"Okay Walter." The young occupational therapist said. "Going over everything the PT people said, I agree with them over all of it. After going through your health record and how you've described what you do for a living, I've got to say, for an admitted computer nerd you lead a very interesting life." She smiled.
Walter smiled back.
"But I'm adding a bunch of restrictions to you though." She heard Walter sigh. "I know, you're a guy and you hate being told what to do." She grinned. "No jumping, of any height or onto or from moving vehicles, of any kind. No driving. Use-Your-Ramp! Do not use your stairs." She shook her finger at him with a grin.
Walter nodded.
"Keep a pillow close to you at all times, if you feel a sneeze, cough, nausea coming on, use it to help keep your ribs from shifting. Especially if you don't have the chest belt on, but if you aren't in bed, you better have the belt on. No twisting your shoulders, bending your torso and don't lift more than five pounds with your right arm, no more than twenty with your left. Have you got that?" She asked with a cute smile.
Walter sighed but nodded.
"Do you have any questions for me?" She asked as she stood up.
"No, thank you." Walter shook his head.
"Your doctor has his surgery rotation tomorrow so he'll be in around 6 a.m. to check on you. If he likes what he sees, you'll be out of here no later than 10. I'm sorry I was so late getting to you, it was one of those types of days." She told him.
"Thanks and don't worry about that, it isn't like I can go anywhere else." Walter said. Something about Lisa's personality caused a thought to form.
"Hey Lisa, I do have a question, though it doesn't really pertain to what we've discussed." Walter called to her just before she stepped out of the room.
"Sorry, I have a boyfriend." Lisa smiled back at him.
"Oh…no." Walter shook his head. "I've a girlfriend, but my question isn't too far from that. There's something that clicks mathematically about your personality and I find myself…trusting you."
"Oh?" Lisa seemed intrigued and walked back over and sat down.
"Normally my mind races so much, thankfully when I'm with my girlfriend it doesn't race as much. She has a calming effect on me like that. The problem is, I don't really know how to make small talk and I fall back on reciting facts about things around us. And like we were walking along the beach one time, I couldn't help but recite things about the ocean, marine life, the sky, just…everything." Walter sighed.
"Oh…I see…That probably would kind of kill the mood a bit." Lisa said. "Well, let me ask you this to think about. What does your girlfriend like and dislike? What are her hopes and fears? Favorite foods, music and clothes designer? Do you talk about her family? Is there anything about any of them you'd like to know more about? Read up on the things she likes, but not to have a wealth of knowledge over each, but just enough to give you ideas for questions to ask her about them. So she can share her passion, her knowledge with you, then she can feel like she matters to you and that she's teaching you something. You can even bring up things she has done or said recently that you think deserves a compliment that you never gave her. Or even if it was something you failed to acknowledge some time ago."
"I told her once, I realized how nice her voice sounded." Walter mused.
"There you go!" Lisa grinned. "You can say that about anything with her…just make sure the place and time are appropriate for what you say."
"Like, not in a business meeting?" Walter asked.
"Definitely NOT in a business meeting." Lisa laughed. "Since you said she has a nice voice, if she likes to sing, you can even ask her to sing for you or to sing a duet with you. Just about anything you can think of to talk about…take Radiohead's Creep as an example." Lisa smiled.
"She loves music and she sings very well. But, what's a Radio head? And Creep doesn't sound positive." Walter frowned.
Lisa grinned before she chuckled.
"You know, being a self-proclaimed nerd this doesn't surprise me. Radiohead is a musical group I'd imagine your girlfriend probably likes. Creep is the name of one of their songs." Lisa said as she worked on her phone.
Walter heard music start playing and then Lisa began singing.
"When you were here before,
Couldn't look you in the eye.
You're just like an angel.
Your skin makes me cry.
You float like a feather,
In a beautiful world.
I wish I was special.
You're so fuckin' special.
But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here."
Lisa stopped as she saw a tear run down Walter's cheek.
"Walter?" Lisa said softly as she turned off the music.
"I'm sorry." Walter said quickly as he wiped the tear from his face. "That wasn't very mature of me."
"Hey, non-destructive emotions are beautiful. You don't have to apologize for having them. What were you feeling?" Lisa asked.
"That whole bit could have been about me and Paige. I have the hardest time looking into her eyes at times, because I'm afraid…Afraid of what I have lost from her before. Because she is like an angel, her skin moves me, deeply inside. She does seem to float or glide through the world, she has no trouble navigating the world…I am deeply in awe of her and her ability to interact with people. She is just so special, that I wish my specialness was more like hers…because I feel so inadequate, like a weirdo, an outcast in society. I sometimes question why I am here…with her." Walter sighed.
"Wow, you have her on one high pedestal, Walter." Lisa frowned. "I'm not trying to tear her down, but no one is that perfect, at least for long and that can be a horrible height to fall from. Have you considered counseling?"
"We're going to start going to counseling tomorrow afternoon." Walter nodded.
"Well that's good, but I think you need your own counselor…Someone who can help you see you aren't that bad." Lisa smiled.
"You don't know the real me." Walter said. "I'm very irritable when people drag out the point. I'm short, dismissive and even rude sounding. Not that I mean to be. I am arrogant because of my IQ, supremely confident in my knowledge and facts. I don't mean to, but I even insult people with normal IQ and EQ."
"Hrmm…Being arrogant isn't good, but confidence in what you know is fine…how do you insult people?" Lisa asked.
"Usually when explaining something I'll say "normal people" in reference to IQ and EQ and I don't mean it as an insult, just as how we see things differently." Walter sighed.
"Depending on what it is about, I can see that sounding insulting. Is there no way to say it without saying "normal"?" Lisa asked. "Maybe you could just say something like, I understand that the way I see it, is not the same way you do."?
"And see, that's another problem I have…if I want people to be okay around me, I can't act…how I normally act. I can't say what I normally say…And I can't eat what I normally eat…" Walter sighed.
Lisa began laughing so hard which caused Walter to frown.
"Walter, that's everyone's experience. Everyone has to learn how to say and express themselves in a socially acceptable way. There's a saying going around on social media these days. "If you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best." And that's just hogwash. We should all try and be supportive when a loved one has gone through a bad day, but the bottom line is, we're all responsible for how we act, whether good or bad." Lisa told him.
"And just because you are a genius, that isn't a get out of jail free card." Lisa smiled. "First we learn from our family, then our friends in the neighborhood and school…Then we have to learn from our adult friends when we leave school. Every time we move to a different area, some things will be fine, some won't." Lisa reached out and squeezed Walter's hand. "Like, I love limburger cheese, can you guess how many people I know that want to be around me when I want it?"
"Not many." Walter smiled ruefully.
"Try none." Lisa laughed.
"I took a date to a rare flower show…it was for the titan arum. Indonesians call it bunga bangkai, bunga means flower and bangkai means cadaver. Which is what it smells like when it opens." Walter told her.
"Okay, I can see that wouldn't go over so well." Lisa laughed. "But you liked the smell?"
"Well, I wouldn't go that far, but see, that's part of the fascination for me with science or learning new things. I can endure things people don't like in order to gain knowledge about science. You've given me a lot to think about…" Walter said with some confidence. "Thank you, I'll consider what you have said."
"Well, if you can endure the smell of the cadaver plant in order to learn something in science, then you can endure changing how you like to do things, Walter. And you're welcome, definitely look into getting someone to counsel you, by yourself. You'll find you aren't that different, I'm sure." Lisa smiled as she stood. "One thing to remember from earlier, Walter. Your specialness brought you to this country, brought you to California and allowed you to create your company. If you had a different specialness, you never would have met Paige most likely." Lisa winked.
"And I'd like to leave you with a couple of more things to think over. Have you ever talked with Paige about where you see your lives in the future? Have you discussed how you both see your relationship working out for you? Marriage, children? If not, that would be a great thing for you to talk about with her. Our partners like to know we think about our future together, what we can build together." Lisa told him.
"Also, what are some of the things you like that she doesn't know about?" She held up her hand. "I don't mean facts about things…I mean things you actually like, that if you could put aside all the science and math, you'd like to do it. You think about that and once in a while, share something with her. So she knows you are including her in your life." Lisa smiled.
"I enjoyed making paper mache figures out of ballistic gel and putting them in the kiln to dry as it changes the colors. But that's kind of science based." Walter told her.
"Really? And I thought you didn't like art? See Walter, there is far more to you than you realize. And liking something like that because of the science behind it, is okay. After all, even cooking is science based." Lisa told him before leaving.
"I never thought about the figurines like that…Can I put aside science and math? Why do I think it is my responsibility to further those things? Don't I deserve a life? What do I find intriguing that isn't science and math?" Walter pondered as he lay in bed watching the sun grow lower over the horizon of the Pacific.
"Am I intruding?" Toby asked as he stepped into the room.
"What are you doing here?" Walter sighed.
"I can answer that, but not without knowing if I am welcome…" Toby trailed off as he remained in the small area that separated Walter's room from the main hall.
"I suppose you can stay, for a short bit." Walter said.
"How are you feeling?" Toby asked as he stepped on into the room and sat down.
"Does it matter?" Walter asked.
"I'm here asking…" Toby replied.
"I'm in pain Toby. Emotional and physical." Walter sighed.
"This is the first time you've been hurt, in over six years, that I wasn't there to care for you. I'm sorry." Toby said softly. "It really threw me for a loop when Paige told us you were in here. How's the prognosis?"
"Full recovery, in six to eight weeks. As long as I don't deviate from my restrictions and don't reinjure my ribs." Walter sighed.
"Sounds about right." Toby nodded. "What about your emotional pain?"
"What's this about Toby?" Walter asked as he looked over at him.
"It's about you…about us, about catching up…About making things right." Toby sighed.
"Why now?" Walter looked out the window. "Why was I never good enough for you? No matter how I changed, or what I did…You were never…appreciative of anything. Never acknowledged the changes. And the second you got the opportunity, you ran out on me. You helped start a company to compete against me. Going after clients you knew I needed to save Scorpion. The company that was making a difference, was paying for your lifestyle…brought you together with the woman you love." Walter's lower jaw kind of slid back and forth a few times.
"Well, you did kill me." Toby shrugged.
"Oh please." Walter glared at him. "You were on this path before the smart building incident and you know it. And if you had taken in a big enough breath of air before I hit that switch. And instead of talking, you could have held your breath until the fire was out and we broke the window."
"Look, I'll admit things were building before that, but I was in an emotionally difficult situation…and you just set off the halon. So forgive me if I was resentful of that." Toby sighed.
"Toby, it's been over two years and you still haven't gotten over it. Okay, so here we are, now that we're past that, how about saying, Walter, I'm so thankful that your quick thinking saved my future wife and my best friend. And on top of that, you leapt out of a window, caught a rope ladder so that my best friend could get it and get to safety."
Walter shook his head at Toby's dumbfounded look.
"We were all going to die if the server or the wiring for it was damaged or destroyed. There simply wasn't time to do anything else. Was it a calculated risk? Absolutely, but you were young and healthy. Which mitigated a lot of the issue in getting you breathing again. Your heart hadn't stopped pumping so you weren't technically dead. You didn't even need Happy to do chest compressions. All you needed was a moment for the air that Happy breathed into your lungs to be circulated by your heart." Walter sighed.
"Walter, you are my best friend too." Toby told him softly.
Walter gave him a very skeptical look.
"I don't mean, I was your best friend." Toby sighed. "You did so much for me and I repaid that, badly to say the least. But I did see your changing. Remember when Cabe was feeling low over breaking up with Allie? How you told me and Paige that you thought you could help him? That was sincere, you saw Cabe in pain and you were able to recognize it and empathize with it." Toby smiled real big.
"Oh, you mean when you told Paige that you knew she didn't mean to, but that she must have really broken my heart? Because you told her not to tell me about what happened on the rocket?" Walter glared.
"Err…" Toby looked shocked.
"Paige and I had a long talk earlier, we cleared the air about a number of things." Walter said quietly. "Why did you do that? You knew we both loved each other, knew we both admitted it. I blamed her that night, and you didn't speak up when I fired her over it. Then you put a guilt trip on her over not coming around after being fired…Friendship is a two way street Toby. She had been fired because of you and then you tried to guilt her over not coming around to the place she had been fired from. Did you ever go see her? She was the one that should have been catered to by her friends over that, not made to feel guilty. Some friend you were. You guys didn't even thank her for putting together your wedding at Kovelsky's place."
"Well crap, looks like I got more to apologize for to her too." Toby sighed.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! Had to do a slight edit...apparently the site doesn't like you to put periods between words. I wanted Use Your Ramp! to have a period between Use and Your, but they kept stripping the words out...*facepalm*
Railman - hehe Yep, they had a good talk for sure. Seems like he had a good one with Lisa and maybe the start of one with Toby even. Cecil better watch out! lol
Marie Mac - Yup, I was relieved to hear Railman was home too. I think we'll all be happier when he continues writing. Thanks, glad you are enjoying this story.
Masikka - Good news indeed! Looks like you got a little more waiting before they get to Cecil though. hehe Getting Walter and Paige to communicate...why is it so hard? LOL Between Walter's stubbornness and both of them afraid of failure of their relationship I guess.
DaToad - She definitely wanted him to learn to relax, no doubt. He's definitely a complicated brain. That was definitely a major thing she mentioned to Walter. Their relationship was 3 years long already, just a lot of potholes along the way. I would agree they were a couple...for Walter, to me, beyond the fascination he had with Ralph from the start, he was already captivated with Paige. We see it in her in episode 2 when Walter was inside the building when the bomb went off. Even Happy and Toby weren't as moved by that as she was. Two nice examples of it, and glad you got to attend that event. I think the writers were just too worried about changing Walter too much, too quickly. Afraid of losing the magic of the show if they did I suppose. Probably explains them working on Happy and Toby more at first...
LouBe - They did! hehe About time. I fell in love with "Dopey Walter" as well, he was amazing in that form. It had to be so hard for Paige because Walter as he was written, couldn't be bothered by what she found fascinating. I'm really hoping Lisa's talk with Walter takes some serious roots in his mind and helps him grow in that respect! I definitely feel like things are looking up at this point and hopefully Cecil can help them both build on what they've started! I do like that he's "gone back to his roots" too! I thought the magazines really helped him after he botched things with Paige over Timothy. Toby was so offended, but he never really helped Walter...It always seemed he was always trying to ram his points down Walter's throat to make him see what he was doing psychologically over Paige, instead of trying to just point them out. Toby was just too impatient with Walter. The magazine advice never had a tone or attitude with Walter. lol Yep, so happy Railman is home. Walter needs all the help he can get and I think Lisa made some excellent points to him.
Pearliegirl - Thank you!
To the Adventure! -Tim