A/N: I've noticed a few new readers to this story, and my stories in general! Welcome! I try to update this story with a new chapter at least every couple days. But I assure you, I will NEVER leave a story unfinished! So, make sure you're following the story or me (or both!) So you'll get updated to new chapters being posted! Welcome, welcome, welcome! I have written quite a few stories over the last few months (my grand return to fanfic writing after a 15 year hiatus), because Scorpion is just that good but needed some TLC to make up for the writers failing our beloved characters sometimes!
Okay, well, onto the next chapter. Sorry if this is seeming super drawn out. You didn't want me to nearly kill Paige, so this is your punishment, you get to die of will they/wont they agony as I play out their entire weekend lol. ;-*
Enjoyyyyy!!!
xoxo
_
"Okay, I'm suing. False advertisement." Walter grimaced, as he spit the offending liquid onto the ground. "Absolutely detestable."
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Paige chided, taking a sip from her cup, instantly having her face turn up in repulsion. "I take it back. I take it all back. That tastes like dirty bath water… or a decomposing body." Taking his cup, she placed both in the garbage receptacle at the edge of the sidewalk. "Terrible."
"Best in the city? Have they been in the city? Best at what? Being offensive to the gustatory cells?"
"Uh, gustatory cells?" She chuckled, looping her arm through his as they made their way back to the car.
"Oh, uh, taste buds."
"Right. Alright, well, that coffee turned out to not be the best addition to the best morning…"
"Uh, no. Certainly not. I'll go lodge a formal complaint!" He started to turn back toward the shop, when Paige's hand on his arm stopped him."
"No, no! No getting banned from establishments this weekend. Even the bad ones." She teased, running her fingers through her hair.
"Noted. I will, uh, make it up to you, though." She felt a pang in her chest, his voice carried so much guilt, and his face looked so embarrassed… and a hint of annoyance at being unable to call out the business for their deception.
"Oh no! Walter, no. You have nothing to make up for. It'll make for a great story one day. In fact…" She, feeling particularly daring, pulled his phone from his front pants pocket, a move that made both of them feel tingly, and his eyes wide and body stiff. "...gotta get a photo, to add to the collection."
He couldn't speak, still too stunned by her hand having slipped into his jean pocket. Simply nodding his head, eyes still wide, lips pulled in and pursed tightly in amusement and bewilderment… and something else.
She moved them over a bit, looking back over her shoulder to align them with the "best coffee" sign, and held out the camera, again, pressing her head close to his, beaming at his awkward expression, and snapping the photo.
He briefly mused how she had her own phone, capable of taking photos as well, currently hanging out of her back pocket, and had to wonder if taking his had an ulterior motive attached. The thought made him strangely giddy.
"I will definitely have to send that one to Ralph, if for no other reason than as a warning. How is this place still in business?"
"Well, everyone gets catfished by the best coffee sign. I mean, you have a 197 IQ and even you fell for it. Their coffee may suck, but got to give them some credit, Walt… solid marketing." She loved teasing Walter, the way his upper lip twitched and his eyes squinted almost imperceptibly in annoyance had her eyes crinkling in delight.
"I concede your point." He felt her slide the phone back into his jean pocket, perhaps lingering a few minutes longer than was even necessary, and then felt the hair on the back on his neck raise in response. To distract himself, he checked his watch. "Our next stop is just about to open. We'll be right on time if we head out. I'll, uh, find us some other coffee on the way."
"Sounds like a plan." She chuckled, again taking his arm, enjoying the way his face reacted to the touch; how his cheeks rose slightly, and his lips curled just enough to give him away, but stayed pressed tightly together to try and hide his joy.
--
"The zoo?! I did not have you pegged as a zoo guy, Walter!" She remarked as they pulled into the vast lot accompanying the animal sanctuary.
"Oh, I enjoy the zoo. Probably not in the same way you do, but it's quite educational. Plus, this zoo participates in quite a few conservation efforts." She smiled as they exited the car, and he claimed her hand as they walked toward the main entrance.
"I have never been to the zoo without a child or a field trip group of kids, in tow, pulling me all over. This is great, Walter. It'll be nice to actually be able to enjoy the experience as an adult."
He had never really thought of that, taking for granted his kid free existence. Paige was not just a single mom, but a sole parent. Every experience, outside of working, had a child or children attached to it. Ralph was spectacular, not like any normal child, but still, a child nevertheless. Paige didn't get a break from that very often, to just be an adult, see the world through adult eyes, not be mom, having to watch out for Ralph's safety, language, emotional well being.
With him here, she could just be Paige.
He had just known she really loved giraffes. He hadn't really thought beyond that.
Releasing her hand, he instead wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to his side, a silent appreciation for all of the sacrifices she made to give her son a good life. She immediately looped her arm across his back, hooking onto his waist with a shy smile.
"I forget sometimes that you don't get to be just you very often. Always being a mom to Ralph first. That must be… challenging."
"Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah. I mean, I'm not complaining. I love being a mom. But, it is nice to get away, let loose a bit. I miss Ralph, but I know he's having fun with Tyler." Walter nodded in understanding, stepping into the short line for tickets. "I am having a really great time with you, Walter. I'm really glad you came. That, um, we get to have this time… together…" She wanted so badly to tell him she knew. Knew their time was limited, but she couldn't. Not yet anyway.
She needed to soak it all in first before it disappeared.
"I'm glad you asked me. I have to admit, I didn't know what to expect with coming, but, uh, I am… pleased… with the time spent together. It's been… enlightening."
She hid her face, her cheeks rosy, looking down to her shoes nervously, a grin pulling tightly on her face.
"It has. It definitely has."
Stepping forward, they came upon the ticket window, a young girl working inside the booth.
"Good morning, what can I get for you today?"
"Uh, two tickets please." Walter asked, quickly scanning the sign on the outside of the booth. "Uh, make that two admission plus tickets."
"Certainly." The girl responded, working the computer.
"What's the plus?" Paige asked Walter, fiddling with her purse.
Without even looking, he pushed her hand away from her purse, handing the girl his credit card. He wouldn't be allowing Paige to pay today. Maybe it wasn't spoken, but this was a date to him, and while he may have failed at a lot of EQ things, his mother and Megan had ensured he knew that if a date meant something, you needed to treat it as such.
"Well, you love giraffes. Now you get to have an up close experience… and feed them."
Her face lit up, eyes wide with excitement.
"You're joking!"
"And you can touch the stingrays!"
"Less cute, but equally fun!" She hugged his arm with what he found to be an oddly childish squeal, that he found fascinating and adorable. "Thank you, Walter. Best dat-- day, ever." She blushed sheepishly at her Freudian slip, again focusing on her shoes, using her fingers to shyly slide some hair behind her ears. Not looking, she missed the look of pure joy that reached his own face at her slip.
"Indeed it is."
Accepting the tickets, and a map from the girl, he held tightly to Paige's hand, making their way through the entrance.
Definitely the best date… day… ever.
"So, is there a Walter O'Brien methodical efficiency plan when exploring the zoo?" She quipped looking at the map, trying to figure out where they were on the colorful page.
"Well, there is. But not today. Today, we go wherever your circulatory muscle leads."
She was floating. She was sure of it. Her feet were no longer on solid ground.
Her circulatory muscle was telling her that she never wanted to leave his side.
"Well, my circulatory muscle is telling me…" She paused to briefly scan around them. "...start with the tortoises, then the wolves and we work it like I do the grocery store, outside first to get all the healthy stuff, then hit the inside aisles for the good stuff."
" That's how you go through the grocery store?" He asked her incredulously with a chuckle.
"Well yeah. You have to get the healthy stuff, so I do that and get it done and over with. Then the rest of the budget and the cart space goes to the junk food. Guilty pleasures. Why, how do you shop?"
"This is probably the only time you'll ever hear me utter these words, but like a normal person? I have a list, I go to the aisles, in sequence, to collect the items I need. In and out. Efficient."
"Well, then you're missing out on the cookie sales in aisle seven if you don't have anything in that aisle on your list. On this front, Walter, I'm happy to be the not normal one. What do you eat when you wake up hungry in the middle of the night?" She teased, walking toward the tortoise enclosure.
"Yogurt. Nuts. Eggs. They're well known for their nutritional value, high fiber, protein and heart healthy fats. Guaranteed to keep you feeling full longer so you can sleep." He answered her rhetorical question with such factual insight, making her laugh.
"Seriously, Walter?! Even half asleep you go with healthy foods? Haven't you ever just wanted to go a little crazy? Do something risky? Eat the cookies? Watch some trash TV? Let your hair down, a little nerds gone wild? Give on to a desire without thinking it through?" She snickered, laughing at the way his face twisted up, deep in thought at her question.
"I did do that once. But, uh, I ended up thinking too quickly and ruined it." He was speaking to but not looking at her, focused on reading the tortoise signage.
"You ate cookies and ruined the moment?" She asked, confused by his admission.
"No… I kissed you." He dropped it, and immediately walked over toward the wolf enclosure, leaving a stunned, and amused, Paige in his wake, crouching down, just petting a tortoise, its head happily enjoying the strokes of her hand, nuzzling against her.
"Did you hear that? Cause I'm pretty sure I heard that. That man, he's going to be the death of me. Yes, yes he is. I bet you're not cryptic like that with your shelled lady friends, huh? No, you probably tell them flat out what you're thinking, don't you? Yeah, good boy. Some mystery is nice though. Don't give it all away…" She paused looking at the sign with a smile, and back down to her new friend. "...Franklin. Really? They named you Franklin? And your wife is Shelly? What do they have 3rd graders naming you? Sorry, you're right, those are perfectly fine names. Okay, well, it's been a pleasure talking with you, but I should probably go back to my frie…boyfr…collea… my whatever he is. Should probably find a way to kiss him, huh? Alright. Thanks for the encouragement, Frankie. Have a great day buddy." She didn't see Walter lurking just out of sight, watching her converse with a tortoise, laughing to himself at how spectacular she was, and taking a photo of her and her new friend.
Paige can even bridge the gap between humans and animals.
As she stood and began to exit the enclosure, he turned, feigning deep interest in the wolves.
"Do you think the wolves want to eat my new friend, Frankie?" She asked as she came up behind him.
"I think he is probably safe."
She slipped her hand back into his, giving him a knowing smile that said she wouldn't pester him about his admission, but that it was being filed away as part of the Walter puzzle.
"Good." A wolf approached the fencing just before them. "Wow. I've never seen a wolf up close before. He's beautiful."
"Back in Ireland, there are no wolves any longer." She looked up in disbelief. "They went extinct in the late 1700s. Back home, the word for wolf is Mac Tíre which means son of the land, or, alternatively, Faoil and Cú Allaidh which translates to wild dog." She attempted to mouth the words that he had just so effortlessly rolled off his tongue, commit them to memory, never before hearing him speak with that irish brogue, and enjoying it immensely. He sounded so different, a confidence that was shrouded by a meagerness which was so not Walter. "There's actually a lot of lore surrounding wolves in Irish culture. Prior to Christianity becoming widespread in Ireland, the wolf was revered as protectors, guides, noted for their bravery and loyalty. They were even believed to be able to communicate with the dead, and act as an intermediary between the world of the living and that of the dead. They were seen as a powerful symbol of the moon, assigning symbolism to it for transformation and intuition. With Christianity arriving to the lands, however, the wolf turned into a symbol of evil and darkness." She was listening so intently, enjoying this out-of-pocket celtic history lesson, always so fascinated by the somewhat random wealth of knowledge Walter possessed. "As someone who has demonstrated a belief in the Bible and God, I'm sure you're aware that the Bible's description of wolves being that of a destroyer, a predator, an evil being, and as such the way society viewed the animal changed with Christianity at the forefront, taking them down from brave and loyal protector, to evil predators, and by the Middle Ages, they were viewed as symbols of the Devil himself, being feared by the villagers. Stories of their evil spread amongst the land. Because of the fear, they were hunted ruthlessly, and by the end of the 17th century, they had gone extinct in Ireland, along with their history in Irish folklore and mythology. The stories barely surviving down the family lines." He wrapped up his lesson, giving her a simple small smile and nod. Education time complete.
When he looked over at her, he was confused by the welling of tears in her eyes, as she locked sights with the animal just a few feet ahead of them, which seemed to have taken an interest in Paige.
Not that he could blame the beast. He would stare at her all day if he could, too.
" Wow. I didn't know any of that. It's rather sad, actually. Such a majestic animal, just wiped out like that."
Paige, this woman who had turned his world upside down from that very first moment, was sad. Saddened and processing grief over the persecution of an animal hundreds, if not a thousand, years ago. Grieving the lives lost, the misunderstood treatment, the end of a species. Real tears of sadness in her eyes.
In his mind's eye, it was long ago, just stories, no actual connection. Animals.
She saw it as beings in despair.
She was different.
"I suppose I hadn't really thought about it in that way before." He had that dopey look, like the thought was stewing in his mind, his EQ rattling it around, before finally settling his eyes on the large furry canine, wondering if it could understand the words they were speaking, could sense the sudden turmoil and empathy for its kind being exuded from Paige, if some type of connection were being made. Paige had changed him in so many ways, but he found this to be the most prevalent. Because of her, he thought differently. He saw other perspectives, or at least tried to. Even if that perspective was that of an animal at the zoo.
"Do you know any of the stories? The uh, legends?"
"Oh, um… Not well. I never really bought into them much. Didn't really give them any brain space. My parents would tell us the stories as children mostly to keep us from wandering too far from the farm, getting into trouble. Afraid the Wolfman would get us."
"I definitely cannot picture little Walter being afraid of a wolf monster…" Her giggle made him smile.
"Uh, no. But Megan was terrified of it." He chuckled at the memory. "Right around the same time she was going through a rebellious streak, sneaking out all the time, some animal attacked the cattle, killed one, just gutted the thing. Of course, Megan believed it was this wolf-like creature from the stories. My parents did not correct her, completely ran with it. My father would even go out into the fields late at night making these horrendous noises just to scare her. She was hysterical. Didn't sleep for weeks. But, she did stop sneaking out at night." He let out a laugh, shaking his mind free of the memory.
"That is both funny and cruel. Poor Megan."
"She would have been able to tell you all of the lore. She knew all of that by heart. She believed in all of it. Magic, ghosts, myths and legends."
"Well, I think she got you to believe in some things you couldn't explain." She pried, hoping to get him to make another confession.
"Yeah, she did do that." With a rosy smile, he eyed her over, pulling her close into his side once more, eager for that touch again. How he wished Megan could see this, see how much he had changed, opened up… loved.
For now, that would do in terms of confessional, and she proudly wrapped her arm around his back, taking one last longing look at the wolf who hadn't broken its gaze on her. The thought of Walter, being brave, loyal, protective, just like the wolf, but becoming so misunderstood by society to be feared and cast out, the similarities struck her and pulled at her heart. Her very own Irish mythical being. Her wolf.
Maybe she didn't know what tricks, if any, he had up his sleeve, but she knew with absolute certainty, that just like a wolf to its pack, he would protect her, be loyal to her, be unbelievably brave… and maybe shred her grandmother to pieces.
Her wolf in nerdy armor.