WriterFreak001:
I'm going stir-crazy here without me some promos and sneak peeks of the upcoming episode of Scorpion. I seriously need to know how all of these random promo pictures tie into the synopsis for the episode. Anyway, nothing new here soooo on to the story! I think this might be the last chapter for this part of the series. We shall see though.
Title | Mind Games
Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)
Description | Post-Deception. Four months passed since the ending of "Deception," and it seemed as though life, for the most part, returned to normal for Team Scorpion. Walter and Paige were given a chance to focus on their relationship in the midst of all of the cases that were assigned to the team. However, eventually, all great things must end, and once again, Team Scorpion will have to deal with an even bigger opponent than the Leviathan Mafia. Mark Collins is back for revenge and will have something big in store for Walter – something even the 197 IQ genius might not be able to see coming. And Collins's return just might cause a rift within the Scorpion family in the process, making it next to impossible for them to beat his ultimate game.
Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for violence, obscene language, sexual themes as well as brain stuff and 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!
Mind Games
Sequel to Deception
Written by WriterFreak001
Chapter 21
~ SCORPION ~
A few days passed since Walter woke up in the hospital, and even though he was technically released, he never left Paige's side. She was still pretty shaken, but at least she was slowly healing – physically and mentally. Walter had just woken up from a nap when he found Paige fast asleep in the hospital bed with Ralph sleeping right next to her. The boy had his arms tightly wrapped around his mother's form, and Walter couldn't help but smile at the sight. Ralph's EQ was vastly developing, and Walter was proud that he was able to connect with his mother in more ways than most mentally enabled children were capable of. And in less than nine months, Ralph will have a sibling with which he would be able to connect as well. As Walter watched the mother and son sleep peacefully in the hospital bed, he gently rested his hand against Paige's lower abdomen and brought the back of her hand to his lips.
Paige's eyes fluttered open and caught him staring at her as he absentmindedly rubbed his hand along her belly in small circles. "Hey."
"Hi." Paige gave him a small smile as he greeted her with a simple, chaste kiss. Her voice was still very hoarse. "How long have I been asleep?"
Walter looked at his watch. "Oh…, maybe an hour or so."
"Is that all? It felt longer." Paige muttered as she stared at the ceiling.
Walter inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly as he sat back down in the chair next to Paige's hospital bed and leaned against the mattress. He stared at the wall in front of him. "I apologize for everything you went through a few days ago – had I kept a closer eye on M—"
"Walter," Paige closed her eyes and sighed, "Don't. I told you; it wasn't your fault. So stop apologizing."
Walter opened his mouth to rebuke her statement but decided against it. "Okay." He squeezed her hand and decided to change the subject. "So six weeks, huh?"
She nodded. "It seems that way." And then she turned to look at him. "Are you disappointed?"
He blinked. "W-What gave you th-that impression?"
"I don't know," She shrugged and looked at the ceiling again. "We haven't really talked…about it since…, you know, since the other day. I mean, other than receiving a status on the baby's health from the OB/GYN onsite and learning how far along I am in the pregnancy, we haven't really discussed anything about where to go from here." She finally met his gaze. "Do you…," she bit her lip, "Is having a baby something you want, Walter?"
"Yes, of course. Paige," Walter was utterly confused, "Where is all this coming from?"
She inhaled a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. As Ralph stirred in his sleep, she lowered her voice, "I've been burned once before, Walter; now, I can handle being a single moth-"
"Paige," Walter cut her off, "I'm not Drew, and I'm not going anywhere. Everything I have ever wanted is right here, in Los Angeles. I have no desire to be anywhere else." He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. "Okay?"
"Okay," she gave him a weak smile. He rose to his feet and leaned in to kiss her when Ralph stirred awake and complained he was hungry. Walter ruffled the boy's hair; just as Walter picked up the phone to order food from the cafeteria, Cabe stepped into the room.
"Just a head's up," Cabe stated as he folded his arms in front of him, "both of you will be needing to give your statements in a few hours; an agent from Homeland will be stopping by to collect them." The expression on his face softened. "Will you be all right with that, Paige?"
Paige shrugged. "It needs to be done, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Cabe nodded. "But if you need more time, I might be able to pull some favors."
"No," Paige shook her head, "The sooner I give my statement, the faster I can put all of this behind me."
"Are you sure?" Walter shifted his eyes towards Paige.
"Yes." Paige answered quickly. "I'm sure."
"All right;" Cabe placed his hand on Paige's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Hang in there, kid. You don't even worry about returning to work after you're better. Just focus on getting rest and taking care of yourself."
"I'll try," was all Paige would say on the matter.
"I'm gonna get a burger now; you guys want anything?" Cabe changed the subject and smiled.
"Ugh. No. / Yes. / Yes please!" Paige, Walter and Ralph answered in unison. While Paige was covering her mouth to prevent a wave of nausea from washing over her, Walter convinced Cabe to take Ralph with him for an extra set of hands. Ralph hopped off of the hospital bed and ran up to Cabe with a big smile on his face.
"Is that okay, Mom?" Ralph turned to Paige who only nodded her head in response as she lowered her hand from her mouth and leaned back against the pillow.
Once Cabe and Ralph were gone, Walter climbed into the hospital bed and splayed out his palm against her small baby bump.
"Does Ralph know about the baby?" Paige asked as she found his gaze and rested her right hand on top of his.
"I don't think so," Walter pressed his lips together. "Then again, he's a smart kid so he might know."
"What about everyone else?" Paige inquired as she laced her fingers with Walter's and glanced at their conjoined hands.
"Yes. Well, not Megan. But everyone else does." Walter recalled the moment he had accidentally announced Paige's pregnancy and swallowed. "I might have unintentionally told them while I was under a lot of stress after being down the Rabbit Hole for almost an entire day."
"Which reminds me," Paige met his gaze, "How did you escape the Rabbit Hole?"
"I saw the pregnancy tests." Walter muttered next to her ear. "The realization of becoming a future father was what lured me out."
Paige smiled in response to his statement. "Do you…remember anything from when you were down the Rabbit Hole?"
"Bits and pieces," Walter glanced at her as she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Like what?"
"If you are asking me if I remember sleeping with you while I was down the Rabbit Hole, my answer, to put it simply, would be yes. But like I said, I only remember bits and pieces – mainly because I see the things unfolding around me differently when I'm…subdued." His eyes flicked towards Paige as she gave him a look of confusion. "When I'm, uh, when I'm down the Rabbit Hole, the things I experience…the sex…, eating…, wrestling with you…, they're like dreams. I can't really control my actions, but I can see what happens. But when I'm drawn back to the whiteboard, parts of the dreams dissipate, and I'm only left with glimpses instead of memories. Does that make sense?"
Paige nodded. "A little bit." Silence filled the room for several minutes until Paige broke it. "I've been doing some thinking, Walter," She avoided his gaze, "and I think it's time to establish some boundaries for Scorpion and the cases the team picks up." Walter started to talk, but she cut him off. "Let me finish."
"Okay."
"I understand there are certain cases that require a special skillset, but you and the other members of the team have to keep in mind that you're not superheroes. No one in Scorpion except for Cabe is trained for high-risk situations where the bad guys have guns and weapons at their disposal. In the past, Scorpion has taken a lot of risky cases that needed little to no tech expertise and dealt more with drug cartels and terrorists. You might disagree, but for some of those cases, Scorpion, in my opinion, really didn't need to be involved. It's one thing to take on a case and walk into a situation that wasn't part of the plan, but it's another to take a case in which you know is beyond your skillset." She twisted her body a little bit and planted a kiss on Walter's cheek. "Walter," she kissed his cheek again, "you are going to be a father in less than a year, and I would very much like you to be alive when the child is born. It's time to set some boundaries."
Walter's jaw hardened in response to Paige's statement; he knew she was right – that Scorpion was taking on unnecessary cases – cases which called for more brute force than a bunch of geniuses running around and calling shots, but those cases usually ended with positive results – even if there were a few injuries along the way. "Hey," she caught his attention, "I'm not asking you to stop what you're doing, Walter; Scorpion does amazing things, and I would never ask you to give up Scorpion. All I'm asking you to do is consider the level of skillset needed for each case; that's all. If a case seems too much for four geniuses and an agent, don't be afraid to request backup agents to take on the action-hero side of things while you and the rest of the team focus on the tech. Am I making any sense?"
Walter nodded. "Yes. I understand your concerns, and I will take everything you've said into consideration."
"Thank you," Paige leaned in and kissed him.
"Mhmm." He hummed against her lips.
…
They didn't talk for another hour.
~ SCORPION ~
WriterFreak001:
So…. This is not the last chapter. I came up with a subplot that'll keep this baby going for at least four or so more chapters (and no, it has nothing to do with the pregnancy!)
I struggled a little bit on this chapter, but I hope it came out all right. I know it is short, but I felt like I needed to give you guys a break from cliffhangers. ;)
Let me know what you think! :D