Paige arrived and parked up outside the entrance of Richard Elia's office block just after noon . Walter has sent four text messages during the morning with each one his wording seemed to get more anxious than the previous one . She knew he would be worried by having to talk to someone new about personel things , something he had never been comfortable with . She had a plan worked out if things began to get to much for him .

As she sat there waiting for Walter , Megan was asleep in her bassenet on the back seat , her thoughts began to wander . Before Walter her life had not been easy , she was trying to bring up , what she had been told , was a mentally deficent child . A child who was ignored by both teachers and pupils at school and who had no friends outside school . She had to work two jobs to try and make ends meet , over 25% of what she earned would be used to pay for care of Ralph , when he was out of school and she had to work .

On one occasion she had to take Ralph to work with her , she had the good fortune to meet the man who changed her life and also the life of Ralph . That man was Walter O'Brian . She loved him from the first time she had seen him react with Ralph . When he offered her a job at a salary she could never dream of earning in her life . Things kept going from good to better , until the day Ralph decided to help Scorpion out and could have been killed . The memory of what she had told Walter , once they got back to the garage was burned into her brain . " You are not his father and i do not want him to grow up to become you . " The look on his face was something else she can never forget . It was only at the Airport and she saw the T.V. News of the car crash , that was when she realized just how much she really loved Walter.

Once he was finally out of hospital and they were in a weather balloon , Walter admitted he had feelings for her , but a relationship could cause problems for Scorpion . She had , once they returned to the garage , suggested they should check out their feelings with a kiss . Both said nothing was felt , but she knew that was a lie , never before in her life , had one kiss made her feel so damp between her legs

Not long after after Tim came on the scene , she liked him , but could never love him . then she had almost twelve months of heaven when they both finally told each other their true feelings for each other . Then that night happened . Not long after they walked out on Walter , Happy seeing her so unhappy told her the real reason Walter had followed them to Tahoe , was to tell her he loved her . What had upset and hurt about that was everyone knew . But not only that , Tim had threatened Walter to keep out of their relationship .

As this memory came back to her , tears began to roll down her cheeks . She realized she had missed so much time with Walter , because she was mad at him and had removed her coms . Maybe if she had been told it at the time , she could well have been married to Walter and the Flo situation would never have happened .

So deep in thought , she had not seen Walter come out of the office block . It was not until he tapped on the window , that she realized he was there .

Walter walked round the car to the passenger door and got in the car , he leaned over and gave Paige a kiss on the cheek . " You seemed away with the fairies , is everything ok ? " He asked .

Paige turned to him , a little forced smile on her face . " Yes , I was going over memories , from when we first met . It bought back something Happy told me not long after we had started Centipide , it was something you never told me . " Paige explained , her face had lost the small smile and sadness appeared in its place .

" By the way it seems to have effected you , i would guess she told you the real reason i followed you to Tahoe . " Walter replied his voice a little strained .

Paige's mouth dropped open before she answered . " How on earth did you know that ? "

" It is the only thing i could think of that i had not told you that was importent . " Walter explained .

" Why not tell me at the time , especially as everyone knew . "

" Simple i was told i was not good enough for you and also Tim had given me a back handed threat . " Walter explained as a sad expression came across his face .

" Who decided that ? A decision like that should only have been made by me , it should have been my decision and mine alone . " Paige began to raise her voice , but remembered Megan was asleep on the back seat .

Walter loooked at her before speaking . " I think now it is best to forget all about it , it is history which we cannot alter . Lets just look forward now . "

Paige still had some anger in her face . " For now , i will do as you say , but i feel i wasted six months of my life with Tim , i never could or would ever love him . But if we had begun a relationship then , we could maybe have been married and all the trouble we had that night would never have happened . "

" Ok , so do you think we should make our way to see Ann . " Walter asked as he kissed Paige on the cheek again .

Paige turned to him and planted a kiss on his lips . " Ok, but i cannot promise i will not go back on the the subject . "

They were parked up and making their way to Ann's office by 12.55pm . Walter was carrying the bassenet with Megan in , a very proud father .

They were greeted by a young lady receptionist , who asked them to take a seat .

At exactly 1.00pm. Ann Curtes came out of her office and called them into her office .

" Good afternoon , Miss Dineen , Mr O'Brian . "

" Good afternoon doctor , but it is Paige and Walter please . " Paige replied .

" Very well Paige , Walter , but who is the gorgeous little lady ? "

Walter was quick to answer . " That is our daughter , Megan Louise . " The biggest smile possible on his face .

" Please make yourselves comfortable .as this our first meeting , i will just really want to find out a little bit of what the problem is . " Ann asked .

Walter looked at Paige and gave her a little nod .

Paige nodded back before she began to speak . " We have known each other for around five years , we became best friends , Walter became a father to my son Ralph , who until Walter came into our life , was classed by doctors as mentally deficient but Walter saw he was in fact a genius .

I think we both fell in love with one another around the same time , but it took us nearly three years to actually get together and admit our love for each other . In those three years a lot of things happened , that affected our lives , we can tell you more about those later . After twelve months of being together , i found out Walter had lied to me , as it happened it was a total insignificance , but at the time it was a major problem for me . I berated and humiliated Walter in front of the whole team , then we all walked out on him .

At the time i did not know i was pregnant , once i found out i tried without sucess to find Walter , It was by chance i found out were he worked . With a little bit of deceit i arranged a meeting , it did not start well but eventually we sorted things out and decided to seek some professional help . Hence the meeting now . "

As Paige finished speaking , Megan decided to make her presence known . Paige immediatly leaned over the side of the bassenet and rubbed Megan's chest through the blanket , which soothed Megan .

" Do you have anything to say Walter ? " Ann asked .

Walter looked at her , trying to speak but he seemed unable to make a sound . Paige saw him struggerling .

" Walter would you like to hold Megan ? " Ann gave a somewhat strange look . But Paige just mouthed " Trust me . " Walter's face broke out in a big smile . " Yes please . "

Paige gently lifted Megan from the bassenet and placed her into Walter's arms , Megan's face broke out into a big smile as soon as Walter spoke . " Hello my beautiful little girl . "

" Why don't you tell Megan what you wanted to tell Ann . " Paige suggested .

Ann looked a little confused , she was not used to conducting a session through a third party , but Paige had told her to trust her so that is what she was going to do .

Walter carried on looking at Megan as he began to speak to her . " You do know i actually fell in love with your mommy the first time i saw her , i also fell in love with your big brother . But i was a fool and could not tell her how i felt , because at the time , i thought the heart was just a muscle that pumped blood around the body . By the time i realized i was actually in love with her , Tim was on the scene . When i did tell her , she told me she loved me , but i still managed to mess everything up and she walked out on me . "

Ann had listened very carefully . " From what you both told me , neither of you have any real confidence in the relationship at the moment . I think we now have a good place to start , but i think for today we have probably done all we can . I must admit it is the first time i have conducted a meeting through a third party . But if you are more comfortable talking to Megan , rather than me , i can work with that . "

" Thank you doctor , i will try and talk to you if i can , but my social skills at times are not perfect . " Walter explained .

" Not a problem Walter , now do you want to book some more sessions . "

Paige immediatly spoke up . " Yes , but they will need to be 1.00pm. appointments to work around Walter's commitments . "

Ann checked her appointment book and made two days a week for the next five weeks . Before they left Ann asked if she could hold Megan . With some reluctance Walter handed over Megan to her .

" She is absolutely beautiful , i can see both of you in her face and such a pretty name . "

Walter was quick to pick up on that . " She is named after my dear sister , whose life was cut short by a terrible illness , and also my mother . " He explained .

After a few minutes Ann handed Megan to Paige , who put her in the bassenet , Megan immediatly began to grizzle , Walter went straight over and began talking to her , which caused her to stop immediatly .

Ann looked on before speaking . " She certainly likes your voice Walter , she calmed down immediatly you spoke to her . "

Walter smiled at Ann . " You have to blame Paige for that . "

Ann looked confused , Paige explained to her about the recordings .

A few moments later Walter and Paige , Walter carrying the bassenet , left the office .

Once Paige had secured the bassenet in the back seat , they both got into the car . Before pulling away , Paige reached into her bag and pulled out a box , which she handed to Walter .

"I have made you a sandwich , i do not want to let you go without something to eat . So you can eat that on the way back to your office . "

Walter smiled at her as he took the box from her . " You like to look after me . "

Paige returned the smile . " It is one of the things i have missed over the last ten months . "

Not much conversation went on during the trip back . Both content to be in each others company . Once back at the office block , Walter gave Paige a kiss , before reluctently getting out of the car .

" i will see you around 7.00pm. tonight . " He told her as he opened the rear door for one last look at Megan .

Paige had a big smile on her face as she watched Walter walk across the carpark and finally as he disappeared into the office .

Walter arrived home at 5.45pm. , quickly showered and began to sort out his clothes for tonight . He decided to wear the brown outfit from a couple of nights ago .

Just before 7.00pm. , he was knocking on the condo's door , in his other hand he was carrying a small canvas bag . This time the door was opened by a smiling Ralph , who immediatly hugged him . " Good to see you dad . "

Paige was standing by the sofa , a big smile on her face as she watched the two of them . Once Walter managed to get through the door , he made his way over to Paige . He put the canvas bag on the coffee table , then pulled Paige into a tight hug and kissed her on the lips .

" Good evening my love , how his my little sweetheart ? "

" Fast asleep at the moment , she fell asleep just after i had fed her , so she should be alright for a few hours . Paige replied a big smile on her face .

She looked down at the bag on the sofa . " Is that , what i think it is ? " She asked .

" Yes , well at least the items i found in the boxes on various pieces of furniture , not sure if there is anything in the drawers . " Walter replied .

" Let me order the food , any preferences , then we can begin to go through it and get a better idea just what you have found . " Paige asked the excitment showing on her face .

" I am happy with whatever you choose . How about you Ralph ? "

Ralph's face broke into a big smile . " Can i have a chicken Cantonese style , fried rice and a side order of dry spare ribs . "

Walter a smile on his face . " You are not hungry tonight then . "

Ralph just replied . " Daaad "

Paige phoned and placed an order from one of her favourite Chinese takouts .

" What is in the bag dad ? " Ralph asked, his face full of curiosty .

Paige looked at him . " I think you will have to wait until we have eaten . "

Ralph gave a little " Huff " but accepted what his mom had said .

Once the food had been consumed and the plates cleared away . Paige put a soft towel on the coffee table , then Paige and Walter sat on the sofa , Ralph sat on the floor at the side of the table . Paige opened the canvas bag and began to remove the piece's one at a time . Each item she removed she scrutinized , putting them in different piles on the cloth .
It took her nearly a hour to check all the items , in the end she had six different piles in front of her .

Walter had remained quiet all the time Paige was going through the items . But as soon as she put the last piece on the cloth , he began speaking .

" What do you think and why have you seperated everything ? "

Paige gave him a cute little smile . " I have seperated them into gold , which is 18carat , 14 carat and 9 carat , Platinum , silver and gold plated . " She explained as she pointed to each pile .

Ralph was still a little confused . " Why have you got three piles for gold ? "

Again Paige smiled at him before speaking . " Pure gold is 24carat , which means it contained nothing but gold , the blocks of gold at Fort knox are 24 carat . However it is to much to soft to use in something that as constant wear .

Things like neckchains which you might put a pendant on , can be made from 18carat that means 18 parts gold , 6 parts base metal . The lower the number , the more base metal is mixed with the gold . "

Walter looked at her with a lot of pride in his face . " How come you know so much about gold and jewelry ? "

" When i was a young girl , mom was always going away , many times for months at a time . Once before she left she gave me a Ruby ring . After looking at it i noticed some marks stamped on the inside of the ring , i was fascinated so i made a vist to the libary and checked them out . It turned out the ring was hallmarked in London England and it was made of 9 carat gold .

The reason i did that was i wanted to be a jewelry designer . In fact i did start a design course at college , but the Ralph came along , not that i could ever regret that , so i had to give up college to look after him . "

As the memories that were coming back to her as she spoke , it put a look of sadness on her face .

Walter reached over and pulled her into a hug , Ralph jumped up from the floor and joined in with the hug . After about five minutes , Walter released the hug .

" You could start doing some designs now , i do know a young lady who makes jewelry . She could possibly make up some of your designs . " Walter told her .

Paige smiled at him , but a tear ran down her cheek . " I have not done anything like that for a very long time . I do still have a design for a ring , i did it as an idea of what i would have liked for an engagement ring . "

Walter gave her a kiss , then wiped the tears away from her face with his fingers ,

" I would love to see that design sometime . But for now why don't you tell us what you think of the collection in front of you . "

Paige smiled back at him . " It all looks good quality , a lot i think ia fairly modern , but some of them seem a lot older . I cannot be certain without research , but i think a lot is actually made in England . I am sure i reconized both London and Birmigham Hallmarks , plus a few i am not sure of . One thing i am certain of though is that there is a lot of value on the coffee table . "

Walter with a large smile on his face asked. " Would you like to investigate it and maybe come up with some idea of value . "

Paige reached over to Walter put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss . Once she broke the kiss , she leaned back and spoke . " Would you trust me to do that ? "

Walter gave her a stern look . " I trust you with everything . "

Ralph had been looking on . " Can i help mom , please ? "

Paige reached out to him and pulled him into a hug . " Of course i would be honoured to have your help . "

All three had been so engrossed in what they had been doing , Paige had not realized how late it had got . " Ralph it is way past your bedtime . So say goodnight and of you go . "

Reluctantly Ralph hugged his mom and Walteer before saying goodnight , then made his way slowly to his bedroom .

Paige and Walter put all the jewellry back into the canvas bag . Then after another hug and kiss , Walter made his way towards the door . He had a big day tomorrow , a team of cleaners and pool people would be turning up and he is never happy when encountering strangers .

At the door Paige pulled his head towards her and planted a kiss on his lips . " If tomorrow begins to get to much for you , ring me and i promise i will come right over . Even if you are alright with everyone , ring me anyway i need to hear your voice . "

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LouBe96 Richard is determined to keep Walter so he is prepared to give Walter all the perks . i was going to keep the trick going for longer , but the poor lad was suffering . Hope you found the reference with regard to the contents , it was only a passing comment . the safe 's contents well chapter 8 should explain .

Pearliegirl Hope this chapter makes you happy as well .

Grykon Thank you . Chapter 8 for the safe .

JB23 The answer about Paige's bills soon . Chapter 8 for the start of the discoveries of the the safe and house contents .