I don't often write Waige, so I hope you enjoy their little moment here. This chapter does get a little dramatic at the end.
Thank you for reading, all comments welcome.
CHAPTER 2.
"You should apply more sunscreen, you're taking care of two people now, remember." Patty stood with one hand on her hip and the other outstretched, holding a yellow bottle.
Happy scowled at her and adjusted her position on the beach chair, before snatching the bottle from Patty.
"The parasol needs moving a little," continued Patty, undeterred by her attitude. "Your left foot is in the sun."
Toby grinned and pointed at Patty as she twisted the multi-coloured parasol around slightly and pushed a little more sand against the base with her foot. "I like you," he said.
"Thank you," beamed Patty. Then she turned back to Happy. "I'll fetch you some more water."
Toby couldn't hide his sniggering as she strode off across the sand towards the ice box.
"Shut up and do my back," snarled Happy, handing him the bottle of sun cream.
"She has a good point you know," noted Toby, opening the sticky flip-top.
Happy sighed. "Don't get me wrong," she said. "I'm grateful that everyone cares so much about the baby, but…"
"They care about you," Toby corrected her and before she realised what was happening he'd dabbed cream on her nose with his forefinger.
Happy glared at him and quickly rubbed it in with her thumb. "I said do my back, dummy. I can reach my own nose."
"I know," replied Toby. "But that was fun!"
Happy sat forward on the chair and slipped the straps of her top down over her shoulders. She held her hair up and Toby began to apply the cream. The slow, methodical way he coated her shoulders and back calmed her. Her husband was good with his hands, that's for sure. Damn good. Happy found her eyes drifting closed as he continued to work...
"Toby!" Paige called out, interrupting Happy's peace. "When you're done with Happy can you do Ralph as well, please?"
"Mom! I just put on sunscreen twenty minutes ago," retorted Ralph indignantly. "I'll put on some more when I've finished this."
Paige looked to Toby for backup, but he just shrugged. "He hasn't been in the water, sunscreen is effective for a good couple hours."
Satisfied that her son wasn't going to get sunburn anytime soon, Paige sat back down in the sand. She faced the sea and tucked her knees up under her chin. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing to match the rhythm of the waves lapping gently against the shore. She didn't notice Toby walking over to where Walter and Ralph were sitting, a little way away from the rest of the group.
Toby crouched beside the other geniuses. "I know Cabe's snoring is a little loud, but did you really need to be all the way over here?" he asked. "What are you up to anyway?"
"We're just discussing the effects of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide on the pH level of the ocean," Ralph explained with enthusiasm.
"And whether this has any effect on salinity of the water," added Walter, his face lighting up. "There are several studies…"
"I know, I've read them," Toby interrupted him. "Say, Ralph, I think Patty is gonna be unpacking the picnic in a second, she could do with a hand."
"Sure, I'll help," said Ralph. "I'm so hungry."
Walter watched him walk back to join the others with a smile on his face. "Teenagers," he said to Toby. "They're always hungry."
Toby grinned and nodded in agreement. Then his face became more serious. "Listen, Walt," he began. "Paige still seems a little distant, you might wanna do something about that."
Walter looked over at Paige and then back to Toby. "Oh… oh, er… right," he said, anxiously. "Like… like, what… exactly?"
Toby rolled his eyes. "Interact with her!" he exclaimed. "You and Ralphy sitting here talking science is great, but Paige needs to feel included today. She needs reassurance. From you."
Walter's brow furrowed as he tried to process the information. He and Paige had come a long, long way in the last eleven months, but he still struggled at times. "I'll… I'll, um…" he stumbled over his words.
"I assume you were gonna say you'll take her for a walk along the beach?" suggested Toby. "And tell her that's everything's fine and how much she means to you?"
"Yes, yes," agreed Walter, nodding and scrambling to his feet. "That's it, yes." He hurried across the sand to Paige.
"Paige? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump."
Paige smiled as the shock of being dragged from her thoughts quickly wore off. "Hey," she said. She patted the sand beside her. "Sit with me?" she suggested.
"No," replied Walter. At Paige's stunned look, he quickly added, "I mean, I was thinking we could go for a walk. Patty appears to be in control of arrangements here."
Paige's smile broadened. "That would be lovely, thank you, Walter," she said and she held up her hand. Walter grasped it and pulled her up to a standing position, her bare feet sinking into the sand as she regained her balance.
Walter interlocked his fingers with hers and they set off, the gentle waves lapping over their feet as they walked. "So, Toby mentioned…"
"Toby talks too much," Paige interrupted.
"Well, yes, that's true," agreed Walter. "B...but he said today's date was causing… because you remember… you remember… and… and…" he stopped and sighed, frustrated the he couldn't find the words.
Paige stopped and grabbed Walter's other hand, pulling him round to face her. "Walter, it's OK," she said. "I'm just being silly, that's all."
"You're not being silly if… if it's upsetting you," replied Walter, with a look of concern.
Paige sighed and looked down at their toes which were now half buried in the wet sand. "I just wish… I wish it had never happened, that's all."
"Me too," agreed Walter. "And… and we can't change the past... but I… I thought we'd moved beyond all of that?"
Paige suddenly leaned in and kissed him so passionately that Walter had to take a step backwards to steady himself. When she finally broke away she looked coyly at him. "We have," she said.
Walter was even more confused now. "Then… why are you… why…"
Paige smiled. "Because I suppose it changed me, Walter. For the better, obviously, but… but I'm still working through some of my issues from the past and I guess there's still a part of me that's terrified that I might… that we might…"
Walter gently placed his forefinger on her lips to silence her. "Never," he said, earnestly. "Never again will we a…allow anything to come between us, Paige." He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Never," he repeated again, pressing his lips into her hair. "I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered against his chest and then her emotions overwhelmed her. Walter held her close, stroking her hair tenderly until she felt safe again.
From his position on the picnic rug, Toby could see them in the distance and a smile danced at his lips. "Good work, One Ninety Seven," he mumbled to himself.
After a while, Walter and Paige walked back towards the rest of the team – their family – and Paige couldn't help but smile at the sight of Cabe who was fast asleep on a towel, with Allie by his side, her head resting on his chest. She was so happy to see them contented. Since Allie had moved in with Cabe it was as if the couple had been together their whole lives. Allie had assumed an older sister role in the team, filling a void in Paige's life she didn't know she had.
Patty and Ralph had unpacked most of the picnic, with Patty handing Sylvester various items and ordering him to place them in specific places on the rug. Sylvester, of course, complied with her every word. He could hold his own in the fiercest of debates as Alderman of West Altadenia, but his knees still buckled when Patty bossed him around.
As Paige and Walter sat themselves down on the rug, Allie stirred and blinked deeply as the sudden onslaught of sunlight hit her eyes. "I'm sorry, I guess I drifted off," she said, pushing herself to a sitting position. "Here, let me help."
At that moment, a man walked past wearing the regulation red swim shorts and carrying the unmistakeable orange flotation device of the LA County Lifeguard Department. "He must be older than Cabe," Toby whispered to Happy.
"Disappointing," noted Happy. "What happened to all the fit young lifeguards with abs of steel?"
Toby feigned a pain in his chest and Happy couldn't keep a straight face, dissolving into giggles. "Don't worry, Doc," she said. "I prefer my men a little scrawny."
"Scrawny?" exclaimed Toby, indignantly. Happy planted a reassuring kiss on his lips.
The lifeguard paused to admire their feast. "If I wasn't on duty I'd join you," he smiled and then he walked off along the beach.
Cabe was still asleep when everyone started to eat. Allie looked over her shoulder at him and then back to Toby. "Do you think I should wake him?" she asked.
"Absolutely," answered Toby. "I'll get a bucket of water."
Allie frowned at him. "That's not what I meant," she responded. "It's just that…" she lowered her voice before continuing. "I don't think he's been sleeping too well lately."
"Anything wrong?" asked Toby with concern.
Allie shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "You know Cabe, he doesn't talk about that kind of thing, not even to me."
"I noticed," replied Toby with a roll of his eyes. "Don't worry," he added, resting a reassuring hand on her forearm. "I'll see if I can interrogate him later. I'll only use the thumbscrews if it's absolutely necessary."
Allie smiled. "Thank you," she said.
"As for whether you should wake him up," continued Toby. "He'll be really grouchy if he misses out on the food, so I say go for it."
Allie nodded and leaned over to shake Cabe gently by the shoulder.
Patrick piled up his plate with food. He'd lost weight in prison, but his appetite was making up for it now. "Here, sweetheart, have another slice of melon," he said, slipping the fruit from his plate to Happy's. "Full of vitamin C, it's good for you and the baby."
Happy pressed her lips together, supressing the urge to snap at her dad for fussing. Instead she managed a smile and a, "Thank you," – earning her an approving nod from Toby.
They sat and ate, enjoying the food, the weather and each other's company. Toby watched Paige for a while, noting with relief that she was far more relaxed after her walk with Walter, although he could tell she was still a little on edge.
"What's that buzzing noise?" said Sylvester suddenly as he wrapped a napkin around the corner of a sandwich to avoid touching it with his hands. He looked around for the source of the dull sound, but was none the wiser.
"Tinnitus?" offered Toby, unhelpfully. Happy elbowed him in the ribs and he yelped at the painful reprimand.
Sylvester frowned at him before his eyes widened. "There it is again!" he exclaimed.
The others all looked puzzled, they couldn't hear anything over the sound of children enthusiastically playing with a Frisbee and a group of teenagers who had been splashing each other in the sea for the last ten minutes.
Sylvester followed the sound and his eyes were drawn to the sky. "Look, it's a drone!"
"Is it one of those with a camera?" asked Allie, drawing her open shirt self-consciously around her body to cover the green bikini top she was wearing.
"I hate those damn things," grumbled Cabe. "Can't get any privacy anywhere these days."
"I don't see a camera," replied Walter. "Probably just some youths deliberately trying to agitate us. Ignore it."
"What you meant to say was some young people having fun," noted Paige, with a playful wiggle of her eyebrows.
"Oh, yes, fun," agreed Walter, with a sneer.
"We should do the same," announced Patty, getting to her feet. "I packed a ball, let's play."
"I should be resting," responded Happy, quickly. "Y'know… being pregnant."
Toby frowned at his wife. "Gentle exercise in early pregnancy is perfectly fine," he said. "In fact, studies show the more you exercise, the less likely you are to have a difficult labour." He leaned over to Happy and whispered in her ear, "You don't get out of it that easily," before tenderly kissing her forehead.
"I guess I don't want a difficult labour," replied Happy, reluctantly.
Patty quickly organised everyone into two teams and loudly shouted instructions to the reluctant geniuses.
"Patty, you know we don't really like sports," Sylvester protested after she'd sent him running across the sand to catch the ball.
"Some of us do," replied Paige. "Remember when we won that softball game?"
Toby glanced at her with surprise. It wasn't often that she mentioned any of the events from the first year of her relationship with Walter, the year before they'd broken up so spectacularly for a month before getting back together. The fact that she'd mentioned the softball game today of all days was significant. They'd all been so happy at the end of that particular day - sharing tacos and trophies and laughter – none of them having any idea just how badly the team would implode only a few weeks later. They'd been able to rebuild everything since then, of course, but Paige was still suffering some residual effects and today's anniversary of the day-they-would-all-rather-forget was dragging up old memories. "Interesting," he muttered under his breath.
"Of course I remember," smiled Patty. "We make a great team! Now, Toby, Patrick, you're both out of position and Ralph…" but she trailed off as her attention was caught by the sound of shouting.
Everyone spun round to see the group of teenagers who'd been playing in the surf running out of the water and yelling. "Help! Help!" The cry in unison was unmistakable.
Cabe and Walter were first to react and they raced across the sand, with Toby, Paige and Ralph right behind them.
Two teenage girls met them, screaming hysterically and pointing back towards the ocean where their other friend was waving frantically. Cabe grabbed one of the girls firmly by the shoulders. "What's wrong?" he said.
"Josh! He went under!" she screamed.
"Help him! Please!" cried the other girl.
"Oh, hell," muttered Cabe and he raced towards the water, with Walter hot on his heels.
"I'll call nine-one-one!" said Paige and she ran back to get her phone, just as Patrick, Happy, Patty, Allie and Sylvester arrived on the scene.
Cabe sprinted towards the water, diving in head first as soon as he was waist deep. Walter followed him, but kept his head above the water.
"Where the hell is that lifeguard?" yelled Happy, but he was nowhere in sight.
Toby and Ralph were soon knee deep in the water and they scanned the area, desperately hoping for a sign of the missing boy.
Back on the beach, Allie had her arm around one of the distraught girls, the other was clinging to her male friend as they waited. Sylvester clutched Patty's hand tightly and Patrick had his arm around Happy.
"Ambulance is on its way!" yelled Paige as she ran back to the shoreline. Then, "Oh, god…"
They could all see Cabe and Walter swimming back to shore pulling the limp form of the teenager – Josh – through the water between them. As soon as he could stand, Cabe dragged the boy out of the ocean and Toby splashed through the waves to join them. "He's not breathing, Doc," panted Cabe and he carried him in his arms up onto the beach.
"Put him down here!" urged Toby and Cabe laid the boy on the sand. Toby pressed his ear to the boy's chest, then used two fingers to search for a pulse in his neck. He exchanged an urgent glance with Cabe and then immediately started CPR.
"Oh no…" said Allie, clasping her hand to her mouth.
A small crowd had gathered around and some were using their phones to capture photos and videos as the dramatic events unfolded. Happy turned to face them. "You people are sick!" she yelled, marching towards the group. "Move now, or the cells all go in the ocean!"
Members of the crowd looked at each other, stunned by the fierceness of her outburst and the gathering quickly dissipated.
"The lifeguard station'll have a de-fib!" yelled Ralph and he set off towards the brightly painted wooden structure.
"The lifeguard station should also have a lifeguard," noted Sylvester.
"I didn't see that old guy walk back this way," replied Patty, looking around the beach, but all she could see was Ralph returning with the defibrillator.
Walter quickly set up the machine as Toby continued CPR, but just as he was about to deliver the first shock, the boy coughed.
Paige gasped. "Please… please…" she begged, willing him to be OK and Ralph grasped her hand as Toby rolled the spluttering boy onto his side.
Just then the sound of a siren pierced the air.
"Oh, thank god," said Patrick. He couldn't believe how their relaxing, family picnic could have taken such a dramatic turn. Then he remembered… this was just a typical day for Team Scorpion.
To be continued...