Paige sat in her office the next morning checking emails. Walter still hadn't gotten back to her and she was about ready to just go back over and force a confrontation. She should have fought harder to start with, it would have been easier to fix what was, than to try and rebuild from where they crashed. She looked at her phone and saw it was nearly eleven a.m. and she frowned. Sylvester should have the report already. She stood up and walked out of her office and saw Sylvester at his desk. She walked down and saw Toby on his couch a few feet away from Slyvester.

"Sly, I've been waiting. Have you got the report over the contract so we can go over it?" Paige asked as she stopped at his desk.

"Not exactly." Sylvester told her nervously.

Paige frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean? You were supposed to go over it so you could advise us on signing it or not." Paige reminded him.

"I know, but someone else demanded I just accept it since we had a majority rule to accept it." Sylvester told her.

"Are you freaking kidding me right now?" Paige demanded and saw Toby grinning.

"Nope, we told you to do it and you refused so we used our majority to override your objection." Toby was grinning at her. "I'm even thinking of seeing if there is a majority to remove you as a partner since you seem hellbent on doing things that aren't in the best interest of all of us."

"You sick, twisted, perverted narcissist." Paige said disgustedly.

She started to go on but was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. She turned and her jaw dropped open as she stared at the man now standing inside the office.

He smiled as he whipped his sunglasses off and tucked them into the pocket in his suit coat.

"Hello Paige and Centipede Partners. I'm your new Homeland handler." Tim grinned.

"Oh like hell you are." Paige fumed as she turned towards Slylvester. "Did the contract say anything about this?" She demanded.

Sylvester shook his head.

"Just that a handler would be named moving forward." Sylvester choked out.

Toby got up off the couch and moved past Paige and Sylvester and grinned as he walked down the front of the office towards Tim.

"Welcome aboard Tim, great to have a familiar face with us. You'll need to forgive the help. Sometimes she's a little high strung." Toby told him as he held out his hand.

Tim chuckled.

"I guess high strung is as good a term as any. I might have used a few others but since I'm on the clock, that wouldn't be appropriate. But thanks, it's good to be back. And I got to say with the raise I got, I couldn't say no." Tim shook his hand while grinning at Paige as she went through about ten shades of anger.

Paige turned and stormed past where Toby and Tim were standing and into her office and slammed the door so hard that tools on Happy's wall fell.

"Not good." Happy said from where she was working on repairing a client's drive motor for his assembly line.

"I guess she's overjoyed and happy to see me. Or was it something I said?" Tim laughed as Toby joined him. "I do have to admit, I miss her legs in miniskirts or short dresses. What's with the baggy slacks?"

"Oh she's thrilled to see you, trust me! Yeah, ever since they broke up Paige hasn't been dressing like she used to." Toby laughed.

"What the hell is he doing here? And what the hell do you think you're doing commenting on Paige like that?" Happy asked as she came out of her shop to see why her tools fell.

"Meet our new handler for Homeland." Toby grinned at his wife.

"Oh hell no. He can just crawl back to Homeland and get someone else. I'm not working with him." Happy told them.

"Well you'll have too. This is the deal you signed up for. And we have a case I need to brief you all on. Have you got a place to do that?" Tim asked.

"I'm crushed you think we'd not have a nice professional conference room to conduct important business." Toby laughed. "Just down this hall at the first door on the right."

Toby stepped up to Paige's door and tried to open it but found it locked. He knocked on it with a heavy hand.

"Hey, we got a case briefing, conference room, five minutes." Toby called as insultingly as he could through her door before looking at Sylvester. "Five minutes Sly."

"Let me show you the break room and the restrooms." Toby said as he turned back to Tim.

Tim nodded and followed behind him.

"You imbecile." Happy swore and moved up and knocked gently on her door.

"You okay Paige? I'm really sorry about this, had I even dreamed this would have happened I wouldn't have agreed with them." Happy said through the door.

Happy sighed as Paige didn't respond. She turned and walked to the conference room.

After Paige got upset, Sylvester had pulled up the contract. He was going through it to see what other surprises might be in store for them.

"Sylvester, we're waiting for you and Paige." Toby said over the intercom after ten minutes had passed.

Happy glared at him and then slugged his arm.

Sylvester paused as he listened to Toby, shaking his head, and then went back to reading when he heard Paige's door open. He looked over and saw her close her door and walked out the front door and down the steps. With concern on his face, Sylvester stood up just as his printer kicked on. He watched Paige get in her car and then she started it. He heard the sheet of paper come out and he reached for it even as he saw her drive off. His eyes fell on the paper and he frowned and then his eyes went wide as he swallowed. He finally sighed and stepped around his desk and walked back to the conference room.

"Where's Paige?" Happy asked as Sylvester sat down at the table.

"She's quit." Sylvester said as he slid the paper over to her.

"What? She can't quit." Toby complained.

"Yes she can and she's citing your attitude and actions to do so." Sylvester told him angrily. "You totally disrespected her and her position in the company. I'm surprised she didn't slap you before she went into her office. And I would have defended her for free. You'll be lucky if she doesn't sue you personally."

"You just had to push her didn't you? You actually threatened to have her removed as a partner? What is wrong with you?" Happy asked as she stood up.

Toby swallowed hard.

"What that doesn't say is he referred to her as the help to Tim." Sylvester told her even as Toby shot him a warning look.

"Well be that as it may, it will have to wait. We need to discuss this case." Tim told them.

"You jackass." Happy huffed. "Discuss it all you want, I'm out of here." Happy pushed the page back to Sylvester.

"You're quitting?" Sylvester asked in a nervous voice.

"What do you think?" Happy demanded as she stepped out the door and slammed it hard.

"Well, good thing we still have the two of us." Toby tried to joke.

"That isn't funny Toby. We are down in serious manpower now thanks to you. How are we supposed to function?" Sylvester whined.

"Like adults, now pay attention." Tim barked.

Paige pulled up to the stop sign across from the Garage but didn't see Walter's car. Or any other car that wasn't familiar. Since Tim showed up that must mean that Cabe quit so he wouldn't be in his SUV. Paige sighed and turned and drove over to Kovelsky's. She was hoping that maybe Walter was there. Paige let out a breath of relief as she saw Walter's car. She pulled into the back lot and parked back where her car couldn't be seen.

She got out and walked over to the delivery door and knocked.

"Paige?" Mr. Kovelsky asked in shock as he opened the door.

"Hey Mr. Kovelsky. I really need to talk to Walter. I didn't want him to see me coming and try to slip out on me. Is it okay if I enter through here?" Paige asked.

Mr. Kovelsky nodded as he waved her on in and closed the door.

Paige made her way to the dining area quickly and then looked around the corner and saw Walter sitting with his back towards her. She smiled saying a small thank you that he had sat at a booth and was sitting over far enough that she could slip in next to him and he wouldn't be able to just leave. She walked with determination through the dining room. The four people sitting behind Walter's booth got up as she made her way over and left which helped cover her footfalls. She was so paranoid he'd catch wind of her approach and run away.

She swallowed hard as she reached the booth and then slipped right in and sat down next to him.

"Hello Walter." Paige said with a cheery smile.

"Paige?" Walter said even as he instinctively moved away from her. "What are you doing here?"

"You haven't been returning my phone calls or emails, and you ignored Freddie when he told you I wanted you to call me." Paige told him as she arched her brow.

Walter swallowed.

"How do you know I ignored him?" Walter panicked.

"I didn't until you admitted it Walter. I just figured you had." Paige smiled.

"Well I took the hint you bludgeoned me with three weeks ago and I'm leaving you alone." Walter told her as he looked back at the table.

"Walter, please look at me." Paige said sweetly.

Walter sighed knowing how much it was going to hurt as he looked at her.

"How have you been Walter, honestly, I don't want to hear fine. I want to know how you've really been." Paige smiled sadly even as she put her hand on top of his.

"How do you think I've been? I've been a heartbroken and devastated fifteen year old. Barely keeping it together to complete my responsibilities." Walter told her.

Paige nodded sadly.

"I get why you said it that way and I deserved that Walter. I was pretty vicious to you that night. And while at that time I was so mad and the fifteen year old in me wanted to hurt you with as much pain as I felt, I wasn't truthful Walter. You are so much more than fifteen emotionally. Sure you got some ways to go in understanding and putting things together relationship wise, but this is the longest relationship you've had. So there are going to be hiccups. I just wasn't prepared for that one. And I acted badly, I'm really sorry." Paige tried to explain.

"Then why all of this? Why leave me? Why start CP and then try to run me out of business? What did I do to deserve that?" Walter whispered as the hostess showed a couple to another booth.

"Well if you had ever returned any of my calls or agreed to meet me, you'd have known." Paige tried to smile. "But CP wasn't supposed to go this way Walter. They brought the idea to me, like all Toby ideas the point was supposed to be about showing you that the team had more merit then you seemed to give them credit for. We were supposed to have already sat down with you and worked all of this out and then come back to Scorpion with you." Paige's hand rubbed the top of his as she talked.

"It was never supposed to be about putting Scorpion out of business. It was just supposed to help you see the other side. But in true Toby fashion the idea changed and became what it is right now. When they voted against me to accept the Homeland contract without at least talking to you I was so mad. Trying to get them to explain how we got to where we were, how they could vote to accept it without even thinking about it. As soon as I said I got the offer Toby and Sly wanted to take it, no questions asked. Happy at least thought about it for a minute. But she's so fixated on adopting a kid right now, she isn't thinking straight." Paige continued telling him.

"I flat out refused to agree to accept it, I wanted Sly to at least read it and give us bullet points over the details. And then we could talk to you. I left pissed off at the way Toby was acting, to come see you yesterday. So when I cornered him on it this morning I got told about them accepting it blindly. I guess Toby made Sylvester sign it without finishing reading it. Then Toby talks about taking a vote to have me removed from being a partner and just as I was about to tear into him, you wouldn't believe who showed up." Paige told him as she continued rubbing his head.

"Timothy." Walter said without any emotions.

"You got it in one. I didn't even know the jackass was back in the States." Paige told him as she took a sip of water the waitress brought her.

Walter frowned as he looked at her.

"You didn't know?" Walter asked, clearly puzzled.

"About him being back? No, why would I? That door was shut and locked a year ago Walter. Tim might be more normal emotionally but he isn't you. But being more normal emotionally doesn't make it better either. Because you don't do something out of emotions to hurt someone. You might hurt them out of ignorance of the emotion they are in, but Tim knows how to use emotions to hurt people. Just like Toby." Paige told him.

"So you are here for a job?" Walter asked, trying to figure out for sure what she was trying to say.

Paige laughed.

"Walter, you made a joke." But then she didn't see him smiling or laughing. "Wait, you're serious? You think I would come back to you and try to worm a job from you?"

Walter saw the anger on her face and he started shaking his head.

"I can't believe this, I came to find you to try and have the conversation we should have had already and you are thinking something so hideous of me?" Paige asked loudly.

"It isn't that Paige. No one has ever come back to me before. When people leave me they never come back." Walter said sadly.

"What about Cabe?" Paige demanded.

"Cabe didn't leave me, I chased him away." Walter admitted.

Paige closed her eyes and tried to calm herself.

"Okay, look, let's forget that was said. While I did quit CP and I would love to work with you again, that isn't what I want Walter. I want us, you and me." Paige smiled.

"And Ralph?" Walter asked.

Paige laughed.

"Of course Ralph, you silly, where I go Ralph is going, we are a packaged deal. You take one of us, you have to take us both." Paige smiled as she picked up his fork and stabbed the piece of the chicken on his salad and put it in her mouth.

She just smiled as he watched her mouth chew. She stabbed another and brought it up to his mouth and Walter slowly opened his mouth and she slipped the fork within. She watched with a grin as his lips closed around it and she pulled it back out. She watched him chew and after he swallowed she leaned in towards him. At first he seemed a little scared but then he pushed towards her and their lips met and they kissed for a moment.

"I think I like this lunch meeting." Walter smiled.

Paige stabbed a piece of lettuce and brought it up to her lips and she stopped as she frowned.

"Did that dressing taste okay to you?" Paige asked as she put the fork down and rubbed her stomach.

Walter nodded.

"I ate about half the salad already, I feel fine. You aren't allergic to Caesar dressing, right?" Walter asked with concern.

Paige nodded before her eyes got bigger and she scooted out of the booth and ran for the bathroom with her hand over her mouth.

Greetings! I hope this finds you well!

2LawDog - Thank you! Freddie was a homeless guy I created for the story back in Head Space. Since the Garage was in such a run down area it seemed appropriate to have at least 1 homeless person. He was a former Coast Guard service member, retired. And one day he tried to help someone and suffered a brain injury and had been homeless pretty much since. The VA had tried to help and would get him into places and while on meds and stuff he did better but always returned to the streets where he tried to help new homeless cope. Paige and Happy forming their own company for things could be interesting. I don't think anyone has done that before. Of course being married to Toby makes that problematic. Sly's still hurt over what he things Walter did. Much easier to blame someone else than blame your own inactions.

Guest - Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy them! I will do my best, you take care too!

Railman - Thank you! Was this fireworks enough? hehe Well as for Cabe...in due time...don't want to spoil anything. By chapter 9, which is the last finished chapter, a lot of things are resolved.

LouBe - Thank you! So much happens in such a short span of 9 chapters, the problem at Richard's has mostly been forgotten. LOL

JerBr23 - Looks like she heard you! LOL

Guest197 - Well...we're coming to that part. Walter and Paige do some more talking in the next 2 chapters to come.

Lucy - Thank you! Yep...It really is hard to start a fix it with a way to like Toby or Sly from the get go.

Margaret - hehe Yes, if you mistakenly started at chapter 1, the Grab Bag does start with the alternate story of Caber. This is just a catch all for stories that may or may not ever get done. I'm hoping this is the last story to go in here.

To the Adventure! -Tim