Day 4357

I woke well after my usual time to the smell of coffee and cinnamon wafting from the kitchen. I felt Walter's side of the bed, cold. I wasn't surprised, Walter was an early riser regardless of how busy the day before had been. I thought about lounging in bed for a bit, if anyone deserved a bit of a lazy day, it was me.

I knew it would only be a matter of minutes before Walter would bring me a cup of coffee in bed, but I was suddenly hit with a wave of loneliness. I missed Walter and didn't want to wait for him to come to me. I pushed back the covers and wrapped myself in my favorite robe as I padded down the hall toward the kitchen and the heavenly smell of fresh coffee.

Moments I found the object of my search, my handsome husband, and I was filled with a surge of love. My eyes filled momentarily with tears as my chest warmed at how fortunate I was to have built such an amazing life with this man. I was feeling a bit sentimental after yesterday's festivities and memories of our wedding day came flooding back.

The image of him standing alone in front of our Scorpion family and so many of our friends and people whose lives Scorpion had touched through the years waiting for me. It had been such an exquisite moment and Walter had looked handsome and overwhelmed and grateful and in love and vulnerable and completely self-assured all at once. Then he caught sight of me and it felt as if we were the only two people in the world. His eyes never left mine as I walked down the aisle on Ralph's arm toward him. Then suddenly I was standing next to him, he was holding my hands in his, and Ray, who had appeared out of nowhere looking surprisingly appropriate in his suit, was ready to step into his role as 'Official Officiant of Scorpion'.

Looking at him now he looked so much the same as he had that day. There were a few lines around his eyes and streaks of gray at the temples, but he still had the same bright eyes, the same full head of unruly curly hair, and the same smile that always made me weak in the knees.

Walter heard me enter the kitchen and poured my cup of coffee, then added a splash of cream, no sugar. As he handed me the cup which I gratefully accepted, he sighed softly, seeing the tears sparkling in my eyes. "Love, I understand the concept of tears of joy, but it still doesn't mean that I like to see you cry. What can I do? Do you want to call Ralph?"

I blinked the tears away, my mind firmly back in the present. I felt a brief twinge of guilt. I hadn't been thinking of Ralph at all, but of Walter. "No, no, don't call Ralph. I'm all right. I'm sure he and Caroline are more than 30,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean and unavailable, but even more importantly, I will not be phoning my son on his honeymoon. We are close, but not that close. He and Caroline's lives are already so wrapped up in ours as employees of Scorpion, the last thing they need is a phone call from me now."

Walter studied my features for a moment, not entirely convinced, but willing to follow my lead. Walter was likely skeptical for good reason. Ralph and I had always had a very close relationship, stemming from my years as a single mother and most of his childhood as a genius trapped in his own mind unable to make the world understand… to make me understand who he truly was, before we met Walter and the rest of Scorpion.

Walter poured his own cup of coffee as I took a sip of mine. "Have you seen Megan this morning?" I asked.

Walter nodded, "She left a little while ago, down the street to Cora's house. No doubt they have some sort of mischief planned. Megan said she'd had enough of everything in this house being about Ralph and the wedding. She needed some 'me time'." Walter paused. "I don't know what that means."

I almost spit out my coffee at the mental image of Megan complaining about someone else being the center of attention. She ran this house and had her father and older brother wrapped around her little finger. Truth be told she had me too, not that I would ever admit that to her. She was a born charmer and knew exactly how to wield her enormous brown eyes framed by equally long eyelashes to her own best effect to get exactly what she wanted.

I didn't mind that she had apparently abandoned us for the day, she was giving me a gift she had no idea she was giving: peace and quiet and time alone with Walter. Something I was suddenly desperately craving.

The sound of Walter's voice pulled my attention back to him. "I can make breakfast. What would you like? Eggs? French toast?"

I shook my head. "I think I'm in the mood for just coffee. At least for now."

Walter nodded and moved to sit down at the kitchen table.

I stopped him with a hand on his arm. "It's such a beautiful morning, let's sit out on the terrace and enjoy the view before disaster strikes."

"We have the rest of the weekend off. Gloria and Rick are more than capable of monitoring Scorpion."

I smiled at my genius husband, I knew he believed what he was saying, but the moment a case came in or he saw something on the news, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from getting involved, from helping. It was just his nature and a huge part of why I loved him. "Whatever you say." I smiled as he led me out the back door to our outdoor seating area.

Walter and I settled into one of the loveseats, his arm over my shoulder, my legs curled up on the seat. I sighed with pleasure as I took in the view of the city in the valley below. Los Angeles from this perspective looked like a shining jewel next to the vast Pacific Ocean and I never tired of the vista.

Walter looked equally enthralled at the city below us, though I had no doubt it was for entirely different reasons, likely he was calculating traffic patterns, weather and wind probabilities, or perhaps the latitude and longitude of Ralph and Caroline's flight as it continued along its journey. Walter must have felt my gaze on him and he turned and smiled at me. Then he kissed me softly on the temple and tightened his arm around me.

We looked back at the view below us and finished our coffee in companionable silence.

Walter took both cups and placed them on a nearby table. I rested my head on his shoulder. He took my hand in his free hand, brought it gently to his lips and kissed it. "I love you so much, Paige. Thank you for seeing past the arrogant genius always afraid of being hurt, being rejected, and loving me in spite of my long list of flaws that Toby never lets me forget."

I snuggled deeper into his embrace. "I don't see a single flaw from here, Walter, and the view is quite clear."

I felt him relax and his contentment grow at my words. Even after all these years, I knew that speaking from the heart still felt a bit like walking on a tightrope without a net for him. With his guard down, Walter continued. "Regardless, Ralph and Caroline's wedding yesterday has brought our wedding day to the front of my mind. I remember how nervous and happy I was that day, marrying the love of my life, the woman who made me see love was real, and the importance of letting the people who matter to you know that you care. I suppose it must have been Ralph's wedding yesterday that brought all this to mind, but I'm not sure why one is related to the other." Walter was puzzled by his reaction to our son's marriage.

"You're just getting a little sentimental in your old age, nothing to worry about. It's completely normal." I teased.

I felt Walter's brain processing my words and my tone, trying to decide what the appropriate reaction would be. I leaned in and my lips found the sensitive spot under his ear. Walter arched his neck just a bit to give me better access to it and groaned as my tongue continued to tease and explore.

Without warning, he pulled away from me and stood, his eyes met mine as he held out his hand to me, "Mrs. O'Brien, in honor of sentimentality and thinking our wedding day, would you do me the honor of retiring with me to our room to recreate a bit of our own honeymoon?"

With a smile, I took his proffered hand and he pulled me into his arms. "Why Mr. O'Brien, what a tempting proposition. I do believe that we have some time before Whirlwind Megan is likely to return. I would be delighted to spend some time 'honeymooning' with you."

Walter whooped with joy as he scooped me up in his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck secure in his strong embrace and planted kisses all over his face.