"Wow…that…was a long session." Paige said absently as she pulled out into traffic. "And not just the time…but everything that we covered has really made it feel draining." Paige glanced over and saw Walter looking straight out the windshield.
"How do you feel, Walter?" Paige asked as she looked back to the road.
"Exhausted…to be honest." Walter said softly. "It was vastly different from when I was talking to Rizzuto with Toby. I never got into my emotions with those appointments, Toby made it so hard to open up…Because I knew any vulnerability I let out would be used against me later."
"Walter…" Paige paused. "I promise you, I will never use anything you share with me against you, ever."
"Thank you." Walter smiled as he reached over and squeezed her right hand on the steering wheel for a moment.
"I never realized that trying to talk about how I feel would be tiring. But I guess that's what is going to happen as I try to leave my static bubble behind." Walter said as he looked out the side window. "I had never thought of it like Lisa said…that I was actually expecting preferential treatment. So I could act how I wanted with no regard to what others go through. That everyone should learn when their habits are not conducive with the society they live in and change accordingly."
"I mean, I know the four of us had a lot of differences from everyone else…But I never gave it a thought that…people different from us, could have habits they have to rein in so others feel comfortable as well." Walter sighed.
"To be honest, I wish I had thought of it along those lines as Lisa did." Paige smiled. "I guess because we were mostly in the Garage it was fine…Just when we went out I had to help you understand you had to do it differently outside. Or handle the interactions myself."
"Well, you were also trying to allow me to do what I wanted, to work on science and math. Which is why I had hired you to start with." Walter smiled. "To be our face to the world…But now, with me questioning why I have to continue to push human understanding forward instead of why I can't be happy. As Dr. Rizzuto said…I mean it is even part of our Constitution…Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Walter sighed. "So much of my life has been about that feeling of pride in accomplishment, not true happiness."
"Well that's understandable given your childhood Walter." Paige tried to sound positive. "I just can't believe how badly I failed you."
"You never failed me." Walter started to say.
"Yes I did." Paige interrupted him but saw the look on his face. "Fine, as far as doing my job, I did what you wanted…But, as a friend? As a lover?" Paige glanced at him. "I failed you." She finished after looking back at the road.
"I knew there was more to you and your desire for me. But I was weak, I didn't want to be the one to chase you." Paige sighed. "Especially after how you freaked out when we kissed the first time…in the Garage." Paige added that remembering their disagreement of when their first kiss happened. "Our relationship wouldn't have harmed Scorpion if it hadn't been for Toby's actions. Not to mention Sylvester's juvenile thought process on Flo saying she had developed feelings for you. Speaking of which, where has she been?"
Walter shrugged.
"I Haven't seen or heard from her since we got back from Gettlemens's pitch." Walter said as he thought over what she said. "You really think Scorpion failed because of them?"
"You don't?" Paige looked at him surprised. "I'm not saying I wouldn't have walked out, but I was emboldened by Sylvester walking and Toby and Happy came right along." Paige huffed. "Remember how Toby blamed only you over not telling him about being married to Happy? Well Sylvester did the same thing over Flo." Paige growled. "He romanticized the things that Flo was involved in and blamed you for it."
"Did you even one time, do something in the hopes of making her develop feelings for you?" Paige asked point blank.
"No." Walter said quite clearly and with steel.
Paige grinned at how he said that as she looked at Walter. She then turned to look back at the road.
"See, this is what I'm starting to realize with you." Paige's grin was still on her face. "And I know now, beyond a doubt, there was nothing on your part towards her. You had no knowledge of how Flo…felt…" Paige said as she began to have serious misgivings on if Flo truly felt that way now.
"What do you mean you realized?" Walter looked puzzled.
"We'll leave that my secret, so you can't try practicing to trick me." Paige smiled.
"I would never try to trick you." Walter promised.
"I know you wouldn't Walter." Paige smiled. "It is just part of my baggage with Drew." Paige sighed.
"Hey Happy." Paige said as she stepped up to the sidewalk cafe Happy had texted her, wanting to meet her at. After having dinner with Walter and Ralph at Kovelsky's place, she left them to join up with Happy.
"Hey." Happy said a bit reserved.
"Well that's concerning." Paige said as she sat down. "Even for you. Everything okay?"
Happy shrugged.
"That's why I wanted to meet with you, to find out how you were…How Walt is doing." Happy said as the waitress stepped up.
"I'll have the chiffon pie with a cup of coffee, black but with a teaspoon of cinnamon. Please." Paige told her with a smile.
The waitress smiled and walked off.
"If I'm coming back?" Paige asked while arching her brow.
"That too…" Happy said but her voice trailed off a bit which made Paige think there was something else.
"Well, as for your asked questions, I'm fine, Walter is doing much better. We went to see Dr. Rizzuto earlier." Paige smiled. "Walter and I are really doing our best to unpack the problems that were hindering us both.
"So, you are going to go back to Walter then…" Happy sighed. "Don't get me wrong." She said quickly. "I'm glad and happy for you both, I just don't know where that will leave us…Sly, Toby and I."
The waitress walked back out to them and sat Paige's coffee down and then sat down the piece of pie.
"Thank you." Paige smiled at the waitress.
Paige decided not to reply to Happy's last words as she picked up her fork and cut into the sweet dessert.
"I'm glad Mrs. Kovelsky doesn't carry this pie." Paige grinned as she pulled the fork back out of her mouth. "I'd probably gain fifty pounds if she did."
Happy chuckled a bit as she sipped her water. But she remained quiet as she considered how to broach the subject of when Paige was coming back or if she was. She just watched as Paige quietly ate the pie.
"While I'm grateful…" Paige said as she scooped up the last piece of the pie. "That the pieces they serve are smaller portions, it is also a bit irritating, especially with the price."
Happy kind of laughed at that.
Paige sat her fork down and took a sip of her coffee.
"Well at this time, Walter and I haven't discussed me returning to work for Scorpion, but I am considering not returning to CP." Paige decided to answer Happy and put it all on the table.
Happy sighed again.
"Yeah, nine hundred thousand dollars will certainly make you think twice about what you'll do next." Happy said softly but still easily for Paige to hear.
Paige kind of bristled at that. But with deceptive calm, she sat her cup down before her hand reached into her purse and turned her phone on. Acting like she was checking messages, she selected the app to record sound and sat it back in her purse.
"I really don't know what you are talking about?" Paige said as her eyes narrowed.
"Oh come on, we know Walter gave you a cashier's check for over nine hundred thousand dollars." Happy rolled her eyes.
"And just how would you know that?" Paige asked.
"Sylvester of course." Happy told her.
"Did Toby put him up to hacking Walter's bank account?" Paige asked quickly.
"Well, actually I don't know if Toby had anything to do with it." Happy said. "Wouldn't surprise me to be honest. But after we picked Sly up this morning he told us he did a little snooping. He found out in the last seven months, Walter had purchased only one cashier's check and how much it was. He also said Richard had wire transferred three and a half million to Walter's account."
"Wait, Richard Elia did this?" Paige asked, making sure to get as much incriminating evidence as she could.
"Yeah, we think he bought one of Walter's patents, the one for the photovoltaic cell. Walter had just got the patent for it a week ago." Happy told her.
"So, just so I have this right. Sylvester, with or without Toby's encouragement, violated banking laws by hacking Walter's banking information. Found out that Richard Elia transferred over three million dollars to Walter's account. Walter then bought a cashier's check for over nine hundred thousand and you believe, gave it to me?" Paige asked.
"Uh, yes." Happy frowned. "Why else would Walter's cashier check freak you out so bad? What's up with you? You know that hacking databases is one of Sylvester's things."
"I can't believe this." Paige shook her head as she pulled her phone out and turned it off. "Happy, I consider you family and while I'm not mad at you I am mad at Sly and Toby." Paige raised her hand up over her head. "I was already up to here with Toby and here with Sly over everything that happened while we were part of Scorpion." She lowered her hand down to her neck.
"Fine." Paige said after a moment's thought. "I'm not coming back, period." She held her hand up as Happy started to say something. "I'm sorry, Happy, but I'm not coming back. That really is the last straw. Honestly I never should have joined with you guys to start with. After all, you three knew what was going on but never bothered to loop me in. And you guys knew you should have. You tell Sly I recorded what you just told me and if I think he's violated mine or Walter's privacy again, I'm going to give it to Walter. He can notify the bank and they can pursue charges against whomever they believe was involved."
"Paige, wait." Happy said just before Paige threw a twenty on the table and covered it with her coffee cup.
"No, I'm done right now…I need time to process this, Happy. You and I can talk another day but for now, I've got to go." Paige told her and then walked off.
"That is not a good look." Walter said as he looked at Paige as she came in the Garage door.
"That would be a correct analysis of my mood." Paige nodded.
"What's going on, Mom?" Ralph asked as he looked up from her desk as he worked on his college course.
"Nothing I want to get into right now." Paige said as she stepped over to Walter's desk. "I know I'm asking for a lot, but I have a bit of a headache and I don't feel like driving us home…Would it be okay if we stayed here tonight?"
"That's not asking a lot…Of course it is okay." Walter told her even as she saw the concern in his eyes. "I'm sorry you've got a headache. Is there anything I can do to help it?"
Ralph grinned real big as he heard them talking.
"Let me use your shower?" Paige smiled weakly.
"You can use anything you want to." Walter gestured. "Not that there is much here. But your things are in that box still."
"That's not a problem." Paige nodded. "I can't remember…Did Ralph leave any clothes behind?"
Walter nodded.
"I was hoping that even if we were never going to be together again, you'd let him come over from time to time…So I left all of his things where they were in his area." Walter told her.
"Of course I'd have let him spend time with you, Walter. You are the only man who has ever cared for Ralph in a real and meaningful way." Paige smiled. "Thank you for that."
"Just trying to do my best to help you both." Walter told her.
"Don't ever downplay what you do Walter." Paige said with a tear breaking over her eyelid. "Despite your own pain and limitations, you reached out to people and did your best to make them safe and give them what they needed to grow. You've helped me so much."
Walter swallowed hard at what he felt. His eyes had trouble staying focused on Paige and they flittered about the Garage…Unsure of what to look at.
"Thank you." Walter choked out…so unsure of what to say.
"No Walter, thank you." Paige said and leaned in and kissed his cheek. They smiled at each other before Paige walked over to the couch and opened the box there.
"Umm, what about the guys' things?" Paige asked as she looked back to Walter.
"Wherever the trash service takes it after the homeless go through the bin." Walter told her as he looked up from his laptop.
"You're kidding right?" Paige asked.
"No." Walter said.
"Some of Sylvester's things were pretty valuable as collectors items." Paige told him as she stood up with one of her neatly folded outfits and 2 clear ziplock bags of her different toiletries and makeup she had left there.
"After two weeks and no word about them, they can't be that important or valuable. So when I got back from Gettlemens I threw it all into the bin out back." Walter confirmed.
"Well, I don't blame you Walter…but it might have been…" Paige paused at what she was going to say. "No, I was going to say a friend might have done it differently…But we weren't acting like your friends, so it was well within your right to discard it."
Paige walked on over to Walter's desk.
"Thank you, by the way." Paige smiled. "For treating my items like they still mattered to you. Securing liquids and other items in ziplock bags to protect things that could have been damaged by a leak. This was always one of my favorite outfits to wear here."
Walter swallowed hard looking at the red blouse and black miniskirt she'd worn a number of times at the Garage. The first time, she had blown his mind as she flirted with the spy using voice software to sound like the spy's lover.
"Y-you-you're welcome." Walter stuttered.
"Do you mind if I borrow one of your shirts to sleep in?" Paige asked teasingly…enjoying Walter's responses.
Walter shook his head no as he had a hard time remembering how to speak.
Paige winked before she kissed his cheek again and then walked over to Ralph.
"Okay, I'm going to lay down after taking my shower. I want you to have your shower before 10:30 and be in bed by 11:00…Okay?" Paige asked.
"Good night Mom." Ralph grinned and nodded before his Mom kissed his cheek.
"Good night Ralphy." Paige said and walked to the stairs to the Loft.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well!
Railman - Lisa definitely struck a chord with Walter. Sadly the Muse has gone a good bit soft again. Well, whatever their reactions will be to why Walter gave her the money order is unknown as they are now in a bit of hot water! LOL
LouBe - So glad you enjoyed their reunion and discussion about the upcoming weekend! While Toby came up empty handed, it looks like Happy's attempt has made things even worse for the trio...LOL I always enjoyed Dr Rizzuto, I think he could have really been a good tool in the show to help affect change in the geniuses. Hard to say how Walter is going to cope, but at least he appears to now being open about it!
DaToad - Walter's hands are busy, that's for sure. lol Man, "Something Borrowed, Something Blew" really ticked me off at Toby. I mean, I was not happy with his character's development in becoming a fully blown antagonist for Walter, but for the guilt trip he put on Paige that episode, my hate for what they were doing with Toby skyrocketed. I think I've mentioned it in almost every fix-it I've written...what a narcissistic, gaslighting, manipulator they turned him into. With Megan I might not have made it clear, but Dr. Rizzuto was speaking more of young Megan, not adult Megan. By the time Megan got to be an adult and started trying to actually get Walter to change, his "die was cast" as they say. Granted the only thing we know of them as kids was her protecting him from getting his hands whacked with the ruler, so pure speculation on my part.
Pearliegirl - Yeah, it was so annoying it was down, again. But if you had their app, you could still access the site and get stories or post them. I was trying to learn more about the app for posting in case it took longer for them to come back. Glad you enjoyed it.
To the Adventure! -Tim