WriterFreak001:

All right, I believe this will be the last chapter for "Mind Games." I am far from done with this series, but I am going to take a break from the "Masterminds of Deceit" series because I want to wait a while to see if there's going to be another big bad in the first season. So there is a good chance you won't see another volume to this series until after the season finale. I will still be writing WAIGE fanfics, and I hope the ones I have in store for you are well-received as this story.

Anyway, I'll shut up now! LOL

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 26

~ SCORPION ~

A few weeks after Walter and Paige's marriage ceremony, they took Homeland's offer and spent an entire week in Ireland; Walter, at first, was against the idea of returning to his native country, but Paige really wanted to see where he grew up, and the last thing he wanted was to start an unnecessary fight with his pregnant wife. They spent the first six days of their honeymoon in Dublin, Ireland, where they visited several historic sites such as Trinity College, Dublin Castle, several churches and cathedrals (mainly for admiration of the architecture as opposed to any other reason) and spent time on the beach. Even though Walter was primarily against returning to Ireland for their honeymoon, he couldn't argue with the fact that it was nice to leave LA for a short while. And to his surprise, not a single member of Scorpion – not even Cabe – contacted him for any reason; he found it odd, but Paige assured him that everyone was just being considerate – something which he had a hard time accepting.

"So," Paige caught Walter's attention as she rolled up her white, silky camisole and examined her growing belly in the full-body mirror sitting in the corner of their hotel suite, "Tomorrow is the last day of our honeymoon…."

"It is." Walter walked up to her, and she leaned against him, placing his hands over her swelling stomach. "Why?"

"I was wondering…," Paige bit her lip, "if we could go to Callan…."

Walter was afraid she would ask to see his hometown. "I don't think that's… a good idea," he shook his head, slid his hands up to her shoulders and planted a quick kiss against the back of her neck. As he stepped away from her, she quickly smoothed out her camisole over her stomach and caught his wrist while she took a step towards him. He stopped walking and turned to face his wife. Her eyes were searching for answers; he had known Paige long enough to recognize her nonverbal social cues and knew she wanted something less evasive. "Let's just say… because of who I am… growing up was difficult, and I was glad to leave when I did."

"People change, Walter." Paige hooked her arms around his neck, "You've also changed; I think it's fair for the people of Callan to see the new and improved Walter O'Brien, don't you?"

"Not really," Walter sighed, avoiding eye contact with his wife.

"Hey," Paige brought her palms to his cheeks, "Talk to me..." Her thumbs smoothed out the skin underneath his eyes, "What's the real reason you don't want to go back to Callan?" Walter remained silent as he met her eyes again. "Walter?"

Walter inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly. "I don't really want to talk about it."

Paige removed her hands from his face and crossed her arms. "And why not? Why are you blocking me out, Walter?"

"I am not blocking you out, Paige." Walter grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh. Okay," Paige frowned. "So even though you refuse to tell me why you don't want to go home for a day, you still seem to think that you're not blocking me out. That hurts, Walter. And after all we've been through, too." She circled around him and headed for the bathroom on the other side of the room.

Walter groaned and followed her. "Look, it wasn't my stupid idea to come to Ireland for this trip; I was content staying in LA, but you were adamant about coming here and dragging me around Dublin so don't blame me if I don't want to go back to Callan when you insist upon us spending our last day there."

Paige stopped short of the bathroom door, whipped around and snapped at him. "So now you're calling me stupid."

"I never called you stupid!" Walter frowned; he was getting a headache.

"Sure sounded like it." Paige crossed her arms. "If you don't want to go to Callan, then fine. We don't have to go there; I at least deserve an explanation, Walter!"

"Well, you're not getting one." Walter shook his head as he spun around and marched away from his wife.

"And why not?!" Paige pressed as she jogged past him and blocked him from going over to his computer. She was relentless!

"Because it's a sore subject for me, Paige!" Walter fumed as he threw his hands into the air. "You don't know what it was like growing up in a farming community and not knowing how to connect with anybody! Or, having fellow students laugh at you every time you corrected the professors!" He raked his hands through his hair as he continued raising his voice at Paige. "Oh, and my personal favorite: receiving blows to your hands by professors because they can't stand to be humiliated nor corrected by one of their students. The one good thing about Callan was Megan because she had my back through most of it, but when she got sick, things were a lot harder! I didn't have Scorpion when I was growing up, so when I couldn't rely on my sister anymore, I didn't really have anybody to help me figure the world out or make special connections with people I cared about. And you want to know the worst part of it all? There would be days where my father would look me right in the eye and act as if he didn't know me!"

"I'm sorry…." Paige's anger had dissipated, and she reached out to touch him but he pulled away. "I…I didn't know."

"That's right," Walter frowned. "You didn't, and I can't expect an intellectual inferior like yourself to understand, either." The moment those words flew out of his mouth, he instantly regretted it. Paige slapped him hard on the cheek.

"My mind might not be wired like yours, Walter, and I might not have had a crappy childhood, but don't you dare say I don't know what you went through." Her eyes started to well up with tears. "Try being on the other end of the spectrum where your child couldn't connect with you. For nine years, I did everything I could to let Ralph know I loved him, even when he never said it back. For the longest time, I thought it was something I had done to make Ralph so distant. Ralph, ever since he was born, has been my world, Walter, and I felt shackled every time I felt like my world was pulling away from me; until Scorpion, it was like everything I had done for my son wasn't enough. And for years, I didn't have anybody else – it was just me and Ralph, and we both had to make do with what we had. So, you're wrong, Walter. And…," she paused as tears fell down her cheeks, "maybe I was wrong too. Maybe you haven't changed all that much after all."

As she stormed away, Walter inwardly cursed at himself for being such an idiot. Thinking about Callan and all of the terrible memories of that wretched place reminded him of the person he was before he had met Paige; cold and callous. He had no excuse for the things he said to her, nor for his anger. He thought that avoiding the subject altogether would force Paige to drop the topic, but he had forgotten how obstinate she was. Walter groaned and raked his hands through his hair. If he had a coffee cup in his hand, he would smash it. He wanted to approach her and apologize, but he didn't trust himself to say the right things. Not while his emotions were running amuck. Walter walked over to the triple-paned, glass doors and opened them. He stepped outside, closed the doors and made his way over to the end of the balcony. Their suite was overlooking the beach, and he could hear the waves ebbing in the water. He glanced at the moon; it was a waxing crescent.

He remembered the conversation he had had with Paige many weeks ago about the uncanny relationship between art and science in regards to the universe. Paige was trying to show him how two different ends of the same spectrum are still interconnected even though they may seem like worlds apart. After minutes of rewinding and replaying that memory with his wife, he combed his hand through his hair and heaved a huge sigh. He messed up big time, and he hoped it wasn't too late to try and fix everything.

He walked back inside and found Paige in bed with her back turned against the side he had been sleeping on. He released a sigh and softly called out her name. She didn't respond, but he knew she was still awake because of the quiet sniffle he had heard when he stepped inside the hotel suite. He said her name again, but she still didn't say anything; she was clearly, very mad at him. He didn't blame her either. He swallowed the lump in his throat and pulled his shirt off before turning off the lamp and slipping into the bed. He stared at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry," Walter pressed his lips together and glanced over to his wife. She wouldn't acknowledge his apology. Go figure. "I should have just told you why the thought of returning to Callan bothered me instead of closing up and, um, and taking my pent up anger about that place on you. I, um, I k-know I can't rewind everything and take back what I said, but…, um, i-if you'd let me…," Walter gulped. "I'd, um, I'd like to m-make it up to you b-by, um, by taking you to Callan."

Paige slowly shifted in the bed and looked at him. Tears stained her cheeks. "Why the sudden change of heart; that is," Paige spoke coolly, "if you even have one."

He winced at her cold comment, but he knew he deserved it. "Because," he locked in on her eyes, "it's what you want, and…despite my mixed feelings about the place, I, uh, I want to give you what you want."

Paige sat up and pushed her hair back. "That's not what I want, Walter."

"I-It isn't?" But wasn't it?

"No," she shook her head and stared at the wall in front of them. "I mean, yeah, it would be nice to see where you grew up…, maybe meet your parents and gain a little bit of perspective as to what kind of life the father of this child," she rubbed her belly, "lived in Ireland, but if going there doesn't make you comfortable, then I won't force you to take me there. What I want," she glanced at him, "is for you to trust me with your feelings – old and new ones. I understand what it's like to want to keep the past in the past and move forward with life; I have scars too." He was sure she was referring to the debacle with Drew and with Collins. "And you already bear all of them. Walter," she reached for his hand and squeezed it, "I know you don't process feelings as well as I do, but regardless of that, your pain is my pain too. I didn't marry you because I wanted to do right by our child; I married you because I wanted to share my entire world with you." She scooted closer to him and placed his hand over her belly. "And you're not the only one who's at fault for this argument; I shouldn't have pressed so hard. If you weren't ready to talk about your past, I shouldn't have forced it out of you." She returned her gaze to the wall. "But what you said about me not understanding your feelings of isolation and frustration hurt me, Walter. You crossed a line tonight."

"I know," Walter inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What I said was uncalled for, and my anger was unnecessary. You were just…being you," He paused as she turned to look at him, "and…I can never f-fault you, um, f-fault you for b-being who you are. I had no reason to lash out at you like that."

"Don't kid yourself, Walter." Paige's expression softened, "You had reasons; they were just…executed poorly."

Walter nodded. "I know."

Paige leaned her head against Walter's shoulder as she kept his hand pressed against her belly. "I really hate arguing with you, Walter, and I know we don't do it often, but a line was crossed tonight. So what do I gamble on, Walter? How do I know more lines won't be crossed in the future?"

"You don't know, and I don't either." Walter answered honestly. "But…I do know one thing."

"And what's that?"

"The feelings I, um, I feel for you, Paige, are real. I can't promise you we won't have our arguments; that's an irrational premise. But, um, like, um, like today, I have substantial reason to believe we'll get past them." Walter muttered, causing Paige to slightly lift her head and look at him.

"How, Walter? How do you know that?"

Walter raked his hand through his hair and said, "Let me show you something." He tugged on her hand as he slid out of the bed. She complied and followed him to the balcony.

"What're we doing out here, Walter?" Paige folded her arms against her chest and blinked as he silently asked her to look at the sky.

"You once, um, you once told me that the way we see the sky is different but also the same. When I look at the stars, I see mathematics and science and equations and answers to questions in which scientists haven't developed yet. But," he paused and locked eyes with Paige for a few seconds before returning his attention to the sky, "When you see the night sky, you see things I can't register. Whatever you describe when you see the stars, I usually have no idea what you're talking about. What you pointed out to me once was that even though I see the sky differently than you; we still, in our own way, see something beautiful – meaningful – to us when we look at the sky." Walter gently turned Paige to look at him. He cupped her face. "The sky, in some respect, juxtaposes art and science, and as, as ridiculous and irrational as this about to sound, you and I are like art and science because we often speak a, um, speak a different language. Or, in more rational terms, you're EQ and I'm IQ.

"But like, um, like art and science have the sky," he nodded with a dorky, toothy grin, "we, um… uh…," he swallowed the lump in his throat, "w-we have, um, we h-have l-love, a-a-and, um, a-a-and b-because of w-what we have, um, we, uh, we are like two sides of the same coin…. North and south of the same compass…" He paused when Paige placed her palms against his hands and closed her eyes. She brought his fingers to her lips and kissed them gingerly. "Th-the reason I know we'll get past th-these, um, th-these arguments is b-b-because we make a b-better team together than when we're not. My IQ, by itself, makes me into a senseless p-person, but with your EQ, I am the b-best version of myself. I like being more human a-a-and –"

Before Walter could finish his train of thought, Paige grabbed his cheeks and kissed him hard on the mouth. "You talk too much," Paige muttered against his lips as she weaved her fingers into his hair and rolled her tongue into his mouth. Something possessed him to scoop her up into his arms and carry her to the bed after sliding the glass door shut with his foot. Garments were carelessly discarded, and the newlyweds more than made up for their argument as they made love well into the night.

"I love you, Walter," Paige muttered as she laid her head against his chest. He mindlessly combed his fingers through her matted hair. "And I meant it when I said 'no buts' on our wedding."

"And I meant it when I said you were my constant, Paige," Walter answered, receiving a kiss from his wife in response to his statement.

"I know you did." She kissed him again before resting her head against his chest again.

They started to drift off to sleep when a thought trailed into Walter's mind. "Paige?"

"Hm?" Her voice was groggy, but she was still somewhat awake.

"I'll take you to Callan tomorrow."

She lifted her head and glanced at him. "Walter…, we don't have t—"

"I want to," Walter quickly answered. "I w-want to share that part of my life with you…, and, um, eventually our child," he rubbed her belly. "Our future children, however many we have, d-deserve to know where I came from, a-a-and the best way for me to share that part of my life with you, is to show you."

Paige pushed herself upward and slightly hovered over him as she leaned down for a chaste kiss. "Thank you," she kissed him again.

After she pulled away and pressed her cheek against his chest again, he added, "How, um, how comfortable would you be to meet my parents?"

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

So good news! I've decided to extend this story for a little while longer! :)

I really struggled writing this chapter because I wanted that argument they had to be authentic to their characters; I wanted to explore a deep-rooted argument between Walter and Paige because, let's be honest, what married couple doesn't argue? And they do argue on the show from time to time so I thought it would be good to include one; however, I also wanted to make it more challenging too.

Soooo…. What did you think?