Chapter Twenty-One: Believers and Making Believers
A/N: If you don't recall Paige's conversation with Walter about her father and Christmas, I suggest going back and re-reading that little tid bit for the remaining chapters (not as vital for this chapter, but the next one will have several references). It's not going to kill you if you don't, but just a recommendation since there's been so much that has happened since then!
This is it, the official start of the end!! This was all one ridiculously long chapter, that I've been breaking up and tweaking to fit with details that were added along the way. Not entirely sure how many chapters this will break up into just yet. At least one more.
I hope you love it! I wrote this sweet ending before I decided to shoot Paige, or add any of the torment I put them through, so I had to do some serious editing to the ending to incorporate those fun tid bits, but I always knew where we were heading! The original plot for this story was all W/P cuteness, and then I was like, "Okay, but here me out... Let's shoot Paige, mess everything up, and oh Walter gets shot too, oh, and let's make everyone cry." I'm kind of messed up like that. Sorry. My bad.
"Walter, I need your help." Ralph asked, wearily.
"Okay, what's on your mind?" Walter immediately put down his laptop on his desk, turning his chair to give the boy his full attention, noticing first how the lights from the hanging Christmas lights hanging all over the garage reflected in the boy's eyes, and second, how troubled he looked.
"How do I tell mom that I don't believe in Santa? I'm ten years old, and a genius. And she still thinks it's reasonable for me to believe in this mythical being. I mean, come on, physics alone, nevermind space, time, geography, zoology… I just don't get it." Walter sat there, soaking in Ralph's dilemma, understanding exactly how he felt. Walter's own mother had been devastated when he had told her, and Megan, at just five years old that Santa wasn't real. Megan had still been a believer and was devastated. His mom had cried for hours. His father told him he had ruined Christmas. But he hadn't been wrong. It was just facts. Even now, he found it foolish and a waste of time, but on the other hand, he thought about the story that Paige had told him when they first started dating about her father. How he would make Christmas magical for her, even when he knew she no longer believed. He had surmised that her going along with it each year was a great gift for her father. What was it she had said? You can either be a believer in magic, or you can create the magic.
He had an idea.
After everything she had been through, after all the ways she had managed to make him see the magic this year, maybe there was a way to give her some back of her own.
"Ralph, there's a story that I'm sure your mom will tell you someday, when you're older, when she's ready, that will make it all make sense. But until then, can you tell me what the most important thing about Christmas is to you?"
"For me? I guess I just like seeing my mom happy. She smiles a lot on Christmas. I just like seeing her smile."
Ralph, his pride and joy.
Moving in close, as to have a very low volume conversation, just above a whisper, so no one could hear, especially her, he spoke.
"How would you like to give your mom the best Christmas she's had in a very long time? You and me, top secret mission?"
The way his face lit up like a christmas tree, he didn't need to think twice.
"I love our top secret missions!"
"But first, you have to make a choice." Ralph's face turned serious as he carefully considered Walter's words. "You can either believe in magic, or you can make the magic." Ralph quickly shook his head in disbelief.
"But Walt, magic isn't re--…"
"Ralph," Walter cut him off. "...if there's one thing your mom has taught us this year, it's that magic is real. Very real. And it's around you every day. Just because we can try to explain the sequence of an event scientifically, doesn't make the effect those events have less magical to those that experience them. Especially when it comes to people like your mom who see magic in every beautiful thing that happens." He watched as Ralph carefully digested that notion, swirling it around his big brain, considering all options before answering.
"I guess you're right about that. Like you saving that boy last Christmas. You were able to suggest a medical explanation for his survival, but it didn't change how everyone saw it as a Christmas miracle and that made them happy." Walter smiled. Ralph was the perfect blend of IQ and EQ.
"Or your mom's recovery. Even Toby has never managed to find a solid scientific reason for it, right?" Ralph nodded in agreement.
"That's why we pray every night."
"Exactly. Magic." When Paige had caught them praying a few weeks after she came home, she had stood in Ralph's doorway, tears falling down her face. She had tried to retreat without being seen, but had tripped on her walker and crashed into the wall. Happy had confessed later to Walter that Paige had heard them the week before, and would try to sneak to the doorway each night to listen in.
Now, months later, she would stand outside the door and everyone would pretend that she wasn't there. Each of them saying a prayer for their little family to have survived such an ordeal, in ways that none of them could explain.
"Okay, I'm in. I want to make some magic for mom. She deserves all the magic she can get."
Yes, yes she does.
"Okay. Rule number one."
"There's rules?" Walter shot him a look of pure impatience, one that only a father could pull off. "Okay, okay. Rule number one is?"
"You and I can theorize, with scientific data that Santa, as we know him, does not exist. But, since we cannot prove our theory beyond reasonable doubt, as good men of science, our hypothesis demands that we must conclude, barring further evidence to the contrary, that the existence of Santa remains a possibility."
"The laws of science and probability both work for our theory and against it."
"Rule number two!" Ralph nodded, ready for more. "Because of the conclusion of Rule number one, we will not speak of our theory, however valid we feel it is, in the presence of Mom, nor any other children. It is very upsetting to them. Mom is a believer, as are other children, and our job in making the magic, is also in preserving the magic. It gives them something special to believe in, a sense of hope and wonderment. We both know how much that's needed sometimes, right? So, no telling kids at school, or giving your mom a hard time. Okay?"
"That seems reasonable. I don't want to upset anyone, especially mom."
"That's my boy." He smiled big as Ralph smiled at the endearment. "Okay, and finally, this will be a gift from both you and me, but we dont get to take the credit. Santa does." At Ralphs incredulous glare, Walter shrugged "I'm offering magic here bud, but hey, if you want to just give her that weird macaroni wreath you made in art class, I'm sure she'll love that too." Ralph shot him a look of annoyance, but then softened his features and nodded. "Even if something we do feels foolish and dull, and we'd rather be doing anything else, we are going to suck it up, give it our all to enjoy the magic with Mom, and for Mom. Because, as I'm sure you'll agree, she's worth the effort."
"I can concede to those terms. Mom is worth it. I got everything I could ever wish for this Christmas, with her being still with us, and you guys being together. I don't need any presents or anything. My present will be to see her happy, and if you have a plan to do that, I'm all in, no credit needed." Walter was unbelievably proud of Ralph, his love and devotion to his mother was immeasurable. He had not once forgotten the promises he made to Paige that week in the hospital, to show her he loves her better, giving her affection, even picking up his towel off the bathroom floor.
He was so proud of Ralph. And he couldn't control the wave of emotion that hit him when he said he had gotten everything he wanted. If Walter were honest, he had as well. He had his little family, and he couldn't be happier. And it was all because of Paige.
"Okay, let's get to work. We have a lot to do and not much time. And it isn't going to be easy to hide things from your mom." Just as he finished her sentence, like magic she appeared.
Sorcery.
"And just what are my boys conspiring about over here?" She chipped, carrying two coffee mugs and handing one to Walter with a bemused smile, and shooting questioning glances to both her boys.
He loved that she referred to them as that. Her boys.
"See? Not easy." Walter quipped to Ralph, making him laugh and nod, but quickly fixing his expression to serious and innocent as he turned to look up at his mother. It amused Walter.
"What do you mean, Mom? We're not up to anything. Nothing. At. All." Walter tried, failingly, to hide his smirk.
Smooth kid.
Real smooth.
"Walter O'Brien, you're not corrupting my sweet, innocent boy are you?" She had grabbed the arm rests of his chair, leaning over and getting impossibly close to his face. He was trapped.
Gulp.
"N-no, no dear. We were just discussing the science behind magic. No conspiracy nor corruption." His giant grin of innocence had her smirking. He knew she could tell he wasn't exactly telling the truth, but he could also tell that she trusted him and that she wouldn't push.
"Good boy." She placed a chaste kiss to his lips, and playfully tapped his nose as she pulled away. Ralph smiled up with his best innocence face - of which Walter noted needed work - and Paige tousled his hair.
"Paige, is it okay with you if Ralph and I go do some errands for a new project we're working on? I promise he'll wear his seat belt, we'll obey all traffic laws, and we will use our manners and best EQ skills with any normals we come across. There will be no explosives of any kind, no sharp objects, if we encounter danger, we will go in the opposite direction, no nuclear devices, even if they really cool, we won't get distracted and end up at the museum, and...and…" he struggled to remember all of the conditions she usually conveyed when they go out without her. He knew it wouldn't be an issue, but ever since she got back on her feet, and he was no longer Ralph's guardian, he had tried to be respectful in his role in their little family dynamic. Father figure, but not actually Ralph's father, always asking Paige first, even in the early weeks when Ralph wouldn't leave his side.
Thankfully, that had most resolved with a lot of therapy.
"...and we'll be home in time for dinner!" Ralph excitedly chimed in. Yup, that's the one she usually scolded them for. "Please Mom, please?" Walter knew, if there was one thing Paige Dineen couldn't turn down, it was Ralph pleading with those big blue eyes.
"And I don't suppose you boys are going to tell me about this project?"
"It's still in the early phases, we wouldn't want to bore you…" Walter was fishing for her to drop the subject. His eyes told her as much.
"Alright. You two can have your mystery project. But home for dinner. If I cook dinner and your genius butts aren't in those chairs when it's done like the last time you two got swept up in a project, I will force you both to watch romantic comedies with me all weekend!"
"Anything but that. How about instead of you cooking dinner, you relax, and Ralph and I will bring home some Thai food from that place you love with the name that makes you laugh?"
Thai-tanic. He was embarrassed to admit how long it had taken him to understand the word play when the place first opened. Every time they ordered from there, he would have to make the call, because as soon as the person answered, saying the name, Paige would go into a giggle fit. He ordered from there, on speaker phone, sometimes just to give her a reason to laugh.
"Oh you two are definitely up to something if you're offering Thai food. Okay, you two go off and do your…project..." She was squinting at them in a very suspicious way, as she leaned against his desk and he found it unbelievably sexy, something she was all too aware of and did it just to mess him.
Walter hopped up, grabbing his keys and jacket from behind his chair.
"Ralph, I know this look. It's best to just grab your jacket and walk away slowly before she changes her mind." Ralph nodded and copied Walter's actions.
"Thank you. Love you." He whispered as he kissed her cheek. She smiled in return as she squeezed his shoulder, letting her hand run down his chest, before pulling him for an actual kiss.
"Stay out of trouble." She mumbled against his lips.
He was thankful that the early days of her recovery were behind them, and they had rediscovered the magic in their relationship. It took time to be comfortable with each other, not scared to hurt one another, or insecure with their battered appearances, learning each other's limitations, and how to not treat each other like victims, but rather like partners. But once they did, the passion had been just as strong, if not stronger, as that first night in the garage, the trust they held for each other unprecedented.
"Let's go Ralph." Walter helped the boy with his coat, grabbing his backpack from the chair it was rested on.
"Bye mom. Thank you!" Walter gave him the look. "And I love you!" Ralph yelled over his shoulder as the two sprinted toward the door of the garage. She laughed, shaking her head.
"Love you both, you crazy nerds."
Paige just stood there watching them run off, with a look of joy and merriment plastered on her face. She had made comments to him recently about how exultant it had made her - once everything with the shooting had settled down, and they had gotten more into a normal routine together - that Ralph had taken to them being together with such ease. How even after Ralph had allowed Walter out of his sight, he had continued to jump right into a fatherly role with him. How he made sure to have time with Paige alone as they re-built their relationship, but also to have time with just Ralph to bond in their new dynamic as well. That it made her happiest when they all had a family dinner together. He was more than happy to oblige with her dinner request, as she was a fantastic cook. Though, admittedly, he and Ralph had messed that up on her now, twice, by being so engrossed in their projects they lost track of time and she had been less than pleased with them.
Overall, they were settling in as a couple, and a family, quite nicely.
Happy had moved back home about a month after Paige had come home, when she no longer needed assistance with 'girl things' and had been able to lose the walker. Though, she still frequented the condo. Toby had told Walter that she was drawn to the happy family dynamic, something she had always longed for.
Paige had even returned to work after six weeks at home. Though, he had fought her on that one. It was their first real fight. He didn't like to think about that, though. It had not been pretty. A lot of the fears they had been unable and unwilling to address had been thrown at each other in very unkind ways, resulting in a 2:00am heap of crying and defeated anger, hashing everything out. Finally speaking the truth of everything they had gone through and had tried for weeks to gloss over with positivity and a 'we're looking toward the future not the past' approach. They had resolved it with open communication, and a lot of compromise, and frequent check ins with each other throughout the day. When he said it was too dangerous for her to put herself at risk, she reminded him, painfully, of every risk he had taken during their time together on Scorpion and how scared she had been every time. He hadn't ever really thought of how scared she was in those moments. So, they had talked, and talked, and talked. And, after they ran out of words, they had communicated... physically.
And Walter had been introduced to one of the most wild experiences of his life. Makeup sex.
Sometimes he would push her buttons just to get her angry so he could apologize and make up.
She had called him out on that once, but she was happy to play the part.
Paige was doing well physically. Occasionally, she had pain if she moved a certain way, or stayed in the same position for too long, and she'd still get short of breath every now and then, but overall, was doing very well. She no longer required oxygen. Her checkups were going well. She exercised more than she had pre-shooting, determined to keep up her stamina and not be held back by her injuries. Not that he didn't still want to wrap her in bubble wrap and never have her leave the condo. But, she had made it very clear that he was not to do that.
Mentally, the healing had been harder. Paige, especially, struggled with the trauma she endured. When a man at the grocery store had grabbed her shoulder, innocently, to try and reach above her, she had freaked out and hit the ground screaming, having flashbacks. Loud noises had prompted a similar reaction. Even Ralph playing a video game that had guns firing, had her in full panic mode. Walter being gone longer than intended without calling had her calling Cabe and demanding he do a grid search. She would have panic attacks. Hyperventilate. With some serious insistence by Walter, she had finally agreed to seek counseling of her own. She seemed to really like the the doctor, though spoke of him being a bit of an oddball. Dr Rizutto. Toby, however, was not impressed, but respected her need to have someone outside of Scorpion. Paige had argued, loudly, when Dr Rizutto had told her she was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. So, he had played the sound on a gun firing to prove a point. She had agreed to intensive treatment after that. It took months, but she was finally in a much better place mentally. She was functionally normally, had her triggers well controlled. The nightmares still plagued her, though. Frequent and relentless.
Toby, with Paige's pleading, had began taking Walter out for dinner once a week, under the guise of 'boys night away from the Mrs', but was actually working his very Toby psycho babble to covertly help Walter come to terms with his own fears and trauma from the shooting, and showing him in the process that Paige wouldn't disappear if he left her side for a couple hours, also giving the same treatment to Ralph to learn how to be away from Walter. It had been working. He, too, still suffered from the night terrors, but, unlike with her, when he woke up scared she was gone, he could reach over and hold her to remind himself it was a dream.
Toby and Happy had finally started dating, and though they had been better at hiding it than Walter and Paige had been, the gang still had figured it out pretty easily. Happy was embracing humanity - as much as Happy could. She smiled a lot more. Toby had been bet-free for months.
Sunday dinners with Mrs Ferguson were the new normal, with everyone crowded around the table, no exceptions unless they were working a case, and even then, they'd get a mouthful. Ralph would help her cook each week, and everyone left with a loaf of banana bread.
Sylvester, after fumbling significantly, dropping the ring down a drain, and throwing up on Megan's shoes, had managed to finally pop the question, and then proceeded to faint when she said yes.
Megan was more determined than ever for her treatment to be successful, wanting to walk down the aisle without her braces, and she was doing magnificent. She and Walter had resumed their weekly beach bonding, and would frequently take Ralph along. Megan had even managed to move out of the assisted living facility, moving in with Sylvester.
Cabe had met a beautiful, smart, funny woman named Allie Jones, that made him speechless. He had taken Paige to her physical therapy session, and she had been there, doing physical therapy for carpal tunnel. He had been completely unable to form a sentence, and had messed up his own name trying to introduce himself. He had, of course, dropped the ball in asking her out, assuming she was too young , and that she was just being polite. So, Paige had asked for her number on his behalf. It had taken Cabe two weeks of spending time with her to ask her on a proper date. He was smitten. Some might even say... enchanted. She was good for him, and had immediately taken to the team. The first time she came by the condo with Cabe, Mrs Ferguson had been there and said "I'm going to increase my banana purchase" to Ralph, then insisted Allie join them for the weekly Sunday dinner.
This Christmas brought with it a lot of joy, love and change, and with this being their first official Christmas together, Walter wanted to make sure it was extra special for Paige.
As they pulled up to the department store, Walter turned in his seat to Ralph.
"Does your mom ever mention her dad, your grandfather, to you?" He knew it would be better if Ralph knew, but also, if he didn't, he would respect Paige's decision in that and leave it be. Their plan would still be magical for Paige even if Ralph was in the dark about the true reasoning.
"Grandpa Ralph?" Walter nodded in response. "Sometimes. She says I look like him when I sleep, so when she misses him, sometimes she'll just sit in my room and watch me sleep." Ralph's expression was one he couldn't register, wistful, sad, proud. He couldn't quite place it. He noted though, that after she had confessed to him her experience while unconscious and dying, she had spent a lot of time watching Ralph sleep. Suddenly it made sense to him. "She says he was a really great dad, and she wishes I could have known him. That she thinks I'm a lot like him."
"She told me the same thing. And I think she's right. From what she has told me, I think you inherited all of the best parts of him... and your mom, bud." Ralph smiled. He liked the idea of being like his mom.
"Why are you asking about Grandpa?"
"Well, turns out your Grandpa went to extraordinary lengths to make Christmas feel extra magical for your mom growing up, right up until he passed away."
"Really? She's never said anything."
"Well, she has her reasons and we should respect that. But, I think that's why she puts so much effort into all of us feeling that magic as well. So, I'm thinking it would be really nice if we could give some of that magic back to her this year."
"I like it. Sort of like Grandpa Ralph giving her another magical Christmas."
"Exactly. Just with a different Ralph holding the reins of Santa's sleigh." Ralph smiled up at him proudly, and it filled him with joy. "So let's get some supplies so the two least festive people ever can bring so much Christmas cheer they'll make a movie about us that your mom will definitely make us watch." He joked, all for making the magic, but definitely questioning what he had gotten himself into.
"Let's do it!"
As they worked their way through the aisles, Ralph was apprehensive about the price tags on things - another trait he got from Paige, but Walter continuously assured him that magic was worth the price, and continued to load the two carriages. Lights, garland, wreaths, jingle bells, light up figurines, every tacky decoration they could find, fake snow, all the ingredients for cookie baking and decorating, popcorn, cranberries, string, three matching stockings - and by Ralph's insistence a fourth for Ferret Bueller, Christmas films on dvd, wrapping paper, some special gifts that Ralph picked out to put below the tree. It looked like Santa's workshop had thrown up in their carriages as they made their way toward the front of the store.
Suddenly, Ralph stopped, a devious smirk on his face.
Walter followed his gaze, to see what he had set his sights on, and a sinking feeling in his stomach hit him fast.
"...noooo. Ralph, that is just ludicrous."
Matching. Christmas. Pajamas.
"Exactly. It's so ludicrous, it's exactly what Mom would love, and you know it." That face. Paige wasn't the only one that couldn't resist that face. He had been right when he had told her that a baby with that face would be his undoing. He knew Ralph was right. "Come on Walt, are you committed to this or not?"
"Ugh. Fine. Just… get the sizes and put them in the cart." Ralph happily peered through the display, and then turned excitedly.
"Look! Even Ferret Bueller sizes!" That smile. Just like his mother's, and he was just as hopeless to deny that face.
"Of course they do." He was getting a headache, and a bit of regret.
Pajamas ... for a ferret.
The world had gone mad.
As they stood in the insanely long lines of the store, just two days from Christmas, Walter kept shifting his weight back and forth anxious to leave the store.
"Are you sure we need all of this stuff, Walt? It's kind of... a lot." Ralph asked as he look through both carriages, calculating what the estimated total would be as he did.
"I made my contempt for the pajamas clear if you want to put those back." He quipped sarcastically.
"No way. I can't wait to see mom's face when she sees you in Christmas pajamas. That will be my present." Ralph shot back, making them both laugh. "How are we going to get this all set up without Mom knowing anyway? She may be a normal, but she is still very perceptive when you and I are up to something."
"Well, it just so happens that she asked if I would hang out with you tomorrow so she could do some last minute Christmas shopping and get the garage set up for dinner on Christmas day. She'll be gone until early afternoon. So, as long as we work efficiently, we should have everything ready just in time for when she gets home." They had finally made it to the belt and were loading everything up as Walter spoke. Ralph stood right in front of the clerk, watching the monitor as it added up each item, checking to see if his estimates were correct.
"Wow, looks like you are going to have quite the Christmas!" The nice older lady, with short white hair hidden under a red Santa hat, glasses, and a red apron, a name tag showing her to be Holly, how fitting, said cheerily to Ralph. She looked like she was straight from a Christmas movie. Paige would adore her.
"My dad and I are surprising my mom by giving her the most magical Christmas ever! She's a believer." Ralph stated, simply, as a fact. Not for credit or excitement. Just a fact. His eyes never left the screen, and Walter noted that Ralph had referred to him as his dad, very master of factly. Nothing whimsical or emotional about it.
But still. He had said it.
Dad.
He liked it. But he would make sure to discuss this occurrence with Paige privately later, just to make sure it's okay.
Holly laughed at his very blunt comment.
"Oh honey, that is just the sweetest thing I have ever heard. You are one fine young man. Your parents must be very, very proud of you!" Holly continued praising Ralph. Walter put a hand on Ralph's shoulder.
"We are indeed." Ralph smiled up at him, and he knew Ralph appreciated that Walter didn't correct him on saying dad. Holly smiled at Walter sweetly, as she continued scanning the items.
Finally making it through both carts, and an alarming total of nearly seven hundred dollars, Walter swiped his credit card, speaking to a very worried looking Ralph.
"Don't worry, your Mom is worth it. Just, uh…maybe, let's keep the total between us. Okay? It may ruin that magic if she knew how much." She would kill him. She would absolutely kill him.
Deader than dead.
She had battled him a few months back, when she was notified that her mortgage had already been paid, as well as her utilities when she went to pay her bills, discovering Walter had done so without so much as a conversation. To which he had explained that he spent most of his time there, and it was only fair. But she had voiced concerns about him having expenses for both his loft and the condo. He had argued back that his loft was part of the garage, which fell under business expenses, so it wasn't his personal account, it came out of the business. It hadn't been an argument, per say, but she had been uncomfortable with the amount of money he was spending on her condo, and on her and Ralph in general, especially when he was still living out of a duffle bag. Until she put an end to the conversation saying "Well, if you're going to be chipping in toward the household expenses, it's only fair if you call it your home, too. No more duffle bag." Her way of officially asking him to move in.
She had laughed at his very Walter response, saying, "Okay. I guess that's logical." Kissing her briefly and grabbing the trash to take out.
As if nothing major had just occurred.
And so he moved in, though not that much changed with the 'move' other than Ferret Bueller's cage was permanently moved - into Ralph's room at his pleading - and Walter getting half the closet and dresser, rather than swapping out his clothes at the garage every few days. He was a simple man, and most of his possessions were things he needed at the garage for work, so it was simple to merge their lives.
When his new license came in the mail reflecting the address change, she had caught him smiling as his finger ran over the plastic card. The hug he gave her had been much tighter and longer than his typical embrace, and she knew, despite him being Walter, he had been pleased with the change.
Ralph's reaction has been similar, saying simply "Well, he's already been living here anyway." Then handed Walter a controller for their video game.
But she had long ago known that fairy tale, romantic reactions were not to be expected from her genius boys.
So, she took what she could get. Smiles that meant more than they showed, and late night video game matches between her boys.
It wasn't a fairytale, but it was hers.
She did fight him, playfully, however, when he tried to take his shirt back from that first night together to put on his side of the closet.
He had lost that fight.
It was hers now. She claimed it.
He didnt oppose it when she came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but that shirt.
Overall the transition to living together had been pretty simple, which surprised him given he'd never cohabitated with a woman before other than Megan. And, even he knew he had been difficult for her to manage.
They had discussed some basic ground rules to ensure expectations were clear. Communication being the main priority. Especially given them all fighting their own demons, having anxieties related to the shooting and all. So, if he would be staying late at the garage, he'd text or call her. If she was running an errand, she would let him know. If either was doing something that was bothering the other, they found ways to discuss it and come to a compromise. Ralph was to be in bed on time on school nights, no crazy experiments late at night, but, if he was ready for bed on time, he got to have story time with Walter. It was also made clear that Ralph was to knock, and wait, before ever entering their bedroom if the door was closed, to which Ralph had dryly responded "I'm a genius. I know what happens in there, trust me, I will not be going in unannounced.", to which they had both been mortified. Walter had requested to set up a desk in their spare bedroom for his computer, and Paige had agreed, but only if he promised he'd come to bed and not be up all night coding. There may have been a promise to make it worth it, and she always filfilled her promises. They had both agreed that no one goes to bed angry, that they talk it through. Once the concept of makeup sex had been introduced, he was even more motivated to work things out. They had their hiccups here and there, but nothing they hadn't been able to work out.
Megan and Sylvester, once Ralph was ready, starting take him on Friday nights so Walter and Paige could have date night, something they both agreed was a necessity. One of their first dates after the shooting, Walter had taken her back to Escala, and their waitress from their first date had been overjoyed to see them, having seen Paige on the news after the shooting. She had been very eager to learn new facts from Walter the second time around, happy to see them alive and well. Paige still complained occasionally though about how he wouldn't allow her to pay for dates ever. He was very stubborn in that regard and enjoyed taking her out.
But, he knew if she found out how much he spent on this particular outing, he would be an absolute deadman.
He wouldn't make it to the makeup sex because he'd be very, very dead.
"Don't worry, your Mom is worth it. Just, uh…maybe, let's keep the total between us. Okay? It may ruin that magic if she knew how much."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Walter ruffled Ralph's hair as Holly handed the extremely long receipt to Ralph.
"I hope you boys have the best Christmas ever, and that your mama knows just how magical it is to have such sweet boys that adore her so much to do all of this." Holly was truly joyful. Paige would love her. After they revealed their surprise to her, he would be sure to tell her all about Holly. The jovial, elder version of Paige's EQ.
"Thank you. Have a Merry Christmas. Sorry for taking up so much of your line with our purchase." Walter apologized politely, something he'd been getting much better at.
"Merry Christmas, Holly!" Ralph chirped up, making her smile, as he grabbed the final bag from her.
"Okay, we have a car full of Christmas magic, Mom's favorite Thai food, and a plan. And we're right on time." Walter rattled off as they pulled into the driveway of their condo.
Mrs Ferguson had teased him when he traded in the Datsun for a 'family friendly car', seeing his new black Chevy sedan parked next to Paige's red one. She had joked with him, saying 'the his and hers matching splenectomies weren't enough?'
"Poker face time?" Ralph asked, comically as he tried to, hilariously, use his hand to wave down over it, as if it magically changing his face so Paige couldn't read him.
"Poker face time. Good job, though I am fairly certain your mom could clean out any poker room. So, just… be normal."
"Walt, it's us. We're not normal."
"You're right. So, just be… not normal. We can do this. Besides she probably just thinks we were out getting her a gift, so she won't pry too much."
"Here's hoping. I do not like Mom's face when she's trying to catch you in a lie. It gets all weird and scrunchy and she doesn't blink..." Walter grimaced, he was also not a fan of that face.
He looked up from the windshield to see her in the window of the dining room, waving down to him.
"Uh oh, we've been spotted. Let's go distract her with some pad Thai. Remember, poker face."
Reluctantly, Ralph exited the car, carrying the takeout bag, and peeking through the window into the backseat where they had covered what didn't fit in the trunk with a blanket, making sure everything was well hidden.
"Hello my boys in shining nerdiness. I trust you had a nice ...adventure?" She asked suspiciously as they walked through the door, gracing them both with a kiss, one to Ralph's head, and the other to Walter's lips, lingering for an extra moment, her hands holding his hips. "Mmm. Hi."
"We had a great time. Thanks mom." Ralph gave his signature grin, and she fell for it as always. "We thought maybe just this once, we could have dinner in the living room and you could show us one of your favorite Christmas movies?" Ralph added, quickly gaining Walter's attention who whipped his head around at the suggestion, as he pulled the takeout containers out, putting them on the counters.
The shock was also evident on her face.
He knew she had been displeased with their lack of interest in Christmas activities, and she hadn't even bothered putting up a tree when he and Ralph had made rude comments about it while in the midst of coding the software for their rocket, and though they had apologized later, she still had only put out a small table sized tree, claiming it was fine since they would be having Christmas day at the garage with the team anyway. But he had known she had been upset by their callousness. It had been keeping him up at night. His EQ was the best it had ever been, but he was still Walter, and he had his moments of royally upsetting her by being aloof.
"We did?" Ralph whipped around to shoot him a glare.
"Yes, Walt. We did." He leered through gritted teeth.
"Riiiight. Yes, we did. That sounds…wonderful. We would be so happy to watch a Christmas movie with you, Paige." He deadpanned. He could think of about a million things he would rather do than watch Christmas movies, including shoving needles under his fingernails, but for her he would accept his fate.
"Oh, I bet you would." She giggled, leaning against the counter watching him open up the containers. "Ralph, go feed Bueller, then wash up for dinner, and then we can do just that." He ran off to the back hall, and she leaned into Walter. "Thank you." She whispered, kissing his temple.
"I promised dinner, you don't need to --"
"No, not dinner. I mean, also that, but just thank you. I may not know what you two are up to, but Ralph seems very excited about it, and you even have this aura of excitement, so, whatever it is. Thank you. Thank you for either making Ralph a part of your plan, or you taking part in his plan, however it came to be. Thanks for making whatever this is special for him. And for agreeing to Christmas movies. I know that's not your thing." She rested her head on his shoulder, as she picked through the containers.
"Anything for you, and for Ralph. We really did have a great time. Of which I promise to tell you all about when the time is right." He kissed her lightly. Hesitant to speak, and shifting uncomfortably, he gained Paige's full attention.
"Hey, what's the matter?" She put her arms up around his neck, allowing him to place his on her waist as he debated on how to broach the subject.
"Well, maybe nothing, I don't know... I don't want to make a big deal of it..."
"Walt, talk." She gave him the look. That look.
"It's just that Ralph referred to me as his dad to a clerk while we were out. It was harmless, I think. The clerk didn't question it." She was looking at him, and didn't seem repulsed by the idea, but seemed to be studying him for his reaction. "I thought it prudent to make sure you knew that. I don't want to make an issue out of nothing, but also didn't feel comfortable not disclosing what occurred, and wouldn't want you to be upset by me not disclosing." He was unsure how she'd feel about it.
"Were you uncomfortable by Ralph saying that?" His eyes immediately met hers.
"What? No! Not at all. I was actually …proud. It made me feel happy that Ralph mentioned me in such a way. I know I'm not his father, but it was nice for a moment to pretend." He was wistful, and she wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him close, resting her head against his chest.
"Walter, you don't have to pretend. Besides, everyone automatically assumes you're Ralph's dad whenever we go out." His shocked, confused face had her giggling. "Seriously? You didn't think people saw you two and were honestly like 'oh look at that kid with his mom's boyfriend...'" His face assured her that was exactly what he thought, and she shook her head in amusement. "Oh, Walter... Yes, Ralph technically has a father through genetics, but do we even need to go down that road? Even taking the shooting out of the equation, his sentence, what kind of father was he before? Even after seven years of silence, the things he said to Ralph, the way he treated him. Calling him a freak. The way he grabbed him at the airport that day..."
It made him so angry to think about. He always took issue with Drew abandoning Paige and Ralph when Ralph was a baby, but knowing Paige tried so hard, and even he had tried so hard, to facilitate a relationship between Drew and Ralph, only for him to treat Ralph like garbage, and that was before he had tried to kill Paige. Walter had confessed to Paige his desire to erase his existence. Paige had been against the idea as it related to her shooting, wanting simply to move past it, but when Walter and Happy had told her the things Drew had said to Ralph while he was in Maine, she had surprisingly been all for it. But, ultimately, they hadn't done it, awaiting the result of his attempted murder trial, which had concluded before Thanksgiving, returning a guilty verdict, and a sentence of forty-eight years, with no possibility of parole.
Though, Walter had calculated the rate of child support owed to Paige for the ten previous years, and then further calculated , with inflation, the following eight, until Ralph would turn eighteen. Paige was unaware, and he would deny if ever confronted, but he had hacked into every financial institution Drew used and syphoned all of his money into a trustfund he set up for Ralph, leaving him penniless and unable to hire a decent lawyer. The money didn't even come close to what he owed, but it would make a nice downpayment for Ralph to purchase a home or start a business someday. Drew had tried to make claims of his banks being hacked, but, given his position, no one had taken him seriously, and well, Walter was very good at covering his tracks.
"I recognize that Dre-- that he was not a father to Ralph. But, that doesn't make me his father." He didn't mean it in a way that he wanted to negate the possibility, just facts, and the sadness he said the words with showed how he wished it not to be true.
"I love you, Walter. Ralph loves you. You love him." He smiled, those words never got old. Every morning he woke up, and questioned if this was a dream. She put her hands on his chest, placing a chaste kiss to his lips. "So… as long as you are okay with it, and Ralph is okay with it, I am okay with it, whenever you want to be a father to him, in whatever way that transpires." He was watching her so intently, he had expected her to be upset, or at least concerned. "You have my full blessing to build whatever relationship with Ralph that the two of you see fit. I know this relationship has only been seven months, but honestly Walter, I can't imagine my life, or Ralphs life with anyone else. I'm not planning on going anywhere, and I really hope you're not either…" He shook his head no. No, no, he had zero intention of being anywhere but with his family. He couldn't help the smile, the big smile, growing on his face. "... so I'm not worried about it. If he wants to call you dad, and you're okay with it, then that sounds good to me. Title, blood or not, you, Walter O'Brien, are the best dad there is."
"Well, in that case…" He leaned down to kiss her, always so happy that she was always shoeless when at home, so she was much shorter. Lips against hers, he smiled, feeling her own smile against his. "...since that is the greatest gift you could give me this Christmas, I suppose I will even happily watch those Christmas movies." Her smile grew bigger as she kissed him deeper.
"Ew. Gross. You're contaminating the food." Ralph chimed in from the doorway to the kitchen. Walter jokingly deepened the kiss, intentionally being sloppy as he kissed Paige's face all over just to mess with Ralph.
"Sorry bud, Christmas just makes everyone so kissable!" Paige chided as she went to Ralph and planted kisses all over his face.
"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Ralph pleaded, hands up, but laughing. "Man, you two are gross. Remind me to never fall in love. It's truly a disservice to intellect." Walter smirked, it was like watching himself from a year ago.
"Alright, let's eat. I'm sure my boys are starving after their day of top secret adventures!" Paige clapped her hands together as if to put everyone in motion, which seemingly worked as Walter grabbed beverages, Ralph grabbed plates and utensils, and they made their way toward the living room.
As the first movie started, Ralph was seated on the floor in front of the adults, using the coffee table for his meal, Walter and Paige curled up into each other on the sofa, with plates balanced on their laps. The claymation movie had a walking snowman... wearing a suit... that was talking. He would love to shred this apart for the sake of logic, but for her he would simply try to see in it what she did. Magic and wonder. He kissed her temple, distracting her as he pushed the pea pods from his plate onto hers. She loved them, but would never want to take them all. She smiled, she knew.
"Thank you, Paige." She looked up, confused.
"For not calling you out on you forfeiting your peapods? Or for not laughing at the face you make when the walking snowman starts talking." She chuckled. He placed his hand on her cheek, lovingly, his face serious, as he turned to look at the boy seated in front of him, using his other hand to gently stroke the long dark hair. In a soft, quiet, just above a whisper voice he turned back to Paige.
"For trusting me, with not just your heart, but Ralph's as well. For trusting me to take that role in his life, loving him as my own. I promise you, I will never intentionally hurt him, and I will most certainly never leave him. Ever. Even if things between us ever went… unfavorably… I swear to you, I would never leave Ralph." She had a tear pooling in her eye.
"Walter, I know that. I know that more than I know anything in this world. Honey, you nearly died to protect him. I will never, ever doubt your commitment to him." She leaned in and kissed him softly, and he wiped away the tear on her cheek. "I know we sort of talked about it shortly after the shooting, but did you ever want to be a dad? I mean, before you met us? Was that something on your plan for the future? I know you said you had resolved that it wasn't a possibility, but was it something you wanted?" She had an odd look on her face, but he couldn't decipher it. He hadn't been prepared for that question. They had talked about it briefly that one night a couple weeks after she came home from the hospital, but, it was more to assure her he had no interest in leaving. Given it was a difficult topic for them both, and knowing it to not be in the cards for their future, neither had ever brought it up again.
"Oh, uh, I don't know. I guess... I had just accepted very early on the unlikely possibility of that ever occurring. Women weren't exactly interested in even dating me for more than a couple of weeks, so the odds of anyone wanting to have a family, and a lifelong commitment with me didn't seem like it was even worth calculating." He knew his face was solemn as he thought about it, as he voiced what his life was before her - pathetic and lonely. He knew it probably hurt her to hear that he would have wanted a child. He knew she carried great guilt from it. He wouldn't say anything, but if he were honest, the idea of fatherhood from infancy was awoken in him when he had met her. He was more than happy with it being just them and Ralph, but he would have been delighted to have another child with her, to see Ralph become a brother, to show Paige what it could be like to raise a child with a partner and not an absent role. Perhaps it could have even been a conduit to repair his relationships with his parents, having something in common, much like they shared Megan.
"Well, those women were stupid. And I'm glad they were stupid." She was trying to keep things light with her petulance, he presumed because she saw the raw emotion on his face, and she was likely fighting back her own at the subject. She wasn't looking at him, attempting unceremoniously to stab a baby corn with her fork, watching as it rolled away with each attempt.
"How's that?"
"Well, if they had been able to capture your heart, I wouldn't have you here with me today. And I know just how wrong they were about you. How stupid. Because you are everything I could possibly dream of and more, and any child would have been lucky to have you as a father." It was an honest, pure, confession, but she said it casually, like it was no big deal. He knew it was not easy for her to discuss. He smiled, and that smile grew to his ears when Ralph piped up, he hadn't even thought Ralph was listening.
"I know I am." Again, so casual. Just facts. Paige smirked and leaned on his shoulder again.
"Me, with my very own family for Christmas. I can think of no greater Christmas miracle." Walter reasoned, as he put his plate on the end table, leaning down to place a kiss on the top of Ralph's head, resulting in a large grin from the boy as he craned his neck back to look at his parents. Walter wrapped his arm around Paige's shoulder, pulling her in close, placing a kiss to the side of her forehead. "Did you know that stop motion claymation films like this are typically shot with twenty-four frames per second in order to produce the effect of fluid movement?" Paige made an amused noise as she snuggled into his shoulder.
Everything was educational.
"I read that most filmmakers use a technique called the doubles technique, where they take two frames each time the camera is turned on. It's more efficient that way." Ralph added, prompting another noise from Paige.
And every lesson had two teachers. She was seriously outnumbered by geniuses.
"Yeah, I can't see why anyone would think the two of you are father and son." She quipped, making the boys both look at her confused, which just made her laugh more.
After the first movie ended, Paige got up to clear the plates from the living room, Walter right on her tail, while Ralph searched the Christmas movie collection trying to find something that wouldn't bore him and Walter.
"I'm proud of you Walt, you made it through an entire Christmas movie with not one snide remark." She shot him that playful smile and he wanted to kiss it off her face.
"Anything for you, my dear. You've given me reason enough to believe in magic this year, and I know I haven't been the most... enthusiastic about the holiday, but I am invested in making sure you have the perfect Christmas. Even if it is illogical, and makes no scientific sense."
She wrapped her arms around his neck as she giggled, kissing him sweetly.
"You're too good to me." Together, they packed up the leftovers, placing the dishes in the sink. "Speaking of which, are you sure you're okay with spending the day with Ralph tomorrow? I still have so much shopping to do, and I want to get the garage decorated and set up for the team dinner for Christmas day, especially since you gave everyone tomorrow off. But, I can try and find a sitter, I hate that you never really get much of a break from mini-genius duty. I'm sure there are other things you need to do. Especially after you spent the entire afternoon with him today. I don't want you to feel pressured, or obligate--"
He cut her off with a hard kiss. He found when she rambled it was the most efficient, and the most enjoyable, means to shut her up. Plus, the face she made when he pulled away, shocked, breathless, mouth hanging open just a bit, eyes fluttering open... it made him want to do... other things.
"Honey, dearest, sweetheart, love of my life…" She smiled, breathlessly from the kiss, at the series of endearments. "I told you, I've got Ralph. All day. No pressure. No obligation." Ralph appeared in the doorway as they were speaking. "I am spending the day tomorrow having some father-son bonding time, and you my love are spending the day doing all the things you need to do, worry and stress free. And we…" He paused to wrap his arm around Ralph, who had a smile of pure joy plastered on his face at hearing Walter refer to them as father and son. "...are going to have an entire day, Mom-free, to work on our special project. Isn't that right, son?" Walter quirked an eyebrow at Ralph, he excitedly nodded.
"That's right, Father. We have very big plans Mom, and you would just get in the way. So, sorry, but you have to go. All day. No coming home for anything. Promise?" Ralph's serious voice and no-negotiations-allowed tone made Walter laugh. He would make a great business man someday. He got it from his mother.
"Alright, alright. I can read a room. I know when I'm not wanted. Wouldn't want to get between this macho bonding session. But, you both better promise me that I won't be coming home on Christmas Eve to a mess. The last time you two knuckleheads did a project here, I had to clean ballistic gel out of the heating vents." Walter and Ralph exchanged guilty smiles. That had been fun. But she had been mad, very very mad. "And that isn't exactly how I want to spend Christmas this year. Deal?"
"Deal!" They both agreed.
They managed to make it through almost the entirety of A Christmas Story, Paige curled up on one side of Walter, head on his shoulder, and Ralph laying on the other side, head on Walter's lap, before the adults realized Ralph had fallen asleep. Thankfully, Paige had had the insight to have him change into his pajamas and brush his teeth before they had started the film.
"I'll bring him to bed." Walter quietly announced as he fenagled his body around to lift the boy into his arms. Paige rose from the sofa to help, brushing the hair from her son's forehead to lightly give him a kiss, before following Walter to Ralph's bedroom where she pulled down the bedding, making it easy for Walter to slide the small boy's body into his bed. Paige backed away to the door, just watching them, as Walter carefully pulled the covers back up over Ralph, tucking him in lighting, turning on the night light Walter had made him, and kissing his head.
"You're among the stars. Nothing to be afraid of." He whispered, before taking Ralph's little hands in his. "Dear God, thank you for another day with the most amazing woman the world has ever seen, and for the most amazing son I could ever ask for. Amen."
Paige never would have imagined Walter, or Ralph, would pray, or even have little bedtime routines a year ago. When she had first discovered them praying months back, she assumed it would fizzle out, and they would return to their normal genius selves. But, Walter, and now Ralph following in his footsteps, was a man of his word. He may not truly believe in God, but he had made a promise if she lived, and he was keeping to it. Seven months, and every single night, without fail, even while they were on a date night, he needed to call Ralph to say goodnight. They would say their prayer, simply, straight to the point, but they would say it, and he would turn on his light and remind Ralph he was among the stars.
When Megan had visited in the first weeks Paige had been home, she had been awestruck to see the light Walter had made, remembering the one she had made him, and then later hearing him speak the same words to Ralph that she had spoken to him all those years ago. When she had mentioned it to Paige, she hadn't even known he had made it, given her mobility had been limited, and Walter had put Ralph to bed each night. He never sought credit for the good deed he did. So, when she had commented on it, in typical Walter fashion, he had shrugged it off as no big deal. Much like how he shrugged off being shot to save Ralph. It was totally normal in his mind. So, she had asked Happy about it, who informed her of what Drew had said to Ralph about his fear. Her blood had boiled, and she fell a little more in love with the man that, while lacking tact a lot, had a way of doing the most thoughtful things for her and her son.
"Goodnight, son." He felt a bit like Cabe saying son. But now he understood why Cabe did it so often. It felt like the greatest feeling in the world.
"You're really good at this whole dad thing." She whispered to him as he reached the doorway where she was leaning against its frame.
"He makes it easy." He glanced back at the sleeping boy, a dopey smile on his face.
"I love you."
He looked back to Paige, an expression of contentment and joy shining in her eyes.
"I love you, too." He mirrored her expression as he took her hand in his and softly kissed her lips.
"I'm going to get some wrapping done now that he's asleep." His favorite position with her was still her standing in his arms, her arms wrapped firmly around his torso, her head tucked under his jaw. To anyone else it just liked like a simple hug. But he could feel her heartbeat, her lungs rise and fall, the warmth of her body, could smell her hair, could feel her breath on his chest and neck. It was simple, and profound, and intimate without being complicated.
"Okay. I'm just going to clean up the kitchen and I'll find you after. Give you a hand."
"You don't have to do the kitchen, Walter, I'll get it later. You've given me an amazing night, go relax."
"I want to." There was great joy in using phrases she taught him, and it always made her smile, and always made him want to kiss it off of her face. "You are not a maid, Paige. I can also clean up. Go wrap. I've got the kitchen covered." He loved when she smiled while kissing him. It made his lips tickle.
About a half hour later, entering the bedroom, he couldn't see her. There was a sea of wrapping paper and boxes scattered everywhere. She had warned him that she had procrastinated on wrapping and that all of Ralph's and the teams gifts were stuffed in boxes hidden in their closet, but he hadn't expected it to look quite like this. Then he spotted a green star shaped foil balloon floating on the other side of the room on the other side of the bed, and it was moving erratically.
"Uh, Paige?" The balloon danced up and down.
"Yeah, I'm over here!" He heard her, still couldn't see her.
"Well, the balloon sort of gave that away." He carefully stepped over and around things to come to her side. She was sitting on the floor, completely surrounded and entangled with festive paper, sparkly bows, and so much ribbon. She had changed into her pajamas, plaid pants and a tight, low cut white tank top. She wore very modest tops during the day to hide the scars on her torso, particularly her chest, but at night, when it was just them, she'd don her low cut tshirts or tank tops, after a lot of reassurances from him that he was still very attracted to her. So, he added these moments to his list of intimate moments he was privileged enough to be apart of. Literally seeing the broken parts of her she hid from the world. And, well, with her seated on the floor, and him standing above her, he could see a lot. "Why do you have a balloon? Where did you even get a balloon? Is this some Christmas tradition I don't understand? Was I supposed to get balloons? Like a happy birthday to Jesus thing?" She laughed, but his face was serious, which only added to her myrth.
"No Walter. It's not a happy birthday to Jesus thing, and you're fine, no balloons necessary." He breathed a sigh of relief. "It's just a little life hack I figured out years ago. When you have to wrap a billion presents, the scientific law of Christmas says…" he was certain there was no such law, but chose to let this one go. "...that the tape, the scissors, or your pen will always, without fail, go missing in the pile. It's the most frustrating thing about Christmas, especially when you're up all night wrapping." She looked very uncomfortable on the floor. He knew she still struggled with pain even though she tried very hard to appear tough as nails. She had a lot of scar tissue, and being in the same position for a while would result in some pain. The last time she sat on the floor he had had to help her stand. As she spoke, he worked through the pile to come sit behind her, massaging her shoulders and upper back. He couldn't help her with the pain he was certain she'd have when she was done wrapping, but he could at least ease the tension in her shoulders for now. "So, when Ralph was around three or so, he had been given this helium balloon at the mall when we went to get pictures with Santa. When we got home, I was wrapping some gifts and he tied my tape to the balloon string. It was suddenly so easy to find, so then I added two extra strings for the pen and the scissors, and now I can always find them. I keep a small helium tank and a pack of balloons in the closet ever since then. My wrapping party." She was so excited to show off her creation to him, covering each item with a gift, or paper, and then pulling on a string to reveal it. Like peek-a-boo. He had to agree, it was a very efficient tool. But her excitement over it was far more impressive.
"You do realize that Ralph likely did that intentionally trying to help you be more efficient?" She stopped her movements, cutting through a long roll of paper to look back at him questioningly. "He may not have been able to vocalize it, but he saw a problem and came up with a logical solution to help you. We all did things like that, but like with this, people didn't realize what we were trying to do. Couldn't comprehend the level of logical thought we possessed at such young ages. It's why Happy's dad put her up for adoption. She saw solutions, but he saw dangers because he wasn't able to understand the complexity of her mind."
"Huh, you know, even after learning he was enabled, I never really thought about it. Or many of the little things he did when he was little." She paused, clearly trying to think of other things he had done. "Well, he has definitely saved me countless hours in wrapping over the years!"
"Well, how about I help you now and save you some more hours so you're not up all night. Or at least if you are up all night it'll be for much more enjoyable activities." Walter offered suggestively, making Paige giggle.
"Wow, Walter, I think you may be more interested in unwrapping a present than helping me wrap these ones."
"I make no attempt to hide my true motives. But efficiency is efficiency." He shrugged innocently, as he grabbed a box of Legos and some wrapping paper, noting how easy it was to locate the scissors with the balloon. "...so efficient."
Working side by side wrapping gifts with her he learned many things, but most importantly, he learned that Paige was one of those people. A gift wasn't wrapped to hide its contents, a gift was wrapped to be presentable.
"I just don't understand it. Ralph is going to tear into it so fast, he's not even going to notice the wrapping, nevermind if one ribbon was longer than the other, Paige." He had been complaining incessantly for over an hour, as they finished wrapping, far from efficiently, and hid the gifts back in the closet. Now, standing at the bathroom sink as he brushed his teeth, still ranting about the absurdity that was gift wrapping.
"You're just grumpy it took so long because you wanted to open a present." She teased coming up behind him for a hug, slipping her arms around his abdomen and resting her chin on his shoulder to look at him in the mirror. Just like she had the morning before she was shot.
"Yeah, well, can you really fault me for that? It's a very, very nice present." He chided around his toothbrush, quickly finishing brushing his teeth. She laughed, running her hands over his bare chest. He had started going to bed shirtless after she had shown him her scars, so she would feel more comfortable, and she enjoyed it thoroughly. Rinsing his toothbrush, he grinned, like he did everyday placing it beside hers. And like everyday, she smiled seeing how it made him smile.
"Is seeing our toothbrushes together ever not going to make you smile?" She laid her head against his back, the warmth of his skin warming her. She loved the muscles in his back. He frequently caught her staring as he moved about. Turning, he enveloped her in his arms, kissing her hair and breathing in that oh, so wonderful lavender scent.
"I hope not. By my calculations, I will be 100 years old and still wondering how the most beautiful, amazing woman fell for a guy that can't even order frozen yogurt without help."
"You did by yourself... once." Despite her best efforts to remain stoic, her laugh broke her resolve.
"You wrote everything down like a script, and I still had to call to apologize later." She bit her lip with sympathy and amusement in her eyes, her nose crinkled up. "As Megan put it, so eloquently, landing you, I hit a hole-in-one, made a free throw buzzer beater, won the penalty shoot out, got a game-ending triple play, scored with a snap shot on a short handed goal... all colloquialisms I don't even understand... and then concluded by informing me that I suck at sports." Paige couldn't stop her laughter. He looked like a little kid that was just fed a lemon to see their reaction.
"Oh Walter..." Megan had such a special way about her when it came to keeping Walter on his toes.
"I believe the point she was trying to make was that you are way out of my league. And she would be correct." Her eyebrows pulled together, touched by his admission but also sad that he thought that was true. "So, anyway, that's why I will keep smiling at our toothbrushes, and thankful I scored." She wouldn't comment on his saying he scored. She was certain he had no idea of the alternate meaning.
"You are not out of my league, Walter. You are in a league all your own, that I have been so lucky to have been invited to join. I like our league." He smiled, kissing her softly.
"I like our league, too." She pulled away, leaving the bathroom with a smile, and he was quick to finish up and follow after her.
Though, seeing her taking ibuprofen again, as she grabbed at her side, not seeing that he had vacated the bathroom, made his own chest hurt.
"How bad?" Like she had to him, he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her torso.
"Not terrible. The floor didn't agree with me is all. Just feeling that tugging feeling again. Dr Cavanagh said, again, that it was normal and would ease over time when I saw her the other day. Told me I needed to work on 'pain management techniques'." The air quotes still made him laugh.
"What can I do?" She smiled and spun in his arms, lacing her fingers into his curls, and kissing his lips seductively.
"Well, I know one thing that always makes me feel better... so, you could take me to that bed, open your present, and make forget all about any pain."
"Well... I uh..." She teasingly pulled her tanktop over her head. He was a goner... and a boob man. "I wouldn't... want to go... against... doctor's... orders..." His eyes followed her every movement as she disrobed.
She had been so self conscious after the shooting, never allowing her scars to be seen, but now, knowing how he viewed them, as tokens of her strength and a love so strong she came back from the dead, and not as damaged goods, she wore them like lingerie for him. He loved her confidence, even if it was relegated to just the bedroom. During the day, if the scar on her chest came to be visible, she would quickly shift her clothing, put on a sweater, to hide them. But naked and in front of him, she had nothing but trust, love, and a lot of lust.
So, he opened his first gift of Christmas. And it was the best toy ever.
•••