You're My Chosen: Ten times Walter was a dad to Ralph. Mainly a dad!fic, but of course I can't do it without Walter/Paige undertones! Each chapter is its own individual story, but they do go chronologically and build from each other like a continuous story. Inspired by the song "Family Tree," by Matthew West. ("You're my child, you're my chosen, you are loved.") Please R&R, to let me know if I've completely lost my mojo!
Disclaimer: Come on. It doesn't take a 197 IQ to tell that I don't own Scorpion.
Chapter Two:"Not-So-Long Goodbye" - Drew leaves for good and Paige is prepared to pick up the pieces, but finds Ralph is not as upset as she thought he'd be. (One more chapter after this one, guys!)
~~00~~
"He loves it," Paige whispered from Walter's bed.
With his head buried in her hair, Walter murmured, "Mm, I'm glad." He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and tightened his arms around her, "I just figured you guys have been staying the night so often, he deserved a private space." For the past week, he and Happy had been working on sealing programmed LED lights between panes of frosted polyplastic and connecting them to a remote. The remote changed the colors and, between the thickness of the plastic and the frosted texture, they came out looking like a flat paint rather than a bright light. They'd positioned the panes in a 12 X 12 square around his bed, moving over the television and bookshelves to condense the living area down a bit, giving Ralph his own makeshift bedroom. They put in a garage sale work desk and Happy installed a few wall shelves for clothes and books, and Walter bought the boy his own set of pillows and linens for the bed. When Ralph had come over earlier than day he'd been excited, immediately going into the space to fiddle with the color options and put his own spin on the programming, which Walter had left up on the laptop on the new desk. Paige had been overwhelmed with emotion, wrapping her hands around her boyfriend's bicep and leaning her head on his shoulder, kissing his shoulder as her son oohed and aahed over his new bedroom.
They'd had dinner together, watched a movie, and now Ralph was in bed, supposed to be sleeping but still switching the colors of his walls. Walter and Paige were lying together, watching the shifting hues, and talking about everything and nothing in hushed tones. They'd been together for three months now, which was usually the breaking point for Ralph's relationships, but everything felt like Day One to them. Paige loved to learn from him, and he from her. And while they'd had their arguments, there was never something so big that one of them wasn't willing to apologize, like when Walter got too touchy about Paige being around Drew, or when Paige questioned Walter's motives for wanting to go to Ralph's parent-teacher conferences.
"I can't believe you gave my son a bedroom and I don't even have a drawer in your dresser yet," Paige giggled, rolling over to face Walter.
His brow furrowed, "I emptied the entire left side of the dresser for you two weeks ago."
She drew back, surprised. "What? You didn't tell me that."
"I did."
She thought a moment, then rolled her eyes. "Did you tell me after…you know? Because you know I'm only half-awake after that; I never remember anything you say."
Walter laughed and moved in to kiss her. "Paige, I cleared out the left side of the dresser for you."
"Oh my goodness," she feigned a gasp, playing along, "that is so thoughtful, Walter – thank you." She put one hand on the side of his face and drew him back to her, kissing him more deeply. They knew it couldn't go much further with Ralph awake, but they kissed until they were too tired to kiss anymore, and then fell asleep in each other's arms.
Walter woke the next morning to an absence in his bed, rolling over to find the space still warm but void of the beautiful woman that usually slept beside him. "Paige," he mumbled sleepily, opening his heavy eyelids and squinting into the bright light that poured through the curtains. The woman was changing out of her pajamas and into the street clothes she usually kept in a bag by the door, but were now in the top drawer of the dresser. He checked the alarm clock and yawned, "What are you doing? It's only six-thirty."
"Drew called early," she told him, crawling across the bed to give him a long, lingering kiss before drawing back to put on her shoes. "He's scheduled to fly out to Portland again at ten, but he needs to talk to me about something before he goes."
"Talk about what?" Walter grunted, lying back and putting his arm over his eyes to shield them from the light.
"Not sure." She finished lacing her boot and leaned in to kiss him again. "Can you take Ralph to school, though, so I don't have to rush back?"
Walter nodded and kissed her once more before she left, then rolled over to catch another half-hour of sleep before he had to get Ralph up and ready for school. Paige had neglected to call that morning, so Walter had to go through the riggumroll of producing his ID and employment information, relationship to Ralph, and then wait while the wrinkled old woman behind the front desk called Paige and confirmed that it was okay this man had Ralph in his charge. Walter wished he could say this was the first time he'd been through this, but it wasn't; he wasn't Ralph's father, and he would always be treated with suspicion.
He got back to the garage around eight-fifteen, right as his cell phone began to ring. He smiled when he read the display. "Paige," he greeted, "how did it—"
"I'm not going to make it in to work today," she cut him off, and her voice sounded flat and hoarse.
Walter immediately went on high alert. "What happened?"
"Drew—" She started, but her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again, "Drew's leaving."
"Yeah, for Portland," Walter said slowly. "He's got another two-week tour, right?"
"No," her voice wavered. "He's going to sign a five-year contract. He asked me to move with him again, but I said no. Walter, he threatened to sue for custody of Ralph if I didn't go."
"What?" Walter's voice cracked like a whip, and his body went cold.
Paige scoffed, "Oh, trust me, I knocked that idea out of his head right away. I told him that, given his seven year absence, our support system, and Ralph's general well-being are here in LA, he wouldn't have a chance. I told him that if he wanted to keep being part of Ralph's life, he'd have to stay here, but he said the opportunity in Portland was too good to pass up. I told him he should just sign over his parental rights now, because I'm not going to let him hurt my son again." She sighed, and Walter could imagine her running her hand through her hair, "I'm going to pick Ralph up from school at lunch time, give him the rest of the day off; this is going to break his heart."
"You guys could come over here," Walter was quick to suggest. "I can give everyone the day off and the three of us can just talk."
"No, thanks," she said weakly. "I think we just need some mother-son time."
He nodded to himself, then loosened the grip he hadn't realize had become so tight on the phone. "Will you be in tomorrow?"
There was a long pause, then, "I'm not sure. I'll have to see how Ralph takes it."
"Call me if you need anything."
"I will. Thank you." They rang off then, and Walter shoved his phone into his pocket and dropped down onto the couch, burying his hands in his hair. Drew couldn't do this. He couldn't show up after seven years of absentee fatherhood and then bail again after just ten months, especially when he'd spent half of those ten months renting himself out to a baseball team on the other side of the country. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair to Ralph, a brilliant boy who deserved so much better. He could do something about this. He had to.
He had his keys in hand and was heading for the door when it opened and Toby and Happy came walk-of-shaming in. "Walt, hey," Happy greeted with a light blush, "do we have a job?"
"No," he said shortly.
"Jaw tensed, purposeful stride, white knuckles," Toby observed, then raised his eyebrows. "Where are you heading, Walter?"
"Airport."
"Why?"
Instead of answering, Walter simply left and slammed the door shut behind him. He drove as fast as his battered old car could manage and made it to LAX in record time, bought the cheapest plane ticket, and found his way to the only gate with a flight heading to Maine. He found Drew sitting in one of the bench seats, fidgeting with his ball cap. "You bastard," he said, forgoing a hello or a hey-how-ya-doin'. He charged forward and hauled the man up by the collar of the shirt, exhibiting more testosterone than he ever had in his life. "You can't do this!"
Drew swatted at his hands, getting out of the hold easily and dropping back onto his own two feet. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Walter grabbed him again, "You cannot abandon Ralph again."
"I'm not trying to!" Drew countered, "I told Paige to come with me."
"Ralph's life is here," Walter growled. "I understand that he needs more parents, but he also needs to be around the people that understand him – that know what's going on in his head. You have to stay."
"I can't," the ball player said with a set look in his eyes. "They're going to play me for one more season and then they said I have a real shot in the majors – this is what I've been waiting for my entire life."
"And Ralph has spent his entire life waiting for a dad!" Walter yelled, oblivious to the fact that everyone in the terminal was staring, and security was standing nearby; people did not like yelling in airports. "You can't leave him again. If you do, he'll never let you back in; he won't risk it."
Drew scoffed, "Well, with you in his life—"
"I am not Ralph's father." It killed him to say it, because every part of him felt otherwise. "You are his father, and he needs you. You can't go," Walter's voice was getting desperate now, pleading. "You can't do this to him."
Drew hesitated, face torn, but then it set again and he looked the genius in the eye. "I can't stay. Ralph will understand, eventually."
"Then sign over your rights," Walter growled, finding that he had to make a conscious effort to not hit the man. "Give him over completely. Don't let him live constantly wondering if you're going to come back, because you're never going to put him first, and you're never going to deserve to be in his life again. That boy," he got very close, his voice very low, "is so much better than you. He is better than you could ever hope to be." He released Drew then, pushing him backward as he did so, and stalked out of the airport. He was breathing heavily the entire ride back to the garage, shaking, trying to think of what he could do to make this situation better for Ralph. Nothing came to him.
~~00~~
Walter, Sylvester, Happy and Toby were having dinner together that night, because it had been a while since the original Scorpion team had a night together, and Walter had filled the others in on the current situation. They were almost as infuriated as him.
"Walt," Happy said, picking another dumpling out of the Chinese container on the coffee table, "you should erase that guy. License, birth certificate, past employment, credit score – everything."
"Paige wouldn't like me doing that," Walter sighed, pushing rice around with his chopsticks. "She's a better person than all of us, with the exception of Sly."
"Not me," Sylvester shook his head like he was disappointed in himself. "I was just thinking of fabricating an arrest record bad enough to get him blacklisted from baseball."
Toby clapped a hand on his shoulder, "That's my boy." Then he leaned back in his chair and shook his head, "I said from the very beginning that letting Drew back in was a bad idea."
"You were biased," Walter said. "We all were."
"Are you defending him?" Happy demanded incredulously.
He shook his head, "Of course not. I'm just saying, I don't want anybody telling Paige I-told-you-so; this is going to be hard enough for her. And for Ralph." In a genuine speak-of-the-devil moment, the garage door opened and the liaison charged in, holding on to her son's hand.
"Walter, can I speak with you?" Without waiting for an answer, she let go of Ralph and stalked toward the kitchen, her boyfriend right behind her. Before he could open his mouth to ask what was wrong, she spun on him and demanded, "What have you been telling Ralph?"
Walter thought for a moment, but couldn't think what she could be referring to. "What do you mean?"
"He's not upset, Walter," she gestured to her son, who had plopped down next to Happy and was sharing the dumplings with her. They were all shooting curious glances toward the kitchen. "I told him that his dad was leaving again and probably not coming back, and do you know what he said? He said Drew wasn't his dad anyway. Walter," she snapped, "what have you been telling him?"
The genius shook his head frantically, confused, "I haven't said anything."
"I told you I didn't want you guys bad-mouthing Drew in front of Ralph."
"And we didn't!"
"You must have, or else why would he say something like that?" Being in the kitchen was pointless; Paige was speaking loud enough for everyone to hear anyway. "I'm furious with Drew, of course, but I don't want Ralph to hate him. It's not healthy for him to grow up feeling that way toward his father – you know that better than anyone."
Walter reached for her but she took a step back. "Paige," he said helplessly, "I swear to you, I didn't say anything about Drew not being Ralph's dad. You told me not to talk that way in front of him, so I didn't."
"Um," they were interrupted by the four onlookers coming closer to the kitchen. Toby was holding up one finger, a guilty look on his face, "I might have some insight here."
Paige turned to face him, arms crossed in front of her chest, "What did you tell him?"
"Nothing bad," Toby insisted. "Or, I mean, nothing specific to Drew. It's just, when he first showed up, I wanted Ralph to have some…some information. To cushion the blow if things didn't work out."
"So you told him Drew wasn't his dad?!"
Ralph took a step forward, "He didn't say that, Mom. I figured it out for myself."
Paige looked at her son, took a deep breath, and tried to quell her anger. "What did he say to you, sweetie? Help me understand."
"He told me," Ralph looked up at Toby for a moment, remembering, "that there's a difference between a father and a dad. A father is someone who contributes to your genetic makeup; gives you life – blood." He looked away from Toby and his gaze shifted between Paige and Walter. "But he said a dad is the person who's always there. He rewards you, punishes you, gets excited for you or scared for you, and does everything to keep you happy and healthy and safe. Dads help you with homework and teach you things and listen to you and talk about girls. Dads love you unconditionally and never give up on you. Sometimes a father becomes a dad, and sometimes not." The boy shrugged and looked at his mother, "My father didn't."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Paige went down to her knees and put her hands on her son's shoulders, "I'm so sorry you feel that way, honey."
Ralph shook his head, smiling, "It's okay, Mom. I still have a dad." Her brow furrowed in confusion, and she watched with tears in her eyes as her son lifted his finger to point. "Walter's my dad. He has since the day he told Mr. Nimos not to yell at me."
Paige started to say something, but was cut off when Walter swooped in and picked Ralph up, holding him close to his chest and burying his face against the boy's shoulder. She stood and wrapped her arms around both of them, tears flowing freely down her face now, while the rest of the team looked on with knowing smiles. Nobody could ever deny that Walter had been Ralph's dad since the day they met.
~~00~~
"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Paige whispered that night as they lay in bed together, hands clasped on the pillow between them. "I should have trusted that you wouldn't say anything bad about Drew."
"Oh, I've said plenty of bad things about him," Walter told her honestly. "Just not in front of Ralph."
She smiled and reached with her free hand to smooth over his hair. "And you're okay with this? Ralph considering you his dad, I mean."
"I've never been happier about anything in my life." And it was true. The man tilted his chin down and pressed a kiss to the forehead of the boy, who had fallen asleep between them in the bed.
Paige was quiet for a moment, then said, "I love you, Walter. I know it's not something you believe in and I don't expect you to recip—"
"I love you, too," he responded, stilling her nervous rambling.
"You do?"
"I love you," he repeated. "I didn't believe in romantic love before, because I'd never experienced it and I couldn't comprehend it. But with you and Ralph in my life," he chuckled lightly, "there's no way I can deny it."
Paige scooted a little closer and leaned over her son's head to press a soft, sweet kiss to Walter's lips. He returned it eagerly, pushing the boundaries as much as he could with a ten-year-old boy between them. After a moment, Paige let herself fall back to her spot in bed, but she didn't stop smiling. Her son's father might be gone again, but his dad was still here, and she had him.
