Paige watched Ralph running towards the garage , looking happier than he had for more than four weeks . Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was again murmuring " What have i done . "

Even once the garage door shut , she just sat straight up in the drivers seat stare[ng at the garage door .

Ralph was standing just inside the door shouting . " Walter, Walter . "

Walter was up in the loft packing boxes with items he intended to ship back to Ireland , there was not much but what there was had a lot of meaning to him . As he heard his name , he recognized it as Ralph , whatever he had in his hand he dropped it immediately and ran to the loft door and shouted . " Ralph . "

"DAD . "

Walter took the stairs that fast , as he reached the bottom the momentum he created he had almost reached his desk before he could stop himself . Ralph ran up to him and almost knocked him over as he flung himself at him and hugged him tight .

" Ralph it is so good to see you . Does your Mom know you are here ? " Walter asked his voice full of emotion . "

Ralph did not answer but Walter felt his head move in a nod against his own body . After a few minutes Ralph released Walter . " I don't know what is going on i have not spoken much to anyone since you and mom broke up . Mom just plcked me up from school and bought me straight here then she told me to come and see you , she was going to stay in the car . "

Walter gave him a smile . " I saw them all at a bid this morning , were i gave them a copy of a letter Florence had written to me . "

Ralph looked shocked . " Is she still trying to get in your bed ? "

Walter had to choke back a laugh . " Not at all it was a confession that she was working on behalf of Tim Armstrong , her cousin , to split up your mom and me , the break up of Scorpion was just a bonus to them . "

" Have you done anything on line to get back at them . " Ralph asked through gritted teeth .

All Walter did was to nod his head and simply said . " Enough . "

Ralph leaned over and hugged Walter again . " What are you going to do now ? The garage looks so empty . "

Walter returned the hug and did not speak for a minute . " I intend to move back to Ireland next week , the Cyclone Is Broken . "

" What about ME , what about MOM ? " Ralph asked as tears began to run down his cheeks .

" Well since your mom stayed in the car , i assumed she still did not want anything more to do with me . " A sad voiced Walter answered .

" ARE YOU KIDDING ME . Every night since the break up , i have heard her cry herself to sleep . after drinking one ,sometimes two bottles of wine and she is not eating . You must have noticed the weight she as lost . " Ralph explained in a clear and concise manner .

Walter released Ralph from the hug and sat down on the sofa , he pushed his hands through his hair , took a deep breath before speaking to Ralph , who by now had joined him on the sofa .

" But i sent multiple texts and E-Mails . I left a number of voice mails before i saw them all at the Gettleman bid , it was then i assumed they all wanted nothing to do with me , so i stopped trying to contact anyone again . Then also as you had not tried to make any contact with me , i also assumed you felt the same as your mom . "

Ralph turned to face Walter , tears rolling down his cheeks . " At first i was mad at you , probably even more than when you let her go before , after you had been in that Mars habitat . But about a week after you broke up , the other three traitors were over at our condo , discussing the plans about putting in a bid for the Gettleman job . Toby was the one pushing everyone to do it.

Mom was putting up most objections saying she had calmed down enough to go over and talk to you , as she only walked out because Sly had and that once the other three had driven off in Happy's pickup truck . She had stayed sitting in her car staring at the garage door , wishing , hoping and praying you would come through it . After a hour she finally left and spent the night crying .

I had been dropped off the next day by Daniel's mom . I found mom sitting on the sofa , it was only 9.30am but she was already drinking wine when i asked what was wrong and she told me she had walked out on you and you had not even tried to follow her . This is what made me so mad at you and when mom banned me from contacting you i was alright about it .

But going back to what i was saying before when the traitors turned up about the bid . Toby managed to turn what mom had said into a negative , by telling her she had humiliated you in front of everyone . which had happened also during the Mars habitat . He was so quick to point out that big brain did not take well to be humiliated or shamed in front of people , there was less then 0.01% you would ever accept her back and i am sure at every opportunity he had he kept reinforcing this as a form of brainwashing .

It was then i stopped speaking to everyone , because i missed you so much . But mom still would not allow me to contact you . I bet she is sitting in the car right now , wishing , hoping and praying you will go out the door now to see her . "

By the time Ralph had finished speaking tears were running down Walter's cheeks . " Do you really think that ? " Walter asked .

" NO! I am certain of it , now go and walk out the door and put a smile back on to mom's face , the first one since she walked out on you , In fact a double scoop promise that is what will happen . What are you waiting for . " Ralph said as he pushed Walter to get off the sofa .

Walter put up some resistance before standing up , he turned to face Ralph . " I still do not know if i can , i cannot go through what i have over the past four weeks again . Now that Scorpion is broken , i cannot make enough money to cover the repayments on the loan i got from the bank for Cabe's bail and then gave it to Toby and Happy for their fertility treatment . So i have to sign the garage over to the bank , they will then sell it to get the money back . So if i have to find new accommodation i may as well go back to Ireland , even though my parents have already told me i cannot stay with them . "

Ralph quickly spoke . " You can come and live with mom and me . "

Walter gave him a half smile . " I some how do not think your mom would welcome me back with open arms . She told me i did not satisfy her , and i had an EQ of a sixteen year old boy . "

Ralph hugged Walter . " She was just mad at you that night , but i know for certain she is still in love with you and despite some of your short comings on the EQ side , you are the love of her life and i know for certain she is the love of your life . Now go out to the car and invite her into the garage . I will go and sit in the car until one of you fetch me . "

" Ok , you win . " Walter ruffled Ralph's hair before turning and making his way to the door .

He reached the door and stood there for almost a minute , his hand outstretched towards the door handle . Eventually he turned the handle and opened the door and stepped out into the open air , he had kept his head down as he walked out of the door . He slowly raised his head and saw Paige's car in her old parking space , due to the sun he could not see Paige through the windscreen .

Paige had still been staring at the garage door , as she saw the door opening , her heart rate speeded up , so much she thought for a moment it would come straight out of her chest . A small smile appeared on her face as she saw him standing there , he looked so forlorn , even though he had come though the door , it seemed he could not move any further . What had she done to this man , the saviour of both Ralph and herself who both had fallen in love with the nerd .

She knew despite what Toby had been telling her , she had to try and get him back into her and Ralph's lives . She quickly got out the car , locked it and ran over the carpark towards Walter as she got close enough she put her arms out and put them around Walter and pulled him into a hug , which to her surprise he returned it . Neither said a word for five minutes . Then as if they had never been apart they said together , " I am sorry . "

Once they both released the hug and stood back , both had tears running down their cheeks . Walter looked at Paige and reached up and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his fingers .

" Maybe we should go inside , it will be a bit more private . " Walter said by now a smile had appeared on his face .

" Ok , I would like that . " Paige replied her face also now having a smile on it .

Ralph heard the door opening so he got up of the sofa he was using and walked towards the door . Paige and Walter walked through the door , Paige first closely followed by Walter .Ralph ran up to his mom and gave her a hug the first time in four weeks .

" I will go and sit in the car for a while , so you two can talk . " Ralph told them .

" NO! " Walter almost shouted . " I have missed both of you so much over the past four weeks , i do not want to loose either of you for even one minute . "

By now all three had tears rolling down their cheeks . They stood in the same place for almost ten minutes , just feeling all their own body heat mingling into one , or maybe it was actually love spreading through their bodies .

They eventually broke apart , Walter led Paige and Ralph to the stairs that went up to the loft . " You will have to excuse the mess , i am packing up ready to leave . "

Paige stopped dead in her tracks . " You cannot leave , i need you back in both of our lives . I should never have walked out on you , i should have waited until we were alone and told you what i was feeling and listened to your reasoning to what was really the matter . The letter i read today cut me to a core , to think that monster Armstrong planned it all , after threating you not to tell me how you felt about me , when i went to Tahoe , then to get him to use his cousin to carry it out . I know now i should never have listened to Toby when you were recovering from your free fall from the rocket , i told you i loved you as well when you told me you loved me . But Toby insisted it would be bad for you . I meant it when i said i loved you then , but i could not be certain you really loved me , due to your lack of oxygen .

I will tell you now i love you and i want you back in my life foe ever . I was a fool then and an even bigger fool four weeks ago . Walter you are the love of my life , you are the best person possible to be a father to Ralph , , than anyone else in the world . Will you Marry Me ? "

Walter was silent for a couple of minutes , analysing all that Paige had just said . Eventually after giving a big sigh he simply said. " NO . "'

Paige's face dropped even more and tears rolled down her cheeks , Ralph was to shocked to even speak .

As he had been talking he pulled a small black box out of his pants pocket , then suddenly went down on one knee . " I will only marry you if you will marry me . " He told her as he opened the box to expose a solitaire diamond cut marquise style ring .

This time it was Paige's turn to keep quiet , all she could manage as she held her left hand out so Walter could slip it on her finger , as he did Paige managed a quiet . " Yes. "

Walter got up and pulled Paige into a hug which she was more than happy to return . After a couple of minutes Ralph joined in the hug . Eventually they all broke the hug , by now the three of them had smiles on their faces .

Walter was first to speak . " Four weeks ago i never thought i would ever get the chance to use it , i am so glad i did not take it back . "

Paige could not resist , she had to kiss Walter , which Walter was only to happy to return .

Once they broke the kiss , Paige asked . " Are you still going to leave America , or will you be settling down here ? "

Walter a smile on his face replied . " Well you have a job at Centipede Partners , i could ask Richard if he has an opening for me . "

Paige took a little time to answer . " I had a job at Centipede Partners , after today i do not want to hear that name again . "

" What about the others ? " Walter asked .

" I think i would rather go back to being a waitress than work with them another day . I can see why you ran Scorpion the way you did . It started as a partnership , but it quickly became a Toby run concern because he would charm Happy and bully Sly to his way of thinking and vote that way . Then he would do very little work , as most of the jobs we did were for coding or mechanical , all he wanted to do was beat you at any bid by insisting we always bid a lot lower than we knew your bid would be . Even today he attempted to stop me from speaking to you , that was until i knocked him on his butt with a left hand punch . "

Walter laughed . " That must have been after he had been punched in the stomach by Happy ,that i saw her do in my rear view mirror as i left the carpark . "

At that all three began to laugh .

" Lets go up to the loft you can have a chance to tidy yourself up and change your clothes if you like . The items you left behind that night , i could not bring it on myself to get rid of them . There are some of yours up there to Ralph . "

All three made their way up to the loft . Paige went to the bathroom to freshen up . Ralph sat at the kitchen table while Walter made a fresh brew of coffee .

" Dad , i can call you dad can't i ? " Ralph asked .

Walter a big smile on his face . " I would be honoured , but i think we should ask your mom first . "

" Ok , what will you do if Richard does not have any work for you ? "

Walter stayed silent for a couple of minutes . " I think i could open a computer repair shop and offer a service as a website designer and builder , it could maybe become a family business , your mom could do all the contracts and other paperwork . Once you leave college you could join and we could maybe extend the work we did into building specialized computers and writing codes for people , almost what i just thought Scorpion would be doing . "

" I really like that idea , you could even run courses on how to use a computer , maybe make on line video's that would help people on your own U-Tube channel . "

" I like your thinking but again it will need to be discussed with your mom . " Walter told him .

" What would need to be discussed with mom ? " Paige asked as she walked into the kitchen .

Ralph was first to speak . " I want to know if you would be ok with me calling Walter dad ? "

A smile spread across Paige's face . " Well as long as Walter does not mind , it is ok with me . "

" He said he would be honoured if i did call him dad . " Ralph told her a little pride in his voice .

Paige smiled again as she looked at Walter . " Thank you for not throwing all my things out when i walked out on you . "

Walter smiled back . " I never could do that i was planning to pack everything up before i left and courier them over to your condo .

Paige moved over to Walter and pulled him into a hug . " That is so like you , always putting Ralph and me before everything and everybody , even after i was so mean to you , i can only apologise again . None of what happened was really your fault , i was the one that taught you about telling a white lie and then Toby giving you conflicting advice , which i am sure must have really confused that magnificent brain of yours . So please try if possible with that brain of yours to forget all that as happened over the past four weeks . We could then begin again with a clean slate .

I think although i am now your fiancee, which makes me the proudest woman in the world , it would be nice to still go out on dates , almost like each one is our first date , at least for a couple of weeks . "

Walter smiled back . " Anything you want i will be happy with . So i totally agree . "

Paige went onto her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek . " I must confess something , every night since i walked out on you i have slept i one of your shirts , then when i have to wash it , the next time i wear it i spray some of your aftershave on to it . But i am running out of it , so i glad to have the real thing back in my life . "

" I am so glad to have the most important people back in my life . Is anyone hungry ? " Walter asked .

Paige and Ralph said together . " Yes . "

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Marti Pleased you enjoyed the second chapter hope the wait for this chapter was worth it .

Champagne42 I am afraid you will have to wait , Walter was going back to Ireland

Guest Thank you , still more to come .

Pearliegirl You are welcome , I hope you enjoyed this chapter .

Marie France Merci

Grykon I had problems for a time every time I tried to get on the site , a message kept coming up Fan Fiction as disconnect this request . With regard to Ms Tipton , you will remember in the TV series Walter disliked and was certainly not a fan of her , but Paige was the one who persuaded him to give her a chance , so he went on what Paige had thought of her , and did not really do due diligence on her , if he had maybe the ending would have been better LOL . With Toby's attitude they would probably throw him out of a homeless shelter after a few hours .

DaToad Happy is definitely back , the last time you saw the sensitive side was when she thought she was pregnant .

LouBe96 Well no big disappoint I hope , Toby just makes such an easy punching bag . Sorry conventional fix its are not my style , I have only ever written one true fix it , although I have a partially written sort of conventional fix it set in 2023