Paige sneezed so loudly that Happy dropped her wrench.
The liaison mumbled "Excuse me," and when she was met with complete silence, she looked around at the geniuses. They were all staring at her.
"Paige…" Walter started uncertainly.
"What?" she snapped. She knew what he was going to say, and she didn't want to hear it.
He sighed. "I think you might be sick."
Paige crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was reasonable in most things, but she was strongly, almost illogically opposed to the idea of being sick. "I sneezed. It's probably just dusty in here. One sneeze isn't a huge deal, is it?"
"Try seven," Happy muttered under her breath. Paige glared at her.
Walter looked at the others uneasily and approached Paige's desk as if he was afraid she would jump up and attack him. "I know you're not happy about it, but you are exhibiting symptoms of a cold. You should go home and rest."
"I can't." Paige motioned to a tall stack of paperwork on her left. "Plus I have to buy food, and take Ralph to Billy's house, and…" she trailed off before sneezing again.
Walter smirked in a way that she found extremely patronizing, but as she stood up to properly lecture him, her legs gave out under her. He wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I've just been…sitting too long," Paige rebutted, but she knew her argument was weakening as quickly as her body was.
Walter just shook his head. "Come on," he said, positioning himself to support her. She let out small grumbles of protest as he helped her up the stairs to the loft, but he ignored them.
He brought her the last few steps to his mattress and lowered her down. Paige was struck by the intimacy of being in his bed, but the idea intrigued her. She was fairly certain some of her dreams had started this way. "Do you want tea?" Walter asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Yes, thank you." She tried to sound chipper even though her throat was scratchy. "I'll rest for an hour and I'm sure I'll be good."
Walter chuckled. He was the king of denial, but when it came to her health, Paige gave him a run for his money. "I'll get you some tea and I'll drop Ralph off at Billy's later."
She opened her mouth to protest again but he was already closing the door.
Paige awoke several hours later, her body aching from head to toe. After she gulped down the tea Walter brought her, she had apparently passed out, although she didn't remember doing so. Resting neatly by the bed were her shoes, the only item of clothing she had the will to remove.
She heard the garage door open and close, and she knew it must have been Walter returning after he picked up Ralph. Paige prepared herself to climb out of the bed, but after a brief struggle she gave up and collapsed back onto the pillow. She nearly jumped when she heard a soft knock on the bedroom door.
"Paige?" Walter's voice drifted in.
"Yeah, come in." Paige sat up, hurriedly trying to fix her bedhead and straighten out her red blouse. She was surprised when Ralph came into the room first, followed by Walter.
"You didn't take him to Billy's?" she inquired. As if on cue, Ralph let out a huge sneeze.
Walter looked at the boy sympathetically. "It seems you've both been bitten by the same bug."
Paige pulled back the covers, scooted over and motioned for Ralph to join her. He complied, discarding his backpack and throwing himself onto the bed dramatically.
Walter paused before sitting on the edge of the bed across from Paige. "How do you feel?"
"Better…and worse," she admitted. It was hard to remain defiant when she couldn't stand up. "Thanks for picking up Ralph. Are we going to make you sick now?"
"Probably not. I rarely get sick," Walter said matter-of-factly. She envied him. "Stay here as long as you need to, I'll order pizza for everyone."
"What are you guys working on?" Paige missed being in the thick of the action with the geniuses. Watching them attack a problem was nothing short of fascinating.
Walter spent a few minutes detailing their projects—Toby was testing a new memory recollection technique, Sylvester was creating an algorithm to predict weather patterns more accurately, and he was designing a security upgrade for a bank with branches around the world. No one knew what Happy was working on, which was probably best, for legal reasons.
They sat in peaceful silence for a moment, watching Ralph who had fallen asleep soundly. "Thank you for letting me stay up here. I'm sorry we're taking over your room. We'll get out as soon as I'm able to drive home."
"Actually, um…" Walter looked at the boy and then to her, and smiled. "It's nice, having you both here. I'm enjoying it."
There were so many things Paige was dying to say—how she felt at home in the loft, how she could accept being sick if he was the one taking care of her, how she was surprised he was the one taking care of her, how she would be happy to wake up near him every morning—but it was too much to comprehend for either of them, so she settled on something easier. "Me too."
AN: Good news! The last two chapters are done and they are intense, so get ready! I'll post them tomorrow and the next day. :)