Chapter Seven: Business As Usual
Walter tried his hardest to put Paige out of his mind, to get his head in the game for work, but it was proving very challenging. She had been gone nearly twenty minutes, and he missed her already. He was a hopeless schoolboy. This was not how Walter O'Brien's brain worked. Perhaps that was the problem. It wasn't his brain working. It was the heart that she had managed to awaken from its cold, dark hibernation.
She had breathed him back to life.
She was curing him of a life of meaninglessness, lonely living.
She was turning him human.
As promised, he had checked her desk area, and aside from finding one more stray pen, which he would tease her for later, it was just her files that were a mess, but only to someone actually looking at them. Trying to busy his hands, his body, his mind, he had returned upstairs, to no use. Once he started talking to Cabe Jr, his lab mouse, about her, he knew he was never going to survive this day. He would just have to hope they didn't have a case, and that he could fake it while he learned to be around her in this new capacity.
Walter O'Brien was infatuated.
Happy had told him the expression 'fake it til you make it' once, and he didn't understand it then. It made perfect sense now.
At the thirty minute mark of her leaving, he opened up his laptop, hacking the reservation site for Escala for the second time this year. After all, he still owed her that dinner from Valentine's Day that he had stupidly canceled like a coward.
Idiot.
He put them in for dinner for two for tonight, before opening a new browser tab and searching for local florists.
He was going to do this right.
This was Paige. And Paige deserved nothing short of the best. She was after all, taking a risk on him. He may be emotionally inept, but he would do his best to keep his word to her to keep trying, keep progressing.
He was sending the information on the florist he found to his phone when he heard the door downstairs open and slam, and found himself rushing to the staircase, like a child on Christmas morning running to see if Santa had come. He was quick to hide his disappointment when he saw Sylvester walking through the garage, getting situated at his desk.
Of course it was Sylvester. He was always the first in.
Sylvester seems to pause for a moment as he quickly scanned Paige's desk.
He knew.
He couldn't possibly know. But it was Sylvester, and he would notice if anything was out of place. Seemingly dismissing what he observed, Sylvester continued on to his desk.
Just act normal.
"Morning Sly." He refused to make eye contact. He wasn't sure why, but something told him that doing so would give him away.
"Good morning, Walter. I trust you slept well last night? You had quite the day yesterday!"
He knew.
That warmth was rising back to his neck, and he had to forcibly stop his hand from going to rub it.
"It sure was, buddy. It sure was." Thankfully, his normal was awkward, otherwise the speed at which he left the conversation, and his friend, would probably appear off.
He made his way to his own desk, opening up the coding project he had started shortly before his car crash, which seemed like a lifetime ago, to keep himself preoccupied from the thoughts swirling in his mind. He had to fight his urge to look up when he heard the door again. He knew that would give him away.
"Hey. Is coffee on?" Happy's all too familiar gruff voice, and not-a-morning-person tone filled his ears. He briefly looked up to see her placing her motorcycle helmet and bag down at her station.
"Uh, no, not yet." Why couldn't he remember if that was something he usually did or not? Would this look suspicious that he hadn't? After being gone for weeks, he didn't even start coffee for his team? He had brewed some upstairs for himself and Paige, but not the communal pot in the garage. He was starting to panic.
She would know.
"I'll get a pot going." Was all she said as she moved into the kitchen. He hastened a look at Sylvester who didn't seem to notice any discrepancy in the morning routine. He allowed himself a moment to relax back into his code, a quiet sigh of relief escaping his lips, when he heard the door again.
"Good morning you beautiful people, not to fear, Toby is here."
Thankfully, Toby was too in love with himself to hopefully take notice of Walter's inner turmoil. Sylvester muttered some polite response, distracted by whatever it was he was busy typing away at. But Walter couldn't help but smile at the retort from Happy standing in the kitchen.
"That's exactly what we fear, nimrod."
Business as usual.
Normal.
This was going to be fine.
"Walt, buddy, how are you feeling? You and Paige had an interesting bonding experience yesterday, especially given your recent accident. You feeling okay?" He struggled most with reading Toby, even when he was being genuine, there was an air of suspicion and sarcasm about him, lacing every word. And given how easily Toby could read him, he found it utterly frustrating.
But what else could that even mean?
Crap.
He knew.
He totally knew.
"Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just another day at Scorpion."
Toby was about to respond when the sound of the door opening along with the sound of frenzied movements of plastic bags drew both of their attention.
Paige.
Followed closely by Cabe, holding the door for her, and he heard her offer him a genuine thank you.
He was brief in his looking up to her, but long enough to take in her beauty, her bright smile, the way she was wrestling with the bags to cooperate with her as she got through the door.
"Good morning everybody! I got everyone's favorites from Kevelsky's. Come eat!" She also briefly looked his way, but showed no outward signs to him that this wasn't a regular day in the office. Her tone, her speech, her walk, everything was just normal Paige.
How was she so perfectly composed?
Sorcery. There was simply no other explanation.
With the call of free food, the gang all made their way to the table with different mutterings of "ooo, food!", picking through the bags, allowing Walter a moment to truly observe Paige in full radiant form. He noted that her hair was dry now, more natural waves than her typical styled curls, but far from the tangled bed head he saw her with last night - he was mildly disappointed by that. She had asked him if he had a blow dryer she could use, to which he had responded that he had a blow torch, but the look she gave him had told him that was a less than adequate offering. So, her hair had died naturally. She had light, simple makeup on, so he had to assume she had purchased some at the store by the diner, though, her cherry lib balm was on, and he wanted to taste it on her again. And as he, carefully, dropped his eye to the skin exposed on her shoulder and chest, he noticed that there was no sign of the beard burn and hickey that he had run his fingers over just an hour earlier. He couldn't even see makeup where the blow torch that was his mouth had left its mark. She definitely possessed magic.
Sorcery.
Though discreet in his brief evaluation, he knew he had been caught when she subtly smirked at him and adjusted her top self consciously, quirking an eyebrow at him. He quickly averted his gaze.
Sylvester was the first to question the meal.
"What's the occasion? Are we celebrating something?"
Crap.
He knew.
He totally knew.
He immediately shot his eyes to Paige's face, seeking reassurance.
She smiled, so quick that had he not been staring he would have missed it, but it was there. She was celebrating. But didn't seem worried about Sly.
"Well, we all got thrown into the crashing satellite case so quickly yesterday, we barely had time to even say hi to each other, and after us being off for weeks while Walter was recovering, it just seemed like a good chance to celebrate us all being together. Getting the team back together."
He did not miss her emphasis on being together. Nor did he miss the way she looked him up and down as she said it. He had to rub the back of his neck and physically force the thoughts from his mind.
"That's a uh, very…kind…gesture of you, Paige. And you're right, being together is worth celebrating. Thank you." He knew she heard the emphasis he placed on being together as well, and the soft, loving look she graced him with was all he needed to calm his nerves, and yet excite them all at the same time.
"It's good to be back, with everyone alive, and food from a board of health A rated establishment. Thank you very much Paige." Sylvester fist bumped her as he walked past with his container.
"Uh, yeah, what he said. Thanks waitress." Happy, always the wordsmith as she walked off with her food.
"This is a welcome surprise, and very appreciated sweetheart. I'm just thankful that everything came back together, and we're all here." Cabe, king of sentiment. He squeezed Paige's shoulder lightly and kissed her cheek in thanks as he, too, grabbed the container meant for him. Walter found himself oddly jealous of how Cabe could just openly kiss Paige. Sure, it was platonic, innocent, friendly, and held no romantic meaning whatsoever, but still. He wanted to do that. Though, he knew if he did the same, everyone's head would spinning around like a swivel.
They would definitely know.
"Well, I for one am starved and just glad Walt didn't die on a cliff, and that you two…" Toby waved his plastic fork between Walter and Paige. "...didn't get too crazy yesterday, so we could feast on this free breakfast today!" Toby.
He knew.
He definitely knew.
When Paige glanced his way with an expression matching his own bewilderment, he panicked more. She was supposed to be the calm, reassuring one.
"Uh, yeah. Nothing crazy about dropping from a balloon thousands of feet in the air, with a makeshift tandem parachute connection, as a satellite explodes right above your head! Definitely did not get too crazy. Nope. Just another day at Scorpion, where the world is always ending and we're always going to die." He had to suppress his urge to laugh at her nervous rambling. He assumed he would be the one to crack under pressure, but maybe she was just as nervous despite her tough outer shell. He moved the slightest bit closer to her, both approaching the table, the only two containers left being theirs.
"Exactly! And you did it without dying. Hence, the Tobinator can now eat this lavish meal." Toby yelled into them from his desk.
He could hear her release the breath she was holding in relief.
Maybe he didn't know.
Maybe.
Stealthily, he glanced around the room, noting everyone sitting at their own work stations, and Cabe sitting on the chair by the sofa, facing Happy.
As she reached for her food, he accidentally reached for her hand. Subtle. Light.
"Breathe, Paige." He whispered, and felt her body lose its tension, as he stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
"This is going to be harder than I thought. I'm sorry." She was nervous, and he hated that there wasn't anything he could do about it here.
"I know, and don't be. We'll figure it out." He tried to reassure her, but wasn't sure he was getting anywhere. "Remember yesterday? You told me that you would support me, and I would support you. It worked yesterday. We saved countless lives by leaning on each other, and we survived because of it. That's how we'll get through today, too. Okay?"
Where was this side of him coming from? He had heard people say how a significant other brought out the best in them, and he never really understood what that meant. But perhaps, this is what it meant.
He was a better person because he wanted to be better for her.
So many things that didn't make sense to him before were suddenly coming to light, and he was realizing just how wrong he had been about so much.
Judging by the sideways smile she gave him, the gentle bump of his shoulder, and the light squeeze of his hand, he figured he was at least doing a decent job at being a better person. She took a deep breath.
"Okay. We can do this." Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away, grabbing his Styrofoam container and a set of plastic utensils.
"Thank you for breakfast, Paige." He stated at normal volume as he walked back to his desk.
She smiled.
From his desk, he watched her for the second time that day make a cup of coffee, only this time, she didn't make one for him. It would be suspicious.
He still had the one she had made him from earlier that he hadn't finished. His adrenaline had proven more than sufficient for now.
He was careful to appear as though he was looking at his monitor, when in reality he was watching her every move. The way she juggled the coffee mug, her food, utensils, and her purse as she made her way to her desk.
Her desk.
Gulp.
Oh booooy.
The lopsided smirk and blush creeping up her neck as she looked over her desk told him she was thinking the same thing, the blush made it possible for him to notice where the makeup was, since it was the only spot not turning tomato red. Catching his eyes staring, and smirking while shaking her head just enough for him to see, as if to suppress a laugh, told him she definitely knew he was thinking the same thing. He was sure if they were alone, she would playfully throw something at him.
Perhaps a pen.
He cleared his throat and mentally shook his own head clear. He needed a distraction.
"Cabe, no case today?" He was desperate.
"Sorry kid, I just got reinstated twenty-four hours ago, not exactly top of the food chain right now. I did get an email from Director Melina that she needs our case studies today on the events of yesterday. She's ballsy, but also seems to be very on top of things." Cabe had stopped eating to answer and used the opportunity to get himself a coffee as well.
She wasn't the only woman on top of things lately, he silently mused supressing the smirk rising to the surface as he glanced again at the woman of his musings.
Paige was as pink as her file folders, he presumed as she remembered the paperwork mess she would need to work through to even attempt to get the studies turned in on time. If they had to keep things secret, and he was going to be tortured by it, he was going to make certain he had fun with it.
"Paige, do you have the studies all set for Director Melina?" If looks could kill. She made it a point to glare at him, before turning to Cabe. He had to hide his myrth at her discomfort.
"It won't be a problem, Cabe. Though, admittedly, I knocked over my file rack when I was leaving last night and just threw all the papers back into the rack in a heap, so, my paperwork is currently a disorganized mess." The looks she was throwing his way made it abundantly clear that he would pay for this later. He couldn't wait. "But you can let her know I'll get them into her today." The glare was back. His coding was suddenly very interesting.
For someone who was so against deception, she sure was good at it, he mused.
Cabe simply nodded, as he scooped up another bite of his omelette.
"I, uh, can give you a hand if you'd like." Her eyes darted up to his, suspiciously. "Literally a hand." He held up his hand contraption, and she smiled. "I'm sort of useless on my computer at the moment anyway." It was the least he could do, after all, he was the reason her files were a mess. He also wasn't that opposed to being in justified close proximity to her.
"Uh, ok, yeah, sure. Thank you, Walter, that would be nice." Her eyes teased him, looking from her food to him and back, and he could tell she knew his real motives, but the way her eyes crinkled and she bit her cheek told him it was a welcomed motivation.
He took a large bite of his fermented fish, appreciating that she had never questioned his love of the odd food choice, instead always being sure to order it for him when it was available, even for breakfast.
She knew him.
She accepted him.
"Careful Walt, remember, she might kiss ya!" Toby called over, referencing the hospital incident, and resulting in Walter choking on his fish. Suddenly fermented fish wasn't all that delectable.
Paige was red. Bright, bright red. Christmas ornament red. Fire engine red. Ripe cherry red. Her eyes were finding her desk very interesting, and her hands were scurrying going through her desk drawer, looking for something, anything.
Sylvester was also visibly uncomfortable, rearranging his pencils to stay occupied as the tension in the room rose, and all eyes had turned to Paige and Walter.
Happy snickered to herself, stopping her hammering on a metal sheet, just long enough to speak to Paige.
"Want me to hit him instead?" Paige simply nodded as she put her hands over face in embarrassment, covering the rapidly growing redness.
Walter didn't know what to do. On the one hand he wanted to stand up for Paige, but he also knew if he did that it would stand out as not being typical of him. He never showed that type of emotion, especially to Toby. But on the other hand, it was Paige, and she was in distress.
"Don't worry Toby, I already got my fix of Walter. I realized that I'm actually attracted to you. Just waiting for my moment to make.my move. Careful if you find yourself unconscious anytime soon! Sylvester, you're third. Or Cabe, he's got that distinguished elder thing going for him…then again, Happy has such a way with words and that pent up tension, I might just have to swing for both teams…"
Turns out he didn't need to say anything. Paige could handle herself just fine. Not a denial. Not a confirmation. He liked it. She was quick witted.
"Nah, I think I'll get hammered by Happy instead. Though I do like the idea of you and Happy doing the tonsil hockey. Make sure there's video of that one too!" Happy shot Toby a death glare, far worse than the one Paige had sent his way just a few moments earlier, and he was suddenly very grateful to have Paige as his counterpart, and not Happy. Cabe rolled his eyes, and had a look of joy on his face being back with his bickering kids. "Besides, Paige, wouldn't want to risk it with ya… your last sexual assault gave Walter a virus!" Walter couldn't help the laugh that escaped his mouth, that he unceremoniously tried to cover up with a cough. Toby wasn't wrong.
Paige shot him an amused, but incredulous look.
"Sorry. But that is factual." She shook her head, mouth agape in amazement at the group.
"I take back my free breakfast celebration! I am no longer celebrating! Pay up nerds! Here I was all happy to be back together." She was laughing as she patted the desk as if motioning for people to lay down their money. Paige was having fun, while being teased about kissing him…and Happy. He wasn't about to think on that one.
They would be able to make this work.
"Hey, I for one, thought it was very sweet how you assaulted…I mean, kissed… Walter while he was unconscious!" Oh Sylvester, desperate for validation, but always finding new ways to put his foot in his mouth.
The glare, mixed with a smirk, he received in return, had him reaching for his wallet.
"Tell ya what, how about Scorpion foots the breakfast bill, and in exchange, we all agree to drop the subject of Paige and I…or Paige and…" he was careful to avert his gaze and cough "...anyone?" He carefully pulled his wallet out using his caged hand, and while he so wanted to lie and say nothing had happened between them, to give a concrete ending to the subject, he didn't want to lie, and he knew they would see it on his face if he did. Or hers.
"I am most agreeable to this request!" Sylvester nervously chimed in. Paige leered in his direction, and he threw back a nervous smile.
"Me too. I already know way too much about the waitress…and apparently the waitress and me." Happy added, more than happy to be over this conversation.
Paige blew a kiss her way and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, garnering her a laugh from Happy.
"Well, I'm just glad everyone is getting along and together. I don't care in what capacity that may be." Cabe noted, still in his haze of jubilee at being back together with his kids - bickering and all, though sending a knowing look toward Walter.
He knew.
Everyone shot questioning looks to Toby. Paige's eyebrow rose, a smile at her lips. Walked could tell she was enjoying this, and it was hard for him to maintain his composure of impatience, because if he was truthful, he was also enjoying this.
"Fine, fine. I'll drop it. For now. But you cannot silence me forever 197. I will rise again! For now, I'll just picture Paige and Happy…" Toby quipped, satisfying the group, and making Paige chuckle as she started stacking all of her papers into one pile on her desk to be sorted.
Walter attempted to hand the cash over to Paige, but was stopped by her hand pushing him away. The touch was like being shocked with electricity. He tried his hardest to ignore it.
"Walter, no, it's fine. I was just joking. But it did get Toby to shut up!" The look she gave told him it was not a negotiation, despite her light tone. He recognized that look and knew better than to argue. He put his money away with a nod. Much quieter she muttered "...at least about you and me…" making him smile, but again, trying very hard not to let those images enter his mind. Paige. Happy. Together. He was distracted enough as it was. Instead he used his time by her desk to bask in her beauty.
She was glowing, a radiant smile adorning her face, her features soft with a gentleness about them and a sparkle in her eyes as she smiled up at him, anxiously anticipating his next move, the way her silky hair was framing her face, and one stubborn tendril was falling forward as she briefed a glance at her paperwork to break the intense gaze between them. He wanted to tuck it back behind her ear like he had done last night, to feel the warmth of her face on his hand.
Between the humor of the morning, the excitement of their new romance, his family being back together, and he and Paige working together to quash Toby's inquisition, he was completely enamored with happiness. As he stood there, silent, hovering just beside her desk as she worked, he was completely lost in thought, unable to help the belief that she had never looked more stunning. Breaking him from his thoughts, and likely an attempt to break him from his staring trance fixated on her, she discreetly coughed to gain his attention.
He smiled, he knew he had been caught - again. He couldn't help himself. Speaking quieter, not a whisper, but to make clear it was a conversation meant for her only, he spoke.
"See, you're already succeeding at your new business plan. Day two and you have Toby taking orders." Try as he may, that dopey smile was not going away. He pulled his office chair and his food over to her desk, grinning like a fool. "That is something that I haven't been able to do since I met the man."
She was blushing, he noticed, as he rolled his chair over, only to sit right beside her, impossibly close, at the very desk they were impossibly close at last night. He enjoyed having this effect on her, and that she wasn't attempting to mask it from him at all. The others, sure, but not him.
"I guess testing a few of our theories is working out after all." She was biting back the smile as he turned very quickly to her remark.
Two could play at that game. He waited, bided his time. As she picked up her mug to sip the now lukewarm coffee, he whispered suggestively.
"Well, I don't know about working out yet, but I do know that testing one of those theories was certainly a work out." She was choking on her coffee, and as much as he had a pang of guilt, the amusement was far greater.
"You okay, sweetheart?" Cabe yelled over.
Coughing through a nod, and a death glare directed straight through Walter's skull as he patted her back and bit back his laughter, she finally caught her breath and answered.
"Y-yes, thank you. Wrong pipe. Hot coffee."
Cabe just nodded and went back to reading the case file he had pulled from his briefcase.
"Real slick there, Romeo. So much for professional colleagues today." She made air quotes as she scolded him playfully. He could tell she was still enjoying herself.
"It was the only logical response." He quipped, only to feel her shoulder bang into his forcefully, he presumed more forcefully than she intended, resulting in a hasty movement to keep his chair from rolling away, gripping the desk as best he could with his faulty hand, the metal extremely uncomfortable and pinching him, as he did so. She rolled her eyes at first, with a smile, but seeing the fleeting mark of pain on his face, her own eyes turned to that of worry.
"Your hand?" She was very softly taking his injured hand in hers. It was not discreet, but could easily be explained away, he rationed.
"My hand feels fine, it's this ridiculous device. I can't do anything with it, and it keeps pinching my skin." She nodded at his obvious frustration with sympathy, then smirked.
"And pulling hair." His turn to blush.
"HAPPY! Can you take this asinine contraption off of my hand? It is keeping me operating at a less than optimal efficiency, causing physical harm, and I am growing very impatient." He liked the way she smiled into her coffee, using the mug to disguise her myrth, as he jumped up to rage at Happy.
"Uh, okay boss…." Happy started, but was quickly cut off.
"Whoa, kid. If your doctor hasn't signed off on removing it, then this is not a good idea." Cabe was quick to his protective father like forces, coming to stand with Walter by Happy's station.
"He's right 197, you still have three weeks left in that thing. Your hand is not healed. Especially after the stunt you two pulled on the balloon yesterday!" Toby was on his heels to provide his medical opinion.
"My hand is fine, Toby. Happy, please." Walter pleading was rare, but he was so desperate. He wanted his hand free for many reasons, but the most pressing at the moment being the gorgeous brunette less than ten feet from him, of whom he really wanted to be able to hold properly, dance with, and not maime later tonight.
"Toby is right, Walter. By my calculations, if you remove that device now, you increase your risk of further damage to your hand by 61%." Sylvester, ever the worrier and keeper of numbers.
"Guys, leave him alone." His knight in shining….cherry lip balm. Voice of reason. Team whisperer. "Look at that thing, it's clearly uncomfortable. And as you pointed out Toby, having it on nearly cost him his life yesterday. We were split seconds away from being roasted satellite soup." He never tired of her analogies. "Happy, yesterday you told Walter you could make him something better. Are you able to make something for him that protects the integrity of his hand, functions similarly so as to not disturb the healing process, but also allows him to not be hurt by the thing meant to be helping him whenever he moves his hand, and also gives him some mobility?" She was using her mom-voice as she strided over to where everyone was standing. He loved when she used her mom-voice on the team. It always felt validating, like he had done the right thing bringing her onto Scorpion. She had a way with them, especially him, but the way she could end incessant bickering and disagreements between a group of the most stubborn and headstrong people, and then demand a reasonable solution, and usually get an immediate response, was impressive, and he was hard to impress.
"Uh, sure. That shouldn't be too hard. I'll see what I have for parts. Might take a couple hours."
"Toby, you help Happy to make sure it's medically suitable to ease your... and Sylvester's...worries." She again demanded. Toby saluted her in return.
"Don't have to tell me twice."
"Oh, yes, we know." She chided. "Then it's settled. Walter will stick to his treatment program, with a new, and more suitable device, but will also be able to perform his
…tasks… without major restrictions or further injury."
Everyone was staring at her. They knew better than to question her. He was staring at her and reflecting on the inflection she placed on the term tasks.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Get to work!" She clapped her hands as a means to encourage their movements. Happy and Toby nodded and headed to the back of the garage to go through her stock of parts, and both Sylvester and Cabe returned to their original positions without a word.
"Thank you." Walter stated, heavy in its meaning.
Facing him, she placed her hand on the front of his shoulder, squeezing gently with a smile.
"Gotta make sure you can use your hands." She smiled devilishly over her shoulder as she walked back to her desk, leaving him frozen in place watching after her. This woman was going to be the death of him.