ScorplinginTraining: No worries being AWOL, lol. I'm always eager to hear your thoughts anytime! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I was trying to go for a little more light and fun.

Carol Ballinger Searls: It may be the calm before the storm. Or two. We might hear from Damon a time or two again :).

thelastsamoan: What a compliment! That's awesome thank you!

Lucy Conan: I figured the team would want nothing more than to experiment with something so unknown. Glad you enjoyed it!

Marti: We'll fully find out as I continue, but I like to think I did the characters the justice they deserve. I'll wait to hear if you think so as I continue :).

Francine bobo: I'll kind of switch between longer and shorter chapters as we go along. There will be some longer ones in the near future :). I do touch on the living forever concept a bit later.

This a stand alone chapter. The idea came to me suddenly and I knew I had to include it. For those familiar with the Vampire Diaries mythology I know I deviate a little from what happens with the "needing an invitation" rules, but I felt this fit the scene better. At the end will be a note of what exactly I changed.

Chapter 19

Home, Sweet Home

The experiments became less frequent, then it was several weeks without anything related to Walter or his vampire state. It truly seemed everything had gone completely back to normal, with the only reminders being the "Walter-only" thermos on his desk and the occasional feat of strength or heightened senses. Everyone seemed to get lost once again in their own projects.

Walter had kept his distance from official Scorpion business since the accident. This was partially out of necessity. To the rest of the world Walter had miraculously survived the fall, but in critical condition in an ICU at an undisclosed location. It was amazing how the term "national security" deterred many lines of questioning.

Walter had to hide from the public for a reasonable amount of time to mimic his recovery from severe, life-threatening injuries. Paige knew this deception must have been hard for Walter. He couldn't even see his own sister, and she couldn't "visit" him. Paige suspected he planned to reveal the truth to her at some point, and she even suggested it to him soon after the accident. He avoided the topic, and when pushed only replied with a short "now's not the time" and walked away.

She understood, truly. He must be nervous how Megan would react. However remote the possibility, if for some reason she rejected him, it would break even his emotionally challenged heart. Paige suspected Megan would accept her brother no matter what, as they all did, but she agreed the added emotional stress was best for a later time.

For now he made phone calls to his sister weekly, assuring her he was on the mend. It would do for now. Paige couldn't help but think he also felt slightly uncomfortable stepping back fully into his former position as leader of Scorpion for now.

Even so, she couldn't help but notice Walter spent a lot of time at the garage. In fact, she couldn't recall the last time she had seen Walter go home. She knew he tended to spend a lot of time living in the small apartment upstairs, but he would usually go home at least several times a week.

She once asked him why he didn't stay permanently at the garage. He replied only with a comment about mental and physical compartmentalizing. She took that to mean even he needed some kind of separate place from work.

Not now, though. He was always there when they left, and the first one there in the morning. When asked, he would say he either stayed in his garage apartment or was was simply eager to continue his work.

Paige ran her suspicions by Happy.

"Huh, you're right," Happy reported after starting to pay more attention.

"Why do you think he's not going home? Is he afraid of being seen?" Paige asked.

"Doubt it. His apartment is not exactly in a highly populated area, so I dunno. You know what though, it's late. Leave this one to me."

"You sure?"

"Yup. Go home with Ralph. This mystery's mine."

Paige nodded in agreement. "Alright, but let me know if you, or he, need anything."

"Will do."

Paige left the garage leaving only Happy and Walter inside. Walter was sitting at his desk typing intently at his computer. She knew he must know she was there, looking at him, leaving her to conclude he was trying to avoid conversation. She walked up to his desk.

"Walter, are you going home soon?"

"Hmm?" he answered, glancing up at her. "Oh, uh, no I might stay here tonight. Will probably be up late." Walter was not a good liar.

"Again?" Happy prodded, not believing him for one second.

Walter furrowed his brow in confusion, sitting back in his chair. "I'm frequently nocturnal these days, in case you've forgotten, besides, I do live in the apartment upstairs," he argued, crossing his arms in front of him.

"But not all time," Happy said, not backing down. "You and I both know you need to separate yourself from this place occasionally to remove the temptation from working. You need to give your mind a chance to rest to keep you away from the Rabbit Hole. It was part of your promise to me when I pulled you out of that state last time."

"Ok, so I'll go back to my apartment tomorrow, no big deal."

Happy put her hands on his desk and leaned forward in challenge. "Liar."

Walter's eyebrows raised in surprise at her accusation. "What do you mean?"

"You've been living here for weeks. You haven't gone home during that whole time. What's up?"

Walter looked down at his desk, his shoulders slightly slumping. He whispered two words, and Happy couldn't quite hear them.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I can't…"

"What do you mean, 'can't'?

"I can't enter. It would seem being a vampire, I can't even enter my own residence without an invitation, and I lived alone. No one to invite me inside," Walter answered, looking frustrated, and…sad?

Happy thought about his words for a second, then replied with two short words of her own.

"Show me."

****SVD****

The two arrived at Walter's apartment building. They walked inside and approached his unit.

"Open it," she said.

Walter sighed and took out his keys, unlocking the door. It swung open, and Walter stood there. He approached the threshold, then paused, seemingly sensing an invisible force she couldn't perceive. It was clear he, for some reason, could not progress. He took a step back.

"See? I can't enter. I've tried many times."

Happy approached the threshold and examined it. "I assume you've attempted to identify any physical forces at work?"

Walter nodded. "Yes, for days. I think my neighbors think I went insane. More than once they observed me with multiple instruments attached to this door and myself, trying to understand what was keeping me out. It's obviously not a barrier of any solid matter, or it wouldn't affect just me. It's not a magnetic force by my measurements. The closest I came was identifying some kind of electrical field that manifests only when I approach, but I could never identify its source or find any mathematical consistency. For now the solution eludes me." Walter's shoulders slumped slightly with the last sentence.

Happy came here with two ideas to help him. Which idea would work depended on what exactly kept a vampire from entering a residence. Was it some kind of built-in mental component they couldn't overcome without hearing an invitation, or were there actual physical forces at work?

There was one way to find out. She stealthily put her arm behind his back, then without warning, shoved him forward as hard as she could.

Walter stumbled towards the open door, and as suddenly as she had pushed him, he was thrown back, past her, and into the hallway wall behind him. He hit it and slid down to the floor, looking stunned and without a hint of vampire grace. Happy couldn't help but find the sight slightly amusing. They received a lot of angry knocks from the neighbors for the racket.

"Well, that rules out one theory," she said with a small sigh, looking back at the door.

Walter stood up and brushed off the front and sleeves of his black coat. He wasn't hurt and didn't look remotely annoyed with her, not that she had expected him to be. As a scientist he would have understood the purpose of her experiment. He did offer some constructive criticism to her method, however.

"You could have just asked," he pointed out.

"That would have nullified part of my, now disproven, theory. The question was if your own intent of entry was a factor."

Walter seemed to think about her explanation and nodded in agreement. "I accept your method as sound."

That left some kind of invisible, distance force barrier to vampires. The forces at work to keep him out must be very complex, possibly beyond what they understood about the world scientifically. Even so, she pushed her curiosity aside. It was not the time.

Walter had lived in the same apartment for the last five years, right around the time Happy had done a big favor for him in the name of their friendship.

Walter's visa had been up, and he would have been soon deported back to Ireland. Happy had offered to marry him, purely out of friendship and convenience, not romance, in order to enable him to stay in the country. Walter had found the arrangement logical, if not legal, and agreed. It was a secret the two of them shared. The rest of the team didn't know. Through their marriage, Happy had ensured Walter would not have to leave the place he called home.

She aimed to do a similar favor again. She had an idea.

Happy walked into Walter's apartment and turned around to face him. She had actually never been inside his place. It looked sparse, but more homey and far less busy than the garage. It appeared he indeed tried to keep this place separate from the organized chaos that was his place of work.

She looked at Walter, took a deep breath, and spoke.

"Walter, as your wife, I invite you into our home, that we legally share."

Walter looked at her in confusion, then his eyes widened. He looked up at the threshold again, and took a step forward.

He entered his apartment.

His face broke out into a smile, and he hugged Happy.

"Uhh," she responded, not a fan of physical expressions of emotion.

"Thank you," Walter said, still hugging her.

"Anytime. Not a big deal," she replied, her voice lightly choked by the strong arms squeezing her. She wasn't used to Walter expressing this emotions this way. Despite her discomfort, she had to admit it was a nice side of him. She returned the hug.

After a few moments they stepped back from each other.

"Next time, just tell us if you're having trouble with something. It's no different than before you became a vampire," Happy lectured him.

Walter gave a nod in silent promise.

"Well, um, sweet dreams," Happy said as she moved to leave him to have a good night's sleep in peace.

She paused for a moment and turned around once more before she left. "One more thing. If you tell anyone, especially Toby, the details of why you were able to get back into your apartment, I'll stake you where you stand."

Walter blinked, then bowed his head in agreement.

"Understood."

In the Vampire Diaries mythology, a vampire can physically enter without an invitation, but very quickly there's a lot of suffering and bleeding. I decided to alter it slightly for tone.