AN: No significant spoilers in this one.

Teaser for next chapter:

Title: Christmas with the Cyclone

Summary: It's Christmas! Sylvester cooks turkey, Toby tries to organize costumes, Happy decorates, Walter makes crackers, Ralph wants to open presents, Cabe drinks eggnog, Megan eats, and Paige sees something that no one else does.

(As far as I'm aware, Dominoes is a Christmas episode, but I haven't seen it and won't be seeing it until the new year, so the next chapter will be distinctly alternate universe/not canon. Still, I think it's really good, as biased as I am.)

Frustrated, Walter picked up a bean bag from a pile of them and hurled it at the wall.

(The bean bags were a gift from Paige. She'd noticed that he tended to throw crockery when upset. Bean bags, she suggested, would be better, due to the cost of replacement crockery and the potential dangers. He'd agreed with her logic at the time...but now, staring at the bean bag slumped against the wall, he realized that crockery was vastly superior in terms of actually relieving anger and frustration. There simply was less satisfaction and relief gained from throwing an object when it didn't shatter.)

He took a deep breath, then another. He reeled off the first fifty digits of Pi in his head, then the first fifty elements of the Periodic Table.

He was not making any significant progress with Cabe Junior.

No, he was getting continually frustrated.

He was having immense difficulty solving this problem.

Having immense difficulty fixing his sister.

This...this was absurd.

He had an IQ of 197.

He was the fourth most intelligent person to have ever lived.

And he couldn't solve the problem of MS.

(Somewhere in his mind, a voice of reason, which sounded suspiciously like Paige, pointed out that while he might be the fourth smartest person ever, hundreds or even thousands of very, very intelligent medical researchers had spent years, whole careers, trying to cure MS, to no avail. It was simply irrational for him to expect to fix the problem alone in a few years, working on it only a few hours a week, when he had no medical training. He ignored the voice.)

Walter seized another bean bag from the pile and threw it at the wall.

Then, he picked up a mug, and was just about to chuck it when he was interrupted.

'Walter, go see her.'

Paige.

(He knew she was referring to Megan. He didn't have to ask why she knew the reason for his frustration. Paige was good at reading him, understanding him. Besides, it was the only logical conclusion. They were not working any cases. Drew was gone. There was no other reason for him to be frustrated, and he'd announced...how long ago was it now? He'd been up here working how long?...well, however long ago, that he was going to work with Cabe Junior.)

He turned to look at her.

'But it's not Friday.'

She smiled at him softly, and shook her head, before reaching out and taking the mug out of his hands, placing it out of his reach.

'Is there a rule?'

Walter loosened his tie, and took another deep breath.

(He was already feeling calmer. Paige tended to have that effect on him when he was in these moods.)

'It doesn't change the fact that...that she's only got...' He looked down at the floor, before glancing up again. 'My time would be better served here trying to fix her.'

Paige sighed, and took his hands, guiding him over to the couch, before sitting down beside him.

(He was acutely aware that she did not let go of his hands, even after they were seated.)

'Walter...regardless of whether she has MS or not, Megan's time is limited, just like all of ours. I've lost count of how many times we've nearly died. We could die tomorrow.' She paused for a moment, and her gaze bored into his. 'Go make memories, Walter. Have fun. Do something that you'll remember forever-'

(Forever was an illogical term in this scenario. But Walter had long become accustomed to this inaccurate use of terminology, and come to understand what it really means- for a lifetime.)

'I have a nearly eidetic memory, regardless of what activity...'

He trailed off, because Paige was giving him that look.

'Walter. Do something special together. Do something that she will remember forever. At the end of the day, that's what makes her time, not the actual number of minutes she has.'

He nodded slowly.

Paige was right.

(This was her area of expertise. And it was very similar to what Megan told him, too. She wanted to make memories, make the most of what time she had left. And she wanted him to join in. And...if he thought about it...the memories were more important than the minutes. He collected those talismans to remember, after all. And to make more time was impossible- so far anyway- but to make more memories was fairly easy.)

'Okay.' He nodded again. 'Okay. I'll go visit her.'

He yawned.

Suddenly, he felt very tired.

Paige was instantly alert. She let go of his hands (which gave him a strange jolt of disappointment- something he would have to analyse and process later) and frowned.

'When was the last time you slept?'

'Seven and a half hours before I informed you that I was going to work with Cabe Junior-'

'Walter, that was almost 22 hours ago. Have a nap before you go see her, just an hour. Hospital visiting hours don't finish for another four. I'll wake you up in an hour, promise.'

He smiled at her.

'Thank you, Paige.'

He walked over to his bedroom, and opened the door, slipping off his shoes.

He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Paige placed his shoes neatly beside the bed, and covered him with a blanket, singing softly to herself.

'525,600 minutes. How do you measure a year in the life? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. How do you measure a year in the life? How about love?'

As she closed the door, still singing under her breath, Walter smiled in his sleep.