Author's note: Yay! It's Happy Scorpion Monday! That hiatus seemed way too long, didn't it? Anyway, this is hot off the presses. Didn't think I'd get it finished in time to post today, but here it is. Enjoy!

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Yes. She currently resides in the California Institute for Women. She tried to kill me about three months ago."

Walter glanced over at Ms Lee, whose expression made him believe she would like to take a shot at killing him herself. He could hardly blame her, not after having such a bombshell dropped on her. Although she was the one who told him to stick to the pertinent facts, which he had. The contents of the video, in his opinion, had been no one's business except his and Paige's.

"Mr O'Brien," said the judge, interrupting his musing, "how did Ms Merrick obtain of copy of the video feed?"

With a sigh, Walter quickly skimmed over how he and Linda met. He then explained how the vengeance-minded woman had found the thumb drive before duplicating it for her blackmail scheme. He also described when she'd pumped a couple of bullets into him and left him for dead. . .after confessing she'd been instrumental in the militia taking him and Paige hostage.

"Well, that's quite the tale, Mr O'Brien." McKenzie strutted back to his table. "So this Ms Merrick allegedly told my clients to hold you and Ms Dineen hostage, then kill you?" He chuckled and rolled his eyes at the jury.

"Yes," Walter replied through gritted teeth. "Her confession is a matter of public record."

"In light of this new evidence, Your Honor, I'd like to ask for a continuance until we can view the footage, if possible." The defense lawyer smirked at Walter.

"Granted. And Mr O'Brien, I'm ordering you to be placed under arrest for obstruction of justice and destruction of evidence."

"What?" Leaping to his feet, Walter glanced frantically at the judge. "No! You can't. . . I already explained. . ."

"One more word, young man, and I'll add a contempt of court charge," the older man added, his irritation plain. "You'll be held until it can be determined if the footage in question is relevant or not. You'd better hope Ms Merrick retained her copy." He banged his gavel and two bailiffs approached Walter.

Seething with anger and remorse, Walter submitted to being handcuffed without a struggle, since resisting would only land him in more trouble. The video wasn't relevant. The idea of it being viewed in open court. . . It would be humiliating. Heat swamped him as the scene replayed in his head. He'd been hesitant, nervous, awkward. . . Anybody who watched it would immediately know it had been his first time.

And Paige. . . She'd be mortified. Although she'd been so wonderful and beautiful and. . . The way she'd come apart in his arms. . .it made him ill to think of anyone else seeing what should have been a private intimate moment between the two of them.

He was led out of the courtroom, the judge declaring a recess as the guards steered him through the doors. Across the corridor, he saw Paige and Cabe rise to their feet.

"Walter? What's going on?" the liaison demanded, her voice rising as she spoke. "Why is he in handcuffs? Oh, God. . ."

"Paige." He barely had time to say her name as the bailiffs hustled him past. He heard her call out to him before gasping loudly. Craning his neck to look over his shoulder, he began shouting. "Paige! Please, let me. . . Let me make sure she's okay. Paige!"

"I'll keep an eye on her, son," Cabe announced as Walter was pushed toward a waiting elevator. He got one last glimpse of Paige, her face pale and her eyes wide with pain and panic, her hands clutching her stomach.

Oh, God, she wasn't in labor, was she? He had no idea where they were taking him or how long he'd be there. He needed to be with her, not behind bars.

Which was precisely where the bailiffs put him, in one of the holding cells down in the basement of the courthouse. At least they didn't resemble a dungeon, he thought flippantly, with their light grey-washed walls and buzzing fluorescent lights.

"It's imperative I contact Paige Dineen," he said as one of the men removed his cuffs.

"Is she your lawyer?" asked the other guard.

"No, she's my. . ." He paused as he considered what she was to him, beside his everything.

"If she's not your lawyer, she can't help you, buddy," the bailiff said with a shrug. Stepping out of the enclosure, he shut the door with a clang before he and the other man walked away.

"Dammit." Walter ran his hands through his hair as fear rippled through him. What if Paige was having the baby? He stripped off his jacket, tossing it on the narrow cot as the walls seemed to close in on him. She was only a little over seven months along, it was too soon. Grabbing at the tie at his throat, he yanked it loose as it became hard to breath. They hadn't even picked out a name yet.

He began to pace, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. Realistically, he could be stuck in this cell for hours. Time would be needed to obtain a warrant, do a search, get transcripts of Linda's confession. The thought of Paige going through childbirth without him. . . He didn't even want to contemplate not being by her side.

Footsteps echoed through the hallway, getting louder as they grew nearer. Spinning around, he hurried over and gripped the bars. "Paige?" he called out hopefully.

"No." He sagged disappointedly as Ms Lee strode around the corner, followed by her assistant. "You'll be lucky if you see her for ten to twenty years," she snarled.

"There's no such thing as luck. . ."

The attorney stuck her index finger an inch away from his nose. "Shut up." Lowering her hand, she continued to glare at him. "Why am I just know finding out this footage? Did it slip your mind? I thought you were a genius."

"I am," he said, although he wasn't feeling like one at the moment. Averting his gaze, he stared at his fingers wrapped around the longitudinal bars of the door. "It's not relevant. . . and you didn't ask. . ."

She let out an exasperated groan. "Listen to me, Mr Smart Ass. You don't get to decide what's relevant and what's not. You made me look like a fool up there."

Walter snapped his head up to look her in the eye. "And that's all you really care about, isn't it? You don't care if we look like fools. Just so you win your case."

She bit off a harsh laugh. "You think you're the first person I've seen having sex on a surveillance tape? Hardly." Crossing her arms over her chest, she shook her head. "And yes, I care about winning. I'm putting bad guys behind bars when I win. Because of you, those assholes upstairs just might walk. Is that what you what?"

"No." He pushed away from the cell door, closing his eyes as he prudently pressed his lips together.

"You better hope that Ms Merrick kept her copy," said Ms Lee. "Because I don't think you and your arrogant know-it-all attitude will last very long in prison."

"Paige," he said after a long second. "Is she all right? I need to know. . ."

"She's fine." The attorney waved dismissively at his concern. "Like I said before, you need to worry about yourself."

With that, she turned on her heel and marched off down the hallway. Her assistant just shrugged before following after his boss. Walter moved closer to the door, resting his forehead on the cool iron, not knowing whether or not he should believe the prosecutor's indifferent reply about Paige's condition.

The possibility he wouldn't be by her side. . . If he went to prison, he'd miss his son's whole childhood, miss helping Ralph reach his potential, never be with Paige again. . . The only way to avoid that scenario depended on Linda hanging on to her copy of the footage.

Dammit. He grabbed the bars at the thought of the video being shown to a courtroom full of people. . . Paige may have initially forgiven him for his voyeurism, but. . . He didn't see how she could forgive him again. Making a copy of the video feed had been a huge mistake which was biting him on the ass for a second time.

He slammed his open hand against the door in a mixture of fury and frustration. The contact stung his palm but it was minimal compared to the pain constricting his chest. "Dammit," he muttered between frantic breaths.

He had no idea how long he stayed there, his brain imagining every outcome of his situation, of which a microscopic percentage would end happily for him. It wasn't until he heard the jangling of keys he brought his surroundings back into focus.

Two bailiffs appeared from around the corner, followed by a serious-looking Cabe. "What's going on?" Walter asked.

"You're getting sprung, son," said the agent.

"They found the footage already?" Glancing at his watch, he noted it was quarter past noon. He'd been certain the legal process would take hours.

"I don't know about that." Cabe watched as one of the guards unlocked the cell door. "We got a case. Convinced the judge to release you on your recognizance into my custody."

"Where's Paige?" Elation warred with anxiety as Walter stepped out into the hallway. "Is she okay?"

"She's waiting upstairs. Other than being upset about you being hauled away in cuffs, she's fine." The older man didn't seem too concerned and Walter let his uneasiness abate. "The rest of the team is already waiting at the airport."

"Airport?"

"Yeah," Cabe said as they reached the elevator. "A computerized Ferris wheel at a county fair upstate has been hacked. There's a helicopter waiting to take us to Monterey."

"Can't they just override the hack?"

The Homeland agent shook his head. "They've tried. Whoever did it knew what they were doing. It's speeding up and slowing down, but not enough to let the passengers off safely. Happy says the speed variations can't be sustained for much longer because it's fatiguing the integrity of the metal."

Walter had to smile at Cabe's verbatim recitation of the mechanic's observations. "So, not good, huh?"

"Yeah, not good." The older man chuckled as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. "Sylvester said. . ." The rest of the agent's words faded away. Walter's world narrowed down to the woman standing in front of him.

"Paige." "Walter." They whispered each other's names at the same time as they moved toward each other. Relief surged through him when he wrapped his arms around her and was further reassured when he felt a kick through the layers of clothing between them.

"Are you okay?" His question was muffled as he crushed his face against her shoulder.

"I could ask the same of you," she said, and he heard the hitch in her voice. "When I saw you in handcuffs. . ."

"You two can compare notes later," Cabe cut in gruffly. "We got people counting on us to save their lives."

Paige let out a slightly hysterical giggle. "So no pressure then?" she said as they untangled. She reached for his hand and he grasped it like a lifeline as they made their way out of the courthouse.

ooooo

Walter noticed right away one of the team was missing as only Happy and Toby stood on the tarmac next to the waiting helicopter. "Where's Sylvester?"

"This bird holds six including the pilot," explained Cabe. "And since you're in my custody, someone else has to sit this one out."

"But. . ." Walter ran his hand over his face. He needed the younger genius to double check his calculations. He snuck a peek in Paige's direction. And if he was being honest with himself, he really, really didn't want her to fly in her condition. Memories of another helicopter and its subsequent crash flooded his mind.

"He's going to be providing backup at the garage," said the Homeland agent, who must have sensed his unease. "You know how much he hates flying." Cabe then turned to Paige. "And don't worry about Ralph. It's been arranged for him to go to his usual after school sitter, along with his protection detail"

"Thanks." She squeezed Walter's hand. "I'm going to go board the helicopter, I need to sit down," she announced. "You coming?"

"In a second." Turning away, he headed toward Cabe, who was talking to the pilot. He didn't get far when someone grabbed his arm. "What?" he snarled as he spun back around.

"You don't want Paige to come along, do you?" Toby's question was more of a statement.

"No. She's. . ."

"Pregnant. Yeah, I know. It's pretty obvious." The shrink held on to his fedora as the rotor blades began to spin. "We're gonna need her to help calm people down."

"Isn't that your job?"

"In other circumstances, yes," Toby agreed. "But I need to interview and analyze the carnival company's employees while also coming up with a profile of the hacker. I can't do both."

"Dammit, Toby. She shouldn't. . ."

"There are kids on that out-of-control ride, 197," the psychiatrist pointed out. "Do you really want me half-assing this? Beside the fact Paige could use a dose of feeling useful right now instead like a big useless whale."

"She's not a. . ." he huffed defensively before curbing his outrage at the other man's insult. "Fine. Have it your way. But if. . ."

"I am a doctor, you big idiot," the doc interrupted. "She'll be okay. As long as she doesn't experience any more contractions, she should. . ."

Walter's head swirled as the shrink's words trailed away. "What do you mean?" he demanded, his gut churning. "What contractions?"

"Oh, crap." Toby darted his eyes to the interior of the copter. "She never told you?"

"Told me what?" Impatience bubbled up inside him at the psychiatrist's cryptic comments.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. Doctor-patient confidentiality."

"Dammit, Toby," Walter said again. "What. . .?"

"Will you two stop gossiping and get your asses in the chopper?" Cabe yelled. "Now!"

Walter glared at Toby for another moment until the other man climbed aboard. Contractions. She'd been having contractions. And on more than one occasion it seemed. And she'd never told him.

"Dammit," he muttered for what seemed like the hundredth time that day as he followed Toby inside the helicopter.

.