WriterFreak001:

Today is my birthday, and I am stuck at home with a numb mouth due to three cavities having to be filled earlier today. Some B-day present huh? Anyway, I have some downtime because of my procedure, so yeah! Here is a gift for all of you! :)


Title | Deception

Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)

Description | It did not take a genius for Walter O'Brien to know there was a connection between him and Paige; with each day, the pull between them – whatever it might be – grew stronger, but when Drew came into the picture, it threw Walter in for a loop. Of all of the things he had ever foreseen, he never predicted Ralph's father's untimely arrival. More importantly, Drew seemed to be hiding something; can Walter and his team discreetly investigate Paige's ex without her finding out? What will Walter do with what he finds? Find out and see.

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated K+ for brain stuff and fluff.

POV | Third Person Omniscient

Disclaimer | While CBS owns Scorpion, I am the owner of this masterpiece.

Claimer | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something should be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!


Deception

Written by WriterFreak001

Chapter 8

~ Scorpion ~

An hour after Paige had fallen asleep, Ralph had occupied the other half of the couch and drifted off to sleep himself. The rest of the team had also retired for the night, but Walter was very much awake. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable because he wasn't. Paige was sleeping soundly against one shoulder, while Ralph's head was planted against a pillow that was propped up with his right leg. As the clock struck midnight, Walter carefully slipped from underneath the mother and son and then stretched his muscles. He then picked Ralph up into his arms and carried him up the stairs to his bedroom. Quietly, he pushed the door open and placed the sleeping boy in his bed and then left to retrieve Paige. She was still fast asleep. When he reached the couch, he slipped his arms underneath her and carried her up the stairs; however, he took his time. Minutes later, he reached his bedroom and carefully placed her on the bed next to Ralph. Then he draped the blankets over them. Getting them to a proper bed was essential if he wanted them to have a good night's sleep. He could have taken them back to Paige's apartment, but since his bed was unoccupied, he did not see the reason to waste gas unnecessarily.

He cracked the door closed and then made his way to the couch in the living space on the second floor. It wasn't the most comfortable piece of furniture, but it was better than the one downstairs in his opinion. Not to mention it was the closest couch to his bedroom; that way, if Paige or Ralph needed anything, he would be close by.

Eventually, Walter fell asleep, and for the first time in many years, he dreamt of something other than mathematical algorithms and scientific breakthroughs.

And he didn't seem to mind.

He woke up early the next morning, far before everyone else and decided to see if he could make some progress with Cabe Jr. However, the mouse was as obstinate as ever. He kept on chewing at the wires Walter had attached him to. After an hour of trying to get the mouse to stop gnawing at everything, Walter gave up and put the rodent back into his cage. He would have to try again later when the mouse wasn't so hungry.

He sat back down on the couch and folded his hands in front of him before slumping his head with a heavy sigh. His elbows were propped against his knees. He closed his eyes and took a moment to reset. He heard his bedroom door open. He pushed his hair back as Paige approached him and sat down next to him. "Sorry for falling asleep last night," she apologized.

"Everyone needs sleep. Your body was tired. Sleep was its natural response. An involuntary action." Walter replied as he leaned back against the couch and stared at the wall in front of him.

"Right," Paige chuckled.

"What?" He snapped his head in her direction.

"I think I'm getting better at translating Genius now." Paige smiled. She grabbed the blanket that had dropped to the floor and then draped it over both of them. "So, what are you doing up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep very well."

"Why not?"

"The couch isn't made for sleeping." He shrugged. "But I'd rather you and Ralph have a good night of rest so I made due." Walter added quickly. He might not understand emotion, but he's been around Paige long enough to recognize her facial cues when she was angry or upset.

"Thank you." Paige replied with a smile. She leaned her head against his shoulder. He froze in place, causing a light giggle from Paige. He didn't question it, though. He figured she was laughing at his rigid response. She found his left hand underneath the blanket and coiled her fingers around his. He was still a little stiff from the unfamiliar territory she was slowly coaxing him into. "When Ralph has a hard time sleeping, he usually finds comfort sleeping in my arms. Perhaps a similar concept could be the same for you. Just lay your head on top of mine and close your eyes. The rest should follow."

Considering Paige's suggestion as an experiment, he did as she advised. But he didn't close his eyes. Not yet. He wanted to stay awake a little while longer before falling to sleep. He smelled lavender. Paige's shampoo scent, no doubt. He could tell Paige was starting to drift back to sleep; her body started to lean against his a little more. He could also tell he was starting to fall asleep too.

"Paige?" he whispered softly in case she was already sleeping.

"Hm?"

"Most of the time, when Ralph claims he has a hard time sleeping and crawls into bed with you, it isn't because he can't sleep."

"Oh? What is it then?" Her voice was fading.

His was too. "It's another conduit for him to connect with you. To show you that he...loves…you." Walter's voice faded as slept took over him. Paige was right; her experiment did work. Perhaps another trial was in order.

~ Scorpion ~

A few hours later, Ralph woke up to find himself in Walter's bedroom. He looked around the room but couldn't find his mom. He figured she was still sleeping on the couch downstairs. After a much needed yawn, he stretched and then hopped off of the bed to find his mom and Walter. He wasn't worried. He knew that wherever his mom was, Walter wasn't too far away from her. He was always there. Watching her. Observing her. Thinking about her. Ralph knew Walter found something intriguing about his mother, just as he did as well. His mom was certainly one of a kind. And Walter knew that.

Ralph walked down the hall and headed for the main living space on the upper floor. He was thirsty. And hungry. He looked at the analog clock hanging in the hallway. 8:43 AM. Time for breakfast. When he walked into the living space, he saw his mom and Walter sleeping on the couch together. Their heads were pressing against each other, and they looked very peaceful. He smiled. He then saw Toby taking a picture of the pair with his phone. Happy was doing the same. Sylvester was trying to respect Walter and his mother's privacy. Cabe also smiled at the two and then walked over to Ralph.

"Come on, kiddo. Let's get some breakfast." Cabe took Ralph's hand and led him down the stairs as the rest of the crew slowly followed.

~ Scorpion ~

Walter opened his eyes when he heard his ringtone go off and groaned. Paige was still resting peacefully next to him. Careful not to wake her, he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

It was a text from Toby: While you and our communications liaison were sleeping together – don't roll your eyes at me, Walter – the rest of the team, Ralph included, went to Denny's for breakfast. Feel free to meet us here for some sustenance.

Walter was about to wake Paige up, but his phone buzzed again.

Toby again: By the way, we have physical evidence of your little slumber party, Walter. Don't think you can simply block that oh so precious memory off simply because you "might" have actually enjoyed yourself.

Walter jammed his phone back into his pocket. He was going to have to remind himself to hack into Toby's phone later.

His phone buzzed yet again.

Toby: I know what you're thinking, Walter. Don't bother hacking into my phone later. I know how to back up files too you know.

Walter silenced his phone and then nudged Paige awake. Her eyes fluttered open as she sat up and stretched her muscles. "Good morning," she smiled, her hand still holding his. "Did you sleep better?"

"Your experiment worked." Walter replied as he rose to his feet and then pulled her with him.

"Good." Paige laughed.

"By the way, the rest of the team are at Denny's. Hungry?"

"Starving," Paige placed her free hand on her belly.

"Me too. Let's go." Walter said as he pulled the young mother along with him. He felt an unfamiliar sensation when she squeezed his hand, but it was a pleasant feeling. He considered everything he did with Paige as experiments. His internal and physical responses were, in his mind, the manipulated variables; Paige was the controlled variable. To him, her significance to the team will never change. Like Ralph said the night before; Paige was a constant. And Walter believed it too.

When they arrived, Toby, Happy and Sylvester were sitting at one booth, and Cabe and Ralph were sitting behind them.

"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauties!" Toby winked. Walter noticed Toby looking at their conjoined hands. "I see your relationship has…upgraded…since our last encounter."

"And I think your brain has shrunk since our last encounter," Happy fired back. "Leave them be and eat your pancakes."

"Oh, stop, you." Toby flipped his wrist in a jokingly manner and grinned a sheepish grin. "You know your insults only turn me on, right?"

"Guys," Sylvester placed his palms on both Toby's and Happy's shoulders, "Paige doesn't like it when you talk like that in front of Ralph. We should respect her wishes."

"In other words, Toby." Happy looked over at Ralph who was focused on his own food. "Sylvester wants you to shut up."

"I didn't say that, Happy," Sylvester frowned. He looked at Toby. "Feel free to talk whenever you want, Toby. Just be mindful of what you say."

Walter smirked at Sylvester's gentle response. One of the reasons he favors Sylvester so much is because the human calculator has his own way in keeping the peace. While Toby and Happy usually bicker back and forth, Sylvester is either trying the mediate the two of them or is off in his own world of numbers. Cabe and Ralph were sitting next together with Ralph sitting on the inside of the booth. Paige slid in the booth to sit across from her son as Walter sat across from Cabe.

"Slow day at work?" Walter asked Cabe after he and Paige ordered their meal.

"Something like that." Cabe shrugged. "Just waiting for them to call me in. Perhaps, this time, all of you would actually get to work a case."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Toby replied, over the backside of the booth. "I want some money."

"You would have money if you didn't lose at Poker every single night." Happy retorted.

"Hey, now. I don't lose every night…nor play every night for that matter." Toby defended himself.

"How many games have you lost this week, then? Seven?"

"Six. But who's counting?" Toby deadpanned. "At least I don't go off and race Lamborghinis every single time I need to meditate." Walter could feel three heated stares coming from the booth behind him.

"Who raced a Lamborghini?" Paige asked with eyebrows raised as she turned to look at the group behind her. "Well?"

"Yeah, Walter!" Happy chimed in. "Who raced a Lamborghini the last time he needed to blow some steam?"

Paige looked at Walter as he ever so slightly slumped his shoulders. He turned around and peered around the corner of the booth. "It was twice, okay? Twice! That was many years ago."

"And here I was thinking you play Minecraft when you're pissed off." Cabe replied with a perplexed brow. Never pegged you as a street racing type."

"It was a hobby at one time." Walter admitted to Cabe. "But after the last outcome, you can be rest assured that I won't do that again."

In truth, he had very much wanted to go street racing when Drew first came back into Ralph's life. He felt like he needed to take off some of the edge a little bit, but Paige had managed to calm the waters before he left to do such a thing.

"Did you at least win?" Cabe asked.

"There was a miscalculated mishap. Let's just leave it at that." Walter refused to talk more about. Paige squeezed his hand and then finally released it when their food came. The day had already started off as bizarre…; Walter could only imagine what the rest of the day might bring.

~ Scorpion ~


WriterFreak001:

And there you are! (by the way, when I started writing this, it was Dec. 01 – not Dec. 02)

Guess how old I am now. :)

Let me know what you think of the chapter.