PROCREATION SCIENCE -

A Misconception

Chapter 2

AN: Ok. My doors are officially blown off! Thank you, thank you, thank you! To everyone who reviewed. Who knew writing a seriously AU idea I had over a year ago would get such a response? And to those of you wonderful enough to endorse me on Tumblr? *falls down in supplication* I'm not wooorthy! You are seriously the best!

I hope you like the second chapter as much. I laughed myself silly a few times writing it. This situation is SO beautifully awkward. And I know it's more than a bit OOC, but I'm having fun with it anyway. I hope you can look past that and enjoy it too. Tell me if you want more.

P.S. You might have noticed I changed the name. It was seriously ticking me off I couldn't put 2.0 in the title and I missed a perfect opportunity for word play before, so I thought, 'what the heck?'

Without further blathering, here it is...

oOoOoOoOoOo

She was out of her mind. A total raving lunatic.

There was no other explanation for her even considering Walter's 'idea'. Having another kid with a man she wasn't even dating? Bananas!

Paige had always wanted more children. After all, Ralph was the single biggest blessing in her life. She'd been in a relationship with his father, and look how well that turned out. There were no guarantees in life.

Still, it was completely bonkers.

It was okay when 'Project Genius 2.0' was just an abstract concept. It was even kind of fun to think about when she was fighting boredom on an endless flight back from saving the world some place or other. As long as Paige was only mentally knitting baby clothes, she was just fine. She could dismiss it as a fantasy of sorts.

It got a little more real when she started taking supplements and modified her diet in the event they might actually be serious about this… 'endeavor' at some point. Giving up her shot of caffeine in the mornings was the hardest adjustment, but Walter volunteered to switch to decaf too and decided he would follow her same nutritional guidelines in solidarity. His support made sticking with the dietary restrictions somewhat easier. Plus, it meant they were having meals together more often these days. When asked, they told the other team members they'd issued each other a challenge to see who could eat 'clean' for the longest amount of time. If Paige tried very, very hard, she could almost convince herself that was all she and Walter were doing.

Things passed over into surreal when she saw her doctor and began to keep charts on the back of her bathroom door, hidden under her carefully positioned bathrobe to keep Ralph's curious eyes from finding them. If they were really going to go through with this, she would eventually need to have a conversation with her son to explain why the older genius was hanging around after… bedtime on a semi-regular basis. But not yet. Just in case she woke up and realized this whole thing was only a bizarre dream.

She was still waffling six weeks later. At least a dozen times a day she would have second and third and eighth thoughts, but then she would see Walter sitting at his desk and his eyes would meet hers across the ten feet or so of space separating them. He would give her this look. One that said 'I really want to make a new intellectually superior human with you' and it would scramble what was left of her brain. And picturing a precious, tiny baby with an uncontrollable riot of dark curls and intelligent brown eyes, she would grin like the fool she was and add to the 'pro' column of her list of oh, so compelling reasons why she really wanted to do this. Needed to do this. No matter how crazy it made her seem.

And in the wee hours of the morning when she was freaking out a little and couldn't sleep due to all the swirling thoughts, Paige could admit to herself that a very small part of her just wanted to see what sex with Walter would be like. Sure, the most important reasons for doing this involved the joy of becoming a new mom all over again and giving her son a sibling, someone who would be there for him as he grew and aged. Someone who would look up to him and depend on him. She never had that growing up and she really wanted it for Ralph.

Those were the reasons she would some day be able to say out loud anyway. But somewhere deep, deep down in the bottom of the farthest corner of her heart, a quiet voice was steadily humming, 'Let's Get It On.'

And when no one else was around, the looks she caught from him then? Ho, boy. They had nothing to do with procreation and everything to do with fornication. Walter's deep, dark eyes would track her movements and all but smolder and she knew he was thinking of the consummation phase of the project. Imagining her au natural. Which made her wild inside.

He would usually follow up those interactions with bouts of adorable nervousness, all contrite and stuttering to her about work things or questions about Ralph. He was almost over-the-top considerate and damn near polite. It was more than a tad scary.

And then sometimes, like the current moment, Paige's evil shoulder devil would whisper in her ear. And she would start to worry because Walter valued efficiency above all else. What if he was 'efficient' in bed? Would it all just be biology to him? Get in, get on, get off, make a kid, get out? Perversely, she could picture the grin on his face when he finished in ninety seconds flat, hit a button on his stop watch and said, "See? Maximum efficiency!" Leaving her to scream in frustration. Well, the whole point was pregnancy, right? Not gratification.

She rested her elbows on her desk and dropped her face into her palms. Obsessing over these things was wreaking havoc on her concentration. She was so far behind on paperwork, it would take a team of archeologists years to dig her out from under the piles of forms scattered on her usually orderly workspace. At least she was pretty sure she wouldn't get fired. Since her boss wanted her to be his baby mama and all. Urgh!

A hysterical bubble of giggles almost erupted just as Walter approached holding a file folder. Oh, great. More paperwork.

Except it wasn't.

And damn her traitorous heart for pounding every time he stood close these days.

He was standing beside her with that Walter-like look of confusion on his face as if she was a particularly tricky equation he couldn't quite solve. Lucky for her he happened to love math?

He started off with, "You look perturbed." His position next to her and his words had her thinking back to the conversation they had just before they kissed the first time. Paige suddenly recalled with perfect clarity the firm press of his lips on hers and the all too brief stroke of his tongue.

She could feel a hot blush creep up her face. Was her reaction even close to normal? Maybe this always happens to a healthy woman when she goes nearly seven years without getting any action. It wasn't a dry spell; it was full on Death Valley time. And the anticipation, hell just the possibility of… ending that drought not only had her biological clock ticking like mad, that time piece was strapped to enough C4 to bring down a city block. And the count was down to seconds.

Walter would more than likely reconsider the whole thing if she tackled him to the ground and started removing his clothes. With her teeth. So, she tried to bring herself under some semblance of control. After taking a Lamaze deep breath, and exhaling so, so slowly she was able to answer him with just a hint of huskiness to her voice, "Oh, I'm okay. Just, you know, busy. Is that another invoice you need me to send out?" All the while she was thinking, 'You really shouldn't stand so close or I won't be responsible for my actions. Tick-Tock.' Paige was proud she sounded nearly normal though.

Taking a fast look around to make sure everyone else was busy and out of earshot, Walter replied softly, "No. My, uh, lab results came back. I'm clear." He did another quick scan of the room before adding, "I also had a lawyer draw up preliminary papers for when… if-if this, uh, venture is successful."

Her jaw dropped and she just blinked up at him. Oh, poop. No more physical obstacles remaining then? It was down to her yay or nay. No pressure.

They both jumped about three feet when Toby asked curiously, "What are you two whispering about over there? From the look on Ms. Dineen's face, I'd say it's a lot more interesting than my latest copy of JAMA. Care to share with the rest of the class?"

"NO!" They both said in almost perfect unison.

Paige slapped a hand down on the folder Walter put on her desk and she slid it under the nearest pile. She knew she couldn't leave it unguarded for a second now, not even to go to the bathroom. Stupid observant shrink.

Ignoring Toby, Walter mouthed, "Talk later." And he casually strolled back to his desk as if he hadn't just dropped a life altering decision right in her lap along with that innocent looking folder.