Title: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Summary: Paige is dealing with a new neighbor with a nightly habit.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own /scorpion. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit and no infringement of copyrights is intended.

Author's Note: The first part of this chapter takes place right after 2.23 Chernobyl Intentions, but before 2.24 Toby or Not Toby. And just a reminder, this was written before Season 3 started. It takes place in a universe where Civil War never was, nor anything in Season 3 so far.


Chapter 2 – Look's Like We Made It


Kissing Linda was… uncomfortable and… awkward. Remembering the feeling now was even worse, since Walter knew that her kiss came not from real affection, but from a desire to relive an experience. Despite the fact that he had no feelings beyond friendship for Linda, it still bothered him that she hadn't been with him for himself. He supposed he shouldn't fault her. He recalled that the thought foremost in his mind at the time was a wish that it was Paige, and not Linda. Admitting that to himself now only made things worse.

Reliving the sensation of Paige's lips on his made him think that nearly getting entombed in an imploded concrete containment building was worth it. He needed to savor that memory because he knew now he would never experience it again. Happy predicted he would screw things up, and she was right. To make matters worse, he was once again sitting in Paige's living room, waiting for her to return from putting Ralph to bed. He thought for a moment of simply slipping out before she returned, but even he knew that would only add to the awkwardness between them. No, he needed to stick it out and make a swift, but courteous exit. Now that he had all but pushed Paige into Tim's arms, they would likely not spend evenings together like this again.

Shortly after offering his tickets to Paige, Ralph was dropped off at the garage by his sitter and immediately asked if Walter would be joining them for dinner. The boy was so enthusiastic to hear about their experiences; Walter realized Paige agreed only because she couldn't bear to deny her son. They spent the evening relating their adventures to Ralph and avoided talking to each other at all. Undoubtedly, Paige would find a way to explain to Ralph that she was with Tim now and it would not be appropriate for Walter to visit anymore. Walter hoped he could somehow maintain a relationship with the boy who was the son he would never have. In trying to maintain his friendship with Paige, he'd all but destroyed it.

"He's sound asleep… I think. Either that or he's under the covers with his laptop googling nuclear disasters. I just hope it doesn't give him nightmares. I seriously need a good night's sleep."

Paige dropped down onto the small sofa next to Walter. He looked up, startled at her proximity. Before he could school the surprise from his features, she carefully edged away. Walter picked up a snow-globe from the table, needing some excuse not to look at her. Peering into the globe, he realized the scene was of a tiny town in a valley, aglow with Christmas lights. He shook the globe and watched as the swirling flake momentarily obliterated the scene.

"I'm sure Ralph will be fine. I would be surprised if he didn't want to find out more – curiosity is one of his hallmark traits."

"Yeah. I'm glad he's growing up with the Internet. I could never afford to buy books for everything he wants to know about. My mom was like that - constantly wanting to learn about things. She never went to college, but every spare corner of our house was full of books on all sorts of subjects. Since you told me Ralph is a genius, I've thought that must be where he gets it from. It makes me sad to think her intelligence was wasted. That's part of why I want to be sure Ralph has every opportunity to use his intelligence – why I want to be sure he can remain a part of Scorpion."

Walter looked up at that. "Ralph will be a welcome part of Scorpion for as long as he… and you… want him to be," he assured her.

"That's… that's good to hear."

Knock… knock… knock… knock… knock… knock… knock… knock… knock knock… knock knock… knock knock…

"Oh God! Here we go again!"

Walter groaned. "I take it your… um… neighbor is still up to his nightly activities? What have you told Ralph?"

"Yes, he's still at it," Paige grumbled. "Thankfully so far he's not a weekend warrior, so Ralph has been spared this. I usually let Ralph stay up past ten on Friday and Saturday nights, but Mr. Casanova next door hasn't been… uh… 'hanging pictures' on those nights."

Walter felt himself warm at the reminder of his naiveté. At least the humorous situation was helping to diffuse some of the awkwardness. He held hope that he and Paige could at least continue a cordial working relationship. He needed to leave now before the awkwardness returned.

"I… I should be going. You have… you have packing to do."

"Right," she sighed.

Walter stood and made his way quickly to the door. He reached for the doorknob and turned, surprised to find Paige standing close behind him.

"I… I'll see you at um… at work tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," she responded. "Tomorrow's a work day, I'll… I'll be at work, just like normal."

"Like normal. Of course."

Walter opened the door and stepped out. He turned back again. Paige was holding the door open.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then. At work," he said. "Have a… a good night."

"Good night, Walter," she said and slowly closed the door.

Walter stood a moment, staring at the closed door. He had a sudden impulse to kick the door down, take Paige into his arms and return the breath of air she shared… with interest. Then he would tell her that the only person she was going to Lake Tahoe with would be him… not Armstrong.

But Walter O'Brien was not the sort of man to take such actions. He turned and walked towards the stairs and out of the building. Taking out his phone, he tapped the Uber app to get a car to take him home. How had his new car become the "company car"? That was a situation he would have to address first thing in the morning. In the meantime, he would spend the night wondering what Paige was doing. Would she stay up listening to her neighbor's activities or escape from them to her bedroom? Would she be packing practical pajamas or a sexy negligee? Would she take a hot shower, allowing the pelting water to soothe her muscles as it cascaded over her skin or would she relax in a bubble bath?

It was going to be a long night.


Walter desperately needed an evening to relax and regain his equilibrium. The trip to Lake Tahoe and back was grueling. It had been both emotionally and physically draining. Returning, he was forced to deal with Happy and Toby on a case investigating high level security leaks at a romantic resort in Mexico. High ranking officers from several countries were lured to the resort where their every move, every communication and every web access was hacked. The perpetrators sold what they learned to whomever was willing to pay the price. Walter posed as a British member of MI-6 vacationing with Happy while Paige posed as a US State Department undersecretary on holiday with her bad boy toy, Toby. Things would have worked much better had they been able to pose with their usual partners, but under the circumstances, the personal tensions posed too much of a risk.

They were all back at home now, though. After a long talk with Paige, Toby and Happy agreed to take a couple of days off and work things out between them. Walter hoped they could do that.

Now he found himself, once more, sitting in Paige's living room. Happily accepting her invitation, he surprised Paige by insisting on making their dinner himself, allowing her to spend some time with Ralph. With all the traveling they had done recently, she'd been away from her son much too much. After dinner, the three of them shared the clean-up duties, then retired to the comfortable living room.

Walter realized this was the first time that they were actually alone – or almost alone - since he told Paige that he loved her in Tahoe. Ralph was working on homework for his regular school classes, and Paige insisted on watching some sort of competitive cooking show, saying she found it relaxing. It was a school night, so Ralph would be sent off to bed soon. Suddenly nervous at the prospect of being truly alone with Paige, Walter wasn't sure if he wanted that thirty minutes to go by quickly or slowly.

Knock knock knock knock… knock knock knock knock … knock knock knock knock knock knock…

"Oh gosh, he's early!" Paige whispered, darting a look at Ralph.

Ralph looked up and turned towards the source of the noise.

Knock knock… knock knock… knock knock… knock knock…

"Mom? What is that?" Ralph asked.

Paige stared at Walter. He shrugged his shoulders. He would have told the boy the truth, but it was not his decision to make.

"Um," she began, "I guess that's our new neighbor. He just moved in a couple of weeks ago and I guess… he's… he's hanging pictures." She turned and caught Walter's eye, giving an apologetic shrug of her own and grinning.

"Isn't it kind of late to be doing that?" Ralph asked.

"Well… you know… maybe he has a weird work schedule and this is the only time he has."

Ralph nodded, seeming to accept that explanation. Walter could tell that Paige was having difficulty not laughing.

"I um… I'm going to the bathroom," she said and rushed out of the room.

Ralph got up and came to sit with Walter.

"Walter, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, buddy. You know you can always ask me anything."

"You and my mom… there's something different about you."

"Something different? Different… how?"

"It's like… the way you look at mom. You look at her sort of like Toby looks at Happy. You did that before, but you would always try to hide it. Now you don't hide it anymore. And mom looks at you like that, too. And she smiles… a lot. I think maybe… maybe you like her like her."

Walter rarely thought of discussing his feelings for Paige with Ralph, simply because up until a few days ago he never dreamed he would admit those feelings to her – making any discussion with Ralph impossible. He thought their new relationship was something that he should allow Paige to discuss with the boy, but Ralph asked him, so he owed his young friend an honest answer.

"You're right, Ralph. There is something different. I'm... I'm glad you noticed, actually. It shows that you have a more well-developed EQ than I or most of the rest of the Scorpion team do."

Walter found his confidence waning. This was all so new to him that he found it difficult to articulate. In Tahoe, he'd simply blurted it out to Paige, a short and simple "I love you", with no explanation and no embellishment. But this was Ralph, and Paige obviously still felt Ralph was young enough to need shielding from certain subjects. Did that include telling Ralph about the change in their relationship? Ralph was much more aware of feelings than any of Scorpion had been at his age. After all, he had been the one who immediately recognized that Toby would not want an audience for his misery after the proposal.

"So you do like her, then? I mean like her like her?"

Walter smiled at the childish euphemism. He should tell him the truth, all of it. "I've always liked Paige, Ralph. But a few days ago I realized I love her. It's… it's um… still hard… for me to um… to understand. I never thought I would feel… love. I didn't believe it existed. But now….I… I've learned. I love your mom."

Walter tensed. It hit him suddenly that a great deal hinged on Ralph's reaction. If Ralph wasn't comfortable with his new relationship with Paige, he didn't think it would be right to pursue it. Where would that leave them? Would they go back to being… colleagues? Toby once told him that you can't un-ring a bell, and he himself realized that once he was aware of certain facts about himself, there was no returning to who he was before. He could not go back to being unaware of loving Paige.

Ralph nodded and smiled. "I sort of thought that might be it. Mom likes you, too. A lot."

"Is that um… is that okay with you… Ralph?"

The boy shrugged. "Sure, I guess. I mean, you both seem really happy, and as long as you're not married to someone else like Happy, then you'll stay happy, right?"

Walter expelled the breath he was holding. "This is one science that I'm no genius in, Ralph, and I think it might be a little more complicated than that, but I'm going to do my best to learn all I can so we stay happy."


August 13, 2016 – August 30, 2016