Disclaimer: Scorpion and all its characters belong to someone else. Any similarities to other stories are unintentional.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review. I truly appreciate it!
I'm sorry the chapters are short, but with the horrendous home schooling due to Covid-19, my head is too full of gattengos, dienes and STEAM, none of which I'd ever heard of until now!
I'm so happy to share with you the thoughts going on inside my head of what I personally think might have happened after 'A Lie in the Sand', and affording me a little break from the daily grind with the help of the show and characters we all love so much. I really hope you enjoy it and not judge it too harshly! Just my take on it- may be different to yours. So... on with the story...

Chapter Five - Florence and Sylvester!

Paige was feeling a lot better. She'd managed to get her old job back, in fact she was now the manager of Nemos' diner, and earning a little more money than she had when she was just a waitress, although working long hours. The staff seemed to respect her but even though they were friendly enough, she hadn't made any close friends.

The sleepless nights were getting fewer but she still had her tearful moments. She was stubborn and wouldn't let herself admit it, but she still loved Walter. She wondered if she'd ever get over him- she hadn't felt like this with either Drew or Tim! She'd actually got over them both pretty quickly, even though she hadn't been in love with Drew, it had all been for convenience and for Ralph.

She was getting very concerned about Ralph. He'd seemed to almost regress into the little boy he was before they'd met Scorpion. He hardly spoke to her now, even though he seemed to listen to her and do as she told him. She hadn't realised how much he'd needed the team- needed Walter! She was at her wits end! He appeared to hate every man she met, and barely glanced at them, so she'd stopped bringing anyone home for coffee. She didn't actually want a boyfriend, but craved adult company now that the team had dispersed. She admitted it- she was lonely. She wasn't alone as she had Ralph, but being alone and being lonely were different. Oh no! She must miss Toby so much, she was even beginning to think like him!

She sighed as she turned to the diner's paperwork. She thought the others had forgiven her for disbanding Centipede, and had actually seen Happy and Toby on occasion, but it wasn't the same. She missed everyone, they'd become her small dysfunctional family- 'her nerds' as she'd called them and to be away from them was hard. Happy and Toby had actually been into the diner a few times. They were friendly enough to her, and she was pleased about that, but strangely Sylvester hadn't spoken to her very often, apart from a quick text now and then. She didn't even think he knew she was working back at Nemos.

Why had she let her jealousy and pent up frustration come out like that! If she'd just taken a moment and stepped back, this would never have happened. She knew in her heart that Walter hadn't had any feelings for Florence. It had just been the girl's arrogant confession of her feelings for him that made Paige snap. Yes, she had wanted a boyfriend that could relate to her on a more... human level, but after Walter, she now found that all the men seemed weak and boring, if she was honest. The ones she'd met were only interested in their football club's scores and beer at the pub on a weekend.

It had hurt more than she realised when Walter had taken Florence on as part of Scorpion after all that had happened, and she really couldn't understand why. Well, OK, they'd all walked out on Walter and he only had Cabe and Florence left, she guessed it was the only way he could carry on his work. She had such a lot to feel sorry for, and felt the guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders every waking moment. She slammed her pen down and rubbed her eyes when she thought about that woman! Paige had tried so hard to befriend Florence when she'd moved next door, and this was how she repaid her.

She abruptly stood up, determined not to think about all the times Walter had saved her or put himself in danger because of her. She'd save those thoughts for another sleepless night, she wryly told herself. She walked out into the diner, plastering a false smile on her face.

~OooO~

Sylvester and Florence were walking together on the beach. They'd seen each other several times now and emailed, texted and 'phoned each other more times than they could count. Florence was furious with herself for everything that had happened in the past. How could she have said she'd had feelings for Walter- they were too much alike- too much head, too little heart...

No heart! Who was she kidding, she thought, stealing a sideways look at Sylvester. She'd fallen hard for the big softy walking beside her. He was the kindest person she'd ever met, if scared of every little thing. She blushed a little as she felt his hand slip into hers. They stopped to look at the waves. Sylvester was a little nervous at how big they were, but as there was no indication of a tsunami or other catastrophe looming, he tried to slow down his racing heart. He suddenly realised- his heart wasn't racing through fear of a natural disaster, it was from the close proximity of Florence! He turned to look at her with a soft expression on his face, saw the pink on her cheeks at what he guessed was shyness at their closeness. Before he could think too much, he pulled her to him and gently kissed her soft lips.

It was a short kiss, but to both of them, it meant the world. They smiled at each other as they pulled apart. Neither of them knew what to say, but it didn't matter. The silence was comfortable as they continued walking along the sand, hands clasped together.

'I er... guess this means we're er... boyfriend and girlfriend now?' Sylvester stammered at last.

'Yes... I guess it does!' Florence replied, a huge smile on her face.

'Good!' Sly said firmly and they turned and wandered back to town chatting about anything and everything, meaning to get some dinner.

~OooO~

Paige turned to her customer with a bright smile. 'Here you are, your... ' She stopped in mid sentence. 'What the!...' she exclaimed, dashing to the window. Passing by was Sylvester, hand in hand with Florence! No! This couldn't be happening! Florence and Sylvester! Was there no end to that woman's treachery...

To be continued...