Toby sets to work on Cabe and then dispenses some much needed advice to Paige. Meanwhile, Walter is confused.

Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing this story, I just wish I could respond to individual guest/anonymous reviews - you'll just have to believe me when I say how much I appreciate all your comments and support! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

CHAPTER 11.

"I know I keep saying it, but they're such beautiful girls!"

Cabe chuckled as Allie smiled and fussed over Caitlin and Stella. He held out another breadstick for Stella and the little girl took it and waved it in the air. "Beautiful," he agreed with Allie. "But looks like they have Daddy's table manners." He looked at Toby with a raised eyebrow.

"Breadstick waving is a skill," retorted Toby. "Shows a deep understanding of spatial awareness."

"That's bull," replied Cabe with a grin.

"Language, Cabe!" exclaimed Allie, covering Caitlin's ears.

Happy sniggered and glanced knowingly at Toby. "They've heard worse," she noted.

"My wife has a mouth like a sewer," acknowledged Toby with a sigh. "Any more of that pasta, Allie, please?"

Allie passed him the bowl and glanced back at Cabe who was making two breadsticks dance in front of Stella, while she giggled with delight. Allie looked back at Toby who gave her a tiny nod. They'd almost finished eating, but despite their best efforts to start a conversation about fostering Cabe had always managed to change the subject. Toby was well aware the older man had an idea that something was going on, he just hoped they didn't end up making the situation worse.

"I guess the girls were lucky to have Anthea at the orphanage," began Allie. "After everything they've been through, I mean. She seemed to care for them very well."

Toby nodded. "Definitely," he agreed. "Kids need stability, they need to know someone cares about them, isn't that right, Sugarplum?"

Happy forced a smile onto her lips. She wasn't comfortable with this at all. She couldn't understand why Allie didn't just ask Cabe outright why he was stalling on an answer about becoming foster parents. Happy was a straight talker and all this dancing around the subject made her feel like they were manipulating him. "Uh... yeah," she agreed. "When you're growing up in the system..."

Suddenly Cabe stood up and Happy fell silent. "The only time you ever talked about your childhood this much, kid, was a couple times back when was staying at your place and we'd both had one too many beers," he said, gruffly. "Do all of you really think I'm a fool?" he asked, glaring at Allie. "I know what you're trying to do."

Allie looked horrified. The only time she remembered him looking at her that way was when she'd sabotaged Sylvester's election campaign. "I... I..." she stammered, on the verge of tears.

Toby shot her a sympathetic glance. "Cabe, I think Allie just wants..."

"Allie can tell me herself what she wants, Doc!" exclaimed Cabe and he angrily slammed the palms of his hands on the table.

The noise startled Caitlin and she burst into tears. Toby jumped out of his seat and lifted her from her chair. "Sshhh, it's alright," he soothed, holding her close to his chest and stroking her hair tenderly. "It's alright, sweetheart, Pops is just being grumpy."

Allie glared at Cabe who, to his credit, wore a look of guilt. He hadn't meant to frighten Caitlin, of course, but he was still fuming. Allie pressed her lips tightly together, desperately trying to cling onto her composure. Neither of them said a word.

"I think we should go," said Happy, suddenly. If she'd felt uncomfortable before, she felt even worse now.

"No, wait," said Cabe. His voice was a little softer. "I'm sorry," he added, humbly. He sighed and looked at Allie. "I know I should've given you an answer already, but... look... can we talk about this later?"

Allie nodded. "If... if that's what you want," she agreed. "I know it's a big decision. I just..." she trailed off and glanced at Toby who had just put Caitlin safely back in her chair.

"What?" asked Cabe with a frown. "Why are you looking at him? Why are you guys making a big deal out of this?"

"Listen, Pops," began Toby, but Cabe scowled at him.

"You don't get to call me that, Doc," he said, pointing a warning finger. "That privilege is reserved for your little princesses."

Toby raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I can think of plenty of other names to call you," he smirked. "What I was going to say was, there's a reason why you've kept Allie waiting this long. There's something holding you back... and I'd like to help."

"You'd better cover the girls' ears again, because I'm gonna cuss," replied Cabe, tersely. "I don't need any goddamn help. Like Allie just said, it's a big decision. I want to be sure I'm making the right one, I don't need a shrink, got it?"

Toby shook his head. "Five years, Cabe," he said. "Five years you've been hanging around with geniuses, when are you gonna start to learn that we're always right? Especially me. You can't make the decision to become a foster parent, until you make peace with losing Amanda."

Allie gasped. She hadn't expected Toby to be so blunt, but she trusted that he knew what he was doing.

Cabe's face went as red as the remains of the pasta sauce on his plate. "You're wrong this time, Doc," he said through gritted teeth and he stormed out of the room.

Allie couldn't hold back her tears any more. Toby squeezed Allie's shoulder supportively. "Told you it was gonna hurt," he said.

Allie nodded. "I wish I'd never mentioned fostering at all," she said. "I hate seeing him like this."

"He needs to go through this," Toby explained. "Whatever you both decide about fostering at the end of it, he needs to let her go. It might take a little time, but we'll get him there. I promise. You have to trust me on this."

Allie nodded. "I do trust you," she said. "And Happy, I know you care about Cabe, I'm sorry I put you in that position. I appreciate you guys coming over, I really do."

"Cabe's family, we all care about him," replied Happy. "I can see something's wrong. And you guys would make great foster parents, take it from me. I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen for you."

XxXxXxXxXxX

"You've been stirring that coffee for five minutes."

Paige jumped at the sound of Toby's voice. She hadn't heard him arrive at the garage. She wasn't really sure why she'd ended up here this afternoon, she had no real work to do. She'd done a little background research on Captain Sanders for the homicide investigation, but her mind was definitely not on her work.

"So unless you're trying to open a portal to another dimension in that cup, I'd say you're worrying about something," added Toby.

"What're you doing here, you're still on parental leave?" Paige asked him, throwing the spoon into the sink. "More importantly, how long have you been shrinking me?" she added, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Long enough to know I showed up just in time," he replied with a knowing look. "I was actually hoping to catch Walt, but I guess he's not here."

Paige shook her head. "He's gone back to the beach with Ralph," she explained. "Honestly, I'll be glad when this investigation is over, it's taking up so much of their time. I'll let him know you dropped by."

"Sorry, but you can't get rid of me that easily," Toby responded, taking off his hat and dropping it onto the table. "I need to quiz him about Cabe, but that can wait. You can't, though. Sit down, let's talk."

He took her by the shoulders and marched her towards the couch. She didn't have the energy to put up any resistance. "It's nothing," she said meekly. "What was that about Cabe, anyway?"

Toby raised his eyebrows at her as she made herself comfortable and placed her coffee cup down on the table. "Luckily I'm not a world class behaviourist, or I'd see straight through that deflection," he said. "Oh, wait, yes I am. Now, come on, there's enough tension in those shoulders to compete with Happy's winch."

Paige sighed. "Walter and I are doing so well, at least I thought we were," she began. "Communicating, I mean. It took a while, but I've learnt not to expect him to know how I feel all the time and he seems to know now that he needs to talk about his feelings too so he can understand them, but..."

"I figured there was a big but," Toby interrupted her. Then he sniggered. "Big but," he repeated.

Paige frowned and pursed her lips.

"Oh come on, Paige, it's a classic!"

"Are you Doctor Curtis today, or a fourth grader?"

Toby's face became serious again. "Sorry," he said. "Go on, tell me what happened."

"This new place," continued Paige. "Walter... even Ralph... I just don't know if I'm doing what I used to do before - pushing him into doing something he doesn't want to do, I mean. He just doesn't seem as enthusiastic about it as I thought he might."

"Walter wants to move in with you," Toby tried to reassure her. "But he still has difficulty expressing himself sometimes. I promise you, this is what he wants. Ralph too. I haven't seen any doubt markers from either of them. You're not forcing anyone into anything."

Paige smiled, reassured a little by his words. "I guess," she said. "But..."

"So, there's another big..." began Toby, but he quickly thought better of it. "Just tell me."

"He asked me this morning if... if I wanted another baby," said Paige.

"He did?" Toby was genuinely surprised. "Interesting," he noted. "Can't say I've picked up on any paternal feelings from him lately, but then with Happy's pregnancy and the adoption going through I guess my own feelings in the Daddy department have been pretty overwhelming so I could've missed it. What did you say?"

"I kind of brushed it off," replied Paige. "He made it sound like we should start trying straight away. We don't even live together yet."

"Are you sure that's what he meant?"

"I'm not sure, it came out of nowhere," replied Paige. "I'm not ready, we're not ready. And what if our baby isn't mentally enabled like Ralph? Walter might struggle to connect. And what if something bad happens, like they get really sick? He's not emotionally mature enough yet to cope, is he? And second pregnancies are so much tougher on a woman's body, I'm not a teenager any more, Toby."

Toby rolled his eyes. "And what if aliens invade the planet? You missed out that excuse. Paige, your maternal instincts are firing like crazy, but your psyche is putting up barriers because of the way things went when you had Ralph. Walter is not Drew. If you want a baby with Walter – and everything I'm reading from you right now tells me you do - then stop putting so much pressure on yourself. Talk to Walter and if you're certain it's what you both want then go for it! If Happy and I can be parents, then you guys sure as hell can."

"Walter isn't Drew," agreed Paige. "But Walter and I aren't you and Happy either. I wish our relationship was as easy as yours. You have this amazing connection, we don't have that."

"What? Of course you do!" replied Toby.

He was a little saddened to hear her speaking that way. She had come so far in the last year since her self-doubt had contributed considerably to almost ending her relationship with Walter, not to mention breaking up Scorpion, but it was clear she still had lingering issues. However, Paige and Walter were stronger than they'd ever been now and so were the team, so he had no serious worries, but he made a mental note to get her talking about it some more in their next scheduled therapy session.

"You just had a few more obstacles to overcome before you got here," he continued with a smile of encouragement. "Y'know, other couples would've just thrown in the towel years ago, but you both fought hard because you knew you were meant to be together."

"Sounds like you're suggesting it was fate, or destiny, or one of those other concepts you geniuses love to ridicule so much," noted Paige with a smile.

"Hey, don't tell One Ninety Seven I said this," replied Toby, leaning forward in his chair and lowering his voice as if he'd forgotten they were alone in the garage. "But I figure I'm living out my destiny with the woman I love and our family."

Paige smiled. "You're such a romantic when you're not being a jerk," she said.

"Thanks... I think," replied Toby. "Now go feather your new love nest and then do some of that open communication you and Walt are both so good at these days. If I'm not mistaken, which I never am, the pitter-patter of tiny Dineen-O'Brien feet might not be too far behind the tiny Quintis ones."

XxXxXxXxXxX

"And so we're going to catch a movie this evening and grab something to eat after... Walter... Walter, are you even listening to me?"

Sylvester had been expecting more of a reaction to his announcement that he'd asked Kimberley out on a date, but Walter had barely taken his eyes off his laptop screen.

"Hmmm... good... wait, what?"

Sylvester grinned. Finally he was listening. "I have a date with Kimberley," he repeated proudly.

Walter closed the lid of his laptop and smiled at his younger friend. "That's great, Sly," he said. "She seemed reasonably intelligent, not to mention aesthetically pleasing. I hope you have an enjoyable evening."

Sylvester's mouth dropped open. "Reasonably...? Aesthetically...? What is wrong with you?"

Walter looked at him with innocent confusion. "I... I merely meant that... that if y...y...you were considering a long term relationship – marriage, for example – I think you could be very happy together."

"Walter! It's one date!" exclaimed Sylvester. "Just a date. But thank you so much for adding even more pressure." He sighed and squirted hand sanitizer into his palm.

Sylvester still couldn't quite believe he'd found the courage to ask her out in the first place. Kimberley had seemed pleased to be asked and she had quickly agreed. Sylvester had been looking forward to spending time with her, just two people enjoying each other's company in a relaxed way, but now Walter's words had terrified him. What if Kimberley's expectations were different to his?"

"Um... S...S...Sylvester," said Walter, nervously. "I believe I... I may have said the wrong thing. I apologise."

Sylvester let out a long, slow breath. "It's OK," he replied dismissively. "But next time remind me to talk about this kind of thing with Paige."

"Paige is having lunch with Ralph."

Sylvester and Walter both looked up as Patty breezed into the garage. She was carrying a large hardback book under one arm and had her tablet in her other hand.

"How is it you always know where everyone is?" asked Sylvester. "Never mind," he added, realising he didn't want to know. "What've you got there?"

"This is research," Patty replied. "For the case," she added. She slapped the book down on Walter's desk. "This book was written by Doctor Kaye Snyder, Charlie Snyder's ex," she said, pointing to the author's name on the front cover. "It's about seaweed... or something like that. I have read it yet. It's not easy to get hold of, it didn't sell many copies, but I know someone at the library who knows someone whose sister..."

"Is this relevant?" asked Walter impatiently.

Patty frowned at put her hands on her hips. "The point is this book was discredited by anyone who's anyone in the marine biology world so Doctor Snyder pulled it out of circulation before her reputation was completely ruined," she continued.

"Interesting," noted Sylvester. "Good work, Patty."

Patty beamed proudly and turned to Walter, waiting for his praise too, but her face fell when he said nothing.

"Don't mind him today," said Sylvester. "He's been in a weird mood since I got here."

Walter sat up straight. "I am not in a weird mood," he insisted. "I'm sorry if you misunderstood what I said earlier about your date, but..."

Sylvester's face went bright red and he waved his arms manically in a desperate attempt to stop Walter saying anything else, but it was too late. Patty had heard enough.

"Date?" she repeated. "What date? Oh, I know, with the lifeguard. She seems nice... but, you actually asked her on a date? Yay! Go you!"

"Yes," mumbled Sylvester. "I asked her out. We're going on a date. It's not a thing… yet."

"Apparently I should not have mentioned marriage at this stage," added Walter.

Sylvester rolled his eyes and Patty sniggered.

"What's with you anyway?" asked Sylvester. "I thought you and Paige were going to sign the papers on your new home today?"

"We are. We have an appointment at five thirty," replied Walter. "And thank you, Patty. The information you found may well have some bearing on the case. I... I'm just... it doesn't matter."

Patty shook her head. "Spill," she ordered. "Whatever you're thinking about obviously does matter. A lot. Now, spit it out. You're among friends. Maybe we can help?"

The colour drained from Sylvester's face. "Or maybe Walter would prefer to keep his thoughts private?" he suggested, shooting Walter an apologetic look.

"No, Patty's right," replied Walter. "I... I could do with some advice. Patty, can I ask you a question a...a...as a woman?"

Patty's face crumpled into a confused frown. "You want to pretend you're a woman?"

"No!" exclaimed Walter, shaking his head. "I want you to be the woman."

"But... but I am a woman," she replied, scrunching her nose. She was starting to wonder if this was one of those moments when she felt out of her depth amongst her genius friends.

"Yes, y...y...yes," acknowledged Walter. "Let me start again. If we can just imagine f...f...for a moment that you and I are dating and..."

"Walter, she's seventeen," Sylvester pointed out. "I'm a little uncomfortable with..."

"Oh, I see!" grinned Patty, interrupting him. "You don't just want me to be any woman, you want me to be Paige!"

Walter's face flushed pink. "Well, um, yes I suppose so," he admitted. "So, in this scenario I, as your boyfriend - and we are, at this point, very content with all aspects of our relationship, both emotional and physical... "

"Walter!" exclaimed Sylvester. "Is this much detail really necessary?"

Walter quickly shook his head. "No, no, perhaps not," he agreed. "I'm sorry, Patty. It's just, if I were to ask you if you wanted something, would you assume I meant immediately?"

Patty pondered her response for a moment. "I suppose that would depend on what the 'something' was," she said eventually.

"Say... a necklace?" offered Walter. "Or... or a baby?"

"A baby?" chorused Sylvester and Patty in unison.

Sylvester's eyes were wide with shock. "You asked Paige… oh my word!"

"You're having a baby!" shrieked Patty with delight.

"No!" Walter waved his hands in the air in an attempt to calm the excitement. "We're not... at least not yet... that is, we may do, one day... but Paige... well, I think Paige took my general, hypothetical question to mean that I wanted to expand our genetic family now. Soon. Well, in around nine months from now, I suppose."

"Did she give you an answer, or did she freak out?" asked Sylvester.

"I'm not entirely sure," admitted Walter. "Her response was... confusing."

"As a woman – which I am – my advice is that you need to talk to her," said Patty firmly. "And soon. Very soon. Tell her I exactly what you meant by it before this becomes a huge misunderstanding."

Walter nodded. "You're right, of course," he agreed. "The... the only issue is that n...n...now the subject has arisen, I'm not entirely sure what I meant at all."

Patty smiled. "You're broody," she announced. "Perfectly normal when your close friends are having babies. Ask Toby, he'll tell you I'm right."

Walter suddenly I leapt to his feet. "Patty, thank you," he said. He ran towards the door leaving Patty and Sylvester exchanging a stunned glance. "You should read that book, Sly," he called out as he disappeared out into the LA sunshine. "There's still a murder to solve, but first I need to talk to Paige about having babies!"

To be continued...