Many thanks to everyone who has left a review, keeps me motivated to finish this little story off. There are a few more short chapters to go so I hope you keep with me :)

Lying on the bed next to Paige, their fingers laced and bodies touching, Walter thought it had been a most unusual morning, he couldn't remember the last time he had been this lazy. The most strenuous activity so far had been climbing the stairs.

They'd talked. A lot. And touched. There had been constant touching, neither of them wanting to break their fragile new connection. That had helped with the talking. When shame or guilt made eye contact hard, a simple touch from the person you loved made everything just seem less.

But it hadn't all been about him, Paige hadn't lied when she'd said they both had baggage. He knew that his trigger was fear of rejection, now he knew that hers was fear of abandonment. Her mother, Drew, even Tim, they'd all taken their toll. He'd shut down completely towards everyone save Megan, and to a certain extent Cabe, because he'd been misunderstood, but Paige was still warm and kind even after all life had thrown at her. He had a newfound respect for her resilience. The things she'd done to make sure Ralph was safe and cared for, loved.

Walter was beginning to find his new EQ insights quite fascinating. Things had gone so much better than he could have hoped for with Paige, all he had to do now was reconcile with the rest of the team.

He rolled onto his side, propping his head up on his free hand. "Paige…what time do you need to get home for Ralph?"

"I don't." she said, shifting to mirror his pose "Ralph is with Drew for the weekend, I've got nowhere to be but here."

Walter looked down at their joined hands and toyed with her fingers.

"Will you help me talk to the others?" He raised his eyes to hers, his expression earnest. "I don't know how we move forward but I need to try and set things right with them too."

"It'll be OK Walter, we'll fix it, I'll do whatever I can." She sat up, tucking her legs beneath her. "But Walter…Centipede or Scorpion, I can't make that decision for them, they'll have to want to come back."

Walter sat up too, leaning back against the headboard. "I understand." He swallowed. "Do…do you want to come back?" He raised a knee and picked at an imagined piece of fluff on his jeans as he waited for her answer, casting furtive glances at her from beneath his lashes.

Paige waited until he fully met her gaze. "Yes. Do you want me to come back?"

"Yes." He said, with absolute certainty. "I do."

"Well OK then. Who do you want to start with?"

If he tried to talk to all of them together, he felt sure it would deteriorate into an argument within minutes. "Toby?" It was the logical choice, Toby was the one who would most easily understand, because he already did. All Walter needed to do was tell him he was right and accept his crowing with good grace. It would be hell and Toby would love every moment of his suffering.

"Toby it is, I'll call him now." Paige clambered off the bed and snagged her phone from her purse. Not wanting to eavesdrop, Walter went downstairs to see if there was any coffee left. He poured the last of it into a mug and leant back against the counter as words drifted down to him.

"not fair Toby…we have…none of your business...understand…he knows…mean a lot…OK…Toby…Toby…Toby!...Thank you."

Walter headed back up to the loft. "Well, that sounded like it went as expected."

Paige turned with a grimace. "He…expressed opinions, it's Toby, but he's agreed to meet with you in an hour, to talk about things. It'll be fine."

Walter put his arm around her and kissed her forehead "Thank you Paige."

"You're welcome." Paige laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you Walter."

He looked down at her, smiling. "Reciprocated"