"***************I am in love with you ."
" Walter i am in love with you ."
Walter was shocked into silence at the remark he had just heard it took him a few seconds before he again heard Paige loudly calling his name over the phone .
" Walter, Walter are you ok ?"
" Sorry i am trying to put what you just said into perspective , as only a few weeks ago i thought you hated me , but the last couple of phone calls had made me think we could at least still be friends , but you are saying now you actually love me . This is difficult for me to understand . "
" Walter i have loved you for a long time , in fact i loved you as soon as i saw you interact with Ralph , as no one in his whole life up to that time had even attempted to understand him , not even Drew his father . I realized just how much i loved you , when i thought there was a chance i could lose you , when you crashed your car over the edge of the cliff . We talked on the weather balloon and you were worried if we started a relationship and it went wrong , Scorpion could be effected , and i know i agreed just to be friends , but then we experimented with a kiss , i lied when i said i felt nothing . The truth was i had never experienced a reaction like i had that day , it was like everything good i had experienced in my life were all rolled up together into one big experience . As soon as i left my legs just gave way and i collapsed against the door ."
" But you went With Tim ." Stated Walter .
" That was only because you were dating Linda , and i was jealous . What really made me mad was when you had those tickets for Tahoe . You could never imagine how much i wanted you to ask me to go with you . when you told me to ask Tim , i felt like you were throwing me away like a piece of rubbish . That is why i started to behave the way i did towards you ."
" Happy had told me i should ask you to go with me to Tahoe and that was my intention when i first came over to see you . But in my usual awkward way i found it difficult to express what i wanted to say , then i saw Tim calling you on your personnel phone i assumed you had already chosen him , so i backed away ."
" I can see now what Ralph means about our lack of communication causing us problems ."
" Paige i think we need to have a lot more conversations , at the moment it is going to have to be by phone , but i think i will still enjoy that . "
" Walter your E.Q. is showing , give me a couple of weeks and i will defiantly have news for you , but at the moment i am not to sure which it will be , but i can tell you it will be one of two pieces of news .
" Now you have me intrigued , can we talk everyday by phone until you can tell me just what you are on about ."
" I would love to do that , how about we arrange a time and we can alternate calls . If we make the call for 7.00am . L.A. time that should make it about 3.00pm. your time . Would it be possible for me to wish Ralph goodnight and then we can continue phone making up tomorrow . "
" Just hang on and i will call Ralph up."
Walter called downstairs to Ralph , who came running up the stairs .
"Ralph your mom wants to speak to you again ."
" Ok dad ." Said Ralph as he took the phone from Walter .
" Hello mom ."
" Ralph baby i just wanted to wish you a goodnight and to tell you , i love you . Could you please put Walter back on the phone . "
" Sure mom . " Ralph handed the phone back to Walter telling him that Paige wanted to speak to him again .
" Hello Paige ."
" Walter i just wanted to confirm to you that i do love you and i am going to do my best to really prove it to you . Have a goodnight and we will speak again tomorrow . In the meantime take this as a sign . " As she finished speaking she kissed the phone very loudly as an indication of what she would like to be doing right now . Walter heard the noise and immediately realized what Paige was doing .
" Hope you have a goodnight ." He then returned the favour and kissed his phone a similar way , after this he disconnected the call .
Turning to Ralph , who had a smile spread right across his face . " Would you like to check out these books and i will tell you what they are about ."
" Sure , your talk with mom seemed to go well ." Said Ralph .
" It went a completly different way to how i imaged it would , in fact a whole lot better than i thought . " Said Walter with a grin on his face that matched the one which Ralph had on his face .
" Shall we check out those books now ." Asked Walter .
" Yes please dad . " Ralph led Walter over to the pile of books he had put to one side , and handed one to Walter .
" Yes this is most certainly a book written in Gaelic Irish . This one is a book on Irish legends , there are many legends in Ireland i doubt this covers even a small percentage of them , but i can read you one once you are ready for bed and then tomorrow we can start to translate it , so as to give you an idea of the language ." Explained Walter .
" That would be great , what about i go downstairs and say goodnight to grandpa and grandma and then i can get ready for bed and then you can start reading the first book to me . " Offered Ralph .
" Well that sounds like a plan to me ." Replied Walter .
With that they both made their way downstairs . Ralph said his goodnights and went back upstairs to get ready for bed . Walter told him he would be up in about twenty minutes .
Paige's Condo .
Once she had finished her phone call with Walter and Ralph , she felt better than she had , since before Tim had come on the scene . Her feelings had been completly uplifted . Walter at least seemed to accept her apology and her statement that she did love him , she knew it was not a simple as that and it would involve many more talks it may even mean visits to a therapist of some sort . Even that would not be possible if Walter did not think it a good idea , from now on everything is going to be discussed before any real decisions will be made . As Ralph had already pointed out , lack of communication in the past is what has caused all the problems . After a while she phoned Sly to advise him she would not becoming back into the office today , but would be in as normal tomorrow . Sly told her there was not much going on but he had almost finished the coding that they had won the contract for . She also thanked him for all his help in tracking Ralph and that he was safe and sound in Ireland with Walter . She ran a bath , and took a long soak and then changed into a leisure suit and curled up on the sofa , to read one of the Romance novels she loved to read . She at last felt totally relaxed after many weeks of feeling pent-up anger .
The O'Brian Farm Callen Ireland
After twenty minutes , Walter joined Ralph in his bedroom , Ralph was already in bed , sitting up against his pillow , already glancing through the book he had selected to show Walter .
" Are you ready Ralph ?" Ralph with a smile on his face ,nodded .
" Ok as i said earlier , the book you chose was one of Irish legends . There are many legends , going back to time immemorial . There are various legends mainly made up around either people or groups of people , whether human or fantasy . An idea of what i mean could be , Leprechaun, these are also known as the little people . They are described as mischievous people who usually dress in green and wear tall hats and are usually grey bearded elderly men . People believe they keep their gold in pots at the end of the rainbow . Then you have fairies , some are good who are supposed to help people , and then there are naughty ones who also like to prank people and generally cause trouble . Close to fairies are changelings , these are fairies that have been substituted for new born babies . Then there are legends about Saint Patrick , the patron saint of Ireland , who by folk lore , removed all snakes from Ireland . There are also many legends about people , again some real others most likely people made up from fantasies . Let me have a look at the book . "
Ralph passed the book to Walter , who opened it to the first story and quickly read the title
" Right , Ralph the first story in the book is one concerning a person , the translation of the title is Dagna's Harp . Would you like me to give you a quick resume of the story "
" Yes please dad , and then if you could read it in Gaelic , then maybe begin to show me the translation . Replied Ralph .
" Well i will give you a digested version of the story , and at least begin to read it in Gaelic , but i do not think we will be able to start the translation tonight , but we will see how we get on ."
" Ok dad i am happy with that ."
" Dagna was a king of Tuatna de Danfaw who owned a magic harp , which was stolen in the heat of battle . Dagna and a few of his followers followed those who had stolen the harp . When they arrived at the cave the thieves were hiding in , Dagna called his harp and it came flying out of the cave to him . He strummed it three times to aid their safe escape . As he strummed it the first time it caused tears to form in the eyes of the thieves . The second strum caused them to produce gut busting laughter . The third strum put all the thieves into a deep sleep to allow them to escape safely . " As soon as Walter had finished speaking , Ralph spoke .
" That is interesting , but i would now like it to be read in Gaelic ."
" Ok here we go ."
Before Walter had finished reading the story Ralph had fallen asleep . Walter put the book down and made sure Ralph was tucked in and then left the bedroom , quietly closing the door behind him .
California State Prison - Corcoren
" Ok Armstrong get up it is time for recreation and exercise out in the yard . NOW ." Instructed the prison guard .
" Ok , ok , i am coming , it hardly seems worth while . A whole thirty minutes of fresh air ,oh what a treat . " Replied Armstrong .
" None of your Cheek Armstrong you are in no position to question an order , being an ex- navy seal and a Homeland Agent , i would have thought you would understand an order is an order . " The guard replied in a very sarcastic manner . The guard opened the cell door and Armstrong walked out , and made his way down the corridor closely followed by the guard .
Armstrong had been in the exercise yard for ten minutes , a thirty foot square of concrete surrounded by twenty foot high walls , with a guard tower on each corner . He was keeping to himself taking a slow walk as far away from the other inmates as was possible , considering the number of people out there . He heard a voice shout his name and turned to see who had called him . What he saw was a 6ft 6ins giant of a man , whose arms looked bigger than his own legs .
"What do you want ?" Asked an arrogant Armstrong .
" I've got a message from your Uncle Mark ." The large man replied .
"Oh yes , what does he want , when it's all his fault , his well planed operation turned out to be a total failure . " The still arrogant Armstrong said with venom in his voice .
The big guy moved up real close to Armstrong and in a menacingly whisper said .
" He does not like failures , and to give you this ." As the big guy spoke he quickly pushed a homemade shiv into Armstrong's abdomen and just as quickly removed it . He casually walked away from Armstrong who had an expression of total disbelief on his face , it was as if he had not realized what had happened until he felt a wet patch spreading across his stomach . He put both hands on the wound to try and stem his life blood ,flowing from his body . He collapsed to his knees and then fell over onto his side , it was if the whole world stood still . After about thirty seconds one of the guards noticed him on the floor and rushed over to him . Seeing the blood that was pooling at the side of Armstrong he immediately called for a medic . Members of the prison's medical staff were there in minutes and Armstrong was rushed to the prison's medical center . Once inside the medical center chaos reigned as every member of the staff were involved in an attempt to save Armstrong's life . It soon became apparent the staff did not have the necessary equipment and not really the knowledge to stem the flow of blood , so were forced to call 911 for an ambulance . It took the ambulance twenty minutes to reach the prison . On the way to the hospital , Armstrong passed away , due to excessive blood loss . A later post mortem would show that the shiv had also penetrated his liver which had caused massive internal blood loss , which had led to him leaving this mortal coil . He left his parents and three sisters to grieve and mourn for him . A feeling not felt by anyone at Homeland or Scorpion .
The O'Brian Farm Ireland
It was after 9.00am. and Ralph had yet to make an appearance , Walter had suggested they should let him sleep in as jet lag and the time difference could be effecting him . Walter decided he had been in bed longer enough now , so he made his way to Ralph's bedroom . He knocked and entered but was surprised at what he saw . Ralph was up and dressed , his head was in the book , Walter had been reading to him the night before .
" What are you doing Ralph ?" Quietly asked Walter .
" Morning dad i am sorry i fell asleep before you had finished reading to me last night . When i got up this morning i thought i would have a look myself to see if i could make sense of it , but i am afraid no matter how i try the pronunciation of the words do not sound correct ." Explained Ralph .
" Well come down stairs and have some breakfast , then if you want we can spend a hour going over the text from last night ." Replied Walter .
Once Ralph had finished his breakfast . Walter took him into the Livingroom and began to explain the story he had read to Ralph the night before . After a couple of hours Ralph seemed to grasp the basics of the language . Walter suggested they should go and find Sean , and see if he needed some help . The main reason Walter wanted to go out was to calm his nerves , the closer the time got to 3.00pm. the more he worried that Paige was playing a game with him and in fact still hated him . She had just been building up his hopes during the phone calls over the past couple of days and now she was just going to drop him from her life with just one phone call today , to confess the past two days meant nothing at all . He hoped that by helping Sean for an hour or two would take his mind off the phone call he was expecting this afternoon .
Walter and Ralph made their way to the barn were Sean was patching up some damage on one of the walls of the barn .
" Hi dad , we have come to see if we can be of any help to you ."
" Hi son ,hi Ralph , well i am just about finished here, but i do need to go and check some of the fences , as i have had a couple of complaints of sheep wandering onto the road . You are welcome to come with me . " Replied Sean ."
Walter looked at Ralph who just smiled and nodded his head . " Well it looks like you have got a couple of volunteers . However i will need to leave about 2.00pm . as i am expecting a phone call from Paige at 3.00pm. " Walter explained to Sean .
" Of course you don't want to miss that phone call , which i presume you want to take in private and undisturbed . " Replied Sean with a little sparkle in his eye .
They had walked about half way round the property checking on various fences , Ralph had been given the job of writing down any repairs to be done and where . Walter checked his watch , and saw it was nom 2.00pm.
" I am going to start heading back now . Ralph do you want to stay with grandpa or come back with me ?" Asked Walter .
" If grandpa does not mind i would like to stay to help him ." Replied Ralph .
" Will that be alright dad ?"
" Of course son , he his a good littler helper . " Replied Sean .
At that Walter set off back to the farm , but now that he was on his own , the worries began to reoccur . By the time he reached the farmhouse and made his way to his bedroom he was beginning to sweat and his hands were shaking . His mind was still full of fears , that Paige was not going to want to carry on with this new found relationship and he was certain that if she does phone it will be to put him down again but not gently . At 2.55pm. he began walking from one wall to the other , each stride was accompanied by /she will not phone / At 2.58pm. the mumbling changed to /I cannot blame her , i pushed her away / At 2.59pm. he stopped mumbling and decided to sit down . 3.00pm, He thought i knew she would not ring . At 3.01pm. all his thoughts were wiped from his mind as his phone rang . As he went to answer the phone , he managed to drop it , fortunately it landed on the bed so it did not break . He managed to pick up the phone and swipe right . " Paige !"
" Hello handsome , how is my favorite person today ?" A giggling Paige asked .
" I am sorry i have been so worried that you would not phone me and you had built me up over the last few phone calls , so that you could just drop me again ." Replied Walter .
" Oh my poor Walter what have i done . Now listen to what i am about to say , and i swear on Ralph's life what i say is true and from the bottom of my heart . I told you i had been in love with you , from the beginning , but i did try and control my feelings for you because of your fear of damaging Scorpion . Now i am holding nothing back . I love you , you are the love of my life , i have never loved anyone the way i love you . I want and need to be close to you at this precise moment . Hopefully within a couple of weeks i will be able to achieve my goal ." By now Paige was feeling very emotional herself .
Walter had sat down as the call continued and was digesting all of the information Paige had been telling him . His own emotions were working overtime but it at last realized Paige really did love him .
" Walter ,Walter . are you still there ." Paige shouted down the phone stirred Walter into speaking .
" Hello Paige , i am sorry i was just digesting all the information you just gave me . So you really do love me ?"
" Of course i do Walter , as i said i just want to be in your arms and feel your lips on mine . I have just come out of the shower and all i have on his my red silk robe the belt is so loosely tied , my breasts are almost completly exposed and what i am wishing is that you where here with me and you could caress them and kiss them and play with my nipples' ." Said a teasing Paige .
" Please Paige no more i believe you and i know now you do love me . But i do not think at this precise time i want phone sex , i need to get used to the fact you are really in love with me ."
" Sorry Walter i suppose you think badly of me now , it was just me doing a little bit of teasing . " Replied Paige .
" Please do not apologize Paige , in fact i was enjoying it , possibly a little to much . The only reason i said that about the phone sex was because mom is down stairs , Ralph is out with dad and could come back at any minute . My trousers have certainly got tighter round my groin area , just listening to you and i do not know when Ralph might appear ."
" Walter at times you are so funny , and i do not think you realize what you do to me . We can arrange a better time to call to try a bit of phone sex , maybe when we know when Ralph is in bed ."
" I can certainly concur with that suggestion , maybe on a weekend . I could call you at 10.00pm. Saturday night when it will be 6.00am . Sunday morning here . "
" You know what Walter i can cocur with that ." As Paige replied to Walter her voice became sultry and sexy . " Walter the Sunday morning , Saturday night call , could we make that a video chat , and if you are really good i promise to show you something that i have shown no man , except maybe a doctor , since i split up with Drew . Then maybe you will have no doubt at all just exactly how much i do love you ,and only you ."
Now Walter's mind had gone into overdrive and images he had thought impossible to happen started racing through his mind .
" I am certain i can arrange that ." Said Walter as his voice began to break to an almost soprano sound . Paige started to laugh at his antics and could hardly speak , but at last she managed to communicate with him .
" Oh Walter do not get to excited now . I need to finish getting ready now as i need to go to the garage today as i have not been in for two days . I am not sure what trouble Toby as gotten into , he was so mad i refused to let him come on the trip to Washington ."
"Ok my love i hope you have a good day , what time are you leaving tonight as i am sure Ralph would like to say goodnight ."
" Ring me anytime after noon L.A. time , and i will make sure my phone is on , i will probably be at the garage and if necessary i can slip up to the loft and lock the door so as to stop Toby eavesdropping ."
" Ok i will call later once Ralph is ready for bed . Until then . i miss you and i now know for certain you love me ."
After a couple of phone kisses the call was ended . Walter lay back on his bed and began running images through his mind what he may be seeing Sunday morning . After about a hour he made his way downstairs to get coffee.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX