A/N: Sorry guys, we've had the plague cycling through the house, and I got hit with major writers block. I'm really struggle bussing with this story! But heres the next installment!! And thankfully my stubborness is greater than my writer's block!

Enjoy! xoxoxo

"Uh, 27… right there." He motioned to the door with his free hand, and she was sure she could feel his heart racing through the hand that held hers.

"Home sweet home." It may have been the wine, but she found herself leaning into the arm she held of his, strong, muscled, warm, one hand clasping the hand attached, the other fiercely gripping his bicep, as if it were her only source of survival. It was definitely the wine that had made climbing the stairs feel like climbing a filing cabinet with its drawers extended, careful to not fall into the drawers or tip it over. His grasp had actually been life saving there.

To anyone walking by they would look like a normal couple who had had a little too much fun, eagerly sauntering back to their room, to likely engage in more… fun. The idea excited her. However wrong it may be, the idea of hastily crashing through a hotel room door, unable to break away from Walter's lips, his body, and he from hers, falling in a heap onto the soft hotel bed, only to spend the late night hours in sensual deep exploration of each other… Well, that idea was at the forefront of her mind, and she did not mind one bit. The question of whether he was thinking anything similar also swirled around her tipsy mind. She was used to fantasizing about her Knight in Brainy Armor, but, having him so close, breathing him in, the way he'd been looking at her and touching her all night igniting all of her senses, how close they'd come downstairs to kissing, and now standing in front of that wooden door that separated them from that thought, well, it was making that fantasy feel very… not so far fetched. Especially when Walter collected the key from his pocket, nearly dropping it from his hand shaking and fumbling about so much.

He was nervous.

Very nervous.

It only served to excite her more.

197 IQ, can diffuse a bomb with seconds to spare, work out the most complex formulas in milliseconds, hit a billionaire tech mogul in the head with a laptop, jump off buildings, but working a very basic hotel keycard was seemingly the most complicated process he'd ever come across.

Oh, this was fun.

The aroma of her lavender lotion was assaulting his senses, the warmth of her body pressing against his arm, her chin on his shoulder, her breath hot and shaky in his ear… the memory of having been so close to kissing her just minutes prior… it was making it all a little too hard to focus. A key card. That's it. Put it in the slot and that's it. Very simple. He had done it thousands of times. And yet…

All he could think about was pushing her up against that door and kissing every inch of her body. Become so close to her that her scent and his scent no longer had individual meanings, merging together.

Down the hall they could hear female giggles, and a male voice whispering, and then spotted Sasha, with one of Michael's friends. It didn't take long to figure out what was about to happen with them, particularly when he lifted her onto a small decorative table with a mirror hanging on the wall above it, his lips finding their way to her neck. Walter welcomed the distraction, trying to compose himself long enough to open the door.

"That could have been you, Walt." Paige whispered suggestively, and he dropped the keycard, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. He had to question if she meant with Sasha, or with her.

Retrieving the card from the floor as quickly as he could, he worked the lock, pushing the door open to reveal a pitch black room, before locking eyes with Paige.

"It's like I said… Too bad that I'm not interested… in her." How strongly he wanted to close the distance between them. How many times had he stood so close to her, wanting to kiss her and failing to do so?

His eyes were so intense staring at her, like she was on a slide and he was looking at her under a microscope, studying her, memorizing her every feature. The way Walter O'Brien looked at her was unbridled, and unlike anything else. No one on the planet could look at her the way he did, which both made her weak in the knees and desperate for his love, but also insufferably uneasy because if she lost that gaze, she'd spend the rest of her life missing it, comparing every love interest to that intensity.

She knew without a doubt no one would ever measure up.

"Well, what else could you have said? You were keeping up the ruse." She was questioning, apprehensive, he knew it, trying to ascertain some directness out of this very confusing situation, both of them having said so many things under the guise of their faux relationship. Her eyes flicked back and forth between his, mere inches away, making it hard to focus. Her fruity breath once again heavy, mingling with his own.

"There is a ruse, yes… doesn't mean everything is false. Doesn't mean any of it is." His eyes held hers with such gravity, his hand tightening its grip on hers, gentle but powerful. He felt her breath shudder and afraid of losing control, he stepped away with a smile. "You have had a lot to drink… you, uh, should get some rest. And I uh, should really shower off the scent of arrogance."

Her mind was spinning. Again, partly due to the vast amount of alcohol she had consumed, but also greatly due to this captivating man who never stopped making her feel like she was dreaming. And there was the whole idea of him being in the shower…

This was going to be a LONG night.

She wanted to feel disappointed that once again he was backing away, but she understood him in ways that no one else ever could. She respected him for it. He was not a man to rush into things, unless it was a case and the rushing in was a completely insane, dangerous, suicide mission, in which case he was all about rushing in. But not with her. With her, he would analyze every moment, and wouldn't take that leap until he was certain of the outcome.

With a coy smile, she trailed her fingers down his chest, delighting in the panicked, yet excited, look that struck his features before entering the room, her arm being pulled back a bit as she moved forward due to his failure to move from his spot, too busy being transfixed watching her. Throwing a smirk over her shoulder, she broke him free of his thought, at least enough to move his feet forward into the dark room.

Letting the door close behind them, they were suddenly entombed in darkness, as Paige felt around for a switch. Though, part of her wished to remain in the dark, give in to her desires with him, without the fear of seeing his face as she did.

"Ahh, here we go." With a flick, the warm light illuminated the room. She froze, looking into the large, expansive room, filled with so many tuscan elements. "Oh boy."

Walter finally caught up to her back, still holding her hand, and he, too, froze, his expression matching hers.

"Well, that's a hiccup."

The room was beautifully designed and laid out, from the wall decor, to the exposed stone wall, to the open wood beams on the vaulted ceiling, to the color schemes of warm earth tones, yellows and reds, to the black wrought iron windows and balcony door… to the black wrought iron canopy bed.

The one wrought iron canopy bed.

"Uhhhh. Walter, I swear I did not know this." Paige stated adamantly, a million thoughts scrambling through her head.

"No, no… I uh, did not… either." He echoed, as they both stood helplessly at the edge of the room staring blankly at the bed. Their bags neatly placed on the suitcase stand at the foot of the bed. Fresh cut flowers on one of the end tables, while an ice bucket with bottle of champagne neatly tucked into it was placed on the other. The warm lights, casting an almost orange hue to the room only served to further compliment the Tuscan design.

"Uhhh…" She started, her mouth opening to say… something… but coming up blank.

"It's fine, Paige. I'll uh, I'll just sleep on the floor. It's not a big deal." Walter offered, seemingly unaware that he was rubbing her hand with his thumb in comfort.

His words caused a knee jerk reaction and she immediately swung around to face him, their proximity closer than she intended, but she wasn't about to step back. Veronica didn't raise no quitter.

"You will do no such thing, Walter. You are not sleeping on the floor. It's fine. We are both adults, we can share a bed. It's not a big deal. Haven't you ever had a sleepover before?" She echoed his words, more forcefully than he had. She couldn't deny the electricity coursing through her veins at the mere thought of sharing a bed with Walter, but it also came with some serious nerves. His face reminded her that he didn't have friends growing up. "Right. Well. Nevertheless. It will be fine. It will be fun even. We can… umm… watch a movie and eat popcorn or whatever… I'd say braid each other's hair, but that was definitely not a sleepover you would have had… anyway… it will be fine."

"Uh, right. Yeah, um, okay." She was so close to him again. All he could do was swallow to keep from leaning forward, capturing her lips and sharing that bed for something completely lacking any sleep. Megan used to have sleepovers. Not exactly how he envisioned sleeping with Paige. But… They did stay up all night.

"Yeah…" Her best attempt at not sounding squeaky was not as successful as she'd hope, matching his loud swallow, eyes locked into his chestnut orbs, swirling with… Something. Oh how she wanted that something.

His thoughts were getting the better of him, her nearness, her wide doe like eyes, the rapid beating of his heart, the warmth coming off of her. It was too much. He had jumped off buildings, down elevator shafts, from weather balloons, fallen from space, been blown up… but the adrenaline rush from those had nothing on the levels pumping through every corner of his body standing in front of her, in the privacy of their room, with their bed just feet away, with a hungered look in her eyes, knowing how close they had been getting all night. Nothing.

She had been drinking.

It wasn't right.

"Right…" He stepped back, dropping her hand, running his hand through his hair. Her playful smirk rendering his IQ absolutely useless. "Okay, I am going… to uh, shower. Yes. Shower." He slowly backed up toward the suitcase stand, never breaking his eyes from her, crashing into it, to which she chuckled.

"Walter…?" She stepped forward slowly, and he had a flash to that day in the loft when she taught him to flirt, the way she had stepped toward him so tantalizingly, running her fingers down his biceps, to settle on his forearms.

With a gulp, he responded.

"Y-yes?" Like her, his voice was abnormally high pitched.

She knew she was messing with him, she could see the fear and excitement in his eyes, how rigidly he was holding himself, how careful he was to not shift his eyes. He may struggle with EQ, but she didn't, and she knew exactly the effect she was having on him.

And she liked it.

But, she knew the type of man Walter was, and with her having been drinking and even overly emotional, if anything were to happen, she knew he would feel as though he took advantage of her. That was not how she wanted to start something with him.

She stepped beyond him, releasing his arms and opened her suitcase.

"Do you mind if I just use the bathroom to change, brush my teeth? Before you shower?" She flashed an innocent grin at him, playing off his nerves and she could see the gears turning in his complex mind.

"Oh, uh, yeah, yes. Of course. Whatever you, uh, need." This woman was going to be the death of him.

Grabbing a few things from her case, she flashed a devilish smile at him and disappeared into the attached bathroom, closing the door and resting her back against it as it closed, trying to gain control of herself, much like that first time he had kissed her and she had rushed out of the garage. The effect this man had on her was exhilarating and terrifying.

Walter stood, frozen to the floor, staring at the bathroom door, struggling to get his brain to catch up. Like when the audio and video of a film weren't syncing up. How he was going to sleep in a bed next to her when he couldn't even stand in her presence was beyond him. It was a good thing he didn't require much sleep, or he would be a walking zombie all weekend. He worried for her with how much alcohol she had consumed. She was not drunk, he was certain of that, but she was also not sober either, rather a tipsy fun in between. Opening his duffle bag, he pulled out a bottle of Gatorade and some Tylenol, suggestions from Toby, having anticipated Paige to 'get liquored up to avoid facing her family demons'. He placed the Tylenol and Gatorade on the end table by the flowers for her, and gathered his toiletries to shower, quickly checking his phone, which he hadn't looked at since they had left the garage.

Cabe:

Ralph is at Tyler's. Paige didn't answer her phone. Have a great weekend, kid. Take care of our girl.

He quickly responded:

'Thanks for the update. Sorry, we haven't checked phones. Will make sure Paige knows about Ralph. First night was an interesting experience.'

Going to his next notification, he smiled.

Ralph:

Hey Walt. Mom's not answering. Just letting her know I'm safe at Tyler's as promised. Hope you guys have fun together. I would say to tell everyone I say hello, but I don't, and mom says I shouldn't lie. I know mom tells you to be nice and all, but maybe don't? She will try to be nice, but they won't. So, tell them they're wrong and my mom is awesome and better than all of them.

He chuckled. There was only one person that loved Paige more than he did, and that was Ralph.

' Hey bud, I'll make sure your mom knows you're safe with Tyler. Doing my best to make sure they know just how special your mom is and to protect her from the vultures. Enjoy your weekend with Tyler, make sure you show him your new AI bot. Ice cream when we get back?'

He hit send and couldn't suppress the smile that conversing with Ralph always brought him. No one other than Paige loved that boy more than he did. And, maybe if he played his cards right, they could all get ice cream together regularly… as a family.

He heard the tap turn on in the bathroom, and knew she wouldn't be long. She had only been behind the door for a couple of minutes and yet, he found himself missing her. The evening, while exhausting, had gone better than he had expected, though he was worried for her with still two full days to go, both for her being able to keep up her resolve around their constant demeaning nature, and for her liver if she was going to keep embracing their demeaning nature by chugging glasses of expensive wine. She deserved so much better than the way they treated her. It bothered him in ways he didn't understand. He understood now why she had been so private about her family. Her issues with her mother, the complexity of their relationship, the loss of her father… he thought he had had it all figured out, but being here was like opening Pandora's box. He could picture little Paige, an innocent child, traumatized enough by her mothers nefarious actions, not understanding it, and then to be further humiliated and ostracized by the family meant to protect and support you. The only person she spoke so purely about was her father, and when he passed she had no one until Ralph. It's no wonder she kept up her armor, was afraid to trust that people could love her, support her, and stay. He himself had been terrible at proving that to her. He would find a way to tell her. Tell her she was safe with him.

The clicking of the door knob grabbed his attention from where he was perched on the edge of an armchair, and he looked up just as a bare leg slipped across the threshold.

Gulp.

Paige Dineen, woman of his dreams, clad in tiny sleep shorts and a tank top, legs for days, tanned and toned, and while he would resist the urge to look closer, he was fairly certain that she was no longer wearing a bra. Her makeup had been removed and she looked so beautiful, so natural, so… relaxed. She flipped off the bathroom light before noticing his staring, her lips curving slightly and eyes averting.

"Uh, thanks Walt. Bathroom is all yours." She walked right past him as she went back to her suitcase, and hid her smirk as she watched his eyes follow her and look her up and down.

He internally smacked himself for so blatantly checking her out, and redirected his line of sight to the bedside table.

"Oh. Yeah. Of course. Ummm. There's some Tylenol and a Gatorade over there, to hopefully avoid a hangover tomorrow." She flashed him a sweet smile and he felt his insides turning to butter.

"Thank you. Wait, were you expecting me to get hammered?" She chuckled as she retrieved the pills and bottled hydration.

"Uh, No, but Toby was. I figured it was best if I were prepared though in case he was right. Save you from the discomfort… cause from discomfort. This is all very confusing." He shrugged innocently.

"That's really sweet, Walt. Thank you."

"Oh, I got a message from Cabe and Ralph. They tried to get ahold of you--" She looked instantly fearful. "--no, no. They're fine. They were just letting you know Ralph was at Tyler's, no issues."

"Oh, good. That will be good for him. He would hate being here."

"Yeah he said to make sure we don't say that he says hi." He laughed and she shook her head in amusement.

"I do make it a point to tell him no lying." She giggled, sucking down some Gatorade.

"He also mentioned that, yes." Walter stood, coming up beside Paige. "Are you feeling okay? It was a… difficult evening for you, and you drank your fair share of the open bar…" She gave him an incredulous look and he threw his hands up in a playful defense. "No judgment. It was actually a little impressive given your size. I was expecting I would have to carry you to bed." Her eyebrows rose, and her lips pursed so quickly he was not sure it even happened, but it did… He was not going to clarify his statement however.

"Well, rich people enjoy their money almost as much as they enjoy their booze. I can hold my liquor like the best of them. Never really mastered the whole money thing though. I'm… okay. I won't deny that it was taxing being around them all, hearing all of their passive aggressive opinions of me. Having you there was really helpful, Walter. When I started to believe them, all I had to do was look at you to know who I am, and it's far from who they think I am. You kept me grounded. Had you not been here, I would have probably drank myself into a coma!"

He smirked, and with absolutely no control, clearly being controlled by an outside force, his hand rose to gently trail down her bare upper arm.

"Well, I am not going anywhere. So, maybe tomorrow, a little less wine?" She couldn't be sure, but his question felt like it had multiple questions packed in.

Showing a boldness she didn't actually possess (thank you wine), she let her hand softly caress the side of his cheek, before stepping up onto her tip toes and placing a gentle, lingering, and packed with meaning kiss to his cheek, resting her forehead against his temple and speaking in a quiet whisper.

"No wine tomorrow. I've got you."

His body was sizzling from his scalp to his toes, he felt like a skillet full of fajitas. Her touch was instantly missed as she pulled away, moving to her suitcase to grab her phone charger.

"Okay…" He was grinning. Cheshire cat grinning. He grabbed his toiletry bag and walked off to the bathroom.

Paige exhaled as soon as she heard the door latch. Her body felt so anxious around him. She needed sleep, and sobriety. She was a fool to have drank so much, but between Walter kissing her every time they spoke to any member of her family, and all the comments about her from them all night, it seemed the only logical solution.

Logical.

She spent way too much time with Walter. She made quick work of emptying her suitcase into the dresser, hanging her dress for the wedding in the elegant wardrobe, and stowing her suitcase beside the dresser. After quickly reading through her phone notifications, responding a quick 'thank you' to Cabe, and an 'I love you, be good!' to Ralph, she put her phone away to charge on the dresser, wanting desperately to lay down. She felt weird though. What if Walter had a preferred side of the bed? She didn't care, she usually ended up diagonal in her bed. What if Walter also slept diagonally?

Or stored.

No, she had slept with him, on planes, and in the weird places Homeland would secure, even in tents on the roof. He did not snore. Sylvester did, but not Walter.

What if she snored? Oh no. No one had ever told her she did, but she also didn't have many people sharing her bed either. Tim wouldn't have told her, too polite. Drew never had, but most nights he came home drunk and passed out, or slept on the couch because they were fighting, and that was a decade ago. Surely, Toby would have commented if she had scored on a trip. Happy would have made some comment, right?

She was going to drive herself insane.

Cautiously, she approached the bathroom door, hearing the faucet, but not the shower yet. With a sigh, she gently tapped on the door nervously.

"Uh Walter? Sorry to bother you…"

The door flung open, which she did not expect, and Walter, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, bare chested in nothing but boxers stood, looking frantic.

"Are you going to throw up?" He asked, around the toothbrush, stepping aside for her, and with so much worry in his eyes.

She couldn't love him more if she tried.

"Oh! No. Oh, Walter. You… no, I'm fine. I'm sorry for worrying you. I was going to go to bed, but I wasn't sure if you had a preferred side of the bed? It's weird to ask you that but I didn't want you to be uncomfortable." She was wringing her fingers opened and closed, shifting foot to foot, trying desperately not to stare at, or touch, Walter's abdomen. He wasn't a chiseled gym buff, but he was strong, muscled, took excellent care of himself, and it showed.

"Hmm?" He looked at her clearly unsure what she meant and she couldn't help but question if he had ever shared a bed with a woman for more than a night or two to even develop that side of bed ritual. "Uh. No… I don't. Um, perhaps being closer to the bathroom would be best for you in the event you do become nauseous though."

Always thinking of her.

Swoon.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Okay. Um, I'll leave you to it then." Her words were wording, but her feet weren't feeting.

"Was there something else…?" His lips curved into a side smirk at how nervous she clearly was.

"Okay, just be honest, okay?"

His heart started racing impossible fast.

Here it comes.

Does he love her? Is what he said all night true? Does he want to kiss her? Did he actually feel something when he did kiss her? Does he want her? Does he want her right now? Did he actually want to sleep with Sasha?

The possibilities were endless.

Whatever the case, he would be honest.

"Okay… you have my word. Honesty."

She took a deep breath, and with a shaky voice rushed out her question.

"Do I snore?"

What.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Snore? What was happening. This didn't even make the list of possibilities.

"Snore. Do I snore? As you so tactfully pointed out earlier, we have slept together a number of times, and I'm wondering if I… snore."

"Uh…"

"Honesty. You promised."

He felt his ears rise with his smile. He had seen everything now. Paige insecure about snoring was one for the books.

"Nooo. You do not snore. Not that I have ever noticed, anyway. And you don't have any obvious markets for someone that would, you're not a smoker, not… typically… a drinker, you don't have apnea, you're not overweight, and from what I can tell, you appear to have a normal septum." The look of pure relief on her face was worth all of the scrutiny he'd received from her family.

"Oh thank God." She could breathe now. And hopefully sleep a little. "Okay, now I'll leave you to it. I'm going to go to bed. I set up a phone charger with two cords on the dresser if you want to plug yours in as well. And thank you, again, for everything tonight, this weekend. Being you. Doing all of this for me. It means more than you know." She wanted to kiss him again.

"Happy to be here. It's been a fascinating journey thus far. I am eager to see it through." He said, his eyes playful in their meaning.

"Yeah, me too." She shot back, running her hand over his bare chest, sending a shiver down his spine. " Goodnight, babe."

He chuckled.

"Goodnight, dearest. Get some rest. I'll try to be quiet."

And with that, she left him, and climbed into the luxurious bed that felt like sleeping on a cloud, so easily falling into slumber.

She didn't hear Walter after his shower shuffling through the room, didn't hear or feel him as he climbed ever so carefully into the bed, albeit very stiffly, didn't hear him whisper asking if she were awake, didn't feel him as he gently stroked her hair and placed a kiss to her head, and didn't see the smile he had plastered to his face as he laid back, arms under his head on the pillow, and he too gave into the realms of sleep.

No, she didn't hear it, or feel it, not in the conventional sense anyway. But she slept more soundly than she ever had, a feeling of safety and security just knowing he was there overwhelming her, even in the deepest reaches of sleep.

Tonight she would sleep. And sleep well.