A Coda to the Pilot Episode

Processing Physical Contact

Paige watched the two men in her life become immersed in the video game as she blinked her tears away. Ralph, her son, who became the most important thing in her life in the moment she learned of his existence almost ten years before. And Walter O'Brien. He was confusing, miraculous, and somehow exactly what she had needed without knowing it. She had only met him a few hours before, but somehow she knew that he was already integral to her existence. Paige felt drawn to him in a way she never had with any other man, even Ralph's father.

Paige wiped down her small kitchen's countertops for the fifth time.

This is beyond ridiculous, told herself.

Walter O'Brien had already noticed, though he hadn't said anything aloud. He didn't need to, his expressive brown eyes communicated his confusion at the inefficiency of her kitchen cleaning efforts.

Paige knew that she really ought to send her new employer home. After all, it was far past Ralph's bedtime, but she couldn't bear to tear him away from the video game with Walter, not yet. She couldn't bear to tear herself away from his presence either.

Paige didn't understand the effect this near stranger had on her. It was all about his connection to Ralph, right?

Paige noticed the latest celebrity rag that she had grabbed from the grocery store checkout line poking out of a kitchen drawer. She tucked it under her arm and moved towards the living area. There she curled up in the chair next to the sofa. It was perfect. She could flip through the magazine and appear to be occupied, all while observing and noting every interaction between this near-perfect stranger who seemed like someone she had known forever and her son.

She even remembered to flip a page every now and then.

As the pair continued to play the game in companionable silence, Walter noticed that Ralph was distracted. He wasn't reacting to obstacles in the game as quickly as he was clearly capable of doing. He also had a difficult time sitting still and kept throwing surreptitious glances toward his mother's face.

The boy looked as if he longed to say something to his mother, but didn't know what or how. Walter definitely knew the feeling as he also glanced at the lovely Paige Dineen's face. He thought that he might know how to alleviate the boy's distress but wasn't sure the best way to approach the situation. The last thing he wanted to do was to disrupt the relationship between mother and son by interjecting himself into their dynamic.

The minutes ticked by and the hour grew later. Ralph's eyes grew heavy, and if she was being honest, Paige's were as well. She knew that she was going to have to be the adult in this situation and send Walter O'Brien home and Ralph to his bed.

Finally making her decision, Paige reluctantly stood up and reached toward the video game controller in her son's hand. "That's it, Bud. It's time for bed. You'll see Walter again soon."

"Mooooom," Ralph whined. "I don't want to, I'm not tired."

"It's important for you to be rested and ready for school tomorrow," Paige replied firmly.

"But I don't want to go to bed yet." Ralph jumped up from the sofa and paced in front of the TV.

"Ralph, I don't want to go through this with you tonight. I don't have the energy for this. It's. Time. For. Bed. Now." Paige emphasized each word.

Finally, Walter's opening came. He could hear the change of tone in Paige's voice and saw the lines of exhaustion around her eyes and mouth. He knew that the adrenaline that had been coursing through her body during the race to save those planes and passengers at LAX had finally been cleared out and she was likely feeling the accompanying exhaustion as well as the dopamine drop that went with it and decided to intervene, consequences be damned.

"Miss Dineen...Paige," he fumbled over the words. "If I may make a suggestion," he paused and Paige waved her hand impatiently. A gesture Walter interpreted to mean she wanted him to continue. "Perhaps an excellent coda to today's excitement would be a manicure given by Ralph."

Paige felt frustration flow through her and she opened her mouth to tell Walter O'Brien to butt the hell out of her parenting but stopped as she remembered their conversation from the diner earlier today.

"My polish streaks because Ralph does it. He loves to paint. Don't tell me that he needs help either. He's challenged. Have some empathy."

"He doesn't like to paint your nails. He does it because he wants to hold your hand but he can't process physical contact. So help him or he will never connect with you."

Paige recalled how much she had longed to sweep Ralph into a bear hug after seeing him at the airfield after the corrupted communication software crisis had been averted. She longed to connect with him. Human to human in the most primeval way, after staring death in the face and living to tell the tale. Paige had held back because Ralph's most common reaction to even the briefest of contact was shying away and she wasn't sure she wouldn't just burst into tears if he avoided her touch. What if Walter O'Brien was right? What if Ralph needed to connect with her through touch as well, but didn't have the capacity to express the desire or even consciously understand it?

Paige smiled. "I think that sounds like an excellent idea. Why don't you run into my room and pick a color off the top of the dresser?"

Ralph grinned and Walter could see that the boy's parasympathetic nervous system was already calming to baseline levels. Ralph hurried out of the room, bent on his mission.

"I'm glad you took my words to heart. I think you will find he will be much more willing to comply with your request for him to go to bed after he has been able to reestablish his physical bond with you."

"Yes, Walter, I did. I have only ever wanted to do the best I could for Ralph. Thank you for your advice." Paige smiled shyly at him.

Ralph bounded back into the room with nail polish and polish remover pads in hand. "C'mon, Mom, I found this dark purple. It's a new one that you haven't worn before." Ralph moved towards the small dining area.

Walter stood unmoving and uncertain. Paige placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I'd love for you to join us. If you like…unless you have somewhere else to be."

He processed the feeling of her fingers on his forearm and surprised himself for not feeling any aversion to the connection. In fact, he almost enjoyed it. Walter smiled faintly, "I don't have any further activities planned for the evening. I have never seen a woman have her fingernails painted before, and I enjoy observing new experiences so that I may grow my own knowledge base."

Paige hid a small smile at Walter's verbose acceptance of her invitation as the two of them moved to join Ralph at the table.

Ralph efficiently removed his mother's red nail polish. Then he meticulously started painting his mother's nails the new shade. Paige focused all of her attention on Ralph's actions. She relished every touch between the two of them and felt tears well up in her eyes as she realized how often she had dismissed Ralph's attempts to give her a manicure when she was too busy or too tired from a long shift at Nemo's. She'd had no idea. She'd only felt sorry for herself because she couldn't connect with her son the way she had wanted to. Paige had never considered that he might have a different way to show physical affection.

Walter watched the boy's movements and his mother's reaction. He scarcely breathed and never moved his eyes from Paige and Ralph as the two created a new connection.

When Ralph finished, the three of them sat in companionable silence waiting for Paige's nails to dry. It only took a couple of minutes before Ralph's eyes began to droop and Paige knew he was beyond ready for bed. She rose from the chair and scooped up her son, head resting heavily on her shoulder.

Walter stood abruptly as if concerned he had suddenly worn out his welcome. "I-I should go. I have…I have an engagement I had previously neglected."

Paige smiled. "Of course. Ralph's going to be out for the night." Paige caught Walter's eye. "Thank you, Walter. Thank you for…everything." Words felt inadequate for how much she had gained in the short span of one day, just by meeting Walter O'Brien.

Walter met her gaze and his expression softened. He took a breath. Paige was certain he was about to say something in response.

Instead, he closed his mouth and dropped his gaze to Ralph's sleepy form. "I'll see you at the Garage tomorrow, 9 am sharp. I'll text you all the details." Paige nodded as she shifted Ralph's weight into a more secure position on her hip. "I'll see myself out, so you can put Ralph to bed."

Paige smiled at Walter one last time and turned toward's Ralph's room as Walter moved towards the door. He pulled the door closed securely behind him as he stepped out into the condominium unit's ill-lit hallway, checking to make sure the lock caught.

Walter paused briefly and whispered to himself. "Thank you, Paige Dineen. Thank you for…everything."