A/N - Things are moving along and the big day is getting closer. We just can't rush to get there. A few more things to do first. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Railman - Paige has amazing nerd herding skills. And who wouldn't love a new Jeep Wrangler. Ralph will have to keep a watchful eye on Toby for sure, although with Cabe just a shout away Toby might find himself in trouble. Not too much longer till the wedding day gets here.
LouBe - A moving service might give Toby something to do all day instead of laying around reading books and causing mischief at every turn. Wouldn't be a bad side hustle for him. The teams, now team, have been getting along. Almost like season one, only with the relationships. Paige will be better suited to deal with trivial things than Walter ever was. He might have some new responsibilities at some point too.
Pearliegirl - Thank you for letting me know you are enjoying it. The team is back together and ready for the adventure to begin.
Margaret - Again, thanks for the kind words. Hopefully the rest of the story is just as enjoyable for you.
Part 19 Tuesday June 23, 2018
The next couple of days for Walter and Paige were spent together at their new house and they were simply fantastic. They felt so lucky to have such an amazing house. Paige continued decorating the house with pictures and personal items that they brought over from her condo and the garage. The walls went from looking stark white and bare when they first saw the house to seeing all the special memories they had captured over the years now neatly hung all throughout the home. They ate almost every meal up on the back deck or on the back patio and just enjoyed each other's company while admiring their breathtaking view and evening sunsets. Ralph joined them for most of the meals as well. Ralph spent a lot of his time upstairs in the big, lofted game room, he couldn't believe he had a space like this and couldn't wait to have friends spend the night with him. Walter and Paige told him he could have friends over all the time once they got back from their honeymoon. A honeymoon that she still had no idea of where was taking place.
By Thursday morning, the rest of the wedding details were finalized with the coordinator in Tahiti. The weather forecast for the island was perfect with temperatures staying between 70 and 80 degrees all week. And in just a few days they would be on their way. Paige had a scheduled dress fitting for later that afternoon and Allie told her she would be glad to accompany her there. Happy was invited to go as well, but she told her it might be a little more girly than she could handle. Getting Happy to agree to wearing a dress at the wedding was enough of a win, Paige decided not to try to coerce her into going with them today. Walter surprised the two ladies with vouchers to a nearby spa for after they were done with the fitting. Paige looked drop dead gorgeous in her dress, just like everyone knew she would. Not much needed to be done to it at all, and the dress would be ready to be picked up by the end of the day.
"That was really nice of Walter to get us a spa day as a surprise." Allie told Paige.
"It was, and oh my gosh, Tomoko Spa is hands down the nicest spa around. I have wanted to go there for years, but it was never a luxury I could ever afford. And he got us the package that comes with mani/pedi's too. Ooh, I can't wait to be pampered in there." Paige told her. She would be sure to properly thank Walter for the gift later.
"Well, be sure to thank him for me, I haven't ever been pampered like this before. Walter may have to give the old man a few pointers." Allie said, getting a laugh from Paige.
A couple of hours later and feeling on top of the world, they hopped back in Paige's new Jeep and picked up her dress after the final alterations were done. Paige said goodbye to Allie and decided to make one last stop on the way home. She arrived back home to find her son and her soon to be husband in the middle of a big video game battle that was ultimately won once again by Ralph.
After they had an amazing home cooked chicken marsala meal made by Paige, the two lovebirds took a long slow walk around the lake that their house backed up to.
"Walter, thank you for your amazing surprise today. The spa was heavenly." Paige said as she gave Walter a big hug and grabbed a hold of his hand as they continued their walk.
"I would say so, you look just like an angel Paige." Walter told her kissing the back of her hand.
"Awww, thank you, that was sweet. So, my um dress is finished, and I got to take it home today." Paige told him excitedly as she leaned her head into his shoulder.
"So do I get a sneak peek tonight before the wedding?" Walter asked hoping for a yes.
"You know that it is considered bad luck to see the bride in her dress before the wedding." Paige told him.
"I don't believe in superstitions like that Paige." Walter said to her with pleading eyes. "Can I see it? I bet you look breathtaking in it."
"You know what, fine Mr. O'Brien, you tell me where we are going for our honeymoon, and I will gladly put my dress on for you tonight and give you that sneak peek." Paige told him with a smile. "What'll it be?" She asked him with a kiss.
"You're just being mean now." Walter jokingly told her wrapping her tightly into a hug. "I guess I'll just have to wait till the wedding." He finished with kisses on her cheek and forehead before ending with one more on her lips.
"Mean huh? What if I told you I picked up a little something special for you tonight on my way home from that amazing gift you got for us today. Did you know that Tomoko Spa is like the nicest spa in all of Los Angeles?"
"I did. And w-when you say a l-little something special, how um l-little are you talking about?" Walter nervously asked swallowing a lump in his throat.
"Oh, its little. Tiny might be a better word for it." Paige told him in a whisper and then watched his legs buckle on him. "I sure hope you still don't think I'm being mean Walter."
"Mmmmh mean? I um must have um mis um misspoken. I um su-suddenly feel like w-we should retreat to the um retreat to the b-bedroom for the evening." Walter told her with a mischievous smile crawling across his face.
"Luckily for you, that sounds just about perfect to me. But come here first." She told him as she gave him a searing kiss previewing what she had in store for him tonight. "Now take me to bed, Walter."
When Walter saw how tiny his present really was, he almost passed out. He then spent the next several hours thanking his lucky stars for the woman in his arms.
The evening was spent in total bliss between the pair, and later, as they laid in bed together, they started thinking about the magical day tomorrow was going to be for them.
"Walter, can you believe tomorrow is almost here? It seems like it was just yesterday when you told me about going to Portland and wanting to officially adopt Ralph." Paige said to him as she rolled over on her side and put her hands in his.
"God you are so beautiful Paige." Walter told her as he gave her another kiss on the lips. "I've wanted to adopt him almost since the day I met you both, but yes tomorrow is a very important day for us."
"That's so sweet Walter. You have always been so kind to him. I still remember that first day like it was yesterday. Seeing you interact with him and then that night hearing him actually talk to you. I think I knew then that you were going to be the most important person I would ever meet in my life. For both Ralph and for me." Paige told him lifting up to give him a kiss. "I only wish i would have acted on my feelings for you sooner."
Walter had to wipe his eyes after the memory of that first day he saw them and the kind words that Paige just spoke to him.
"Paige, you are sure you're okay with doing this? I don't want to upset Ralph in any way."
"Oh my gosh Walter, I'm pretty sure he has wanted this for as long as you have. And as for me, you know how excited I am for this to happen." Paige told him while snuggling herself into Walter's chest. "I am one hundred percent certain about this."
"I'm so nervous that we've forgotten something, and we will have to wait to tell Ralph, but hopefully Sylvester has made sure we haven't."
"He knows how special this is for you and for me, and how unbelievably special it will be for Ralph. I'm sure Sly has probably gone over everything several times to make sure it goes off without any problems." Paige reassured him.
"You're right. I'm just overthinking everything. I think I need you in my arms tonight to help me sleep." Walter told her.
"I like the sound of that Walter. But I'm not ready for sleep just quite yet." Paige told him as she watched the smile grow across his face as they started kissing again.
Friday was finally here and both Walter and Paige were anxious. They showed up to the courthouse early and were glad that Sylvester was already there as well. He gave them both a smile before Paige ran up to him with a hug and Walter followed with a handshake.
"I bet you guys had a hard time falling asleep last night." Sly asked them.
Walter started thinking back to last night and replaying some of the reasons why there wasn't much sleeping going on. It brought a smile to his face as Paige cleared her throat snapping him out of his sudden state of thinking.
"We did. We have been waiting for today to get here for a while. And I know we have thanked you several times, but we do want you to know how much we appreciate all you have done for us and getting this to happen so fast." Paige told him while holding on tight to Walter's hand.
Thirty minutes later Mr. Davis showed up right on time and had a folder under his arm as he waved at Sylvester. Sylvester spoke to the Congressman for a few minutes and then he introduced him to Walter and Paige. He congratulated them on the adoption and told them how nice it was to see a man step up and take on the added responsibility of being a father.
"Walter has always thought of Ralph as his son. From the time he first met Ralph, Walter did everything he could to make Ralph feel like he was a part of our cyclone." Sylvester told the Congressman
"Cyclone?" Mr. Davis asked not having a clue what Sylvester meant.
"Yes, a group of scorpions is called a cyclone. That is the name of the company we work for; Walter and Paige are the owners of Scorpion. When Ralph was nine and Paige started working with us Walter always made Ralph feel like he was a real part of our team. We all love Ralph, he's amazing, but Walter was always the one who took the role of a father figure for Ralph. And Paige will tell you that he was always more involved in his life than his biological father ever was."
"And Ralph adores Walter, he has from the day we met him, when he changed our lives forever." Paige added.
"Well, it sounds like this is definitely a good fit for everyone. I'm glad Councilman Dodd brought this case to my attention, and we were able to expedite the process for you guys. It seems like you both are looking forward to this. I assume you two are happily married?" Mr. Davis asked.
"We um will be in just a few days. Our wedding is actually next Saturday on the fourth. I made Paige a promise awhile back that the first thing we would do after we got married was for me to adopt our, I mean her son." Walter told him.
"You had it right the first time Walter. Here in another couple of minutes when you finish signing a few papers for me, he will be her and your son. So, is this a surprise for Ralph or does he know about it?"
"Walter wanted to surprise him after we are married, so right after the wedding is finished, we were going to tell him." Paige told him holding on to Walter as tears filled her eyes. "Other than his biological father, who had to sign off on the process, we are the only ones who know this is happening."
"Well, that sounds like a special day for this young man and for the two of you. You two make a lovely couple."
"Thank you and we know he will be as excited as we are." Paige said as Walter nodded along.
"It will be. Ralph will be so excited when you tell him Walter is officially his dad. He's been calling you his dad for years." Sly added excitedly.
"Well, let's not prolong this any longer than we have to. If you guys will follow me, we can get these papers finished and filed with the state by this afternoon. And I have the official certificate of adoption in by briefcase that you can take with you and present to Ralph when you inform him that you are now officially considered to be his father by the state of California."
Walter and Paige signed the last of the paperwork and as Sylvester notarized and signed as the witness to the proceedings, the Congressman shook their hands and congratulated them on Walter's adoption of Ralph. They posed for a picture holding the certificate in their hands and were both very emotional. They took a few minutes to compose themselves before leaving the building with Sylvester. The three of them ate lunch together and talked about how excited they were to share the news with Ralph at the wedding.
The weekend before they were to leave for Tahiti went by in a snap. Walter and Paige finished up all the little things they wanted to get done at their new house and they also made sure to get everything at Scorpion taken care of as well. Walter and Ralph had kept a steady pace going on all of the coding and programming jobs they were scheduled to have finished before they left and by Saturday afternoon, they finished the last one. They now had a three week window of time where no jobs were due. Paige had several jobs lined up for them when they returned and having the added coding skills of Sylvester when they returned would only help them as they moved forward. Paige had also looked into other jobs available that were more suited for Happy and Toby. This was one idea that Paige had brought up with Walter one evening. She thought having smaller jobs for individuals was a way to keep everyone busy and it would provide a steady income for the company. Walter commended her on the idea and told her again why he felt she should be in charge of the day to day running of Scorpion.
Of course, they knew with Homeland sending them cases, there would be times where they were all needed to work together. And they both hoped when those cases came up, the team would be able to put aside their individual jobs and refocus their energies to accomplish their objective. And depending on how everything went, they would re-evaluate their Homeland contract to determine whether or not to continue on with it.
Monday morning everyone met up at LAX for their flight to Tahiti and to the surprise of everyone other than Walter, they boarded one of Richard Elia's private jets. When Richard found out about Walter and Paige getting married, he offered up one of his jets for Walter to use as part of his present to them.
"Walter O'Brien how on earth did you pull this off?" Paige asked as they were set to board the jet. "What an amazing surprise."
"Mr. Elia offered us the use of his private jet when he found out we were getting married." Walter told her.
"Did you tell him that this was too much? He didn't need to do this for us." Paige said.
"I did. But he insisted. He told me that he wanted us to have the best and most enjoyable experience possible. I told him about the gathering we are having when we get back from our honeymoon and he said he wouldn't miss it. So we can thank him again as a married couple when we see him." Walter said to her as smiles grew across both of their faces.
A/N - Tahiti here we come.