Wow, this chapter was hard to write. Actually, this whole story has been a pain, so I hope it doesn't suck, because that would be a waste haha. I apologize for leaving you hanging on that last chapter, but thank you for sticking with me and continuing to read. Leave your thoughts/comments/concerns below. ;)

Choose, Walter.

He couldn't.

How could he look Paige in the eye, reveal that she had a chance to save her son and not allow her to take it? But how could he allow her to do it, to play Mark's twisted game and put herself at risk? Walter had once told Paige that never seeing her again would be an acceptable consequence. He'd proven to himself time and time again that was untrue.

There was always the option not to tell her. But if he kept his findings hidden and Ralph suffered, Paige would never forgive him. Even if Walter could battle his guilty conscience and bury the secret, Collins would sure as hell find a way to pit them against each other.

Walter jogged a few steps to catch the elevator and absently thanked the elderly man who'd been holding it for him. His entire body felt strangely numb. The genius had made plenty of decisions in the field that could have saved or ended the lives of his team, and hundreds more. But to prioritize one life over another…he'd never done that. And certainly not with them.

He had called Cabe from the car, hoping to get some perspective or reassurance, but the words stuck on his tongue. The agent didn't press him, just assured him that they were leaving Homeland and would arrive at the hospital as soon as possible.

Walter thought about all of his excuses, all the reasons he'd given for why he and Paige couldn't have a successful relationship, and how empty and stupid they seemed now. He was never able to stomach the thought of losing her; whether they were together or not had been immaterial. At least he knew now that, while he'd no doubt have some regrets in the end, lying about his feelings for her would not be one of them.

Walter almost chuckled to himself, but bit his tongue as he glanced over and remembered that he wasn't alone. He gripped his hair with his fingers instead. The stress was clearly getting under his skin.

His mind had been otherwise preoccupied, so he was almost surprised when he found himself at the door of Ralph's room. He'd meant to head straight for the lab, but he took this route subconsciously and there was no turning back as the liaison noticed him in the hallway and shot up quickly.

"Walter," she said with a rush of relief, her arms locked around his neck before he even had time to comprehend that she was approaching him.

He looked over her shoulder to where Sylvester was sitting and nodded appreciatively. The mathematician rose and exited the room quietly to give them privacy while Walter turned his full attention to Paige, rubbing his hand over the middle of her back in small circles.

"You can't just disappear like that," she sighed against his shoulder. He could tell Paige was aiming for sternness, but missing. "I almost had a heart attack when I found out you left without the team."

Walter stiffened at her choice of words, but if Paige noticed, she didn't mention it. His palms traveled lower, to her hips, and he rested his cheek against her temple, inhaling softly, wanting just one more moment like this before everything went to hell for the tenth time that day. "I'm sorry. It was…better that I went alone."

"I'm just glad you're okay." Paige sniffled a bit as she pulled back, and Walter wondered if she had been crying again while he was gone. Now that he thought about it, he realized that Sylvester's face was red and puffy too. "What happened? Where did you go?"

He swallowed and shifted his weight, but Paige gripped his forearms to keep him in place and looked at him questioningly. Walter gently flexed his fingers into her skin, somehow feeling restless and drained all at once. "The team—they should be…"

The genius trailed off, and Paige blinked. "It's bad, isn't it?"

Walter nodded, unsure how to soften the blow. Paige had a gift for delivering bad news, but he was sure even she would be struggling with the information he had.

"It's okay." Sadness colored the usual encouragement in her voice as she rubbed her thumbs over his arms. "My son is sick. Anything that you're trying to protect me from can't be worse than that."

"Yes, it can," Walter mumbled under his breath, but Paige heard and cocked her eyebrows. He wasn't even sure where to start. But she'd told him, once, that he tended to provide facts out of sequence, so he decided he would go back to the beginning. "Collins is alive."

She blanched a little, her grip on him becoming measurably tighter. "How do you…" Paige's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "You saw him, didn't you? Where? How? Walter, that could have been so dangerous—."

"I'm fine," he interrupted, and it wasn't a complete lie—he was physically unharmed, at least. "I'll tell you everything, Paige, but I need you to stay calm and not make any rash decisions. Do you understand?" She looked at him skeptically, but he used his leverage on her hips to shake her slightly. "Paige, I'm serious."

"Okay, okay," the liaison acquiesced, taking a deep breath to brace herself. Walter preferred to tell the whole team at once, but this was Ralph's life on the line and his mother had the right to decide for him. He supposed it was only right for her to know first.

The facts were aligned in his mind, but Paige's glossy eyes met his and he felt a rush of emotion that clouded his thinking again. He realized, several seconds after the fact, that he'd simply breathed out her name, and she stepped closer. "I can handle it, Walter. Tell me."

He knew she meant it as a comforting gesture, but Walter jumped back abruptly as her hands traveled around his waist. It was too late, though. His strange reaction had tipped her off.

"That's it, isn't it? What you don't want to tell me about." He took another halfhearted step back, but Paige was already there, her hand sliding into his inside pocket and pulling out the vial she'd felt in his jacket. She stared at it. "This isn't—."

"No," he answered quickly, though both of them knew that Walter would never hold back the antidote. He reached out and took the vial from her, assuming it was better if she wasn't in possession of it when he told her the whole story, and slipped it back into his pocket. "Collins wants a trade. Your life for Ralph's," he blurted out, figuring the rest of the details weren't really that crucial anymore. "You're supposed to consume this in exchange for the antidote."

Paige's jaw dropped slightly and her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to process what Walter was telling her. "It's…some kind of poison?" she asked even though she was already pretty clear on the answer.

"If we can figure out what it is, the team can mimic the symptoms without putting you in danger. We can fool Collins, Paige, I just need time—."

"Time? Walter…" The liaison glanced over at her son, releasing a shaky breath. "We don't have that."

"We will, I promise." Walter didn't like making promises; there were far too many variables in any situation to adequately control. But he would have pledged Paige anything right then to keep her from acting impulsively. "I need you to trust me."

Paige looked up at him uncertainly. Walter had never been accused of being perceptive, but he knew exactly what she was thinking, because he was thinking it too.

"Don't," he said simply, leaning forward and resting his hands on her shoulders. "We can beat Collins. We've done it before. I can keep you and Ralph safe."

Walter wished he felt more conviction in those words.

Paige gave him a watery smile and lifted one hand to his face, capturing his lips with hers. Walter was surprised by the intensity of the kiss, but attributed it to her heightened emotional state. He responded with the same strength, feeling her palm grip at the back of his shirt, under his jacket. "Thank you," she said when she pulled away, a little breathless, and then pressed her nose into his cheek.

You're welcome didn't seem like an appropriate response, so Walter disconnected and stared at her for a moment, hoping to communicate what he couldn't achieve verbally. He could have stayed in that position for much longer, but Sylvester popped his head in the room. "Everyone's here."

"Go," Paige said encouragingly, nodding her head toward the door. "I'm going to stay here with Ralph."

"Okay." He glanced over his shoulder at her before he and Sylvester rounded the corner, meeting the team as they came through a set of double doors looking more than a little irked.

The shrink spoke first. "Geez, Walt. You couldn't have called to let us know you weren't dead in a ditch somewhere?"

"Lecture me later. Where is Dr. Albanese?"

Toby shrugged. "What am I, his parole officer?" Walter narrowed his eyes, and the psychologist held up his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, I forgot your panties are in a bunch. Check with the nurses, they'll page him for you."

Cabe slapped the back of Toby's head before striding toward the nurse's station at the opposite end of the hallway. Happy leaned in and muttered, "Alright, what's the deal?"

"I saw Collins." Walter held up his hand as a wave of protests and questions flooded in. "We don't have time. He made a deal with me for Ralph's antidote."

No one besides Toby had ever heard Happy sigh, but the mechanic made a noise of relief and tipped her head back. "Thank God. That helicopter's not getting here for at least another four hours."

Walter stilled and scrunched his forehead, wondering exactly how much he'd missing while he was gone. "The lab was only six hours away."

"Their chopper got caught in a storm. We've planned another route for them to transport the antidote, but it's pushing our time frame," Happy explained, her temporary joy replaced by concern at the rapidly changing expression on Walter's face. "Paige didn't tell you?"

"No."

"Maybe she didn't want to worry you," Sylvester offered.

It usually took less time for Walter to connect the facts. "Or she didn't want me to know how desperate she was," he muttered, reaching inside his pocket to find what he instinctively already knew was gone. He patted along the outside of his jacket and searched the other side for good measure, coming up empty. "Damnit!"

Walter spun on his heel and took off down the hallway, the rest of the geniuses shooting each other confused glances before they sped after him. He turned the corner and nearly slid into Paige's room, stopping abruptly when he saw her sitting in a chair and stroking Ralph's forehead.

The liaison extended her other arm to him and opened her palm, exposing the empty vial. "Here."

Walter passed it to Happy, who took off immediately, needing no instruction. Toby muscled into the room and pulled the second chair up next to Paige, testing her pulse and checking her eyes for discoloration. She sat in blank silence until Toby finished his examination and allowed room for Walter to drop to his knees in front of her.

"Paige," the genius murmured, reaching up tentatively to brush away hair that had fallen into her eyes. "I…"

"I trust you," the liaison interrupted, her gaze a little hazy but still lucid. "I just couldn't risk it."

Walter curled his hand behind her neck, his breath hitching as he felt how clammy her skin was. His other palm rested on her waist, where her heartbeat was pulsing rapidly. "You'll be okay, Paige," he said without confidence, hoping she didn't notice but knowing that she would. "I'll find a way to fix this. We have options to—."

Paige shushed him, cracking a faint smile as she reached up to touch his cheek. "Just save Ralph," she whispered, her breathing shallow. "And don't blame yourself if you can't help me. This was my choice. You would have done the same thing."

He supposed he couldn't argue that point, considering how often he'd put his life in danger for them without a second thought. Paige swayed slightly in his arms, and he tightened his grip on her, reaching behind him to frantically push the call button again. Their slow response time must have been due to an emergency elsewhere in the hospital.

Walter had never felt more failed by his intelligence. How reckless was he to bring the poison here instead of straight to the lab? How stupid was he to meet with Collins at all, knowing that nothing but misery and suffering ever followed his old partner? He'd been blinded by his quest to help Ralph and now Paige was paying the price.

"Greater good, Walter. The world needs Ralph much more than it needs me," Paige murmured, and shook her head as he started to protest. "I love you."

He was so focused on her that he didn't quite acknowledge the medical staff that had flooded the room until Toby pulled him up and away from the chair. Walter wanted to say it back—to tell her why she was wrong, and the world needed her, he needed her—but as the doctors moved her to a gurney and rushed her out of the room and Toby restrained Walter to keep him from chasing after her, he wondered if he would ever get the chance.