Thanks for your reviews! They were awesome. I can't wait to see how Walter reacts to remembering space on the show. Whatever happens, I'm pretty sure it's going to crush me, because Elyes does heartbroken with the best of them.
It took Paige twenty minutes to find him in the men's bathroom, knuckles white from gripping the edge of the sink, breaths coming out in rough gasps. His first instinct had been to leave, but Paige and Ralph would be disappointed if he put himself in danger again by driving when he was emotional. Walter calculated that this was the one place in the reception hall he could avoid Paige's detection, but he'd clearly failed to take her persistence into account.
Another guest came out of the third stall and froze on seeing the liaison. "Get out," she snapped, glaring at the confused man until he ducked out of the bathroom. "Walter?"
The genius shut his eyes and pressed his lips together, breathing through his nose. He could feel her presence near him but he wasn't sure how he would react if he looked at her right now. "Paige, I need a minute."
"I know. And I'll give you all the time in the world but I just need to know that you're okay." He heard her shift closer, still mercifully leaving a measure of distance between them. "You remembered, didn't you? About the rocket."
Walter was prepared to apologize, unsure if she had any idea why he abandoned her so suddenly. But she did. Paige had been practically melting against him, and he thought she wanted him to say those words he'd been aching to express for months. I love you.
But somehow he knew he had already said them. "So you were there."
"Well, not there, but yeah, I was talking to you." There was a long pause before Paige sighed. "I'm so sorry, Walter. I just wanted you to come home. And t-then I thought I was protecting you by not saying anything."
He wanted to ask what she meant but he was on overload, his brain a chaotic mess of memories and emotions that he didn't have a name for and couldn't categorize. Whatever Paige wanted from him, she wasn't going to get it tonight.
"Walter," she breathed and he tensed, the sensation of hearing his name like that just one more thing he struggled to process. "Walter, it's okay if you're angry. Or embarrassed. But you don't need to be. I was the only one that heard and I—."
"I'm not angry," he forced out, shocked he could still speak when there was no air left in his lungs. "Or embarrassed."
Paige swallowed. "You're not?"
Walter sucked in a breath and loosened his grip on the counter because his hands were starting to go numb. "There's nothing embarrassing about stating facts." His eyes opened and even viewing her in his peripheral vision was too overwhelming, so he kept his gaze down. Part of him just wanted her to leave, but a bigger part wanted her to understand. Because as much as he still needed time to comprehend this, the truth was that he knew why it was affecting him so acutely. "I, uh, I've been holding on to that for a long time. Since Tahoe, but…but probably before. No matter how bad it was between us, I always thought that one day I would tell you and m-maybe it would fix things somehow. That if you knew, you would let me make up for everything I did to hurt you." He dropped his head. "But I did say it. And it didn't fix things. It made everything worse. So. Now I know."
She hadn't brought it up because she would reject him, because she'd already chosen Tim, because it wasn't enough. And Walter had been so stupid, ready to blurt it out again, believing that they might finally want the same thing.
"That's not true," Paige whispered, sounding close to tears.
"D-Don't try to spare my feelings. The opportunity for that is…long gone."
The door pushed open and one of Toby's college friends glanced between them before turning around and heading back out. Walter capitalized on the distraction to make his exit, but Paige grabbed his arm. "Walter, I…" She looked up at him and the genius struggled to return the gesture, because if he let himself acknowledge her distress then it wouldn't be easy to walk away from her. "I'm not sure what to say right now. And I know you need to deal with this in your own way. But please tell me we can talk about it soon. Please don't shut me out."
He extricated himself from her grip. Her touch, which usually brought him comfort, was burning a hole through his skin.
"Please," she begged softly, her eyes shining. "Tomorrow?"
Walter didn't think he would be ready to talk about this tomorrow. He wasn't sure he would ever be ready to talk about this. "I don't know."
He was well aware that wasn't the answer she was looking for, but when he stepped around her and left the bathroom, she didn't follow him.
I'm not sure what to say right now?
How about I love you too? How about hearing those words from you changed everything? How about I don't want you to walk away from me, ever?
In hindsight, Paige could think up a thousand better responses. Letting Walter go was heartbreaking, but she hoped that he might calm down with some time and space to process. And he'd just looked so defeated. She didn't want the first time she told him she loved him—when they were both fully cognizant, at least—to be like that.
Cabe had driven Walter home that night and while Paige wanted nothing more than collapse into a sobbing heap, she'd already been away from Ralph for too long. She fixed her makeup as best she could, took a few deep breaths to bring her emotions under control, and then pasted on a bright smile as she walked back into the reception hall.
She expected the hours of cleaning with Ralph, Sylvester, and a returned Cabe to exhaust her, but Paige couldn't sleep. The tightness in her chest didn't allow her to breathe laying down so she propped herself up against her pillows, half paying attention to a movie on TV and half staring at the ceiling, blinking back tears.
Paige didn't know if Walter would ever look at her the same way. His confession in space had altered things, whatever he believed, and it scared her. She'd thrown herself into her relationship with Tim, because it was comfortable and safe and if he was constantly in front of her then she didn't have to see the longing in Walter's eyes. She didn't have to admit to herself that she was giving up on something she wanted because being abandoned again was the worst prospect she could consider.
But this, now, this was the worst prospect. Losing Walter. Hurting someone who cared about her so deeply. Letting him believe that he wasn't enough for her. He had his faults. But he was incredible and rare in other ways he didn't even recognize.
Even if they couldn't fix this, he had to know that.
"Walter…" Paige sighed and closed her eyes, tipping her head back against the couch. This was her…seventh?...message and she was running out of things to say. "Walter, I'm at the garage. I understand if you don't want to talk but please, just text me to let me know you're safe. Okay? I'm worried."
She hesitated before ending the call. He should have been back by now. Paige had showed up at the garage at ten a.m., her hair a messier version of her waves from the night before and her makeup barely covering the dark circles under her eyes. Walter was long gone—if he'd ever come home—and Paige decided to wait. But it was dark now and he wasn't responding to any of her messages. What if he was hanging off the side of a cliff again? Or worse?
She couldn't think about that.
"Paige?"
The liaison started at the familiar voice and bolted off the couch toward the stairs. "Cabe? Cabe, I need you to call Walter. I'm afraid that he's done something reckless. He hasn't been here all day."
"I know. I came to check on him and I saw your car…" He paused when Paige came to a stop in front of him, his eyes filling with concern. "Walt wouldn't tell me what happened last night but you don't look a whole lot better than he did. Are you okay?"
Paige dragged her hand through her hair, brushing the loose strands away from her face. "I'll be okay when I know where Walter is." She hated how desperate she sounded. "Can you please call him?"
The agent pressed his lips together and Paige knew he was preparing her for bad news. Please, Walter, just be safe. "I've been calling him all day. He told me he was taking a private job but I didn't get any details. Figured he'd get in touch when he was done, but…"
"Cabe, he remembered. About space. You saw how he was. I tried to give him time, but if he's putting himself in danger, we need to know."
I need to know. Ralph and I can't go through this again.
The older man shot her a sympathetic look and rubbed her upper arm. "Happy and Toby haven't left for their honeymoon yet. I'll give them a call and ask if they've heard anything. Sly and I will see if we can find out who Walter's client was."
"I'll help," she offered quickly, glancing around the garage for her purse. "I'll tell the babysitter to stay with Ralph and—."
"No, kid." Cabe shook his head when Paige opened her mouth to protest. "You've barely slept. Have the sitter bring Ralph here and the two of you can wait in case he comes home."
Walter had to come home. Paige refused to entertain any other possibility. He had to come home so she could kill him and then tell him what she should have told him the second he recovered from the rocket incident. "Cabe," she said weakly, biting her lip to keep her voice from breaking.
Was this how it was going to be? Was she going to have to fear for his life every time they fought?
The agent saw her struggling to keep it together and moved closer, placing his hands on her shoulders and bending down to look her in the eye. "Hey. We don't even know if anything's wrong yet." He released a deep breath and she followed instinctively, feeling her heart rate slow. "And if there is, then it's Walter. No one gets out of impossible situations better than he does. He'll be walking through that door before you know it."
Paige nodded. Walter was hurt, and maybe he didn't trust her anymore. But if something was wrong, she hoped that deep down, his love for her and Ralph would still be enough to get him back where he belonged.
There's only one more chapter after this so it won't turn into a whole big case fic, I just wanted to stress Paige out a little. ;b Reviews are wholeheartedly appreciated!
