MOMMY ISSUES II – The Maternal Menace

AN: Okay. Since you guys asked so nicely. :-) Here is a continuation of the last chapter. Wally may be a little OOC here, but I would give real money if he would do this on the show! Enjoy!

Probably rated 'T' for language and stuff.

"What the hell did you do?" Paige's tone was quiet, but her voice was shaking and her words were clipped as she stalked in the door and planted herself firmly beside her boss's desk.

Walter looked up from his screen frowning and blinking, obviously confused by her mood as well as her words. "You'll have to be a little more specific. To what are you referring?"

"Don't. Just don't bother denying it, please." She took a few seething breaths, her fingernails digging into her palms, before finishing, "This has Walter O'Brien written all over it." It was still early in the morning and she hoped Walter was the only one in the garage besides Ralph, who had stayed over night to work on some project or other. But she didn't dare raise her voice because she wouldn't put it past one or more of the other geniuses, including her son who wasn't in her eye line at that minute, to be unobtrusively lurking around a corner listening with all their might. Paige didn't want this particular conversation overheard.

It had taken every bit of her completely sleepless night to calm down enough to address the person she was sure was aiding and abetting the true culprit. She felt so foolish and that just added fuel to the already roaring fire of her anger. If she was thinking rationally it would occur to her to question why anger was the predominant emotion and not sadness. She was embarrassed and feeling betrayed, but she wasn't sad. Not even a little. Underneath everything more volatile Paige was feeling, there was a shred of relief, but its presence just made her all the madder.

"I-I'm sorry, uh, Paige. I really don't know what it is you think I've done this time." Walter shut his laptop with a snap and stood up leaning a hip on his desk facing an irate Paige. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest assuming a defensive pose.

Rolling her eyes, she answered, "Okay, if you're going to play dumb, I'll lay it out for you. Tim got a huge promotion. One he didn't even apply for. Congratulations to him. Yay. The trick is, the position is in the DC office of Homeland. That's over two thousand miles away, in case you weren't aware of that little fact. By the way, you'll be glad to know he said he's not into long distance relationships. Oh, and he also said he got this job mostly due to a glowing recommendation he got from Scorpion. Sound familiar now? Remember, I've read your employee evaluations for Homeland. Without exception all your employees were rated adequate with 'no comment' in the comments section. Except for his apparently. Ringing any bells? I'd think with your perfect memory and all, you wouldn't need help recalling when you orchestrate these things." Eyes blazing into Walter's, chin up, she waited for him to deny it.

A flash of hurt crossed Walter's face as he started to reply, "I-I didn't.. I don't…" Then his eyes widened and he bit his lip. "Paige, I did not do this. But I think I know who might have…"

"Oh, you're right. I've already drawn my own conclusions. I'm sure it was my mother's idea." She spat the words as if they were poisonous. "But she had to have help. She has no skills as a hacker. She certainly didn't submit an online application for him or fake his evaluation from Scorpion. And I overheard the two of you plotting at Thanksgiving. I should have never let her back into my life. I knew she would pull something like this or worse! I expect this kind of thing from her. But you? You have no excuse! I've had it with your interference!" Her volume was rising in spite of her intentions.

Ralph shuffled into the room. His head was bowed, his eyes downcast. "It wasn't Walter, Mom. It was me. I'm sorry," he finished in a whisper.

Paige whirled around, "What?! What did you do?"

In a brittle tone, mouth twisted into a sneer, Walter said, "Don't be too hard on him. He's only twelve and your mother has a lot of experience persuading people to do things for her. And don't forget we geniuses are particularly vulnerable because we expect people to state facts like we do. I'll let you two talk this out. I'll be in the loft if you need me." As he passed the boy on his way to the stairs, he squeezed Ralph's shoulder in encouragement and gave him a sympathetic smile.

A little while later, a very contrite Paige climbed the stairs to the loft. Ralph had explained everything. Veronica had apparently spun a tale for her grandson about how unhappy his mother was. She was able to manipulate Ralph easily because, in his experience, his own mother only wanted what was best for him and always did what was right when it came to her son. He only wanted Paige to be happy and he'd noticed the signs of tension starting all the way back from Walter's disastrous launch into space. At first he thought it was due to his own lack of acceptance of her boyfriend, but it didn't appear to abate when he'd made an effort to get along with Tim. So he concluded his grandmother was right and he had helped with the scheme. Ralph was still in trouble, but her fury faded quickly in the light of truth. Now she was more than a little ashamed of her assumptions and her sarcastic outburst.

Not finding Walter in his private apartment, Paige continued up to the roof and spied him leaning on his elbows on the concrete ledge. Jaw clenched, posture rigid, everything about his body language screamed frustration and agitation. Approachable didn't exactly describe his stance, so she cautiously made her way over to him and leaned her back against the wall next to him facing the opposite direction.

"I'm so sorry, Walter."

Gaze still fixed toward the adjacent buildings, he replied stiffly, "For which part? The part where you accused me of doing something before you had all the facts? Or the part where you assumed I would interfere even though I promised you and Tim both I wouldn't. I promised, Paige. When have I proven untrustworthy in the past when I've given my word?"

"No. Never, Walter, I just…"

"And if you'd listened properly to any exchange between me and your mother as you claimed you did, and you paid close enough attention, you would have heard me tell her I didn't want any part of any kind of manipulation of you and your relationship."

"Walter, I didn't…"

Talking over her, he grated, "So, in addition to being black mold that creeps into every corner of your life, I'm apparently no longer even a good friend that you can trust."

"Listen…"

"I'm tired of listening! I'm tired of listening to Toby tell me to forget about you and accept you've moved on with your life! I'm tired of listening to everyone telling me I missed my chance! I'm sick of Cabe telling me how great Tim is for you and what an amazing person he is if I would just give him a chance! I'm tired of hearing how unworthy I am of you! I got the message. I wish everyone would just shut up now!"

Beginning to get annoyed, Paige started to ask, "Walter, who says…"

"Everyone acts like you're perfect. Like they're perfect and I'm the only stupid, emotionally immature one!" He pushed himself away from the wall and began pacing. "No one called you down when you were jealous of Stella…and I was drugged! So the hell what if I'm jealous of Tim! I'd like to see Toby accept and buddy up to someone who's screwing Happy! Like that would ever happen?! And you! Knowing full well I have feelings for you and parading your boyfriend around the garage. Kissing him. Rubbing on him. Gushing over how sweet he is. Flaunting that sexy dress. Right in front of me! And that's maturity?!"

Walter stopped pacing and halted not two feet in front of her, fists clenched, chest heaving, as he frowned down at her and his eyes burned into hers daring her to contradict him.

She didn't want to admit it, but she was a little turned on seeing Walter like that. So she decided to live dangerously and push a button or two.

"Wow. You've been holding that in for a while, haven't you? Why don't you say how you really feel next…" Paige was unable to finish goading him because he grabbed her upper arms and yanked her body against his. His mouth claimed hers in a savage kiss. Too surprised to protest, her startled gasp allowed his tongue to plunge between her lips and he pinned her against the wall with his hips while completely ravaging her mouth.

In seconds, her knees went weak. Her head was spinning. She clutched at his shirt, moaning into his mouth, and returned his kiss with abandon.

Abruptly, he pulled away leaving her breathless and more than a little excited. Paralyzed in shock and arousal, her eyes followed him as he strode to the door, jerked it open, went inside and slammed it behind him.