The team race to save a life, but some things have to end.

This isn't the final chapter, there will be one more, but the action reaches its climax in this chapter. Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing. Reviews have tailed off and I understand why - it's a long story and interest naturally falls away, especially now the show is no longer on the air - but to everyone who has followed the journey I've taken these characters on so far, thank you and if you could spare a moment to leave a review for this chapter I would be eternally grateful.

Warning: If you're a little squeamish there's a lot of blood in the first scene!

Chapter 21

"I'm telling you it was a gunshot!"

Happy momentarily twisted round in her seat. "Sly, we haven't even landed yet!" she yelled. She shot Toby a worried glance before turning back around and carefully bringing the helicopter into land.

"How can you hear anything over this noise?" shouted Richard as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

Sylvester gripped Richard's arm. "My hearing is fine-tuned, particularly to gunshots," he explained. "I know what I heard."

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Sewage Plant Resort, Egypt's premier vacation destination," announced Toby, trying to diffuse the tension. "I hope you all enjoyed your flight." He glanced at Paige, but she didn't make eye contact.

"Mom!" said Ralph. "C'mon! The security system is disabled. Let's go get Walter and Cabe out of there!"

Paige turned to her son. "I… I want you to stay here, please," she begged. "I'm… I'm scared."

"Mom, I can't do that," he replied. "I mean, I want you to be safe too, but you're not gonna stay here are you?"

Paige clasped her hand to her mouth. Her son… her little boy… he was so grown up. She couldn't protect him anymore.

Ray nudged her arm. "Hey, Pam," he said. "Y'know, we had an old saying when I was in the fire and rescue business – 'Fear is the path to the dark side'."

Sylvester's mouth fell open in disbelief. "You're quoting Star Wars!" he exclaimed.

Ray frowned in confusion. "I'm sure it was one of my old station house Captains," he said, pushing open the door.

"There's Cabe!" exclaimed Happy, jumping out of the helicopter, but she stopped dead in her tracks as he got closer. His white shirt was covered in blood and Happy had to fight a wave of nausea.

Sylvester ducked low to avoid the rotor blades as he climbed out, but he stopped beside Happy when he saw Cabe's shirt. "Oh, no, I was right! Cabe's been shot!" he exclaimed. He immediately felt his chest tightening. He had no idea what had happened in that building, but he knew he couldn't afford to panic now.

Breathe in… and hold… and out…

His urge to pass out almost got the better of him, but Happy grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't," she hissed. "If I can stay upright, so can you."

Everyone raced across the sand towards Cabe.

"Cabe! Oh, my god!" exclaimed Paige, who was the first to reach him. She clutched his arm and stared at the blood as the others caught up with her.

"I'm OK, I'm OK," insisted Cabe. "It's not mine."

Paige felt her world fall apart.

Walter…

She wasn't sure if the sound of his name had come out of her mouth, or if it was just spinning around in the swirling mist that was enveloping her thoughts.

Walter…

She stumbled forward as her knees buckled and Cabe caught her in his arms.

"No… please… no…"

"Hey, Walter's fine," said Cabe, but she didn't seem to hear him. "Paige!" he half-yelled at her, but he didn't have time to spare. Instead he turned to Toby.

"It's Collins," he explained. "He shot himself, close range… an accident, he's in a bad way, Doc."

Richard and Ray gently pulled Paige away from Cabe and they followed behind as Cabe led everyone back inside, quickly explaining the details of what had happened as they ran.

No one was prepared for the sight that met their eyes.

"So… much… blood…" Happy swallowed hard and gripped Sylvester even tighter as the words caught in her throat.

Mark was sprawled on his back on the cold floor. A pool of red glistened at his side and his skin was pale and grey.

Walter was kneeling beside him, his hands were covered in blood and he was pressing a soaked towel over Collins' abdomen.

Toby dropped to his knees and pressed two fingers to Collins' neck. "Pulse is racing," he said, urgently. "His heart's trying to compensate for the blood loss."

Toby knew Collins was in a very serious situation and his own heart quickened as his genius mind searched for a way to save him.

"Walter!" Paige ran towards them, wrapping her arms around Walter from behind. She had barely noticed Collins, barely noticed the blood, all that mattered to her was Walter.

He was alive.

Walter leaned into her touch. He wanted desperately to hold her, to feel her body against his… her warmth, her love… but he couldn't, not now. Mark's life was slipping away and he couldn't allow that to happen, not after everything. They had to do something. There had to be a way.

He briefly turned to look at her. "Paige…" Then he pushed her away.

She stumbled backwards, stunned at his reaction. Richard grabbed her by the shoulders. "Let's get out of their way," he suggested and he dragged Paige towards the doorway where Happy and Sylvester were standing.

"I… I… tried to stop the bleeding," said Walter as Ray, Cabe and Ralph gathered round. "I packed the wound with… with filtration material from the plumbing system." He slowly lifted the towel and Toby could see his improvised dressing had worked.

"Super absorbent and it expands," noted Toby. "Nice work, One Ninety Seven." He quickly replaced the towel and nodded to Ralph. "Can you keep pressure on this, buddy?" he asked.

Ralph nodded and knelt beside Toby while he showed him what to do.

"I… I don't know if I did enough," replied Walter quietly as Toby continued to examine Collins. "It happened so fast. This… this is a…a…all my fault." He looked up at Cabe. "I made you hand over your gun."

"It was an accident," Cabe insisted. "He didn't mean to fire it, especially not into his own gut. Don't blame yourself, son."

"The chopper's ready to go," said Happy. "Load him up, I know the way to the hospital," she added with a hint of irony.

"He's lost a lot of blood," replied Toby, spreading his hands out in front of him. "His BP is way down. We can't risk moving him until we stabilise him… somehow..."

"What do we do?" asked Ray. "How do we Scorpion his blood pressure back up?"

It was only then that Walter became aware of Ray's presence. "What? When… when did you get here?" he asked.

"Tell you all about it later, Wally," Ray promised. "After we save your friend here."

"Mark's not… I… I mean, he was m…m…my friend once, but…" Walter couldn't think straight. What was he to Mark now? Were they ever really friends at all? He didn't understand any of it.

"He's going into shock," announced Toby, suddenly, as Collins started to shake uncontrollably. "We need to keep him warm."

Cabe ran off and returned moments later with blankets from the beds he and Walter had slept in the night before. As he wrapped them around Collins, Toby gave him a shot of adrenaline and within seconds Collins had stopped shaking and Toby let out a slow breath.

They were used to beating really low odds, but if he had to put a figure on it Toby would have given Collins a less than five per cent chance of survival. Then he remembered that was exactly the odds he'd given Cabe when his aorta had been severed and on that occasion the team had come together and beaten the odds to save him. But this was Mark Collins. Somehow this felt completely different.

Walter looked at Toby's medical bags. As well as the one he used to have, he now also carried a larger red case full of the additional medical equipment Paige had purchased in the name of Centipede Partners.

Toby noticed him studying the case and realised it had reminded Walter of the break-up of Scorpion, of just how much Paige setting up Centipede within days of them all walking out of the garage had hurt him. Toby fought a pang of guilt, took a deep breath and focussed his mind on his patient. "He needs IV fluids, but I used the only bag I had on Florence," he explained.

"He needs blood," noted Walter.

"I'll call an Uber and head over to the blood-bank," retorted Toby.

"We have blood," replied Walter. "At least, I do." He began rolling up his sleeve.

Toby's eyes widened in disbelief. "Woah, wait a second there, Walt," he said. "Are you talking about a direct person to person transfusion?"

"Come on, Toby, I'm O-negative," Walter reminded him. "Universal match."

"I know, pal, but…"

"You want Toby to connect you up to Collins? Straight into a vein?" Cabe interrupted him. "Is that even possible?"

"We're talking hardcore field medicine here," explained Toby.

"Are you saying you can't do it?" asked Walter.

Toby frowned. "No, of course I can do it, but… are you sure you want me to?"

"It's Mark's only chance," replied Walter. "Are… are you going to help me, or… or do I have to do it myself?"

"Walt, you know there are risks…"

"Toby, please, we have to try."

Toby nodded seriously and starting pulling equipment from his bag.

Ray slapped Walter on the arm affectionately. "You're a good man, Wally," he said.

"What do you need, Doc?" asked Happy from across the room. "Some kind of pump?"

"Just a chair and some narrow tubing," replied Toby. "Person to person transfusion is gravity fed," he explained gesticulating as he spoke. "So we get Walt's arm higher than Mark's and gravity does the rest."

"There's more of that tubing from the fire extinguisher that you used on Florence's knee," said Happy and she raced back to the helicopter to get it, grateful for the chance to be out in the fresh air.

Minutes later the makeshift apparatus was all set up. Toby looked at Walter. "Ready?" he asked, tapping Walter's arm with his fingertips to find a vein. Walter nodded and Toby carefully inserted the needle. As the blood started to flow, Walter closed his eyes and tried to make sense of the events of the last forty eight hours.

How had it come to this? What did it all mean? His world had already been turned upside down ever since Paige and the others had walked out on him. Now, just as they were starting to rebuild everything this had happened. What had Mark really been trying to do? Had he honestly thought the two of them could stay here in this place forever, making life-changing scientific discoveries? It was crazy. Totally and utterly crazy.

Toby studied Walter for a moment. Walter needed Paige, she was always the one person he could lean on when he was struggling emotionally, but Toby didn't know if Paige was in any position to help. He glanced up to see Richard grasping her hand tightly, telling her not to worry and realised she would be of no use to Walter right now.

Instead he looked at Ray and raised his eyebrows slightly. "I need to you keep an eye on Walt," he said in a low, serious tone. Ray didn't need to hear any more and gave a nod of understanding before moving to Walter's side. Toby sometimes forgot how easy it was to communicate with people with a high EQ like Ray and he couldn't help but smile as Ray put a supportive hand on Walter's shoulder.

"Cabe, keep a check on Collins' pulse, it should be slowing down," said Toby.

"Copy that," replied Cabe.

Toby glanced at Walter. "You OK, pal?" he asked and Walter nodded. Toby wasn't sure that Walter's definition of 'OK' matched his at that moment, but there was no time to worry about his friend's state of mind now. "Sly, I need you to do some math," he continued. "We don't want to drain Walt like a vampire."

"Take as much as Mark needs," insisted Walter.

"Sure and then you'll be the one on the floor," replied Toby, rolling his eyes. "This is my call, Walter. Now shut up and relax. You might start to feel a little woozy."

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Wake up, pal. I got you some more O.J."

Walter's eyes flickered open and he tried to focus on Toby's face. It took a moment for his senses to process the bright lights and the sterile smell, then he remembered they were at the hospital in Cairo. He must have fallen asleep in the chair. He turned his head to one side to see that Paige had done exactly the same thing. He looked back at Toby, realising he was still waiting for a response. "I… I… I don't want juice."

"You gotta drink it," replied Toby, pulling the straw from the side of the carton and puncturing the top before handing it to Walter. "Your blood pressure's low and your body needs the vitamins. Now drink, doctor's orders. And eat another energy bar."

Walter reluctantly took the carton and sipped the juice. "Is there any news?" he asked.

"He's out of surgery," Toby replied. "In the ICU. Next twenty four hours will be critical."

Walter nodded. He felt numb. He should be happy that Mark was still alive… shouldn't he? Only hours earlier he'd given his own blood to save the man's life, but now… now he just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and for it all to be over. He sipped more juice as Cabe strode back into the waiting area.

"Local cops are outside his room," he explained. "Homeland are sending agents to guard him until he's fit enough to travel."

"Sure, 'coz he could leap outta that ICU bed at any minute," retorted Happy, sarcastically.

"Darlin', this is Mark Collins we're talking about," Toby reminded her. "I wouldn't put anything past him."

Happy shrugged. She had never hated anyone as much as she hated Mark Collins right now. She hoped the only place he would be going when he left the hospital – if he left the hospital – would be back to the cell where he deserved to spend the rest of his life. She sighed, Toby was right, with Collins they couldn't be sure of anything and it was mentally exhausting. She had been fighting fatigue by pacing up and down while Walter had been dozing, but now she'd stopped pacing she felt physically exhausted too and the idea of relaxing in the pool at Anthony's sprawling estate had suddenly flashed into her mind and it was almost overwhelming.

Richard had already taken Ralph and Ray back to the mansion to wait with Patty for news. Ralph was exhausted and Paige had insisted he go. Ray had promised Paige he would take good care of her son and Paige trusted Ray. She had no idea why, but she did. She knew her son would be OK, even though she had the feeling Ray was planning on making the most of their host's hospitality.

Sylvester had almost asked to go with them. He hadn't wanted to spend another minute in the hospital and he was feeling guilty about leaving Patty after everything she'd been through - although with hindsight he was glad she'd stayed behind with Anthony during all the drama with Collins - but he just couldn't bring himself to leave Walter.

"So, when do we get outta this place, Cabe?" asked Happy.

"Whenever you're ready," replied Cabe. "I just spoke to Richard, he has a plane lined up for us. He said Patty's feeling better and Ray and Ralph have eaten all the ice-cream."

"I'm not leaving yet, I want to… to stay," said Walter. "I need to be here. I need to talk to him."

"The hell you do!" exclaimed Cabe.

The sudden outburst woke Paige. "What… what's happened?" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Walt's lost his mind, that's what," retorted Happy. "He wants to see Collins."

"He what?" exclaimed Paige, suddenly very much awake.

"Mark Collins. The man who tried to kill Toby, have Cabe thrown in jail and break up your relationship," Sylvester reminded them all, not that they needed reminding.

"You know he wouldn't have killed Toby," insisted Walter.

"Oh, right, he just wanted to give me a skin peel," replied Toby, rolling his eyes. "Next time I get acne I'll know who to go to."

"Walter, let's just go home," urged Paige. "Please, I just want to put all of this behind us. We have so much lost time to make up for. We still have so much to talk about."

"We've got the… the rest of our lives to talk," replied Walter, grasping her hand tightly. "I… I just need a few more hours."

Paige gasped. The rest of our lives…

Sylvester stepped forward. "Walter, think about what he did to Patty and… and Florence," he said. "Florence is badly injured and it's Mark's fault."

Walter got to his feet. "I… I… know all the pain he's caused," he said. "Believe me… I know… but he's one of us. I owe him this much."

Toby threw his hands in the air. "He's a sociopath!" he exclaimed

"You don't owe him anything, boss," snapped Happy. "He's done everything he can to hurt us, all of us. For years. And he almost dragged you to hell with him. You can stay here with that psycho if you want to, but I'm outta here." She stormed over to the chair where she'd draped her jacket and picked it up. "You coming?" she snarled, glaring at Toby.

Toby didn't move. He said nothing, knowing he didn't have to. He locked his gaze with hers. She'd understand, he knew she would. She'd get it.

Any minute now…

Happy opened her mouth to yell at him, but then their eyes locked.

And she understood.

What was she thinking? Was she really about to walk out on Walter… again? She let out a slow breath and threw her jacket back onto the chair. "Walt…" she began. "I'm sorry… OK? I'm not going anywhere."

Walter nodded. "I do understand," he said. "You and Collins… none of you spent as much time with him as I did."

"Because he's a basket case," noted Toby. "And yes, that's my official diagnosis."

Cabe had been quiet throughout the whole exchange. Neither he nor Paige had known Mark before Walter had had him committed, all they knew about him was what the others had told them and what they'd experienced over the last four years. And none of that was good.

"Son," began Cabe, in a sombre tone. "You know this guy better than anyone. You have a lot of history. If you need to stay, then we'll all stay."

"Yes," agreed Sylvester. "If you need us, we'll all stay." It was the last thing he wanted, but he would never walk out on Walter again. Never. He had to stay.

Walter looked around at them all and nodded appreciatively. No words could convey how he felt, he just nodded silently.

"How long before he's up to visitors?" Paige asked Toby.

Toby shrugged. "Not until the morning. That's if he makes it through the night."

Happy let out a slow breath. "Then I guess we'd better make ourselves comfortable."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Son, are you awake?"

"Yes," replied Walter. "What time is it?"

Cabe glanced at his watch. "Early," he said, swigging coffee from a plastic cup. "Or late, depending on your point of view. I think the jetlag might finally be kicking in."

Walter nodded and stretched. He glanced to his right to see Toby asleep with his head in Happy's lap. Happy was awake and they made eye contact. No words were needed.

To his left he could see Sylvester had somehow made himself comfortable across three chairs and was snoring lightly. Paige had slumped against Walter's arm and he was suddenly aware of pins and needles in his fingers. He carefully moved his shoulder, trying not to disturb her, but it didn't work and she opened her eyes.

"Collins?" she croaked.

"He… he's awake. He's going to be OK," replied Walter.

Paige didn't know how to react to that news. She managed a half smile and she slipped her hand into his, hoping he'd understand.

He smiled back at her and squeezed her hand before turning back to Cabe. "Was that the… the Homeland agents I saw you talking to just now?" he asked.

"Yep," Cabe confirmed. "They'll be guarding Collins' room and escorting him home as soon as he's cleared to fly."

Walter took a deep breath. "Then I'm going to… I need to…"

He couldn't even get the words out and he pressed his lips together in frustration. He knew the others didn't understand his reasoning – it wasn't the first time – but this was something he just had to do.

"O'Neill and Dalton are expecting you," replied Cabe. "Want me to come with you, son?"

Walter shook his head and stood up, reluctantly letting go of Paige's hand as he did so. "No," he replied curtly.

Happy nudged Toby awake as Walter walked away, ignoring his grumbling as he sat himself upright. She looked at Cabe and Paige. "Are we really gonna let him do this alone?" she asked.

She knew what the answer would be.

Along the corridor Walter heard the door click behind him as Agent Dalton closed it. Mark Collins was attached to an array of machines and the incessant noise of beeping filled the silence. He looked so… weak. So vulnerable. Walter had never seen him like this. Then he noticed the handcuffs attaching him to the bedrail. He swallowed hard, fighting a wave of guilt he knew was misplaced, but he couldn't help it.

"Mark…"

Collins' eyes opened and he turned his head slightly. An eerie smile crossed his lips. "Walter… you're here," he said. His voice was raspy, probably as the result of being ventilated, Walter realised.

"Yes."

"They told me… what you did for me…" continued Mark, pausing every few words to breathe. "I think we're... blood brothers now, Walter."

"What? No!" Walter stumbled back towards the door as fear washed over him. No… this was ridiculous. Mark had no hold over him, he'd never had any hold over him… at least, not in the way he thought.

Collins' brow furrowed. "Then… why?"

Walter fought to regain his composure. "You… you would have died otherwise," he tried to explain. "A…a…and Scorpion saves everyone."

Collins smiled again, his eyes brighter now. "Scorpion," he whispered. "The team."

"My team," snapped Walter. He didn't even want Mark to say the word Scorpion. He didn't have the right. "Despite everything you…you've tried to do to destroy us."

"I was just… trying to do the best… for you, Walter," replied Collins.

"The best thing for you, you mean."

Collins eyes closed. "I suppose this… is the part… where I'm supposed to… say sorry," he said.

"Are you?"

"I hope one day… you'll understand."

"That's not an apology."

Collins opened his eyes. "They're going to… lock me up… forever."

"I know."

"It doesn't have to… end like this."

"Yes, Mark, it does." Walter took a step closer to the bed. "That's why I'm here. To… to say goodbye."

For the first time since they'd met, Walter thought he could see genuine remorse in Mark's eyes. His ability to interpret emotional cues was appalling at the best of times, but there was something about the way Mark looked at him this time that sent a shiver through his body.

"Walter, don't," begged Collins. "I can still… use my mind… together we can…"

"No, Mark." Suddenly he felt a rush of emotion, he knew he had to end this now. "Goodbye."

Walter turned and strode purposefully out of the room, nodding to the two Homeland agents standing guard as he closed the door behind him. Then he stopped dead in his tracks as he came face to face with Paige, Cabe, Toby, Happy and Sylvester. "Have you been out here the… the whole time?" he asked, but his voice was barely a whisper.

"You think we'd just leave you in there with him?" asked Happy, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

Walter felt another wave of emotion, but this time he couldn't stop his bottom lip quivering. He couldn't stop the tears forming. He had almost lost this, almost destroyed his family because he was an idiot.

"You OK, pal?" asked Toby, reaching out and touching his forearm.

Walter nodded. He was. He didn't feel like he was, but deep down he knew he was.

Sylvester patted him gently on the back. "It's over, Walter," he said, reassuringly.

Paige didn't say a word, she simply wrapped her arms around him. Walter felt her heartbeat against his and drew strength from her love. The love they shared. They had so much work to do, but now he knew he could fix everything with Paige. He knew they could mend their lives together.

"Come on, kids," said Cabe with a warm smile. "Let's go home."

To be continued…