Ignore Any Sentence That Starts With the Word Normally: not set after any specific episode, just mid-Season 1

Cabe bid goodbye to Toby, Happy, and Sly as they left the Garage to head home for the weekend. He double-checked that he didn't have any new messages on his phone and walked over to Paige where she sat at her desk. "I'm ready to go. You about ready to hit the road, Kid?" Paige had hitched a ride to work with Cabe that morning so he could catch her up on the newest workplace safety protocols that Homeland was trying to enforce on the Scorpion team. It was all very efficient.

"I am, just give me one second." Paige blew an errant piece of hair out of her eyes, closed her laptop, and leaned back in her desk chair, stretching in relief. She hadn't moved in what felt like hours. The paperwork for Scorpion's latest case was finally done.

She was looking forward to getting an early start on the weekend. A bubble bath was definitely calling her name. Paige had just picked up her phone to drop it into her purse when it buzzed. She glanced at the screen, pleased to see a text notification from Megan pop up.

Megan:

Hey, heard the taskmaster is letting you off early. Come by for the afternoon? It feels like 4ever since I had company that wasn't W

Paige felt her tiredness evaporate. Since starting to work with Scorpion her female friendships had suffered. Hanging out was a foreign concept to Happy, even if she had wanted to spend time with a non-genius. Paige was thrilled to be getting to know Megan. Walter's sister was smart and opinionated and funny as hell.

Paige:

About to head out. Caught a ride in with Cabe. Need to pick up my car at home first. 1 hour tops

Megan:

Don't worry about your car. W has a meeting with the doc today. Tell him I told him to give you a ride. He'll love it…

There was a pause, then a second message popped up on Paige's screen in rapid succession.

Megan:

Spending some uninterrupted time with you ;)

Paige tapped her fingernails on the back of her phone case unconsciously as she contemplated the scenario. Uninterrupted time with Walter? That was something she usually looked forward to, but things had been uncomfortable between them since the night Walter came over after his big street racing win. Paige knew she had to spend time with Walter again sometime. May as well be today. Paige reread the previous messages. In spite of herself, she felt amused. Megan was really in rare form today.

Paige:

Sounds good. Anything we can pick up for you on the way?

Megan:

Nope, just get yourselves over here. So booooring. The only nurse with a sense of humor is off today.

All the sympathetic head tilts are killing me ahead of schedule.

Paige sent a Nicolas Cage gif with the wind blowing through his long hair from Con Air. Part of their mutual obsession with everything Nic, and one of Megan's 'Top 3 Rewatchable Cage Flicks.' She dropped her phone in her purse and looked up at a waiting Cabe. "Looks like you're off the hook for giving me a ride home. Megan invited me to see her. I'm gonna catch a ride with Walter since he's heading out to the hospital in a few minutes anyway."

Cabe looked slightly disappointed. "It makes a lonelier ride home for me, but you go have fun. See you Monday." Cabe disappeared out the door.

Paige had just opened her mouth to call out to Walter that she was tagging along with him to the hospital when she saw him coming down the stairs from the loft, slipping his phone into his pants pocket as he descended. Walter had that bemused look on his face that he usually wore when dealing with Megan. "I have been directed to ask you to accompany me to the hospital so you can visit my sister. I assume you have already been drafted into her latest machination."

Paige stood up from her desk as Walter moved toward her, his gaze firmly glued to the floor slightly to the right of her feet. She felt her own bit of discomfort slither down her back.

She did her best to shrug it off and keep a casual tone of voice as she replied. "Yes, she invited me over. It's not any kind of nefarious escape attempt or anything. At least I don't think so." Paige smiled in spite of their mutual discomfort because you really never did know just what to expect when it came to Megan.

Walter visibly relaxed and allowed himself a brief glance up at Paige's face. "That is welcome information."

Paige gathered up her purse and jacket. "I think we'll probably just watch a movie and lament the demise of the chick-flick in the modern-day cinematic monstrosity that is the Marvel Universe."

Walter made a sound in the back of his throat. "Most of her doctor's appointments are unproductive. The majority of the scheduled time allotted is usually taken by Megan arguing with every suggestion the doctor or I make…" Walter picked up his own jacket from where it was draped across the back of his desk chair. "...and complaining about the lack of stimulating activities to prevent her from actually dying of boredom. As if that were physically possible."

"I think that was a 'thank you, Paige,' but don't worry about it. I'm always happy to spend time with Megan. She's basically my only female friend at this point."

Walter almost met Paige's eyes. "I'm glad she has you, too. I was planning to take her out to dinner tonight, if she's feeling up to it. It would likely enhance her enjoyment of the experience if you would also join us after your female bonding time."

"Sounds good to me. Let's get this show on the road." Paige hooked her purse over her shoulder.

"The what?" Walter looked perplexed.

"Nevermind, Walter. Let's go." This is gonna be a long ride, Paige muttered to herself.

As Paige walked into Megan's hospital room, Walter smiled and waved hello to his sister from the doorway and promised to return to take her dinner then disappeared down the stark hospital corridor toward the conference room. Megan's face just lit up the same way it did every time she saw her brother and Paige was once again struck by the complete unfairness and randomness of Megan's health condition. As soon as Walter disappeared from view, Megan's countenance dimmed slightly and Paige could see the familiar and unwelcome tiredness in her friend's eyes.

"Paige," Megan adjusted herself more comfortably on her bed. "I am so glad you're here. I really just could not take another minute of aides trying to convince me to come to the common room and play Canasta. Canasta! Can you believe it? I'm dying. I'm not 100."

Paige chuckled. "I'm here now, and I will guard the door. No Canasta-playing will happen on my watch." Paige dropped into the easy chair next to Megan's bedside. "I am at your disposal, at least for a couple of hours while Walter meets with the doc. What do you have in mind for today's entertainment?"

Megan smiled, eyes lighting up again. "I have the perfect thing. The volunteers were clearing out the rec room DVD collection and I snagged a classic before it got dumped." She reached into the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a DVD case. Paige didn't recognize the movie's name as she read it on the cover and turned her eyes toward Megan, puzzled.

Megan put the case in Paige's hand. "It's the underrated 1990 classic Joe Versus the Volcano… the original Hanks/Ryan cinematic pairing."

Paige turned the case over in her hands, perusing the plot synopsis on the back. "I had no idea they were in a movie together before Sleepless in Seattle."

"I know, right?" Megan agreed. "It's such a crazy movie, complete with Tom Hanks playing a hypochondriac who believes he is about to die of some incurable disease." Megan winked at Paige's look of dismay. "You know I love a good bit of gallows humor. It's the only thing that keeps me sane while Walter is running himself ragged trying to cure me."

Megan gestured to her entertainment center. "Hey, pop the DVD in, and let's fire her up. Bonus: Meg Ryan plays three different characters in the movie - it is so bizarre!"

Paige did as directed and handed Megan the remote as she made herself comfortable in the chair next to Megan.

As the FBI warning flashed across the screen, Megan rearranged the pillows behind her back. "Next time, bring popcorn."

Paige nodded. "Absolutely."

Just as the final shot faded to black, Walter walked into Megan's room.

Megan smiled, "Impeccable timing, little bro."

Walter stood at Megan's bedside, rocking on his heels. Megan grabbed his hand and a ghost of a smile crossed his features. "While I would love nothing more than to take the two of you to dinner. Unfortunately, I have been called to install a code patch on a security upgrade Scorpion did last month. I'm unable to estimate the time it will take to complete with any accuracy. We'll need to do dinner another time."

Walter quickly withdrew his hand from Megan's grasp. "I will call you when the job is finished. The doctor and I worked out a new treatment protocol that I believe holds a great deal of promise in slowing your disease progression."

Megan made a face.

Walter noticed and frowned at her. "I want the best care, the best prognosis possible for you, Megan."

Megan closed her eyes, so Walter wouldn't see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I know, and I love you for it. It doesn't mean that I like it."

Paige reached over to touch Megan's shoulder. Megan opened her eyes and smiled at her friend. "I'm glad you're here today."

"I'm glad you invited me."

Walter made a noise of discomfort in the back of his throat, eyes never leaving Megan's face. "Paige, I need to go. I know I was your ride here…" he trailed off.

Paige avoided his eyes as well. "Don't worry about it, Walter. I can Uber home. I know you need to get over to the BRG offices to work on the patch. You don't need me tagging along."

He took a breath like he was going to say something, then changed his mind. Instead, he turned toward the door. "I will call you soon, Megan. This is a simple job and shouldn't take long." He finally looked at Paige, "I will see you at work on Monday."

Paige nodded curtly, suddenly fascinated by a loose thread on the cuff of her blouse.

Without another word, Walter left the room.

Once Walter's footsteps could no longer be heard echoing down the hall, Megan turned to Paige. Her tears of frustration gone and the spark back in her eyes. "Spill it. What is up with you and my brother? Every time I mention your name he gets this goofy grin on his face. He's talking about a Kinesiology paper and something called The O'Brien Technique." Megan interrupted her own train of thought, "Is that something dirty?" She shook her head as if clearing out an unwanted mental image. "Nevermind. Don't tell me."

She sighed. "And then whatever just happened between the two of you just now. I need details."

Paige hesitated for a moment. She really didn't want to talk about this. But she also really needed to talk to someone about it. "Megan, I think I made a huge mistake." Those words released days of pent-up emotions. Tears started gathering in her eyes.

Megan patted the spot next to her on the bed and shifted to the side a few inches to make room as Paige climbed onto the bed next to her. Megan wrapped her arms around her friend and the tears began to flow freely down Paige's cheeks.

Paige cried and dabbed at her eyes as Megan kept supplying her tissues. Eventually, the tears subsided and Paige smiled weakly in gratitude.

Megan sat up straighter in the bed as Paige moved away slightly so they could speak face to face again. "Now I'm really nervous. Paige, what on earth is going on between you two?"

Relieved to finally have someone with whom to share the confusing relationship dance that she and Walter had been doing, Paige let the words tumble out. She recounted the first conversation she'd had with Walter about her nail polish and Ralph at the diner. As she lost her discomfort at speaking so frankly about Walter to his sister, the words flowed even faster. Their growing emotional connection, facilitated by manicures and eventually therapeutic hand massage. The birth of The O'Brien Technique.

"That's The O'Brien Technique? Oh, thank God," Megan breathed. "I was legitimately wondering if Walter was starting to crack under the strain of his enormous brain."

Paige smiled, grateful to Megan for lightening the mood. "And I love our time together, I love our connection. I…I crave his touch. But sometimes I need to touch him. And so I tried. I thought I could give him a manicure. I thought that would be an agreeable next step." Tears slid down Paige's cheeks again. She swiped them away impatiently. "But he freaked out. I think I ruined every bit of EQ that he had built in that one stupid request."

Paige pulled away from Megan and sat at the foot of the bed. "And now that you know all this, can you help me? I really want to understand what I did wrong." She bit her lip, apprehensively.

"Walter always has to feel like he's the one in control of every situation. Especially this one." She gestured to the hospital equipment surrounding her. "He doesn't do well when he and his gigantic IQ aren't running the show.

"He definitely only tolerates touch from others. Case in point, how quickly he pulled his hand away from me earlier. But this reaction you described. It is puzzling. It sounds more like Walter when he was a kid and couldn't handle physical contact on any level.

"I haven't heard of anything like this from him. I think it may have more to do with it being YOU touching him. You know my blockhead little brother is in love with you, right?"

Paige blushed visibly. "But you already knew that." Megan paused, looking at Paige with searching in her eyes. "The question is are you in love with him?"

Paige stood abruptly and started pacing in Megan's small hospital room. "I-I don't know.."

Megan made an impatient noise. "I think you do know. I think you're just afraid to admit it to yourself."

"I'm so confused, Drew has shown up in my life again, after all these years. There's the team. I feel like I am finally gaining their respect for my contributions to our cases. What would a relationship between Walter and I do to that? And there's Walter himself, he's so important to me. He completely changed my life. I can't do anything to mess that up." Paige paused. "And then there's Ralph to consider…"

Megan's eyes snapped with irritation watching Paige pace back and forth. "All of those 'problems' you listed," using her fingers as air quotes, "are not actual problems. You know like the problem of actually dying of MS."

Paige stood still, shocked at Megan's words. "I'm so sor–" Megan cut her off.

"It's just the reality of the situation, nothing for you to be sorry about.

"I don't say that for you to feel sorry for me. I just want you to understand what's at stake, you know, like your life and your happiness. Stop wasting time being afraid, playing out worst-case scenarios. Decide what it is that you want, then go after it. Life is short." She gestured to the oxygen cannula she sometimes needed to use. "Mine is shorter than I would like, but that's no reason for me not to go after the things that I want."

Paige sat on the foot of Megan's bed again. "You're right, of course, I've been making excuses. Going at the speed of Walter because I'm afraid."

Megan smiled, "So what do you want, Paige?"

Paige toyed with the blanket at the foot of Megan's bed. "I want to be able to touch Walter when I want to. Not just let him touch me when he needs it."

"Perfect." Megan's eyes flashed with excitement. "I know exactly what your next step is. Walter is not the kind of person who has ever had a manicure. It was a new experience. It was with you. You need to give him the experience of your touch in a setting in which he is already acclimated to contact with someone else. And I have the perfect idea." Megan winked. "How are you at cutting hair?"

Paige smiled at the idea. "I love it. I actually worked at a salon when Ralph was a baby." She paused, considering the possibilities. "Walter has been looking a little shaggy the last little while. I can even expound on the efficiency of not needing to take time away from the Garage to drive back and forth from the barber or the necessity of making small talk with normal humans during the appointment."

"That's my girl," Megan grinned. "Walter won't know what's coming. But I guarantee he'll love it." She laid back against her pillows once more, feeling the effects of the excitement of the conversation with Paige. "My work here is done. I expect an update. Bonus points if you take a video."

Paige stood. "I should go." She moved to the head of the bed and leaned over, pressing her cheek to Megan's. "Thank you. Thank you for being my friend."

Megan closed her eyes tiredly, "I expect an invitation to the wedding."

Paige laughed as she moved toward the door. "You really don't mess around."

Megan nodded her agreement, as Paige disappeared down the hall, opening the Uber app on her phone as she walked.

As the door to her room swung closed, Megan sighed happily, "I want my matchmaker fee," she whispered to the empty room. "Walter still owes me a Lamborghini, bright yellow."

Author's Note:

What you read was my best guess on how to format Paige and Megan's text exchange so it was obvious that they were exchanging messages and so it still made sense and flowed. If there is a better/smarter/cooler way to write that on this site, let me know and I will update it. Thank you!