PITA - Acronym of the day, Pain In The Arse. There might be a test later. -Tim


Toby looked out the windows of the waiting room that lined the hallway and saw everyone but Paige was standing outside of Walter's room with the door closed. He grinned thinking Walter must have awakened and wanted some alone time with Paige. But frowned as he wondered why they didn't come to the waiting room. He swallowed hard thinking maybe something else was wrong. He could now see pain and uncertainty in everyone's behavior. He sighed as he adjusted his hat and walked out of the room and down to everyone else.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Toby asked as he got closer.

"Walter woke up but he thinks he is thirteen. He doesn't remember even coming to America." Sylvester told him.

"Seriously?" Toby asked quietly.

"Why would he make that up?" Happy demanded to know.

"He wouldn't, it is just a figure of speech when one is shocked by such information. Just like when someone tells you someone you know is dead, most people are in disbelief." Toby chided her.

Happy shrugged as she put her head down and continued to lean against the wall.

"So why are you all just standing out there?" Toby asked.

"Mom wanted some time to talk with Walter." Ralph told him with disdain.

"You know, I'm getting fed up with your attitude, young man." Toby told him, stepping closer to him.

"I don't care if you are or aren't. You did nothing but ensure the failure of Scorpion along with Walter and my Mom's relationship." Ralph snapped back at him.

Cabe reached out and grabbed the back of Toby's jacket and yanked him back away from Ralph.

"You chill out Doc and leave Ralph alone. You know he's telling the truth." Cabe told him from between clenched teeth. "And while I got the three of you here." Cabe growled.

"How dare you abuse your friends this way. What is wrong with the three of you?" Cabe said so quietly but in some ways it was the loudest voice they'd ever heard. "You push and manipulate Paige into joining CP with you and then you dump everything on her shoulders. You guys were tearing her apart with your nonsense. And abandoning Walter like you did? After all he has done for the three of you. And as if that wasn't enough you form a company and go after jobs, bound and determined, to try and drive Scorpion out of business."

The three geniuses stood there with their heads bowed. A few times as he said things one of them seemed on the verge of saying something but as Cabe's eyes flashed at them they quickly cowered down like scared pups. Allie had stepped up to the left side of Cabe and linked her arm around his and nodded with everything Cabe said.

"You tell them Grandpa." Ralph spit out with tons of venom. Pointing at Happy and Toby. "You two want to have your heads stuck up each other's butts so bad, fine, then go! Get out of here and don't come back. You guys helped ruin my family. But if you try to stick around or come back you better be on the best of behavior or I swear I'll go online and I'll delete you guys. You'll lose your house, your truck, your credit, everything. And you'll never be accepted to adopt a child."

Cabe reached out and pulled Ralph back a half step and put his arm around his shoulders.

"Moving forward, depending on Walter, you're either a part of this family or you aren't. And if you aren't then you better not get in the way again. All three of you, he saw great potential and brought each one of you inside, out of the cold and gave unconditionally to you." Cabe pointed at Sylvester.

"Not only did Walter keep you from going to prison for bank fraud, he protected you in many ways. And if the Homeland therapist was right, he kept you from committing suicide when he found you. He made sure your bills were paid, made sure you had food in your fridge. If you had dated my sister behind my back, I'd have kicked your butt for not telling me after the second date. He gave you a secure environment that made it possible for you to function and help others. And he didn't make Florence fall in love with him and you know it. Did you ever once talk to Florence about how you felt? No you didn't." Cabe pointed at Toby.

"And you Mr Hyde, he literally saved your hide from people who wanted to kill you. Put his own life on the line to clear the debt you ran up. Gave you a place to feel secure. You knew how messed up Walter was, but did you ever once put your vaulted Harvard training to use to help him? No, you constantly used your snide, snarky attitude to keep him on edge." Cabe said bitterly.

Happy swallowed hard as the look on Cabe's face made her cringe inside. It made her feel worse than the day she saw her Dad drive away in his old red pick up.

"But you, I'm so much more than disappointed in you Happy. You were Walter's best friend. You married the man to keep him in the country when his immigration status was in doubt for crying out loud. All the two of you have meant to each other over the years and then you abandoned him. When he saw the good in you, brought you in, gave you a place where you could work and grow. Risked his residency to try and get citizenship quicker so you could divorce and marry this PITA. Kept Scorpion in a precarious position by giving all that money to you so you could try to get pregnant. And for what? So you could just betray him in the end? What happened between Walter and Paige had nothing to do with you three stooges. And you walked out on him and started a company behind his back." Cabe said it so quietly but the impact his words had when they struck might as well have been screamed out at over one hundred decibels of sound.


Paige frowned at the sight before her as she opened the door. Cabe's face was so blood red it was purple and the guys all looked scared, embarrassed and profoundly sad.

"What's going on here?" Paige asked softly, seeing Ralph more or less grinning at the other three geniuses.

"Grandpa was just setting the record straight for some stooges." Ralph told her.

Paige sighed as she gestured into the room.

"You guys can come back in." Paige said softly before returning to her chair and holding Walter's hand again.

Ralph was the first through the door and stepped over to stand beside his Mom.

"Do you believe us now?" Ralph asked gently.

Walter smiled and nodded.

"I don't really have a choice it seems, Ralph, right?" Walter asked.

Ralph nodded.

"So how did Paige convince you?" Cabe asked as he stepped up and sat down on Walter's left.

"Well her mirror had a lot to do with it. It is hard to convince myself of anything else with how I look. Unless someone figured out how to transplant a human brain." Walter gave him a slight smile until he saw Toby.

Walter physically moved, scooting closer towards Paige at the sight of Toby.

"Can you send him away, please?" Walter said softly. They all saw fear on his face.

"The Doc?" Cabe frowned as he looked back and saw Toby as did everyone else.

"That's Toby. He's been a part of your Cyclone for a long time." Paige explained.

"Something about him, I don't trust him. Please, make him leave." Walter told her with eyes wide in fear.

"You need to go Toby." Paige said instantly in an authoritative voice.

"What? I didn't do anything." Toby complained.

Happy turned and hit his shoulder and pushed him back and out of the room closing the door.

"What is wrong with you Fungus? You know he has memory issues and you are agitating him." Happy asked.

"Look, I get that but there is no reason for him to distrust me like that." Toby complained.

"Seriously Doc?" Happy asked.


"Are you okay now Walter?" Paige asked softly.

Walter looked at her and nodded.

"Just, I don't know what it is or why, but I don't trust him. I don't want him back in here, please." Walter told her even as he tried to resituate himself in the bed.

"No problem kid, you don't want Toby in here, we'll keep him out." Cabe told him.

"You called him Doc earlier." Walter said.

"Yeah, he's a Harvard trained Dr and psychologist." Sylvester said first.

"I don't like psychology." Walter frowned.

Paige laughed.

"No matter what, I think that is one fact that will be a universal constant for you, Walter." Paige told him as she ran her hand down his cheek.

"Why doesn't your touch bother me?" Walter asked as he looked at her.

"I don't know. There have been times when you questioned if you should touch me, but as far as actually touching you or you me, you've never shown any signs that it bothered you." Paige smiled at him.

"Weird, I barely tolerate my sister's touches." Thinking of his sister made him swallow as he wondered why she wasn't there. "So if I'm here in America to help my sister, where is she? Shouldn't she be here?" Walter asked.

"Oh, well, umm, Walter you see." Paige stumbled trying to figure out how to tell him.

"Walter, unfortunately due to complications of the MS, Megan passed away." Sylvester told him with heavy sadness.

"Wait, what? What do you mean she passed away?" Walter asked, startled. "Paige, what does he mean? What does that mean?" Walter demanded as his hand reached out and touched her face.

"Walter, Walter, calm down, I know this is scary and it is going to break your heart, but try and relax. Yes, Megan passed away. She-she died. This year is going to be the third year since she died." Paige told him gently.

Even before she had finished he began crying out his renewed grief. Paige stood instantly and enveloped him in her arms as his one good arm reached around her. Ralph smiled as he heard her begin humming that little song she always sang to him at night to help him sleep when he was younger.

"How could you just say it like that?" Cabe said rather loudly to Sylvester.

"Because, Walter is a genius. He likes efficiency. Stalling or delaying the truth would only irritate him." Sylvester explained even as Cabe shook his head.

Her humming turned into singing as she continued to give Walter comfort until he finally cried himself out. Paige smiled at him as she pulled back.

"Is it okay to kiss you?" Paige asked.

Walter nodded just before Paige pressed back in and kissed him gently on his lips.

"I just had a brief flash of something. Since you say we're a couple. One of the times we kissed before, like now, except was something wrong with my right hand?" Walter asked.

Paige grinned.

"Walter! You remembered our first kiss. Your right arm had been injured when Cabe saved you from a car crash." Paige grinned excitedly at him.

Walter smiled and then it slowly shifted into horror almost.

"Oh no, no, no. How could I forget that? If Megan is dead, what am I going to do? Where do I live? How do I survive? What's my resident status? Do I have to go back to Ireland?" Walter asked as thousands of questions poured through his mind after Paige sat down.

"Walter, relax." Ralph told him while grabbing his arm. "Just relax and listen to Mom, to me, to Cabe. It is going to be okay. I promise you."

Walter stared at him trying to relax.

"Something about you, it makes me want to trust you. Plus you remind me of my cousin, Billy O'Sullivan. He was Uncle Tobin's son who died when he was thirteen. He was a couple of years older than I am…or was since you say I am twenty years older than I think." Walter said before he looked at Paige. "He was the only extended family who was nice to me."

"How did he die?" Paige asked gently.

"Boating accident, we were told. They said some people on vacation were out on the lake and didn't know that part of the lake was off limits to power boats. Billy and his sister Claire were swimming. As Billy came up for air the boat struck him." Walter explained.

"As for your questions. You live in the Loft of the Garage you own and run Scorpion out of. You don't have to go back to Ireland, you got your naturalization almost two years ago now." Ralph told him.

"I live in a Garage?" Walter asked while frowning as he thought.

"Well, we always called it the Garage. It is really more of a warehouse. I always felt safe and secure there. Or did, until we had our falling out." Sylvester kind of mumbled the last.

"I'm sorry? Who are you?" Walter asked.

"I'm Sylvester, or Sly at times. Your sister Megan and I had actually gotten married." Sylvester explained.

"No offense, but I'm quite a bit older looking than you and my sister was three years older than I was. How did you two get together?" Walter frowned.

Sylvester explained about how he had stayed behind while the team went on a job and Megan stayed at the Garage and they talked off and on and they found they liked each other. That turned into Sylvester going to spend time with Megan at the hospital and eventually getting married.

Walter frowned as he listened to the story.

"You dated and married my sister behind my back? What kind of cowardly thing is that to do? I thought you said we were friends? Friends don't do that." Walter demanded from him.

"Walter, I know you don't remember but you guys have already been through all of this." Paige said gently to him.

"I don't care, I don't remember it. Either you are my friend or you aren't." Walter told them both.

"Well you both have a point. How about tabling this until later, once we find out what is going on with your memory. It wouldn't be very efficient to go through all of that again unless your memory is irretrievable." Cabe said gently.

Walter looked back at Paige.

"Do you promise me that this was already settled?" Walter asked.

"Well I don't know how it was, but you came to accept it. You even told Sly you were happy he was there for Megan. To do what was right for her." Paige explained.

Walter looked down at his feet for a moment.

"It is so weird to wake up and not remember twenty years of your life. Especially the most important parts of it. I really wish I could remember how we came to express our feelings for each other. What I thought of you from an adult's perception. I'm sure I thought you were physically perfect." Walter said as his eyes, moved by his adolescent thoughts, roamed across Paige as she blushed and sat there beside him.

"Well I'm not sure what you thought. But the first time we met I think you were more interested in Ralph. You even chastised my boss for yelling at Ralph." Paige smiled.

Ralph nodded.

"But you did tell me before we became a couple that you had been in love with me since shortly after meeting me." Paige continued to smile with happy tears in her eyes.


Greetings! Hope this finds you all well! Finally had a break through on this story and got chapters 6 & 7 written! lol

Railman - Glad you are loving it! Well too be fair, chapters 1-4 and most of 5 was written before this last bout of "stagnation" struck.

Margaret - Sadly it does seem like poor Walter goes through so much in these stories. I think the name Walter needs another definition, resilience! hehe As for Toby, his troubles don't seem to be over yet. lol

Susan - hehe 20 more chapters? *yikes* But what about Callan, Knight's Tale, Lady Knight? hehe

Heleen - I'm trying! lol

To the Adventure! -Tim