Paige walked into Ralph's room smiling while holding Walter's hand.
"Good afternoon Daddy, Mom." Paige greeted her parents.
"Good afternoon sweetheart." Veronica smiled.
"Good afternoon Pumpkin, son." Ralph smiled.
"Mom, Dad." Walter said simply while kind of shying away.
Ralph and Veronica noticed it immediately but didn't say anything.
Paige kissed Ralph's cheek. "I got an interesting compliment earlier. I was singing as I walked down the hall and was stopped before my last class today. A professor, he is the director of theatrics at Harvard, he loved my voice and said he had a good feeling about me. He wants me to try out for the production of Grease. They're having tryouts for the next 3 days."
"Oh. I remember playing in the orchestra for Grease." Veronica smiled.
"I remember that cute green skirt you wore for it." Ralph growled.
Veronica laughed as Paige shook her head.
"Everything okay son?" Ralph asked as he was still kind of off to the side.
"Yes. I'm just a little nervous." Walter said softly.
"Nervous? Nervous about what? About Paige trying out for the play?" Veronica asked.
Walter shook his head.
"I'm going to start seeing Toby for help dealing with what happened over the bombing." Walter told them.
Paige smiled sweetly at him as she tugged his hand forcing him to step up closer.
"Well that's great Walter, I'm so proud of you for recognizing you need help." Ralph said sincerely. "That mess has been affecting you long enough. You deserve some peace over it. And don't you worry about the Iraqi government pushing for war criminal charges." Ralph told him seriously. "I spoke to friends of mine here and in Ireland, both of them in international law. They are both ready to take the case should it ever come to that. But they both were positive there is no way it would. They are currently digging through the laws to prepare any defense that could possibly be needed."
Walter smiled.
"Thanks Dad." Walter said. "Now, how are you doing?"
Ralph chuckled.
"Everyone is pleased with me. I'll be back home before Paige and Happy get home from college tomorrow. Man…how did I get old enough to have two daughters in college? Has to be a mistake, right?" Ralph grinned as he looked at Veronica.
"Must be a mistake." Veronica smiled as she nodded.
Ralph's phone rang oddly and while Paige and Veronica frowned at the noise Walter recognized it instantly. Ralph pulled the phone over and saw the red security screen. He pressed his thumb against it and the screen cleared.
"Beuwolf Author." Ralph said simply.
"The evidence has been given to the tribunal." Katherine Cooper said softly before hanging up.
Ralph smiled happily. He quickly cleaned the screen with a kleenex and sat the phone down.
"Uh, Daddy…what was that?" Paige asked as Veronica nodded.
"That was special communications software Walter wrote for me to use for a sensitive project." Ralph told her.
Paige frowned.
"Why don't I know about this?" Paige asked, looking at Walter.
"Because I told him not to." Ralph told her. "Back after we found out about Merrick threatening Cabe, someone I trust told me that Merrick was dangerous. This person knows me and knows the people I know. For them to warn me he was dangerous told me I had to be careful in how I proceeded. After we were finally approved to be Happy's adoptive family I told Walter about it. We needed a top level way of communicating without anyone finding out. So he designed the security software for our phones. Every trusted member of my network who's been gathering the information needed to take Merrick down has a copy. After you guys told me that Iraq was moving to have people declared as war criminals I knew it was time to act. So after you left I sent a code word to activate the plan. I just got confirmation that it has been carried out. By this Friday, Merrick won't be a threat to anyone."
"Really?" Paige said in surprise. "Why haven't you told us anything?"
Ralph chuckled.
"Because the fewer who know the better off everyone is." Walter said softly.
"Is that tacos I smell?" Ralph said, suddenly sniffing the air.
"That's cruel when you have to watch what you eat." Paige frowned.
Happy came bouncing around the corner of the doorway.
"Hey Daddy, Mom." Happy said as she ran the rest of the way over and hugged them both.
"Hey sis." Happy said as she hugged Paige. "Hey Walt." Happy grinned and then hugged him.
"Well you certainly are happier today." Veronica said grinning.
"We brought dinner for everyone." Happy said as she looked to the door just as Toby walked in with several bags of what was clearly smelling like tacos.
"Toby! You know Dad can't have tacos, that is just mean." Paige complained.
"Exactamundo!" Toby grinned. "But, he can have healthy tacos." Toby told her. "Some friends of mine run a taco stand and they make the best chicken taco without the bad stuff that helps contribute to clogged arteries."
"Bless you." Ralph said while almost salivating.
Toby laughed as Walter took the drinks and then Toby sat the bags down before passing out the food.
Ralph moaned in enjoyment as he chewed the first bite.
"Mr Dineen!" His nurse said as she rushed into the room after seeing Toby enter with the suspicious looking bags. "This is not appropriate food for a man in your position. Your Dr is going to be very upset."
"Nurse, actually I am Dr Tobias Curtis, Mr Dineen's doctor. And not only did I approve of him having them, I bought and brought them myself." Toby told her.
The nurse stared at him suspiciously.
"He's telling the truth." Everyone told her.
"Oh, okay then. Sorry, just trying to do my job." The nurse said with a hint of embarrassment. But she double checked if Ralph needed anything and then left the family to enjoy their dinner.
"Thank you for doing this Toby." Ralph told him after his second taco.
"You are most welcome Mr Dineen." Toby told him.
Ralph chuckled.
"Well I suppose you can call me Ralph." Ralph told him.
"Hey, how about that? All I had to do was help save his life." Toby said sarcastically.
Everyone laughed.
"Well I had to save your life. After Walter saved mine and paid off my stupidity. Plus I doubt Happy would be very happy with me if I hadn't." Toby grinned.
Everyone chuckled a little as they shook their heads.
"Yeah, but you keep it front and center of your mind, she's my little girl and only thirteen." Ralph reminded him seriously.
"Daddy!" Happy complained in embarrassment.
Toby just laughed.
"You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Happy and me, Ralph." Toby promised.
"I have everything to worry about when it comes to my kids." Ralph told him seriously.
After dinner Toby left with Happy and Veronica leaving Walter and Paige with Ralph.
"So, we need to talk a little Walter." Ralph finally said as he looked at the young couple sitting in the chairs next to his bed.
Walter nodded even as Paige frowned.
"Walter, I don't really mind you gambling to get the start up for this company you guys want to build. But I need to know you are doing it safely." Ralph told him.
Walter nodded.
"After Paige goes to her first class I take the bus over to the harbor to the Horizon Edge's Casino Cruise ship." Walter explained.
Ralph breathed a bit easier at that.
"Good, after the incident with Toby I was worried you were dealing with bookies and what not." Ralph told him.
"No, I wouldn't do that Dad. The criminal element makes it far too risky. Besides it is hard to predict what team or animal would win whatever event. With a three deck shoe the odds are more in my favor." Walter smiled.
Ralph grinned that Walter finds tracking three decks of cards and the odds of where the cards are easier than using stats to predict a winner.
"I swear Walter, only you could find a complex math problem comforting." Ralph laughed.
"Hey, leave my man alone. I like him the way he is." Paige complained with a smile on her face.
Ralph laughed as Walter blushed.
"I like him the way he is too, sweetheart." Ralph told her. "But Walter, I also need to know you won't do what you did for Toby again without talking to us. I know you are legally an adult, but Walter, what you did was dangerous. I know from Veronica that was the reason Cabe was here Saturday and I applaud you for that. That was smart, but please. Talk to us before doing these things."
Walter nodded.
"I'm sorry Dad. Everything just snowballed so quickly. I wanted to be sure we had the right information while being as safe as possible. I didn't want you getting mad at Toby if it wasn't him. And I wanted Happy to have some time to process it first if it was." Walter told him.
Ralph nodded.
8:45 AM Tuesday Sept 9th Harvard University:
"So you are going to try gambling today?" Paige said softly as she stood with Walter outside the door to her first class.
Walter nodded.
"I was going to yesterday but after everything I decided not to. I'll go on off days when I don't have sessions with Toby." Walter told her as they held each other.
"Alright, I'll see you this evening, are you going to come watch me audition?" Paige asked as she pulled back from him.
Walter grinned as he nodded.
"I'm looking forward to watching you wow them." Walter told her.
"Well just remember this is college, so most of the people auditioning have been doing this at least for a few years. I'm just a casual singer." Paige told him before kissing him.
"You're still going to wow them." Walter told her as they broke their kiss.
Paige smiled and blew him a kiss before she turned and walked into class.
Walter stood outside Paige's last class smiling as Paige walked out and they slipped into each other's arms.
"Well, how did you do?" Paige whispered as she bumped his shoulder as they turned to walk down the hall holding hands.
"At one point I was up by over sixty grand." Walter smiled.
"Are you serious?" Paige grinned.
Walter nodded.
"And then I was up over eighty grand." Walter explained.
"You won eighty grand?" Paige stopped and yanked his hand so he turned to face her.
"I did but then I noticed how hard I was being watched so I lost twenty five grand to calm them down. I switched and played some Texas hold em. It was actually rather interesting. I lost fifteen grand before I caught on a bit better." Walter said.
"Wait, so you are only up forty grand for today? That's still really good Walter." Paige smiled.
Walter laughed.
"I couldn't leave it there. I had to win the money back." Walter told her.
"Oh no, Walter…did you lose more?" Paige fretted.
"No." Walter shook his head. "I actually won fifty five thousand more." Walter grinned.
Paige stopped and pushed him against the wall staring at him.
"You won ninety five thousand?" Paige stared at him in disbelief.
"And then I won another forty grand." Walter smiled.
"You're telling me, you won a total of one hundred thirty five thousand today? Stop playing with me, and tell me the bottom line." Paige demanded from him.
Walter continued grinning.
"Yes, I deposited just under one hundred grand into the account today." Walter told her while holding up the deposit slip.
Paige's eyes opened wide at the sight of the ticket and then quickly closed the distance and kissed Walter hard and passionately.
They both breathed out huskily as they broke the kiss.
"That was some kiss." Walter grinned.
Paige blushed a little.
"More where that came from later." Paige told him before turning and pulling him along with her. She began humming as they went down the hall.
The two agents with them just shook their heads grinning.
As they entered the auditorium the director of theatrics looked up and grinned.
"You came!" He said enthusiastically. "I'm so glad."
Paige blushed but walked on down the aisle holding Walter's hand.
The director seemed nice and they all spoke for a minute before they told Paige the pianist had the sheet music they wanted her to perform.
"Do you have a preferred key?" The pianist asked as she walked up on stage with him.
"A flat major, please." Paige smiled at him after reading the song title, "Hopelessly Devoted To You".
Paige took a moment to breathe and hum for a minute. Finally she opened her eyes and looked at the pianist and nodded. As the music started Paige swayed a bit to the beat smiling.
"Guess mine…is not the first…heart broken…" Paige sang as she stared at Walter.
Walter jumped up clapping as Paige finished.
People turned and looked at him even as Paige grinned at him.
"Ah yes, Paige, that was wonderful." The director told her as he looked back at her. "We've already got our leading man. Would you mind reading with him for a moment?"
"Sure." Paige shrugged.
A man stood up from the seats six rows back from center stage. He began walking up onto the stage. Something about him irritated Walter. He seemed older than a normal college student. And from the jacket he was into sports.
"Hey." The man said as he raised his hand to Paige. "I'm Drew, Drew Baker."
Paige smiled as she shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you Drew, Drew Baker." Paige told him.
Drew laughed.
"I think I like you." Drew told her before handing her a sheet with dialogue on it.
Paige looked at the sheet and nodded as she prepared to speak.
"Sandy?" Drew asked excitedly.
"Danny?" Paige responded in happy disbelief.
They read back and forth several times trying different changes the director asked them to perform, for nearly a half hour.
"I think that's enough for tonight. Paige, thank you so much for coming in to try out. We'll be finishing up here tonight and then we have one more round of auditions tomorrow. We'll make our decision and post the results by Monday." The director told her.
"Thanks." Paige said grinning before she handed Drew back the scene sheet. She handed the sheet music back to the pianist as he reached for it. She thanked him before going down to join Walter.
Walter kissed Paige as she joined him and then they grinned as they moved back up the auditorium and out the door.
"What did you think? Be honest." Paige told him as they walked the halls on their way to the SUV.
"I was very impressed. As beautifully as you sang at the wedding I think you outdid yourself." Walter told her.
"Thanks Walter. What about my reading?" Paige asked.
"Well I thought your third time sounded the best to me, so I'm not sure why the director had you try so many other ways." Walter told her.
"Well sometimes the director has an idea for the part and has to hear it in different ways to find the perfect match to their vision." Paige told him while hugging his arm to her.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well!
Susan - Thankfully Walter is willing to discuss it finally. hehe When has Paige not been feisty? lol Hopefully we've seen the last of Becky! Paige definitely wanted too and thanks to Walter's support has gone for it!
Guest - Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it! Simone grinned and said "Thank you." lol Becky didn't really hit on Paige, it happened in chapter 50, Paige's first day at Harvard. Becky was being annoying and Paige told her off. So when Becky decided to be a jerk in class Paige just omitted certain facts from the story to embarrass her. 1986 huh? Gosh, that was the year I transferred from the USS Midway back to the states for training on some new tech before going to my last command post on Point Loma. Good times! lol Glad you enjoyed the ending so much! lol I used to tease the wife because she couldn't remember how long we were married. lol Whenever we were meeting new people and they'd ask her she'd look at me like...uh...well. I'd just roll my eyes and tell her. lol
Pearliegirl - I'll do my best! No promises though! lol
Railman - That is a very good question! One of the first scenes has Danny trying to kiss Sandy! I guess we'll find out in a few chapters! Yep, you guessed right, M was for Merrick. Glad you liked the car chase, I'm going to guess insurance wise it will be an interesting problem fighting with the government. lol
LouBe - Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it so much! hehe Sadly there is no Elizabeth equivalence for this story, can't really say why...Might ruin a side story to "Knight's Tale". lol I thought Katherine was a great addition to the show and would have loved her being in a relationship with someone. But with 6 main characters, 1 regular character that makes it a bit expensive to have her in the show more though they did bring in Florence so...Of course in the Headspace timeline her and Rusty became a couple. Yes, Sen John McCain was involved with a number of committees including the Intelligence committee. He was definitely the most likely candidate to actually do his best to bring this corruption to justice. *spring* Did the tension release? hehe Did you figure out the clue? "*'* ****, **** *****."?
To the Adventure! -Tim