DAMNED IF YOU DO
CHAPTER 2
AN: Thanks for the overwhelming response to my last chapter. I guess a lot of us need anger management therapy fics? I know a lot of you said the idea was OOC for Timbo, but I have an explanation cooking for that, just be patient. ;-)
The Scorpion leader spent his entire weekend stewing over the dilemma he was facing. And he still had no idea what to do. He sincerely wished he could un-know what he knew. In his experience it was always those you least suspected. Tim had easily fooled and won over a genius behaviorist with a few compliments the first day they'd met. The rest of them hadn't stood a chance.
Walter considered and discarded many ideas and plans while agonizing and puzzling over a course of action. Should he set up a fake email account and just forward all the information to Paige? It wouldn't take her long to figure out it came from someone at the garage though. Should he ignore what he knew and hope Paige found out on her own? It could be months. And then she might be angry and hurt if she found out he knew all about it and said nothing. Should he confront the bastard himself about the facts? Tim held all the cards. He would likely bend this situation around and make it Walter's fault somehow. Play it off like another of his failed ploys to win Paige. He could take revenge and erase the former SEAL's identity from existence, at least in the cyber world. Undoubtedly the fallout from that would be catastrophic on several fronts and once again traceable back to the genius. Should he contact the other women in Tim's harem in hopes they would expose him?
Thinking of Paige as one of a wardrobe full of women, like a pair of shoes for each occasion, one for meeting the parents, one for clubbing on Saturday nights, made Walter's stomach churn. On Monday morning he was no closer to a solution. And as the current persona non grata of the team, he'd already concluded he couldn't ask for help from any of the other members. Plus, Paige was very sensitive about everyone knowing her business anyway. She'd made that very plain with her 'black mold' comparison. But the knowledge of Tim's perfidy was slowly eating him up inside.
XOXOXOXOXO
Walter was acting weird. Well, weirder than usual. Paige just couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was. It wasn't like they were hanging out after hours or sharing details about their personal lives these days, but she still knew when something was up with him.
For starters, Monday morning there was cinnamon in the coffee again. He hadn't done that in a long time because everyone else complained about it so much. But she smelled it right away when she went to pour herself a cup. And instead of looking at her with that shy, hopeful expression he always gave her when he did something nice, the one that she found adorab-irritating, all his attention was riveted somewhere off in space. She had to call his name three times just to get him to acknowledge her usual terse 'good morning'. And instead of giving her the typical longing look of his, the one that screamed he missed their closeness, and that sad, little half smile, he grunted something absently and continued frowning and biting his lip, leaning on his fist like a living, breathing version of 'The Thinker' sculpture. It wasn't that she wanted Walter to do all his regular things or pay special attention to her. She had Tim.
And they were very happy. Her boyfriend was simply amazing. And a grown up. And damn near identical to the ideal man she always envisioned herself marrying one day.
Her boss was on the absolute flipside. That Monday morning she could almost hear the gears grinding in Walter's head and was surprised when smoke didn't gush out of his ears. Too brainy for his own good. Obviously. That was what Tim always said when they laughed about some oddity or other that happened with the geniuses. He always said it with affection though, didn't he? Not with a hidden barb. He was too good natured to do that.
Paige caught Walter staring at her off and on for the rest of the day. Not in his normal wistful, yearning way. It definitely wasn't that she was craving his appreciation, per se. But Monday he was looking at her like he was worried about something. Like he'd discovered she had the genetic marker for some dreaded disease or other.
When she finally broke down that afternoon and asked him what was up, he gave her the fake smile and too quickly stuttered, "Oh, uh, n-nothing." In the way he had when he was nervous or hiding something. She made a mental note to ask Toby if he knew what was going on. She didn't want Walter getting the wrong ideas. Like she missed it when he confided in her and told her what was bothering him or something. He might think she still wanted to be with him.
But she was with Tim now and they were making it work. Even long-distance. She missed her boyfriend so much. Didn't she? He would tell her Walter was just being unfathomable and ridiculous and give her that dimpled smile so she knew he wasn't being mean about it. It wouldn't come across as a subtle dig or anything. But for some reason, Paige didn't want to tell Tim about what happened that day. She didn't want to hear that she should just ignore it. That is was just Walter being strange again or making another stupid attempt to sabotage their relationship. She found she wasn't in the mood to hear Tim point out to her how pathetic it was that Walter had feelings for her and was still pining for her. Again. Or even worse that he was finally moving on and forgetting about her.
XOXOXOXOXO
Brooding wasn't in his nature. When Walter saw a problem, he came up with possible outcomes and solutions and evaluated their efficacy; sometimes within seconds if lives were on the line. But he was ill-equipped for an emotionally charged situation like this one. And he couldn't consult his usual Cliff Notes about it even if she wasn't tired of his immaturity and shenanigans and barely speaking to him.
He accomplished exactly nothing all day and his brain was still a mass of whirring thoughts and buzzing questions and indecisive nonsense. His lack of productivity was slowly driving him nuts.
Then he got hit by a bolt from the blue. They were still friends, weren't they? She was always a good listener. And she understood emotional situations from a normal female perspective.
He scrolled through his list of contacts even though he had her number memorized while debating with himself over the wisdom of this approach.
She picked up on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Linda. It's Walter."
