WriterFreak001:

That promo makes me even more curious as to how 1x18 will play out. So excited! :D

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 22

~ SCORPION ~

A month slowly passed since the debacle with Mark Collins, and Scorpion was as busy as ever. With Paige being ten weeks pregnant, she mostly stayed home because Walter was not comfortable having her accompany the team during their high-risk cases – or any case, for that matter. If Walter needed her EQ expertise on a case, he would have her wear a com device and communicate with everyone from the garage. For the most part, Paige was overcoming the trauma she had experienced from her capture, but every once in a while, she would wake up from a nightmare; however, those nights frequented less and less.

Walter took Paige's suggestion into consideration and asked for Cabe's advice, knowing the agent would be better equipped with providing a well-supported opinion in regards to the topic at hand. Cabe said it couldn't hurt for all of the members of Scorpion to receive some basic training, but he also made a point that most of their high-risk cases required years of training – not just a few months. With that in mind, Cabe agreed to talk with Director Merrick and see if Homeland could spare a few more agents on their more dangerous cases. When Director Merrick approved of Cabe's proposal, Paige was more than satisfied with the affirmation and thanked Walter for heeding her request later that night.

Walter made a mental note to heed her requests more often because her gratitude was quite rewarding.

"I've been thinking…," Walter mumbled as he stared at the dark ceiling, knowing Paige was staring at him as he spoke, "about a lot of things lately..." He turned to face her and propped his head up with his elbow as his other arm casually draped over her waist. "About a year ago…, I was, um, I m-mentioned th-that I was very f-frightened of the idea of a, um, of a long-term r-relationship, b-but after everything that's happened, I-I've r-realized, um, I've realized th-that I'm m-more afraid, um, more af-f-fraid of losing you... than of b-being with you…." His fingers slid from her waist to her hand and wrapped around her fingers. He slowly rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand as he continued to meet her gaze. "I'm going to be h0nest, Paige," he swallowed the lump in his throat, "th-this pregnancy has kinda thrown me in for a loop; it w-wasn't, um, it wasn't something I was expecting any time soon."

"I know," Paige nodded as her expression softened. "I wasn't expecting to be expecting any time soon either…. But sometimes being thrown in for a loop can be a good thing." She smirked, "It's the surprises that make life all the more interesting." She caressed her swelling belly, "Even the most surprising ones of all."

"Yeah. Of course," Walter quickly nodded in response to Paige's statement. "I agree. Surprises certainly bring upon challenges." He brought her fingertips to his lips and gently kissed them. "I never told you this, but last month, while you were being held captive, I had a strange but somewhat appealing dream about us in the future…."

"Oh?" Paige's eyebrows lifted. "What sort of dream?"

Walter debated whether or not he should elaborate but felt as though his explanation would be the best segue for his underlining query. "Um…, well, we were married…. We were expecting our third child; you were very, very pregnant. And we seemed very content."

"Sounds like it was a good dream," Paige smiled and hooked her arms around his neck, bringing herself closer to him.

"It was," Walter gulped. "For the most part."

Paige frowned. "Did something bad happen in the dream?"

"Towards the end, but I don't really want to go into detail. My p-point is…. Th-the good p-parts," Walter cleared his throat, "The good parts of th-that dream put m-me into perspective…, a-and it m-made me r-realize I w-want th-the life we had in that dream." He glanced at her growing abdomen and then found her eyes again. "I want all of it…with you."

Paige cupped his face as a single tear fell from her eye. She pulled him in for a brief, chaste kiss and threaded her fingers through his hair. "I want it too."

"Th-then s-soon?" Walter stammered; his brain was still trying to wrap around the fact that Paige had actually accepted his proposal.

"This month. This week. Tomorrow. Today. I don't really care," Paige smiled and then kissed him hard on the mouth.

He abruptly tore his lips away from hers and added, "You think Ralph would be okay with it?"

"Yes," Paige muttered and tugged on his chin, bringing him in for another kiss.

"You sure?" Walter mumbled against her lips.

"Yes, Walter. I'm sure." Paige whispered between kisses. "Now shut up so I can kiss you."

Walter hummed in agreement as she rolled her tongue into his mouth and weaved her fingers into his hair. Long minutes of heated pleasure passed, and as they stilled together, Walter muttered her name as his thumb swiped across her bottom lip.

"What is it, Walter?" Paige spoke breathlessly as he hovered over her and swallowed the lump in his throat. It was now or never.

"I want to adopt Ralph too."

~ SCORPION ~

Paige was totally caught off guard from Walter's abrupt statement; while she knew Walter adored her son, she totally wasn't expecting those words to squeeze their way out of Walter's mouth. But the moment he made his statement, she saw the conviction in his eyes and knew he was serious. A smile found her lips, and her nose burned as another tear fell from her eye. "I'd think he'd like that."

"Y-you d-do?" Walter's eyes lit up. "I m-mean; I've b-been doing some research, a-a-and once w-we, um, once we are m-m-married, I c-can ad-d-dopt him. Th-that is i-if he, uh, if he w-wants me to…."

"Walter," Paige pressed her finger against his lips to stop him from talking. "You have nothing to worry about," Paige kissed him. "Ralph has wanted you to be his new dad for a very long time. Trust me," she smiled, "he'll be thrilled."

"You think?" Walter swallowed audibly.

"No. I know." Paige muttered as she pulled him in for a heated kiss. "Now…. we should probably get some sleep." Walter rolled off of her and faced the ceiling as she rested her head against his chest. He reached for the comforter and draped it over their naked bodies, and she curled her leg around his shortly before both of them fell asleep. Not even an hour later, Paige woke up and had a sudden craving for glazed donuts. "Hey, Walter?"

He was sound asleep.

"Walter?!" She harshly whispered as she gently nudged him.

"Hm?" Walter opened one eye.

"Do we have any glazed donuts in either of the fridges?" Paige's query caused him to lift an eyebrow.

"No. I don't think so. Why?" Walter asked as she pulled away from him and started to slide off of the bed. "Where are you going?"

"I'm in the mood for some glazed donuts; if we don't have any, then I'm going to go to the store and get some." She started looking for her undergarments.

"At…three in the morning?" Walter sat up; she could feel his gaze watching her as she moved about the room.

"When the baby wants, the baby wants." Paige shrugged as she pulled on her underwear. "Oh, there's my bra." she said and walked towards Walter; her bra had been tossed to the floor beside his side of the bed.

As Paige bent down to pick up her bra, Walter caught her arm. "You stay here. I'll go."

"Are you sure?" Paige asked as Walter slid off of the bed and searched for his boxers. When he found them, he slipped them on and nodded in response to Paige's inquiry.

"Yeah. Not a problem." Walter said and pulled on a pair of jeans before sliding on a hoodie and shoving his feet into his shoes. "I'm actually hungry too so," he smiled, "it's a win-win."

Paige walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're so good to me," she kissed him. "Now hurry back; otherwise, I'll raid both fridges and eat anything and everything I can find that'll satisfy my sugary needs."

"Noted," Walter replied as she kissed him again. Once she released him, he headed for the door. "I'll be back shortly."

"Bye," Paige waved, and after he disappeared, Paige looked down at her swelling belly and smirked. "EQ or no EQ, little one, your father's gonna spoil you rotten."

~ SCORPION ~

Later in the morning, after Walter and Paige had indulged on a dozen donuts around 3:30 AM and had gotten some more sleep, they made their way downstairs to see what everyone was up to. Sylvester was explaining one of his newest algorithms to Ralph at his blackboard; Toby was trying to juggle three oranges (and failing miserably), and Walter assumed it was because he was trying to impress Happy, who was rolling her eyes at the shrink's shenanigans while working at her desk. Cabe hadn't walked in yet.

"So," Toby smirked as he put the fruit down on his desk and sauntered over to Walter and Paige, "How's Waige Junior doing?"

"The baby's fine," Walter rolled his eyes in response to Toby's coined name for the unborn child as he rested his palms on Paige's shoulders.

"Um, excuse me," Toby raised an eyebrow and folded his arms in front of him, "But are you the host to a growing fetus, Walt?" Walter pursed his lips. "I didn't think so," Toby tsked and then looked at Paige. "So, Project Manager, how is Waige Junior doing today?"

Paige laughed and leaned against Walter as she placed her hands on top of Walter's. "The baby is perfectly fine."

"Right, well, I'll leave the two of you be; I'm gonna go and see if I can convince Happy to bare my children. She and I would make beautiful babies, don't you think?" Toby smirked as he took off his hat and tossed it onto his desk.

"No comment." Walter said as he and Paige watched Toby walk over towards Happy.

"This…isn't going to go over well." Paige noted as they made their way over to Ralph. Seconds later, they heard a loud smack. They turned and saw Toby coddling a red mark across his face; Happy was very, very flustered and appalled.

"Say that to me again, Doc, and your cheeks will be the last pair of body parts you'll want to worry about." Happy barked before returning to her work at her workbench.

Walter and Paige turned back around and headed towards Ralph, acting like the last few seconds didn't happen. "Ralph," Paige called to her son gently. The boy turned and smiled.

"Hi Mom. Hi Walter." Ralph beamed as he rushed up to them.

Paige rested her hands on her knees and bent down to her son's level. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"No." Ralph shook his head.

"Let's go out for breakfast then," Paige ruffled Ralph's hair. "How does that sound?"

Ralph grinned. "I'd like that."

"Okay." Paige kissed Ralph's forehead and then straightened out her back as the boy grabbed her hand and then tugged on Walter's. He looked up at both of them and smiled.

Walter couldn't help but smile back.

And somehow, he knew everything was going to be okay.

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

To answer any confusion (if there is any), yes, Walter and Paige are basically engaged at this point. While Walter didn't really propose in a typical sense, he still proposed to Paige in his own way, and she accepted his proposal. Now, will they choose to have an actual wedding or just have a simple court ceremony? And how soon? Let me hear your opinions; they might shape the next few chapters. :D

While the main plot is over (Collins), there's still a little somethin' somethin' cooking up my sleeve. Theories, anyone?

Let me know what you think about this chapter! Congrats! You get another break from cliffies.