Part 8 Wednesday evening

"Thank you again Walter. I know I have been saying that a lot, but I mean it every time. All of this has been so amazing. I can't believe all of it. It's been like a dream. But you have made it so real to me. I'm truly grateful."

"It has been my pleasure to be with you and Ralph this week. I hope we can do more things like this in the future. I want to talk to you tonight about my vision for Scorpion, we didn't get to finish our talk earlier. I'm also glad you liked Natalie's place. I wasn't sure if you would have or not."

"It was fascinating. Designing your own piece of jewelry was so fun. And yes, I want to really talk to you about Scorpion as well. I meant what I said back there."

"Let's wait till after dinner and Ralph is asleep. He never stops amazing me; he is so much brighter than me when I was his age. He has you to thank for that."

"Uh-uh, not just me. You so much more than me. And I will also include the rest of CP. You have pushed him so much more than I could have ever dreamed of. The growth in Ralph since he met you is astronomical."

"It was there inside of him, from you, I just helped to bring it out."

"I saw how Natalie looked at you Walter. She liked you."

"Huh? Wh-what do-do y-y-you mean?"

"I think she may have liked you when you helped her start out."

"I-Ium nev-never noticed anything back then."

"Not surprising."

"I never um never did any-anything with um her."

"Walter, I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just telling you she had the hots for you."

"Ho-hots for me? What does th-that even mean?"

"It means, I think she wanted to do this to you." Paige leaned over to him and started kissing him and running her fingers through his hair.

Walter moaned as he kissed her back and ran his hands down the small of her back and pulled her closer for a more intimate kiss.

"And I'm sorry Walter, but that ship has sailed. And I'm the only captain of this vessel now. You got it?"

Walter heard the word vessel and ship and maybe captain, but beyond that he didn't remember much else of what she said to him. His mind was no match to her charms. Not even close. He smiled at her and returned the favor the best he could.

They decided to order room service for dinner, and Ralph was happy when they restocked the chocolate fountain with another array of desserts to be dunked under the flow of warm chocolate. The meal was delicious and after Ralph polished off some dessert he yawned and got ready for bed. It hadn't been to long of a day for him. He did get to design a set of earrings for his mom that Walter helped him to design. But the best part of his day had been the time he spent with Walter earlier looking at their star discovery. Ralph was excited about tomorrow after Walter gave him a sneak preview of what they were getting to do.

Paige had changed into some comfy lounge wear after Ralph had dosed off and she went over to the couch Walter was sitting on and gave him a nice smile and a small kiss on the lips when she sat down.

"He seemed to fall asleep pretty quick."

"I think he might be coming down from his sugar high."

"You think he has had fun? I know this is supposed to be his summer break and he has had to do all these activities with us."

"Are you kidding? I think this week is going to be the highlight of his summer. I don't think the smile has been removed from his face since we left LA. I bet he's probably in bed right now with a smile on his face while he's asleep."

"Good, I'm glad he is having fun. Are you having fun too?"

"Do you have to even ask? This week has been so out of this world. If you asked me to pick a favorite one, I honestly couldn't. Each day has been so special. And to think you did all this in the blink of an eye basically."

Paige didn't know it. But Walter had been planning a trip like this, in some form, for a long time. It just happened to all come together at a time that Paige seemed to really need it.

"Hopefully tomorrow tops them all then."

"I don't know, today was pretty special, well so was yesterday and the day before that." Paige was giving him a little kiss for each day as she was telling him how special they all were.

Walter held her in his arms and soaked in the aroma of her and didn't ever want to let her go. They laid there for some time before they said another word to each other.

"Tell me about your new plan for Scorpion Walter. I liked what you were telling me earlier."

"Yes, I um wanted to kind of change the direction Scorpion had shifted away from. I never imagined it morphing into what it did. I started it more as a sanctuary for me and Happy at first to have a place to come to and try to make a difference for people. I made the mistake of bringing Mark in, but then I found both Toby and Sly. We never thrived like I thought we would, but we were sustainable at least. And when we got rid of Mark, things were better for all of us.

"You're right you know. You helped all those guys and you tried with Mark too."

"The day both you and Cabe arrived kind of shifted the focus of Scorpion. I was 100% behind the shift, because it gave me a chance to atone for my failure with my software and…"

"Walter, that was not your fault, and I know you know that now."

"I do. Thank you. But the best thing about the shift was the fact that you became a part of my team, Not only my team, but over time you became my best friend and the love of my life."

Paige smiled at him, and they kissed again. She cared so much for Walter, and he always gave her so much credit with his growth. More than she deserved, she thought.

"I feel the same about you too. I haven't really had a best friend for a long time, and that relationship with you meant and still means so much to me."

"Over the last several years with your help we have made Scorpion into something more than I thought it could ever become. It was both mentally and physically exhausting though. But at the same time so much more rewarding. I do think back and wonder sometimes. If it didn't take so much out of me, if I would have been able to tell you my true feelings about you earlier. And how different everything could have been. And then I think if it had just remained how it was, I may never had gotten to meet you and Ralph."

"I know, I have thought along the same lines. The job was so very rewarding to me, helping people, but did we miss out on earlier opportunities? We may have, but I wouldn't change any of it because of where we are now. All the ups and downs and bumps and bruises and kisses and arguments still brought us to right here. And right now, I don't think I could be any happier or any more in love with you Walter."

Walter broke down first, but Paige wasn't far behind. They embraced and didn't let go of one another for several minutes.

"As for meeting me and Ralph, I think some way and some how we would have found a way. I couldn't imagine knowing someone was out there that could make me feel the way you do, that they could have been so close to me and that I wouldn't ever have a chance to meet them."

"I will admit that the first interaction I had with you was not my finest hour. I do know you took my breath away the first time I saw you, and I knew I needed to see Ralph again, to try and help him. I just don't know how long I would have taken to build up the nerve to come see you again. When we were driving to LAX and the traffic made us change our plans, I knew I wanted to see you again."

"See, I think you would have come back to me."

"I don't think my second impression I gave you was any better than my first. I'm sorry I upset you that day. It is still the day I look back to when I think my life took a turn for the better."

"Mine did too. It was the day I met some amazing friends and a father figure. It also helped to unlock my son, who had been such a mystery to me for so long. And that was because that was the same day I met the man of my dreams."

And for the second time in under ten minutes, Walter broke down. And Paige was there to hold him and make him feel whole again. The magnitude of those moments to Walter was something he rarely talked about, and now after thinking how he almost lost out on her, being this close to Paige again was showing him how much he truly loved her.

"Like I said earlier, I don't carry the same pain I did, and I feel like I have atoned for my failure from Baghdad. And as much as I have enjoyed flying around the globe helping people, I think it's time for a change. Especially when it became just me. I talked to Richard about my idea, and he wasn't as open towards it as I had hoped. So, I decided to go to the Tech Convention that was in LA a couple of weeks ago and sold some of the programs I had written that we used with Scorpion. The voice altering program, several of the algorithm codes I wrote, a few ideas I had for some other programs, most of the work I had done for the last several years. I didn't sell the facial detection program though, that is still too far advanced. And I also kept the water filtration and wench patents. I felt at some point you know…"

"They would reconnect and come back. I'm so sorry Walter."

"It's ok. The only one that had no interest was the u-dog."

That made Paige laugh. It also let her know he had grown enough to be able to make a little fun of himself and not always try to be perfect.

"What would happen with the facial detection program if it's too advanced?"

"Well, if the wrong people got a hold of some of the code I have embedded in there it could unlock ways for people to alter the purpose of what its main use was intended to do. I was offered a lot of money for it, more than the amount I got for everything else, but I didn't want to worry about what could happen."

"Looks like you thought this through, and you know what you want to do."

"Some of it I have, but I don't have it all worked out yet."

"Well, what I said earlier is true. If you'll have me, I would love to be a part of the new Scorpion you have envisioned."

"Thank you Paige, but I don't think that is what I want anymore. And you are still technically a part of CP."

Paige didn't expect for him to turn down her offer. It hurt her and she was starting to feel emotions coming to the surface. Walter saw the concern on her face and he reached out to hold her hands.

"Paige, don't get me wrong. I am committed to us, and the only reason I don't want you to be an employee at Scorpion is because I want you to be so much more than that. The vision I have for Scorpion is for you to be right there along side of me, as my equal. You have done more for the success of Scorpion than anyone else. When I look back through the history of it, there is a single point where everything changed. The day I hired Paige Dineen."

And now it was her turn to lose her emotions. And this time it was Walter that got to be there for his best friend, his soul mate, the person he never wanted to be without. After she was ok, they decided together they would reform Scorpion; as equal partners. The way they both wanted it to be.

They fell asleep on the couch and slept arm in arm until they heard the sounds of a young man slurping up some chocolate covered breakfast. Ralph was excited for the day after Walter had told him what they were going to be doing. And he was bursting at the seams to tell his mom too.

"Walter said today we get to ride in a hot air balloon. I mean I know you guys got to ride in one before, but that was kind of different."

"Well, Ralph, actually we rode in a weather balloon. This should be a much better experience for your mom than being trapped in that other balloon with me." Walter told him.

"I don't know, that balloon ride wasn't all bad. We did get to discuss our feelings and it did lead to our first kiss you know." Paige added.

"Gross."

"I just wish I would have told you how I felt after that kiss. How it really made me feel." Walter said.

"Double gross."

"You know sweetie, for a genius, that sounds pretty silly."

"So, Walter, is there a story behind the hot air balloons too?" Paige asked as she curled her arms around her knees on the couch.

"Yes, of course there is. I again helped this company when they first were trying to start their business. It was a couple of brothers who were wanting to start a business together and they didn't have much capital and they needed help attracting customers. So, I answered an ad they had placed, and I told them I would design their webpage for them and help them in the acquisition of some of the items they needed to start out with. We found them a good location for their storefront. The same location they are still at. And we shot a bunch of videos for them to put on their website. And I showed them how to use social media as a way of getting free advertising. They even talked me into doing something that went viral. And I will only tell you two this part knowing that it will never leave these walls. Understood? Ralph, this means you can't show any of your friends at school."

"Before, I answer, is there any way of me finding whatever video is out there you don't want us to see?"

"How do you know it's a video baby?"

"It went viral, what else could it be."

"Ralph, to answer your question, no. I spent the better part of two months scrubbing every known copy of the video off the internet. This was almost ten years ago, and I have not seen a copy of the video in over seven years. So, I think the only known copy resides on my phone." Walter said as he was holding his phone up in his hand waving it side to side.

"Deal, if you say I can't find it, I believe you. But is this gonna make me laugh?"

"Paige?"

"Oh, deal."

"Here goes. And neither one you are to speak another word of this, to anyone, ever."

Walter rerouted his phone to the tv, and after making sure Ralph wasn't trying to set up some sort of backdoor program to snatch the video out of the tv while it was playing, he came and sat back down on the couch. Paige on one side of him and Ralph on the other.

The video only lasted all of thirty seconds, but the laughter lasted at least fifteen solid minutes. After they talked him into letting them watch it a few more times they were on the floor rolling around. For a man that always seemed to be in control this video was the epitome of the exact opposite. The video showed Walter bungee jumping off the basket of the hot air balloon. That part, although a little scary to Paige looked pretty cool. The camera view from his helmet watching his face as he plummeted toward the ground was eye-opening. But after the ten seconds of coolness Walter showed, the other twenty full seconds of him screaming and blabbering like a little girl was way too much for the Dineen's. Ralph had tears in his eyes and Paige literally had to go change her clothes after she peed on herself from the laughter. The video had gotten over 15 million views and it single-handedly created a following for the upstart balloon brothers. And that, Walter told them was how you get free advertising from social media.

They got something to eat on the way and showed up at the front door of the hot-air balloon company around 1:00. The trip was scheduled to leave at two and they were to spend a couple of hours floating above San Francisco.

The brothers saw Walter as he got out of the passenger seat of the car and instantly ran over to him and pretended to scream like little girls, much to the delight of Ralph. They gave Ralph high fives and gave Paige hugs. They complemented her on her taste in cars and they complimented Walter on his taste in women. They both smiled as they were walking arm in arm into the shop. Of course, the first thing they saw was a picture of Walter getting ready to jump out of the basket with the caption "What you do from here is up to you." With a bunch of symbols asking people to follow them on all their on-line accounts.

"You don't by chance have a copy of that video, do you?" Asked Ralph, although Paige was just as interested.

"Man, do I wish. We still to this day get at least five or ten people a week asking us to see it again. I think unfortunately it has left us all too soon never to be seen again."

"I wouldn't say never…"

"Ralph! You made a promise."

"Oh, please tell me you have a copy of that video, Walter."

"I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of said video."

"Alright, it was worth a shot, unless you want to do something else for us to go viral."

Walter looked over at the pair of brothers and shook his head no.

"Fine, let me show you guys to your balloon." As they walked over to the balloon, the brothers were sure to point out one unique feature that separated them from all other balloon companies.

"As you can see here, and in every one of our twenty balloons, we have a mounted camera that records the whole experience for our customers, and we then give them the DVD recording for free, just our way of thanking them for flying with us."

"Does that say Walt-O-Vision?" Paige asked with a smile thinking back to this morning and the video.

"Good eye Paige, it does indeed. A special feature Walter thought of installing after his famous plunge into internet stardom. Unfortunately, he told us about his idea after he made his famous leap with only the camera mounted to his helmet."

"You ready to fly this bird solo, or you want one of us to take the lead?" one of the brothers asked.

"I think I remember how it all works." Walter said.

"Wait, you can fly one of these things?" Paige asked a little nervous. This man's unique skill set!

"Walter was our first employee. We talked him into staying around for a few weeks after you know, ahhh please noooo make it stop, and people flocked to see him too. We basically sold out every ride we had for like six months when we first started. And we haven't looked back since."

Walter took the three of them up into the balloon. At first Ralph seemed a little nervous and gripped on tight to either Walter or his mom. But after a few minutes he realized Walter knew what he was doing. He looked up at the camera a few times and gave some thumbs up signs and started to enjoy the experience. The balloon was stocked with a picnic basket with some snacks for them to eat. And there was even a bottle of champagne and some glasses included next to the water bottles and juice boxes.

They had been taking in the sights for close to an hour and Walter suddenly felt a wave of nerves overtake him. He started to perspire a little and wiped his brow hoping no one caught on. He gave a wink to Ralph and turned to Paige and took both of her hands in his.

"Paige, have you been enjoying your balloon ride?"

"I have, it's been absolutely magnificent, I don't know how it could be any better or more romantic."

She leaned into him an gave him a sweet kiss and she could see Walter looked a little nervous.

"Are you okay Walter, you're not forgetting how to land this thing are you?"

"No, I um I still um remember how to land it."

"What's wrong then?"

There was no way he was going to mess this up, he had been planning this for months, years honestly. And he was now minutes away from taking the biggest risk he was ever going to take.

"Paige, I've wanted to take you on this ride with me for so long now. And I am so glad I was finally able to bring you up here with me. I have had the best time of my life with you and Ralph these last few days and I know I don't ever want them to end."

Ralph had turned away from the camera because he had tears in his eyes already. Paige wasn't exactly sure what was going on yet.

"We have too Walter. This has been the most amazing and romantic trip I have ever been on."

"Well, I hope this is just the beginning of the journey the three of us are on."

He slowly dropped to a single knee and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Paige threw her hands up to her mouth and realized what was about to happen.

"Paige, you have been my rock these last four years since we first met, and I have been so fortunate to not only have you become my best and closest friend but also to be the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with. We have had so much life experience with each other that I know what ever comes up if we work together, we can overcome any obstacle in our way. I am here before you asking if you and your amazing son, who I promise to always love like he is my own, would do me the absolute honor of being the woman I get to call my wife for the rest of my life. Paige Dineen, will you please marry me?"

Paige dropped to both of her knees with tears filling her eyes, took the man she was so in love with and put her hands on either side of his cheeks and told him, "Yes, I have dreamt of this day for so long and I would be so very happy to marry you, Walter O'Brien."

Walter took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger. She instantly recognized it as one of Natalie's.

"I was the dictator that she was talking about."

"Wait, I don't understand, you have been waiting on this ring for over six months?"

"Um, yes. I had been wa-waiting for it to get um finished for some time. I kept changing the design to try to make it perfect for you. I-I was pl-planning on ask asking you to marry me um before…"

Paige knew he didn't want to bring the past up again. They moved beyond the fight, and there was no sense in re-living it anymore. She put her hands back up on his checks and kissed him over and over again.

Ralph leaned over to both of them and was so far beyond happy. Not only for them, but for himself too. He had been dreaming about Walter being married to his mom and being able to call him dad for so long. And it finally looked like that dream was now someday going to become a reality.

The rest of the balloon ride was pure joy. Paige looked at her ring what seemed like a few hundred times. They toasted to their engagement, took some selfies, and made some memories that would never go away. By the time they got back to the landing area the brothers had invited some friends and family to help celebrate the news of Walter and Paige. They received their complimentary DVD along with a goodie bag full of stickers and vouchers for free rides for Ralph to take back and share with some of his friends. It even had a note for him telling him if he could produce a copy of the video, they would make it worth his time. And wouldn't you know it, Walter found another way to make a video go viral for his two friends. This time, he would never worry about anyone seeing him with tears in his eyes.