Mrs O'Brien. The name drifted through his mind filling him with joy. He knew it was a lie she'd told to enable her to stay close to him at night- the hospital allowing her to sleep next to him in a relatives bed. She'd also used the lie to make decisions on his care needs for him when he was too out of it to make decisions for himself. He'd first heard of her ruse when Toby had made a joke about her having to have practiced her fake signature. Paige had blushed and Walter had fallen a little harder.
Every now and again the drugs he'd been placed on would cause the lines to blur and he'd forget that she wasn't really his- that it was just a lie to make his care easier. "My beautiful Wife.." he'd say "I love you so much" She'd blush prettily and stroke his cheek telling him to rest. He never remember what he'd say and never saw the pain in her eyes that appeared after he'd drifted into a peaceful oblivion.
The afternoon Paige didn't appear was the hardest. Ralph had a big presentation at Cal-Tech and wouldn't be back until later. She'd had Toby come in her place during the visiting hours. He hated any of the original members of the team seeing him at less than 100% and seeing him without Paige was even worse. Walter hadn't calmed down until Paige called to say she was back on her way. He knew what Toby was going to say before he said it.
He'd become dependent.