Title: Be Careful What You Wish

Summary: Paige is dating Tim, but is that what she really wants?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own /scorpion. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit and no infringement of copyrights is intended.

Chapter 3

"Earth to Tim. Earth to Tim. ARMSTRONG, FRONT AND CENTER!"

Tim jerked his head up from his phone. Paige still hadn't responded to his e-mail. He'd taken the blame for the argument. His mom always told him that he should always take the blame for any argument because most of the time, it probably would be his fault. He'd been a belligerent jerk as a kid and into his teenage years, so back then she was more than likely right. Tim hoped his time in the Navy had changed him. But just the same, he still tended to apologize for any argument he got himself into because he found that unless someone apologized, things went downhill fast. It was just a whole lot easier to get it done. It didn't always mean he was actually at fault.

"Oh – uh – sorry, Cabe. I guess my head was still back at the garage."

The two agents had been assigned to a routine investigation – the sort of thing that didn't require the high brain power that Scorpion provided. They were on their way to join other agents working the case.

"Trouble with Walt or trouble in paradise?" the older agent asked, taking a sip of the coffee that Tim still brought him every morning.

Tim chuckled. Cabe Gallo didn't know how to mince words. There was a time when Tim would be offended at his nosy question, but he now knew that Cabe asked for two important reasons. One being that he wanted to be sure that everyone involved with Scorpion got along in order to work well together. That was part of his job. The other was because the gruff old codger truly cared about all of them like family. That was just who he was. Tim understood that he hadn't quite been admitted yet to the immediate family – he was more like a second cousin – but it felt good to be included at all.

"Oh – Paige and I had a little – disagreement – yesterday. This morning I went over to the garage, but we just basically rehashed it. So I sent her an apology e-mail and I'm just waiting to see if I'm still in the doghouse."

"So the fight was your fault?"

Tim thought about that a moment. "I… probably overreacted a bit to something that was really a small thing – especially since Paige pretty much corrected it right away. But then she blew up at something I said and touched some buttons and it just escalated from there. So I guess we're both at fault."

"That's usually how it works, son. Anytime you get into an argument – especially with a woman – chances are good that there's blame to lay on both sides. But it only takes one person willing to extend the first apology to start you working things out. I guess someone already taught you that part?"

Cabe maneuvered the SUV expertly through the heavy expressway traffic. In his first days as an agent, Tim asked if he could drive and Cabe let him. After the second time Tim got them to a scene late - after all the decent assignments had been doled out - Tim admitted that Cabe should do most of the driving. That was one of the first lessons he learned from Gallo – never be embarrassed to admit that someone else knows something better than you do. It was a lesson he really needed working with Scorpion.

"Yeah, my mom told me something like that," Tim replied. "She actually wasn't giving me relationship advice. It had more to do with the fights I got into in school. But I've found it works in a lot of situations."

He glanced again at his phone, swiping the screen to get the e-mail to refresh. Still nothing.

"Moms can be pretty smart. Certainly Paige is a really smart mom – and a really smart woman. Not smart like Walter and his crew – but still really smart. She reads people really well and she'll know if your apology isn't sincere."

"Well, but I think it is sincere. Like I said, we're both at fault."

"Women can be funny about what constitutes a sincere apology. In my experience Paige is usually pretty fair-minded, but then, I ain't datin' her."

Tim sighed and shoved his phone back in his pocket. They would be at the scene soon and he needed to get his head back into business.

"Well, I don't know if I'll be datin' her much longer, either," Tim said, mimicking Cabe's slang. "I really like her and I think she likes me, too. But there's - some sort of distance – something missing. At first I thought it had to do with Walter – that she was – that she hadn't gotten over whatever it was those two had together. But she keeps insisting they were never involved and that there was never anything for her to get over. I finally realized I needed to stop asking about it."

"They've got a complicated history."

Cabe pulled the SUV off the highway and began working his way through the downtown streets. It was slower going and Tim wondered if Cabe would hit the sirens to get them through some of the traffic lights, but it was doubtful. Despite Scorpion's sometimes creative interpretations of law, left to his own, Cabe was generally pretty straight arrow.

"I just wonder how much history they can have if they've never – I mean if they've never actually been involved?"

"Woo hoo, kiddo. You have no idea! Haven't you read any of the case reports? Those two have been through some pretty hair-raising experiences and they've saved each other's lives countless times. That develops a bond."

Tim was about to respond that the same sort of bond developed between military buddies or law enforcement partners all the time, but Cabe kept talking, cutting him off.

"It goes further than just that, though. Walter is the one who recognized that Ralph is a genius. Paige was under the mistaken belief that her son was developmentally challenged. It's in large part because of Walter that Ralph is able to function and develop that amazing brain of his. But it's not just one-sided. Paige is a big part of Scorpion's success and even if she's not a genius Walter is sort of unusual in that he has the ability to really recognize the value in all kinds of people – whatever their gifts."

"Okay, so they owe each other a lot. I still don't see…"

"And they fell in love with each other, Tim. If you had been here a year or so ago, it would have been obvious. But then something happened. Somehow they talked themselves into the idea that a relationship between them would be bad for the team. So they… tried not to have the feelings they were having. Then Walter decided to try speed dating and I think that hurt Paige a lot more than she'd ever admit. So when you came along…"

"Are you saying I'm nothing more than her rebound guy?"

"Well, it's hard to be on the rebound when you were never actually on the… the bound. But in some ways, yes, you're the guy Paige got involved with to help her get over the last guy."

"So is she over him… the last guy?"

Cabe glanced at him for a moment and Tim didn't need a Harvard degree to read the answer in the look the older man gave him. "You want the honest answer or the gentle one?" Cabe asked, turning back to watch the traffic.

"Is either of them anything other than 'No'?"

Cabe sighed. "I don't think Paige will ever really be over Walter." Cabe pulled the SUV into the visitor parking area of a large business complex. Cutting the engine, he turned to face Tim. "Look, kid. When you and Paige started seeing each other, I had high hopes. Walter's got a lot of issues and as much as I care about him, I also know Paige has had a really rough time when it comes to men. I thought it might be good for her if she could fall in love with a man… a man who wouldn't be a lifetime of hard work for her. But the heart wants what the heart wants and Tim, Paige's heart still wants Walter and I don't think that's gonna change. Far be it from me to give anyone relationship advice, but it might be time for you to consider cutting your losses. But when you do – do it easy – or you and I will have words."

Tim stared at his coffee cup for a moment. If he'd taken the time to answer, he'd have requested honesty. He wasn't expecting something quite so brutal. But it wasn't entirely unexpected. A part of him had known since the first time he entered the garage that Paige and Walter were a thing. Believing anything else could be true had always been a fantasy.

November 15 - 25, 2016 words