"Did Mom go over to see Walter?" Ralph asked Cabe as they sat in the booth at Kovelsky's restaurant.
"What makes you ask that?" Cabe looked at him.
"That's an unconscious stalling tactic. So she did." Ralph nodded even as he pointed out the window.
Cabe looked out and saw Paige's car pulling up to the intersection on the street to the Garage.
"Yeah, I guess we should have gone somewhere else. Your Mom had something important to talk with him about." Cabe nodded.
"There isn't much that could be important enough to change Mom's mind so she'd go see him. Is Walter okay, he's not sick, is he?" Ralph asked.
"Yeah, he's not sick. And he's as okay as he can be…What with everything that happened." Cabe told him.
"So what is going on?" Ralph asked.
"Sorry kid, you'll have to give your Mom time to work her way through whatever it is to tell you." Cabe explained.
"But it isn't anything bad?" Ralph asked.
"No, it isn't a bad thing. Might be a great thing if true." Cabe said before he bit into his double cheeseburger.
Walter was squatting down with his back against the back wall of the Garage listening to Richard talking on his phone.
"I understand." Walter said softly. "It's just the only thing I have I can sell immediately to pay a debt. And I'd rather it be bought by someone I know and trust, quicker, for a lower price than to go to someone I don't at a higher price."
Walter sighed as he heard Paige's car start up.
"I understand, Richard." Walter sighed again. "Why do even other geniuses act like I haven't thought something all the way through?" Walter thought.
"I know in the long run I'd make more by leasing it than selling it outright. But this way I don't have to worry over it anymore or have any responsibility to support it. Unless we negotiate something down the road." Walter promised him.
"Thank you, I look forward to our discussion on optioning support for it." Walter smiled finally in relief. "I'll bring it over shortly."
"How did it go?" Cabe asked Paige after closing her office door and sitting down. The look on her face told him it didn't go as he had hoped it would.
"Far worse than stellar." Paige sighed. "Well, once I got him to calm down and listen, things went better…But after revealing the truth, he walked out on me. Went out the back of the Garage without saying a word."
"What?" Cabe was shocked. "That ignorant jackass, I'll go over and set this right." Cabe stood up.
"No." Paige pleaded. "We give Walter some time, that was a big bombshell and he deserves to have time to figure it out on his own." Her voice grew with a strong tone to it that caused Cabe to sit back down.
"He may reach out to you, I want you to be completely supportive of him." Paige looked Cabe in the eye. "Do not get harsh, short or disgruntled with him. Don't act like he should know better, that you are disappointed or irritated by him. Unconditional support, and if I find out you weren't, then you and I will have a problem."
Cabe chuckled a bit as he smiled, the left side of his lips curling up more than the right.
"Yes ma,am." Cabe winked. "Oh, Ralph knows that whatever is going on that you went to see Walter."
"How could he know that?" Paige asked, completely dismayed at that thought.
"To quell things with him, I took him to get a shake and, well…He saw you drive down the street away from Walter's when you left." Cabe blushed. "Sorry, I didn't even think about it when I took him to Kovelsky's place."
Paige sighed as she thought of how Ralph was going to bombard her with questions she didn't have answers to, or rather answers she didn't want to have to give him, yet.
"So, are you going to tell me why you went to see Walter?" Ralph asked finally as they were pulling into their parking spot at home.
"Eventually, but not for a good while." Paige said a bit distractedly as she shut off the car.
"I'm old enough to have this conversation Mom." Ralph tried to insist.
"I agree and we will, when I'm ready and not before." Paige said as they both climbed out of the car.
She smiled at the way Ralph pouted. "I wondered if he got that from seeing Walter do it, or if it is genetic. Damn, I hope it is genetic." She thought.
"So, why can't you just go ahead and tell me?" Ralph asked as they entered their condo.
"Ralph…" Paige said, her voice sounded completely overwhelmed. "I need you to just trust me. I'm not ready to talk about this until I know for sure. Once I know for sure, you will be the first person, who doesn't know what it is about, that I will tell. Okay?"
"So who all knows?" Ralph asked as he considered that statement.
"Cabe and Walter are the only ones that know." Paige told him as she put her purse on her desk so she could balance her checkbook later.
Ralph sighed as he nodded.
Next morning at the offices of CP:
"Is that Walter's car?" Sylvester asked as he saw a car much like Walter's turn onto the little side street that the parking lot their rented space was in.
"Naw, no way he'd come over here." Toby said dismissively.
"Well the car just turned into the parking lot." Sylvester pointed.
"There are six other businesses in this little complex, Sly. Or they could be going to just turn around." Toby rolled his eyes, refusing to stand up and look out.
"He's pulling up beside Paige's car." Sylvester told him.
"What?" Toby said as his curiosity finally got the better of him and he stood up. "Well, tattoo "crayola" on my forehead and color me surprised."
The pair watched as Walter just sat in his car for several minutes and then finally climbed out and stood there between the two cars.
"Umm, Paige." Sylvester called out.
"Shh." Toby told him. "I want to see him come crawling all the way back to us."
Sylvester rolled his eyes.
"What is it, Sly?" Paige called back.
"I think Walter is waiting to see you, outside." Sylvester told her.
"Really?" Paige's voice rose with a lilt. And then she rushed out of her office. Just in time to see Walter put his phone to his ear and then her phone she'd left in her office rang. Paige grinned as she quickly went out the door.
"Walter!" Paige said happily. "You're more than welcome to come in."
Walter gave her a half smile but shook his head.
Paige seemed to understand as she sighed but moved down the steps towards him. All the while Walter stood there firmly, between their cars and on the parking lot, so as not to enter CP's property.
"Good morning." Walter said as she reached the main sidewalk that ran down the front of the buildings.
"Good morning." Paige smiled as she moved onto the parking lot to stand in front of Walter between their cars.
"My apologies." Walter began with what he had practiced on the way over with. "For walking out yesterday. I had to make a phone call, but I should have told you that rather than letting myself be such an ass to you. It wasn't right to leave you to sit in such a vulnerable position, without an explanation."
"Walter, it's okay, the information I brought to you was shocking." Paige smiled. "I'm so glad you came over this morning though."
"No, it wasn't okay, I can see that. I'm also sorry for not getting back before you left, the call took longer than I figured it would." Walter said before he held out an envelope to her. "This is for you."
"Oh?" Paige seemed surprised but took it. "Thank you. I'd ask you if you wanted some coffee, but I realize you are still too upset with everyone." A thought came to her so she added. "But you have a good reason to be upset."
Walter actually had a full fledged smile on his face for the first time since the night of the breakup.
"We could go to that café." Walter gestured a few doors down from them.
"I'd like that. I'd have to get my purse." Paige turned.
"My treat." Walter said quickly to stop her. Having her in his presence was a sweet torture he didn't want to end just yet.
"Oh, well I'm grateful, but I'm not sure I should accept it." Paige paused as she tried to consider it. "I realize it is just a cup of coffee, but I don't want you to think or feel rather…that I'm taking advantage of you."
"I promise to view it only as two former friends talking, nothing else." Walter smiled as he thought that would satisfy her. He felt rather proud of himself for thinking of that.
Almost instantly he saw pain and sadness on Paige's face. But before he could say anything, Paige spoke.
"I know what happened was horrible Walter, but are we not still, at least, friends?" Paige asked softly.
"Oh…" Walter realized quickly she'd picked up on his word choice and it had been the cause of the pain and sadness. "I didn't mean to imply we didn't still care about each other. I was just trying to assure you I'm going to respect your boundary. I wasn't going to try for anything more with you."
Walter saw her sadness lift at first and then crashed back around her again. He was growing puzzled now. "Is she wanting us to get back together?" Walter thought. "That's never happened to me before."
"Did you not read the letter I left last night? No matter, it's okay." Paige finally said to fill the silence between them. "I'd love to have a coffee with you, thank you." Paige tried to smile sweetly at him.
The main sidewalk was technically community space, so Walter stepped up on it with Paige, though he kept as close to the edge as possible.
Walter decided to test that thought he had, as they started to walk down the sidewalk he lifted his elbow towards Paige.
He saw Paige smile and then she slipped her left hand around his arm as they walked.
Happy had come out of her work area after hearing Paige go outside and she stood watching the whole time. She'd wanted to go out there but felt she needed to give Paige her time with Walter. Paige smiled as they walked down the sidewalk together and that really made her want to join them. But she remembered how she had infiltrated their time together back when they first became a couple and she sighed. As much as she wanted to be part of their lives as well, she wasn't going to make that mistake again.
"So what did the rat want?" Toby asked first as Paige finally came in after waving at Walter when he drove off.
"None of your business." Happy told him before she pushed him backwards, towards the area he hung out in the most.
"Thank you." Paige smiled at Happy and walked into her office.
Happy followed and closed the door in Toby's face as he tried to do the same.
Toby reached down and just as he grabbed the door knob, he heard the click of the tiny lock on the door. He sighed as the handle wouldn't turn.
Paige and Happy sat down around her desk.
"Well the coffee must have been a good experience since you are all smiles now and you waved at Walter as he left." Happy grinned.
"It was." Paige had an even bigger grin on her face as she played with the unopened envelope.
"So what is going on? Cabe stopped by yesterday, and you had a short and private conversation with him. Then you nearly took the door off the hinges leaving. And today Walter comes over." Happy asked.
"I can't say yet." Paige sighed. "I need to wait for confirmation and once I have it, I can tell you."
"Wait!" Happy grew excited. "Are you pregnant? Walter got you pregnant?"
"Paige is pregnant!?" Toby nearly screamed from outside the door.
"Whoa!" Paige shook her head. "No, I am not pregnant."
"Get away from the door you nosy asshole." Happy growled towards the door. "So what do you need confirmation on?"
"I told you, I can't tell you now." Paige told her.
"So what's in the envelope?" Happy asked as she resigned to the fact Paige wouldn't tell her. "Wait, is that a security envelope?"
Paige nodded.
"I don't know. While our coffee was purely personal, I never opened it and Walter didn't mention it or ask me to open it." Paige shrugged. "Walter had stated yesterday he would be invoking the non-compete clause from our Scorpion contracts. Maybe it is a cease and desist order. Though I'd doubt it with how aminable he was." Paige sighed.
"No, all legal notices are delivered by special agents of the court." Happy pointed out.
"That's true too." Paige nodded as she grabbed her letter opener.
"But if he does invoke that clause, we'll be in trouble. I never thought he would use it." Happy watched as Paige slipped the blade down the side of the letter. She continued to watch as Paige then blew into the end and squeezed the top and bottom forcing the end to open. Her fingers slipped inside and started pulling the contents out.
"I didn't realize we had signed one on that new contract." Paige said.
"Is that a cashier's check, in the back?" Happy frowned.
Paige looked at her and then moved the letter from in front and saw the cashier's check. Her eyes opened wide as her mouth dropped open.
"I've got to go talk to Walter!" Paige nearly screamed as she shoved the papers back into the envelope.
"Paige?" Happy tried to get clarification on what was freaking her out.
"I've got to go talk to Walter." Paige said again as she grabbed her purse and stuffed the envelope in her purse.
"Paige, talk to me." Happy told her.
"I-I, I can't. I gotta go talk to Walter." Paige said as she moved quickly around her desk and out the front door.
"Paige!" Happy had moved outside and called after her. But Paige ignored her and got in her car and took off as quickly as she could.
"What's going on?" Toby asked.
"I don't know." Happy replied as she watched Paige's car turn out of the lot and take off down the street. "Her coffee with Walter seemed to go well, but something about a cashier's check Walter gave her has freaked her out."
"Cashier's check?" Toby frowned. "Hey!" He grinned. "Maybe Walter is having to shut Scorpion down and that is Paige's share, wonder when we'll get our share?"
"You ass." Happy growled at Toby.
"If true and with the way we quit, he isn't obligated to give us anything." Sylvester spoke up. "And he could even invoke the non-compete clause."
"Yeah, Paige mentioned he told her he was doing that yesterday." Happy sighed.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! Last week I forgot to ask and Railman didn't say, but he's in the hospital, he's doing better and is hoping to be home this week. There most likely won't be an update to his story this week either.
Marie France - You're welcome, I hope you enjoy the story.
LouBe - Walter definitely seems to have taken the news to heart even if he's overwhelmed! Something definitely sparked Paige here, so let's hope we get that happy ending! Poor Beuller, he definitely feels left out. lol
Guest - Thank you! Glad you are enjoying it.
Pearliegirl - Thank you! Glad you aren't getting tired of it!
DaToad - Yes, it was sad they seemed more comfortable showing Happy and Toby that way...Guess they didn't want it to turn into a "nerd romance". Yes I was disappointed that the very first episode after "Buckle up Nerd" was the disaster of Collins back. They could have given us a half season of Waige before trying to tear them apart. *sigh*
To the Adventure! -Tim