Ralph and Walter have a heart to heart, Happy bonds with Paige and the team move closer to unravelling the murder mystery.

I'm so grateful to everyone reading this story and I really appreciate all the reviews! I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

CHAPTER 19.

"Where are they, Cabe? They should be here by now!"

Sylvester was getting really nervous again. He knew the plan – as much as Walter had shared, at least – and he'd prepared his speech, but being crammed in a back office at the theatre was making him feel claustrophobic.

He just wanted to get the evening over and done with so he could go home… and be alone with Kimberley.

"Relax, kid, they'll be here." Cabe patted Sylvester reassuringly on the back, glancing at his watch as he did so. "Walt's probably making some last minute changes to the video."

"And by video you mean the digital audio visual presentation, unless we've time travelled back to Ninety Eighty Six," quipped Toby.

"How exactly is the AV supposed to help anyway?" asked Happy.

Cabe shrugged. "No idea, it's Walt's baby," he admitted. "I'm hoping he'll share his plan with us when he gets here."

"Sorry we're late!"

Everyone spun round at the sound of Paige's voice. She had an armful of items the geniuses had decided they needed for their plan. Just behind her was Walter carrying two laptop bags.

Toby raised his eyebrows as they rushed in. "Lose track of time?" he asked, a grin spreading slowly across his face.

Paige glared at him. Of course Toby would have immediately figured out why they were late – she was probably giving off some kind of post-coital markers that she didn't understand - but she didn't want to discuss it. Especially not in front of Ralph.

Toby decided he would let it go… for now.

"Have the caterers been briefed?" asked Walter, as he sat next to Ralph and started connecting one of his laptops to the one the young genius was already using.

"They know to stay outta the way, son," confirmed Cabe. "You spoke to them yourself yesterday, did you forget already?"

"Are the… the cameras in the flower arrangements in place?" queried Walter, ignoring Cabe's question.

"All done, boss," confirmed Happy. "I already texted you earlier about it."

"Ah… yes, of course," nodded Walter.

Toby sidled up to him and spoke in a low voice. "You OK, Walt? You seem a little distracted."

"What? No?" insisted Walter, blushing lightly.

Toby leaned in, stifling a grin. "Doin' the wild thing in the middle of the day can be very distracting," he whispered. "Focus, pal, focus."

Walter blushed hard and coughed. "So, um, Ralph, are… are you sure you'll be OK in here monitoring all the feeds?"

"Yep," agreed Ralph, patting his laptop. "You guys all got your comms in?"

Toby tapped his left ear. "Just give me a running commentary, buddy. You know how to spot all the markers. One of them is bound to slip up once they realise what we've got in store for them."

Just then the door opened and Kimberley poked her head into the small room. "There's a Doctor Snyder here," she said. "She's really early, what shall I tell her?"

"I'd better talk to her," said Toby. "I don't want her to blow my cover. Sametti and Sanders still think I'm Doctor Brandon West."

"It makes sense to go along with your undercover identity this evening to avoid arousing suspicion," noted Walter.

"Do you know how hard it is to pretend to be called Brandon?" whined Toby, but no one seemed to care so he left the room with Kimberley to speak to Charlie's ex-wife.

"I want to test the feeds," said Walter. "I need everyone sitting out there at the tables in pairs. Talk amongst yourselves."

"Hey, Walter," began Ralph after everyone else had left the room. "This plan of yours, it's not dangerous, is it?"

"Only in as much as the culprit has already killed someone," replied Walter. Then he noticed Ralph's expression. It took him a moment to conclude it was most likely one of concern. "But… but there's no need to worry," he added, trying to reassure Ralph.

"The thing is," replied Ralph. "We're finally going to get our own place together, all three of us. You and my mom have taken so long to get here and… and if anything happens to you, I… I don't know what I'd do."

Walter was taken aback. "Ralph, I'll be careful, I promise," he replied. "The… the guest list is intentionally made up of high ranking police officers and… and other government agents, so… so if whoever murdered Charlie Snyder tries anything stupid they'll be stopped."

Ralph nodded. "I don't want you getting hurt," he said, quietly. "I need you in my life, Walter."

Walter swallowed hard as a wave of emotion almost overwhelmed him. "I… I need you in mine too, Ralph," he said. "I… I love you."

xXxXxXxXxXx

"The guests will be arriving soon," said Paige as she watched the team making last minute preparations. She smiled at Walter and a warm, contented feeling washed over her, but he didn't notice, he was too busy setting up the equipment.

The theatre was lit up with an amazing display of lighting effects designed by Happy and the stage was set. All the awards were lined up on a table behind the lectern and Sylvester was currently practicing walking on and off the stage without tripping over any of the trailing cables.

"I know it's a fake occasion, but I'm kinda excited," smiled Kimberley. "And kinda scared too," she added. "I just want this all to be over with. Charlie's funeral is next week, I want whoever killed him to pay."

"It's a pity they've only just been able to release the body," noted Paige. "But that's how it is with a murder investigation. I'm so sorry."

Kimberley smiled gratefully. "I should go wait in the foyer," she said. "Captain Sanders is gonna be so surprised to see me here!"

"I'll go and check on Ralph," added Paige, realising there was very little else she could do for now.

She left the auditorium and made her way along the corridor towards the office, but she hadn't got very far when she heard a voice calling out to her.

"Hey, waitress."

It was Happy, of course. Paige smiled, Happy still called her 'waitress' occasionally, even though she hadn't waited a table for over five years, but she didn't mind at all. She turned round to see the genius engineer walking along the corridor a little awkwardly in unfamiliar kitten-heeled sandals.

"Hey," Paige said with a smile. "The trick is to take smaller steps."

"Oh, right, thanks," replied Happy. "Um, look, I don't know if this is a good time, but… can I ask your advice about something?"

"Sure," replied Paige.

She was a little puzzled, it wasn't often that Happy came to her for advice. Despite knowing each other for five years, Paige had never felt able to connect to Happy as much as she had to the other geniuses. She had come to realise, however, that Happy still considered her a good friend, even though she had difficulty expressing her feelings.

"So, um, when you were pregnant with Ralph," began Happy. "Did it make you go… kinda… loopy?"

"Loopy?" repeated Paige.

"Yeah, y'know, like you did dumb stuff," clarified Happy. "Or… thought dumb thoughts."

Paige's voice softened. "It's not easy sometimes, is it," she noted.

Happy shook her head. "Half the time I don't feel like… like myself," she admitted. "And… and Toby tells me it's OK and it's normal, but…"

"But you wanted to hear it from someone who's lived it, not someone who's studied it."

Happy nodded. "Something like that," she agreed.

"When I was pregnant, I lost my keys, like, a hundred times," began Paige, a small smile crossing her lips as she spoke. "And I started watching all these crappy Hallmark Christmas movies in the middle of the night when the heartburn kept me awake. It wasn't even Christmas!"

"Jeez, I hope I never get that bad," noted Happy with a wry smile.

Paige laughed. She couldn't imagine Happy watching a Hallmark Christmas movie if the future of western civilisation depended on it. Then she became more serious. She had an idea of what this was about and she had nothing but sympathy for Happy. "And… and I couldn't stop thinking about… about bad things."

Happy nodded. "Yeah, me too," she admitted. "And don't get me wrong, the Doc's been amazing – don't tell him I said that."

"I won't," agreed Paige with a smile.

"He knows what to say to make me feel better," continued Happy. "He understands how I'm feeling even when I don't even understand it myself."

"You're lucky you've got Toby, he's so supportive," replied Paige. "Drew was… well, Drew was barely there, physically or emotionally." She remembered how he'd arrange to go out with his teammates night after night and leave her alone in their tiny apartment, young and pregnant and scared.

"That sucks."

Paige sighed deeply. "Yeah," she agreed.

Paige's destructive relationship with Drew had affected her far more deeply than she'd realised at the time and it was only in the past year that she'd come to understand it and how it had affected all her relationships with people ever since. Her fear of being alone, of being abandoned, of being unable to trust anyone had all contributed to her almost breaking up with Walter a year ago.

"I guess I wish… I wish my mom was here," said Happy, quietly. "I never knew her, but this is the kind of thing we're supposed to talk to our moms about, isn't it?"

"I think so," agreed Paige with a sympathetic nod. "Some nights, especially near the end, I used to think about calling my mom, just so I could talk to her and by that point I had no relationship with her at all. I didn't even have a number for her. She was probably in jail anyway, or on the run, I don't even know."

The two women stood in silence for a moment, lamenting their troubled upbringings.

Eventually it was Paige who broke the silence. "Listen, if you ever need to talk to someone, someone who's been there with swollen ankles and cravings and mood swings, just call me, OK? It's a girl-thing, Toby'll understand."

Happy nodded gratefully. "Appreciate that, Paige," she said. "I'm not really a girl-thing kinda girl, but thanks."

"Being pregnant is the ultimate girl thing!" exclaimed Paige with a grin.

Having a baby when she was still so young herself had been incredibly hard, but Paige wouldn't have changed it for anything because now she had Ralph. And if it hadn't been for her genius son she would never have met Walter and found her true home with Scorpion. Now she was planning to do it all over again – she might even be pregnant before Happy had her baby, she realised - but this time things would be different. This time she would be loved and supported the whole time by her new family and she hoped Happy understood that she was loved and supported too.

Happy laughed. "I guess you're right. Um… thank you."

"Any time," replied Paige. "It's what families are for."

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"They're all eating dessert," announced Paige, running into the back office to join the rest of the team. "So it's the awards next. Why did you want us all in here, Walter?"

"So we can run through what we know already," replied Walter. "Toby?"

"OK, so Sanders is here with a hot babe who's way outta his league," began Toby, but he immediately realised his mistake when he saw Happy glaring at him. "Um… um… with a sophisticated-looking woman," he corrected himself. "She's still way outta his league… just sayin'. Diamond necklace, designer purse, definitely not his usual type and from what I'm seeing they've only just met."

"He hired an escort?" exclaimed Happy, screwing up her nose in disgust.

"All for an ego boost," explained Toby. "Showing up here alone would not have done his reputation any good. He swaggers around like he owns the place."

"Guy's a jerk," agreed Happy. "But is he our killer?"

Toby shrugged. "Wish I knew, darlin'," he replied. "I think once we unleash Walt's little surprise he might give me more to go on."

"Paige, did you clone their phones?" asked Walter.

"Sanders' and Sametti's," replied Paige, passing Walter the cloning device. "He's a creep too," she added.

"I noticed his hands drifted towards… inappropriate places when you were talking to him," agreed Walter. "I admit I found it… uncomfortable to watch you flirting with him."

"I was only doing what you guys asked me to do!" exclaimed Paige, with a frown. "It's not like I was enjoying it. Are you… are you jealous?"

Toby and Happy exchanged an uncomfortable glance. The last thing they needed now was for Paige and Walter to get into an argument.

"Jealous?" repeated Walter. "No, not at all… um, that is… should I be?"

Paige laughed. "Oh, Walter, we'll talk about this later."

Happy and Toby both let out a sigh of relief.

"Now, I'll send a text to Sanders purporting to be from Sametti," explained Walter, tapping a few keys on his keyboard. "And another to Sametti from Sanders. 'Dear Captain, Surprised to make your acquaintance again so soon, but…"

"Stop!" said Toby, stepping forward. "Sametti is ex-military, not Lord Snooty-Pants. The language is all wrong. We want our lifeguard captain shaking in his flip-flops, not making dinner plans," He leaned over Walter's shoulder and typed out an appropriate message. "And now one from Sanders… there, that'll rattle our mysterious medic's cage."

"Sly, your speech was very sweet, by the way," smiled Paige. "You had me convinced."

"Thank you," replied Sylvester, blushing hard. "I know it's a made-up occasion, but I meant what I said about the people of West Altadenia. We're good people… apart from the murderers, of course."

"When do we play the video?" asked Cabe. "Or whatever it's called," he added, before Toby made another smart remark.

"After all the main awards are handed out," replied Ralph. "Look!" he exclaimed, pointing to his tablet screen. "Sametti texted back."

"Oh, nice," grinned Toby, reading over Ralph's shoulder. "He's freaking out. Sanders is playing it cool for now. OK, we have to get these two together. Sly, it's time to do your thing."

Sylvester shuddered. "This is the part where I have to shake everyone's hand isn't it," he said with a sigh. "I really haven't been looking forward to this part."

"You haven't been looking forward to any of it," Ralph pointed out.

Sylvester frowned. "Thank you, Ralph," he replied, his voice uncharacteristically snappy.

"Let's get back out there," said Walter, getting to his feet. "Sly, I'll need you to stall Sanders, keep him up on the stage for as long as you can."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"You'll think of something," smiled Paige.

Happy walked slowly around the auditorium as Sylvester began calling people to the stage to hand out their awards. He talked to Sanders for much longer than any of the others until Walter's voice in his ear told him he could stop and the Captain finally left the stage.

The lights were dim and the catering staff were moving between the tables clearing away the remains of the meal making it difficult to keep track of the guests. Happy's attention switched from Captain Sanders to Doctor Sametti. Sanders appeared relaxed – as far as she could tell - but Sametti seemed more agitated. His guest – a woman around his age, dressed as someone half her age – was all over him, clutching his hand tightly and looking lovingly into his eyes, but the doctor was definitely not returning the attention.

"Doc," hissed Happy, pressing her finger into her ear. "Have you got eyes on Sametti?"

"Watching him like a hawk," confirmed her husband's voice in her ear.

Cabe's voice soon followed. "You want me to close in?" he asked.

"Not too close," replied Toby.

"Sly'll be calling him up to get his award any minute." This time it was Walter's voice.

"I'll stay close," said Happy. "Can't help feeling he's a flight risk."

"You're not wrong, darlin'," agreed Toby.

Happy's eyes darted across the room to where Toby was standing. It was unusual to see him without his hat, but of course she still recognised him in the shadows. She felt the urge to go to him, to hold his hand and look into his eyes the way the woman with Sametti was looking into his, but she knew she had to stay put and do her job. Her feet were uncomfortable and she was beginning to wish she'd put her boots on, dress or no dress. She instinctively ran her hands over her bump. The baby had been kicking her all evening and it was more than a little distracting.

"...Doctor Daniel Sametti!"

Happy tensed as Sylvester announced the man's name and the doctor began making his way towards the stage to collect his award. She glanced at Sanders, but he was busy talking to his 'date' and didn't seem at all concerned that Sametti was walking only a few feet away from his table. Or so she thought.

"Did you see that?" said Toby through the comms. "Sanders deliberately looking everywhere but in Sametti's direction."

"They're both making themselves look guilty," came Cabe's voice.

"Guilty of something," agreed Happy. Her eyes were fixed on Sanders as Sametti gave a brief acceptance speech before heading back to his table. Sylvester's next words suddenly snapped Happy's attention back to the stage. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.

"The next award goes to… Walter O'Brien!" announced Sylvester. He quickly turned over his page of notes, before glancing off stage with a puzzled look on his face. Realising he had no choice but to continue, he spoke again. "For… for his outstanding contribution to science."

"Wait… what?" hissed Happy. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Walter making his way to the stage as the crowd applauded. She glanced at Toby again who was shaking his head.

Sylvester stepped away from the microphone and turned away from the audience. "This wasn't in my original notes," he whispered, pressing his finger against the comm in his ear.

"You bet it wasn't," agreed Toby. "This is One Ninety Seven feeding his own ego! Walt, this isn't the plan!"

"Shut up, Toby!" hissed Walter as he approached the stage. "It's part of the plan now."

"Son, you gotta tell us if you change the plan!" exclaimed Cabe, walking between the tables to join Happy.

"Walter!" exclaimed Paige, trying to keep her voice down. "You're putting yourself in the line of fire!"

"Line of fire?" exclaimed Sylvester from the back of the stage as Walter began his acceptance speech. "No one said anything about fire!"

"Relax, Sly," urged Toby. "It's just an expression. I'm sure Walt knows what he's doing… even if we don't." He turned to Paige who was by now standing right next to him and slipped his comm device out of his ear. "I hope he knows what he's doing," he added.

Paige shrugged. "Please be careful, Walter!" she urged.

"Don't worry, Mom, I already told him that," came Ralph's voice over the comm.

"What?" exclaimed Paige. "Did you know about this? We need to have a little chat about keeping secrets, young man."

"Paige, Paige," began Toby, waving his hands in front of her in an attempt to keep her calm. "You can have that little chat later, OK? Right now we've got bigger things to worry about." He nodded towards the stage and Paige was suddenly aware of what Walter was saying.

"…and I'd like to dedicate this award to another local hero who… who was sadly taken from us recently."

He turned around to face the projector screen behind him and waited for a moment until Ralph started the AV presentation. A gentle melody began to play and then the screen was filled with images of Charlie Snyder.

Happy glanced at Cabe with her eyebrows raised. This was the moment they'd all been waiting for. "Here we go," she said.

Cabe nodded. "Things are about to get interesting."

To be continued...