THROWN OFF THE SCENTIPEDE

AN: If you're enjoying the quick updates and you want more, don't forget to let me know. Only one or maybe two more chapters to go!

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oooooooooo

he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the button.

Nothing happened. Silence.

At first Walter wondered if the strong sonic waves actually ruptured his eardrums, rendering him deaf. But he felt no pain. His eyes popped open.

The skeletal frame of the building was still standing. It wasn't even shaking. Then he noted he could clearly hear Mark Collins' footsteps as he casually strolled away without a care.

Walter's stomach dropped. Did he mix up the detonators by mistake?

Suddenly, the door burst open and a very familiar, very welcome voice yelled, "Freeze! Homeland Security! Hold it right there, scumbag! I'm looking for an excuse to shoot your ass, so don't test me!"

Walter was so glad to see Cabe, he felt faint with it. Especially since the agent was backed up by a veritable army of US Marshals, all with weapons drawn and aimed straight at Collins.

Sagging to his knees, he dropped the remote from numb fingers, as Ralph elbowed and jostled through the throng and sprinted toward him. The boy threw his arms around Walter and hugged him hard, while the rest of the team was still attempting to dodge around the prisoner and his captors.

Walter couldn't tell which one of them was trembling more, him or Ralph. As they held onto each other, something occurred to the older genius. He pushed back a little so he could peer into that remarkable young man's face.

"Did you disarm the blaster, Ralph?"

The boy gave him a crooked half smile and nodded. "I've been looking at the schematics on your computer for weeks. It's not like it was complicated. Don't be mad, okay? I only hacked you because I was worried about you and no one was telling me anything."

Walter shook his head then let his forehead drop to Ralph's shoulder before whispering, "Thank you."

Team Centipede made their way toward the embracing geniuses, the father and son duo in every aspect except DNA, and gathered in a semi-circle around them.

Toby crouched down beside Walter and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, 197?" The doctor asked hesitantly.

Releasing Ralph, he replied tiredly, "I'll live. If you'll excuse me I need to give my statement to the marshals." Walter was unable to meet the gaze of any of his former teammates. It took all of his remaining reserves of strength to fight the sudden dragging exhaustion and straighten his slumped shoulders enough to allow him to walk away with a measure of dignity.

Walter didn't catch Paige's faint, "Wait. I don't know how to begin to thank you. Ralph told us everything…" He also didn't see her reach out for him or her hand falling back to her side, slack and empty.

oooooooooo

The letter was in outline form. It had bullet points. The topics were in alphabetical order.

And it was the most romantic thing Paige had ever received in her entire life. It didn't matter if it was actually her son who sent it. The thought, the effort and, most of all, the depth of feeling behind the words… It was all so utterly perfect. Like that unfinished song he wrote for her.

She had no idea Walter felt those things, much less acknowledged them. The concept was a little hard to reconcile with the man she dated for eleven months, but the style was so Walter. She treasured every line for that reason.

The first three or four times she tried to read it, her eyes were so full of tears by the time she was halfway through, she couldn't see to read the rest. But eventually Paige was able to finish.

The day Ralph sent the whole team those letters via email, there wasn't a dry eye in Centipede headquarters. That fact made Paige feel a bit less foolish for blubbering over hers.

She also came to the conclusion it was the perfect time to introduce an idea to the others, so she'd sent a quick text message extending an offer.

The very next morning after the advent of the letters, her hand resting on a plain file folder, Paige smiled as the team filed in to the conference room. She took special care getting dressed that day. She must have changed outfits four times. She spent more time on her hair and makeup than she had in months. She felt the need to look her very best. And now her pulse was skipping around with nerves and anticipation.

"Good morning, everyone," Paige greeted the others cheerfully. And why not? Today was going to be extraordinarily amazing. She hadn't felt this good since… Best not to dwell on the negatives. Not today.

Toby slouched into his chair and pushed the brim of his fedora up with one finger so he could give the team leader a once over. "Someone is chipper this morning. Wonder what that's about? Just a guess, but I'd say yesterday's letter must have done the trick."

"If you'll shut up for five seconds, I'll bet she'll tell us," his wife said as she thumped him on the back of the head, causing his hat to fall in his lap.

Sylvester pulled out his chair and sat. He was smiling, genuinely smiling, for the first time in such a long time. "So, what's the new business?" He asked curiously.

Paige took her time looking at each face around the table before she said, "We have an applicant. I really think we should consider hiring him, but I wanted your opinions first. So I decided we should do a group interview then put it to a vote."

She pressed a button the intercom. "You may come in now."

Paige opened the folder and passed out a stack of resumes. It kept her hands busy and gave her something to focus on besides the swarm of excited butterflies in her stomach.

When Walter walked in, the reactions were varied, but all of them were positive.

Instantly, Cabe got up and strode across the room. Giving Walter a one armed hug and slapping him affectionately on the back, he said, "That was quite some stunt you pulled the other night! Glad to see you, son. Come on in."

Toby grinned and added, "Hey, I'm all for hiring another crazy genius as long as we don't forget who has seniority in this company."

Happy jerked her chin in his direction and simply said, "Hey, Walt. Welcome aboard." She was a woman of few words, but her softened demeanor and quiet smile spoke of exactly how pleased she was.

Initially, Sylvester's mouth dropped open in astonishment, but once he recovered, he jumped up and ran over, hugging Walter before asking excitedly, "Are you really here for a job?"

Walter smiled ruefully at the group as he answered Sly's question, "Yes. If you all are in agreement. I'm currently unemployed. As you know, my last employer was thrown in jail a few nights ago."

After Sylvester and Cabe returned to their seats, there was an awkward beat of silence while everyone stared at him. Walter shifted his weight from one foot to the other and swallowed hard. "I'd like to say a few things before my interview. I-I wanted to apologize for anything hurtful I said. I was… not myself. I will try to learn from my mistakes and do better going forward."

"Hey, we all did and said things that day we aren't particularly proud of. I know I did," Toby conceded, nodding and glancing around at his friends.

"Ditto," Happy seconded before her husband continued, "And I think saving all our lives pretty much makes up for anything else that happened."

"I'm sorry I shoved you. I know most of what happened with me wasn't really your fault." Sly spoke up next, looking remorseful. "And I'm sorry about what I said too. I was… I was upset. Mostly not at you, but you were the easiest target. And I do understand my interests seem…baby-ish to some people. I'm the one Megan would be ashamed of," his words trailed off sadly.

Walter shook his head vehemently. "No, buddy. I was way out of line when I said that. I'm proud of who you are and my sister always was too."

Another loaded silence fell.

Then Walter broke it by clearing his throat and saying, "I-I, uh, understand Centipede is more democratic and you all share equally in the profits and have equal say in the decisions. It will take some work, but I'm committed to doing things your way." He rubbed the back of his neck when the room went momentarily quiet again. "Did-did you have anything you wanted to ask me?"

"Yeah," Toby said with a smirk, "Could we go back to the name 'Scorpion'? 'Centipede' sounds kinda dumb now that I think about it."

"If we did that, we could ditch the stupid shirts. They're butt ugly," Cabe threw in, ignoring Paige's mock-indignant 'Hey!'.

"Oh, and wouldn't the rent be cheaper if we moved operations back to the garage? I mean, this place is great and all. Very… clean. But we have to keep a handle on our outgoing expenses, don't we?" Happy piped up, helpfully.

"I think I could agree to those terms," Walter replied, smiling hopefully.

A beaming Paige asked, "Are we ready to put it to a vote?"

Hands shot in the air all around the table. Toby put both of his up to 'cover all the bases'.

Paige responded with a laugh. "I didn't even have a chance to ask a question. I guess this means it's unanimous."

She stood up and offered Walter her hand to shake, "Congratulations. You have the job."

Walter reached for her hand hesitantly, almost reluctantly, shook it quickly and immediately dropped it. His eyes darted to the others in the room. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Could I talk to Walter privately for a few minutes? We have some policies and paperwork to go over," Paige asked.

"Is that what you crazy kids are calling it these days?" Toby said, waggling his eyebrows as everyone except Walter snickered like middle schoolers.

Paige missed the uncomfortable expression on Walter's face when she playfully punched the shrink on the arm as he walked by.

Everyone began to file out, patting Walter on the back or shaking his hand as they passed. Toby was the last one out. He turned and winked saying, "Don't forget to clean up after you 'sign each other's W2s', guys. Remember we want to get our deposit back on this place."

Paige blushed and rolled her eyes as she shut the door on the psychiatrist's mischievous Cheshire Cat grin.

And so, they were alone.

The alluring words of Walter's letter played through Paige's mind making her feel giddy and breathless. He was staring at his shoes. She could tell she would need to be the one to break the ice.

"You have policies I need to read over?" Walter blurted before she could start.

She couldn't help it. She giggled softly then stepped slowly into his personal space and picked up his tie. Boy, did she miss those ties. She might consider making ties office dress code. She bit her lip and let the tie slip slowly through her fingers until it once again rested against his chest. His breath caught when she patted it into place.

"Oh, I have some policies. But we can go over them orally," Paige said, her voice taking on a husky quality. Then she flashed him her best seductive grin. She'd always loved how easy it was to get him flustered.

Instead of freezing, Walter took a step back, appearing embarrassed and tense.

"Wh-what are, uh… Why w-would…?" He stammered. She missed that adorable stutter too.

"It's my policy that we should forgive each other and make a fresh start. Together. What do you say?"

"When you say together, do you mean in a…" He gulped, "ro-romantic way?"

Paige slowly nodded and stepped toward him once again.

He frowned and backed up. "Why would you want that? The way I am drives you crazy. I can't stop thinking the way that I do. I'd only bore you with genius stuff."

Paige went instantly contrite. She needed to remember he hadn't gotten a letter from her outlining all her feelings. "I didn't mean half of those things I said. I was mad and hurt and I lashed out. Even if I occasionally got frustrated, I didn't tell you when I should have. Besides it's just petty and small stuff anyway. There are so many things to admire and… and love about you."

When his face showed his skepticism, she slipped a copy of his letter out of the file folder on the table and handed it to him. His eyes went wide as he skimmed the contents.

"How? I-I didn't mean for you to read this."

"It was Ralph. Don't worry, he and I had a long talk about privacy and he's grounded for a good while from the internet and all electronic devices. But I'm so glad he sent that letter, Walter. It changed absolutely everything. I had no idea you thought any of that. Now, what do you say? Could we make 'us' official again? I think if we're honest and open with each other this time…"

Walter cut her off, "Is my job or my relationship with Ralph contingent on an affirmative answer?"

A frisson of fear passed down Paige's spine. For the first time since Walter agreed to come in for an interview, she was unsure if he'd want her back.

"Of course not. You are a valuable coworker and a good friend and role model for my son. I would never…"

"Then, I'm sorry. The answer is no."

AN: No flames, pretty please. I plan to fix this, but I'm still mad at Paige and I wanted Walter to break her heart just a little before I make it all better.

Oops! Almost forgot to give credit where credit is due! Thanks to lookingforthestars for the letting me use the idea of Walter going to work with Centipede! It worked so well with this story!