Depending on length we will see how many part this cute little number will be. I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter, it was actually fun to reinterpret an idea to fit mine.
Ema.
**********8888888888***********
Walter stayed in the kitchen area of the garage when the family of three entered. He wanted to stay a bit out of the way, and to calm his annoyed feelings that Drew came in with his hand wrapped about Paige's arm. She did not seemed bothered by it, and Walter did not know how to feel about that. He also remained because he wanted to see her reactions to the team, to see if she had feelings change to any of the rest of Scorpion. Or if it was just him.
Happy greeted the team first, but it was Sylvester that put his mouth in it when he offered words of encouragement to the boy, in some other circumstance the comment could possibly be construed as endearing. "Heard you held up like a champ, better than my first arrest." Which he squeaked when he saw the stern glare of both parents. "That was inappropriate." As if to offer a sign of apology, Walter went in to save Sylvester from the potential break down and harsh words. He moved to the family circle, but kept his distance as if respecting some boundary.
"Use the loft." Walter offered. It was a place better suited to keep Ralph entertained and out of the way of the team. It was also a place for privacy. A place that Walter wished, if given the opportunity he could apologize profusely to Paige and to Ralph. But the likelihood of getting a moment alone away from the team, Cabe or Drew was slim to none. He stepped forward to offer his hand to Ralph or even to catch Paige's eyes but the biting look from Drew made him retract his hand to his side and rock back on his heels, and he lowered his eyes despondently to the floor as they passed. Walter could only reach his finger out to trail across Paige's coat sleeve as she walked by, but she shoved her hand deeper into her pocket and marched her son to the stairs with Drew trailing behind looking like a trained monkey carrying a child's backpack. He almost looked like he felt for the hard time Walter was having at the current moment. Toby took that look into account.
"Back to work." Walter said as the family finished their ascent up the stairs. Sylvester started explaining about finding the game creator on the message boards, but it had been encrypted nearly six times, and it took Sylvester nearly fifteen minutes to crack. Walter nodded listening to the human calculator speak about his findings. His mind though had traveled upstairs. After he stopped, Walter bowed out to go see if the group needed anything while they waited.
He heard Paige and Drew speaking in hushed tones. "I can handle what Walter said earlier, and I can accept it, but this situation, his exposure to the team-"Drew began. Paige shook her head and lifted her hand to stop his sentence.
"You don't see the amazing things they do." Paige defended her team.
"What the team does, or what Walter does?" Drew asked fixing a knowing stare to the mother of his child and the girl he abandoned for his dream job. Playing baseball had been all he ever wanted. He gave up on his family, but now that he was trying to put everything back together. He had had his suspicions about the blossoming relationship between Paige and Walter. There were comments and touches he noticed between the pair. There were moments like how she would state that Walter was doing this activity with Ralph the other day. There was the curious touches Walter had when standing near Paige. Hell he almost felt bad for the schmuck when they were walking past him for the stairs. Paige had turned on the ice cold steely resolve, a resolve he had been well acquainted with during their romantic entanglement.
"They are brilliant." Paige ignored the comment refraining from rolling her eyes at the borderline jealous comment.
"They're adults, in an adult world." He continued to press his issue with the situation. Truly, Drew knew that the exposure that Ralph was getting from the group of probably more beneficial than anything he could provide. The stimuli and growth, and hell having a reliable source of daycare was not that bad, but there were things Ralph did not need to know at the precocious age of ten. Drew wondered if the romantic feelings between Paige and Walter was clouding her maternal instincts. He knew better then to play that card.
"You don't know them like I do." Her voice began to waiver. Her bottom lip trembled whenever she was close to crying from frustration. That was her typical outlet when she got to her breaking point, "They would never hurt Ralph." Drew did not stop rolling his eyes.
"And yet here we are." He snapped, and Paige looked away, "Look, I don't have any right to push you." Drew knew he crossed the line with his potshot. He usually kept his quips and remarks aimed at Walter and Toby. Those two were the ones that had tried to investigate him when he first returned to Los Angeles. He would take any opening to send a scathing off the cuff remark to know each genius down a peg. This typically happened in the absence of Paige and Happy. "But his internet usage."
He seemed to cover his tracks because Paige nodded in agreement. "Oh, he is never playing that game again." Paige reassured Drew giving him some parenting groundage. "All his internet will be monitored." Paige reached forward and squeezed Drew's wrist, another sign of reassurance. It was a habit that she had noticed when trying to assure Ralph. Drew looked down at her hand giving her a curt smile.
"Good. So we're on the same page." He noticed movement through the bookshelves, a figure was standing just outside the doorway. Drew placed his hand on Paige's and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"I appreciate you are being paternal. Walter is Ralph's friend and a huge asset," Paige said while shaking her head. His hand still holding her firmly to his wrist. "But this was not his finest moment."
Walter who had observed the entire conversation was about the turn away and head back down to the lower level. He was met at the stairs by Cabe. Cabe gave him a searching look. "They are in the living area. I thought it would be better for them to have a little privacy." Walter explained his voice clipped with a bitten tone. "I came up here to ask if they might need anything."
"Walter, there is always going to be an awkward factor when it comes to your relationship with Paige concerning Drew." Cabe counseled. Since his daughter's passing and the breakdown of his marriage Cabe had been involved with a few different women over the years. Mostly it was for the companionship, a little for the sex, but there was always something that stopped him from going anything deep then a casual fling. There had been one thought, a woman by the name of Sue. She had been a single mother, divorced from a verbally abusive and philandering husband, and had two kids. Brady and Grace. Grace had been the same age as Katie at the time of her passing. He had grown attached to the kids almost as much as he was into Sue. They had been together for three years, and serious for the past two. To the point where he was sleeping over most nights, had helped out with carpool and gone to most school functions and after school dance recitals and ball games. There had been Christmases, birthdays, and vacations they had spent together. But also during that time, there had been the awkward exchanges in custody. When it was the father's weekend to have the kids. It was hard, not knowing his place when the biological dad was in the room. It was one of the reasons for the deterioration of the relationship, and that his job had moved him to a different sector. But he still thought fondly of those kids.
"I know this, Cabe." Walter said not wanting to have the conversation on the stairs for either parties to hear.
"Son, I am just warning you." Cabe said placing his hand on Walter's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Now, Sylvester was telling me that he found the name of the game creator, and that he found the conversations between him and Ralph on the message boards. We need to go have a chat with our boy." Walter nodded and they went back to the living space containing the family of three. Walter winced at how close Paige and Drew were standing as they entered the room. Paige sent a quick glance but then looked down to the floor.
"We're trying to give Ralph some time to rest." Drew stated as Walter ignored his request and moved further into the room, he sent a darkened glance to Paige as he passed by.
Cabe followed behind noticing the close proximity of the pair and went on the defense and shut Drew's command down. "It's important." He snapped to cut the father off. Cabe knew that Walter claimed to have low emotional quotient. But that was a bunch of bunk if you asked Cabe. He saw the way his relationship to Paige had begun to effect the ways he related to everyone surrounding him. He was becoming more approachable and less to act superior due to his intelligence. This relationship was bettering Walter, and he knew it was not one-sided. Paige had grown confident and assertive. Strong was not the word he would use to describe Paige the first few times he was around the young woman. Walter had given her the confidence. He watched as Paige reached her hand to grab Drew's arm to keep him from interrupting Walter and Ralph.
"Hey Ralph, hey buddy." Walter said ignoring all the adults in the room and focused squarely on the boy. He took a seat on the coffee table and sending a glance to Paige, as if looking for permission to talk to the boy. But instead he only saw her hand wrapped onto Drew's arm. His eyes narrowed slightly but he returned to addressing Ralph.
"In the Overt Target chat room, did you ever communicate with someone called Minidanger?" Walter watched as Ralph deflected the question, afraid he would be in trouble if he said yes. Ralph looked down to the cover of his book. Walter's heart broke for the boy. He knew exactly what the child was going through, but guilt and shame. The difference was Walter had gone digging himself, knowing that his antics were not legal. Ralph was a bystander, only guilty of his curiosity and getting involved in a game. If Walter had not shown him the dark web, they would not be sitting here.
Cabe stood behind Walter. "Son, just tell us what you talked about, that's all." The boy was having an internal struggle. Cabe could see the resemblance of the time he talked to Walter all those years ago. The guilt and shame had eaten away at the boy.
"You have nothing to worry about Ralph." Walter said scooting closer to the boy. He looked to be fidgeting but he gave the child an encouraging smile. "We just need to know what you guys discussed. It will help us catch the bad guys."
"Like in the game?" Ralph asked. Walter nodded. "I just said the level one entry into the abandoned warehouse was too easy to find." He rolled his eyes and Walter held in his smirk at Ralph's disgust for the simplicity for the game. "Here should be a hidden entrance."
Walter nodded, "And he responded to you?"
"He said, okay." Ralph shrugged his shoulder.
"And then what happened?" Walter asked.
"He changed the game." Ralph answered. Ralph had been excited to have made some difference in a game. He had been waiting till his chance to show Walter the game and the input he had. It was something the pair would be able to have fun discussing, and maybe coming up with more ideas to enhance the game. Or even possibly creating their own game universe. Walter gave Ralph a friendly smile, stood up and ruffled his hair in the same fashion Paige did. Ralph smiled.
"You did well, Ralph." Walter said, "But I am going to go back downstairs now to see what we can find, you listen to what your parents say." Walter said indicated. He meant to pluralize the word to fix his comment he made earlier at the Justice Department. He did need one more thing to cause a rift between Paige and himself. He had to make allowances for Drew. Walter left the room not pausing to talk to either parent and went directly downstairs, he figured Paige would be on their tails with questions.
It was a good three minutes before she descended, she gave the group a bewildered look, as if she didn't know how to react or respond. Paige didn't understand what the conversation with this game creator meant. She looked to Walter but he was glaring down at Toby and his tablet. His hands were gripping the desk tightly and she could see that his skin had turned pale from the grip. She ignored this, "I assume its bad he was talking to the game designer?"
"Ralph made a suggestion that helped modify the game." Cabe explained the legal ramifications to Paige. "Do you know how that's gonna look to Eckherd when he finds out?" Paige shook her head. Walter hit his fist to the desk top causing only Sylvester to jump, Happy to look away, Toby to lean closer to his screen. Paige just rolled her eyes at his outwardly display.
"Ralph did nothing wrong." Walter defended the boy. Paige's eyes softened at the man-genius but he did not see the look. He was staring at Cabe willing him to see their side.
"Walter, I am on your side, but the boy was asked if he helped design the game, Ralph said no." Cabe said as if trying to get the genius to understand the word-snare the federal agent had asked. This was enough for a potential arrest.
"Unknowingly." Paige declared.
"I understand, Paige." Cabe said, "But American agents were killed as a result of this game. And the CIA has been searching like hell for the culprits." Paige stopped looked at Cabe and finally locked eyes on the deep brown of Walters. She sent him a searching look, and in response he gave her a pleading look. He wanted to reach across the table and grab her hand, but he knew that she planted herself there on purpose. The imaginary boundary lines were not enough, now there were actual physical barriers. As if she was already building up a wall. He wanted to apologize but Cabe continued to talk, and he knew she didn't want words, she wanted actions.
"If need be they may just make an example out of Ralph." Cabe continued, "They'll cut his computer use, put him on a no-fly list for the rest of his life. He may never get a job beyond flipping burgers." Walter glared at Cabe. He didn't need to give her the worst case scenario.
Happy, who had been watching the interactions, stepped in, "Basically everything that could have happened to Walt if Cabe hadn't shown up." Happy pointed this comment to Paige. She was trying to will the information into the mother's subconscious that Walter knew exactly what Ralph was going through, so she didn't need to keep up the third degree toward the leader. Happy knew of the stories Walter went through at his detention camp for those few days. The trauma it had imposed on his gentle but brilliant mind. At that moment it was Toby that came to the rescue, for he had found Minidanger. He was actually communicating in a chatroom with the creator. He explained how he insulted the guy, harping on his game designs being mediocre and it had caused him to respond. Walter grabbed the tablet and read over the conversation.
"From a mobile device, which can be traced." Happy said looking directly to Walter. He nodded understanding her intention. He handed the tablet back to the behaviorist.
"Keep insulting him, Happy can trace from the SUV." Walter said grabbing the keys from the counter, and the team raced out the door.
********88888888888********
The team piled into the SUV, Walter climbed directly into the back seat, allowing Toby and Happy to take the bucket seats in the middle row. Sylvester claimed the front passenger seat, and Cabe was driving. He had installed sirens and flashing lights which would give the team the ease of maneuvering through traffic to get to their destination at a quicker pace. This left the only spot for Paige to sit was next to Walter. She was the last to climb in, her eyes quickly scanning the seats, falling on the last. She paused for a moment before pushing further into the interior and taking her spot.
Walter was facing the window, not wanting to engage. His elbow was resting on the side and his hand was positioned against his mouth. His dark eyes were moving back and forth as his mind raced with thoughts and ideas. It caused Paige to feel her heart race. She knew little snippets of the time Walter spent in detention. He mentioned it once in passing after a particularly harrowing nightmare she experienced during one of her overnights at the garage. She had woken up to the tossing of the other occupant in bed. Paige had just reached the light on the nightstand when she heard the mangled cry coming from Walter. His face seemed to be mid panic attack as if he was lost and he could not find his way. He reached out, almost to the point of flailing. Paige had stood up from the bed and watched not knowing what to do. She noticed how his other hand seemed to creep across the bed, as if trying to find something, or reaching for someone. Paige carefully had taken a seat and then put her hand in his, and she noticed that seemed to immediately calm but his face was still racing through the gestures by the second. She felt a tug as Walter tried to pull her close, and Paige adjusted herself back to the bed, laying down and allowing Walter to position himself next to her. She used her other hand and began to rub his face, hoping to calm his brow, to release the tension. Paige tested a theory by placing a kiss on his forehead and he released a sigh. His other hand snaked beneath her body, and wrapped her in an embrace. Paige continued to kiss his face, until all traces of his nightmare receded and he was gently pulled from sleep by her ministration. She had asked about his dream which he tried to feign an answer of not knowing and then tried to distract her with a kiss, but she persisted. He gave her a brief memory of the discipline he endured at the detention facility. It was not much, but from the panic he endured in his nightmare, she knew it had been severe.
Paige knew that Walter would never allow what happened to him happen to her son. She reached out and put her hand in his vacant hand resting against his knew. She gave it a squeeze and Walter looked in her direction. It wasn't forgiveness but it was a sign that she still believed in him. Walter brought her hand to his lips, pressing them briefly to her knuckles before turning back to his window. Just holding on for the remainder of the drive.
The team arrived at the convention center and Walter felt mildly embarrassed. Paige and Cabe stood out among this group, because of Paige's beauty and let's face it, Cabe's federal agent-ness. The pair hardly fit the social norm of the people at this convention center for video gamers. Happy made a comment about it being the largest group of virgins in the area. Sylvester admitted to a knowledge of the after party getting a bit risqué. The signal from the last communication ping had let them to the VIP game room, where it took a flexing of Sylvester's gamer muscle to allow the group to enter. Walter had stood back watching as the human calculator did his magic and beat the video game. He knew of 'El Guapo' but had made a pact with Sylvester to never repeat the name.
"What the hell is this place?" Paige said mainly to herself but with Walter standing directly a step in front of her, he thought she was talking to him. He looked over her shoulder, she flushed at her thought. The room was filled with people wearing red hoods.
"It's a part of the video game. The main fighters wear the hoods," Walter explained but saw a look of impatience spread across her face. "You weren't asking literally were you?" He reached out his hand to her, which she took. "I don't want to lose you." He said explaining the gesture. There may have been a double meaning.
"I haven't heard from Minidanger which makes this a needle in a haystack." Happy said holding her finger to her ear while glancing at the individuals. Paige was looking up at the panel of individuals.
"Unless he's playing." She remarked. Walter looked to the panel as well. It made sense, the lack of responses could be because he was busy too distracted to retort to the insults being flung by Toby. There was a table set up at the front of the room, with five players furiously typing away. The team began talking to each other across the comms, and Happy and Toby were made. There was a flurry of excitement and soon the boy had pulled up his hood and jumped into the crowd of red robes. Toby jumped up on stage and Walter dropped Paige's hand. He heard her call his name, but he moved to the side of the room desperately to cut his way off. The room began to pull of the hoods tossing them about at the instruction of Toby. Walter was able to spot the gamer, and start chasing after him. Walter gave Cabe the instruction and they were able to stop the gamer from escaping.
****88888****
After the interrogation of Nate, they did not have enough information to clear Ralph's name. The team did have a new lead, Calvin Thorn, and while the team went about trying to locate this said individual, Paige went back upstairs to check on her son. She was just pouring a cup of tea when Drew decided to start round two of their parenting conversation.
"Maybe if we take him for a walk around the block he will get his appetite back." Drew started and placed the plate of Ralph's untouched lunch on the counter. Paige looked at the sandwich knowing perfectly why her son hadn't touched the meal. Ralph preferred peanut butter and jelly to whatever Drew had concocted, which looked to be bologna with a piece of white cheese. There was also a wilted piece of lettuce. She scrunched her nose at the meal.
"No, we need to stay close." Paige responded. They didn't need to alert the department of justice. Their leash was pretty tight at the moment. She watched as Drew shook his head.
"Okay, I'm not trying to make things worse-"
"Then why lead with that." Paige interrupted knowing that he was going to make another shot at the team and her son's relationship.
"A few weeks ago, the garage was torn apart by killers." Drew accused, "it's not exactly a Gymboree." Paige wanted to point out that Drew had no idea what a Gymboree consisted of, because he had never been to one. Or any of the day cares Ralph had been at when she worked the three jobs to make ends meet. "This isn't the safest place for our son."
But he had a point. "I have been thinking the same thing too, but-"Paige began to agree looking over at her son, doodling on his sketch pad.
"I know you feel Walter is good for him..." And there it was. Paige's face reared back to look at Drew. She had been waiting for this shoe to drop. He had been acting shady, saying little remarks about the pair being close. It was the truth, but she didn't know what to define Walter and her relationship. She didn't need onlookers like Drew to throw his two cents in, and it wasn't just Walter that was good for Ralph. Each team member had an impact on her child. Happy taught the boy about mechanics and tinkering which helped his motor development. Toby had worked with him on social development by playing different games and interacting on his level. Toby had also given her parenting book suggestions that would help Paige navigate through Ralph's challenging days. Sylvester, the human calculator had not only worked with him on mathematics, but being on the similar maturity it was like the pair were best friends and gave the boy companionship. That was just tipping the iceberg.
"Drew, the whole team is good for him." She said with a finality.
"I'm no genius, but I was a kid, and so were you." Drew said pointing at her emphatically. "Ralph is special, but that doesn't mean these guys should be treating him like an adult. Maybe they didn't have normal childhoods, Paige, but I'm worried that they may be taking one from Ralph." Paige felt the verbal shot to her soul. Did he have a point? Was she jeopardizing her son's childhood because she found a group of her peers and it had been easier to be these past few months? Having the resources of the team, a constant companion that understood her son. She mulled over the thought biting her lip. She left the room in search of some quiet space.
She heard her name being called from the walkie talkie before she was able to make it four steps from the room.
"Walter to Paige, Walter to Paige, are you there?" His voice came crisply through the speaker. Paige picked up the walkie clicking the talk button.
"Yes, Walter." She responded to his distress call. "I am here."
"We lost Calvin. They designed the levels of the game on the warehouse district, we need Ralph's assistance of walking us through the level so we can find him."
"Are you kidding me, Walter?" Paige snapped into the walkie-talkie. The genius was not firing on all cylinders. "This morning that game landed him in a room with federal agents."
"It's the only way to find him in time." Walter stated into his comm, he needed Paige to trust him. Walter let Cabe explain the schematics of the giant search area on being out numbers. "Right now we need an advantage, and that advantage is Ralph. Trust me, Paige this is the only way to clear his name."
Paige looked over to her son. He was sitting at attention looking her earnestly wanting to help fix the mess he created. Drew made a comment about how he was never playing that gave ever again. All she heard was, "Mom, can I?" Her heart was racing as she pulled out the laptop in Walter's bedroom and set it at the table for Ralph to use. The boy set to work logging past the protection codes that Walter had installed to keep prying eyes from his stuff. The boy made them look as if the passcode was as simple as 1234. He launched the dark web server and logged into the game. Both parents stood behind watching in amazement at the aptitude of their son. "I'm in." The boy announced.
Sylvester was taking point, interpreting to Walter all that Ralph was doing in the game. "There is nineteen minutes before the next six levels are released." He instructed the team lead and asking for their current position.
"We are by a gray and white building." Walter described the warehouse. He heard the detail from the boy about the hidden entrance and took the side alley way that was on the left separating the buildings. They were able to get to the A/C grate that allowed them to the lower levels. As they moved southeast, the assailant assaulted Cabe with a metal pipe before taking off running. Walter paused for a second to check on his mentor.
"Are you okay?" He asked bending down to assist the man.
"I'm fine, go after him. He is our one way of helping Ralph." Cabe said holding his head. "Just go catch that son of a bitch." Walter did not need any more direction. He took off running down the same hallway leaving a groaning Cabe to fend for himself. Sylvester was able to direct Walter to catch up the assailant by guiding him through the level as Ralph played the secret level.
"Go through the door marked 659. Then hang a right." Walter mimicked the instruction and stopped short at the end of a walkway. It looked to be a dark abyss. There was no way of knowing how far down the drop took and there was no way he could jump across.
"Are you sure this is the only way out?" Walter asked.
"You can jump down and walk across." Ralph instructed as he made his player do the exact thing in the virtual world. He assured Sylvester that it was only a seven-foot drop. "I can tell by how the graphics are composited."
"Buddy, I can't see the bottom." Walter said to the boy through his communicator. "It could be seven feet or seventy. Now are you sure, Ralph?"
The boy let out a frustrated noise. Paige, knowing her son, stepped forward to lend a hand. She placed a calming touch to his back rubbing it gently. "Scoop." The child said, reacting with the only word that he could say in his fragile state.
"What?" Sylvester asked looking bewildered but Paige knew.
"It's about a scoop of ice cream after school. He-He'd make me 'scoop swear' that we'd actually go." Paige explained to Walter. "It's the strongest promise he can make."
"Okay." Walter said listening to Paige. He let out a silent prayer. "I trust you, Ralph." Three words that seemed to make the boy smile wide. Walter let out a grunt as he jumped into the abyss and the team waited for what felt like an eternity for Walter to return to the comm. Paige nearly grabbed the walkie-talkie and screamed Walter's name, but remained silent not letting her emotions get the best of her in such a public setting.
Really it was Drew.
There was a splash and Sylvester asked if he was okay. "I am good, thanks to Ralph but the assailant is running fast."
"He should be able to stop him, there's a lever that releases to a storage bay." Ralph instructed and Walter spotted the lever. At the timing from the human calculator, Walter was able to pull the lever at the exact moment to effectively trap the runner on a pile of wood. There was a crash and a groan. "Did you get him?" Ralph prompted.
Walter chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Yeah, it worked." He said as he glanced down at the assailant who was moaning in pain. His shoulder looked to be out of place but Walter remained watching until the team from the Department of Justice as able to come and secure the man.
****8888888888****
Walter returned to the garage with a smile on his face. They caught the bad guy, cleared Ralph's name, and now all could return to as it was, but he knew that was wishful thinking. Walter complimented the guys on a job well done today, and listened to Toby as he talked about an idea for the jet propulsion with fuel intake.
"Hey Walt, about the kid-"The behaviorist stated.
"Yeah, we were having fun, too much fun." Walter admitted, finally taking ownership of the actions.
Toby smiled at the admission. It was a big step for the leader of the group to take ownership of an issue and see there were more side then just the genius side of a problem. There was also the responsible side, the parent side, the legal side. "Look, he needs you, you're a huge part of his life, but you can't just be his friend." Toby explained. "You got to be the grown-up too." Walter looked saddened for the moment he realized what he was meaning.
"Yeah." Walter said and he squeezed the elbow of the therapist showing that he was listening to his words. "Thanks, Toby." He said as he stepped away and started up the stairs. Walter walked into the room but stopped short when he heard Paige and Drew talking. He listened to the promises that Drew was delivering to Paige about working hard to get the new job in Portland, so provide for his family in ways he hadn't in the past. He said that it wasn't about them romantically but about their family, and giving them a chance to have a normal life.
His heart stopped at the thought of Paige and Ralph leaving. He leaned closer to hear Paige's response. "What if we don't want to leave?" She asked.
"Well, before you have a choice, how do you know?" Drew countered stepping forward closing the distance and taking the stuffed animal from Paige's hand setting it into the opened backpack. She swayed at his proximity. Walter took this moment to step into the room and she looked over her shoulder and taking a step back.
She used his entrance as an excuse to not answer. "Ugh, we're heading out. Just packing up Ralph's things."
Walter wanted the chance to apologize directly to Paige. Alone. So he could truly express his guilt and the emotion he felt in the way he contributed today. Explain the betrayal he dealt to her, and simply allow for the pair to express themselves. "Take your time." He said standing idly by, moving awkwardly closer to the family space. "I apologize for everything I did to contribute to what Ralph went through today." Paige stopped her hand from packing and focused on the contrite leader. He rarely took the action of apologizing. Sure he offered half apologies such as he felt sorry for people not having the ability to understand his side of an argument or making allowances for the other's shortcomings and being ill-equipped to handle if someone's emotions were hurt. "But,-"
"There it is." Drew snapped. Paige turned to send an admonishing look to her ex. Walter grimaced but shook his head to stop from snapped at the guy.
"But I do want to note, those stolen CIA files contained the identities of forty-three undercover operatives." He went into explaining how with Ralph's accidental stumble into the game on the dark net, he was able to set in motion the protection of an almost innumerable amount of lives. That the boy was a hero, and that if they were going to be mad they should direct it at Walter. That for what it was worth he would understand if they wanted to start over with regaining their trust in Walter. Paige offered him a sad smile.
"I'm glad he could help." Drew snarked. "I'm just not sure it good for him to grow up this fast." Walter nodded in agreement of the boy's father. He understood his stance.
"Ralph sees us using our heads for good." Walter explained to the ball player. "He's learning how to be a grown-up genius someday. We're not trying to make him a grown-up now." That was all he could offer the man. Drew nodded but turned his head to Paige.
"I'll met you downstairs." And he left the room. Walter let a sigh of relief.
Walter looked down at the floor. He so desperately wanted to reach out and touch Paige. Run a hand across her cheek, grab her hand, and wrap her up in hug. He wanted to trace his lips across her, savoring the taste of her lip gloss while feeling her respond to his mouth. The seductive moans she emitted when he would swipe his tongue across her bottom lip for access, and the way she would whimper when he would touch the sensitive spot on her lower back that would cause her to arch into his touch. Walter wanted to feel her fingers running through his hair, scratching his scalp. He wanted to feel her skin. But she stood, bottom lip trembling as the emotions of the day came falling from her shoulders. He was racked with guilt as he watched as she nearly fell apart, knowing it was from cracking the foundation of their relationship.
How was she to trust him?
"I'm aware I screwed up." Walter whispered.
"I just wish I could get a guarantee from you that this won't happen again." Paige said a lone tear danced in her eye lashes and she blinked it away. The flutter banished it from existence. Walter reached forward wanting to take her hand. She held off.
"I'm not sure I can give you one." Walter confessed. Assurances and promises did not exist in his world. Hard facts and evidence, and a promise to something that could not be measured or proven was not in his wheelhouse.
"I know you can't." Paige declared. "That's what makes this so hard. So what do I gamble on, Walter?" She asked earnestly. She needed something resolute from him. A notion to stake her life on. He smiled.
"I couldn't advise you; gambling is Toby's department." He tried to lighten the mood. Paige rolled her eyes and looked down dejectedly. He had deflected her offer, the door for him to walk through, and a chance. He noticed his misstep. "Paige, I care about this team, and our work, but what I care about most is giving Ralph a safe place to reach his potential. He has a lot of it."
"I know that, too." Paige said looking towards her son. But was this heartache worth his safety. Walter wanted to confess that she was also a major part of what he cared about, that her relationship was one of the most important in his life, but he was not ready for that kind of confession. Walter turned away, stopping short and turning back.
"Oh. Do you remember when you and Ralph turned up, and I gave him that riddle?" He asked hoping to bring a happy memory to the surface and maybe show her the importance she has played on his life. "What is a group of jellyfish called?"
"Yeah. A smack?" She answered a small smile formed on her face.
"If you want to give me one now, I would understand." He smiled and there it was. His smile. The one she shared with him during one of their quiet connecting moments. The one that would wasn't forced and seemed to brighten her entire face with barely any effort. She chuckled silently looking away for a moment and then back up. He felt his heart skip a beat.
"That's funny, Walter." Paige said making the connection of his joke. He smiled.
"I do try." He confessed trying to relay his deeper meaning.
"I know you do." Paige responded and he started to turn but Paige grabbed his arm. She took a step closer shocking the genius silent by wrapping her arms about his torso and pulled in close. Walter wrapped his arms about her torso, enveloping her into his embrace. He placed a kiss to the crown of her head and they remained tethered together allowing their emotions to release into their hold.
Savoring a few moments together.
***************8888888888888**************************
Meh whatever, I hoped you guys enjoyed. I have been writing this monster for hours. I was thinking of incorporating a cute Happy/Toby moment but I am tired. I don't know if many enjoyed this take of chapters. I just was inspired by the show. I will return to the normal entries.