Author's note: Borrowed a few lines from Mother Load (Season 3 Episode 9)

CHAPTER TWENTY

"Guilty"

Paige heard Walter expel his breath, the same relief he had to be feeling washing over her like a wave. Relief her would-be rapist would probably be spending the rest of his life behind bars. A relief which was short-lived, however, and replaced by fear. Fear of the threats of harm made by the man's wife against Paige and her children.

Oh, God. Sliding her eyes to her left, she could see the woman, her hand covering her mouth in shock. The older woman must have sense her gaze because she turned her head and glared at Paige, the venom in her stare almost tangible.

Her abdomen tightened as nausea churned inside her. The baby picked that moment to kick her kidneys. She must have made a noise as Walter squeezed her hand before asking if she was okay. Nodding her head, she bit her lip at the lie.

The baby was safe. Ralph was safe. Repeating those two sentences, she practiced her Lamaze breathing as she stroked her belly, trying to calm herself.

". . .Guilty."

With a start, Paige realized the verdicts were still being handed down. Wondering which of the defendants was being charged, she glanced over at Walter, who was looking grim.

"Two counts of assault," the judge was saying.

"Guilty."

"One count of attempted rape."

Oh, God, it was the other man, the other one who'd tried to. . . The small bit of peace she'd managed to achieve shattered in an instant.

"Not guilty."

The edges of her vision began to blur as she gasped in shock. Granted, he hadn't touched her, but he certainly had intended to. . . Closing her eyes, she shuddered as memories of that day flooded her mind. The cool steel of the knife pressed against her throat. The terrifying rasps of Walter's dying breaths. . .

His arm slid around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Without thinking, she placed her left hand over his heart. The steady beat coupled with the heat radiating off him soothed her anxiety. Or would have if she'd been able to rest there for more than a moment before the judge called out the next name.

"Mary Jo Stein. Three counts of kidnapping."

"Guilty."

Paige wished she'd had a chance to tell the jury of the woman's kindness to her and Walter while they'd been hostages. It was too late now, she thought sadly as she listened to the rest of the charges.

"One count of murder."

Paige turned to Walter, who appeared to be as stunned as she was by the accusation the woman who had saved them from further humiliation, who had helped save their lives, had killed one of the Secret Service agents. Was that the reason Ms Lee wouldn't let her testify on the militia woman's behalf?

"Guilty."

Her stomach churned and her head buzzed as Mary Jo was found guilty of the rest of the charges against her. The sound of the judge's gavel startled her as he stated the defendants would be sentenced separately in the next six weeks.

"Court is adjourned." Everyone started talking and getting to their feet, exiting the courtroom.

"Are you okay?" Walter's whispered words in her ear caused her to jump.

"I-I. . ." She shook her head. . Did you know?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. It wouldn't be the first time he'd kept bad news from her since she'd become pregnant.

"No," he said with such sincerity she had to believe him.

"She was so nice. . . I can't believe she murdered anyone."

"Well, the jury thought differently," he pointed out.

She sputtered angrily. "That's. . . That's a horrible. . .to say. . ."

"If it's any consolation," he cut in, "I think you were right about her. About not being a government mole, that is."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," she retorted as she struggled to stand up. Which, she discovered several frustrated seconds later, she couldn't do on her own. Glancing up at Walter, she swore silently if he started nattering about shifting centers of gravity or flexor muscles, she'd get Happy to kick his ass.

He must have sensed her annoyance because he didn't say a word as he offered her his hand.

ooooo

Loud rock music practically blasted them back outside as Walter, Paige, and Cabe walked through the garage door an hour later. Happy was welding. Sly, dressed in his Fantasies and Frolics garb, had cotton balls stuffed into his ears as he wrote out an equation on the white board. And Toby. . . Walter rolled his eyes as the shrink slid across the floor on his knees in front of them, pretending to play a guitar.

The behaviorist jumped to his feet, skipped over to the boombox and shut it off. "Hey, you're back," he said once he could be heard.

"Brilliant observation, Doc," said the Homeland agent as he took off his sunglasses and headed toward the coffee pot.

"So what happened? Where they all found guilty? Do you have to go back or is it finally over?" Toby asked in rapid succession.

"They're all going to jail," Walter replied. "We weren't told otherwise, so I guess it's finished." He didn't feel like it was over though. Every time he saw those men. . . They dredged up all the bad memories of their ordeal. Maybe now they were on their way to prison, he and Paige could put it all behind them at last.

"So how are you two holding up?" The shrink glanced from one to the other. "You both look like hell."

"Gee, thanks," Paige said with what Walter recognized to be sarcasm. "We're fine. I'm fine. The baby's fine. Everything is just hunky-dory, okay?"

"Yeah, I like totally believe that."

"Don't you have something better to do?" Walter retorted. "I assume all your paperwork from our last case is completed?"

"Don't assume, 197," said the psychiatrist. "It makes an ass out of you."

"And me," Walter finished the saying, groaning as he realized he fell into the other man's trap. "Dammit, Toby."

The shrink held up his hands as he retreated. "All right, all right. I'll get on it."

The garage door creaked as a man dressed in robes and a pointy hat entered the building. "Sylvester the Conquestor, art thou ready to face the marauding hordes?" he proclaimed as he bowed awkwardly.

"What the hell?" Cabe nearly spit out his coffee. "You're not wearing that stupid getup to gather signatures, are you?"

"Why not?" asked Sly, capping his marker. "Dressing up gets people's attention."

"Kid, nerds in their mother's bathrobes harassing the electorate isn't going to win an election." The agent set his mug down on the nearest desk. "I'm going with you. You're going to need all the help you can get of the non-freak variety."

Cabe herded Sylvester and his friend back out the door, both men protesting loudly as the agent pushed them outside. "Hey, boss," said Happy, who flipped up the visor on her helmet and nodded toward the shrink. "Okay if we go to lunch now?"

She must have sensed he and Paige needed some peace and quiet, both of which were in short supply when the misbehaving behaviorist was present. "Sure. Thanks."

"Come on, dumbass," said the mechanic as she grabbed Toby by the nape of his neck.

"Hey 197, don't do anything I wouldn't do." The doc winked as Happy dragged him away.

Walter snorted derisively. Listening to Toby's tales, there was little the shrink hadn't done. Emulating the other man would be out of the question.

"Hey, wanna help me make lunch," Paige asked, touching his arm.

"Sure." Taking her hand, he let her lead him to the kitchen.

ooooo

Walter took a bite of his herring sandwich, noting Paige had hardly touched her chicken salad. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really." She placed the half eaten sandwich on her plate and rubbed her hand on her belly. "There's not a lot of room left inside here anymore."

He glanced at her, taking in the dark circles under her eyes, which stood out in stark contrast to her pale complexion. Remembering how little they both had slept the previous night, he said, "Maybe you should take a nap?"

"Do I look that terrible?" She chuckled as she said it, but even he could tell she was truly concerned.

Reaching around the table, he grasped her hand. "No, you're beautiful," he replied sincerely. Because she was. To him she would always be the most beautiful person in the world. "But you've been under a lot of stress and you're in your third trimester. . ."

"No, duh, Mister." She sighed, withdrawing her hand from his. "You're right. I have been having trouble sleeping lately. I think I will go lie down." Using the table, she hauled herself out of her chair, stretching as she stood. "Hey, you've haven't been sleeping much either. Wanna join me?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

The sight of her pregnant body had already diverted most of his blood flow away from his brain and her offer they take a 'nap' together made him a little dizzy. He opened his mouth to say yes but left the word on his tongue when he looked up at her, once again getting a glimpse of her weariness. He felt guilty enough as it was for still engaging in intimacy, even though the doctor had informed them it was still okay to do so.

She needed to rest. His libido could wait until another day.

"I, uh. . .I have p-paperwork to catch up on," he said as he got to his feet.

"Oh, okay. Don't let me sleep too long," she said. "Maybe an hour or two?"

"Okay," he readily agreed as he kissed her cheek.

An expression of disappointment mixed with something else he couldn't read, passed over her face before she turned and headed up the ramp to the loft. Shaking it off as an aftereffect of his frustration, he cleared away the remains of their lunch before returning to his desk. Where he really did have a stack of forms to complete before the end of the day.

ooooo

"You and your Fanatic and Freak friends scared everyone away," Cabe announced as he and Sly walked into the garage several hours later. Happy and Toby had returned from lunch and Paige had just come downstairs after her nap. "I'm surprised you got any signatures at all."

"Fantasies and Frolics. And I only need 20 more," the human calculator pointed out. "I think some people thought we were charming."

"Yeah, other fanatics and freaks," grumbled the agent.

"Sounds like you met with some success," Walter said to Sylvester, who started to answer only to be interrupted by Cabe.

"His opponent was there collecting signatures too. Handed out bottles of cold water. Got his 200 John Henry's in less than two hours."

Walter nodded. "That's sensible. It's a warm day."

"In plastic bottles," sneered Sly before continuing in a mocking voice. "'Be sure to recycle! Save the planet!' I sure didn't see him taking those containers out of the trash bins and disposing of them properly."

"Didn't see you doing it either," Cabe countered.

"They. . .they were in the . . .the. . ." Sylvester sputtered. He was saved from answering further when the door creaked open and a neatly dressed woman who looked to be in her 40s hesitantly walked inside.

Walter intercepted the worried glance Happy tossed in Toby's direction. Oh, shit, was she from the INS? The one he forgot to tell Paige about who was coming in investigate his bogus marriage? Oh, shit.

Cabe stepped forward with an odd expression on his face. "Can I help you?" he asked.

The woman smiled, holding up a clipboard. "Yes, I'm looking for Sylvester Dodd," she said. "He left one of his petitions at the grocery store and I. . ."

"Aren't you Patel's campaign manager," Sly asked as he approached her.

"I'm actually his assistant," she replied, handing him the clipboard. "He makes me run his campaigns as part of my job. By the way, I'm Allie, Allie Jones. I probably seeing a lot of you in the near future."

"I certainly hope so," Cabe murmured before introducing himself. "Cabe Gallo. I'm Mr Dodd's manager."

"No you're not. . ." Sylvester protested. "Dyfrost. . ."

"Trust me, kid, you need someone less. . .flaky."

Allie glanced cautiously at the two men. "Well, I better be going. Good luck."

"Here, I'll walk you to the door," the Homeland agent offered, coming up beside her as she turned to leave. They all watched as Cabe opened the door for her, holding it even after she disappeared from sight.

"So did you ask her out?" Toby asked once the older man rejoined the rest of the team.

"No," he replied as he headed for the kitchen.

"Why not?" the behaviorist pressed.

Cabe's face flushed, the tips of his ears turning red. "She's at least ten years younger than me."

"Everyone is at least ten years younger than you." the shrink quipped before grinning like an idiot. "Look at you, blushing like a school boy. I'd say you're smitten with Ms Jones."

"My foot's going to be smitten hittin' your ass, Doc," the older man threatened.

"Thank God, she's not the ICE lady," said the psychiatrist. "Your charm wouldn't melt a popsicle."

"The ice lady?" Paige asked, looking bewildered. "What ice lady?"

Damn Toby and his big mouth. Walter took a deep breath. "Uh, the one from INS who's going to expedite my citizenship," he explained.

"What? Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"I'm sorry, I meant to tell you but. . ."

"Oh, God." Paige leaned against her desk, wincing as she rubbed her lower back.

He immediately became concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snapped. "No thanks to you."

"Please don't be mad." He crept closer until he stood beside her.

"I'm not mad. I'm scared to death. What if you guys can't pull this off? What if you get deported?" There was a hysterical note in her voice and Walter put his arms around her.

"I'm not going to get deported," he declared with more confidence than he felt.

"I hope not. I really don't want to do this without you."

"I don't want you to either.." He kissed the top of her head as he caressed her back, feeling her relax a little. The loud squawking of the garage door announced the arrival of yet another well dressed woman who also appeared to be in her 40s.

"I'm looking for Mr and Mrs Walter O'Brien," she said as she strolled inside. She gestured at Walter and Paige, her eyes taking in their embrace and Paige's pregnant belly. "I assume you two are the happy couple?"

Pulling away, Walter glanced at Paige, who had visibly paled, then back at the woman before answering.

"Uh, not exactly."