Title: A Long, Strange Trip
Summary: Walter heads to Tahoe. What a long, strange trip he has.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own /scorpion. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit and no infringement of copyrights is intended.
Chapter 7
Walter thought he'd be mortified at having Paige help him to the bathroom. Instead, it actually felt somehow...normal... or maybe right was the better word. It was the way things were supposed to be. When you were injured or sick, the person you loved... and who loved you... took care of you. As his level of wakefulness increased, he remembered that he had at least been successful in the two main purposes of his trip. He'd kept Paige and Tim from spending the night together - at least not alone together - and he'd told Paige about the feelings he had for her. If his memories were correct, he'd told her repeatedly, although apparently she hadn't really understood him the first few times. He also remembered that Paige told Walter she loved him, too. He'd been under the influence of some pretty fabulous drugs, so he hoped that part of his memory wasn't just an invention.
Paige kept up a monologue of unimportant commentary while she helped Walter get cleaned up and ready for the trip home. She also insisted he take some of the pain meds so he'd be more comfortable during the first hours of the ride. Walter suspected she was hoping the drugs would make him sleep, so they wouldn't have to have any serious discussions but also wouldn't be subjected to an awkward silence on the way. Walter was happy to comply. He didn't feel up to the discussion and his nose hurt like hell. Time enough when he was feeling better to have that discussion and get the answers to some questions that would be driving Walter crazy if he wasn't in so much pain. Like just where had the big Navy guy slept last night?
"Hey, Walter," Paige urged, trying to get the half-asleep genius' attention. Walter opened his eyes and turned to look at the woman sitting in the driver's seat of his car. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. That egg bagel I had for breakfast is pretty much history. I'm going to pull off at the next exit and see what I can find. If you're hungry and you feel up to it, I can find us a place where we can sit and eat. Or if you'd rather I can just find a drive-thru and we can eat in the car. Although I think we should at least consider a bathroom break while we stop. Again, if you feel up to it. I can't exactly go with you into a public men's room."
Walter opened his mouth, but it felt like it was full of cotton and his first attempt at speech was unsuccessful. He cleared his throat, happily realizing that his nose, while still a little stuffy, wasn't hurting nearly as bad and wasn't nearly as full. He tried again. "Bathroom would be good," he admitted. "I think I'll be okay. But maybe eating in the car will be better." Walter felt he was physically able to sit in a restaurant, but the noise and crowd level in a strange town was unpredictable. He didn't feel mentally up to the stress a crowded restaurant might cause.
Paige nodded. "Drive thru it is, then. But I'll park first so we can take care of business before we eat."
They found an old-fashioned drive-in restaurant at the bottom of the exit from the highway, the kind that had speakers beside each parking spot where you placed your order. They probably had servers on roller-skates at one point. As Paige pulled into a spot, she noted that the speakers no longer worked, but big signs encouraged patrons to download and app to place their orders using the restaurant's free wi-fi.
Walter was encouraged to realize he was feeling much steadier on his feet as they walked inside together to use the facilities. When he emerged, he found Paige waiting for him. She had already downloaded the app and was making some selections from the menu. Once they were back in the car, she handed Walter the phone so that he could finish the order. As they waited in silence for their meal to be brought out, Paige sighed heavily.
"I suppose this is as good a time as any to start having that talk," she began. "If... that is... if you feel up to it," she was quick to add.
"No time like the present," Walter responded. Initially he'd wanted to put this off - perhaps for a day or two after they got back home. But now he found he really wanted to learn for sure just what Paige was thinking and feeling. He knew there was risk. It was the potential risk that had made him deny his feelings for so long. But now that he had acknowledged those feelings he found he was anxious to know exactly what level of risk he was facing - and the sooner the better. His mission had apparently converted from risk avoidance to risk management. He needed to know the facts in order to be successful in this new phase.
"So, last night you chased me all the way to Tahoe to tell me that after all this time - after you practically pushed me into Tim's arms - you finally realized you love me."
"Yes," Walter confirmed.
"I guess my first question is: What changed? What caused the sudden revelation?"
"Toby told me I was an ass and I realized I was a moron. Somewhere in between the two I came to the conclusion that I love you."
"Oh."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Where... um... where did uh... Tim sleep last night?"
Paige laughed. "Walter O'Brien... YOU are JEALOUS."
"Um... no... I'm just concerned that, considering the long drive today, I want to be sure that you had an adequately restful night's sleep."
"Walter," Paige cautioned, "you've made a great start finally telling me how you feel. Don't ruin it by denying your other feelings. I told you relationships are messy. Jealousy is one of the messy parts. A little jealousy is okay - it shows you really do care about the person. Too much can be destructive. But denying it is basically like lying and there's nothing more toxic to a relationship than lying."
Walter bit his lip. He hoped he hadn't made a mistake. This sort of thing was exactly why all his previous efforts at personal interaction with women had failed. If there was risk in entering into such interaction with Paige, the biggest risk was Walter himself and his lack of understanding of the nuances involved. If Paige wanted honesty, he would give it to her. He just had to control his tendency towards knee-jerk denial of any and all feelings. He sighed. He was already in over his head and he knew it.
"Okay," he said, trying to pick his words carefully. "I... I am... a little jealous. I would really appreciate... some assurance... that you and Tim did not share the other bed last night." Seeing the frown on Paige's face he quickly added, "Not that I think there is any possibility that anything happened and not that I have any right to know... but I just want to because... the thought of you... in bed... with anyone else... even under extreme circumstances... makes me a little crazy."
He stared at the woman in the other seat, hoping he'd gotten that right. He loved her and he felt his love was growing with every waking moment. She, on the other hand, was torturing him with every second she delayed answering.
"Tim slept on the pull-out couch," she said. She smiled before adding, "Alone. You were still pretty zonked when he and I woke up this morning. We had breakfast brought up and needed the couch to sit on, so we closed it back up."
"Oh. Well that's good then. Thank you for... for telling me."
Their meal arrived and Paige passed Walter his chicken strips and onion rings then unpacked her salad and dug in hungrily.
"I'm surprised, Walter. You usually aren't big on fried foods."
"My selections are based on the fact that I wasn't sure I could comfortably open my mouth wide enough to eat a sandwich, while the chicken fingers will require minimal mouth movement. I'm hoping the pungent smell of the onions will help to open my nasal passages. Plus I feel a modest amount of indulgence is warranted."
"Well, you know you're going to have to share those onion rings."
"I'm sorry. How is sharing my food a requirement? Because I'm really not comfortable with sharing food... with anyone."
"Oh," Paige hesitated. "I didn't really mean it was a requirement. I was just teasing, really," she explained. "It's just that if you eat onions and I don't... later on we might... you know... kiss. And you would have onion breath and I don't so..."
"...it would be an unpleasant experience for you," Walter concluded.
"Right," Paige agreed. "But it's really just a sort of ... joke... that people make when they're in a relationship. I don't even know for sure if it's really a problem. I've never really noticed..."
"Nevertheless," Walter carefully hooked three of his onion rings on a plastic knife and laid them on a napkin, which he then passed over to Paige. "In future if I choose to eat anything with a pungent odor or flavor I'll be sure to order enough for us both." He looked up at her sheepishly. "Although I'm not sure kissing is such a good idea right now... much as I might want to. I can barely breathe while I eat. I think I might pass out if do anything that prevents breathing through my mouth for any length of time."
Paige smiled and reached over to lay a hand on Walter's shoulder. "Too bad," she said. "These drive-ins were quite the make-out joints back in the day."
"M... m... make-out joint?"
"Sure... you know. It's a place all the kids go when they're on a date to kiss and... do other things."
"Paige. We are not 'kids'. When the time is right for us to kiss or... do other things... we can do so in the privacy of my loft, or perhaps at your condo when Ralph is elsewhere."
"Walter, has anyone ever told you you're a real spoil sport?"
"In this context, actually, yes."
May 21, 2016
