WriterFreak001:

Sorry for the delay; I was planning on writing the chapter earlier in the day, but I had to take a trip to the emergency center after taking a rather scary fall down the stairs. No broken bones. Just bruises, broken skin and pride.

Title | Mind Games

Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)

Description | Post-Deception. Four months passed since the ending of "Deception," and it seemed as though life, for the most part, returned to normal for Team Scorpion. Walter and Paige were given a chance to focus on their relationship in the midst of all of the cases that were assigned to the team. However, eventually, all great things must end, and once again, Team Scorpion will have to deal with an even bigger opponent than the Leviathan Mafia. Mark Collins is back for revenge and will have something big in store for Walter – something even the 197 IQ genius might not be able to see coming. And Collins's return just might cause a rift within the Scorpion family in the process, making it next to impossible for them to beat his ultimate game.

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for violence, obscene language, sexual themes as well as brain stuff and fluff.

POV | Limited Third Person

Disclaimer | While CBS owns Scorpion, I am the owner of this masterpiece.

Claimer | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something should be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

Mind Games

Sequel to Deception

Written by WriterFreak001

Chapter 2

~ SCORPION ~

By the time Ralph needed to be picked up from school, Walter and Paige were dressed for the day as if the past several hours didn't happen. But, oh, they did, and it was getting harder for Walter and Paige to maintain their charades around Ralph – especially during the night. They had to be careful because Ralph would sometimes crawl into bed with them whenever he was having a hard time sleeping; the boy was aware that Walter and his mother had started sharing the same room for the past several months, but as far as Walter and Paige knew, Ralph didn't know the extent of their relationship.

"You know," Walter said as he started Paige's car and applied pressure to the accelerator, "I still don't understand why it would be such a bad thing for us to inform Ralph of our unanimous decision to consummate our relationship. We started having sexual intercourse almost three months ago; don't you think it's time we let Ralph know?"

"Because," Paige laughed, "there's a certain level of decency parents must maintain in front of children, Walter. Even if he already knows about sex –"

"He most likely already does. Toby lent Ralph one of his medical books several months ago. Ralph's already read it cover to cover, and I can assure you, sexual intercourse was certainly a topic included in the discourse." Walter chuckled as he turned right.

"I'm going to have to have a talk with Toby later…," Paige mumbled. "Anyway," she continued, "as I was saying: even if Ralph already knows about sex, it's not a topic for discussion. Trust me, Walter," she placed her hand on his as he rested it against the center console. "We're doing Ralph a favor by not telling him."

"He may already know; he's a genius. He's very capable of putting two and two together." Walter replied as he slowed down for the red light.

"I realize that," Paige laughed and squeezed Walter's hand, "and because he's a genius, he is capable of remembering everything. I don't know about you, Walter, but I do not want to be the one who mentally scars my son for the rest of his life."

"But if we tell him," Walter said as he quickly exchanged looks with Paige, "we'll be able to spare him from accidentally walking in on us…. By telling him we engage in sexual intercourse –"

"Ew. Don't call it that." Paige grimaced.

"But that's what it's called."

"Well…, call it something else, then. Sexual intercourse makes sex seem like it's nothing more than a chore." Paige raised an eyebrow as Walter pulled into the school's parking lot.

"The name of the act is arbitrary, Paige." Walter said as he parked the car. "You know what I'm referring to when I say sexual intercourse; why insist on changing the terminology?"

"Because," Paige took off her seatbelt; he did the same, "by calling it sexual intercourse, you make it sound so dirty."

"Then what do you suggest?" Walter inquired.

"Call it…," Paige stopped to think for a moment. She smiled, "Call it…, making love."

Walter shook his head. "No…. I am not calling it that."

"Why not?" Paige laughed.

"The phrase, 'making love,' is too elusive. It could mean anything from sexual intercourse to oral sexual intercourse. And you and I both know we do not engage in the latter. Sexual intercourse correctly describes the type of intimacy we share, and it doesn't require further explanation as to what it could possibly mean." Walter explained.

Paige rolled her eyes. "Okay. I see your point. Could you at least call it 'sex' instead? Doesn't sound as dirty as 'sexual intercourse.'"

Walter almost objected but gave in to her request. "Fine, I'll call it sex, but you cannot expect me to ever say 'making' and 'love' in the same sentence, exclusively in that order."

"Deal," Paige laughed as they climbed out of her car. After Walter locked the vehicle, he slipped the keys into his pocket and then took Paige's hand. Over the past few months, he had gotten more comfortable with simple PDA – especially after Toby told him that holding a woman's hand equated to a sense of ownership. While Walter never considered himself as someone who would ever own Paige in any way, he did uncover a sense of pride as he held her close. Toby had assured Walter that his prideful feelings were resulted from the fact that he didn't want any other guy to 'hit' – as Toby had put it – on his girlfriend; even if Walter knew Paige was a very capable woman in defending herself. She did, after all, escape a van filled with armed gang members once.

As they approached the school, Walter remembered that he didn't get to finish what he wanted to say in regards to Ralph. They were halfway to the building so he still had time to complete his lingering train of thought. "As I was saying earlier," Walter caught Paige's attention, "If we let Ralph know about our sexual relationship, it could prevent him from walking in on us in the future. I know he hasn't done it yet, but it's bound to happen sometime – especially if we don't tell him."

"We're not going to tell him, Walter. End of discussion." Paige replied as they approached the building.

"But –"

"Walter…" Her voice was stern.

Walter sighed. "Fine." He would bring the subject back up later when they weren't just about to walk into a battlefield of elementary school kids.

"Thank you," Paige muttered as she placed a quick kiss against his shoulder. They walked through the hallways of the school and went straight to Ralph's classroom where they usually found him writing equations on the blackboard. He wasn't there. "Hm… Where is he?" Paige frowned.

"Perhaps he's outside with the other students. As I recall, he has made a few friends here; he might be with them." Walter assessed the situation. "Or he could be in the bathroom."

"Let's wait for a few minutes and see if he comes back. If not, we'll check the playground." Paige said as she released Walter's hand and walked over to Ralph's desk. "His backpack's not here. So maybe he is outside with the other kids."

Before Walter could say anything, Ralph's teacher walked into the classroom. "If you're looking for Ralph," the middle-aged woman smiled, "he's outside today. I meant to leave a note on the board for the two of you, seeing as none of the other parents pick the children up from the classrooms, but I was called into a meeting and forgot. Anyway, the two of you can exit through the back door," she pointed to the heavy-metal door in the far corner of the classroom, "and access the playground area from there."

"Thank you," Paige smiled as she walked back over to Walter.

"No problem." Ralph's teacher went to her desk as Walter and Paige made their way to the metal door.

They exited the building and crossed the blacktop as they headed for the playground. "Do you see him?" Paige asked as both of them scanned the playground.

"Not yet," Walter replied; he could tell Paige was growing worried as she squeezed his hand. He pulled her to the side of the playground and spotted Ralph sitting on a bench towards the back of the schoolyard. "I see him!" Walter pointed towards the bench.

Paige stepped in front of him and sighed. "Thank goodness."

Walter saw Ralph turn towards the large tree next to the bench. He was smiling, laughing and talking? Walter didn't see anybody sitting next to the boy. It would be normal if the boy was muttering to himself, but it was clear that Ralph was socially engaging with someone. "Who is he talking to?"

"I don't know." Paige frowned. "Let's find out."

Walter started walking towards the bench, pulling Paige with him. As they approached Ralph, it was definitely clear that he was talking to someone. Ralph noticed them coming towards him and waved. "Hi Walter! Hi Mom!"

"Ralph? Who're you talking to?" Paige asked as they rushed over to the boy.

"Someone like me." Ralph smiled. "He's almost as smart as Walter."

"Who?" Walter inquired. He did not like where this conversation was heading.

"He's right th-" Ralph started to say as he pointed towards the tree, "Well, he was there. We talked about the quantum mechanics of time travel," Ralph grinned. "It was an engaging conversation."

"And did," Walter's voice darkened, "he give you a name?"

Ralph nodded. "He said his name was Mark Collins. He told me he has an IQ of 190."

Paige picked Ralph up into her arms and spoke softly, "Ralph…, what did I say about talking to strangers?"

"He wasn't a stranger." Ralph answered directly as Walter inhaled a deep breath. "He said he knew both of you. He told me he helped with one of your cases."

"Honey," Paige sat down on the bench and held her son in her arms. She brushed his bangs out of his face and kissed his cheek. "Is this the first time Mark Collins has come here?"

Ralph shook his head. "We've spoken a few times in the past few weeks." Paige closed her eyes and released a heavy sigh. Walter scanned the area to see where Collins could have ran off to.

"Why didn't you say anything beforehand?" Paige pressed her cheek against Ralph's.

"He told me it was a secret; he wanted to surprise you and Walter." Ralph gulped. "Did I do something bad?"

Paige kissed Ralph's cheek and held him closer to her body. "No, sweetie. You didn't."

"Wherever he went, he's gone, now." Walter stated as he sat down next to Paige.

"Did Mr. Collins do something bad?" Ralph inquired, looking between Walter and Paige.

"Yes." Walter answered quickly. "Mark Collins is not someone you want to be friends with, Ralph. Remember when I told you how Scorpion had to stop that meltdown several months ago?"

"Yeah," Ralph nodded.

"Well," Walter paused, "Mark Collins was the one responsible for starting it in the first place."

"Oh." Ralph suddenly grew quiet. "I didn't know."

"That's right, sweetie." Paige kissed Ralph's forehead, "You didn't know. You're not at fault here. We don't blame you, honey. Right, Walter?" Paige locked her eyes on Walter's and sent him a warning glare.

"R-right." Walter ran his hand through his hair. "Y-your mother's assumption is correct."

"Okay," Ralph nodded. "What if he comes back?"

"Don't engage." Walter answered quickly.

"What Walter means to say, Ralph, is that you need to ignore him and pretend he's not around. If you see him lingering around the playground, find a teacher or a recess monitor and tell them. Okay?"

Ralph swallowed the lump in his throat. "Okay."

"Now," Paige poked Ralph's nose and smiled, "I think a trip to the ice cream parlor would do us nicely."

"Really?" Ralph beamed.

"I scoop swore, didn't I?" Paige laughed and then caught Walter's stern gaze.

Paige sent him another glare. He sighed. "Ice cream sounds like a good plan."

~ SCORPION ~

After Walter, Paige and Ralph returned from their trip to the ice cream parlor, Ralph went straight to Paige's computer and started playing a virtual game of chess, while the other two made their way over to Cabe. Walter was glad that the agent was back because Collins was certainly not a topic that should be discussed over the phone.

"And what can I do for the two of you?" Cabe asked as he folded his arms and waited for someone to start talking.

"Let's go upstairs." Walter suggested; Sylvester, Toby and Happy were in the lower level so Ralph would be all right. Happy had upgraded the security system to the garage ever since the mafia debacle.

"Okay?" Cabe raised an eyebrow and followed both Walter and Paige up the steps. When they entered the loft, Walter and Paige stopped walking and turned around to face Cabe. Walter folded his arms in front of his chest as Paige lightly leaned against him. "Care to tell me what this is all about?"

"Were you aware that Mark Collins was released from prison?" Walter asked, his expression was as hard as ever.

"No. I wasn't." Cabe frowned. "He was sent to a mental patient facility after he was caught writing all over the jail cell with the sharpie marker he had requested. There were numbers everywhere."

"Numbers were one of his specialties." Walter stated as he rubbed his temples. "If he was sent to a psychiatric facility, he could have found an opportunity to escape. He almost did the last time he was there; perhaps he succeeded this time. He knew the guards would find him crazy if he was caught writing everywhere; he probably played them – made them think he was crazy. It's a lot easier to escape a psych ward than a prison cell."

"Wait," Cabe raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you ask?"

"We found Ralph talking to him at the school's playground today." Paige replied as she hooked her arms around Walter's elbow.

"You did what?" Cabe's eyes widened.

"Well, we didn't actually find him…. He was long gone before we approached Ralph." Walter clarified.

"Then how do you know it was Collins?" Cabe frowned. He leaned against the counter.

"Ralph." Paige said, mirroring Cabe's facial expression. "Ralph told us whom he was talking to."

Cabe heaved a heavy sigh and muttered a few choice words before pulling his phone out of his pocket. "If that's the case, then why did the psychiatric facility not notify anyone of his escape?"

"They have a reputation to maintain," Walter's jaw hardened. "If they let the public know that they let a dangerous man slip through their fingers, they'll lose credibility. In today's economy, loss of credibility could really hurt their business."

"And because of that error," Cabe ran his hand through his hair, "Collins is back and probably more insane than ever before; there's no doubt he has something up his sleeve – especially if he paid a visit to Ralph's school. I'll see if I can get the LAPD to put an APB on the guy; I'll also contact Ralph's school and tell them to keep an eye out for Collins and a special eye on Ralph. Now, I suggest you tell the rest of the team of what's going on," Cabe looked at Walter, "because we're going to need all the genius help we can get on this one."

"Okay." Walter nodded.

"I'll be back. Gotta head over to HQ and give them a rundown." Cabe said as he headed for the stairs. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone. I don't want anybody messing with Collins until I get back. Understood?"

"Confirmed." Walter replied as Cabe disappeared from the loft. He released a sigh. "This is my fault."

"It isn't your fault, Walter." Paige rubbed his back.

"I should have warned the officials about Collins's mind games. I should have been able to predict his moves and stop him before he had a chance to approach Ralph." Walter rested his elbows against the counter and sighed into his hands.

"Walter, this isn't your fault." Paige continued to rub Walter's shoulders. "Mark Collins has only been back in our lives for a mere hour, and you're already buying into the lies he planted into your head." Paige's fingers massaged his scalp. He closed his eyes. "No one could have predicted this; you're not God, Walter. You can't predict the future."

Walter lifted his head and stared at the wall. "No. I can't." He turned to face Paige. "But I can put a stop to this."

"Yes, you can, but first we need to heed Cabe's orders. Collins is not someone we want to mess with blindly. We can't afford to screw up so what we first need to do is notify the rest of the team and then take a beat while we wait for Cabe to return." Paige said as she rubbed his arms. "I know you don't like taking orders, Walter, but for Ralph's sake and for mine, please do as Cabe says."

Walter pursed his lips and nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you." Paige slid her hands up to his neck and then pulled him into a short, chaste kiss. "I'd say we have an hour before Cabe comes back; let's take a walk to the park. It'll help clear your head."

"Okay." Walter muttered before she gave him another kiss. They grabbed their jackets, descended the stairs, told the team they would be back shortly and disappeared from the garage, knowing Ralph was in capable hands.

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

I didn't actually think I would get this chapter done tonight seeing as I am sore everywhere, but this was my gift to all of you. The next chapter might not be published until Sunday depending on how I feel tomorrow.

Thank you for your patience!

Feel free to predict what Mark might be planning! :D