Disclaimer: I don't own anything Scorpion. Just still borrowing and playing with the characters for a while.

Okay…. so I lied again… this is going to be 3 chapters. But only because this is all I had time to get edited today. I won't have time to edit the last chapter for a couple of days but I'll hopefully have it up mid-week.

Hehehehe... all of you are so suspicious of Drew.

Thanks, as always, to everyone who are reading and reviewing this and all my stories. It makes my heart happy.

Enjoy!

Salty Sweet

Paige led Walter into their apartment and over to the couch silently, giving her husband a little more time before she made him talk. She pushed him down onto the sofa and the fact that he sat without any resistance told her he was even more out of sorts than he seemed.

She walked over to the kitchen and poured him a glass of water, taking a sip of it herself, before she walked back over to the couch and handed it to him.

"Drink, Walter," she said but he just leaned forward and placed the glass on the coffee table.

Paige sat down beside him and brushed her fingers through her hair as she sighed. She could feel his eyes on her but she didn't look at him as she spoke.

"How do you feel about this?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he admitted honestly.

She'd known him long enough to know he needed time to process so she wasn't offended by his response. She turned her head to look at him. He was looking at her and his eyes were full of questions. She could see his internal struggle and knew this wasn't going to be an easy conversation at all.

"We never talked about children," she said softly.

"I didn't know you wanted more." Walter's fingers flexed, still wanting to touch her, but he just dug them into his thighs instead. His desire to touch her was overwhelming sometimes and he hadn't consciously realized it until recently. He knew he wasn't reacting the way a normal man would to the news that he was going to be a father and he wanted to give her reassurance but he didn't know how.

"I didn't," she answered honestly as she held his gaze. "I was happy with just you, me and Ralph." She placed her hand on her stomach, a motion that Walter didn't fail to notice, and he looked down. "But now I do," she said her voice full of conviction, never taking her eyes off him. "I've only known for barely a half hour and I want this baby more than I can say, Walter."

"Why?" he asked and lifted his eyes back to her face.

"Because it's our child," she replied as she reached her other hand for his and she turned her body slightly to face him. She entwined their fingers together and brought their hands to her lap. Walter gently squeezed her fingers and felt a small measure of his anxiety ease.

"I know you believe that conception is merely a biological result of a sperm fertilizing an egg, but it's more to me. Yes, it's biology and we could have created this child even if we didn't love each other, but we do. And this child was created out of love. And there is no scientific explanation you can give me that will make me feel differently."

He nodded his head because he knew it was futile to argue with her. And in all honesty he didn't want to argue. They differed in their opinion but, regardless, his sperm likely fertilized her egg and created a child that was now growing inside her body.

"Are you certain you're pregnant?" he asked quietly and she nodded.

"Pretty certain. I can't believe I didn't see all the signs," she replied softly. "But I guess I should take a test."

"Do you want me to take you to the store?" he asked trying to be helpful, not knowing what else to do or say.

She shook her head. "I have one here."

"Why?" Walter's brow furrowed in confusion as his thumb brushed against the back of her hand gently.

She bit her bottom lip before she answered. "I, uh, thought I was pregnant last summer." Walter's brows arched in response to her words. "I wasn't, obviously, but I bought a couple of tests so in case it was positive I'd have backups to take."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked as he pursed his lips.

"Because I wasn't pregnant." She shrugged. "What would have been the point?"

He nodded his head thoughtfully filing that information away to ponder at another time. "That's almost a year ago. Are you sure the test will still be viable?"

"Probably," Paige replied as she released his hand, stood up and walked into the bathroom. She crouched down in front of the vanity as Walter followed her in with his hands in his pockets. "Even if it's expired, most expiration dates are just required by law. They don't really expire."

"How did I not know that was there?" Walter asked as she rooted around in the back of the cabinet under the sink.

"Because I put it in this." She held up a box of tampons. "I figured it would be the last place you would look for anything."

He shook his head in agreement. That was definitely the last box he would ever go into.

She pulled the pregnancy test out and read the back of the box. "It expired last month so it should be fine. If it's positive I'll have to make an appointment with the doctor anyway to confirm it. But I really don't need confirmation. All the signs and symptoms are obvious now that I'm paying attention."

"Are you going to take it now?" he asked as he eyed the box warily. That small little package had the ability to completely change their entire lives and Walter didn't like how much power it had.

"Once you leave me alone to pee, sure," she said as stood and tilted her head, smiling softly at him. He was so out of sorts, it was adorable, and she wanted to hurl herself at him and kiss him senseless but she suspected that would freak him out right now. Especially after the topic of her increased sex drive downstairs.

"Oh, right, okay," he said as he turned and walked out of the bathroom pulling the door closed behind him. Paige shook her head and bit her lip as she looked down at the box in her hand. Her eyes began to water and she blinked them rapidly as she tore open the plastic on the box.

She took the test and washed her hands before opening the bathroom door. Walter was sitting on the sofa staring out the wall of windows that lined the back of the living room. She leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him silently. She could tell he was lost inside his head so she decided to give him a few minutes to himself while she waited for the results of the test.

Everything was going to change for them. This wasn't something she thought they would go through together. She honestly thought she'd had her only child. Of course the thought of having Walter's child had crossed her mind, particularly last summer, for those several hours she thought she might be pregnant.

And part of her had longed to have his child, to give him a legacy and the ability to pass down the O'Brien genes because, with Megan gone, he was the only chance. He viewed Ralph as his legacy even though her son wasn't biologically his. And although she'd always known it, at their wedding, both of her geniuses were very clear how they viewed each other. They were father and son, blood or not.

But this was a chance for Walter to have his own biological child. She wanted that for him so much even though she doubted he did and she wasn't sure if he ever would despite the outcome of the test. Walter lifted his hand and scratched the spot just over his ear, which was something he did when he was deep in thought. She wanted to go to him and let her fingers take over, knowing how much her touch soothed him, but something kept her rooted in her spot.

When she learned she was pregnant with Ralph, she hadn't wanted to be pregnant. She was nineteen and just starting her sophomore year of college. Drew had just landed his first baseball contract and was on the road all the time and she was unable to follow him because of her schooling. Having a child was the last possible thing she wanted and Paige still carried some guilt in her heart for not wanting the boy who had become the love of her life the second he was put in her arms.

But this child, the one she knew was growing inside her even without seeing the results of the test; she wanted this child with every fiber of her being.

After another minute, Paige stepped back into the bathroom and checked the test. A sob crawled up her throat and she bit her lip to hold the sound back. She wrapped the test in toilet paper and put it in the drawer before she walked out of the bathroom. She sat down beside Walter, again, and he sat forward, looking over at her, his eyes asking the question his lips couldn't form.

She nodded her head and he reached for her hand, this time, as he released a deep shuddering breath and sat back against the cushion.

"You need to see a doctor to make sure everything is okay. We need to know how far along you are. You shouldn't have been near that aqua regia today," he started rambling and Paige pressed her lips against his because it was one of those times that it was the only thing that would work to snap him out of it.

"Walter," she said softly as she pulled back and reached up and caressed his cheek. "I'm fine and the baby is fine. But I'll call and see if I can get into my doctor today."

"Paige," he looked at her helplessly, his eyes full of uncertainty. "I don't know what to do or say here. I don't know what to even feel and I know that probably disappoints you and I hate disappointing you…" he paused and exhaled a deep breath before continuing. "But having a child was not something I planned."

"I know, Walter," she soothed as she turned sideways to face him and then settled back against the arm of the sofa. She reached for him and pulled his head down to her breasts as she leaned them both back. He clutched her to him and she could feel the desperation in his grasp.

"I'm not disappointed in you," she murmured softly against the top of his head before pressing a kiss against his hair. "I know you need time to process. It's a lot for me to process too. And this isn't something either of us planned. But our child is growing inside me and we'll figure this out, okay?"

Walter nodded his head against her breasts as Paige combed her fingers through his hair, gently scratching his scalp the way he liked. Silence filled the apartment and Paige felt his body slowly relax as some of the tension left him. Paige didn't know how much time had passed before Walter finally spoke again.

"I thought your breasts were getting bigger," he said quietly as he brushed his nose against the soft swell of the top of her breast above the top button of her shirt.

Paige laughed as she tilted his face up and kissed him. "Of course you did," she murmured against his lips.

He grinned unrepentantly because his obsession with her breasts was no secret and if either of them would notice her breasts were swelling, it was him. Paige sighed softly as she caressed his cheek. Walter closed his eyes and brought her palm to his lips.

"My bras have been getting a little tight but I thought maybe you had put them in the dryer the last time you did laundry and just didn't tell me."

"Oh I learned my lesson on that long ago," Walter snorted as he brought her hand back to the spot just above his right ear and she gently scratched instinctively as he closed his eyes again.

Once, several years earlier, he had tried to be helpful after they had been on a series of back to back cases. Everything in their personal lives had built up, particularly the laundry. So Walter did a couple of loads in an attempt to take some of the burden off Paige but, not knowing that women's lingerie was supposed to be hung up to dry, he threw everything in the dryer, on the cotton setting. And several of Paige's B cup bras shrunk down to, practically, training bra size. Needless to say Walter was banned from ever doing her laundry again, although she loosened the reigns slightly when things got very busy for them, which it had been recently.

"I can't believe how oblivious I've been," Paige sighed softly. "There are so many signs that I just completely missed."

"Your cycle is typically normal. Didn't that tip you off?" he asked as he buried his face against her breasts again. "You should have gotten it just after we returned from our honeymoon and I thought you did but now that I think about it I wasn't much paying attention at the time."

"Well we did get thrown into that Bolivian drug cartel case and we were in South America for over a week on that one." she said before she arched her brow. "And since when you do keep track of my cycle?"

He shrugged and his nose brushed against her nipple causing her to gasp softly. Her breasts were incredibly sensitive lately and that was yet another thing that should have tipped her off.

"I've known your cycle for years. Your birth control pill keeps it on schedule and knowing it and when your hormones might be heightened has helped me to keep out of the line of fire a few times," he said sheepishly.

Paige just laughed again as her fingers continued to massage his scalp softly.

"Well if you'd been paying attention then you would have known I did bleed while we were there. I only spotted, though, and I just thought it was because of all the stress we were under on top of all the excitement of the previous weeks. I didn't think much of it because I'll do that from time to time."

Walter didn't flinch when she spoke about her bleeding because he knew the biology and science behind a woman's menstrual cycle but he did scrunch his nose a bit, causing Paige to laugh, for a third time, and both their bodies to shake from it. She was just so happy at that moment she couldn't help herself.

"God, I love you, Walter O'Brien," she murmured against his temple before tilting his face up and kissing him again. Walter turned in her arms as he responded, deepening the kiss as he pressed one hand on the arm of the sofa as he rose to his knees between her thighs.

Paige moaned into his mouth as her fingernails dug deeper into his scalp and then slid down over his neck as she wrapped her arms around him. Walter's hand slid up beneath her shirt skimming over her stomach and stopping just beneath her breast. Paige arched her back as desire shot through her body.

Walter brushed his thumb over her nipple as it pressed against the satin of her bra and he deepened the kiss as he pressed his thigh between hers, pressing against the seam of her pants and making her writhe. Paige felt a rush of arousal soak her panties and she whimpered into this mouth as she began tugging the back of his shirt up.

Then the sound of Toby's voice came through the intercom that was sitting on the bookshelf beside the sofa and they both groaned as their lips parted.

"I hate to break up whatever it is you two are doing up there but Cabe just arrived, and we have a case, so you might want to get down here. And if you were playing slappy tickly please make sure you dress properly because he brought two FBI agents with him."

The sound of a slap came through the intercom followed by Toby's voice once again.

"Ow, woman, will you please stop hitting me?"

"Then stop being dickhead," Happy's voice floated through the speaker and Walter sighed heavily as he buried his face in Paige's neck.

"He is such an ass sometimes," Walter muttered against her skin as he removed his hand from beneath Paige's shirt. He pressed a soft kiss against her throat before pushing himself off her and standing. He held his hand out and helped her up. Paige sighed as she adjusted her shirt, her body now buzzing with desire that would go unfulfilled until tonight.

"I think maybe you should sit this one out," Walter suggested and Paige narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's not how this is going to go down, Walter," she said as she folded her arms beneath her breasts.

"Paige-," he started but she shook her head.

"No. I'm not going to be sidelined from cases just because I'm pregnant." When he started to open his mouth again she held her hand up to stop him. "Yes, things are going to have to change and some cases I will have to sit out but most of our cases these days are not as dangerous as they used to be."

"We don't know if this one is or not," Walter argued but Paige stood her ground.

"Well let's go down and find out and if it sounds dicey I'll stay here. But if it's not, Walter, I am going," Paige put her hands on her hips as she made her position on the matter very clear.

"I thought you were going to try to see your doctor today."

"One more day won't make a difference."

Walter knew she was right and he realized it was going to be a mine field navigating this new development in their lives. He trusted Paige to hold her own when it came to their cases. She was smart and resourceful and more cautious than any of them. And he knew not to smother her or try to hold her back from participating, but they were going to have talk through what will be safe and what won't while she's pregnant. He had no idea how to deal with any of this. And the look on her face made him realize, once again, just how truly out of his depth he was. And one thing Walter did not like was being out of his depth.

He expelled a harsh breath. "I'm not going to win this am I?"

"Nope," Paige said and he nodded reluctantly before he turned to walk downstairs.

Paige grabbed his hand and he stopped and looked back at her. She stepped closer and reached up to cup his face in her palms.

"We'll figure this out, Walter. I promise," she whispered and kissed him softly.

He, again, nodded his head, but he wasn't so sure.

##############

As it turned out, the case was a simple government database hacking job and wouldn't require Scorpion to do anything other than track the hacker down through his or her IP address. But it wasn't something the FBI wanted done remotely so Walter, Sylvester and Toby accompanied Cabe and the two FBI agents to their headquarters downtown.

Paige agreed she probably wouldn't be needed so she remained at the garage to catch up on some paperwork that had been piling up on her desk, while Happy, who it also appeared wouldn't be needed, took off to have lunch with her father. Paige had been able to slip into a cancellation appointment with her doctor, for that afternoon, and she decided to take it even though Walter wouldn't be able to accompany her. She doubted he would have wanted to, anyway, even though he, halfheartedly, offered.

So an hour later Paige lifted Ferret Bueller off her keyboard for the third time in ten minutes, setting him down in the small bed she now kept for him on the corner of her desk.

"I'm going to put you in your cage if you don't knock it off," she scolded the small animal but he just chattered defiantly at her before he scurried back over, only this time climbing onto her lap and burrowing into her.

The door to the garage opened and she looked over, surprised the team was returning so quickly, but was more surprised to see Drew again.

"Drew, what are you doing back here?" she asked as she pushed her chair back and stood up. She tossed Ferret Bueller over her shoulder and he burrowed his head under her long hair chattering excitedly.

"I came back because I was hoping you might have time, now, to talk."

"You've got nerve coming back after your little comment before you left." Paige rubbed her fingers down Ferret Bueller's back as he snuggled against her neck.

"Yeah, that kind of just slipped out," he said as he actually looked contrite. "I didn't really mean it."

"Yes you did," she smirked because Paige remembered her volatile personality when she was pregnant with Ralph.

Much of it had to do with the fact that she'd felt alone and abandoned a lot of the time because Drew was always traveling for the team. She was lucky he was home two or three nights a week during the season which encompassed the last few months of her pregnancy and the first few months after Ralph was born.

"I still shouldn't have said it. Sorry about that."

Paige glanced at the clock on the wall. "I have to leave for an appointment in twenty minutes, Drew. What is so important that it can't wait until another day that's less chaotic?"

"It's always chaotic around here, isn't it?"

Paige sighed. "Some days more than others.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "This is my only morning off; I'll be supervising training for the rest of the week."

When Ferret Bueller started trying to gnaw on her hair, Paige pulled him away and put him back in his bed on her desk. "And is there a reason we can't talk about this over the phone?"

"If you answered my calls or read my emails maybe we could but obviously they aren't a priority," he said peevishly. "This won't take long."

Paige sighed again, not in the mood to argue with him. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I'd like Ralph to come to Portland this summer."

Paige looked at him confused. "He's visiting you for a couple of weeks in June."

Drew nodded as he dropped his arms to his sides. "I know but I'd like him to stay longer than a couple of weeks."

"Have you spoken to him about this?"

Drew shook his head. "No. I wanted to speak to you first because I think we should be on the same page about it."

Paige eyed Drew suspiciously. Something wasn't feeling quite right about this conversation. "If Ralph wants to stay longer with you I won't stop him, Drew."

"That's the thing," Drew said cautiously. "I don't know if he's going want to. I was hoping you might encourage him."

"Why?" Paige frowned. "Did something happen when he was visiting you last month?"

"Not really," Drew shoved his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean, not really?" Paige stepped closer to him as she pinned him with what Walter and Ralph had once dubbed her "mom stare." You never wanted to get the "mom stare."

"He was barely there for four days before he had to turn around and come back for classes because he had to attend your secret wedding beforehand?" Drew said defensively.

Paige chose to ignore his passive aggressive comment because she was more concerned with Ralph at that moment.

"So what happened when Ralph was there?" She asked. "He didn't say anything when he came home."

"It wasn't anything specific," Drew replied as he scratched the back of his head. "He just kept to himself, for the most part, and didn't want to do much." Drew shook his head and Paige could see the frustration on his face. "I don't know it just seems like he's pulling away or something. I don't feel like we're connecting anymore."

"So nothing specific happened?" Paige asked worriedly.

"No. It was just easier when he was younger, you know." Drew leaned against the work table and crossed his legs. "Well, I know he and I had a bit of a rocky start, after I came back, but then we were good. Things have been good for years."

"He's a teenager now, Drew." Paige leaned against the edge of her desk and mimicked his posture. "Teenagers are tricky and Ralph is starting to assert his independence lately."

"Is he getting mouthy with you too?" Drew asked and Paige's lips curved into a wry smirk.

"His verbal filter goes out the window when he's moody. He's just like Walter that way."

"Walter isn't his father, Paige. I am." Drew snapped.

"I'm not talking about genetics, Drew," she snapped back, tired of his occasionally aggressive reaction to Walter's place in Ralph's life. Most of the time he was fine but, every once in a while, his jealousy came out. "I'm talking about the genius brain and how it processes emotions." Ferret Bueller pawed at Paige's butt and she reached behind her and swatted him away. "Sometimes, especially when he's upset or just not thinking he says things without thinking them through."

"Fine," Drew sighed as he held up his hands in acquiescence. "But I'd just like to spend a little more time with him this summer. I want him to get to know Anna better. She's important to me."

Paige tilted her head as Drew mentioned his girlfriend. "He told me she was nice."

"He barely said ten words to her the entire time he was there."

Paige sighed internally. Drew still didn't understand their son even after all this time. "He's only met her a couple of times. You know how he is with people he doesn't know well."

"I've been with her for over a year. And that's exactly my point. I've only seen him twice since last summer and he only spent two weeks with me. I want to see more of my son, Paige."

Ferret Bueller continued to paw at Paige so she picked him up again. He snuggled right up against her chest and chattered happily but she was at her last straw with him today and was determined he was going to go back in his cage as soon as Drew left.

"I already said I won't try to discourage him if he wants to spend more time in Portland this summer, Drew, but he does have to be back by mid July. He and Walter are attending a tech conference in Berlin. They'll be gone for 3 weeks just before Ralph's classes start up."

"Walter's going to leave you alone for that long while you're pregnant?" Drew looked skeptical.

Ferret Bueller started licking his belly rather than trying to climb into Paige's shirt and she stroked his ears gently as she replied. "I won't be that pregnant by then. I'll barely be six months. And if I recall you left me for the last three and half months I was pregnant with Ralph."

Paige wasn't going to bring it up but he opened the door so she stepped right on through.

"And if I recall you got pretty pissed at me for it."

"Drew, I'm not interested in going down memory lane with you about this." Paige glanced at the clock again and pushed off the edge of her desk. "I have to go or I'm going to be late. You need to talk to Ralph about this summer. I'll encourage him to go if he wants to but I'm not going to force him."

"Fine." Drew stood up and then motioned to her stomach. "So, was this baby planned?"

Paige shook her head as her lips curved up on the right. "Not even remotely."

"Are you happy about it?" Drew asked curiously. "Walter looked pretty shocked earlier and Ralph told me he was the only who noticed you were acting off."

"Is that what he called it?" Paige's half smile curved into an amused smirk.

"I think he actually said a little bit crazy." Drew smirked in return.

"Hmmm," Paige muttered. She was going to have a conversation with her son when he got home later. "He was also nice enough to tell me I was starting to get fat, yet another example of his, sometimes, lack of verbal filter."

Drew laughed and when Paige narrowed her eyes, he coughed into his hand to cover it.

He let his eyes travel over her casually. "You can hardly tell, yet, but if I look close enough I can see your face is a little puffy."

"Gee, thanks." Paige lifted Ferret Bueller higher when he started wiggling in her hands

"You didn't put on a lot of weight when you were pregnant with Ralph. Obviously your stomach got huge and your hips a little, but that was it. Oh, your boobs too." He motioned to her chest where Ferret Bueller was once again trying to dive inside her shirt. "But you were incredibly beautiful when you were pregnant, Paige. Then again you always are."

Drew shrugged and grinned and she shook her head. "Thanks, I think."

"I meant it as a compliment. And not a creepy one. How far along are you anyway?"

"I don't know. Hence my doctor's appointment I'm going to be late for if I don't leave right now."

Drew stepped closer to her. "Okay. I'll talk to Ralph but please help me out with this. I feel like he's slipping away and living three thousand miles away from him doesn't help."

Paige could see the sincerity in Drew's eyes and she knew he was being honest in his desire to remain close with their son. "I'll do what I can."

"Thanks," Drew said and he stepped even closer, pulling Paige into an unexpected hug, trapping a very unhappy Ferret Bueller between them. "Congratulations, Paige. I'm happy for you and Walter."

Paige stood still for a second before she hesitantly reached one arm around and hugged him back.

"Uh, thanks."

Paige stepped back and Ferret Bueller chattered angrily at Drew and Paige chuckled softly as she stroked his fur to calm him.

"Is he always that aggressive?" Drew asked.

"No, but I really have to go, Drew," Paige said as she turned toward her desk.

"Okay. See you around," Drew replied as he turned and walked out of the garage.

Paige walked to Ferret Bueller's cage on the other side of the kitchen.

"Why are you such a little perv," she asked the small animal as she stroked him gently. He continued to tug at the buttons on her shirt and attempted to shove his head inside. "I can only imagine what you're going to be like once they start getting bigger," she mused before placing him in his cage and heading out of the garage to her appointment.

##################

"Uh, Walter," Sylvester said from beside the genius at the bank of monitors in the FBI computer lab.

"What, Sly, I'm trying to focus here," Walter replied as he continued to type on his laptop.

"I just accidentally opened the wrong file on my tablet and it brought up the cameras in the garage."

"And you're telling me this why?" Walter asked but he looked over at the mathematician because of the anxiety in his tone. "Is Paige okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so."

"What do you mean you guess so?" Walter asked as he grabbed the tablet out of Sylvester's hand.

"Drew is there," Sly said as Toby rolled his chair over from his computer and poked his head over Sly's shoulder.

"What's Drew doing back?" he asked as Sylvester shook his head slowly as he continued to look at the screen.

"Well, as of four minutes ago he was hugging Paige," Sly replied as Walter clenched both his teeth and his fist as he watched his wife hugging her ex.

To be continued…

Thanks again for reading and to all those that take the time to leave a review.