Title: Internal Combustion

Summary: Sequel to What A Long, Strange Trip. After returning from Tahoe, Walter and Paige try to adjust to the new normal now that they are a couple.

Author's Note – This was written before Season 3 started. It takes place in a universe where Civil War and everything thereafter never happened.

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 14

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. ~ Khalil Gibran

"Remember, Honey, no talking about the case with Toby. You can get all the info you need from Happy after you two leave. Toby needs his rest and he doesn't need to relive the events that put him into this hospital!"

Paige and Walter walked briskly through the main lobby of the hospital, heading unerringly for the elevators. Walter reflected that, despite the efficiency, it still hurt a bit to recall why he knew his way around the hospital so well. At least this time he was going to see someone who would be released and make a full recovery.

"Honey?" he inquired, realizing that the curious moniker that Paige used was addressed to him. They reached the elevators and Walter punched the up button.

"It's… an endearment. Like 'sweetheart' or 'baby'," Paige replied, rubbing a hand up and down his arm. "I know you know what they are." She dropped her voice down to a whisper. "You called me 'sweetheart' just this morning… when we were… you know!"

Walter observed her raised eyebrows and inferred from her tone of voice that she was referencing their sexual activity. He wasn't sure why humans attached shame and embarrassment to any discussion of the act, although he had to admit he'd experienced some of the same himself. However, that was related more to the strength of the urges he'd been feeling, which at the time he considered might be inappropriate.

"I fail to see the logic in addressing a… a loved one with a word that is otherwise used to designate nectar regurgitated by the genus Apis." Walter smiled.

"You're doing it again, aren't you?"

The elevator doors opened and Walter indicated that Paige should precede him. "I am teasing you, yes. I do realize that 'Honey' in this context is an endearment. I'm just not used to anyone using such terms with me." As the doors closed, Walter leaned over and whispered. "Would you like me to call you 'babe' or 'sugar plum' or maybe 'snookums'?"

"Ugh. None of the above," Paige made a face. "And where the heck did you hear 'snookums'?"

"Toby."

"Of course," she groaned. "Well, unless you want me to start giving you love taps like Happy gives Toby, I suggest you find some more… dignified pet names."

The elevator doors opened on the fifth floor and the two exited. Paige stopped to read the direction signs.

"Toby is in room… 517…" she drifted off as Walter immediately turned left, paying no attention to the signs. He recalled every step they'd taken the evening before to get to the room. He didn't need any signs.

"Oh, good, Walt, you're here," Happy exclaimed as soon as they appeared in the doorway. "Toby, I love you, but after all your complaining last night you're lucky I'm not using my new ring to bolt you to that bed so the hospital has to keep you for a few days." Happy began gathering her things. After piling them on a chair, she turned back to the bed. "I phoned Walt while you were in the shower. He and I are going with Cabe – as soon as he gets here – so I can go check out those cars. When you're released, Paige will take you home and stay with you until I get there. But so help me, Doc if you keep up the 'doctors make lousy patients' bullshit I'm gonna go fishing again – permanently!"

"Wow. Happy," Paige dropped her things on a small table and approached the bed. "Toby's been giving you grief, has he?"

"You have no idea, Paige. I know I'm not cut out to be Florence Nightingale, but the doc here would turn a saint into Nurse Ratchet. Maybe you can handle him better. You're used to dealing with a ten year old!"

"Snookums! It wasn't that bad, was it?" Toby protested, making a face as he picked up a spoonful of eggs from his breakfast plate, then let them fall back down.

Paige turned and met Walter's eyes. Seeing her amusement, Walter grinned. He wondered if this was the sort of situation where a wink might be appropriate – a signal that he shared her delight in what was now a private joke. He decided to give it a try and carefully blinked one eye at her.

"This stuff is slop," Toby complained, then looked up at the pair standing at the foot of his bed. "I don't suppose you two might have thought to stop a Kov…. Wait a minute… What is going on here?" he pointed a finger back and forth between them. "You two… you've… you finally made it official, haven't you?"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Paige insisted.

Walter's eyes widened as he stared at his friend. Paige might be able to bluff her way through this, but Walter realized his flaming face was giving Toby all the proof he needed. "I… we…" he stuttered. He still didn't understand why this should be embarrassing, but he could not deny that he was embarrassed.

"Yes, you… you!" Toby pressed the button to raise the head of the bed. "You two have been doing the horizontal mambo, and I'd bet my Harvard degree that last night was the first time. Walter, you devil, I'm glad to know the three year drought is over. But seriously? I nearly die in that deathtrap you have me not driving and you're back home making mad whoopee, while I lie here in pain?" Toby placed his good hand dramatically against his heart. "Your concern for my welfare is truly touching, mi amigo!"

"Toby!" Paige gripped the foot of the bed and leaned over slightly. "Not that it is any of yours or anyone else's business, but I know you well enough that you won't let go of this so…" she reached over and took Walter's hand, turning to smile at him. Walter was more than willing to leave this situation in her capable hands, certain that if he opened his mouth he would say too much. She was, after all, the communicator, right? He smiled slightly in response.

"Yes. Walter and I made love… last night… and uh… this morning. It's something very special to us, but shouldn't be of any concern to anyone else. So this will be the last time you mention it, is that clear? Otherwise I'll find a way to make you stay in this hospital a lot longer – you got that?"

Toby slowly nodded his head up and down.

"And in case that's not enough to get you to keep your mouth shut, Doc, I'll help her," Happy added.

Toby glanced at Happy, then back at Paige, then to Walter who just shrugged his shoulders.

"I hope you don't think this gets you out of work completely, Curtis," came a booming voice from the doorway. Cabe walked in and immediately went up to the bedside, apparently oblivious to the atmosphere in the room. "I'm sure we can find some personnel files for you to look at to keep your mind off your troubles for a few days!" He turned and addressed the two other geniuses in the room. "Happy, you and Walt about ready to go take a look at those cars?"

Walter watched Happy work. She really didn't need him there, any more than Cabe needed him while he explained to the company's top brass that they had yet to come up with a single solid lead and that yet another of their cars had been destroyed in a freak accident, this time involving their own driver. But he was holding out hope that Happy would find something that would explain all this and get them off of this train wreck of a case.

"Walt?" she called, as if reading his mind.

"What?" he replied anxiously, walking up closer to the car, but being careful not to touch anything. "Did you find something?"

"Oh… uh… no… not yet. I just… I was wondering. Is it true? What Paige said? You and she?"

Walter sighed, feeling deflated. "Yes, it's true. As of early this morning."

"You okay with that?" she asked.

Happy was being uncharacteristically… nosy? Walter wasn't sure why, but unlike Toby he knew that with Happy there must be some logical reason for her interrogation. "Of course," he answered. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you've never exactly been a touchy feely kind of guy. As your friend, I want to be sure you're not… that you're not feeling like this is something you have to do if you don't want to. I've seen you react to a simple hug, I can't imagine how you feel… when… And I know Paige wouldn't do anything to make you feel like you have to, but if you've convinced yourself…"

"It's not like that at all, Happy. You're right, I've never like touching people. But with Paige… it's different. I can't really explain it. There's no formula to explain why. I just know with her… it's more like I can't… touch her… or be touched… enough."

"Okay, Walt, I get it. TMI, okay?" She rose and stretched from where she'd been examining the engine. "Toby drives me crazy with all his cute nicknames and hugging and crap. But I really kinda like it too. So I understand how things can be… different… sometimes."

She chuckled and Walter grinned. "I guess robots really can fall in love," he quipped.

Happy walked over to the wall and punched a button. Machinery groaned and the car slowly rose on the hydraulic platform. Happy slapped the button again and the lift stopped. She walked under the car and began inspecting the transmission.

"So… since we're being um… chatty… I take it you and Toby have come to some… understanding." Walter held up the ring that Happy asked him to hold for her.

"Yeah. I told him my whole crazy story and… long story short… we're engaged. We'll get hitched as soon as I can track down my idiot husband and get a divorce. Could you bring over that tool chest?" She pointed in the direction of a tall red cabinet. Walter walked over and pushed the wheeled cabinet under the car. Happy opened a drawer and rummaged inside.

"This is disgraceful. Metric wrenches mixed in with SAE. Half these crap tools are coated with grease. The mechanics that work for this company ought to be arrested just for the way they mistreat their tools!"

"Not everyone has an uh… appreciation for uh… delicate equipment." Walter wondered if he should steer the conversation back to Happy's marriage. It was possible that her segue onto tools was simply a way to change the subject – an indication that he should mind his own business. On the other hand, Happy was passionate about tools and would be distressed by the poor condition these were in.

"Would you um… would you like my help… with your… with tracking down your husband?"

"I can't find a damn thing wrong with this car, Walter. At least nothing that explains what's happening. If it's not a software bug and it's not a mechanical glitch then the only possibility left is that it's some sort of targeted hack." She wiped down the wrench she'd been holding and placed it back in the tool chest, randomly picking up another and wiping it down. "And as for my husband… I thought you'd never ask."

"Paige, I'm sorry."

Paige looked up from the paperwork she'd been dealing with while Toby's doctors argued with him. She'd just been thinking that it was odd that it was still called "paperwork" when actual paper was rarely involved, and wondered why Toby would be apologizing for that.

"You're sorry? For what, Toby?"

"I'm… sorry… for what I said earlier. For teasing Walt… and you. The old Walt never would have gotten the connection... wouldn't have… well he sure as heck wouldn't have blushed like a schoolgirl. I guess he's not totally the old Walt anymore, is he?"

Paige folded up her tablet and packed it back into her bag. "Does that bother you, Toby… that Walter is changing?"

"No!" He paused for a moment, looking at Paige curiously. "You sounded a lot like a psychiatrist, there, Ms. Dineen. If I don't miss my guess, that's my job."

Paige laughed. "It's my job too, at least partially. If I'm supposed to help you interact with people, I have to know a little something about how your minds work – from an emotional standpoint at least. If there's one thing I've learned it's that all of you try to pretend that you either don't have any emotions or that you have them completely under control and the truth is, you're all fooling yourselves. Sometimes it's my job to help you realize that."

Toby nodded his head slowly. "You may not be a genius, but you're one smart cookie. Getting back to your earlier question, I'm glad Walter's changing. He needed to change. But like most things, he needed the right motivation."

Toby started to move the blankets aside. "Uh… Paige…" he started and she jumped up and walked over to the bed.

"Do you need some help?" She started to pull the blanket but Toby suddenly grabbed it away from her.

"Uh… no thanks," he responded. "I was actually going to ask you to close the door and maybe step out for a moment. This gown has hiked up and unless you want to compare notes with Happy… I uh… I think I got this."

Paige nodded and began moving toward the door. "Right… okay… I'll just… step out and let you um… I'll be right outside if you do… need something."

"Been dressing myself for years, Dineen. Even one handed, I think I'll manage."

November 26, 2016