Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Scorpion, Scorpion characters, and direct quotes from the series. All other original characters and plots are mine.

A/N: Hi everyone. So originally, I had this very cheery, upbeat note but given the events that are happening in Ukraine and Russia right now I channeled my nervous energy into finishing this and posting it as soon as possible so that this message can be delivered:

I stand with Ukraine.

Everyone's opinions are their own and I respect that, however, given this is my story I can share my opinion. What Russia's government is doing is deplorable and I encourage everyone that is reading this to pray, manifest, wish luck, or however you practice peace on Ukraine. I come to this site to get away from the real world, so this is probably the last thing anyone wants to read but I for one want a world to get away from in the future and if Russia continues their dangerous attack, I don't see that happening.

Please be safe if anyone from Ukraine is reading and know I am with you. If anyone from Russia is reading this, please believe me that I have no ill will towards the Russian people, but I have much ill will towards the Russian government, namely Putin. I wish everyone to stay safe in these times and until this conflict is resolved this message will remain, but this is fanfiction and escapism is rare these days so all author's notes will be more lighthearted going forward.

Enjoy!

The Story of Fruit Punch and Fermented Fish

Chapter 1

"Okay! Well now that I have the night free do you want to watch a documentary, or I can get started on dinner if you're hungry?" Paige asked as Ralph shrugged, deep in thought as she smiled at her son. She wasn't surprised by his nonverbal answers anymore and hung up her coat and while she slipped off her heels and changed into her favorite sweats and comfy shirt (that she did not steal from Walter, she borrowed it) and sent a quick text to the man in question that they made it home safe and received a quick reply of an 'I'm glad that you made it home safe, sleep well. I love you.'

Smiling she shook her head. Even his texts were punctual and accurate, with perfect grammar. Typical Walter.

Things were going well between the two. Paige, although initially felt a bit irked by his nuances quickly grew to appreciate them and added them to the growing list of things, she loved about him. Huffing she finally took off all her makeup and finally put on that relaxing face mask she's been waiting all day for, fuzzy slippers in place and a glass of wine on the coffee table as she treasured a few moments of silence before she heard Ralph's footsteps and felt the couch dip beside her.

"Hey mom, can I talk to you?" He asked, uncertainty in his voice as she sat up and peeled off her facemask to see him better. He looked worried and if she didn't know better…scared.

"Yes of course. What do you want to talk about?" She asked lightly, ignoring the tightening in her stomach as Ralph fidgeted and refused to look at her. "Ralph, what's going on? Talk to me, honey." Paige asked as Ralph sighed before finally speaking.

"It's about Walter." He began as Paige straightened. She worried over what the effects were going to be on Ralph once she started dating Walter, but he has been nothing but supportive and happy - what changed?

"What about Walter?" Paige asked as Ralph shifted again and bit his lip; a habit that directly came from Paige whenever she was worried about something; and instantly she was more alert.

"Well, it's just…before we left the garage and Walter said that the lecture was canceled? I saw deceit and guilt markers. He was lying to you about the lecture being canceled but I don't know why he would do that." Ralph said as Paige hid her shock. Walter lied to her. Why would he lie to her? Not that she doubted her son but….it was Walter. He never lied to her.

"Maybe he heard us talking." Paige offered as guilt shivered down her back at what she said, "He was probably sparing me." Paige forced a chuckle as Ralph nodded, his troubled look disappearing.

"Yes, that must be correct. Maybe he decided to go on his own and that's why he lied." Ralph offered as he smiled and nodded to himself. "I'm sure that must be it. I'll call him when it's finished and asked how it went. Although I'm not particularly interested in the subject, I am running an experiment with Florence that was conclusive with his findings. I'll see if I can compare my notes with Walter's." Ralph smiled as he quickly got up and left but that nugget of information bothered Paige.

Florence? Her research was connected to the lecture. Now that Ralph mentioned it Walter was acting very strange before they left and his text was a bit more distant than usual…..?

No. No, she was reading too much into it. She was being crazy. Just because Walter had a kissing dream about Florence and dreamed he was married to her…. not that he had any dreams about her that way….No! Stop it, Paige. She shook her head violently as she clicked her teeth together and grabbed her wine glass, dumping it down the sink as she didn't think her stomach would be able to handle the alcohol right now.

Sighing she opened the fridge as maybe a warm cup of milk would soothe her nerves, but they were dangerously low. She could always go to the store at what? 8 at night. I mean that's something a person would do if they needed a warm cup of milk to settle nerves before bed.

Not to mention the science lecture hall was on the way to the store.

Without thinking more, she grabbed her car keys and yelled that she was going to the store to get milk and that Ralph knew what to do in case of an emergency. He nodded as he went back to a textbook bigger than Paige's head and she disappeared out the door, fuzzy slippers in all.

She was crazy.

She was officially a crazy, jealous girlfriend.

She was sitting in the parking lot, freezing her pants off because she forgot to grab her coat and was still in her pink slippers. She was shiny from the face mask; no make-up and sweats and Walter's shirt were all she was wearing. Good Lord she wasn't even wearing a bra.

Paige sighed as she turned the heat up, trying to get some warmth back into her body while she peered out her window staring at the exit of the lecture hall. When it ended in exactly 5 minutes, she would see Walter walk down the steps, and hopefully, she could drive away before he knew she was even there. This could even be a funny story she could, and they all could laugh at how insanely paranoid she was. She could even include that the reason she was so cold in the first place was she parked on the other side of the building to check that all the other entrances and exits were locked and then parked her car on the opposite of Walter's to make sure she saw him.

This would be a hilarious story to tell. Eventually. Someday. Long in the future.

Just as sure her fingers were going to fall off her frozen hands, she saw the doors open as groups of people quickly filed out of the building, textbooks in their hands as they all spoke excitedly to each other, smiling as couples snuggled closer together for warmth and Paige couldn't help but wish she could go back to the loft and snuggle with Walter. He was always warm.

Gazing at the various faces she was anxiously waiting to see Walter's when suddenly a short gasp left her lips as she saw the blonde-haired chemist exit out, smiling as she pulled a coat closer to her shivering body.

Walter's coat.

Then just as the breath left her body she saw Walter, his hand low on her back (lower than Paige would have liked) and as they both smiled at each other, she laughed at whatever she said.

"No way," Paige whispered as, almost on instinct, she grabbed her phone and the shutter of the camera hit her ears as she took photo after photo of the two. They moved close to each other snuggling closer for warmth as they quickly made their way to Walter's car as he opened the car door for her (something that Paige always had to remind him of) and icy shock ran down her back as the camera clicked, capturing the moment Florence left a delicate peck to Walter's cheek as Paige could feel her heartbreak into a million pieces.

She left before the first tears fell.

"Hey Ralph, I'm home," Paige called as Ralph was in the living room, working on a diagram as she walked in a daze towards the kitchen as she unloaded the groceries.

She did, indeed, go the store to pick up milk, along with ice cream, more wine, and a heating pack for her pounding head. She couldn't even say exactly how she drove to the store or even bought the groceries – everything was a blur. However, she had a brave face for Ralph and told him that she felt ill as she had a migraine. Then as calmly as she could she undressed and readied for bed. She stayed like that for hours, she wasn't sure even when Ralph went to bed but sooner than she expected Ralph was knocking on her door as she turned toward her window, soft light streaming her curtains as she sat up stiffly, every bone in her body protesting as she called that she would be there soon. Just under the weather.

Walking robotically to the bathroom, she looked at herself and cringed at what she saw. Her eyes were blank, as heavy bags made her look tired, her skin was lackluster and dull and her lips were pale. Her hair was all over the place and if she was being honest, she looked just as ill as she claimed.

If only it was an illness that could be solved with medicine.

"Mom?" Ralph called as his voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she shook her head. I can't do this right now Paige thought as she splashed some water on her face and put on some concealer to hide the dark bags under her eyes. It wasn't perfect but it was passable.

"Coming Ralph!" Paige said as her voice cracked, and she sighed.

"Are you okay Mom? You don't look well." Ralph mentioned as she grabbed her keys and put a fake smile on her face.

"I'm fine, just had trouble sleeping. Still feeling sick from last night…. I think I'm going to call in today and have Ms. Cline, Daniel's mom, drop you off today all right?" Paige said as she thought of Daniel's mother and her sweet response when she said she wouldn't mind helping Paige with getting Ralph home because of her illness.

If only she knew.

The drive over was short, shorter than Paige expected, and she gripped the steering wheel tightly as she glanced at her cell phone, turned off since last night when she texted Jill asking her about Ralph. She didn't want to see Walter's name pop up if he texted her.

Ha, if being the right word.

Would he think to text her if he was occupied with someone else or would he deem it efficient to text her as normal as to not arise her suspicions? Or maybe, a small hope rose in her chest that maybe he came clean to her in a text or a missed call explaining that he took someone else out and he would have a logical explanation as to why he lied and took out another woman.

Maybe he was different. Maybe Paige was overreacting (as she did now and then) and that Walter was everything he thought she knew about him. Loyal, intelligent, giving and most of all: loving. In his own way, he showed how much he loved Paige every day. Maybe she was overreacting.

Sighing she knew that she wouldn't know unless she checked. Knowledge, however, was proving more of a burden than a cure. Oh, ignorance is bliss, but she wouldn't want to live another lie. Not again.

Summoning all the courage she could, she grabbed her phone, turned off her car, and marched into her home. The privacy and seclusion offered little comfort as Paige settled before opening her phone and a flood of messages came rushing in.

I just wanted to text you to let you know I love you before I fall asleep tonight. I hope I did not disturb your REM cycle but if I did, I apologize I just wanted to let you know as a show of communication.

Good morning Paige, I hope you had a pleasant evening?

Missed call

Missed call

Paige, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I'm growing worried. You haven't texted back in 2 hours, and this is unusual for your morning routine. Are you all right?

Missed call

Paige, I'm nervous, are you all right? You haven't answered any of my calls and you're usually here by this time? Please text me or call me when you get the chance.

Paige, I'm sorry you feeling ill. Toby let me know you were ill and stayed home. I was on my way to see how you were, but Toby recommended you needed space? I wasn't sure of what action to take but taking social cues of your avoidance of my calls I will take Toby's advice of giving you the distance. I hope you are okay.

Paige, I'm just checking in to see how you are? I miss you today and I'm worried about your illness condition. If you are too ill and you need assistance, please let us know, Toby said you contacted him about your condition, and he recommended some over-the-counter medications and rest. I'm sorry if I am appearing too "clingy" as Happy said I should leave you alone but I'm worried about you. If I did anything wrong, I hope I did not cause your illness but I hope you call me soon, just to let me know how you are.

I love you, please get well.

"Ahhh!" Paige screamed as she threw her phone to the couch the tears that streamed down her cheeks made it harder to see any of the messages that he sent. The only thing that she could make out at all was 'I love you.

If he loved me then why would he betray me?

Clenching her fists, she threw a glance at the clock and shrugged her shoulders while she wiped her eyes. It was almost 2 in the afternoon but whatever. Her heart was breaking, Ralph wasn't due home until 6 and there was a cabinet filled with alcohol that her name written all over it.

Sniffling she rifled through the cabinets as she took a swing from the bottle and felt the sting of alcohol hit her tongue as her twisted muscles relaxed and she collapsed on the couch. Crying so loud she turned up the tv as to not scare her neighbors. She never thought she would be in this position again. She rarely ever drank, less so with Ralph but the few times she did it was mostly because of a man or that one time when she worked for Elia and a particular workload was driving her insane.

When Drew left, she did exactly this; once Ralph was surely asleep, she let loose and cried her eyes out. The next morning, she took a pain pill for a small hangover and went to one of her many crappy jobs as she needed to be there for Ralph. That was the last time she ever remembered getting drunk or anywhere near it.

Except now.

All too soon she was crying again and she put down the half-drunk bottle on the carpet as she scrolled through her phone, sliding between the heartfelt texts and the damning evidence she captured last night.

Giggling at the situation (although she wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the absurdity of everything) she laughed that for the smartest man in the world, Walter should have known taking out Florence was the wrong move. Unless he was going to break up with her and was solidifying the relationship with Florence before he did so. Hiccupping she scoffed as she lay down, her head pounding as more tears fell down her cheeks. Hearing an incoming message, she looked at her phone noticing it was from Jill who let her know she dropped Ralph off because he wasn't feeling well and picked him up since she was still in the area. She was coming over to drop him off.

Well, this wasn't good.

She was tipsy from the wine and her face was red and blotchy from crying, not to mention she made a mess of the living room. She didn't want Ralph to see her like that. She had to set the example and drinking at 4 in the afternoon over a guy wasn't something she wanted to explain to Ralph. For his sake, she hoped she would never have that conversation with him. Just as she reached for her phone she took one more glance at the photos, reminding herself that no matter what happened she was going to settle this. Sighing she turned around to call Ralph but just as she did, her foot slipped, and the coffee table met her head as a sharp ache settled on her forehead and she groaned.

"Uhh" As she brought a hand up to her head, her fingers glossed over a sticky substance, and as a knot formed in her gut, she saw it was blood.

Damn it.

She stood but the room spun, and she dropped back to the floor as the growing ache in her head was growing more towards a sharp pain and the room was getting fuzzy. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Paige huffed as she grabbed her phone and dialed Toby's number the ringing becoming an echo in her ears as she thought she heard Ralph's voice in the distance.

"Mom!" Ralph shouted, although his voice sounded muffled and his panicked expression was in front of her face as she tried her best to soothe her panicked son but her words were slightly slurred and an icy shock went down her back as Ralph immediately put his hands on her wound, applying pressure as she covered his hands with her own. At this point, the whole room was spinning, and she was beginning to grow tired.

Enough times with Toby meant this was not a great sign.

"Toby" she slurred as Ralph looked back and her phone was answered as Toby's voice could be heard although truthfully Paige could no longer tell who was saying what. Everything was a blur, and she couldn't fight the exhaustion anymore as she closed her eyes, only for a moment.

Just a small moment was all she needed, and it turns out that's all it took her world to come undone.

A/N: I hope you like it! Honestly, this is something that reads more like a telenovela (Spanish soap operas) which is a bit weird since it's not my usual style but to keep it in the soap opera genre this will be split into 3 parts possibly 4 if you want Walter's POV throughout the story. Very short and sweet with updates daily or every other day.

Little Girl Lost News: Yeah, I've been gone a while with that but fear not! I'm planning on posting again once the full story is written. By the end of this story, I should have more of a solid date. I plan to post twice a week and the longer chapters once a week until the whole story of Little Girl Lost is posted. Thank you all so much for supporting me and reading my stories during my long absences, I appreciate that more than you know. When I do start posting I'll have news on a super-secret project(s) that I'm currently working on and working out the clinks that may or not involve an abandoned story from another amazing cyclone member that was incredible, and she permitted me to finish it. (But like that's totally what happened, and I can't wait to tell y'all more!)