WriterFreak001:

Aaaaand here is Part 2! :)

Title | Just Seven Days

Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)

Description | Paige is out of town so Walter and Paige's daughter, Léana, asks her father if he would join her tea party. (One-shot requested by screamfan1234 on Tumblr)

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated K for fluff.

POV | Limited Third Person

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!

Just Seven Days

Written by WriterFreak001

Part 2

~ SCORPION ~

Three days had passed since Paige left for England, and everything, for the most part, was going rather smoothly for Walter. Other than for a few things, not much of the usual routine changed; though, because the company's liaison was temporarily out of commission, Scorpion had to make due with Cabe's social habits. He wasn't as good as Paige at her job, but he was better than everyone else. When Léana wasn't at daycare and when the team wasn't working on a case, Walter would keep a special eye on his daughter, monitoring her habits and behavior. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen her unique understanding of the world before… He should have recognized something, but because Léana was a lot more social than Ralph was as a boy, Walter assumed she was normal like her mother.

After Walter tucked Léana into bed and promised to wake her up when Paige calls, he checked in on Ralph (who was busy working on his next science project for his school's upcoming science fair) before making his way downstairs to tinker with his newest rocket project. The one he had been working on for the Kármán Line Prize about six years ago didn't win the contest so when another opportunity came up, Walter was determined to work harder and win the cash award for his sister's benefit. She was struggling to stay positive because she had recently lost full mobility in her legs and had to start using a wheelchair to move from place to place. She hardly visited the garage anymore, but when she did, it was usually to see Sylvester or Léana; however, Walter still visited Megan every Friday.

By midnight, Walter decided to take a break from his rocket and check in with Ralph; he knew what it was like to get sucked into a project and lose track of time. Ralph was mostly good about getting to bed by midnight, but like every genius, he had his moments where he'd forget to take care of himself. In spite of Walter's opinions on Ralph's education, Paige was adamant about her son going to school with other students his age; she believed attending college or a university at such a young age would stunt his still-growing social skills – so, because Walter actually liked having sex with his wife, he didn't argue with her decisions. After all, when it came to Ralph, Paige was in charge. She made that point very clear when she found out Walter had let Ralph skip school to attend a convention at UCLA. It wasn't one of the smartest parenting moves Walter made, but it was definitely a learning experience. Moral of the story: don't upset Paige. Plain and simple.

Walter climbed up to the loft and pushed Ralph's bedroom door open to find him still working on his science fair project. "Hey," Walter spoke softly as he tapped on the door, "time to wrap things up for the night. You've got school in the morning."

"I know," Ralph answered without looking at Walter. "I have a few more things to do and then I'll be done for the night."

Walter knew that response all too well. A few things usually morphed into many things and would normally turn a ten minute bender to an all-nighter. Paige wouldn't appreciate him letting Ralph stay up later than his bed time. "Ralph," Walter's stern voice caught the young genius's attention, "Now."

The teen sighed. "Kay. Fine." He put down his screwdriver and turned off his desk lamp before pushing his chair back. "Has Mom called yet?"

"Not yet; she will, though." Walter was sure of it; she's called every night since she left – tonight shouldn't be any different. "I'm going back downstairs to work on a few things on my computer so when your mom does call and say goodnight to you, I expect you'll be in bed, hm?"

Ralph nodded. "Yeah. I will be."

"Okay." Walter gave his step-son a small smile and closed the door before quickly checking on Léana. She was fast asleep with her thumb in her mouth and her other hand clenching her favorite blanket. He grinned and stepped away from her door towards the stairs.

Walter never thought he would see the day when he'd actually be raising a child of his own, but in spite of all of his doubts of becoming a father, he wouldn't trade it for anything. He remembered the day his wife had told him she was pregnant, and his first reaction was a mixture of shock, confusion and fear. They had only been married for three months when Paige had showed him the pregnancy test; he thought he had had more time to prepare himself for future children, but Mother Nature had other plans, obviously.

Throughout the course of Paige's pregnancy, Walter experienced an array of emotions he wasn't used to – love, being one of them. There was no question he loved his family. Meeting Paige had shown him that the concept of love was more than just junk science – it might not be quantifiable, but the feelings were evident. The existence of love had showed him that facts weren't always statistics or textbook knowledge, and they were certainly not always universal. Facts that personally applied to him (the fact that he had a sister named Megan, the fact that he had an IQ of 197, the fact that he started a company called Scorpion) did not apply to everybody.

His version of love was certainly not the same as normal people, but the more he spent with Paige before they had married, the more he realized that romantic affection had much more power on the human being than he had originally anticipated. His habits changed when Paige entered his life, and he did silly things to try and impress her. He also experienced physical changes whenever she was near him and did irrational things like celebrating holidays for her sheer benefit. At the time, he convinced himself he was doing all of those things for the betterment of the company and the team, but he eventually came to the conclusion that he had more than just a physical attraction to Paige.

Who knew one dinner date would eventually lead him to being a husband and a father?

He certainly didn't.

As Walter turned on his computer, his Surface Pro beeped with an incoming Skype call. He was quick to grab it and answer it via video call. Paige was the first to speak.

"Hey," she smiled as she stretched her arms like a cat. "Everything going all right?" She still was wearing her black, silky PJs (his favorite ones) as she yawned loudly.

"Peachy," Walter gave her a thumb's up and smiled. "How's Europe?"

"Wonderful," Paige grinned as she pulled her hair up into a messy bun. "But it would be much more enjoyable if I had my family with me."

"Well…, maybe when Léana's a little older, we can take a trip to England together." Walter shrugged; he wasn't really fond of traveling, but if it was what Paige wanted, he was willing to be a little more flexible.

"Really?"

"If it's what you want," Walter chose his words carefully; he didn't want to make a promise he might not be able to keep, but he didn't want her radiant smile to fade either. Quickly, he changed the subject. "Sleep well, last night?"

"Oh yes," Paige laughed lightly. "Beds over here are comfier than I anticipated. Then again, nothing can compare to our bed."

Walter gulped and pursed his lips. "Is that, um, is that your way of tempting me to buy a ticket and fly to England?"

"Is it working?" Paige scrunched up her nose and giggled before reaching over to grab a mug of what Walter guessed to be coffee.

"Maybe a little," Walter's lips curled to a smile. "Then again, I'd have to buy two other tickets as well because after the other day, I doubt anyone in the cyclone would be willing to watch Ralph and Léana for a few days."

"Are you talking about last Saturday when Léana got into Happy's things?" Paige cocked a brow and sipped from her mug. "Or something else?"

"Well, there was that, and on Sunday, while I was working on some things at my computer, she wondered over to Toby's desk, pulled out one of his anatomy books and started coloring in the diagrams with her markers…." Walter scratched the side of his face. "I replaced Toby's book, of course, but he wasn't really happy when he first found out…, and of course, I was the one who got the earful."

Paige giggled. "I hate to say this, babe, but I'm on Toby's side this time; you should have been watching her more carefully. She's a curious little girl who seems to think everything in the garage is hers."

"Yeah. I'm starting to realize that…." Walter hated to admit it, but he didn't seem to know his daughter as well as he thought. "Do you know why she'd want to touch things that aren't hers?"

Paige shrugged. "Attention, maybe? When I'm around, she's not that nosey, but I play with her to stunt her curiosity a little bit. Perhaps you could try to be more attentive?"

Walter pressed his lips together and nodded. He knew his wife was right; the more he thought about it, the more he realized he barely spent time with Léana. Paige was always giving her the attention she wanted, and he did say goodnight to her and hold her at times, but for the most part, he only true times he seemed to pay her any mind was when she was getting into things she shouldn't be getting into. He was the one who usually picked her up and carried her away from various things, but he hardly played with her. The games she wanted to play were things Walter's mind couldn't stimulate. Tea parties, dress up, dolls… Paige was the more suited parent for those things. Walter never really had to worry about Léana's curiosity because Paige was always there to monitor their daughter; he was beginning to think he had failed as a parent. He didn't seem to know their daughter, nor was he able to connect to her more creative side.

"Hey," Paige's soft voice cut him from his thoughts, "don't beat yourself up, honey. Being a parent is a learning experience; trust me, I definitely didn't have it all together raising Ralph. So sometimes it takes time, okay?"

"Okay," Walter felt a little bit better, but there was a tinge of guilt residing in the pit of his stomach. He made a mental note to be far more attentive to Léana as a father; the other day, Léana reminded him how much she loved him so he must be doing something right, but he could be a better father. He grew up not really knowing his father; he didn't want the same for Léana. Nor Ralph (though, to be technical, Ralph really doesn't know his biological father either). "I'm going to let you speak to Ralph and Léana now."

Paige smiled. "Music to my ears. I miss my babies."

"They miss you too," Walter muttered as he rose from his desk and made his way to the stairs. "Léana keeps asking if she can Skype you, but when I explained the time difference between England and America, she didn't seem to understand…"

"What's wrong?" Paige's voice brought Walter back to reality as his mind almost drifted off. "You seem concerned about something."

Walter stopped walking midway up the stairs and leaned against the railing, holding his Surface Pro in front of him. "Well, I told you the other day how we came to the conclusion that Léana was a genius, yes?"

"Yep. Go on."

"I just don't understand something; if she's as smart as we think she is, how is she not able to understand something as simple as time?" Walter cocked an eyebrow and bit his lip. "It's mindboggling."

"From what you told me, Léana is a very visual person – hence her doodles, the Rubik's Cube and her heightened curiosity. I've noticed that she loves looking at pictures, and I forgot to tell you this before I left for England, but Susan, her daycare sitter, spotted her French braiding her hair; when Susan asked her how she learned to French braid, Léana told her she saw me do it once to my hair. Once. I never taught her; she just figured it out after observing me – that was the first time I realized she might be mentally enabled like you and Ralph." Paige smiled and wiped a fallen tear from her eye. "Anyway," she took another sip of her drink, "what I'm trying to say is that she might understand it better if she sees it visually; show her a radial clock and move around the hands or something. Something tells me she'll understand if she sees it."

"Perhaps you're right," Walter rubbed his chin. "She might be too young to understand everything she knows; she may know it but not be able to comprehend it without some sort of demonstration… and if that's the case, there's no telling how intelligent she is until she's older."

"We can talk more about our daughter's intellect when I come home; I want to say goodnight to my babies." Paige laughed as Walter started ascending the stairs again. "But first," she picked up her Surface Pro and carried it with her as she slid out of bed. Walter raised an eyebrow as the tablet was placed down on a dresser. He eyed her suspiciously as she turned around to fish for something in her bags. She pulled out a pair of undergarments, jeans, a camisole and a sweater. "I need to get changed if I want to make it to the tour in half an hour."

Walter reached the balcony but didn't go into the loft. He had a bad feeling about what he was about to see. She peeled off her top, and as much as he felt like he was supposed to look away, he didn't. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she chuckled as she and her bare chest turned to face him. He instantly flicked his eyes away from the screen. "Are you…," she paused and laughed, "embarrassed?"

He glanced at her as she was pushing off her silky pants; she was shamelessly standing buck naked within the screen, and he found his situation very awkward. "This is… mildly inappropriate…." He scratched his head, and his ears burned. He shouldn't be watching his wife in such a compromising situation over Skype, but he found it incredibly hard to look away.

"I am your wife," a wicked smile found Paige's lips. "Nothing about this should be inappropriate."

She slipped on her clean underwear and clasped her bra over her breasts. "I feel like I'm watching porn."

"Don't be such a baby," Paige rolled her eyes and hopped into her jeans. "Nothing you haven't seen before."

"Still, it's weird…." Secretly, Walter appreciated the visual as he watched his wife change clothes over Skype (as strange as it did feel), but he also found it tantalizing because there wasn't any physical satisfaction to accompany the visuals (something he greatly looked forward to the moment she returned home from England).

"But efficient," Paige smirked before sliding her camisole over her head.

Walter opened his mouth to rebut her statement, but she did have a point (and of course, she would throw out his favorite word to get him to agree with her). "That… is… true."

After she pulled on her sweater, she told him she was ready to see Ralph and Léana. As Walter opened the door to the loft, Paige called his name. He stopped moving. "Hm?"

"Never compare what I just did to pornography ever again; give me more credit. I've got way more class."

That she most certainly did. "Then what would you call it?"

Paige smiled. "Visual gratification."

Walter shrugged. "Can't argue with that." He approached Ralph's bedroom and quietly told his wife he was going to give the computer to Ralph. She grinned and nodded as Walter pushed Ralph's door open. The teen was in bed, but he wasn't sleeping. He was reading out of a textbook. "Hey," Walter raised an eyebrow as he stepped into his step-son's bedroom. "I thought I told you I wanted you in bed asleep by the time your mother calls."

"Technically," Ralph didn't look up from his book, "you said you wanted me in bed; you never said anything about sleeping."

Oh boy. Ralph was becoming more like Walter day by day. Walter pinched his nose as Paige laughed. "He's got you there, Walter."

"He… most… certainly… does…." Walter pinched the bridge of his nose and walked towards the young genius. "Here," he handed Ralph the computer. "Make it quick so I can wake up your sister and give her the computer."

"Kay." Ralph nodded.

Walter stepped out of the room and sighed. He was beginning to sympathize with his parents; Ralph, if anything, was exactly like Walter as an adolescent, and even though Walter could intellectually stimulate Ralph, a teen was a teen in spite of intellect. When Walter was Ralph's age, he was a tad rebellious – only did the bare minimum on the farm (mostly because his father would often catch him wondering off in the field, doing something seemingly outlandish like observing flight patterns of birds or calculating the angle of the Sun hitting the earth to improve plant growth), and he found loopholes in everything (just as Ralph had done). He shouldn't have been surprised, but he was certainly taken off his guard. He was getting a small – no… an infinitesimal – glimpse of what his parents might have gone through while raising him…. (But he wouldn't dare admit to anyone, let alone himself, that he might have purposely made life difficult for them.)

As Ralph spoke to Paige, Walter quietly crept to Léana's bedroom and pushed on the door. She was still fast asleep. He slowly walked to her bed and bent down to touch her soft face. "Léana?" His voice was as quiet as a whisper. She stirred and then rubbed her eyes with her tiny fists as she stretched languorously. He picked her up in his arms, and she casually rested her head against his shoulder; he could feel her small breaths brushing against his neck. She had fallen asleep again. He smiled but didn't bother trying to wake her up again.

With Léana in his arms, he stealthily walked back to Ralph's room, signaling the teen to wrap things up. Walter waited in the doorway as Ralph wished his mother well. As Walter shifted Léana's weight onto his left arm, he reached for the tablet once Ralph was done and stepped into the light so Paige could see Léana. Walter silently told Ralph to get to bed and go to sleep before sauntering to Léana's room. He sat down in the rocking chair at the corner of her room after setting the tablet down to turn on a lamp and then he gently shook Léana awake. He had thought about letting her sleep, but he knew he would never hear the end of it if he didn't wake her up again to talk to Paige.

"Léana," Paige softly sang as the little girl's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Hi baby," Paige waved as Walter brought the tablet closer to Léana.

Léana yawned. "I miss you, Mommy."

"I know," Paige smiled, touching her heart. "But I'll be back Saturday night."

"But that's a long time away!" Léana was on the verge of tears.

"Statistically speaking," Walter was the first to speak. He glanced at Paige and then looked into his daughter's misty brown eyes. "The time between now and Saturday is infinitesimal compared to the amount of time some children have to wait to see their deployed parents again." Léana blinked. He pursed his lips and looked at Paige. His wife encouraged him to try again. He took a minute to figure out a way to show Léana how far away Saturday was. He glanced at the ceiling and spotted the glowing solar system he and Paige had put up shortly after Léana was born. He gazed at it for seconds. And suddenly, his eyes popped. That's it! He found his daughter's eyes again and grinned. "You know how the sky goes dark every night?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Well," Walter bit his lip, "tomorrow is Wednesday, right?" (He knew it was already Wednesday, but for Léana's sake, he forewent technicalities.)

"I guess." Léana shrugged.

"So…, uh…, the days of the week are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Since tomorrow is Wednesday that would mean today is Tuesday. Do you follow?"

She nodded again.

"Each day has a night sky. So… there's Wednesday's night sky," he pointed to his pointer finger, "Thursday's night sky," he pointed to the next finger, "Friday's night sky and Saturday's night sky. That's one…," he returned to his index finger, "two… three… four… Four night skies. Four fingers. Four days. After tomorrow night, there will only be three night skies left. Your mom," he looked at Paige and smiled before returning to Léana, "will be home by the last night sky," he tapped his pinky.

Léana looked at her short fingers and yawned. "Mommy will be home four moons from now."

"Exactly," Walter grinned. He felt proud of himself as he watched Léana's sad face morph into a happy smile.

Léana returned her attention to the tablet. "Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?" Paige was wiping away tears again.

"Why you crying?"

Walter had known Paige long enough to recognize her 'happy tears' versus her 'sad tears.' He knew why she was crying – she always cried at the strangest things.

"I just…," Paige wiped another tear and smiled, "miss you guys so much." (Walter knew the real reason but decided to keep it to himself.)

"Mommy?"

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Do you see the Moon?"

Paige lied. "Yes, honey. I do."

"Good." Léana smiled as she yawned and stretched her arms. "That means we're only a moon away from each other."

"You're right, baby." Paige's nose wrinkled as she chuckled. "You're absolutely right, baby."

"Mommy?"

"Hm?"

"Sing me to sleep." Léana mumbled as she nestled against Walter's shoulder again.

"Of course," Paige's lips stretched ear to ear as she sang the song she always sang for Léana at night. The song was from their daughter's favorite children's book, Love You Forever. Even Walter found the tune soothing to his ears (as he did anytime his wife sang). "'I love you forever,' 'I'll like you for always,' 'As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.'"

Walter glanced at Léana. "She's out like a light," he whispered, mindlessly holding her closer to him.

"I'm not surprised," Paige lowered her voice. "She was always a fast sleeper." She smiled. "By the way, Walter," Paige sat down on the bed in her hotel room and hugged a pillow, "your explanation to Léana was perfect."

"Well," Walter smirked, "I learn from the best."

There was a knock on Paige's door. "Well, that's my cue to leave. I'll call you tomorrow – my tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Be safe, Walter." Paige blew him a kiss. "I love you. Bye!"

"I," Walter started to speak, but the call ended. …love you too, Paige.

He sighed and cursed himself for his poor articulation skills as he leaned his head back against the rocker and closed his eyes. He was too comfortable to move so he held Léana close to him, kissed the top of her head and eventually drifted off to sleep.

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

So… this is going to be a THREE PART fanfic. I didn't anticipate the second chapter to be so long, but I PROMISE, Part 3 will be the end of it! X)

After I finish up this short story, I will be writing a short (hopefully short) one-shot. Afterwards, I'll resume Poaching.

Let me know what you think!