The logistics of these stories…oy. I can't wait until I go back to writing fluff. If there are any computer geeks reading this, I apologize in advance for my egregious misunderstanding of technology in this chapter.

I had a dream the other night that was basically a mash-up of Scorpion and Galavant. I think it's safe to say that we're long overdue for season 3 to start, you guys.

Paige couldn't sleep. Not that she'd been trying to. The TV was still on in the background, the hushed, unintelligible dialogue separating her from complete silence. There were hundreds of ways to distract herself—it was all she and Ralph had been doing since they got there—but Paige dismissed them. Every thought she entertained was quickly replaced by the nauseating image of Walter and Collins together, so now she was just staring blankly at the wall, knees pulled up to her chest as she sat on the couch and a blanket draped over her to combat her sudden chill.

Walter never would have left her. If the situation was reversed, he would have stuck by her side. She thought she was doing the right thing by him when she took Ralph and disappeared, but the guilt of that decision was tearing her apart now. Realistically, Cabe was right—there was probably nothing she could do in Los Angeles. But there was certainly nothing she could do stuck out here.

She had no idea how long it was after Cabe's last call that her phone vibrated again. Paige's stomach dropped. This was one time she was relieved not to be a genius, glad not to know the odds of the agent reaching out to tell her that Walter was gone.

Scorpion never fails. I need you to have faith.

Cabe's words rattled around in her chest. Faith was just about the only option she had left.

"What's happening?" Paige kept her voice low, remembering that Ralph was in his room and wanting him to sleep soundly through all of this, if possible. "Is Walter okay?"

"As far as we know." It wasn't a definitive answer, but Cabe didn't sound frantic, so the liaison exhaled shakily and fell silent, allowing him to continue. "But we've still got seven hours until Collins has agreed to lift the lockdown, and too many things could go wrong in that time. We're trying to get into the system ourselves, but…"

But they were failing. That was clear enough from Cabe's defeated tone. Paige wasn't surprised; the other geniuses had talents that far exceeded Walter's, but when it came to electronics, no one could touch him.

Except for one person. "Cabe," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as the realization overwhelmed her. "Tell me that you're not asking what I think you're asking."

"No one will blame you if you say no, Paige. This is dangerous. We'll do everything we can to protect you both, but there's a very high chance that Collins will be able to find you. Ralph's our best shot, but he's just a kid. You're his mother. The decision is yours."

If it was just her…only her life at risk…she would have already agreed a thousand times over, no questions asked. Walter never hesitated to save her life and she'd always tried to repay the favor when possible. But she couldn't do that to her son. Putting him in danger for a chance to save the man she loved was unbelievably selfish.

"Walter's in trouble, isn't he?"

Paige fumbled with the phone and twisted around, blinking as she realized that Ralph had crept out of his room and was standing in the hallway. He approached her, barely illuminated by the glow from the TV and the single lamp she'd turned on, and placed his hands on the corner of the sofa, staring down at her. "I'll call you back," she muttered to Cabe before resting the device in her lap. "Honey, what are you doing up?"

"You're upset," Ralph noted, and Paige's hands flew to her eyes, which were still slightly watery. She knew there was no use lying to him—his emotional intelligence was nearly as developed as hers now—so she simply nodded. "And Cabe wouldn't call if he didn't have to; it's too risky. What happened to Walter?"

The liaison was nearly at a loss for words. Lying would only motivate him to find the truth on his own, which could prove even more dangerous. If she gave him the facts, though, she knew he would want to help in any way he could. He was every inch as selfless and brave as his mentor, and that terrified Paige.

Ralph sensed that she was paralyzed by her indecision and sat down next to her on the arm of the couch, gripping one of her hands with his. "The team needs help, don't they? That's why you don't want to tell me. You're trying to protect me."

In the dim light, his expression serious, the young genius looked much older than his twelve years. Paige wasn't sure how someone so special had come from any combination of her and Drew's genes, but it was impossible to imagine him any other way. "I have to protect you, Ralph. I'm your mother. No matter what it costs."

Barely two weeks earlier, she had poisoned herself to save him. It was already a miracle that both of them survived. To take the risk Cabe wanted them to take would be tempting fate.

"You're right. It's your job to protect me. But it's my job to help people too." Ralph's brows furrowed and he pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I don't know why I'm like this. Logically, I should believe that it's a genetic anomaly." He squeezed her hand, forcing her attention to him. "But perhaps I am not just a statistical aberration. You believe that events happen for a purpose, so you must believe that there is a reason for my intelligence. And if that's true, then this is the reason. Let me help."

Paige swallowed. He was persuasive, she had to admit, but it wasn't enough. She shook her head. "It's too dangerous, Ralph. I won't forgive myself if something happens to you."

"And what about if something happens to Walter? Or to the hundreds, or thousands, of people that Collins might target next? We became a part of Scorpion to save everybody. Remember?"

Paige almost smirked as her son used her words against her. Walter liked to tell the story of the day they met, and no matter how many times they'd heard it, they never stopped him.

And Ralph was right. Collins had been willing to let half of California burn in a nuclear meltdown. Defeating him could save untold lives. Maybe she was a terrible mother, as Walter half-jokingly suggested that first day. But she couldn't very well hold her son back from being who he was clearly meant to be.

He watched expectantly as Paige picked up her phone and redialed Cabe. The agent picked up almost immediately, and she turned on the speaker so they could both hear. "Tell us what you need us to do."

Armed with his laptop and hers, along with a backpack full of gear he had insisted on bringing aboard the plane as his carry-on luggage, Ralph commandeered the kitchen counter and pushed himself up onto a stool. Paige, severely out of her element, followed her son's instructions to unplug most of the lights and appliances, maximizing the power available to him. He dictated the ideal temperature to keep his equipment from overheating and requested a glass of water.

Once they were set up, Ralph angled Paige's cell toward him and cracked his knuckles. She knew her son was capable of feeling fear. She was grateful for that, because it kept him from being reckless without cause, as Walter sometimes was. But his conviction seemed to be outweighing his other instincts, because there was no trace of trepidation in his expression when he turned to look at her. "Mom. It's okay. I can do this."

"I know." Unable to resist the impulse, Paige pressed a kiss to his head before circling to the other side of the counter and nodding her approval.

"Ready," Ralph announced to the team, his fingers hovering over the keys. Paige didn't consider him an official member of Scorpion—that was a choice he had to make on his own, in the future, independent of her. But he sure looked the part right now.

"Wait for our signal." Cabe gestured to the other three geniuses, who were poised at the bank of computers in a secluded Homeland office. The agency had tech specialists too, but they couldn't risk anyone tipping Mark off, intentionally or unintentionally. It had to stay between them for now. "We'll do our best to throw Collins off the scent. Work fast, kid. Good luck." Happy gave him a thumbs up. "Now. Go now," he ordered before slamming his phone down on the table.

Paige's knuckles went white as she gripped the counter. Ralph's fingers flew across his keyboard, the sharp clacking of plastic squares filling the apartment. This was a side of her son that she rarely saw—he hid his more questionably legal activities from her, hacking included. She wondered if there would ever come a day that watching him didn't fill her with awe.

Today was not that day.

"Someone tagged me," he said calmly, his focus never leaving the screens. "They've got a trace on our location. Three minutes, tops."

Happy slammed her fist on the desk. "Damnit. It's not Collins. I don't know where it's coming from."

"Me neither." Sylvester's voice sounded strangled. "He hired someone. Someone good. The IP address is bouncing all over the world. We won't find him before he finds Ralph." He stood up frantically, waving to get Cabe's attention. "The odds of failure are now 94%. We have to abort."

"Ralph can do it," the mechanic insisted gruffly. "We have to trust him. He still has two minutes. It might be enough."

The mathematician fell helplessly back into his chair, twisting his hands together as he muttered to himself about what a terrible idea this was. Happy and Toby exchanged a nervous glance. They'd all known this was a possibility—Collins had hired help before. The police managed to arrest five men involved in Walter and Paige's abduction, but as Mark's plans became more elaborate, it wasn't hard to imagine that he delegated some of the execution to less-than-ethical contractors.

"One minute," Ralph said, snapping them out of their unspoken conversation. Happy's hand went out to grip Toby's arm as they held their breath. Paige was holding her breath as well, ignoring the first signs of dizziness. She had heard every word and considered pulling the plug, but Ralph would never agree to stop now. They were so far over the line that Paige wasn't sure they'd even be able to find it again. "Forty-five seconds."

"Ralph, shut it down," Cabe warned, his tone making it clear that he was not open to negotiation. The young genius was equally stubborn, though, and kept working undeterred. "Ralph! Are you listening to me? Shut it down, you can regroup and try again."

"No, I can't." The sound from the keyboard was almost deafening now. Paige strode toward the control panel in the hall and cracked it open, counting down in her head. She was putting a lot of trust in her son, but if he couldn't make the call, she would do it for him. "Twenty seconds."

The liaison's fingers hovered over the main electrical switch. In the brief pauses between the numbers, Paige prayed that she wouldn't have to flip it.

"Fifteen seconds."

This wasn't their only opportunity to save Walter. If this failed, they would figure out a way. They always did. Paige clung to that thought as her thumb and forefinger wrapped around the switch.

"Ten seconds. Almost."

His voice was unwavering. Ralph was right, in that respect. He was born for this.

"Five…four…I'm done! Shut it off!"

Paige forced the switch to the other side, slumping against the wall as the house fell completely dark. There were two loud crashes in rapid succession and she spun around, seeing only a sliver of Ralph's face in the glow from her phone. "Did you just break my laptop?" she asked breathlessly.

"Sorry," he shrugged. "I had to be safe."

Under any other circumstances she might be furious, but all she could do now was throw her arms around him, her hand cradling the back of his head. Paige knew she was squeezing him too tightly, but Ralph didn't push her away. He returned her embrace and she laughed softly into his shoulder, her sickening tension replaced by relief and elation. "You are amazing," she murmured as she kissed his cheek.

"I didn't have time to finish," Ralph rebutted, backing up until Paige let him go. He grabbed the phone and pulled it toward him. "I couldn't gain full control before the trace was completed. But I did introduce an error into the system that'll lift the lockdown automatically in about forty minutes." He glanced sideways to his mother, looking a little guilty. "I'm sorry."

Paige opened her mouth to reassure him, but Sylvester beat her to it. "Ralph, none of us could even attempt what you just did," the mathematician said warmly. "We can save Walter now, because of you. I am so ridiculously proud."

There was a murmur of approval among the team, and the young genius looked up at Paige again, as if seeking her agreement. She lifted her hand to stroke his hair, her smile beaming. "You did it, kiddo."

Walter stared suspiciously at the glass of water Collins handed him. It could have been tainted, for all he knew, but he was dehydrated and the taste in his mouth was abhorrent, so he downed the liquid and shoved the glass onto the desk. Mark smirked at him and moved the container away from the edge so it wouldn't fall and shatter.

Collins had taken great pleasure in pushing him to the edge, though. Walter wondered how one of the smartest men in the world was constantly in the dark about aspects of his own life. Cabe's revelation about Baghdad shook everything he thought he knew, but this…this was worse. As a teenager, he promised to make up for all the pain and suffering he'd caused, but instead, he allowed himself to become Mark's puppet and perpetrate even more. Did Randall Horton have a family? Had they spent years wondering what happened to him? If Walter ever got out of the garage alive, he would have to tell them. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to look them in the eye. Or anyone else, for that matter. God, what would the team think? The other geniuses had already been wary of the person he was down the rabbit hole…how could he be anything but a monster in their eyes now?

Walter shot up in his chair as the garage's landline rang. Collins glanced casually at the caller ID before answering. "Did you find them?" The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Paige. Ralph. A part of him had hoped that Mark was done with them, now that he was cornered. They'd already been through so much. "Alright, keep looking. Let me know if you find anything."

The genius shivered, relief flooding his body before he could consciously process it. They were safe for the moment, but if Walter didn't find a way out of this soon, all of his efforts to protect them could be undone.

"They're in southern Texas, in case you were wondering," Collins said before taking a sip of his own water and placing the phone back in its cradle. "Your protégé is a smart one, though. Managed to get out before my associate tracked an exact location. There's a fair amount of money at stake, though, so...I have faith in my man."

Walter glared at Mark, growling under his breath. He'd already lost control with Collins once; if his former partner continued to bait him, he might find himself in another dark place. "You have me, don't you? You don't need them anymore. Or are you that threatened by a normal woman and a child?"

The fallen genius rolled his eyes, resting his glass down and folding his arms over his chest. "Let's just say…I don't like unfinished business." He tried to sound nonchalant, but Walter detected an edge in his voice and realized that the statement wasn't so far off. "Regardless, they are a secondary concern. The little brat's maneuvering is forcing me to move up my timeline. There was so much more I wanted to tell you, but I suppose we'll just have to skip to the spectacular finale."

Collins advanced toward him, reaching for an object in his pocket. Walter noticed the glint of metal a second too late and barely made it out of his chair when the needle sunk into his neck. He'd felt the symptoms of this sedative in the past, when he and Paige were taken by Mark, and the combination of sleep deprivation and hunger caused it to rush through his system at an unprecedented rate. He slipped out of the seat and slumped on the floor, Collins moving into his line of vision as the man stood over him. "Strap in, Walter. Things are about to get bumpy."