WriterFreak001:
Thank you so so so so much for the reviews! They're overwhelming!
Title | Fading
Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)
Description | Post Season 4 Finale. My attempt for a fix-it fic between Waige.
Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T.
Disclaimer | I don't own Scorpion. (And at this point, I'm kinda glad.)
"They say time heals and makes us forget, but what two people shared can never be erased." ― Shannon L. Alder
Fading
Chapter Two
~ SCORPION ~
"Here's that report you wanted me to write up on assisting in that roadside surgery a few weeks ago," Toby said as he dropped a small packet of paper on top of Paige's desk. "You should be proud of me for this one," he grinned with satisfaction as he folded his arms in front of his chest. Paige raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask, he added, "For once, I didn't putz around and jot quick, hurried answers." He waited as she thumbed through the packet and then beamed brighter. "You're welcome."
"I'm actually impressed, Toby," Paige gave him a small smile as she filed the report away, "I knew you could do it."
"It was nothing, really." Toby swatted his palm as if he was pushing her praise away. "Glad to help." He noticed the bandage on her arm. "Have you heard back from the hospital about your lab results?"
Paige shook her head slowly. "Now that you mention it, I haven't. So, that must be a good thing."
"Well, if they don't call in a few more days, be sure to call them back. Lyme Disease isn't something to be taken lightly; we're just lucky Happy noticed that tick on your back shoulder during our plane ride back to LA. Have you noticed any redness or swelling around the bite?"
"It itches a little, but that's about it." She thought for a moment. "Does Lyme Disease make you nauseous?"
"Hmm… Sometimes, but not always." Toby touched his chin. "Do you mind if I take a look?"
Paige shook her head and lowered her left shoulder sleeve as she spun around in her chair to give him a better angle. He inspected it closely. It was a little red, but there wasn't a blotchy circle surrounding it. "It doesn't look like it's infected," he said as he moved away from her shoulder and back around to face Paige. "But I wouldn't stop applying that ointment, just in case."
"Don't worry," Paige playfully saluted the shrink, "Sylvester's been very good about making sure I apply it daily."
Before Toby could comment, Paige's cellphone blasted from inside her purse. She reached down to pick it up and glanced at the caller ID. "Well, speak of the devil. It's the hospital."
"Put it on speaker," Toby said, grabbing her phone. "I want to hear what they say." He then looked up at Paige. "Is that okay?"
"Sure." She nodded. After all, how bad could it be?
Toby went ahead and swiped his thumb across the bottom of the screen to answer the call and then pressed the speaker button. "Hello?" Paige leaned forward as Toby brought her phone closer to her.
A young, high-pitched voice filled the office. "Hello, this is Nurse Katie from LA General. I'm calling for a Paige Dineen?"
"This is she." Paige replied, inwardly nervous. "Are my lab results done?"
"Yes. To verify, please give me your Date of Birth."
"Four, Thirteen, Nineteen Eighty-Six," Paige said a little too suddenly.
She could hear the nurse typing in those numbers on the other side of the line. "Thank you. All right, let's see here." Katie paused and hummed to herself for a few seconds. "Ah! Here we go. Looks like Dr. Elliot would like you to come in for a secondary appointment for another examination."
Paige's heart skipped a beat. "So, I have Lyme Disease, then?"
"No," the young nurse replied, "Your blood results tested negative for that one. As a safety precaution, we always run additional tests when testing for specific types of diseases just to be certain that there aren't any other concerns we're not currently aware about. During your last visit, you did mention you were experiencing some dizziness and headaches, correct?"
"Yes, but I could have been tired." Paige pursed her lips. "We did do a lot during that week."
"Still, to be sure," Nurse Katie clicked her tongue, "Dr. Elliot would like to meet with you sometime later today and discuss your latest lab results in person and then run some some more tests. Don't worry, it's a formality we execute to cover all of our bases."
Paige bit her lip and slowly looked at Toby as if she was asking for permission. "Okay… what time?"
"How does 1:30 p.m. work for you?"
Paige couldn't think of anything she had planned. "Sure. That'll work."
"Okay. We'll see you then."
For a few seconds, Paige sat still as the line ended before turning her attention to Toby. "What do you think they want to test?"
The shrink did have somewhat of an idea, but he decided to keep it too himself for now, not wanting to jump to conclusions just yet. "Not sure. Would you like me to accompany you? Happy is out all day, visiting her father. Sly's cleaning his apartment… Again. I've got nothing to do until the wife comes back."
Paige slowly nodded with an appreciative smile. "Yes. Thank you."
As Toby walked back to his desk which was now next to his beautiful wife's workshop, Paige heard the door to their office complex swing open before slamming hard. Paige ignored Cabe's newly habitual anger and continued typing her report for their most recent case. It was when he shouted "DAMMIT" and flung his phone across the room when she finally acknowledged him.
"What's wrong this time?" She asked, a little snippier than usual.
Cabe didn't answer and stormed over to his phone and picked it up, surprisingly unscathed. She watched him closely and noticed how he swiftly touched his phone screen and placed it to his ear. A few seconds later, Cabe was close to chucking his phone again, and this time, it was unlikely it would come back without injury.
"I won't ask you again," Paige frowned as she pushed away from her desk and approached the angry man, "what's wrong? I mean, I know you're usually grumpy in the morning ever since you came to work for us, which I don't particularly understand but whatever, but this morning, you're more than grumpy. You're pissed off. What did we do this time?"
Cabe glanced at her, incredulously. "Are you even hearing yourself? The Paige Dineen I knew and loved like a daughter didn't speak to her elders like that, no matter what."
"Since something is bothering you, I'll let that slide, but if you want to make this arrangement work, then you need to calm down and tell me what's wrong." Paige paused but then stressed, "Open communication is the only way a business can thrive."
"Don't ask me to answer that," Cabe spat as he took a seat at the table. "You won't like my answer very much."
Paige thought for a moment. "Fine. Let's play a game then. Twenty Questions, of sorts. I'll ask a question, you have to answer. You then ask me a question, and I'll answer as well. We'll go back and forth until we have no questions left." She took a seat down in the chair across from Cabe. "Now. I'll go first. Ever since you left Scorpion and came here, you've been somewhat of an ass. Why won't you act a little nicer like you used to?"
Cabe snorted. "First of all, you've got it all wrong, Missy. I didn't leave Scorpion. I was apprehended by Homeland and was forced to handle Centipede instead. If Homeland didn't coerce me to leave Scorpion, then I never would have. Scorpion was the company I placed my faith in. Not Centipede."
"And why can't you have faith in Centipede?" Paige's eyebrow twitched. "We're basically the same people."
"It's my turn to ask the question," Cabe snapped, choosing not to answer her query.
"Fair enough," Paige muttered indifferently as she leaned back against her chair. "Fire away."
Cabe didn't even have to think. "Starting Centipede, was it your idea?"
"Initially, yes, but all of us agreed on the name, and Sly, Happy and Toby voted to have me manage the team. It's a democracy here. Not a dictatorship." Paige emphasized, knowing Cabe would catch her insult towards the team's former boss. "If you didn't want to be placed as Centipede's handler, then why did you accept your new position? You could have said no. You could have stayed with Scorpion."
Cabe couldn't believe it. Did they not know what they did to Walter's company?! Wanting to shout, he composed himself and swallowed his anger. "And I would have, if given the choice. But, as you should know, Scorpion lost all of its funds, and a company of two with no assets and no clients couldn't function anymore. For the last month, most of my employment was voluntary because the company didn't have any revenue."
"Oh, well," Paige pressed her lips together tightly, "that's too bad."
"Damn right it is," Cabe was starting to grow impatient. He began tapping his fingers on the table as Paige reached to pick up her cup of water. He couldn't help himself any longer. "Do you feel proud of yourself?"
"Ex-Excuse me?" Paige was taken aback.
"You heard me," Cabe was now seething and smacked his hand against the table, hard. "Do you feel proud that you destroyed a good business started by a decent man because of some stupid, unfounded jealousy?!" Paige opened her mouth but immediately closed it, Cabe not giving her a chance to speak. "I mean, I understand you have insecurities about the men in your life, but has Walter, once, shown you any reason to doubt him?"
Paige rose to her feet. "First of all," she gritted her teeth angrily, "Centipede didn't destroy Scorpion. Scorpion destroyed Scorpion. Second, you have no right to bring up my insecurities! Walter lied to me and took that… that blonde to that stupid conference instead!"
"YOU TOLD HIM TO LIE, DAMMIT! He was sparing your feelings because you told him giving white lies were better than hearing the truth, well, I've got news for you, Paige. Lies are lies, it doesn't matter what category you place them in. If you want Walter to learn how to be completely honest with you, then you should have taught him honesty instead. So yeah, it is your fault for most of this mess. After working for Scorpion for three, almost four years, you should have known that teaching Walter to give little white lies would have blown up in your face. And it did, big time, but you know what? You never gave Walter a chance to explain himself to you. You just kept assuming he had this stupid cranial affair with Florence when the only woman would ever love was the one who might as well have smacked him in the face for all of the ugly words she said to him." Cabe was now pacing the floor behind the meeting table. "And another thing, the reason I didn't stay with Walter for whatever was left of Scorpion at the time was because he told me to come here; he gave me his blessing because, in spite of all of the shitty stuff everyone said or did to him, he still cares deeply about all of you even though he wouldn't say it. I could see it in his eyes, and I'm telling you, that man had the eyes of someone who lost everything. He might be putting on a brave face in public, but I don't think he'll ever trust a single soul again, no thanks to you."
Cabe breathed heavily and when Paige didn't say anything, he started to turn and walk away. But then, "Well, it can't be all that bad now," she responded with bitterness. "After all, he still has Florence."
"Hah!" Cabe wanted to laugh in her face so badly. "That woman hardly gave him a month before trying to ask him out, and he flat out refused, telling her he wasn't interested in the least bit. So she moved out and left, now works for Elia somewhere with no intention to return. But what does Walter care? She only brought him hardship, much like someone else I know." Cabe snapped.
Paige felt her heart swell. "F-Florence is gone?"
"Why do you care? You hate Walter's guts from the way I see it. I've never seen a man more broken." Cabe began to leave for the door, believing he'd overstayed his welcome. "I don't know which was worse: the way you dumped and embarrassed him in front of everyone, or how you destroyed his career. But for Walter's sake, I hope the two of you never cross paths again. Tell me, when you told Walter he was the love of your life… that you would forgive him for whatever he did as long as he stayed alive, did you mean any of it?"
"Of course, I did!" Paige exclaimed with bleary eyes. "Of course, I meant it! But like I said that night, he didn't tell me a single damn thing! I had to find out myself!"
"So now you know how he felt when you held that huge secret about space from him," Cabe answered unnervingly calm. Paige was as quiet as a mouse, unsure how to combat him with her words. Cabe inhaled deeply and frowned. "During your years on Scorpion," he continued quietly, "I cannot argue that you didn't help Walter discover his heart and learn to love, but somehow, along the way, you seemed to have lost yours.
Paige was absolutely speechless. Appalled and completely shocked with some of the cruel things she heard from Cabe's mouth. Did he really think of her that way? She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came. As if reading her mind, Toby walked into the office and said, "I couldn't help but overhear everything you two were bickering about…. What did you mean our company destroyed Walter's? It's not our fault he didn't recruit more people to help him with the workload."
Cabe inhaled deeply, his anger already well spent. "The reason Walter didn't hire anybody else was that he couldn't. He didn't have any funds to hire more people. Centipede stole everything from him, and because of that, he ended up losing far more than what he bargained for."
"You keep saying Centipede stole from him, but we haven't stolen any of his company funds. We make our own doe," Toby replied with a frown. "We're not stupid enough to syphon from Scorpion's funds."
"No. You didn't steal from his funds; what you did was much worse and more damaging." Cabe placed his hand on the door.
"Which was…?" Toby cocked an eyebrow, waiting for Cabe to spill the beans.
"His whole damn world."
WriterFreak001: This chapter was going to be longer,
but I thought this would be a perfect place to stop for now.
