Apologies for the less frequent updates the last few weeks. Work has been brutal!

Here's the first chapter of part three. This section was aimed to be more emotional, and I can't wait to see what you think of it as a whole.

I am going to get to more of the Walter/Paige relationship eventually, but there is one relationship that I wanted to explore more first in this world, hence this section. Enjoy!

Part III:

I, Human

Chapter 27

One Last Day

The day-to-day life of Scorpion continued, but Paige noticed as time went on, Walter became more and more entrenched in his research for Megan. Once Walter realized his blood would not save her, at least not the way either of them wanted, he focused back to the research he had been conducting before he became a vampire.

The predominant plan involved the transfer of consciousness into a computer storage unit. Paige thought it sounded like science fiction, but hey, this was Walter. If anyone would figure it out, it would be him.

But even if he could accomplish such a feat, Paige felt less confident he could do anything in the time Megan had left. The worse she got, the more Walter turned in on himself, and his research.

Paige occasionally went to the hospital with Sylvester; sometimes as his ride, sometimes to see Megan, who she now thought of as a friend. Every time she went, Megan was looking worse.

Paige tried many times to subtly convey to Walter that his time might be better spent with Megan than in his lab, but she couldn't break his focus from what he believed was still a chance for her to live.

Paige had thought he had come to terms with Megan's reality, but the more she observed him, the more she realized he was falling further and further into denial. She was worried he might be completely distancing himself from the possibility of Megan's death, which would only make it worse for him when she did pass.

Paige only hoped he would let them all be there for him when the time came.

****SVD****

Things became heated between Sylvester and Walter when Megan's lungs became so compromised the only option to keep them going was to have her intubated for a time. Walter had gotten a court order to take control of her medical decisions to make that happen. When it had become necessary to intubate her again, Walter had been stopped in his tracks by a new development.

Sylvester and Megan, in the hospital, had gotten married.

When Walter was confronted with this information, he realized up until then, he had been constantly moving, so to speak. He had been running as fast as he could, trying to keep his sister alive for as long as possible until he came up with a solution to save her. Even though he knew he was taking control against her wishes, he truly had not considered what he was doing was wrong.

But when he saw the two bandages wrapped around the ring fingers of Sylvester and his sister, he came to a dead stop.

He saw his actions through their eyes, and he didn't like what he saw.

What had he done?

Walter walked over to his sister's bedside and looked down at her. For the past several weeks, he now felt he had seen everything so wrong. He had been seeing this frail, human body wasting away; a machine that was failing, and a problem he needed to solve to save his sister trapped within.

Now, he looked down at her, so pale and sick, but sleeping peacefully now that she had control of her life again. For the first time in weeks, he saw his sister again. She had been able to look within him and accept his reality for everything it was. Who was he to not be able to do the same thing for her?

In that moment he realized, he truly realized, she was going to die. He was going to lose her. Judging by her condition, she had days left at most. This was no longer about keeping her alive at any cost, but making the quality of life of her time left as comfortable as possible.

He sat down at her bedside and put his hand on her head, gently stroking her hair. Even though he now understood the reality of her condition, he wasn't ready to fully deal with the emotions that went along with it yet, so he ignored them for now. Not in a "switch off" vampire way, but in a low EQ "avoidance" Walter way. He would deal with them later. He just…couldn't…right now.

Walter looked at Sylvester across Megan's sleeping form.

"There's something I need to tell you, Sylvester."

Sylvester had been watching him with a mixture of nervousness and strength, not knowing how Walter was going to react to this development. His eyebrows raised, understanding that he and Megan had finally gotten through to Walter.

"What is it, Walter?"

"A few weeks ago, Megan and I took one last trip to the beach to watch the sunset. We had a conversation you should be aware of."

Then he told Sylvester about Megan's last request of him.

****SVD****

The siblings sat on the sand, looking out over the water. Megan could no longer walk on her own, so Walter had gently carried her from the car and placed her on a towel just out of reach of the lapping waves of the ocean. He sat beside her with his arm placed around her shoulders.

They didn't need to say anything for a long time as the sun darkened the horizon and the beautiful colors emerged from the fading light.

"I've thought a lot about what you said Walter, and I've made a decision."

Walter immediately knew to what she was referring, and didn't interrupt her as she continued.

"Despite the challenges you've told me about, I've seen you be more you over the past two years, and even more after your accident. If anything, being a vampire has somehow helped you express yourself and connect with the world more effectively than you ever have before. I couldn't be more proud of the man you have become."

She leaned away from him slightly so she could look at him before she spoke further. She took hold of his hand and held it as tight as she was able.

"Me though, I think it would do the opposite, and I think you agree with me. I don't want to be a vampire. I was meant to be in this world only a short time, and I want to stay the human you see me as now. Maybe I can be that short, bright beacon of humanity for you, however long you are here, giving your gifts to this world."

Walter honestly didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed with her decision. Paige had been teaching him that he could feel two conflicting emotions at the same time, and that was normal. If that were the case, what he was feeling right now was normal to the extreme.

Megan wasn't finished, however.

"But…you said that your blood would heal me for one day. Enable me to walk, run, be completely normal for a short time again. I want you to promise me Walter, even though we know what will happen when it wears off, when you see me near the end, please, give me that one last day."

It was a logical request, Walter thought, so he agreed, and gave her his word.

As the two finished their evening on the beach, Walter didn't grasp how difficult it would be for him to fulfill that request when the time came.

Walter looked at Megan and held her hand as he explained her wishes to Sylvester. Sylvester's gaze also traveled to Megan, his wife, when Walter was finished speaking.

"As her husband, Sylvester, I feel it necessary you have a say in this. Megan has days left, at most. I will fulfill her wish, but only if you permit it."

It was not long ago that Sylvester would have had paralyzing emotional turmoil at such a decision, but he found he immediately knew what he was going to say, and was at peace with it. Everyone thought that Megan's death was going to ruin him. He knew once she was gone, he would be heartbroken, sad, and mourn her, certainly, but there would be no regrets.

Since they found each other, they had wasted none of their limited time. Every moment together had been full of life. Near this end, if there was something she wanted to watch, they watched it together. If there was a book she wanted to read, he'd read it to her. They had made more happy memories together in a few months than most couples did in years. Now, he would be able to have that dance with her before their story ended.

"Yes, Walter. I think it would make her very happy, so let's do it."

Walter nodded and stepped over to a tray of medical supplies by Megan's bedside. He picked up a syringe and rolled up his sleeve. He inserted the needle into a vein and drew up a small amount of his blood.

Walter walked over to her IV and paused as he was about to insert the needle. Sylvester then reached out and grabbed Walter's wrist.

"Walter, please, let me. I'm her husband. It should be me."

Sylvester swore he saw the briefest flash of gratitude across Walter's face at his offer. Walter seemed to think about it and then nodded, gently handing Sylvester the syringe.

It took only seconds for Sylvester to inject the blood in her system, and only moments for the two of them to see the results.

The blue coloring around her lips disappeared. The light wheezing that she emitted with each breath faded. The rosy color Sylvester remembered when he first met her returned to her cheeks. The dark, sunken appearance of her closed eyes brightened, then with a flutter, they opened.

Megan looked at the two most important men in her lives and immediately gave a smile. "Hello, boys." She frowned with how clear her voice sounded. It had been a while. She then took several deep breaths, appreciating how clear her lungs must have felt. Realizing something was very different, she looked down at her legs, and gave an experimental twitch of her foot. It moved easily.

She reached over and pulled off her covers and took the oxygen cannula out of her nose. She then moved one leg, then the other and sat up, slowly swinging them to the side of the bed.

"Woah, easy," Sylvester said, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. Walter had placed his own hand on her other arm.

Megan leaned forward to place her weight on her own two feet on the floor below, and she stood up on her own. It was the first time in months she had stood, and the first time in years she had done without any assistance.

Seeing the joy in Megan's face would have been enough in itself, but she still had a full day ahead of her. Megan quickly figured out what was going on.

She turned to Walter. "So it's that time, huh?"

Walter nodded stoically. "I estimated you only had a day or two left at most."

She took his hand and squeezed it. Knowing Walter better than anyone, Sylvester suspected she knew how hard such an action doing this for her would have been for him. Not one day ago he was using every means necessary to keep her body alive, despite her comfort. Now he had done a complete one-eighty.

Megan took a few experimental steps forward, and let out a bright laugh as she found no problems in the action.

"You said I have a day, right? Well, what are we waiting for?" She gave them both a big, eager smile.

Despite his and Walter's bittersweet feelings, her smile was infectious, and they both couldn't help but return it, sharing in her joy.

Walter looked at Sylvester. "Would you call the team and tell them what's going on? We have much to do today, and I want us all to be together."

Sylvester smiled and nodded. He knew what Walter meant. Today was going to be all about Megan; a celebration of her life. They were going to throw her one hell of a party.

Megan quickly changed out of her hospital gown into a set of clothes left over from when she still was well enough to go out in the world.

Sylvester started wondering how they were going to literally walk a terminal patient out of here unnoticed when the doctor walked in.

"What the hell?…" he said, not quite understanding what he was seeing.

Walter was immediately in front of him. He looked him in the eye before the doctor could say anything further.

"This patient will be resting all day, and will not be disturbed. No one will open this door but you for the next twenty-four hours. If anyone inquires you about it, say you are tending to her yourself, per her family's wishes. After that, you will forget about this and believe there was nothing abnormal about her care."

The doctor blinked once and nodded. "Have a good day, then," was his only response before leaving and locking the door.

Megan raised her eyebrows. "Impressive, bro, but what about the dozen other staff member that we will have to pass on the way out, who know me very personally?"

Walter had already walked over to the room's window and looked it up and down.

"Remember that one scene from that movie you and Paige like? The movie I abhorred? The scene in the treetops?"

There was only a moment of confusion before Megan's eyes widened and she grinned with glee. "Oh, this is going to be fun!" She ran to her brother's side.

Walter was smiling now. How could he not at the sight of his sister so bright, energetic, and happy? He looked at Sylvester.

"Megan and I will meet you at the garage. Can you go ahead and prepare?"

Sylvester nodded. Between the members of Scorpion they would come up with something, he was sure.

"Also, the item sitting on the corner of my desk. Would you procure a real one for the day?" Walter asked cryptically.

Sylvester nodded. He was sure he would figure it out once he saw what Walter was referring to. "See you there," he said.

Walter then looked to his sister. She smiled widely before leaning down, then taking a huge leap, landing on her brother's back. She wrapped her now strong arms and legs around his neck and waist. "Just don't call me spider-monkey."

Walter nodded, "Understood."

Then, Walter placed one foot on the window sill, and with a fluid movement, took a flying leap out the fourth story window. Both brother and sister let out loud "woohoos" of glee and adrenaline as they seemed to fly down to the adjacent rooftop. Sylvester ran over to watch after them.

Luckily, Megan's window didn't have a view to any prying human eyes and faced only a bunch of smaller buildings, upon which the siblings were now making their way across the top of in a way that was only possible for a vampire. Amazing.

With one last smile after them, Sylvester wasted no time turning and making his way out of the hospital. He had a party to prepare. A party to celebrate the life of one Megan O'Brien-Dodd.

So what do you think so far?