Author's note: Hooray! It's Season 4 Premiere Day!

Also this fanfic reached its 1st birthday on the 23rd. Maybe Walter can make a "Scientifically Interesting" cake for it? Heh heh.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Paige walked into the living room just as Ralph's animated race car crossed the finish line a split second before Walter's. "Good job, buddy," he said, raising his hand so the youngster could slap it.

"All right, Ralph, time for bed." She sat next to Walter, close enough their thighs touched, the scent of lavender inappropriately stirring his senses.

"Come on, Mom. One more hour? Please?" Walter wasn't sure how she could be so unaffected by her son's plea coupled with his puppy dog eyes. He knew he would have folded like a card table. She clearly had more experience resisting the boy genius.

"No way, mister. You have camp in the morning." Crossing her arms over her chest, she added, "And I know you've been staying up waaaay past your bedtime this week." When Ralph opened his mouth to protest, she cut in before he could say a word. "Walter has to get up early in the morning too."

"Oh, all right." The youngster's shoulders sagged as he switched off the video game. "Good night, Walter," he grumbled unhappily.

"Good night, Ralph." It was hard to keep from chuckling as the youngster dramatically trudged toward his room, Paige trailing him down the hall.

Setting his controller on the coffee table, Walter leaned back against the couch. He rubbed his hand over his face as he speculated on where he was supposed to sleep. He'd been unsure how to broach the subject earlier, especially in front of Ralph.

He had too much respect for Paige, and her son, to assume he'd be sharing her bed. He didn't know if it was the newness of it all, or how amazing it was, or how much he was in love with her. . . But to spend the night beside her, to be so close, so intimate, and not. . .

It would be impossible. He'd never be able to relax. Sleep would be out of the question. And he certainly didn't want to disturb her rest. Even camping out on her sofa seemed too tantalizing.

Just as he decided his best option was to return to the garage, Paige stepped back in to the living room. Walter got to his feet, his eyes darting between hers and the floor. "I, uh, I should pr-probably. . ."

"We need to go over how you're going to get close to Zalina," Paige interrupted before he could finish, "without getting too close to her, if you know what I mean?"

Relief he wouldn't have to leave quite yet mingled with pride over the fact he did know what she meant. He had no desire to be near the blonde back up singer any longer than it took to clone her phone. "O-Okay," he said as he sat back down on the sofa.

They spent the next two hours coming up with a script Walter would follow to gain his objective. He committed it to memory despite his brain being scrambled by his desire for the woman seated next to him.

"You shouldn't have to spend more than five minutes alone with her if you stick to the plan," Paige commented as they finished up a little after midnight. "And remember, only touch her if you have to."

He nodded, suppressing a shudder at the thought of touching the other woman. "This re-reminds me of wh-when you tried to teach me to flirt," he said.

She laughed out loud, then clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, God, I'm sorry," she said, lowering her voice. "You had to be the least flirtatious person I've ever met." Paige ducked her face away for a moment before gazing at him with a shy smile. "And I have to confess. . .I was deliberately trying to get a reaction from you."

"Y-Y-You succeeded." Closing his eyes, Walter recalled every excruciating detail; how her hands had felt caressing his face, the heat of her body so close to his. . . "I w-wanted you so much, but I. . .I. . ." He took a deep breath. "If Sylvester hadn't been there, I might have. . .y-you know. . ." His face burned as erotic images of them on his bed swirled through his head.

"Oh." Paige's mouth dropped open. "I. . .I had no idea," she said after a few moments, her own cheeks flushed a bright pink. "I probably would have let you."

It was his turn to be shocked. He tried to speak, but his brain seemed to have forgotten how to form words.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Walter," she said, placing her hand on his leg. He instantly tensed, both from her touch and her ominous statement. "But I'm glad it didn't happen then. It would have been too soon," she explained. "I'm glad we became friends before we became lovers."

He didn't think it was possible but he grew even hotter. He had to leave. There was no way he could stay anywhere near her without having her. "I. . .I, uh. . . Maybe I should go. . .? Go b-back to the garage. . .?" he said, rising to his feet again.

"Oh, okay, if that's what you want." Paige bit her lip and he saw the disappointment in her eyes. "It's late though," she pointed out as she stood. "And you'd have to take my car. We rode over here together, remember?"

Damn, he'd forgotten about that. He supposed he could call for a ride, but something told him she'd shoot down that idea as well. With a sigh of resignation, he asked, "Okay, I'll stay. Do you have a blanket and pillow I can borrow?"

"What for?" Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"So I can sleep on the couch," he explained. Seeing she was even more bewildered, he continued, "We. . . W-We can't. . . Obviously, I can't sl-sleep w-with you. What w-would Ralph think?"

"He would think you love me." He wondered what was so funny as she tried and failed to hide a smile.

"I do love you." Walter agitatedly ran his hand over his face. "I just don't think. . . I w-wouldn't. . ."

"We don't have to do anything," she declared, putting her fingers on his shoulders. Closing his eyes, he reveled in the sensations stirred by her touch.

"But that's. . .that's the problem. If-If I. . .we. . .share a b-b-bed, I don't think I can't. . ." He shook his head. "Ralph would be right across the hall," he pointed out.

"Walter," she said, and he could hear the strained patience in her voice. "People make love all the time with their kids in the same building. Sometimes even when they're right across the hall."

"But Ralph's not mine."

"He might as well be," she countered. "Walter, it will be all right. We just need to be quieter than usual." Pressing herself against him, she slid her hands up the back of his neck and into his hair. She whispered his name into his ear and he was lost.

"Okay," he conceded with a groan.

Giving him a triumphant look, Paige took his hand and led him toward her bedroom.

ooooo

"Cutting it a bit close," Walter said, glancing at his watch as Happy sauntered by him the next morning. It was nine on the dot. He didn't know if Akim had cooled down during their time off, but she still needed to be careful and not get kicked off the case.

"I suppose you got here half an hour ago, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," she countered with a grin.

"No." He'd only been fifteen minutes early but she didn't need to know that. Instead he changed the subject. "You seem a lot more. . .uh, relaxed than the last time I saw you."

"I could say the same for you." Her smile grew wider.

"So did you and Toby, um. . ."

"None of your business. . .Groupie Boy," the mechanic drawled teasingly as she walked toward the other pyrotechnician. Turning to look over her shoulder, she stuck her tongue out at him.

Rolling his eyes at her juvenile behavior, Walter returned his attention to hooking up a stack of amplifiers.

Around noon, members of the band began straggling into the venue, most of them looking the worst for wear. Yuri especially appeared strung out, like he hadn't slept for several days. Walter stood off to the side while the musicians decided the placement of their microphones, but even then he could smell the alcohol and marijuana fumes, along with the unpleasant mixture of heavy perfume and body odor, rolling off the lead singer in waves.

Yuri was even more disgusting up close, burping and farting and scratching places better done in private. Walter thought he was going to be ill as he adjusted the other man's microphone. Tamping down his nausea, a frisson of awareness swept over him, and he knew without a doubt Paige had arrived. Stepping back from the Russian, he saw her stash her bag before flashing him a brief smile. He instantly felt a jolt of desire flow though him.

"Hey, noob, what the fuck is your problem?" Yuri snapped peevishly before belching. "Quit fucking with my mic already. It's not my dick, you know."

Walter's face burned as the other members of the band laughed crudely. "S-S-Sorry." He gave the microphone one last tweak then moved onto to the bass player's. Quickly finishing the rest of the set up, he stepped off stage to listen as the band rehearsed.

It took him several minutes to realize a new song had been added to the play list. Which didn't surprise him, considering how Zhalo's music all sounded the same - terrible. He'd been focusing all his attention on Paige's voice but after the chorus began repeating for a third time, the lyrics finally penetrated his brain.

"You didn't want to spend the night with me,

But my sexy loving overpowered you,

And now you won't let me be.

Now there's nothing that you wouldn't do. . .

For more fun, for more fun,

For more fun. . .

With my love gun."

Horrified, Walter glanced over at Paige, taking in her pale grim countenance before she bit her lip and looked away. If he was hearing it correctly, the song was about someone who was coerced into having sex, but then starts stalking her rapist for more sex. Oh shit, was the son of a bitch singing about the night he thought he slept with Paige?

His hands curled into fists, itching to pummel the tall Russian into oblivion. His eyes met Paige's for a fleeting second, long enough for her to shake her head in warning, no doubt because his violent intentions were plainly written all over his face.

Inhaling deeply, he spun away, unable to listen anymore. He wasn't even sure why it bothered him so much, he knew where Paige had spent the last three nights - with him, not Yuri. It had to be the idea of anyone else touching her the way she'd let him. . . A fury of emotions had been unleashed inside him, ones he didn't know how to deal with. . .ones he was going to have to keep under control if there was going to be any chance of Team Scorpion successfully completing their mission.

He spent the next half hour brooding in a corner backstage, methodically taking apart then putting back together a backup speaker. It took several minutes for him to realize Zhalo had stopped playing and were heading toward the exits, evidently taking another smoke break. He sought out Paige, who, in a prearranged signal, tipped her head toward Zalina.

With a knot in his stomach the size of a whale, Walter approached the backup singer. She was digging through her purse, muttering curses under her breath.

"Uh, hey, can w-we talk?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

She looked him up and down before scoffing, "What do you want, loser?" Tossing her head, she resumed pawing through her bag.

"I-I just wanted to say I, um, I'm sorry. . .sorry about, about what I said the other day." He stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets, parroting the words he and Paige had come up with the previous evening.

"Why should I care?"

Again, following the script the liaison had helped him prepare, he said, "You, er, you were right. She's. . ." He jerked his head in Paige's direction as she was fiddling around with her belongings several feet away. "She's not interested in me"

"Ha, I told you," Zalina laughed humorlessly. "Of course that slut's not interested in you." She narrowed her gaze at him. "You hear new song?"

"Yeah, uh," he began, hoping she didn't want him to critique it.

"Da, Yuri wrote it after he fucked her." She snorted with derision. "He's been bragging she can't get enough of his big cock."

An urge to beat the shit out of the lead singer surged through him again. Struggling to regain his composure, he retreated to the safety of his memorized speech. "Well, what I said to you. . . I, uh, I knew she was listening, and, ah, I didn't want her to know I was. . .I was. . .I was interested in you, too." His stomach heaved at the enormity of his lie, and he gulped anxiously.

"Ha, I am supposed to believe that?" she sneered, dropping her purse as she slinked toward him. "Prove it."

"Pr-Prove it?" Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and the taste of bile rose in his throat. Oh, boy, he thought worriedly, this wasn't part of the plan.

Zalina moved closer, placing her hands on his sweat soaked t-shirt, then gliding her fingers up and down his chest, lingering over his nipples. He twitched with repulsion, disgusted with himself as he felt his body respond. "Come up to my room tonight," she purred into his ear before licking it. The blonde singer obviously mistook his shudder of revulsion as one of desire when she added, "Unless you want to do it now?"

"Uh, now?" Trying to keep the panic from his tone, he searched his mind for a plausible excuse. Paige had the cloning device, she was going to seek out Nazar when the roadies broke for lunch. He could hardly stroll up to her and ask for it. "Uh, I-I c-can't. . . I, um, I have to. . ."

"Hey, noob, where the fuck are you?" Walter slumped with relief as Akim's irate question rang out. "Dumb shit is always wandering off," the head roadie complained loudly. Walter heard a grunt in reply and wondered who the other man was talking to.

"S-Sorry," he said, not contrite at all, grateful for the excuse provided by Akim's intrusion, "I-I gotta get back to work."

"My room, tonight after concert," she stated, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him against her.

"Uh, o-o-okay?" He had to reach out and grasp her hips to keep from stumbling, comparing their boniness to Paige's soft contours.

"You better fuck my brains out, noob," she murmured breathlessly, "or I'll tell Yuri he screwed me, and not your American whore."

He didn't have time to process her threat as her mouth descended upon his, all thoughts of Paige or anything else driven from his head as the blonde's tongue thrust its way between his lips.

ooooo

Author's note: The horrible song lyrics included in this chapter were written by me. It was kind of fun to see what kind of dreck I could come up with. I think these are appropriately terrible.