RIGHT FROM WRONG

AN: I'm still reeling from the S3E1 & 2! So much was good about it. I loved the 'giant balls' running joke. In fact, there were tons of funny lines throughout for pretty much everyone. Sylvester was a beast in this one. He just rocked it! I absolutely loved Happy too. She didn't get angry and throw things at Toby and a couple of times it would have been justified. She was actually a little vulnerable and sweet in this episode. Unusual for her, but still in character. I loved how Cabe took up for Walter and how he obivously cared about him enough to talk to him. (Although I wish the 'you aren't ready' speech would have come from Paige instead)

All that aside, I felt the need to defend Walter. I just feel so bad for him right now. :-( Forgive the angst. I'm on my 11th day of a 12 day stretch at work, so lack of sleep played a factor this...

Rated 'K'

He. Was. Wrong.

Okay. He could recognize that fact even if he was only 'half baked'.

But he wasn't the only one.

Megan was wrong. She said 'Don't be afraid to love'. In actuality, he should have been more scared than he was. Love was all well and good for someone as lovable and loving, as normal as she was. But for him? So far it proved to be a disaster in every conceivable way. He couldn't think of a more miserable state of being. Love's miasma hung around him like a cloud of fetid smoke. Unfortunately, it was incapable of dissipating as easily or quickly as smoke.

Paige was wrong too. She told him that being more human would eventually make him a happier person. Nothing could be farther from the truth at this point. She also advised him to be more open, but his every attempt ended in humiliation and one catastrophe after another. And the last time he tried to be open with her, she's the one who had shut him out. It was all very confusing. And frustrating. And not a little…agonizing.

And where to begin on the interfering interloper? He was wrong on every feasible level. Even thinking about Cabe's intruding intern made him bilious. Questioning authority? Check. Wasn't the military all about the chain of command and following orders? Yet he'd challenged the division of resources aggressively. Arguing about military protocol instead of offering viable solutions? Check. If it was up to Tim, the captain of the submarine would have sunk to his death along with all one hundred and ten submariners under his command. Underestimating Ralph? Check. The idiot said 'There's apple juice for the kid…?' when he was talking about eating at stupid Betty's Restaurant. Ralph's eleven, not two! And he's a genius. Like he can't appreciate music if it's actually good? And talking about Paige as if he owns her? Double check. They'd only been on a few dates! …Putting his hands on her? He shuddered in revulsion. Nope. Can't go there. He rapidly slammed the door on the mental image that thought conjured.

Toby was wrong to pester Happy. He should accept her and not give up on her. Her reticence should not be surprising to him. She was always a puzzle to him. That is one of the things that attracted Toby to Happy in the first place. Well, people always say they want to be loved unconditionally, but the same people never want to be called upon to love that way themselves. Did the shrink have the right to know? Sure. But, it was Toby. He wasn't known for his patience.

Was Happy wrong for keeping her secret? Probably. Before he knew the situation, he would have said yes unequivocally. But now? She may still be wrong, but he understood her decision at least. It wasn't only her secret.

On the other hand, Ralph was right. If for no other reason, he appeared to be minding his own business and not taking sides.

Regrettably, Cabe was also right about some things, however painful those facts were to swallow. Maybe he wasn't ready. Maybe he wasn't emotionally mature enough yet. Maybe he wasn't fully formed. Maybe he would ruin things if he attempted to win Paige now. Maybe it would damage Ralph and the team. And hurt Paige. Those things are outright unacceptable.

Most of all, Sylvester was right. Being alone does suck.

He'd been awake for close to forty-eight hours, but he still couldn't relax enough to sleep. His mind was too active. Instead, he tried researching ways to become a 'fully baked' person. An incredible seventy-eight percent of the information online involved smoking marijuana when he searched using that criterion. But when he changed the wording of his inquiry, the sources that were credible, without exception, said love wasn't a selfish emotion. In fact love was more than just a feeling. Real love is action. It involves the choice to do what is best for the other person even if it isn't pleasant or ideal for oneself. It was interesting reading and it rang true. So, based on that premise, he began to devise a new plan.

Bring on S3E3! Maybe my next ficlet won't be quite so angsty!