Chapter 3

We left the dance hall and made our way to the car. "Ralph, can you please wait in the car? I need to speak to Tim for a minute." Ralph looked at his mom for a second before slowly nodding and walking into the car. Once out of earshot and seated on a nearby bench, Tim spoke.

"What's going on Paige? What was the phone call?"

Paige heaved a sigh. How do I explain this without hurting him immensely? "Tim, do you remember what you asked me on the patio when we had gotten to Tahoe and before Cabe called us back?" He looked confused, before comprehension drew on his face. "You asked me if there was anything holding me back from being in a relationship with you? At the time, I said 'no' because I wanted to try for a relationship with you. I didn't think that there was anything holding me back, and I really wanted it to work out between us. The reason, I believe, that you asked the question in first place was because you saw how close Walter and I were and how much we meant to each other. You should know that before you even joined Scorpion, there were moments when I thought and dreamed that Walter and I would become something more. I held that hope right until the moment we left for Tahoe. Walter was the one that gave me the tickets, but when he was giving them to me I could tell that he was trying to work up the courage to ask me out himself. At that precise moment though, my phone rang and the caller id read your name. I don't know Walter's thought processes after that point but he instead gave them to me for our use."

I took a breath. "I said 'no' to your question because at that point in time I was thinking to myself that Walter would never love me, never be something more than friends. I was thinking that here is a sweet, attractive man who is taking a risk being with you, who you also like in return so why not take the chance? From that point on, I pushed my feelings for Walter aside and was trying my best to make it work between us, but lately I've been having doubts. We are moving awfully fast and while I do enjoy being with you, I just can't see myself becoming your wife. Maybe I would get there in time but I just don't feel the stirrings of love that a husband and wife should have for each other. What I'm trying to say is, is that I'm sorry, but I think that we need to break up."

As I was talking, I was looking at his face and I could see he knew where this was going. He had a sad look in his eyes but also one of acceptance and resignation. He spoke.

"Paige, I can't say that I'm not upset at the turn of events, but I also want to say that I kind of expected that this would happen sooner or later. It was only a matter of time that you would realize that you loved Walter completely and would break up with me to be with him." At the look of shock on my face, he gave a chuckle and continued. "Don't be so surprised. I've always noticed the way that you have looked at him and the way he looks at you, but I guess I chose to ignore it since you were with me. Although after he confessed he loved you after Tahoe I should have been smart about it and backed off but I really liked you so again I ignored it."

"Wait, what do you mean 'he confessed he loved me after Tahoe.' I remember no such incident while we were working on the case."

He looked incredulous. "Paige, don't joke about that. He said loud and clear on the comms while we were working the case. The entire team heard him. I just thought that you wanted to be with me, so that you ignored him. You really didn't know?"

"When would he have said it on the comms? I had them in the whole time…except, when I was pissed at him for changing the reservation after the…missile hit the server hub and we were in a dead zone." Comprehension drew on my face. "All this time he has loved me. I mean I knew for a while but I chose to ignore it since he didn't remember." I said in a whisper, but Tim still heard me.

"Wait, if you didn't know after Tahoe, when did you find out?"

"I found out when he was stuck in Elia's space capsule and he was hypoxic. He was hallucinating that I was with him in there and when I was trying to get him to pull the blue lever, he told me loved me and he was hurt that I was with you because he saw us together and he always pictured him and I being together eventually. He said that he knew that he couldn't always be there emotionally when I might need him but that he was trying and was hoping he was improving. After we saved him, he didn't remember anything from the capsule and Toby told me that it would better for the memories to come on their own instead of forcing them out so I ignored it and we continued dating. O God, we each have messed up so much and I'm so sorry you were caught in the middle of it."

"Hey, it's ok. Just out of curiosity, the tipping point that made you realize you love Walter, was it the phone call you just took."

I looked at him and he looked genuinely curious and concerned. "Yes, yes it was. I didn't actually talk to anybody. Walter was the one that called but it looks like he dialed me on accident. I could hear the sound of ocean waves crashing in the background and I heard him crying. He was talking to Megan about everything; about how much he loved Ralph and I, about how all he wanted was for me to be happy and that he was ok with me being happy with you and how he couldn't blame you for showing an interest in me. He only wishes that he was the one making me happy. He also said that he Scorpion would survive without him and since he now has his citizenship, he was going to leave and start fresh somewhere else."

"Ok, that makes sense and I'm not upset with him. He obviously wasn't expecting you to hear what he said and was just venting. Ok. So here's what we are going to do. You and Ralph are going to get in that car and drive like your lives depend on it and get to the garage as fast as you can and fix this entire mess. I will have my parents drop me at my place and then when I come in on Monday morning, I better be able to feel the happiness just radiating off of the both of you. If you guys haven't talked or worked out the situation by then, then I will take matters into my own hands and force the issue."

I chuckled. "Ok. Thank you for understanding." i kissed him on the cheek. "Have a safe trip home and I'll see you on Monday." I gave him a smile as I stood and walked back to Ralph. I got in the driver's seat and headed back to the garage. I looked in the rearview mirror and I could see that Ralph was lost in thought but I knew he still knew what was going on around him.

"I'm sorry Ralph." He looked surprised. "Why are you sorry? You haven't done anything wrong as far as I can tell. What are you sorry about?" "I thought about what you said earlier and while I do agree with everything that I said about Tim, I realized that Walter makes me a lot happier that Tim does. I also realized that while you have a decent relationship with Tim, I have slowly caused distance to pop up between you and the geniuses but most especially a growing distance between you and Walter ever since I started dating Tim. So for that I am truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me."

"Mom, there was really no need for the apology. I know you didn't do it on purpose so I was never really upset but thank you anyway for the apology. I accept it and I do forgive you. Now let's speed this car up, so you can go apologize to my dad."

With a tear filled smile, I stepped on the gas and made it to garage in record time. We both jumped out of the car and ran to the front door. As soon as we opened the door, there in front of us was Walter with red, puffy eyes and a luggage bag in his hand.