Next day at the US Embassy:
A buzzer sounded from the intercom box on Ralph Dineen's desk. His hand drifted over automatically and tapped the button on top.
"What is it, Debbie?" Ralph asked somewhat distractedly as he looked over the demands of a local negotiation contract he'd been requested to assist with.
"Sorry to disturb you Mr. Dineen. But your sister is on the phone, line four. She says it is an emergency." Debbie told him.
"Thank you." Ralph sighed as he reached over and picked up the phone after pressing the button with the middle finger of the same hand. "Jo, good morning. What's going on?"
"Oh Ralphie, I need your help. Charles was in a bad accident in Japan and I need to get over there." Josephine explained to her brother.
"Jo, I'm so sorry, of course, do you need money or need me to make some calls? I'm good friends with Dr. Wantanabe. He's the assistant minister of health." Ralph told her.
"That would be helpful but I don't need money, I really need a big favor, Ralphie." Jo pleaded.
"Of course, what do you need?" Ralph asked.
"We were set to go to Japan together when I got a call about a young girl that they had the hardest time finding a place for. She'd been brought back again recently and so they called. We delayed our departure so we could go and meet her and she was just the sweetest little girl and I just couldn't say no. If they had called three minutes later we'd have already left to go to the airport and I'd have never known. Of course Charles was upset, he didn't want to go to Japan alone but he gave in since this was the first chance we were being given. We'd just got our foster daughter a week ago and now this. Ralphie, there is no one here I can leave her with and I'm not going to be able to mentally handle what is going on with Charles and care for her in Japan. May I please send her over to stay with you and your family until I can get this under control?" Jo begged.
"A foster daughter? Jo you never told us you were looking at fostering, possibly adopting. That is wonderful of you both to do that. Of course you can. How old is she? Do I need to arrange an escort?" Ralph asked.
"Oh Ralphie, thank you so much. You don't know what a relief this is. She just turned nine this past February 3rd. She's so quiet and shy though. She's a bit despondent because of what's happened in her life. She's phenomenally gifted mechanically. My vacuum broke down two days after she came to live with us and she took it apart and fixed it in just a few minutes. And then not even three days later my car broke down. She grabbed Charles's tools and went right to work while I was making a call to get a wrecker to come get it. I'd just hung up and she walked in and told me I needed a new starter and was holding the old one. I'm sorry we didn't tell you, we'd just been having such a hard time getting pregnant and I really wanted a daughter. Paige is such a sweetheart and every time I'd see her, hear about her it just made me want one more and more. Charles wasn't too thrilled but he finally came around." Jo told him.
"That's amazing, did you trust her to put a new one on?" Ralph asked while a bit amused at the thought.
"I did, I totally did. A neighbor took us to the auto parts store and she gave it to their tech who tested it and confirmed it was bad." Jo laughed.
"That is truly amazing. And that's great that you guys did this Jo, Veronica and I have on occasion talked about adopting. But then I've always been shuttered around so often that we were never one place long enough to actually do it. Okay, I'll call a friend of mine in New York, I'm sure either she'll call you or have a trusted friend call to arrange to pick your daughter up and bring her over here. Our best wishes for Charles and his recovery. Oh, wait, what's your daughter's name?" Ralph asked at the last moment.
"Thank you Ralphie, so much. Her name is Happy. Happy Quinn. I'll be waiting for their call, my flight leaves in four hours though. I know it is short notice and this is a lot to ask. Getting a passport and permission and stuff, I'm sorry." Jo warned him.
"Happy, what a great name. Okay Jo, let me get this ball rolling. Hang in there kid. And, don't worry about it, after all I'm a pencil pushing diplomat, I can waltz through this paperwork faster than your plane will board you." Ralph laughed as he hung up and then dialed New York.
"Lieutenant Katherine Cooper speaking." Katherine Cooper of the Secret Service answered her phone.
"Katherine, it's Ralph Dineen, how are you?" Ralph smiled.
"Ralph, it is so good to hear your voice. I'm well, how are you and your family? And what's this I am hearing about a boyfriend for little Paige?" Katherine asked in a highly amused voice.
Ralph laughed.
"Oh Katherine, don't get me started on that. We're good right now. I need a favor though. My sister's husband was in some kind of a horrible accident in Japan and she's set to get on a plane in four hours. Problem is they'd just taken in a young foster child and she wants her to come stay with us until she can get things handled with her husband. Her name is Happy Quinn and she's nine. I'll get the paperwork handled on getting her a passport after we hang up. Will you please bring her here for me?" Ralph asked.
"Ralph, we go way back, of course I will. Give me the particulars and I'll go pick her up." Katherine told him while grabbing a pen.
"Mr. Dineen, Brad Barris is here to see you." Debbie announced as he answered the intercom.
"Thanks Debbie, send him in please." Ralph replied.
Ralph stood as he released the intercom button and then tugged his vest down before buttoning his coat while stepping out from behind his desk.
"Mr. Barris, please come on in. May I offer you some coffee?" Ralph asked as the door opened and Brad entered.
"No, thank you Mr. Dineen and please call me Brad. Mr. Barris is my Dad." Brad greeted him.
Ralph nodded as he laughed.
"I know how you feel. It took me a long time to get used to Mr. Dineen, so please call me Ralph." Ralph told him as he walked over with a cup of coffee and shook his hand. "Let's sit over here by the sofa."
"Thank you Ralph. I hope you didn't have any problems with the pictures." Brad asked quickly.
"No, there were a few I thought were a bit much but with the lighting they seemed more like works of art and if it hadn't been my daughter I'd probably be totally fine with it." Ralph smiled as he sat down.
"I wanted a chance to just meet you and tell you my wife and I were really impressed by your work with the kids." Ralph told him after taking a sip of his coffee.
"Thank you Ralph. I did my best." Brad told him as he loosened up a little.
"To that end." Ralph said as he sat his cup on the table. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and reached across towards Brad who took it. "We wanted to pay you for your work. I'm sure the magazine might have decided not to pay you for it. We also sent several of the photographs to the magazine along with a letter expressing how we believe you did an amazing and respectful job and we hold no ill feelings over the incident and encouraged them to continue working with you."
Brad looked stunned for a moment as his words registered.
"I'm touched by that Ralph, thank you for doing that, it means a lot." Brad told him before he casually looked at the folded check he held and saw it was made out to pay him five thousand dollars. "Oh wow, Ralph, this is more than generous. Thank you but I wouldn't have been paid anywhere close to that for those pictures."
"Perhaps not, but then that's the difference between commercial and private. These pictures have documented and captured a precious moment of our children and their relationship. That has significantly more meaning to us." Ralph told him before sipping his coffee again.
"Mr. Dineen, your wife is on line one sir." Debbie told him as he answered the intercom.
Ralph chuckled.
"This was supposed to be a light day Debbie, why am I spending so much time on the phone?" Ralph asked.
"Just lucky I guess Mr. Dineen." Debbie laughed back.
"Hey sweetheart, thanks for calling me back. I've got some bad news." Ralph began explaining about Happy.
"Oh no, poor Jo and Charles. No, of course I'm not upset about you agreeing for us to look after this little girl. She's family. I'll call the school and see what I need to do to get her in there. I'll see you at dinner. Oh and don't forget the O'Briens are coming so they can see the photographs. I love you too." Veronica replied before hanging up to get the school's number.
"Agent Gallo." Cabe was greeted by the balding man in a dark office inside the US Embassy.
"Assistant director Merrick." Cabe responded.
"Well, now that the pleasantries are over. When were you planning on telling us the truth about this child, Walter O'Brien?" Merrick asked.
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Cabe told him stoically.
"Yes, yes, of course you don't. After all that would mean you falsified official documents, wouldn't it? He's a supra genius, highly gifted and quite the computer prodigy to boot. Are you making headway in getting close to him?" Merrick asked.
"I serve as protection detail for Ms. Dineen. I don't work for you, Merrick." Cabe told him through clenched teeth.
Merrick laughed.
"You think that means anything? You work under me, and why do you think I approved your reassignment to her detail? I can have you reassigned to some really crappy position if I want. Imagine that, perhaps sent to someplace where your wife's employer doesn't have an office and is unwilling to let her go? Provided your wife chooses to stay with her career that will mean spending the next five years alone without your wife or child. She'd be what, twelve, thirteen then?" Merrick grinned.
"You're a real scumbag Merrick." Cabe spit.
Merrick laughed.
"We all are Cabe or do you not watch the news? Oh sure there are some who try to be better but we both know, deep down in here." Merrick tapped his chest. "We're just as sick and vile as those who wear it proudly. We just want to test Walter's abilities. Our intelligence has worked out some new ciphers and we want to see if Walter can break them. Be a good fellow and talk with him. With his math aptitude he should be intrigued by them. We want to see what he can do in a week with them. Plus he'll make a little money to take his girlfriend on dates with."
"You're going to get yours one of these days Merrick." Cabe grumbled as he grabbed the folder Merrich held out towards him.
"We all will one day Cabe. That's life, all we can do in the meantime is what we can do. It might be distasteful to you, but it is for the greater good." Merrick told him before Cabe left the room.
Walter smiled as Cabe pulled up to the O'Brien farm as Walter got home from dropping Paige off at her house.
"Cabe, it's good seeing you. I thought you were off today?" Walter asked as Cabe walked up.
"Off detail yep. But I still have things to do. How are you doing?" Cabe cupped his shoulder.
"Not bad, I just got home from school. Going to go up to the loft to do some studying before dinner with Paige and her parents." Walter told him as they turned and began walking around the house towards the barn.
"How are you doing? Has your wife and daughter moved in yet?" Walter asked.
"Yep, this past weekend. Thanks for finding that house for us. It is perfect." Cabe smiled.
"You're welcome. Wasn't hard coming up with an algorithm to match your criteria to available homes." Walter told him as he began climbing the ladder to the loft.
Cabe laughed.
"Maybe not hard for you. We must have gone over sixty homes looking." Cabe began climbing up.
"That's the advantage of letting the algorithm do the hard work. Without adding extraneous thoughts and feelings into the equation. You can eliminate those things that only serve the fantasy aspect of our minds." Walter said as he sat in his chair.
He swiveled around and watched Cabe sit on a hay bale.
"Why do I get the feeling this isn't just a social call?" Walter frowned as his eyes probed different aspects of Cabe's physical form.
"Well it is just a social visit, but that doesn't mean you are wrong in that something is on my mind. I just haven't decided how to respond to it yet." Cabe sighed.
Walter frowned as he watched Cabe.
"Cabe, you are always telling me to trust you. Trust is easier when all parties are treated equally. What's bothering you?" Walter pressed.
Cabe sighed.
"You know, a month ago you wouldn't have spotted there was anything else going on." Cabe told him.
"And you are just stalling Cabe." Walter nodded.
"An old boss with ties to the US Security Council made a threat. For one he's figured out you are far more than what I filed in my reports. He wants you to take a look at some new ciphers the crypto boys have come up with. He wants to see if you can crack them in a week." Cabe told him.
"What kind of threat?" Walter asked, showing not only his curiosity but his puzzlement.
"He threatened to get me reassigned to some hellhole in a country where Rebecca's employer doesn't have an office and he'll keep me trapped there for years. Unless I want to resign." Cabe told him.
Walter immediately held out his hand.
"Give them to me. I'm not letting someone do that to you." Walter told him.
Cabe smiled before he reached into his jacket and pulled out the file folder. Cabe looked at the folder in his hands for a moment before he looked up at Walter.
"I don't like this Walter." Cabe told him.
"It's okay Cabe. It isn't that big a deal." Walter shrugged as he reached further forward and grabbed the folder.
Walter opened the folder and saw several sheets of paper and his eyes immediately locked onto the first set of number sequences. Walter slowly turned around while continuing to look at the string of numbers. His hand drifted up on muscle memory and pulled a pencil out of a cup on his desk. He quickly stuck it in the little battery operated sharpener. And then he began scribbling under the numbers.
By the time Megan called for him to tell him it was time to go to the Dineen's he'd written out the first message which to both his and Cabe's surprise was a recipe for an English roast. Walter gave Cabe the first paper and took the folder into the house and put it up in his room before washing up to go to dinner.
Greetings! Hope this finds you all well!
Railman - Yep, Louise is trying for sure. Seems now that they are seeing changes and more "normal" behavior they are working harder to be different with Walter.
Margaret - Hopefully you will enjoy the coming chapters regardless to how this plays out, but I'll caution you now, when the story gets past chapter 19 (ends in 1999), their relationship grows and if their relationship now is troubling in the year 1999, you won't like it at all 2 years down the road in 2001 (Chapter 20 resumes in 2001), when Paige is 15 and Walter 15/16. But they aren't really being too lenient, Ralph and Veronica had put up with her overbearing Father when they were teens and how all it served to do was strain their relationship with him. They still did what they did, no matter his opposition. But his attitude pushed them away and instead of being able to guide and direct them to help them he alienated and lost any chance at having a healthy relationship with them. They simply are approaching it as they'd have preferred her Father had. And Paige doesn't really "revel in any such power", sorry if I made it seem that way it was mostly meant tongue in cheek. Walter of course doesn't understand why he gives in to the things she wants, but he does know that he enjoys her happiness so he's happy giving her what she wants. No he isn't comfortable in this kind of spotlight, he doesn't want to be viewed as a heart throb as he stated at the tourney but he understood the logic of Ralph's position that capitalizing on the image built at the tourney through the interview/photoshoot will help him down the road. As Susan and Carol demonstrated with their fond memories of Tiger Beat magazine, even years later, people do remember and it can open doors for him.
Susan - So glad you have enjoyed the chapters! Yeah, Walter probably should have known that, but, well then he wouldn't have been Walter at the time. Plus I'm sure some of his animosity over past encounters with Father Williams doesn't help his attitude. lol Yes, the Dineens are big on family in this AU and it is really rubbing off on the O'Briens, thankfully. I'd agree, Paige has no conscious power over Walter, just that power our own love for a person, gives to them. I mean, why else would I come home after being on my feet all day and give my wife a foot massage? LOL Stupid love...that's why. lol
Dean - Hopefully no Tim. And I can't see him ever coming into the story as some kind of serious threat to their relationship.
To the Adventure! -Tim