INVASION EVASION
AN: Ready for another (hopefully exciting) chapter? Well, here you go...
Thanks for your comments! Love 'em all!
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"Wake up, waitress!"
Paige groaned something rude and yanked the thin, scratchy blanket over her head only to have it immediately whisked up and off of her.
"Hey! What the hell!" She bit out angrily.
Happy dropped down onto the end of the flimsy cot, narrowly missing squashing the other woman's feet in the process. As she balled the stolen blanket up in her lap, she stated, "If you'd get your lazy ass outta bed when I ask, I wouldn't have to resort to violence." The little mechanic shrugged.
"What my wife is trying to tell you, in her usual shy way, is she'd like to have launch with you today. See what I did there?"
"I hate you. Both of you." Paige mumbled into her pillow.
"No you don't." Toby smirked, knowingly. "Today's the big day. We're not going away, because we want to make sure you share this experience with us. C'mon, Paige. It's gonna be a blast ...off."
"Easy for you to say." She griped while he giggled at his own joke.
"Not really. You think you're the only one having a hard time with all this?" She opened one eye and saw the shrink giving her that signature analyzing look she detested.
"No. But at least you two are experiencing all this together with your spouse and love of your life."
"Uh, so are you, last time I checked," Happy threw out there.
"I hate logic too," she grumbled back at them as she flopped over and sat up. "Besides, at least for Toby, those two are one in the same person. See, your husband isn't bringing his latest plaything along for the ride. I guess my spouse," she spit the word out as if it tasted foul, "requires one companion for mental stimulation and the other for the more, uh, physical aspects. Or else he's trying to populate Mars with his genius DNA twice as fast as everyone else. I guess it's more 'efficient' that way. Ha! As if I'd ever let him touch me again. Now, get off my bed."
Toby and Happy exchanged an exasperated look.
"You need to hold it down, dummy. Not everyone knows about… 'Plan B'." The machinist hissed the last part out of the corner of her mouth.
"Paige," Toby said in that annoyingly soothing tone of his, "For the umpteenth time. Walter has no romantic interest in Flo and he finds her about as sexually appealing as he does the average artichoke."
She stabbed agitated fingers through her disheveled hair, wincing when they caught in some of the tangles. "For all you know he's really into choking," she retorted, feeling satisfied when he made a disgusted face, "None of you would recognize an emotion if it jumped up and bit you on the butt. I'm the one with all the EQ, remember?"
"197 doesn't have to bite my butt. I can see how he feels… Wait. That came out wrong. You do realize I'm a Harvard-trained, genius behaviorist, right?"
"As if you ever let any of us forget," Happy muttered sotto voce earning her a raised eyebrow from her husband.
"Aaaaanyway… As I was saying before Mrs. Buttinski chimed in…"
"Doesn't that make you Mr. Buttinski?" Paige bared her teeth in a smile that was all sarcastic innocence.
Toby talked right over the question. "Again, I'm a genius behaviorist. Trust me when I tell you your hubby shows no markers of having chemistry with the chemist."
"I don't remember you picking up on Flo having the hots for him either. But that happened, didn't it? Anyway. Doesn't matter. Go away."
"Are you going to get yourself ready for take off if we leave you alone?" Happy squinted at Paige beadily.
The former waitress turned unwilling astronaut pushed at Happy's backside with her feet in an attempt to make her interfering friend get off the cot. "Fine. Okay. Happy Now?"
"I was born Happy."
"Good one!" Toby flashed an ornery grin at Paige while the 'Happy' couple executed a perfect No-Look-High-Five.
Paige was not amused. "Great. Now go. I gotta pee and get dressed and I don't need an audience for either activity, thank you."
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For a person who normally wouldn't allow herself to get bogged down in negative thoughts, Paige was having trouble finding the silver lining. Was it the prospect of leaving Earth and everything she'd ever known behind? Of course she was terrified by that thought, but she'd been afraid on some level during almost every one of Scorpion's more radical cases and she'd gotten through it and occasionally even thrived on it. Besides, she wouldn't dream of letting Ralph go without her. In addition, she knew her son's was one of the best scientific minds in the world, so she also realized preventing him from going would stymie Earth's best chance of survival. She'd accepted all of that. Mostly.
Paige stared at her haggard reflection in the latrine's spotty mirror. "Pull yourself together, Dineen," she told herself bracingly, jiggling the toothbrush hanging from her lips and staunchly ignoring the funny looks from the other women at the sinks next to hers.
She vigorously resumed brushing while her thoughts continued to race.
Was she still a Dineen? Or was she technically an 'O'Brien' now? She hadn't bothered to ask.
Truth be told, she'd hardly spoken to her 'husband' since 'the other woman' barged in on their lunch three days ago. In a show of flagrant immaturity, she'd kind of stormed away when Flo tried to join them.
It's not like she was proud of it.
She'd simply taken as much she could be expected to tolerate. At least that's what she'd told herself at the time.
Guilt twisted her guts. Looks like she'd found the original source of her uncharacteristic negativity.
But Walter was her ex boyfriend. Emphasis on the EX. Was she secretly hoping this mission… this sham of a marriage would somehow patch things up between them? Was she hoping they would work things out and get back together like they always had in the past? Then Flo's unexpected appearance dashed those dreams by proving Walter was, what, actually the number one fan of My Chemical Romance or something?
Ah, hell.
There it was. The unvarnished truth.
Paige rinsed her toothbrush and her mouth. She only wished she could wash away her feelings for Walter as easily, but they lingered stubbornly like the strong mint flavor of the toothpaste.
Enough was too much! He could have her. They were welcome to each other. Paige almost made herself believe it. For all of ten seconds. Or not at all.
She rolled up her toiletry bag into her pajamas, jamming them under an arm. Firmly deciding 'Fake It Til You Make It' was her new motto, she exited the bathroom with her chin held high.
So high she wasn't looking where she was going and ran into something, or rather someone, solid right outside the door.
"Paige! Fancy running into you here." Sylvester's big hands grasped her by the elbows to steady her.
She was so glad to see him she felt the sting of tears. She dropped the bundle under her arm when she went to hug him tight. He always gave the best hugs.
"Hey. Everything alright?" He asked.
"As alright as it can be when my whole world has been turned on its ear and I'm about to be launched into space. You?"
He shrugged. "Same. I was coming to see if you'd eat breakfast with me."
Paige narrowed suspicious eyes at him. "Did Toby and Happy send you to check on me?"
"No? Okay, sort of. But I also thought you'd be the one person freaking out about this launch nearly as much as me. I was seeking solidarity too."
She felt a genuine smile spread over her face. "In that case, you're on. Lemme ditch my pj's real quick and I'll catch up with you."
Up to this point Paige had been eating most of her meals alone in a quiet corner. The geniuses she knew – the ones she wasn't currently giving the silent treatment, that is - were all scrambling every minute trying to get everything ready, so they didn't have a lot of time for meal breaks. The ones she didn't know were still treating her like an outsider even though she'd tried making a few amiable gestures and polite overtures. In the end she'd found a 'nerd table' that was part way obscured by the buffet line and she'd been sitting there. How unexpected to be considered the nerd among a bunch of nerds. Needless to say, it was very nice to sit across from a friendly face for once.
"So how are you holding up, Sly? This must be really tough on you." Paige asked sympathetically. She blew over her steaming mug of coffee, listening aptly.
"Oh, you know. Months of recirculated air filled with germs and other people's flatulence. Going to a hostile place where no human has set foot since 1972. Exploring an alien structure probably packed to bursting with unknown pathogens that could cause an instant pandemic if we're exposed. And you know I love flying. Other than that, I'm good." He picked up a piece of bacon and sniffed at it before returning it to the plate.
Paige chuckled. "I know what you mean. I didn't sign up for this either. It just kinda happened. We're gonna make it. We always do."
The mathematician nodded somewhat doubtfully as he smeared grape jelly on his toast. "Florence told me she saw you."
She resisted the urge to cringe or make a face. "Are you okay with her going?"
"Yes. We've talked about things. It was a little awkward at first. But it's Florence, so awkward comes with the territory." They shared a knowing smile. "I take it you're not okay with it?"
"I want to say I don't care…"
"But you'd be lying."
Sly gave her an understanding look then they both ate in companionable silence for a few moments.
"Are things better with you and Walter now?" Paige couldn't say why, but she sincerely hoped the two men had made up.
Sylvester crunched into his toast and chewed thoughtfully. "It's a little hard to stay mad at someone after they save your life. Again. And the kicker was, he had no expectation whatsoever that I would forgive him or even talk to him. He just wanted me to be included because he cares about me and wants me to survive. No strings. How 'bout that? But if you're asking if we apologized for what we said to each other, we did. Eventually. You taught us well. It was easy after that. I might've even cried a little." He smiled ruefully into his orange juice then took a healthy gulp, grimacing slightly when the sugary jelly made it taste sour.
Paige was relieved for both of their sakes. She scooped up a spoonful of semi-soggy bran flakes, striving not to notice he was studying her closely.
He finally said, "Don't get mad. I'm not trying to interfere or anything. But I want you to consider something."
'Uh, oh. Here it comes,' she thought.
"Walter worked to get Florence in on the mission. He did. Because he wants to save everyone. He didn't want anyone he knows left behind if possible. That's typical. What's not typical is the way he was acting demented for days, scarcely eating or sleeping, driving us all nuts and wracking his not-inconsiderable brain doing everything he could to find any excuse to get you here with Ralph. In the end he was willing to marry you to achieve that goal. Florence isn't wearing his ring and neither am I. Please just think about that."
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Because she was trying her hardest not to think about the impending launch, Paige thought about what Sylvester said as she repacked her clothes. She thought about it when she stripped her cot and dropped the linens off at the laundry truck. She thought about it while she took a last look around the barracks to see if she'd missed anything.
So Walter made a habit of marrying people to solve problems. So what? He'd married Happy to keep from being deported. It didn't mean a thing.
But he hadn't been 'demented for days' trying to work out a solution to his immigration issues, had he?
"Paige?"
Walter's voice at her elbow startled her, making her jump. Think of the devil...
"Hey," she answered, playing it off casual as if her insides weren't all jittery and her breakfast wasn't threatening to reappear.
"Is your bag ready to be loaded?"
"Oh, um, sure. I-I think. I keep wondering if I've forgotten something important. Like maybe I should've packed Ralph's baby pictures or my grandmother's quilt," she laughed nervously. "It's not like I'll be able to run back home and pick them up if-if…"
"I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you can safely come back for those things one day soon. In the meantime, try not to worry."
Walter gave her a wan smile as he picked up her suitcase and hefted it to the van. She shuffled after him in a daze.
"Hey, where's Ralph?" She asked. The boy had been with Walter every waking minute for the last couple of days because they'd both been working non-stop to get ready to launch, rechecking and tweaking the programming over and over.
The older genius smirked at the question. "Where do you think? Once they let him inside, he wasn't leaving that shuttle until he'd explored every inch."
"He may not feel the same after a few months." Paige's reply sounded more dejected than she intended.
He didn't bother contradicting her because they both knew it was true.
Walter handed their bags to the waiting driver to be loaded with the rest and they both clambered up into the van. As they slowly rolled closer and the shuttle grew larger and larger in front of them, taking up more and more of the view out the windshield, Paige resisted the urge to bang on the doors and windows to be let out. She fought the almost overwhelming desire to walk with the sunshine beating down on her head surrounded by the smell of hot asphalt and baking earth. She didn't want to ever forget the experience just in case.
Seeing Walter's hand resting between them on the seat, she threaded her fingers through his instead.