WriterFreak001:
Ugh…. Trying to find a degree-related job sucks. :( If only FFN could be a full-time job. :/
Title | Deception
Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)
Description | It did not take a genius for Walter O'Brien to know there was a connection between him and Paige; with each day, the pull between them – whatever it might be – grew stronger, but when Drew came into the picture, it threw Walter in for a loop. Of all of the things he had ever foreseen, he never predicted Ralph's father's untimely arrival. More importantly, Drew seemed to be hiding something; can Walter and his team discreetly investigate Paige's ex without her finding out? What will Walter do with what he finds? Find out and see.
Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for some violence as well as brain stuff and fluff.
POV | Third Person Omniscient
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!
Deception
Written by WriterFreak001
Chapter 25
~ SCORPION ~
For hours, Paige didn't leave Ralph's side. She continued to learn how to play chess with the boy as well as asked him to teach her various mathematical equations. She only understood a fraction of what her son was writing on the board. Walter was at his desk and watched the pair interact with one another; it was quite the amusing sight, especially when Paige would discreetly scratch her head in response to her son's calculations.
Paige finally left Ralph's side and made her way over towards Walter. She linked her fingers with his as he stood up and caught her gaze. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier while I was interrogating Drew."
"Your interrogation was profitable; you don't need to apologize for being efficient." Walter replied and then added, "But I appreciate your concern and accept your apology regardless of how it might or might not have made me feel internally." Heat radiated within Walter's cheeks as Paige pulled him in for a loving embrace.
After a few minutes of bliss, Paige pulled away and cupped his cheeks. "Now, what I want you to do is go to the hospital and pick up your sister; we're not going to let Drew ruin our plans for tonight. I told you sister she was going to have dinner with us today, and that is exactly what we're going to do."
"I don't think that's a good idea – not after everything we've learned yesterday and today." Walter replied, but when Paige's glare registered inside his mind, he ran his hand through his hair and groaned. "Fine. But I don't want Megan roped into all of this."
"Neither do I so we'll act like nothing is going on." Paige muttered before giving him a peck on the lips. "Now go; if you don't leave now, you'll be late." He nodded as she handed him her keys. "Be safe." Paige whispered before kissing him once more.
As Walter was on his way to the door, Paige walked over to Ralph, kissed him on the head and then walked up the stairs towards the loft. She needed some coffee.
~ SCORPION ~
Walter returned half an hour later with his sister and was disappointed to learn that Cabe and Toby weren't back yet from Homeland Security HQ. He wanted to know what was going on with Drew the moment he left the headquarters, but he didn't want to force Paige to listen to something she wasn't ready to hear.
After he helped his sister take a seat on the couch next to his desk, he checked in on Happy who was working on designing some video cameras for the perimeter. However, when he noticed she was too focused to talk, he decided to forego his inquiry and make his way over to Sylvester, who was fiddling with his Rubik's Cube.
"How is the search going?" Walter asked as he folded his arms in front of him, forcing Sylvester to look up from his cube; however, his hands did not stop twisting and turning it.
"The battery charge went nowhere, but something you and Toby said yesterday got me thinking; if Drew stole the real Spencer Thomas's credit card information, that's a felony. He was stealing from someone else's account so if whatever happens at HQ doesn't send him to jail, you could always play that card since you have background knowledge on being a forensic analyst." Sylvester shrugged. "I mean it's worth a shot, isn't it?"
"Thanks, buddy. That'll definitely be helpful. After dinner, get some rest; the information will be there tomorrow so don't worry about finding anymore Intel tonight – not unless we receive new information from Cabe." Walter patted Sylvester's shoulder and then walked over to his sister. "You and Sylvester hit it off the last time you were here, if I recall correctly. Why don't you go and talk with him? I'm sure he'd be happy to talk some more."
"Since when did you become a match maker, Walter?" Megan laughed as she rose to her feet. "I think Paige is having a good influence on you; she should be proud of the improvement in your EQ."
Walter rolled his eyes as his sister hobbled over towards Sylvester's desk. He spotted Ralph on Paige's computer. He walked over to the boy, ruffled his hair and asked Ralph if he knew where his mom was.
Without a word, Ralph pointed towards the stairs and then resumed to his Minesweeper game. Walter patted the boy's shoulder and then left for the stairs. He made his way up to the loft but found no trace of Paige. He then walked to his bedroom, thinking she might have decided to take a nap – he wouldn't blame her; she did seem rather tired on the way back to the garage. When he entered his bedroom, Paige wasn't where he thought she was, but he did notice steam flowing out of the cracks of the bathroom door. He saw one of the clean sets of clothes Paige had forced him to retrieve from her apartment yesterday and put two and two together. He turned to leave his bedroom, not wanting to disturb her, but as a soft tune danced into his ears, curiosity bested him. He walked towards the bathroom door and pressed his ear against it. Paige was softly singing to an old tune which happened to be one of Megan's favorite songs; he never understood why, though. The lyrics were about an unrequited romance – he recognized the feelings that were involved in such an ordeal, but he could never comprehend as to why someone else's depression (the song) was another person's pleasure. It was absolutely mindboggling to him.
And yet, he still couldn't help but listen to Paige's pleasing voice….
"…don't patronize me…. 'Cuz I can't make you love me if you don't…. You can't make your heart feel somethin' it won't…. Here in the dark in these final hours…. I will lay down my heart, and I'll feel the power. But you won't… no you won't. 'Cuz I can't make you love me…, if you don't…."
Walter wondered why she had chosen to sing such a song; he had heard of people singing for no apparent reason – Toby did it sometimes, but what if there was more to why she was singing those lyrics? Was it something she was also feeling? He had thought he made himself very clear as to whom she was to him. As he continued to hear her sing, he lost himself within his thoughts and tried to analyze possible reasons as to why Paige would sing that song. He didn't realize how long he had been standing in front of the door until the door swung open to reveal Paige in nothing but a skimpy, white towel wrapped around her chest.
He immediately froze as his eyes scanned up her body. He gulped when he saw the humiliated shock emanating through her wide gaze. "W-walter?!" she quietly shrieked as she clutched the towel around her body for extra security. "W-what a-are you d-doing?" Her cheeks flushed.
Walter pressed his lips together, gulped, ran his hand through his hair and then wheeled around on his heels before marching his way out of his bedroom in order to avoid answering her question. He grabbed a coffee cup from the counter within the loft, filled it with coffee and chugged it down in place of an alcoholic beverage he could really use at the moment. In order to keep himself from processing what had just happened, he walked straight to his blackboard and started jotting down various algorithms.
When Paige walked out of his bedroom, wearing a blue blouse and black jeans, he pretended to ignore her and continued writing whatever came to his mind. "Cabe should be back by now," he found himself saying as he heard her sit down on one of the couches.
"Okay," Paige nodded. "We don't have to meet him just yet."
"Don't you want to know about Drew's testimony?" Walter asked as he finally looked at her.
"Yes, but it can wait." Paige shrugged.
"Are you sure?" He asked while he placed the chalk down on the chalk rack and approached her.
"Yes." Paige replied as he sat down next to her. When he sat down, she caught him off guard and climbed on top of him until her legs straddled over his lap. She gripped the back of the sofa and said, "You can't run away this time," she whispered into his ear. He gulped. "Why did I find you standing directly in front of the bathroom door; I'm sure you knew I was in there." She raised an eyebrow.
"S-Surely I can answer your question without all of the theatrics," Walter stuttered as he tried his hardest not to think about the sensations Paige was making him feel below his belt.
"Perhaps," she shrugged as one of her hands weaved through his hair. "But think of this as another experiment."
"In the past, your experiments were aimed at helping me relate to normals; how does this do the same?" Walter asked as he cleared his throat and gestured down below.
"Well," she pressed her lips against his, "It helps you gain more control over your comfort zone; you're going to have to interact with people, and the more comfortable you appear around them, the more they will see Scorpion as a reputable company."
As she lowered her lips to kiss him again, he pulled away and muttered, "I think someone's coming."
"Nice try; I'm not falling for that one," Paige laughed as she pulled him into a deep kiss. He nearly lost his resolve when he felt her tongue swipe against his. His arms instinctively wrapped around her as she bucked her hips against his. He couldn't help the guttural sound that emitted from his throat.
"Man, this is a LOT better than the movies!" Toby exclaimed, causing both Paige and Walter to jump apart from one another.
"What the hell do we need to do to keep the two of you from mauling each other every time you guys are alone!?" Cabe asked as he came into their line of sight. "No funny business during a case!"
"Since when?" Toby lifted an eyebrow.
"Since now." Cabe frowned. "Walter, I'd like to talk to you for a minute."
Walter nodded and followed Cabe into the other side of the loft where the stairs were in view. "What is it?" Walter asked, acting as though Cabe and Toby hadn't just caught him and Paige doing very inappropriate things out in the open. They were lucky it wasn't Ralph who walked in on them.
"Listen, kid. I get that you are crazy for Paige and all, but you need to keep your head on your shoulders while in the company of everyone else. There's thin walls between the loft and the lower compartment so even if you two were being quiet, Toby and I could hear some mentally scarring things from the stairs. Trust me; those aren't the kinds of sounds you want to be scarring Ralph with – so if the two of you are starting to go into some horny phase, then when we're not in the middle of an investigation, please find another place to venture off to and have your fun. The rest of us don't need to know every detail of your love life. Are we clear?"
"Yes." Walter answered quickly.
"Good. I suggest you to go the bathroom and clean your face and address any other problem you might be having before you return." Cabe replied as he patted Walter's shoulder. When the agent left to return to Toby and Paige, Walter did as Cabe suggested and sauntered to the bathroom to take care of a few things. He decided that he and Paige needed to slow things down – they just started dating two nights ago, and they were already venturing into a nearly physical relationship – a type of relationship he didn't think he was ready to have yet. He didn't think she was ready either. And he doubted they would be ready anytime soon.
When he returned to the other part of the loft, Toby was sitting on the couch across from Paige while Cabe was standing behind her. Cabe turned and saw Walter walk in. The agent pointed to the cushion next to Toby. "Sit." Cabe ordered. Reluctantly, Walter complied and sat across from Paige even though he wanted to sit next to her.
Just as Cabe was about to get started, Toby interjected and said, "Before we start, who want's popcorn?"
"No one wants popcorn, you idiot." Happy stated as she approached the group. "Sly is with Ralph; I'm curious to know what lies that asshat told you today." She sat down next to Paige and leaned back against the couch.
"In all honesty, unless he knows how to fool a human polygraph, everything he said was the truth." Toby shrugged. "Now, let's just sit back, relax and let Cabe give us the rundown of the new and improved reality TV show, Drew Confessions."
"Just shut up and let the man talk, doc." Happy crossed her arms.
"Me shut up? What about you shut up?" Toby countered.
"All right, Happy! Toby! Out!" Cabe barked. "You two don't need to be present during this little meeting seeing as one of you Einsteins already know what I'm about to tell Walter and Paige."
"But –" Toby started, but Cabe pointed towards the stairs. Happy grunted and left immediately, but Toby just had to have the last word. He stood up, circled around the couches and said, "Might as well just throw us into a pond of alligators while you're at it, Pharaoh Gallo."
Cabe sighed as Toby disappeared and sat down next to Walter. Walter, however, stood up, circled around the coffee table and then sat down next to Paige; he believed it would be more beneficial if Cabe was looking at both of them when he spoke. It would prove less strenuous to his neck if he didn't have to turn so many times. As Paige linked her hand with his and leaned against his shoulder, he urged Cabe to disclose everything he had learned while interrogating Drew. "What did you find out?"
"Drew may have gotten himself into a messy load of crap, but he's not directly responsible for the deaths of Kathleen Johnson and Tucker Taylor." Cabe replied as he leaned forward and clasped his hands together.
"What about Spencer Thomas?" Walter asked as he lifted his left eyebrow.
"That was an accident, according to Drew." Cabe shrugged. "I did some more digging after Drew told us everything, and it would seem his story pans out. You see," he looked at Paige, "you were right in suspecting that Drew didn't stop gambling. In fact, he was so addicted to gambling that he lost his job. I called the head coach of the Tampa Yankees, and he confirmed he had cut Drew from the team because of gambling addiction. Drew hitchhiked his way back to St. Louis – Lord only knows how the hell he managed to pull that one off – and went to see his parents. I had someone call and confirm that Drew had visited them about six and a half years ago and mentioned that he needed some help getting back to LA; whatever money he had was drained after paying those drivers for helping him hitch hike to St. Louis. Ma and Pa Baker refused to help him out; told him he was a grown man and needed to learn how to deal with his own problems. Drew apparently owed money to someone in Tampa and was counting on his parents to help him out; he wasn't expecting their refusal, however. That's when he decided to visit a loan shark." Cabe frowned.
"Was Drew able to give you a name?" Walter inquired as Paige heaved a heavy sigh.
"Even if the loan shark gave Drew a name, it wouldn't be his real one – these sons of bitches are smart. They know their way around the law." Cabe crossed his arms in front of him and then leaned back against the sofa. "He owed at least $10,000 to some sleezebag in Tampa for helping him with some baseball maneuvers, but when Drew wasn't earning enough income to pay the guy back, he started gambling again in hopes that he would raise the revenue – unfortunately, the only thing the gambling led to was the loss of his career. Hence the loan shark in St. Louis." Cabe frowned. "Drew claimed the loan shark loaned him five thousand dollars. Drew promised he would be able to pay the loan shark back by the end of the year. He paid the man he owed the five grand and begged the loan shark for more money. The loan shark only agreed to give Drew the cash if Drew promised to repay him twice as much. Being desperate, Drew made the deal and sent over the rest of the money to the man he owed."
"So…, I'm guessing the loan shark was a part of the Leviathan Mafia?" Paige inquired as she lifted an eyebrow.
"Yes, but I don't think Drew really knew that at the time." Cabe nodded and then continued. "When Drew knew he wouldn't be able to come up with 20 grand by the end of the year, he found a way to get to Vegas, but he lost more money than he put in."
"Clearly, he should have realized he was a horrible gambler." Walter said as he tried to wonder why Drew would continue gambling if he wasn't able to win anything. It was a waste of time – and most certainly a waste in money.
"Tell that to eighty percent of the gamblers in America," Cabe sighed. "Anyway," he pressed on, "He bumped into Mr. Tucker Taylor while he was hitting up the slots one night and explained his ordeal to the old friend."
"More like old enemy," Paige commented under her breath. Walter tried to keep himself from chuckling to her response.
"Anyway," Cabe redirected their attention back to him, "Drew promised Tucker he would help him get laid if he did one favor for him."
"Let me guess," Walter interjected, "Drew asked Tucker to hack into a bank and transfer him a large sum of money as a down payment to buy him some time."
"How'd you know that?" Cabe raised an eyebrow.
"I was a forensic analyst remember?" Walter mimicked Cabe's facial expression.
"Right." Cabe nodded. "Well, apparently, Tucker had an even better idea. He managed to siphon small amounts of money from ten different banks."
"Of course he did." Walter frowned. "Withdrawing small amounts of money from innumerable banks would allow him to steal money without raising a red flag. Large sums usually make banks nervous, making them notify the account owner and fact check the withdrawal. Small sums, however, wouldn't be out of the ordinary – making it easier for hackers to siphon money without being caught."
"That's…concerning." Paige commented as they redirected their focus on Cabe. "Did Tucker get caught?"
"Not for a while." Cabe replied. "Drew managed to wire over a down payment of two grand and decided to use the other one grand of money Tucker had stolen for him to hit the slots. Needless to say this, but he didn't win anything, again. Tucker, however, won almost every poker game – no doubt he was counting cards. According to Drew's statement, he convinced Tucker to go with him to a strip club, and that was where Drew managed to persuade one of the dancers to take Tucker to a private area and do the nasty. If anything, Drew's a good conman. After a while, Tucker returned and thanked him for returning the favor. That was when Drew's phone received a text from the loan shark, demanding for more payment – that three grand wasn't good enough. After this little meeting," Cabe looked at Walter, "I'm going to need you to hack into Drew's old cell number and see if you can trace those texts."
"Okay," Walter nodded. "I can do that."
"I'm still not understanding why Drew would change his name." Paige ran a hand through her hair. "What would make him do that?"
"Drew was getting desperate." Cabe replied as he leaned forward again. "The end of the year was drawing close; he told me that he convinced Tucker to siphon more money. Tucker agreed, but he said he needed to go to some other city to pull it off in order to keep the suspicion low key. Realizing that that was their only option, Drew agreed and Tucker suggested they go to Kansas."
"That was actually a smart plan," Walter mused. "Kansas, if anything, is very isolated save for the metropolitan areas. Isolation would enable them to go somewhere remote, siphon the money and leave before anybody ever knew they were there. If this Tucker guy was able to hack into someone else's IP address in the process and used that address as a cloaking device, I'd be even more impressed."
"They didn't get a chance to." Cabe said.
"Why not?" Both Walter and Paige asked in unison.
"Because, just outside of Topeka, on their way to Overbrook, Kansas – an extremely small town on the outskirts of Topeka, Drew accidentally hit a man with Tucker's car." Cabe paused as Paige gasped.
"The man was Spencer Thomas, wasn't it." Walter deduced.
"Yes." Cabe nodded. "They panicked so Drew took all of the man's licenses and anything that could identify him and then they dragged Spencer Thomas's body towards a lake and used rocks to sink him below. Then they sped off like crazy towards Overbrook. They rented a motel room using stolen cash and instead of siphoning money like they had planned to do, Drew thought of an opportunity. He had Tucker basically create Drew a new life with the name of Spencer Thomas by hacking into several different servers to change pictures and information. That was how Drew became Spencer Thomas. I already called the FBI in Topeka, and they have a unit out there now trying to find Spencer Thomas's body; they're supposed to notify me if or once they do."
"So let me get this straight," Paige rubbed her temples, "Drew went through all of this trouble, stole some guy's identity and remarried a rich woman just so he could pay a loan shark back?" Paige looked as though she was starting to get a headache. "Am I missing something? Like how would he know Kathleen Johnson – heiress to a great sum of money – would be waiting for him in Portland? That seems too weird to grasp."
"Paige has a point." Walter agreed. "Sure, change his name to hide from the loan shark, but to suddenly have an idea to find some rich woman in Portland and marry her? I don't buy it."
"That's not what he did." Cabe shook his head. "Tucker apparently had a cousin in Portland who said she thought Tucker would be a good match for Kathleen Johnson. Tucker and Drew devised a plan that while Drew took Tucker's place and went to Portland to woo the lady, Tucker would remain in St. Louis. Drew said he would be able to convince Kathleen to marry him, and once that was done, he would have access to her money. He had a plan to siphon about a thousand per week, and Tucker agreed to send it to the loan shark if Drew promised to help him with a favor down the road. The plan apparently worked for almost five years of years, but when Drew realized the money wasn't being transferred out of the fake account he had created, he realized something was wrong. He called Tucker, but the loan shark answered instead. That was when Drew realized that the loan shark must have figured things out and set out to find him, killing anyone who refused to talk.
"Once again, Drew panicked. He decided to throw the loan shark off by booking a flight under his alias's name; he assumed the loan shark would have gathered enough Intel to know that he had changed his name. He paid a random man to pose as Spencer Thomas and then paid him enough money for a return trip. The reason he was so desperate as to force his wife home was because he needed access to Kathleen's financials. By spending time with Tucker for a few weeks, Drew had apparently picked up some simple hacking skills, but he needed Kathleen to remain home so that when he did steal from her, it wasn't obvious for why would someone steal from someone else if they were present? The man might not be a genius, but he does seem to have a few conning tricks up his sleeve." Cabe frowned.
"Yeah. It makes me wonder what else he's been lying about." Paige frowned as well. "Are you sure he didn't give you some BS'ed story?"
"I'm sure…. Everything he's said so far has panned out, but if he lied about something, we'll know." Cabe reassured her. "Anyway, once he had stolen enough money from Kathleen's vault, he left for Vegas in hopes to catch a lucky break again."
"Let me guess. He didn't?"
"Not a single penny." Cabe shook his head. "When he realized he wasn't going to win anything, he used what money he had left and made his way to Los Angeles. He bought an apartment and looked you up, Paige. Noticed you were still working at the diner. He was curious about Ralph so he checked up on you every once in a while. He hadn't heard from the loan shark in months so he assumed the loan shark backed down or got himself arrested. He didn't really care. He got a simple job as a barman and tried to clean up because he had given up on trying to pay the loan shark back. One of the days he said that he had checked up on you was when the team commandeered the diner due to the LAX emergency. That was when he learned about Ralph's special mind. A few weeks later, he found his apartment destroyed and noticed a note taped to his wall. Members of the Leviathan Mafia of the Los Angeles syndicate had found him and told him to meet them by nightfall or else.
"Drew met with them, got himself a few broken ribs and was told to come up with the money by the end of the month. The or else was implied. That was shortly before Drew came by and wanted to meet Ralph; he had no intention of hurting the boy, but he did want to earn Ralph's trust so that he could convince him to help him siphon the rest of his debt."
"I can't believe this!" Paige rose to her feet and threw her hands into the air. "I don't know which is worse: Drew using my kid to fix his problems, or the fact that Drew seems to think stealing a dead guy's identity for one major con act would be okay! I don't care if he had no intention of hurting Ralph; he was willing to put Ralph into a difficult position and risk my son getting caught instead of him!" Paige grabbed her purse. "Well, we'll see about that, won't we? Now where is he, Cabe?"
"And just what do you think you're doing?" Cabe stood up, ready to pounce her if she tried to bolt out of the loft. Walter was seeing déjà vu.
"I'm going to do what I should have done yesterday!" Paige exclaimed.
Walter rose to his feet, circled around the couch and gripped Paige's wrist. "I highly advise against it, Paige. Like I said yesterday, bad decisions bring forth consequences. I want to break his ribs as much as the next guy for even thinking about putting Ralph into a compromising position, but putting Drew in his place won't solve the problem at hand. The case is hardly about Drew anymore, Paige. It's about the Leviathan Mafia, and if Drew hasn't paid off his debts, they'll find a way to get to him."
"Walter's right, Paige." Cabe called out to her. "We have no idea how many members are in the Los Angeles syndicate. Trust me, Drew will be going away for a long time; he not only conspired to siphon money, but he also covered up a would-be crime scene and will be facing involuntary manslaughter charges as well. Not to mention the fact that he committed a forgery by faking a court order. Based on all of these charges, you don't have to worry about him coming near Ralph again."
"So you're telling me I can't go anywhere until either Drew's debt is settled or the members of the Leviathan Mafia Los Angeles syndicate are convicted?" Paige fired as she ripped her arm from Walter's grasp. "I can't live my life in hiding because of Drew's mistakes! I'm not going to let him ruin my life anymore!" She started for the door; Walter quickly followed her, hoping she would calm down and see to reason before marching out of the garage.
"And I'm not going to let Drew's dumbass mistakes get you or your son killed!" Cabe bellowed, forcing Paige and Walter to stop dead in their tracks. "Now sit back down! Both of you!" Cabe pointed both his index fingers towards the couch; his voice was enough to coerce the couple to find their seats again. "Now, if you'd be so kind, I'd like to finish what I was going to say." Walter and Paige sat in silence. "Drew has agreed to cooperate; I promised I'd put in a good word to the DOJ, but based on everything he's done, he's not going to get exonerated. He might have a few less years, but he's still going to prison for a long time.
"Drew has a way of getting hold of the Los Angeles syndicate's leader, and so he has agreed to contact him and set up a meeting. Drew will be a decoy. His phone is going to be tracked; he will be carrying a suitcase of counterfeit money. They won't be able to tell that they're fake. The LAPD and FBI will be undercover; Scorpion will be working here, at the garage, and will work on the technical end of the operation. A few Homeland agents, myself included, will be on sight as well. If they're meeting in some dark warehouse, I trust you'll pull up blueprints and guide us through the building if needed. If the operation is successful, then both you," Cabe looked at Paige, "and Ralph will be able to resume your life accordingly. Understood?"
Walter nodded as Paige sighed. "Fine," Paige caved. "When is this happening?"
"If the leader responds, hopefully tomorrow." Cabe replied. "Now, I've gotta fly…. Merrick wants me present when Drew makes the call. Walt," Cabe looked at Walter, "I need you to assist from here and make sure Drew's cell phone is cloaked. Tell me now if you can't do it from here because you'll have to come with me to Homeland if you can't."
"I can." Walter nodded. "Text me his number before he calls; I will give you the okay once the cloaking is in place."
"Good." Cabe nodded and then reached over to pat Walter on the shoulder. He then squeezed Paige's. "I know everything seems frustrating right now, but it'll get better. I promise."
As Cabe left the loft, Paige slumped over and covered her face in her hands. Perhaps Drew's confession was a lot for her to handle all at once. "Cabe's right, you know." Walter suddenly said, capturing Paige's attention. "It'll eventually get better."
"How can you be so sure?" Paige asked as she turned to look at him.
"Because," Walter shrugged as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. She automatically leaned her head against his shoulder, and he rested his against hers in return. "I only state facts."
"Then tell me one right now." Paige muttered as her fingers linked with his.
"Okay," Walter hummed to himself as he thought of something to say. "The stars we see on an average nightly basis makes up only five percent of the observable universe."
"Really?" Paige caught his burning gaze. "I didn't know that."
"The Milky Way is approximately 60,000 light years in diameter, and our solar system is only a speck of planets, moons and stars compared to the vast size of the Milky Way. Truly, humans are infinitesimally small compared to the universe. And some are even smaller than that because of their scumbag statuses."
"Scumbag status?" Paige laughed, causing Walter to smile.
"Happy had said that term a few times in the past to describe how awful her past boyfriends were. After a while, the team sort of adopted that phrase and used it off and on to describe various people who ticked us off." Walter explained, causing Paige to laugh even more.
"Scumbag status. I like it." She smiled.
Walter pressed his lips together and remained silent for a few seconds before adding, "But…, the main fact I had wanted to say," Walter gulped; he wasn't used to having emotional conversations, especially when he was the one attempting to convey his emotions with the type of brain that he was born with. He tried to think of a way to explain what was going through his mind without sounding too technical. He noticed a small piece of chalk laying on the chalk rack. "Hold that thought," he said as he pushed himself off of the couch and headed towards the chalkboard. He picked up the tiny piece of chalk and held it out in front of Paige. "Imagine that this piece of chalk is relative to the size of the universe."
"Okaaay," Paige laughed, urging him to continue.
"If I were to fill this entire garage from floor to ceiling and wall to wall with this infinitesimal universe," he gestured towards the chalk, "until there were no spaces left to fill," he paused and gulped audibly, "I still would not have enough universes nor garages to compare to the amount of intense feelings I experience when I'm with you." Walter avoided Paige's gaze and turned around to place the chalk back onto the rack. He scratched his ear and then said, "Okay, I've said what I wanted to say so are you ready to go downstairs now?" He cleared his throat and felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Walter," she called his name out; he felt her hot breath brush against his ear. He turned around but continued to look elsewhere. If he could measure the level of awkwardness he had felt when Paige had coerced him into dancing with her at the gala versus what he was currently feeling, he would definitely have thought that the awkward state he was presently experiencing was a much larger value. The hairs on his neck stood up as she hooked her arms around his shoulders.
"Hm?" he finally met her gaze.
"You want to hear another fact?" Paige half-whispered, half-sang as he unconsciously wrapped his arms around her waist.
"What?" he inquired.
"I love you too," Paige smiled as she gently pressed her lips against his and slowly coaxed him into a chaste kiss. Minutes passed as they held each other and shared sweet, tender kisses. Paige pulled away slightly as her eyes met his. "You were right," she rubbed her nose against his, "things do eventually get better in the end."
She kissed him again before he pulled away and muttered, "See? I told you I only ever stated facts."
Paige smiled and laughed at his statement and just as she was about to pull him into another kiss, their attention was directed towards the door to the section with the stairs when they heard Toby shout, "Hey Walter! Paige! Quit canoodling and get down here! We're hungry, and Paige is the project manager so….get down here and…manage our food!"
Walter and Paige sighed and pulled away from one another. "What am I, a food wench?" Paige muttered as Walter straightened his tie. Walter started pulling Paige towards the door to the stairs when Paige stopped him with a laugh. He raised an eyebrow as she pointed to his lips. "I don't think messy red lipstick matches your eyes."
He released Paige's hand, made a bee-line for his bedroom and cleaned off his face – again. When he returned, Paige had reapplied her lipstick to hide all traces of their little make out session and had wiped off any red lipstick that had rubbed onto the skin surrounding her plump lips.
As they headed for the stairs, Toby said, "To answer your question, no. You're not a food wench, but you are a much better cook than the rest of us, and I assume that since you invited Megan over to the garage, you were planning on some kind of feast?"
"Y-you could hear me all the way up there?" Paige's eyes widened.
"Yup. Thin walls." Toby smirked. "Oh, and there's a vent near Walter's chalkboard so we were able to hear everything you two lovely birds were chirping about up there. Best entertainment in the infinitesimally small universe." Toby winked at Walter. Walter was tempted to march down there and pummel him, but Paige squeezed his hand and kept him from retaliating.
"Shut up, idiot, and leave them alone." Happy rolled her eyes.
"Yes, ma'am." Toby saluted and swaggered to his desk.
"I think Toby's whipped." Paige muttered softly.
"I've noticed." Walter whispered as they descended the stairs. They made their way over to Megan and Ralph who were playing chess against one another. "How many games have you won, Megan?"
"None." She answered quickly and moved her rook four spaces towards Ralph's king.
"Checkmate." Ralph smiled and knocked Megan's king off of the board. "Mom," Ralph looked up towards Paige, "Why don't you and Megan play against one another; the two of you would be equally matched."
Paige and Walter laughed as Megan rolled her eyes with a smile. "Gee, thanks, kid."
"I would, sweetie," Paige gave Ralph a hug, "but Toby had a point earlier, I've got to fix some dinner."
"Why don't we just order Chinese?" Walter suggested. "It's somewhat…homemade…by Chinese people…, and it happens to be Megan's favorite type of food." He placed a hand on Megan's shoulder and awaited for Paige's reply.
"Hell, I'm down for that." Happy called towards them.
"I like Oriental too!" Toby exclaimed.
"Interesting how you said oriental in place of Chinese," Happy noted as she rolled her eyes and continued with her project.
"I was hoping you'd notice," Toby grinned from ear to ear.
"As long as I can use my own, sterile utensils instead of those flimsy chopsticks, I'll be fine with Chinese too." Sylvester chimed in.
"Mom, Chinese is my favorite too." Ralph smiled.
"Then I guess I'm outnumbered," Paige grinned.
"Great!" Toby jumped. "I volunteer to pick it up! Happy, come with. With your driving, we can return in no time."
"Fine, but if you try anything, I won't be afraid to castrate you with an Asian Cleaver at the restaurant." Happy replied as she grabbed her leather jacket. "I just need to clean the motor oil off my face first."
"That is so hot!" Toby mumbled through gritted teeth as he made his way towards the rest of the group.
"What is?" Sylvester inquired. "The part about castration or the part about cleaning off the oil?"
"Both," Toby smirked. "She used two different terms which both indirectly points to future sex. Castration – well, you get the idea, and motor oil? That's a car lubricant which, to me, translates to lubricants in general, and know what else sometimes calls for lubricants?!" Toby lifted his eyebrows simultaneously.
"Ew." Paige commented as Sylvester said, "That's…disgusting."
"Who thinks like you?" Walter raised an eyebrow. Not even he would have made such a comparison. Castration and motor oil equated to future sex? Walter shook the thought out of his mind, hoping to never have to process that one if he could avoid it.
"That's the beauty of being me." Toby grinned.
"By the way," Megan interjected, catching Walter's and Paige's attentions. "I was beginning to wonder if you two would ever stop snogging each other and come down here to interact with your guest." Megan raised an eyebrow towards Walter. "Who knew it would take the shrink to bring you to back down from Cloud 9."
"Snogging?" Sylvester furrowed his brows.
"It's an British colloquial term describing two people making out. Read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows; there's tons of snogging mentioned in there." Toby replied as he waited for Happy to return.
"Actually," Walter caught the shrink's attention, "It is a European colloquial term. The British are not the only group of people who use that term, Toby."
"Walt's right," Megan confirmed. "The Irish use it too."
"Well color me stupid for making a slight error," Toby rolled his eyes. Happy returned and headed for the front door as Toby followed closely behind. "We'll be back."
After Toby and Happy left, Paige sat down in the chair Ralph had been sitting in and said, "You do realize, Ralph, that you were exaggerating about my chess skills, right? I'm just learning how to play so I'm sure Megan is a lot better at chess than I am."
"I am a little rusty," Megan chuckled, "so we shall see."
"We shall," Paige laughed as Ralph helped set up the board. "May the best non-genius win."
~ SCORPION ~
Several hours later, Walter took Megan back to the hospital and promised he would visit as soon as the Drew debacle was over; he didn't want her getting caught in the middle of something that could be potentially dangerous. When he returned to the garage, Toby was playing some game on his Xbox Live; while both Sylvester and Happy had retired for the night. He told Toby to turn the lights off when he was done with his game and then headed up the stairs. He found Paige tucking Ralph in on one of the sofas.
"We'll have the extra rooms set up for the two of you by the end of the week." Walter whispered. "Perhaps tomorrow, if there's time after the meeting," Walter referred to Drew handing over the fake money to the mafia, "you and I could go over to your apartment and gather what belongings you need and make an inventory of furniture you'd like to bring over to your new room. Then all of us could make a trip over there a day or so afterwards and collect the furniture."
"That sounds like a plan," Paige muttered and smiled at him before bending down to kiss her son goodnight. Walter walked over towards the hallway and was surprised when she followed him. He turned around just as she hooked her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips. "Good night, Walter." Paige mumbled against his lips before kissing him again.
As she pulled away from him, he cleared his throat and said, "I-if you want," he stuttered, "I can sleep on one of the couches out there; you can use my bed."
Paige smiled. "As sweet as that is, I remembered you didn't sleep well on the couch that one time; I don't mind sleeping out there with Ralph. You need your sleep more than I do."
Before he could object, she walked back towards Ralph, leaving him dumbstruck in the hallway. Eventually, he came to his senses and crept into his bedroom. He quickly changed out of his clothes into a clean pair of boxers and an off-white t-shirt. He went to the bathroom, washed his face – for the fourth time that day – and brushed his teeth before sliding into his bed and turning out the light.
He couldn't sleep; however. A lot had happened in his and Paige's relationship that he needed to process, and nighttime was the only time he had to himself to reflect on his thoughts and feelings. Close to 1 AM in the morning, he turned his light on and started writing into his journal; he wrote everything he had experienced and felt within the last few days. Writing sped up his process – as he wrote down his feelings, it enabled him to properly analyze them more efficiently. Writing required motor skills, and motor skills were mostly wired to the right side of the brain. By writing, he was able to tap into his right brain and properly assess anything he could have possibility compartmentalized over the past few days. Megan had suggested writing once when he was frustrated about something. The writing helped – it allowed him to voice his thoughts and his feelings without ever needing to express himself to an outside audience. Whatever he would write would remain strictly private unless he decided to share his entries with another individual – in this instance, Paige Dineen.
By the time he was done writing, he looked at the clock. 2:30 AM. He did feel more at ease because he was able to understand his and Paige's relationship a little bit better. He still had loads to process, but what he had analyzed proved pleasing and profitable. He slid his journal back into his bedside drawer and then turned off the light.
As he turned over to fall asleep, he noticed Paige standing just outside his door. "Paige?" He raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward on his bed and rubbed his eyes. "Is everything all right?" He noticed the tears staining her cheeks as she stepped towards the moonlight gracing his bedroom. Her silence was deafening, and he worried that something was wrong with Ralph. "I-is Ralph okay?"
She nodded. Good. That was good. She walked closer to him. He rose to his feet, not sure what else to do. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face into his chest. He really didn't know what to do so he simply embraced her as her tears soaked up his shirt. He figured her state of depression had something to do with the stress Drew had caused her over the years and deduced that Drew's departure and sudden return had bothered her a lot more than he had originally thought.
Many minutes later, Paige pulled slightly away from him and dabbed her eyes with her fingers. She apologized for being such a mess. He told her she didn't need to apologize; stress affected everyone differently. He was not an exception to that statement. Neither should she be. Somehow, they had migrated from the middle of Walter's bedroom to under the covers of his bed. Paige's fingers clenched Walter's shirt as she lay her head against his chest. Between a few shared kisses, she had mentioned how she had come to realize that almost everyone she had ever gotten close to had left – Ralph being the exception. Her parents…Aubrey…Drew…., she was afraid that one day Ralph would leave her and so would he. Walter assured her that that fate wouldn't happen – he wouldn't allow it. He hated how she felt victimized, and he had to wonder if she often felt that way, or if her mini episode was a result from all of the stress she had been experiencing lately.
"I'm sorry again," Paige apologized; he could feel a tear drop off of her nose and plop onto his shirt. "I don't know what came over me."
"Megan told me once that we all have our own moments of weaknesses." Walter muttered as he stared at the ceiling. "I usually break crockery or lash out when I'm frustrated; I'm not even an exception. Like I said earlier, you aren't either." She remained silent as he unconsciously combed his fingers through her hair. "Remember that one riddle I gave Ralph a few weeks after you started working here?" He paused as she nodded. "What type of punch does a jellyfish like?"
"A smack." Paige muttered. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well...," Walter finally looked at her and smiled his usual dorky grin. "if I ever anger you or upset you in any way, I would completely understand if you'd want to give me one in order to alleviate your frustrations."
Paige laughed. "That's funny, Walter."
"Yeah, well…. I do try." Walter shrugged before leaning in to kiss her. Eventually Paige fell asleep within his arms, but he couldn't seem to fall asleep himself. He began to think about the words Paige had sung in the shower earlier in the day. He remembered every lyric, even the ones Paige didn't sing; Megan used to sing it all the time when they were younger, and as annoying as it was, the words had engraved into his mind.
Turn down the lights;
Turn down the bed.
Turn down these voices
Inside my head.
Lay down with me;
Tell me no lies.
Just hold me close;
Don't patronize.
Don't patronize me.
Walter found the first two verses of the song oddly similar to what he and Paige had just gone through. He had no doubt in his mind that there were voices… memories… awful experiences… that were plaguing Paige's mind, and she had come to him for comfort…for support. He had to wonder if she felt belittled by her past, and perhaps that was the reason she had been singing the song earlier.
'Cuz I can't make you love me
If you don't.
You can't make your heart feel
Something it won't.
Here in the dark
In these final hours,
I will lay down my heart
And I'll feel the power;
But you won't.
No, you won't.
'Cuz I can't make you love me
If you don't.
Even though he did not believe the chorus applied to their relationship, he did recognize the fact that he had a harder time responding to her on some levels. Even though he couldn't help the fact that he could not connect well, he did think he was improving with his emotional (and physical) reactions and responses. So he determined the song might not have had anything to do with their relationship but had everything to do with the fact that Paige simply loved singing in private. And that was something he could enjoy listening in private too.
"Walter?" he heard a small voice coming from his door. Walter turned and saw Ralph standing just outside his door as Paige had done an hour or so ago.
"What is it Ralph?"
"I can't sleep."
"Is something bothering you?" Walter whispered. The boy shook his head. Walter recalled a moment when Paige had told him that Ralph would sometimes claim he couldn't sleep just so he could have his mother hold him. "Do you think you would sleep better up here?" Walter offered a small spot on his bed next to him. He figured it would be more efficient if Ralph was in the room too; that way, Walter wouldn't have to worry about him sleeping alone in the loft.
"Yeah." Ralph nodded.
"Okay." Walter replied as Ralph climbed onto the bed and lay next to Walter. It didn't take long for the boy to fall asleep. And a few minutes later, Ralph unconsciously wrapped his arms around Walter just as Paige was doing. As he looked from Paige to Ralph and back to Paige, he had to wonder how he went from being a tech specialist one day to becoming a family man the next. It was almost too surreal for both Paige and Ralph to be sleeping next to him, and he couldn't understand how it had happened, but he accepted the fact that it did.
For the first time in his life, he could see himself having a future life outside the realm of technology.
And he was liking that possibility.
~ SCORPION ~
WriterFreak001:
HOLY MOLY! I never anticipated this chapter to be this long! O_O 19 pages on Word! O_O Anyway, if you want to Google it, the song mentioned in this chapter is called "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt. Go look it up. It is absolutely lovely. I suggest you also listen to the version sung by David Thomas Junior. Both versions are absolutely beautiful.
BTW, I hope the characters seemed in-character. I know that Paige on the show isn't as forward as my Paige, but given the circumstances (that my story has definitely taken a romantic turn), I can see Paige being more forward with Walter one they start having a relationship on TV.
Anyway, SCORPION WAS RENEWED FOR A SECOND SEASON! (In case you hadn't heard the news).
Also, if you haven't had the chance to go onto spoilertv*DOT*com and look at the promo photos for Ep. 1x15 "Charades," you need to do so right now! I have posted a link on my Tumbler page: a*DASH*beautiful*DASH*mind*DASH*wf001*DOT*tumblr*DOT*com.
There are some pictures of Walter and Paige inside a hotel room; Walter is wearing a robe and Paige is sitting on a bed. I'm sure they're undercover, but whatever the reason is, I'm excited! :D