

"You made sure I knew you loved me every day, no matter how difficult life was for us, and when you accepted a career opportunity given by a strange person on the night of September 22, 2014, you changed our lives for the better, and while I know your boss deeply frustrated you at times," Ralph tossed a knowing glance towards Walter as the guests chuckled with laughter, "I'm glad you took a chance on something great. Meeting Walter O'Brien was the best thing to have ever happened in our lives. I could tell you smiled a lot more around him.

"He made you laugh and gave you hope again for love again. And because of that love, we find ourselves here today." Ralph turned to Paige again but kept the mic close as he continued speaking. "You have a husband who loves you and adores you and as weird as it is for me to say all these lovey dovey things to you about my new dad, I'm happy for you, Mom. I'm really happy because I know you're happy t—" He was abruptly cut off when his mother jumped up and threw her arms around him, embracing him tightly. He blinked as she squeezed him, unsure how to react at first, but before he was released, he awkwardly slid his arms around her.

"I love you, baby." She whispered into his ear before giving him a short kiss to his nose. He heard several "awwws" from the guests, and he flushed. This was not part of the plan. When Paige's arms fell to her side, she wiped her fallen tear and reached down to squeeze his hand before taking her seat. It was a moment before Ralph eventually recovered; he cleared his throat and flipped to his next letter. "Um… I guessed I finished all of what I was going to say to my mom, and it w-was obvious she was deeply flattered," he couldn't help but blush as people chuckled, "so I'm, uh, I'm gonna read the next letter… It's written to Walter – my new dad." Ralph took a second to calm himself down, hoping Walter wouldn't have the same reaction his mother did… because that would have been weird.

Ralph angled himself towards Walter and cleared his throat again before reading the letter in his hand.

"Dear Dad,

I really like the way that sounds, don't you? I've been wanting to call you my dad for a very long time, and now that I can, it makes me really proud to be your step-son." He suddenly shook his head. "No. It makes me proud to be your son." He grinned at his mentor, glad his mentor was grinning back. Paige leaned towards Walter and wrapped her arms around him. The married couple shared a loving glance before turning their attentions back to their son. "You've taught me so much over the past several years, and if it wasn't for your guidance, I don't know where Mom and I would be right now. You not only fostered my intellect, but you helped my mom learn how to communicate with me, and for that, I cannot repay you for your generosity. I expect my mother's hand in marriage would suffice, though."

In the distance, Ralph spotted Toby spitting out his drink as his mother reprimanded him. "Ralph!"

Walter gave Ralph a smug grin and a thumb's up as everyone then roared. Paige, however, rolled her eyes and lightly smacked her husband's shoulder before laughing herself.

"I'm just kidding," Ralph added as an afterthought before continuing with the more serious part of his letter. "When you first came up to me on September 22, 2014 and picked up that salt packet before placing it down at a different spot, I suddenly had hope…. For the longest time, I thought I was alone in the world; I thought no one would be able to understand me. And while Mom did her absolute best with the cards she had been dealt with, it was still a struggle because there were things I wanted to tell her… to show her…, but I didn't know how. You bridged us together, Dad. You helped me find my voice so that I could speak to my Mom without the fear of not being heard. You translated my world – our world – to her, and she translated her world to us. It was a perfect fit. A perfect family. While we are not perfect by any means, I somehow knew – one day – you would be my new dad.

"I didn't understand love back then, I still don't, but even weeks after you came into our lives, I could see the way she affected you…, and I could see the way you affected her. You smiled more, and she smiled more. You laughed quite a bit when she was around, and she laughed too. She might not have realized it, but your eyes brightened every time Mom walked into the room. I saw it. Lots of times. I want to thank you for loving my Mom; you've really changed her life – our lives – for the better, and she's the best person I know. Second to me," Ralph grinned, giving Walter a thumb's up, "you're the next best thing in her life."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," the older genius replied, giving Paige a kiss on the cheek.

Ralph shared a knowing look with his new father and then turned to the guests. "I guess that's all I have…," he picked up his phizzy grape juice champagne glass and lifted it above his head to propose a toast. He wore the biggest grin on his face, excited for his parents. He truly had never seen either of them happier. He held the mic up to his mouth again and beamed. "Cheers to Mom and Dad. They're the greatest!"

And to Ralph, they were the best.

He hoped one day to follow in their footsteps.

~ FIN.~

Thanks for reading! ^_^