"So as you can see by Ralph's initial calculations, theoretically, this could work." Paige told Florence as they sat discussing the formulas on the whiteboard.
"I can see that." Florence nodded. "The problem is going to be finding the substance or combination of substances that can provide a medium to actually draw Walter's body out of this quantum inversion."
"Quantum inversion." Paige smiled. "I like that. But I think water is the medium we'll have to be in. So whatever we use has to have some resistance to dissolving within water."
"It was Ralph's term to me last night, I can't take credit for it. And from the way he described how you transition from Walter's body to yours definitely makes water the optimal starting point." Florence nodded. "But there needs to be some diffusion in order to stimulate the separation. Perhaps we can pre-diffuse some to mix into the water. Leaving the bulk in a solid form to further draw the two of you apart." Florence explained.
"The problem is, this is an all or nothing process, just like the other process with Richard's transporter. Once the process starts, we have to see it through, for good or ill." Paige said as she rubbed her finger along her chin. "There is still no margin for error."
"Well I am sure that's in part, what Ralph's thinking with me testing your blood." Florence told her. "If we can find evidence that your blood is commingling as well and we can separate it, successfully, then we should be able to separate you guys."
"It would at least give us a chance to test the process. But to be honest, I'm actually not looking forward to trying to separate us." Paige sighed.
"You'd rather stay like you are?" Happy asked as she was walking to the kitchen.
"In all honesty, we both would." Paige nodded. "We don't know how our bodies are adapting to this process. What if one or both of us become unviable when separated?"
"You mean if one or both of you died in the attempt." Toby spoke up.
"Not just in the attempt, Toby. But what if our bodies have adapted to life as we are now, remove that and our bodies could slowly shut down." Paige told him.
"Okay, but you are dancing around the word die." Toby disagreed.
"I'm not dancing around it, but do you want to die?" Paige asked.
"Of course I don't." Toby smiled. "And neither should either of you. The question is, can you truly coexist like this, for the rest of your lives?"
"Without a doubt." Paige told him.
"Really?" Toby looked doubtful. "Does that go with also getting pregnant every year until menopause?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Paige frowned.
"Look, everyone else might have given up on the idea, but I'm a doctor, a genius doctor at that. There is no way you were pregnant before the breakup, so unless you had sex with someone else, or even Walter, just before the accident, then you got pregnant after the accident. Nothing else explains the due date. And however that happened, it means it could happen again after you give birth." Toby told her.
Paige wanted to argue but she could tell by Toby's tone he had his facts lined up this time. He wouldn't let it go now if they tried to obfuscate it.
As the final sixteen days of their pregnancy wound down, Walter, Paige and the gang continued working with Richard's team as they worked to understand how the original process resulted in Paige merging into Walter as well as their work to separate them.
Ralph stopped working on that with them, but always made time to review and analyze their work. He mainly worked with Florence examining his Mom's biochemistry and eliminating elements to try and use to separate them.
After Florence failed to identify any sign of Walter in Paige's blood, Ralph began running the numbers to try and find a vein in his Mom's body that most likely had a corresponding vein in Walter's body based on the quantum inversion.
Even though the tests were inconclusive on the blood sample containing Walter's blood as well, they continued to use the site as a means to obtain blood to test their separation attempts.
Wednesday, February 6th, 2019:
Walter groaned even as he grimaced at the cramping he had been experiencing the last couple of hours. It had all been very mild up to this point. Along with all the other irritations of pregnancy, he hadn't really thought about it. But this last one was undeniable.
Everyone looked up and over at Walter. Toby quickly stood up even as Happy put down her pen. She had been working up the wiring diagram of one of the latest components for Richard's transporter, to try and separate Walter and Paige.
"You okay Walt?" Toby asked as he walked over towards his desk.
"Yes, I've just been experiencing some cramping." Walter told him as he tried to go back to work.
"Maybe you are in early labor." Happy said as she walked the floor towards Walter.
Walter's eyes looked stricken for a moment before he worked to put that feeling aside.
"I don't think so. My breathing is normal." Walter told her.
"But the breathing isn't automatic right? It is a conscious part of the process to help the Mother to keep calm and focused, right?" Sylvester asked.
"Paige?" Walter thought, hoping Paige might wake up. He could use her reassurance right now.
"Let's find out if it is labor or not." Toby said as he sat down and took out his phone. He set up his timer app and then took Walter's right wrist and felt their pulse. "Let me know when the next one stops and when the next one starts." Toby said while counting their heart beats.
"Okay, not too close together." Toby noted after about twelve minutes. "The duration of them is about right, so let's do some walking, Walt." Toby said as he stood and stepped next to Walter's chair.
"Now?" Walter asked.
"No, next week." Toby rolled his eyes. "Yes, now. It can help us rule out Braxton-Hicks contractions."
"Wouldn't it be easier to say false labor?" Sylvester asked even as Toby and Happy helped Walter to stand.
Toby chose to ignore him as he started walking with Walter and Happy.
Veronica walked into the Garage after running an errand and saw them walking with Walter.
"Is everything okay?" Veronica asked.
"They're trying to decide if Walter is having false labor or not." Sylvester told her as he stood at his desk watching.
"Walter?" Veronica said as she hurried over and tried to help.
It wasn't long before Louise joined them.
"Paige?" Walter said again as they made their 4th loop around the Garage. Not only was everyone beginning to make him feel more worried, the slowly decreasing interval between the contractions and the increase in strength also spiked his nerves. "Paige, I really need you."
"Umm, maybe you should try using the hypnosis trick to bring Paige out for this." Walter said softly after he got nothing back from her. "I wouldn't want her to miss the birth."
Toby shook his head.
"You're a big boy, you can handle it. Besides, I've told you many times throughout the last almost ten months. I don't like to force the switch between you guys." Toby said.
"W-Walter?" Paige thought sleepily.
"Paige, oh thank you for hearing me." Walter told her quickly.
"What's going on? You seem to be very nervous." Paige said as she tried to get her bearings.
"I think we're in labor." Walter explained.
Paige felt a warmth at that thought, it explained what she was feeling physically now as well.
"Okay lover, it is going to be alright." Paige assured him.
"I know, I just, I needed you to be, at least conscious, with me through this." Walter told her.
"So we're walking around the Garage? Oh, Toby wanted to be sure it was real labor and not false labor then." Paige said as she continued to take stock in what was going on.
"Yes, I'd been having very minor cramps for the last couple of hours and about fifteen minutes ago they got more intense." Walter told her.
"Okay Walter, when we get around to your desk again, tell Toby I want you to sit down." Paige told him.
Walter nodded before realizing it. "Sorry, I'll tell him."
"What are you nodding for?" Toby asked.
"Paige wants me to sit down when we get back to my desk." Walter told him.
"Ha ha, good one. No she doesn't." Toby told him.
Walter listened to Paige for a moment.
"She said to tell you, "Tobias 117 A."" Walter told him.
"Okay, that was her signal to me if you ever told me she said something and I didn't believe you I could verify it with that. But now that you know about it, you better never use it unless she tells you to." Toby told him as they stepped over to Walter's desk.
"So why does she want you to sit down?" Toby asked as along with Happy, they helped Walter to sit.
"She's sure this is labor and she wants to help me to meditate a little." Walter told him.
Toby looked at his watch but nodded.
"Okay Walter, I want you to close your eyes. I want you to see bright light through your eyelids, see it as brightly as you can and then I want you to slowly inhale that light." Paige told him.
"I can't inhale light, Paige." Walter complained.
"Walter." Paige sighed. "Metaphorically, inhale the light."
"Okay." Walter told her and he tried again. The light he imagined on the other side of their eyelids was so bright, it almost hurt. He inhaled slowly, filling their lungs to the maximum he could.
"Now, before you breathe out, I want you to imagine that all the negative feelings and thoughts you're having are the exact opposite of the light. Make them dark, ominous clouds. And once you have that firmly in your mind, you will exhale them quickly out of you. And then you will breathe in more light, and exhale more dark." Paige told him.
"Okay." Walter thought as he imagined the light moving around their body and it seemed to push against the nervous feelings, the feelings of not being in control. Of all the self doubt and remorse he's had all this time and then he blew it all out.
"Good, now inhale Walter." Paige told him.
Walter saw the light beginning to build up again and as it reached its maximum luminosity he inhaled. As his lungs reached capacity he reversed the image, feeling the light move out into his body and pushed the dark back up into his lungs and he exhaled.
Toby frowned at the breathing and cadence, something didn't seem right about it to him.
Paige waited for him to do it five times and then told him to increase the speed.
Walter frowned but did as she requested. As each cycle completed she'd tell him to speed up. He felt himself getting a little light headed at one point.
"Hey, exactly what is this supposed meditation?" Toby asked.
"Now, hold your breath for a moment after you blow out the next one." Paige told Walter while ignoring Toby.
Walter nodded but did as she asked. As he held his breathing he felt more light headed than before and Paige focused for a moment. Walter suddenly felt himself pushed away.
"Paige?" Walter asked.
"It's okay Walter, I'm in control now." Paige told him.
"Guys, let's go to the hospital." Paige told them.
"Paige?" Toby frowned.
"Yep, it's me Toby." Paige told him as she began to try and stand.
Happy and Toby quickly helped her to stand.
"Paige, I would have handled this. I wasn't looking for you to take over, just to be with me." Walter told her.
"I know that Walter. I have no doubts about you." Paige smiled.
"Sean, grab Paige's bag." Louise called up. "We're going to the hospital."
"What exactly did you do?" Toby asked Paige as they began walking for the front door.
"I got Walter to make himself a bit dizzy which allowed me to take over." Paige told him.
Toby's mouth nearly hit the floor.
"H-How?" Toby stuttered.
"Something I've been thinking about for a while now." Paige told him.
"No, I mean, how could you do that? To Walter?" Toby asked.
"Toby, I've been through this before. While I believe Walter could handle it, it makes more sense for me to be the one in charge as this happens." Paige told him.
"You know, Walter has done some boneheaded things in his day, but this is right up there with them." Toby complained as Cabe got the door of the SUV open for them.
"Toby." Paige said softly.
"No, I'm not going to accept this as okay. Did you even explain to Walter or just trick him into doing it?" Toby demanded.
"I wouldn't say I tricked him." Paige said.
"I would." Walter told her.
"Hush." Paige told him and he could feel the playfulness in her thoughts.
"Well I would say you tricked him." Toby told her. "You didn't even explain it so he could tell us so we would know. You've been in Walter's head for far too long. You are growing to be more like him."
"Why thank you Toby, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Paige smiled.
Walter paid close attention to everything as the process continued and Paige's responses to it. He marveled at her self assurance and ability to complete the process.
Between Paige's feelings and his own he was nearly taxed, but he continued to be as supportive as he could as the contractions grew closer to culminate in birth.
Veronica stayed at the Garage, just in case. Even with the people she owed money to in prison in Texas, she didn't want to be identified as being there.
Louise stayed with Paige through the process and got to cut the cord after her granddaughter was born.
Walter and Paige could feel each other's love as well as their own as they held their daughter. Their eyes drinking in every square inch of her. Gently rubbing her tiny hands and fingers. Examining her tiny feet and toes.
"She's so beautiful, just like you." Walter told Paige.
"I think she's going to have your curls." Paige sniffed as she touched the dark strands of hair.
"I just hope she's more like you emotionally." Walter sighed happily.
"Walter, it won't matter if she is more like you than me. We'll be there to guide her and help her if she is. She will not suffer like you did or be stunted like Ralph was because of misdiagnosis." Paige told him.
"Did you guys finally come up with a name for her?" Louise asked as she brought the gang in to meet the little girl.
"We did." Paige nodded as a tear ran down her face. "We're naming her Emma Farrah O'Brien." Paige told her.
"Are those names significant?" Cabe asked.
"We chose Emma as a tribute to Megan and Farrah which is derived from Farah, which is Arabic, and means happiness. We chose it to represent our Happy." Paige smiled at Happy, now sitting on the side of the bed.
"I'm honored." Happy said with a huge grin.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! Well here we are, the final two chapters. Both a relief and a sadness as always. Feb 11th will see us back in Callan to finish up 2005 and the start of 2006.
LouBe - lol Paige is dismissing his legitimate concerns based on his knowledge of the situation. She believes, since she has more data over it, that Walter was doing his best in handling his feelings. But she also agrees with your thought, based on all their combined knowledge that Toby often stirs the pot so to speak. At least that was what I felt like you were saying. lol Our Ralph, always demonstrating why he is the smartest one in the group. lol Nope, no real concern over the chemicals, at least with the exposure time she had with it.
Railman - Yep, Ralph's had some interesting thoughts in this story. lol Here's to the success of them come next chapter!
Pearliegirl - LOL Just up to trying to tell a "different" story. lol As for if it can be done, well the birth happened. lol As for the separation, stay tuned to this Scorpion day at this Scorpion time next week to find out! Thank you, sleep has been "better" Still lots of issues but, that's apparently normal for us older folks. lol
DaToad - Yep, Florence still has a lot of guilt in her system and she just had the news that Paige is alive dropped into her lap. So she has some adjustments to make. Well Scorpion was a different type of show, so it makes sense that you discovered it differently too!
James - Not wrapped up this chapter, next chapter. lol Well as I said a few chapters back, there would be time skips, I hoped to capture the most important parts to move the story as well as let everyone feel as if things are moving "naturally". As you can see, no separation as of yet, barely any closer to it than they were 9 months ago. True, Scorpion stories always seem to go off the rails! lol You're welcome, Ralph's involvement is critical to the story so he has to have more presence. Even if it is kind of backlit. LOL Good thing we don't listen to Toby too much, he is both very concerned and skeptical at the same time over it all. You're welcome and I'll do my best, you take care too.
To the Adventure! -Tim