Greetings, yesterday the other story wasn't talking and so I decided to test the waters of episode 3x10 'This is the Pits' for my Uncivil War story line. The story really flowed and I had over half of it done within a couple of hours, almost 4k words. Today I decided to finish it and I am posting the first chapter today and the second one tomorrow. To the Adventure! -Tim
Walter and Paige sat in the Dr's office, two weeks since Thanksgiving' his therapists were completely impressed with his improvement and had recommended he be released from all restrictions. Walter was nervous, he knew he was ready but he was still apprehensive. The wheelchair had been a big part of his life over the last few months. The chiropractor had him still scheduled for another month of treatments just to ensure that everything had healed completely, but was happy with where he was and had signed off on his release from restrictions as long as he agreed to listen to his body and to immediately stop all physical activity and to come see him if any pain or weakness develops. He looked at his watch noting that she was already forty minutes over his appointment time. "We're late to see Dr Rizzuto, if she doesn't hurry up we'll be late picking up Ralph," Walter looked at Paige.
Paige nodded, "It can't be helped baby, the insurance company requires this evaluation." I'll call him as soon as she gets done examining you. I'll call Mom and she can pick up Ralph."
The doorknob turned and the door opened as Dr Froud walked in, "Walter, Paige I am so sorry. My partner called in sick today and I have been swamped adding his patients who couldn't be rescheduled."
"I can imagine, it wouldn't be a problem but we've used up our lunch time waiting, and I have another Dr's appointment right now and he's across town from here." Walter told her.
Dr Froud nodded as she sat down, "I'll have one of my girls call and let him know, do you have his number?"
Paige gave it to her and she called and relayed the information to her assistant. "I've got your therapist's evaluation along with your chiropractor's and I got to say it all of it looks very positive." Dr Froud told him as she hung up the phone. "How do you feel about it?"
Walter nodded, "Truthfully? I'm a little apprehensive. I've been almost a prisoner of that damn chair for months and now I almost feel like I have to have it. But I've got to get past that."
Dr Froud nodded, "I can understand that, but how do you feel physically?"
"Stronger, no more pain," Walter told her.
"He's still having muscle spasms though," Paige told her.
Walter pointed at Paige, "Thank you, I forgot to mention that."
Dr Froud nodded, "Those will probably stop as you start walking more, as well as finish your treatments with the Chiropractor. I see he took a new x-ray of your spine and everything looks really good, even that hair line fracture looks to be well healed, any pain from it?"
Walter shook his head, "Well not counting when it is going to rain I can feel it."
Dr Froud smiled, "Okay Walter, I'd like to watch you stand and walk across the floor."
Walter nodded and he rolled back to the wall and locked his brakes and released the leg lifts. He pushed up with his arms and slowly stood as Paige hovered between watching and wanting to reach out to help. He smiled at her as he stood up straight and walked over to the other wall and turned and walked back and turned and walked back until he had covered approximately one hundred feet.
Dr Froud nodded, "Can you just stand here in the middle of the room now?"
Walter walked out into the middle and stood there. "Lift your arms out to your sides and hold them there," Dr Froud directed him.
Walter did so. "Very good, close your eyes and touch the tip of your nose with your index fingers one after the other."
Walter performed the action about ten times when she stopped him, "Keep your eyes closed and extend your arms back out again, now raise your right foot off the floor."
Walter took in a deep breath and did so. "Very good, can you hop up and down on your left foot?" Dr Froud asked.
"With my eyes closed and arms out?" Walter inquired.
Dr Froud smiled, "Sorry, eyes open and your arms at your side."
Walter did as asked and Dr Froud stopped him and had him sit back down, "Now I want you to pretend you're listening to music and I want you to tap your left foot."
Walter concentrated for a moment and then he started tapping his toes.
Dr Froud nodded, "Very good, can I ask why it took you a moment to start?"
"I'm not very musically inclined," Walter told her.
Dr Froud smiled, "Walter, I am satisfied with where you are. I echo your chiropractor's notes here and I just caution you to only do normal activities. I know sometimes in your line of work with homeland you sometimes have to stress yourself physically and I do not advise that. You could certainly re-injure yourself in one of those situations." There was a knock on the door, "Come in," Dr Froud said.
"Dr Froud, Dr Rizzuto said that was not a problem, his appointment after Walter is already there and he will see them first and that will give Walter an extra hour." Her assistant said as she opened the door.
Paige wrapped her arm around Walter's as he walked with her pushing the wheelchair, he knew he didn't need to but he felt a little safer transferring a little of his weight to it as he pushed it outside to her car. "Did you want to drive Walter?" Paige asked as she smiled at him.
Walter shook his head before she put the chair into the back of the car, "Maybe tomorrow?"
Paige smiled, "Whatever you are comfortable with. I've grown rather attached to helping you."
Walter took her in his arms and kissed her standing up, one of the few times since before the rocket accident that he had been able to do so.
Walter looked at his watch, "We got just enough time to swing by and pick up Ralph and get to Dr Rizzuto's. But he'll have to come with us."
Paige nodded as she pulled up the school's GPS location and they took off.
"Paige, Walter, come on in kids and grab some couch," Dr Rizzuto told them. "Thank you for having your Dr call to let me know you would be late."
"Thanks for changing things around for us, our son is with us today. Is it okay if he waits in your waiting room?" Paige asked him.
"Of course it is, now Walter, it is so good to see you walking again. How's that feeling to you? How long have you been out of the wheelchair?" Dr Rizzuto asked as he sat down.
"Dr Froud just released me, it feels good a little scary." Walter told him.
"I'm glad to hear it, why scary?" Dr Rizzuto asked.
"I've been in that chair for so long now, so dependant on it. I feel like part of me is missing." Walter told him.
"I can see that, we'll talk about that some more, now, how are you doing Paige?" Dr Rizzuto began.
Paige, Walter and Ralph walked into Kovelsky's after they left Dr Rizzuto and everyone was ecstatic to see Walter and congratulating him on his recovery.
"Where are Walter and Paige?" Veronica asked.
Toby looked up and shrugged, "Maybe one of their appointments ran long. They're the bosses, does it matter?"
"It does when they picked up my grandson, plus I want to speak to them, they should have been back by four, it's after six now," Veronica told him as the door opened and Paige, Walter and Ralph walked into the Garage holding hands while pushing the wheelchair.
"Hey boss, good to see you finally walking around again," Happy said with a smile.
Walter smiled, "Thanks Happy, it feels good not having to look up to everything again."
Ralph looked over and saw his Grandma and he grinned as he ran over and grabbed hold of Veronica's waist and hugged her.
"Well it is about time you guys got back," Veronica told them.
Walter walked over to his desk and sat down after pushing his wheelchair into the corner and bringing his desk chair over.
"Sorry, Dr Froud was running behind so we had to pick up Ralph and take him with us to see Dr Rizzuto, and then we decided to grab dinner before coming home." Paige answered her as she walked over and checked the mail. "Are you settled in the camper or is there something wrong?"
"It's great, better than a motel, cheaper too. I really just wanted to thank you guys again for letting me stay here." Veronica told her.
"Umm, and we're clear it's only temporary?" Paige asked.
"Absolutely, one week, maybe two more," Veronica added.
Paige eyed her and sighed.
Veronica saw Ralph at the desk by the monitor tree and she walked over. She frowned and looked down at Ralph, "What are you doing?"
"Forestry Braves, trying to earn my business badge," Ralph answered her.
"So you are going to sell cookies?" Veronica asked.
Ralph nodded.
"How much did the Forestry Braves charge you for them?" Veronica asked.
"Buy them for five dollars, sell them for five dollars," Ralph answered
"What kind of business are they teaching you? Remember when you used to write Grandma in prison about how you wanted to spend some quality time together?" Veronica asked.
Ralph got worried and looked around before he went "Shh."
Veronica smiled as she whispered, "I know. Our secret, But how about we use that time with Grandma to help you earn that business badge?"
Ralph shook his head, "Mom won't go for it. She thinks you're a degenerate."
"Incoming phone call," the Garage server announced and Paige picked up her phone, "Hello, Scorpion."
Veronica looked back at Paige on the phone, "We'll keep our eyes peeled for an opportunity. It knocks, we answer."
Sylvester and Cabe walked into the Garage and Toby looked up, "Hey, are we shooting a campaign ad or what? How much did you raise?
"Forty two dollars, of the two thousand we need, total bust," Sylvester complained. "We just chose the wrong enticement."
"And by we, you mean you. You said you had a handle on what we should sell at our social.
But shocker who knew no one wants cayenne and cumin ice cream from Spoon & Grain, whoever the hell they are. Lesson one: know your market." Cabe told him.
"I read that this ice cream was hip," Sylvester defended himself.
"Hip has no place in ice cream. Ice cream is chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, period." Cabe told him.
"Just let us give you the money," Happy told him.
"No. If I can't raise two thousand dollars, I have no business being alderman of West Altadenia." Sylvester told her.
Paige hung up her phone, "Guys, a woman is trapped in her car at the bottom of the La Brea Tar Pits. We're moving out right now."
"Whoa, exceptionally not good, where's the LAPD dive team? Those guys are masters at this stuff." Happy asked.
"Searching for evidence on a double homicide, a gun dumped in San Pedro harbor. No divers within an hour of the pits, the woman is struggling for oxygen. Fire and rescue are stumped, they need us." Paige told her.
"Honey, I know you have to work, so I can watch Ralph," Veronica told her.
Paige looked apprehensively at Veronica, "All right, uh okay, be good, both of you."
As the team met up with the fire chief he quickly filled them in on where they stood.
Toby looked over at the command center, "I'm going to go talk with the lady and see if I can't help her stay calm and ensure she isn't injured."
Walter looked at the crane and gestured at the piece of metal hanging from the hook, "What's that?"
"Oh, we tried to winch the car out of there and that's part of the bumper that came off." The chief told him.
"You can't play tug of war with the Earth chief," Happy told him. "We need to be able to rock the car and gently pull it out."
Paige grabbed Walter's hand and pulled him away from the group and finally stopped and looked at him and quietly told him, "Absolutely not Walter."
Veronica pulled up to a small street fair and parked her car, "Now Ralph, the first thing to know about business is to know your customer."
Ralph looked around, "These are what Mom calls hipster doofuses."
Walter looked puzzled, "What?"
"You are not going down there to hook that car up, you could get stuck down there, you just got released medically." Paige told him with heat.
Walter nodded, "Paige, someone has to go down there and do this or that woman is going to die. Do you see anyone else lining up to do it?"
"Walter, I understand that, but you could get stuck, you could at the very least end back up in that damn wheelchair or at worst die down there. Now I am very sorry for this woman and her husband, but that doesn't mean I should lose the man I love to save her." Paige told him as she crossed her arms.
Walter nodded, "I get that, and it's a valid point. What if I can come up with another idea? It will still require I go down there, but I can probably stay out of the tar on the bottom and avoid becoming stuck."
Paige stared at him, "Probably? No, it's too risky."
Walter took her hands in his, "Here is what I am thinking. We build two immersion suits, while I gather the components we need to make them, Happy makes a box that we can put one suit in. She can lower me down on the crane, I press the box against the driver's window forming a seal around the window. She rolls down the window, opens the box and accesses the second suit. She puts it on, as soon as she has it on she can come out and Happy can pull us both back up to the surface."
"And somewhere in there whatever that can go wrong will go wrong and then you get stuck down there," Paige looked up at Walter.
"Walter, I'm sorry but no. Remember when you saved Ralph and me from that subway train? What I told you back at the Garage? I need you to be selfish here, for Ralph, for me. We need you." Paige told him as she brushed her hand through his hair.
Walter smiled, "I love hearing you say that. I need you both too." Walter grew serious, "But I have to ask you a question, tomorrow morning after we wake up and she's dead are you going to be okay?"
Paige looked down, "I'll be a lot more okay than I would be if you were dead."
Walter slowly nodded as he took her hand and they walked back to the group, "I'm sorry chief, there just isn't anything we can do in this situation."
Cabe looked up shocked, "What do you mean there isn't anything we can do? We're Scorpion damn it, you've had to already figured out a way to save this woman."
Walter looked up at him, "Sorry Cabe, not this time. There's just no safe way to get down there and back."
"Can I speak to you for a minute?" Cabe demanded pointing back where Walter and Paige had been standing.
Walter looked down and stuck his hands in his pockets, "Yep."
"Walt, I get it, you just got healed up. You're a little gun shy. You're thinking about the pain if something goes wrong or possibly dying down there and while I am glad to see you thinking about things like that, you are the only one here that would be willing to do it. This isn't the time for you to shy away from a challenge son. Someone has to save her, and I know that someone has to be you." Cabe told him.
Walter shook his head, "Sorry Cabe, not this time, it's not me. If someone else wants to do it, I'll do what I can for them."
Cabe stared at him in disbelief, "I can't believe you. What kind of coward have you turned into? Are you that much afraid of a little pain, afraid of taking a risk?" Cabe yelled at him.
Walter's head drooped, "If that's all, we should go back to the Garage."
Everyone gasped at Cabe's anger and words and Paige ran over and grabbed Walter before he walked too far away. "You damn well better apologize to Walter right this minute," Paige demanded.
"I won't apologize, he's turned yellow." Cabe replied.
"He's done no such thing, he was going to go down there. He decided to listen to me and not go. I'm not losing the man I love to save someone. I'm sorry for her and her husband but that's the end of it." Paige told him hotly.
Cabe closed his eyes, "Oh hell, I should have realized. Walter, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Walter told him as he turned and walked away.
Cabe looked at Paige, "Kid, you got to let him do this."
Paige stared at him, "No I don't Cabe, let someone else take the risk."
"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about him, he's been feeling useless for months now. He's not wired to feel that way." Cabe told her.
"So I should just let him risk everything just to feel more normal? And what if he gets stuck down there? What if he gets hurt again or dies? What then? What do Ralphy and I do then? What does Scorpion do then? Damn it Cabe, he deserves his life, he deserves to be with the people who love and values him, who appreciates him. Before Homeland started sending him on dangerous missions the worst he had to worry about was cutting himself installing a piece of tech. Now ever other week you got him risking his life, I thought the whole point of this was for them to think of things to help Homeland not to become guinea pigs? And I am quite sure if Walter knew what you were going to be using him for he'd have demanded more money."
"Didn't you see how he walked away from us? You think that's good for him?" Cabe asked.
"Cabe, did you see how he walked back to the group with me? His head was up, his shoulders were square and his back was straight, he might not have been happy but he understood my argument and he accepted it. You on the other hand berated him, you yelled at him so loud everyone here heard you call him a coward. Then you compounded it by saying he turned yellow in front of me. Of course he is going to walk away like that, he considers you his Dad, damn it." Paige yelled at him.
"I better go find him and try to apologize," Cabe told her.
Paige glared at him, "You think that is going to fix the problem? It won't, I'm going to have to tell him he can freaking go down there now because of you. And I swear Cabe, if something happens to Walter, if he gets hurt, you and I are done. If he dies, you better never show your face around me ever again because I'll kill you." Paige turned and stalked off the direction Walter had gone.
Looking at every area he could have walked to she noticed the door to the command center and she walked over and opened the door and saw him standing with Toby talking to the woman on the computer they had set up in there. She walked on into the trailer and walked up behind Walter. "I'm really sorry Beth, but we've considered everything we can do and it's just not feasible. I wish I had better news for you." Walter told her.
"Its okay Walter, thank you for even considering it. I just wish Michael was here so I could tell him how much I love him." Beth told him.
"Beth, hi, I'm Paige, Walter's girlfriend. You need to relax because Walter has an idea of how to save you and I am giving him permission to carry it out." Paige told her.
Walter turned around frowning, "What are you doing?"
Paige smiled sadly at him, and walked him back away from Toby, "Walter, you are the bravest man I know, you're ready to leap into whatever danger there is to save someone. You only said no because of me, and I won't let Cabe or anyone else ever call you a coward. If you believe your plan will work, I will support you in it."
"Why are you doing this?" Walter asked.
Paige looked around and whispered, "Because, I saw how Cabe's words affected you. We both know you were going to do this, but you agreed not too for me and that made me so happy. Because of how he treated you, you felt emasculated and I know in order to feel like yourself again, you have to go through with this stupid plan and I want you to feel like yourself."
"Its not a stupid plan," Walter told her defensively.
"Yes it is, anytime you are taking this big of a risk its stupid. What are the odds of it being successful?" Paige asked.
Walter looked around, "Seventy nine point three percent."
Paige nodded, "Now if I go tell Sly your plan, what odds will he give me?"
Walter looked away, "Forty three point six."
"Like I said, stupid plan," Paige told him.
"I don't have to do this Paige, I'm okay with what Cabe said," Walter told her.
"Well I'm not. But after this we need to scale back the personal risks," Paige kissed him.
Walter returned her kiss and then turned, "Beth, it'll take me about twenty minutes to build what I need to come get you. So conserve your air as best you can and I will see you shortly."