I personally don't think Toby, Happy, Sly, or Cabe was in any way responsible for what unfolded in 3x22.
anyway, I was in pain after that episode. so, of course, had to write about it.
enjoy!
Toby twisted open the knob to the apartment door, his movements slower than usual. Once stepping inside, he palmed off his hat and tossed his keys onto the nearby table. Happy followed suit, closing the entryway behind him, her pace atypical as well.
The air was thick with words unsaid, and Toby, per usual, grabbed ahold of them first.
"Well that was a bust," he murmured, not as much energy put into his words as there could've been.
Happy dropped onto the couch, surrounded by the many cardboard boxes littering the apartment. Her eyes skipped around as she released a slow exhale. "Do you think she's gonna come back?"
Toby ran a loose hand through his hair, giving her a small headshake. "I don't know, Hap."
Her face shifted, like she was contemplating her next words. Thoughts visibly skimmed across her expression, making her eyes brim with speculation. She pushed out another breath through her cheeks. "Was it wrong not to tell Walt?" she asked.
"No," the shrink replied, sitting beside her on the cushions, "Even if we knew that Paige had professed love when he was hallucinating, it wouldn't have been our story to tell. It was her situation that she chose to deal with in her own way."
"There wasn't any way to prevent him from getting pissed and firing her?"
"In all honesty," he said, "I should've sat him down, at least shared an explanation as to why he was in the dark. Then he wouldn't have felt so hurt. But I was so distracted with Jen's health, making sure you were okay, and, you know, all of us nearly dying in the dome that the thought didn't really cross my mind."
Happy narrowed her eyebrows in an abnormal bout of confusion. "You think this is your fault?"
Toby exhaled through his parted lips. "If I had given him a proper run down of the situation before we got back to the garage, Paige might still be our coworker."
"Well, he was bound to find out at some point or another. Would you giving him time on the couch during the case really made that much of a difference?"
"The way he was told wasn't exactly the healthiest option we could've exercised. We continually neglected his inquiry, which made him feel even more embarrassed when he realized we'd been hiding the truth," he responded, "And Paige keeping this for months hurt him. They were starting to become close again, and his broken heart was finally starting to heal. Then, just like that, she broke it again."
"So, what, you think Paige should've told him?"
"What I think is that love is complicated, Hap." He scratched the back of his neck. "And I think this was a sticky situation, the outcome wouldn't have been good, regardless of how it was handled. But if I had explained what went down on that rocket, it would've lessened the final blow."
Happy's face scrunched. "Doc, there's no way in hell this is your fault."
Toby pushed the heel of his hand into the skin between his eyes. He released a short burst of a chuckle. "Some world-class shrink I was today."
She gave a shake of her head. "Toby," she said, "you didn't even know what Paige said to him up there. How could you have talked him through that?"
His back slumped into the couch. "Well, I knew that something went down. If I'd prepared Walt-"
A flicker of something, worry, passed in her eyes, and she put a hand on his shoulder. "Walter O'Brien and emotional situations don't mix. Don't try and take the blame for this."
"Hap, when you think about it-"
Happy raised her eyebrows sternly. "Toby. I won't let you take the blame for this. Walt and Paige both screwed up. Big time. Not you."
"And the aftermath of that is affecting all of us."
"Yeah, but that still doesn't mean it's our fault."
Toby brushed a breath against his lips, skimming his fingers through his hair again.
Happy's eyes roamed over him slowly, thoughtfully. A brush of concern passed across her face. And, as her hand drifted further up his arm, a sudden idea shifted her demeanor. "Hey," she said, "let's do something else."
He sighed. "You know, I'd love to, but I'm not really in the-"
Without a warning, the engineer swung her left leg overtop both his, gaining a straddling position across the span of his hips. "Our parties sucked. But the rest of our night doesn't have to."
And she kissed him. A unexpected, lustful kiss that completely caught him off guard. He paused. But only for a second, despite claiming not to engage in other activity, his hands precedingly worming under the fabric of her shirt. She leaned in, pressing her torso tightly against his, quickly closing the space between them.
And as the kiss continued to deepen, the intimacy continued to develop, and they both started to think maybe it wouldn't have to be such a sucky night after all.