The Son of a Genius

Chapter 9: The Hope of a Genius

We keep living anyway
We rise and we fall
And we break
And we make our mistakes

-Wait For It, Hamilton (Lin Manuel-Miranda)

Paige's jaw dropped open in surprise as she stared at her brother. Her brother who was supposed to be at home and not in her apartment. Why did he always do things like this?

"What are you doing here?" Asked Paige once she collected her mind and was able to form a coherent sentence. She could feel Walter stiffen from behind her.

"I got your call?" He stated simply.

"I told you to stay home and not come." She stressed the word 'not'. Andrew just shook his head as if swatting away a fly.

"Where's Ralph?" Asked Paige as she noticed that her sitter was now gone. What the hell did her brother do?

When they were younger he had always been incredibly overprotective of her. When one boy had pushed her, Andrew had walked up and pushed the boy into a mud puddle. Their mother had yelled at him for a few hours, but he didn't regret one thing that he did. Andrew had also succeeded in scaring away dates that he had deemed not worthy of her. It had grown tiring over the years/

"He's asleep." Andrew pointed in the direction of Ralph's bedroom. "Who's that?"

Paige had completely forgotten that Walter was still standing behind her. He was standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

Paige pulled him forwards slightly, just so that he wasn't hiding behind her. He was involved, she wanted him to be involved. And it wouldn't help if she just brushed him off. Walter stumbled forwards until he was at her side. He sent her a questioning glance.

"Walter, this is my brother Andrew." Paige motioned between the two.

Andrew stood and walked closer. He walked until he was standing directly in front of Walter and Paige. He was a few inches taller than Paige, but was just about the same height as Walter.

"Knock it off." Said Paige as she stared at her brother, daring him to do anything else. Andrew's shoulders slumped and he stepped back. Sometimes she hated how overprotective he was.

Paige peeked up at Walter, as if to tell what he was thinking. He remained stoic and his face was a blank sheet. Andrew didn't know that Walter was Ralph's father. If he knew that, Paige wasn't sure what would happen then.

"I should get going." Said Walter as he ran a nervous hand through his hair. Paige nodded. She had a few things that she had to tell her brother, such as Walter being Ralph's father. And she figured that it would be best if Walter wasn't there for it. If he was it would only end in disaster and a black eye.

"I'll see you tomorrow at work." Said Paige as she shut the door behind her. She sighed and turned back to her brother.

"Sit down." Paige pointed at the couch. "I need to tell you a few things.

.

.

Paige walked into work with black smudges under her eyes the next morning. Her tiredness was radiating off of her. She ran a hand through her hair and yawned.

Andrew had kept her up far into the night. Whether lecturing her about the father of her child being her boss or considering having Ralph in his life after being alone for his whole life. It had taken a lot to convince him that she was fine and that Walter had in no way any knowledge of their son.

At three in the morning he was finally convinced and Paige was allowed the luxury to collapse onto her bed and fall into a far too short of sleep. Only after she let her brother sleep on her couch instead of a hotel.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Asked Sylvester as she walked in.

"A couple hours." She responded shaking it off. He just nodded, not sure how to reply.

Paige sat at her desk and tried to go over some old case files that had been mostly finished. It wasn't too long before she felt her eyes drooping again. What woke her up was the sound of the Garage door opening. Paige turned towards it and saw Walter entering with someone behind her.

It peaked her interest, Walter wasn't one to bring a new person as the rest of the team was already there. Paige smiled as she noticed that Walter had entered with Megan. What was she doing there?

"Hey. So, um," Walter pauses clearing his throat. "this is my sister Megan."

"Hi." She said transferring her weight to one side of her crutch and giving a small wave.

"Thought you guys were geniuses. Someone say something smart." Said Megan smiling at the group. Paige pushed back her chair and walked over. She gave Megan a light hug and ignored the stare into her back from Toby.

" Sorry, they were just playing a spirited game of "Move Sylvester's Stuff Around. Yeah so they're a little out of it." Explained Paige as she gave the three a meaningful look to introduce themselves. They quickly moved forwards at her look.

"Hello, Megan. Nice to meet you." Said Sylvester as he shook her hand with a smile on his face.

"Walter has told me so much about you."

"No, he hasn't." Retorted Megan simply. Paige smiled at the response and the depth of their relationship hit her in full force. It was almost adorable how well the two knew each other.

"No, he hasn't." Sylvester agreed letting his head slip down and walked back over to his desk.

"Hey. Dr. Tobias M. Curtis. It's a pleasure." Said Toby in an elegant voice as he shook her hand.

"Hey, I'm Happy." Happy said from her place a few feet away.

"And I'm dying, but you don't see me telling everyone." Megan said with a smile that left the rest of the team in awkward silence. Paige noticed the way Walter looked around the room to avoid looking at his sister. She stored that away for useful information in the future.

"Yes!" Yelled Toby. "Inappropriate self-deprecating humor to put others at ease. I like your approach."

"I like your hat."

"Big step for you. Bringing your sister here." Said Paige quietly as she walked up to Walter. He hummed in agreement, even though she could tell that he wasn't paying that much attention.

The phone started to ring and Walter rushed away to answer it. Paige could hear vague words of him speaking to Cabe. She didn't let it phase her and focused on the fact that Megan was there visiting the Garage for who knows how long.

Walter got off the phone and announced that they were needed immediately for a case. The rest of the team started to pack up as he walked over to her.

"Are you gonna be okay here? Because we have to go ASAP. I don't have time to take you back to the hospital." Asked Walter leaning down towards Megan was sitting.

"I'll manage." She said with a reassuring smile.

.

.

They walked back out into the Los Angeles air as the impact of the case they were about to start hit her. It was very possible they could die out there, and yet Paige knew that she had to do it. She couldn't disappoint the woman that was counting on them to return her husband's body. It would just be unright to let her down in such a way.

"Paige?" Came a quiet voice to her right. She turned and saw Walter. The rest of the team seemed to be focused on the details of the mission they were about to endure.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean there's Ralph and you don't want to risk.." Rambled Walter. A smile found its way on Paige's face as Walter continued to ramble about her and Ralph's safety.

It was an incredibly human move of him. To be considering what would happen to their son if anything was to happen to both of them.

"I'll be fine, Walter, really." She said to reassure him. He nodded and briskly walked over to the rest of the team.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Thank you so much for getting to a hundred reviews, I've never had a story get so many. And I have read every one of them and have enjoyed getting feedback. I should update a little more often as I am not stuck with school. Please follow, favorite and review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all, at least not yet.

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