I know I say this every time, but life has been super hectic. Between various doctor appointments, my grandparents moving into assisted living (they're 91 and 90), work, homework and more appointments, it's been hard for me to find time to write. It's raining now so I have finally found a moment of respite.

Disclaimer: I have some Irish dialect in this chapter. Please don't socially murder me if I butcher the dialect. I apologize in advance. X|


"I'm fading away so slowly, and you aren't even noticing." – Unknown


Fading

Chapter Five

~ SCORPION ~


Callan, Ireland

If Walter was being honest, he really wished he had waited until the next day to call Ralph's mother. The boy was fine, in desperate need of rest, but otherwise fine. Ralph was sleeping peacefully in Walter's bedroom when he went upstairs to check on him. While Paige had insisted on taking the soonest flight out of LA, he barely managed to convince her to wait until morning, reassuring her over and over again that Ralph was safe and unharmed. He could tell the boy was incredibly hungry by the gurgling sounds his stomach was making as he slept, but he decided to omit that piece of information for his and the mother's sakes.

Paige had all but demanded for his new cell phone number, but he didn't give it to her. He lied and said he hadn't bought a new one yet and suggested she try calling Ralph's phone once landed. He didn't miss the emotionless laugh in response and almost questioned it, but reminded himself what happened the last time he really spoke to this woman and didn't have the heart to ask. Though he would always care for her, much to his dismay, Paige was simply not a person he could invest his heart into again.

After the breakup, he counted and recalled all of the times she threatened to leave the moment something went wrong in their friendship / relationship. And as per usual, a stupid decision he made became the one time too many for her. He really couldn't blame her for breaking up with him; he had been dishonest (though she was the one who taught him the so-called benefits to white lies), but leaving Scorpion? Disbanding his team and stealing them to make her own company, and then compete with him?! The fact that she could be so shallow still bothered him immensely. Because of her, his whole dream had been destroyed in a blink of an eye. And because of him, he destroyed his relationship (and what might be the only relationship in his lifetime).

He really was going to end up alone, wasn't he? (At least he didn't bring the ferret.)

Walter had been doing a lot of thinking these past few months, and though he didn't realize it at the time, he and Paige were never really on the same wavelength for quite some time. It didn't start with the lie, but with Florence. Ever since his stupid dream about Florence being his wife, everything in his relationship with Paige was strained. They had begun to pull apart even without him realizing it until it was too late.

Toby had said the dream meant nothing, and Walter surely believed him because he would never love another woman other than Paige. That, even to this day, was a certain fact. Albeit, Florence was an interesting person, but he never saw beyond the assets she offered to the team. Yes, it was a major mistake to invite her to that lecture because if he had known of her feelings for him, he would have never knowinglyencouraged it.

Especially since the end result was the most unfavorable outcome in the History of Walter O'Brien.

Walter sighed deeply and buried his head into his hands as he leaned forward in the chair he was sitting as Ralph slept soundly in the bed next to him. He really messed up, didn't he?

And this time, there was no chance for redemption.

Once Paige arrived to pick up Ralph, he would most likely never see her again.

Perhaps it was for the best.


Los Angeles, California

Though Paige promised to leave for Ireland in the morning, she couldn't sleep. Her baby was halfway across the world, practically untouchable, and all she could do was race about her apartment and grab everything she thought she would need. Though Walter didn't know this, she didn't plan for a brief visit. In fact, while she would punish Ralph later for flying out to Ireland without permission (and just where did he get the money, anyway?!), she was somewhat relieved he did. If Walter hadn't called to tell her where her son was, she would still be racing about the Centipede HQ, ordering (yes, ordering) her geniuses to look through every nook and cranny in cyberspace to find that insufferable Irishman.

Cabe had called Homeland, and they were (surprisingly) very generous in offering her a private jet to take her to Callan, but she turned it down, knowing that Walter would automatically think something was wrong if Homeland was involved. However, she didn't pass up the second offer of paying for her plane ticket. When she asked Cabe how he was able to convince Homeland to help her out, he had merely shrugged, saying something about needing to locate two important governmental assets. She couldn't be more grateful.

And when morning came…, when she boarded the plane… when she looked out the window and spotted all of the feathery clouds hovering over the ocean…, when the plane landed…, and when she arrived to Walter's childhood home, all she could think about was hugging her son to death (rebellion stage be damned) and the impending conversation she would have to have with the man who broke her heart and ran away.

She inhaled deeply as the wind blew her hair softly and clenched the handle of her luggage bag while the taxi driver unloaded the rest of the vehicle of her things. There, in flesh and blood, was her son and the father of her second child out in the field, building a massive telescope. Both of them were unaware of her arrival, laughing and smiling, and all she wanted to do was fade away as if she was never there.

It hurt too much seeing her son so happy with someone else. She knew his relationship with Walter was special, but after all of the cold shoulders and silent treatments she had to deal with over the last several months, she couldn't help but be jealous and heartbroken all over again. Did Ralph really love Walter more than her? Was she no more than a constant disappointment in his eyes?

No! She wasn't going to think like that! She wasn't going to make up scenarios and feed off them like she did before. Eating the lies she created for herself destroyed her relationship with one person; it can't with her son. It absolutely can't.

And… for the child growing inside of her, she really couldn't afford to be jealous over something that probably wasn't even there. Things were different; it wasn't going to be just Ralph and her anymore. She had to think about the future, not dwell in the past.

Paige blinked away her oncoming tears when they finally noticed her. She held her breath when their smiles suddenly faded, releasing it when the taxi driver asked her to pay the fare.

"You told her where I was?! Why?!" Ralph shouted for the whole neighborhood to hear as Paige's finger jerked when she was signing the driver's iPad. "I thought you were on my side!"

She kept herself busy as the taxi drove off and began collecting her other belongings as Walter tried to reason with her son. She stopped what she was doing and saw Walter leaning in front of the boy with his hands cupping her son's shoulders. "Ralph, logically, you know I had no choice."

"Yes, you did!" the boy exclaimed, his eyes wet with threatening tears, "Why would you want her here?!" He pointed a dejected finger towards his mother. "She destroyed your life!" He all but ripped himself away from Walter and began to back away from him. "Don't you hate her?! I do!" He then turned towards her and with tight fists trembling at his side, he shouted, "You're the worst mother, ever! Just go back home!" He began running away towards the forest surrounding the farmlands. "You're not wanted!"

Paige suddenly found it hard to breath and instantly dropped the bag she was holding.

"Ralph!" Walter hollered at him, but the boy kept running faster and faster. Without even looking towards Paige, Walter hurried off towards Ralph, calling out his name.

The expecting mother inhaled deep breaths as her heart pounded hard against her chest. She tried beating her fist against her chest to calm her palpitations and took long, deep breaths to control her breathing. Though she barely managed to calm herself down, the exhaustion sent her to her knees, and without warning, she doubled over and retched all over the grass in front of her.

"Oh dear!" A familiar voice exclaimed from behind her, its owner immediately at her side. A warm, soothing arm stroked her back as her hair was lifted off from around her face as her stomach heaved again. "D'you need me t'call a doctor?"

Paige shook her head wearily towards Louise and weakly whispered, "It'll pass. I just need a minute."

And when a few minutes passed, Paige palpitations had calmed, her breathing was back to normal, and her stomach quelled, but she still felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. Louise helped her into the house as Sean brought her bags to the spare room across the hall from Walter's bedroom. Louise insisted she rest and recuperate, but she couldn't sleep. Silent tears fell from her eyes as she stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering if Ralph was right. Maybe… maybe coming to Ireland had been a mistake. Maybe she should just give Walter full custody of her oldest son, if that would make Ralph happy with her again.

She violently shook her head to erase her thoughts. What was she even thinking?! Give up Ralph? Give up on trying to make amends? Give up on the man who made her the happiest she'd ever been? Give up on giving her second child a chance to grow up with a brother, mother and father? On giving Ralph a chance to have a loving father? Give up on a second, scratch that, third chance on love? She didn't come here to wallow in self-pity and fade into nothingness. She had to think about her children.

She absentmindedly placed her hand on her tummy and rubbed the small bump she had concealed. Coming to Ireland was a second chance to make things right; and heaven help her, that was exactly what she intended to do.

She survived too much to throw it all away.

Paige Dineen was going to freaking fix her damn happy ending if it was the last thing she'd ever do.


Walter

Walter couldn't bare to see how broken Paige must have felt when Ralph shouted those ugly things towards her. Even if he was still spiteful of the woman, he would never wish for her only son to hate her and never want to see her again. Paige dedicated her whole life to give Ralph the best care possible when she could have tossed him away the moment she found out he was different. But she didn't, and Walter knew that woman loved her son to death. Walter knew what it was like saying hateful words he didn't mean, and he nearly destroyed a relationship because of it. He couldn't let that happen to Ralph. Paige was too important in the boy's life for him to give her up.

He found the younger genius sitting at the base of a large oak tree just inside the forest. Ralph started to get up, but sat back down when Walter said, "Don't you even dare run away again." He heaved in and out to catch his breath (he really wished he was in better shape!) before sitting down on top of the stump across from Ralph, giving the boy a respectable distance. "Why do you hate your mother?"

Ralph gave him a look of disbelief and challenged, "Why don't you?"

Walter sighed and clasped his hands together. "To be honest, I asked myself that question for days after what happened. I tried hating your mother, I really did, Ralph." Walter felt ashamed for saying those words, but the boy needed to hear the truth if it could help him understand Walter's thoughts better. "I even tried forgetting her completely, but… your mother has been a strong influence in my life that, even without realizing it initially, almost everything I owned reminded of her. Forgetting her wasn't an option so then I tried hating her. But…," he sighed and rubbed his temples gently, "no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. She was too special of a person to me for me to hate her. Did I dislike her? Oh, yes, immensely. For months, I couldn't stand being in the same room as her whenever we had the same clients for business. But I could never hate her. Do you really hate your mom? After everything she's done for you?"

Ralph thought for a moment, and then his shoulders slumped. "I guess not. But whenever I'm around her, I just get so angry! She's the reason you left!"

Walter shook his head. "There's enough fault to go around; we both made mistakes in our relationship, and I'm sorry that you got caught in the crossfire, but our disentanglement was not entirely her fault as much as it wasn't mine. We're both to blame, Ralph. Now, your mother loves you very much, and what you said hurt her feelings. If she had suddenly said the same words to you, would you have liked it?"

Ralph frowned and shook his head slowly, "I would feel hurt, too. It would be as if another person was willingly abandoning me like my dad did." He then paused, looking more defeated than ever. "I messed up, didn't I?"

"We all make mistakes, Ralph." Walter said, walking up to him and then patting his head gently. "The important thing is that we learn."

Ralph nodded, reflectively. He then looked up at Walter and bit his bottom lip, a shared habit between mother and son, Walter noticed. "Do you… still love her?"

Walter's smile faded, and he answered honestly. "I don't think I'll ever stop."

"Does it hurt? Loving her, I mean?" Ralph asked as Walter took a seat next to him.

The genius sighed loudly and nodded. "Sometimes, it does. It's like… a feeling that's always there, not always present, but there when I'm reminded of her. Maybe my feelings for her will fade with time, and maybe someday, it won't hurt as much thinking about your mother, but right now? I've learned to live with it. I have to."

Ralph nodded and frowned as he rose to his feet. Walter followed suit. Ralph was just about to ask him something else when he spoke instead. "For me, please give your mother some slack while you two are here. She'd been through a lot in her life, and you are her strong tower, so to speak. A lot of people have abandoned Paige in the past, much like you felt abandoned by your father. It would most likely destroy your mother if you left and abandoned her, too. You've been the only constant in her life for the past 14 years. She needs you more than ever."

Ralph balked. "Even if I don't agree with her on some things?"

"Even if," Walter nodded, "because if you love her, your disagreements shouldn't matter."

Ralph frowned and dropped his eyes to the leafy ground. "If disagreements shouldn't matter, then why did she leave you?"

Walter wasn't prepared for that question, but he answered the only response he knew. "We were just too different, I guess."


Paige

"How're ye farin', m'dear?" Louise asked Paige as she came in to check on her. "Gave me quite a scare out there," she touched her heart as she sat down in the chair next to the bed Paige was lying in.

"I'm feeling better, thank you," Paige gave her a weak smile and slowly sat up, needing to stretch her back and arms.

"And your womb? Anythin' feelin' amiss?" Louise brought a warm washcloth to Paige's forehead and wiped away the young mother's sweat.

Paige mindlessly brought her hand to her stomach. "How did you…"

"Know?" Louise couldn't help but smile. "Oy, when I was pregnant with Walter, I experienced mornin' sickness as if it was the plague itself! What a rough one he was. Me Megan was an easy babe, but Walter had a talent for makin' me queasy beyond belief!" She paused for a moment, "Does Walter know?"

Paige shook her head. "I just found out the other day…. I don't know if I'm going to tell him just yet…. I want to wait things out first… see if our relationship can be salvaged before letting him know…."

Louise slowly sighed. "He deserves to know 'bout his own babe, but as a mother, I understand. Just don't wait too long before makin' your decision, dearie. Dishonesty is a nasty disease, I tell ye; be careful not to step on the wrong stone in the river, you knever know which one might sink."

Paige rubbed her temples. "I will tell him… when the time is right. I don't want him to think I only want us to be together for the child's sake or that I want his money. I want to see if we can mend our relationship first before bringing up my pregnancy. I won't expect him to help me raise this child. I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past several hours, and if he's not interested after I tell him, then I'll raise this child myself. I've raised Ralph all on my own for seven years; I can raise another."

"Aye," Louise nodded with a smile. "But I know me boy, and he won't turn his back on his child. Trust me."

But Paige didn't know if she could, but she really hoped Louise was right.

Time would only tell.


WriterFreak001: Yay! Another chapter completed! :) Let me know what you think! :D