AN: Oh, boy! You guys are really gonna hate me after this chapter. I was originally going to switch the POV to Walter for this one, but he just didn't cooperate and it didn't work for this story. That being said, because we are seeing this from Paige's perspective, I had to get a whole lot more violent with poor Paige than I really wanted to. Don't worry. I will make it up to her later. And then there's the ending of this chapter... Just hold off on throwing rotten vegatables for now.

P.S. Living with this story in my head the past couple of days hasn't been easy, so you writers out there start cranking out some sweet, sweet Waige fluff for my therapy. Pretty please?

THE RIGHT CHOICE

CHAPTER 2

It was the afternoon of a long day at the end of a long week. Scorpion had caught two complicated and stressful cases back to back. The latest one had taken them out of the country for close to 36 hours, so when Walter decided the paperwork could wait until the next day, the team quickly began to disperse.

All Paige could think about was getting home to Ralph, putting on her pajamas and ordering take out. She was planning to spend a few hours mindlessly watching TV like a vegetable then fall face down in her bed for the first decent sleep in days.

As she was pulling into the parking lot at home, her babysitter called. Mildly alarmed, Paige answered, "Amanda? Is everything okay?"

Amanda was a college student at UCLA and the daughter of a friend of Paige's from her days as a waitress. She was reliable and she always needed the extra money so she would often watch Ralph overnight without much notice. Needless to say, Amanda was a frequent flyer at the Dineen home. "I don't really know yet," the sitter answered, "I got a call a few minutes ago from a minor emergency clinic downtown. They told me Mom was in some kind of accident and she would need me to come and pick her up. The person on the phone told me she asked him to call me, but I don't know exactly what happened. I wasn't able to talk to her directly. They said she was on her way to get X-rays or something."

"Oh, no! I hope she's going to be okay. Do you need me to come and sit with you?"

"That's nice of you, but I think I'll be fine. The guy from the clinic seemed to think she was okay, but she wouldn't be able to drive herself home."

Still in the car and preparing to leave again, Paige asked, "Is Ralph with you? Don't I need to come and get him?"

"No. He's still at home. I was in the hallway talking because I wasn't getting a clear signal. I was about to go back in to tell Ralph to get his shoes on so we could leave when your neighbor from across the hall noticed I was in a hurry and offered to watch him until you got home."

"WHAT?!" Senses on high alert now, Paige demanded, "Which neighbor?"

"I thought it would be fine. He said he knows you. I think his name is Chris?…"

Paige hung up without preamble and snatched her keys from the ignition. Not bothering to grab her purse or even shut her car door, she sprinted for the steps leading to her apartment ignoring Amanda's attempts to call her back. Knowing in her gut that something was very wrong, she took the stairs two at a time and prayed all the way, "Please let Ralph be okay! Please let my son be okay!" like a mantra. Paige careened toward her door and when she stopped in front of it her fingers were trembling so badly she couldn't get her key in the deadbolt and she dropped the whole key ring to the floor with a loud clatter.

The only sensible thought going through her mind at that moment was, "Call for help!" Her phone was still in her hand, so she hit the voice activate key, and panting, commanded, "Call Walter!"

That's when Chris yanked the door open and jerked Paige inside. He shoved her up against the wall. The back of her head made contact with a thump that made her see stars. He kicked the door shut and pressed her shoulders in place with his forearm. That's when she noticed the deadly knife in his other hand. He pushed his lower body against hers to hold her still. He was so close the key ring on his belt dug into her side. They were nearly nose to nose and he said softly, "Welcome home."

She stared into his unnatural eyes. His smile was so terribly frightening because it looked so normal. Tamping down her panic, she asked in a shaking voice, "W-where is Ralph? Where is my s-son?"

Grin still in place, he answered unhelpfully, "Did you know if you steal a charge nurse's phone from a nursing station, you can place a call and the name of the hospital will show up on the caller ID no matter where you're calling from? Isn't that brilliant? But sadly, those phones get really poor reception outside the hospital."

"M-my son? Is-is he okay?"

"Oh he's having a little nap in his room right now. I didn't want him or his babysitter to bother us while we have our discussion. We have a lot to talk about, Paige. You have been very naughty, haven't you?"

She was trying to make herself focus but the terror clawing at her was making it hard to breathe let alone think. "B-but I want to see him…"

"I just said he's napping! Pay attention!" Chris' eyes narrowed and the smile slipped from his face, "We need to talk about your behavior! First you tease me. Then you ignore me. Then I watch as you have a different man over here every night for weeks! Do you know how that makes me feel? You're a tramp and you need to be taught some manners!"

That's when they heard Walter's faint but frantic voice on Paige's phone, "Paige! I'm coming! I'm on the way!"

The phone fell from her nerveless fingers as Chris' eyes widened and his face flushed with rage.

"You little bitch!" he said. He pulled away and backhanded her across the face. She fell to her knees and he gave a sharp kick to her side before crushing the phone under his heel. Stunned and hurting, she began to crawl toward Ralph's room.

He grabbed her by the hair and pressed the knife to her throat. "I don't think so, sugar. Thanks to you we gotta bug out sooner than I planned."

He forced her to stand and walk to the kitchen table where a black backpack sat. She considered elbowing him in ribs or stomping on his foot, but he was twice her size and he kept the knife blade so firmly pressed to her neck that any wrong move would draw blood.

As if he knew what she was thinking, he said, "Don't you try anything crazy." With his free hand, he pulled a roll of silver duck tape out of the bag. "Tear off a strip of that and put it over your mouth. I don't want you making any unnecessary noise before we get to my van. After that you can scream as much as you'd like." She could hear the chilling smile in his voice.

Making one last attempt to reason with him, she whimpered, "What about Ralph? I c-can't leave my son!"

"Shut up about that kid and do what I tell you! Now!" His hand jerked and drew a bead of blood where the knife tip penetrated her skin. It took her a couple of attempts because her hands were shaking so violently, but finally she complied. She tore off some tape and put it across her mouth.

Chris slung the backpack over his shoulder and marched her out the door and down the hall. Her back tightly pressed to his front and his arm like a steel band across her chest, they stumbled down the stairs. She kept hoping someone would see, but it was too early for people to start returning from work yet. He managed to wrestle her all the way to his van parked in the fire lane just outside the stairway door. He turned her around so he could use his free hand to open the back doors to the vehicle. That's when they saw Walter rushing toward them across the lot.

Her would-be rescuer was still about 25 yards away, when Chris yelled, "Stop right there! Don't come any closer or I'll make her bleed!"

Walter could tell he wasn't bluffing. His face blanched and he raised both hands palms up. "Whatever you want. Anything. It's yours. But don't do this."

Keeping Paige in front of him, Chris howled with demented laughter. "Well, I want her. But just because I'm a nice guy and I want her to know what sort of men she's been spending time around, I'm giving you a choice here. Save her or save the boy."

Chris hit a remote on his key ring and the dining room window of Paige's apartment blew out with a thunderous crash and flames began licking up the side of the building toward the roof.

Tears streaming down her face, Paige silently begged Walter with her eyes.

"Come after me and try to save her. Or save the kid. Your pick."

Walter stood frozen in place for a split second. Then he looked her dead in the eye and said, "I'm sorry, Paige." He turned around and left her as he sped back toward the now blazing building.