Part 2 – Paige meets Megan

The team had gotten back to the garage while Cabe was talking to Mr. Richter. They accidentally overheard part of his conversation and learned he had lost a daughter at an early age. Paige quickly turned off the phone not wanting to eavesdrop on the personal information that was being talked about any further.

"Hey, I'm going to get Ralph in an hour. I got him a new telescope. And I thought we might set it up on the roof and grill. Want to join us?" Paige started saying.

Walter nodded and politely smiled at her.

"Sometimes it's okay to admit you don't have all the answers." She finished telling him as she moved closer to him still knowing he was keeping something to himself.

"You know about my sister, don't you? How she's still sick?" Walter asked knowing the answer. Paige put her arms around his side and pulled him closer to her.

Walter opened up and told Paige everything about the situation with Megan, showing her the letter he received earlier that had been making him act the way he was.

"Hey, thank you for telling me about Megan. I'm here for you, okay. Not as a liaison. As someone in a relationship with you. As someone who really cares about you Walter. I won't press if you don't want me to sometimes, but you have to learn to let me in, okay." She gave him a kiss on the check.

"Thank you, Paige. I've never told anyone about Megan before. I know I can tell you anything, and I promise I will work on being better at communicating with you." Walter told her still holding on to her, not wanting to let her go.

"Walter, I would love to meet your sister sometime. She sounds like a remarkable person." Paige told him.

"She would like you, Paige. And I know she will like Ralph too. Would you want to go see her with me before we get him?"

"Oh OK, you sure you have time, I know you have some paperwork you need to get done." Paige asked him.

"That can wait, being with you sounds much better anyway." Walter told her with a smile.

"Now that sounds more like the Walter O'Brien I know." They shared another brief kiss before leaving together.


They were holding hands when they entered Megan's room; much to her shock.

"Walter, hey little brother, what are you doing here today?" Megan said with a shocked look on her face, although she still had a big smile.

"Hey Megan, I um wanted to come by and see you and I wanted you to um meet my um friend Paige." Walter told her, noticing the look on her face.

"Hi Megan." Paige said, smiling.

"Hello Paige, you must be a uh special friend of Walter's, he never brings anyone to see me. Do you mind if you give us a quick minute though?"

"Oh, yeah sure. I need to wash my hands anyway; I'll be right back." Paige told them.

After Paige excused herself, Megan had Walter come sit next to her on her bed.

"Walter, oh my gosh, she is gorgeous. She was holding your hand when you walked in too. Is everything ok?"

"Yes Megan. Everything is great." Walter told her looking towards the door to see if he could spot Paige.

"Paige huh? How long have you known her?" Megan said seeing a rare kind of smile she had never seen on her brother's face.

"We um met last week." Walter told her.

"Where at? I want info little brother?"

"The um airport." Walter told his sister.

"The airport?" Megan said looking at him like she was going to have to pull teeth from him to get answers from him.

"It's a long story. She's nice and has a son…." Walter started to say, almost starting to ramble on.

"Hey, tell me about her Walter." Megan said glancing towards the door seeing an image reappear.

"She is special to me Megan. I can't explain it, but I feel different around her. I know I can trust her. I just don't understand why I feel the way I do." Walter said not knowing what he was feeling.

"It's love little brother." Megan told him as Walter rolled his eyes.

"Love? I've only known her for a little over a week. It can't be love, love isn't real anyway." Walter said trying to put an end to Megan's reasoning.

"Says the man who just walked into my room holding Paige's hand. When have you ever held someone's hand before, without being forced to?" Megan told him not backing down. She knew she had to get Walter to understand what she was saying.

"I've held your hand before." Walter stated as fact.

"I'm your sister. And you still usually shy away from my hand anyway." Megan told him with a laugh.

"I don't know what to do. Everything I have ever believed in is telling me this can't be happening. I haven't slept well in days; I'm just thinking about her all the time. I can't get enough of being around her Megan." Walter told her opening up more to her than he had about anything else personal before.

"Love doesn't care about time Walter. Love can happen at first site, or after 50 years. It just happens. And you have to know it's okay to act on your feelings when it's there. And trust me it's there with her." Megan told him.

"I've never had these feelings before. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with them." Walter told her hoping for answers.

"Trust them, trust your heart, Walter. Believe me, it will help you understand what you are feeling."

"I mean, I knew there was something there right away with her. Especially after we kissed." Walter said again getting a look of shock from his sister for the second time.

"WHAT, you KISSED her! Oh my god Walter! When?" Megan said with amazement on her face.

"The um first night we met. I couldn't speak Megan. My body wouldn't respond to what I wanted it to do. It was so incredible. What happened?" Walter asked.

"I told you what happened. You opened up your heart and your feelings. Love happened to you little brother." Megan told him with a huge smile on her face.

"What do I do?" Walter asked still confused.

"Keep listening to your heart, don't stop. Open yourself up to her Walter." Megan told him reaching towards his chest as he shied away slightly.

"How?" Walter desperately asked.

"Trust her. Listen to her. Don't be afraid of anything with her Walter. Be honest with her too. About everything." Megan told him.

"I want to, she is so kind Megan. She has a son, who is like me, and I want to help him too. She has struggled with him, but she never gave up on him, like..."

"Hey, Trust her Walter. I can see she is kind. I saw it in her eyes when you walked in the room with her. And I could see it in your eyes too, love that is. She won't hurt you little brother. But you have to be willing to give yourself up completely. Do you understand?"

Walter took it all in, maybe finally starting to understand what she had always told him. He nodded to her as he saw Paige entering the room again.

Paige heard the whole conversation. She was at a loss for words. She knew her connection with Walter was strong and instant. She just didn't realize how strong he felt about her right away. She took an extra couple of minutes to compose herself before coming back in the room.

Megan knew she heard it all too. She saw her by the door when they were talking. She knew the only way Walter was going to tell her his true feelings would be if they were alone. So, she hoped Paige would stay at the door and listen to how her brother felt.

"Alright little brother, why don't you go get me some food. I'm hungry, and the food here sucks, is it really that hard to get some good chicken or burgers around here; besides I could really use a little girl talk anyway. There's only so much genius brother a girl can take." Megan told him with a smile.

Walter told them he would be right back with something for her to eat.

"Your brother told me all about you, but I'm guessing you want to talk about something else first." Paige said knowing her answer.

Paige was a little nervous not knowing what to say to Megan about overhearing the conversation she had with Walter. When she saw tears in Megan's eyes; she even got a little frightened.

"He was holding your hand!" Megan said through tears. "He wouldn't even shake the doctor's hands when I first came to the hospital. I have never seen him hold anyone's hand, ever." Megan finished, trying to relay how big of a deal that simple fact alone was.

Paige had tears in her eyes now as well understanding how Megan felt about them holding hands.

"Can I tell you the whole story of how we met." Paige politely asked Megan.

Megan nodded, she most definitely wanted to hear it. And Paige wanted to tell it. How this all happened.

"Walter will be gone for about twenty minutes. He always gets me a burger from my favorite place when I ask him to get me something to eat."

"Twenty minutes, ok. Here goes. Well, I was a waitress at a small diner, and I have a nine-year-old son named Ralph. And up until last week, I struggled to connect with him. I took him to so many doctors and specialists and no one could ever help him. They never could tell me what I could do to help Ralph or if there was anything wrong with him. He always seemed to struggle in school, so I would keep him with me at times when I was working extra shifts. He was with me last Monday when your brother was there fixing the diner's Wi-Fi signal of all things. And at some point, he made his way over to my son and engaged with him. Ralph always played with the little packets of sugar, and salt and pepper shakers that were on the counter, and I didn't know why or what he was doing. He seemed to be in his own little world sometimes and I just didn't know how to be there for him. But your brother just walks over to him and started picking some of the packets up and moving them and Ralph was doing the same, like they just knew what the other was doing. They were playing chess with packets of sugar and salt and pepper shakers. I had no clue; Walter explained it to me later. I asked Walter if I could help him when he was interacting with Ralph and he just says - no, but you should help him, talking about Ralph. I was a little put off at first, not knowing what he meant or why he said it to me. He seemed pretty blunt about it. Then on his way out, he tells my boss he's done with the wi-fi and that he shouldn't yell at my son. He always complained about him messing with stuff. And like that he was out the door."

"Sounds about like Walter so far. Not one for tact. He has always had a soft spot for helping people, though. He could probably see right away that Ralph was different. I don't mean different in a bad way, just different from the norm, like he is." Megan said with a smile.

"So then that same afternoon, I'm at LAX waiting with Ralph to get on a plane and head to Portland, Maine. Ralph's father, who I haven't seen or heard from in seven years, lives there. He didn't know I had a scheduled flight to Maine; I just felt like I was running out of options here. I wanted to see if that was a possibility maybe. A new start for Ralph. Maybe a doctor there would be able to help us. And if his father wanted to help him that would have been an added benefit. I had no desire to reconnect with him at all. So, as I'm sure you are aware of, your brother somehow found a way to get like 56 planes that were in trouble on to the ground safely and save thousands of people's lives."

"He what? He doesn't tell me anything anymore. Oh, he's gonna be in big trouble when he gets back. All he said was he met you at the airport." Megan said shaking her head with a smile.

"All the planes flying out of course were delayed. So, we were waiting in the airport for a few hours. And before our plane was boarding Ralph and Walter bumped into each other by accident and Walter fell to the ground. He got up and just started talking to Ralph. Megan, Ralph doesn't speak to anyone, ever; barely to me most of the time. And here he is with this stranger, talking to him. Walter convinced me not to get on the flight to Portland. He said he wanted to help both of us. He asked me to grab a coffee with him and he would explain everything. Ralph had conversation with him, it was incredible. I just trusted him. He even got my tickets refunded and two free tickets to anywhere in the U.S. Coffee turned into dinner at an Italian restaurant for the three of us later that night. Then Ralph asked if Walter could come over to our apartment to play a video game with him."

Paige was starting to cry, getting emotional retelling the story of how they met. Megan had tears in her eyes as well.

"Walter politely declined, more out of respect for me, he knew we had a really long and stressful day. But there was no way he wasn't going to play a game with Ralph. My son has never had a friend in his life…."

Paige was now bawling, and Megan reached over and gave her a hug seeing how emotional she was getting.

"Sorry. But that was the first time Ralph had ever asked me for anything like that. They played a game together; it was just so sweet to see the way he interacted with him. It was all so pure and real, nothing about it was fake. I was going to drive him home, because he didn't have a car at the airport. He said he would just Uber home because it had gotten late. He wound up staying a little longer and I wound up kissing him. Then he kissed me back. Gah that sounds so crazy. Especially telling his sister." Paige said with a laugh as she tried to dry her eyes a little.

"How was it? The kiss. Or would that be too weird, telling his sister?" Megan asked just trying to be a little nosy, since Walter already told her some about it.

"Honestly, it took my breath away. I think I even said Holy Hell after one of them. Neither one of us saw it coming, I just had a feeling come over me to kiss him. It's been a while since I've kissed anyone, you know, so I didn't know if that had something to do with how I felt. But when he kissed me again later, I knew it had nothing to do with that. Don't think poorly of me, but I asked him to spend the night in my bed with me."

Megan flopped down on her bed laughing. "Did that cause his head to just explode right there? Oh my gosh. I'm actually shocked he made it past one kiss with you, honestly."

"I think I frightened him. And I was out of line for asking him to sleep with me. I don't know why I did. I have never done that before. Not that I thought he was going to be one night stand. But I just didn't want him to leave."

"Hey, when it feels right, I can't blame you for trying. Even if it was on my brother."

"I just felt safe with him. I asked him to stay the night so we could just talk more. He wound up sleeping on the couch. He went with me to take Ralph to school the next day, and Walter talked me into getting him tested to be in an accelerated learner class. We got breakfast together, just me and him. He took me by his garage where he works and lives. Took me and Ralph out to dinner again the same night. We've talked and hung out every day since. He offered me a job, for way more than I have ever made before with benefits. And here we are today. I actually got to help on one of their cases today, it felt really fulfilling. I don't know how else to describe it other than to say it has been amazing."

"Damn girl. That sounds like a whirlwind romance to me." Megan told her.

"He has been so incredible to Ralph. Oh, and to me. Out of the blue the other day, he told me I was beautiful." She said shaking her head as she relived the moment in her head again.

"He's not wrong. You really are beautiful Paige."

"Thank you, it was just so nice to hear that from someone. It's been a long time since I heard someone say that to me and to not think they were supposed to get something because of it. You know what I mean."

"I do. It's a little different for me though, being in here. I'd take almost anything I could get sometimes." Megan said smiling.

"You are beautiful too, Megan." Paige told her being honest.

"Not standing next to you girl."

"Thank you, that is too kind and not true." Paige told her.

"Look, we probably have a few minutes before Romeo gets back. I know what you heard earlier, don't let it scare you off. All I can tell you is to be patient with him. He's my brother, I know, but he has the biggest heart you will ever know. He doesn't know how to use it all yet, that's all. He will surprise you, too. He will work hard at anything and everything he puts his mind to. Some things he hasn't experienced yet, he may blow your mind away, if you know what I mean. He will amaze you with his kindness and generosity. Don't take advantage of him, but don't shy away from it either. That is just how he is. He is incredibly generous. He will find his way with his feelings. He just needs time. He is the smartest person you will ever meet, too. I don't know how much he has told you about growing up, but it was hard on him, really hard. I connected with him, and we always have had a special bond. No one else ever was able to relate to him. Neither one of our parents did. I always hoped and prayed that he would be able to find someone who would be able to relate to him and take over for me after I'm gone. I'm really hoping that is you, Paige, no pressure, or anything."

Megan had tears in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks while smiling at Paige. They matched the tears Paige had on her face as well.

"I think he sees a lot of himself in my son. I already trust him completely around both of us. He is the first person I can ever say that about. He doesn't look at me and see only me, he sees my son too, and in a good way. I didn't think I would ever find someone who did that. I don't know where this is going to go, but I can promise you I am very interested to see how it turns out. And I have the time…."

"Time for what?" Walter asked as he got to the front door, burgers in hand. Both ladies wiping away all the tears from their faces.

"Time for you to come clean, little brother. What's this I hear about planes at LAX? And hand those burgers over, both of them." Megan smiled as she asked him.

Walter blushed and she forced him to tell her the whole story. Paige scooted over so Walter could sit next to his sister and smiled listening to him and seeing the reactions on his sister's face. The whole time Paige had her hand resting on his thigh or looped in his arm, and he didn't flinch one time. Much to the delight and amazement of Megan.

"Megan, Walter told me how much you love the beach and the ocean. Would you want to join us there for a picnic this weekend? I would love for you to meet my son, Ralph."

"I couldn't intrude on your picnic." Megan told her.

"It's not intruding. Besides, having another girl and a non-genius there would be nice." Paige told her.

"You ok with that little brother?" Megan asked through bites of her cheeseburger.

"It would make my day for you to meet Ralph, he really is quite something." Walter said knowing how proud he already was of Ralph.

"OK, then count me in. Just don't forget to pick me up, they won't let me drive anymore."

"We won't forget. I'll make sure Walter calls you before we come pick you up." Paige told her.

Paige grabbed Walter's hand as they left after they both hugged Megan and told her they would see here soon.

Megan moved over to a video camera she had in her room and pressed record.

"Walter, when you see this, I will be gone. But it will be okay. Remember what I told you the day you first brought Paige to see me. Trust her Walter. She is your soulmate. I know you know it too. Do everything you can to keep her with you forever. She won't hurt you. Just trust your heart, listen to what it is telling you. And she loves you just as much as you love her. She just hasn't realized it yet."

They picked up Ralph right on time and headed back to the garage. Paige and Ralph headed up to the roof while Walter had some of that paperwork he wanted to finish really quick. He told them he would be up as soon as he could.


As he made his way to the roof, he was talking with Cabe watching Paige and Ralph as they messed with the new telescope.

"You know, having a family can be a hard thing. Makes you vulnerable." Cabe told him.

"I know." Walter said smiling, while looking at Paige as she interacted with Ralph.

"It can be a good thing, too."

"I know."

Walter walked over to them and held Paige. He jotted something down really quick and handed her a piece of paper.

"Hey, Ralph? If you look at the curvature of the moon's surface, Orion's belt makes a perfect horizontal tangent line. Isn't that cool?"

"It is cool." Ralph responded kindly.

Paige smiled at Walter and gave him a kiss not caring who saw it. And he kissed her back, thinking the same thing.

"I think the three of us need to go out and celebrate tomorrow night."

"Oh, what are we celebrating?" Paige asked as she turned her head towards him.

"Your first successful case as part of Scorpion."

"Sounds like a date." Paige told him while ruffling Ralph's hair and smiling.