WriterFreak001:

I apologize for such a long delay. It's been truly hard to get back into the flow of writing since I started my new job in 2019. A lot has happened since my last update. Aside from working, I've had 2 surgeries in the past three years that took months to recover from. My grandmother passed away last year (not due to COVID-19) but due to cancer , which didn't help with my lack of inspiration to write.

So it's been a whirlwind of a few years. I am honestly trying to find my muse again, but it's been super hard. Please be patient with me.

I received a review today asking if I plan on finishing this story, and the answer is YES! Thank you to the reviewer for praising my work. It has certainly lifted my spirits.


"You were unsure which pain is worse – the shock of what happened or the ache of what never will." – Simon Van Booy


Fading

Chapter Eight

~ SCORPION ~

Walter froze to Paige's confession like a deer in the headlights, and his face blanched almost as white as a ghost as his eyes focused on his ex's palm that was resting on her lower belly. He swallowed thickly. "Come again?"

Paige inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly before running her fingers through her wavy hair. "I'm pregnant, Walter."

The man did not move. He did not speak, nor did he give her any indication that he had processed what she'd said. For a moment, Paige was awkwardly standing in front of him, waiting for any response, but there was none. Eventually, the only thing he did do was drop down onto the bed behind him as the shock of her confession overtook him.

She had never intended to just… blurt it out like that, but the words had left her mouth before she could even process what she was saying. She knew Walter often took his time to absorb difficult… and emotional things, but the deafening silence was far too unbearable. When the uncomfortable reticence between them passed for far too long, Paige closed her eyes to keep her unfallen tears in check and quietly fastened her sweater around herself to hide her little baby bump from existence. "Well, then…" she finally spoke, her words barely audible. "Now you know…"

She wanted to run away to protect her heart and forget the last five minutes, but she owed Walter a chance to process everything, no matter how long it took. She couldn't just disappear anymore… she couldn't run… couldn't hide… because no matter how much she wanted to escape from reality, every little thing she did affected her unborn child's future.

She turned towards the wooden steps of the loft but stopped where she stood and turned towards her ex-boyfriend. He was still as quiet as a mouse and rigid as a robot. "I'm exhausted. We can talk more in the morning…" She was a few steps down from the loft when a strong hand firmly gripped her arm, stilling her movements. She turned towards the man behind her, but he didn't loosen his hold on her.

"How long? How long have you known?" Walter's voice was quiet and shaky.

Paige let out the breath of air she didn't realize she was holding as her hazel eyes met his wide, desperate brown ones. "I found out yesterday afternoon…" Walter released her arm and clamped his palms over his face, pulling down the skin ever so slightly. Before he could ask, Paige added, "They think I'm a little under three months… they couldn't say for sure without conducting an ultrasound… which hasn't been scheduled yet… but yeah… and before you ask," she paused, "no one else could have been the father…"

"I didn't," he automatically replied, "ask, I mean."

"I know… but I've been doubted before… so…" Paige blew out a puff of air and blinked away her unshed tears. "Look… it's been a long day… for both of us…. Let's just… talk tomorrow… Okay?"

Walter inhaled a deep breath and let it out quietly through his nose as he nodded slowly, not sure what else he could say. "Okay."

Walter immediately backtracked away from the stairs as Paige started her descent, oblivious of the pair of concerned eyes watching her from above. When she was finally outside of the barn and back into Megan's old bedroom, she gently laid down on the bed and caressed the child within her, her cheeks soaked with overflowing tears.

The door creaked open. "Mom?"

Paige immediately wiped away the wetness under her eyes and sat up as Ralph closed the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and climbed in next to her. Immediately, she wrapped her arms around him, missing his warm embrace. He hugged her back, and she kissed his forehead. "You always know exactly what I need."

"Did you tell Walter of the baby?"

His sudden question startled her, but Ralph was never one to beat around the bush. She was silent for a moment before answering. "Yes." She didn't want to lie to him.

"So… what does that mean for the future?"

Paige felt her tears finding a comeback, and her voice broke as she answered him. "I don't know."

Her son did not ask any more questions, and she was grateful for it. It had been a long day, and she was fading fast. With her arms still wrapped around her son, she closed her eyes and stayed quiet, eventually falling asleep.


Paige was pregnant.

Now that was something Walter wasn't expecting…

After all of the arrangements he had made to start his new lease on life in Ireland without Paige in his life, it never occurred to him what he might have left behind.

And what if Ralph never followed him out to Callan? Would Paige even bother flying halfway across the world to tell him he was going to be a father? (To be fair, he didn't exactly tell her he was leaving so even if she had planned to tell him, she wouldn't have known where to find him…) Walter had made sure to cover all of his tracks so that he couldn't be located… (and look what good that did him).

He thought about all of the times Paige had acted out before she and the rest of the team left Scorpion… Granted, he was guilty for not being honest with Paige about his little excursion with Florence… but was it possible that her pregnancy could have been the reason behind her moody behavior back then? No… It would have been too early…

Unable to sleep, Walter slipped his shoes on, tugged on his overcoat, and climbed down from the loft before making his way outside. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he took a long, brisk walk, not paying attention to where he was going. He just needed to clear his head and sort out his thoughts.

There was no way, absolutely no way, Paige was considering on wanting to date him again. Not after everything she did to destroy his company. He had told Ralph that he would forgive the boy's mother if she ever apologized to him, but he wasn't sure he could risk his heart again. He used to think love was only a fairytale, but the pain from loving Paige was too real to be fiction.

But the pain of never knowing his child? Unfathomable.

Walter, despite his confliction, would find a way to make things work with Paige so that he could be involved in the child's live. Whatever that means…

He had been wondering for over an hour, and before he knew it, he was standing in front of his sister's gravestone, which had been illuminated by the moonlight. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he dropped down to his knees and placed his palm on top of the stone, wishing he could feel her presence.

It was nonsensical and definitely illogical, but pretending she was kneeling next to him somehow gave him comfort. He closed his eyes as exhaustion started to take over…, and eventually, he drifted to sleep as the chilly air slowly numbed him from feeling the worries and concerns of his heart.


WriterFreak001: I ended this chapter shorter than planned. Please let me know what you think!