"You could have left me a cookie." Sylvester complained as Patty left the Garage.
As she sat at her desk Paige frowned when she looked about the Garage. The guys were messing around by the big screen but she didn't see Walter.
"Guys? Where's Walter?" Paige asked.
"I haven't seen him since we got back." Happy shrugged.
Toby just ignored her.
"He went up to the Loft shortly after he came in." Sylvester pointed upstairs.
Paige's frown grew as she saw by the time they'd been back more than an hour. It wasn't like Walter to disappear for that long. She stood up and first walked into the downstairs kitchen. She checked on dinner as it cooked. As she worked, she started to realize just how quiet Walter had been on the return trip. She turned the heat down so it wouldn't burn. After she was confident she had at least another half hour, she walked back out and climbed up the stairs to the Loft.
Paige was even more confused as she stepped off the stairs but didn't hear any sounds.
"Walter?" Paige called out as she walked back towards his work area. She paused to look into their bedroom and it was empty and she could see the bathroom door was open and the light was out.
Paige frowned as Walter wasn't in the work area either. "Walter…" Paige said with concern while she moved quicker towards the stairs of the roof.
Walter stood on the roof next to the small wall where they normally set up Ralph's telescope. His sleeves rolled up, and his hands thrust down inside of the pockets of his pants. His chin tucked down, his eyelids opened about halfway and his eyes were a million miles from where he stood. It was a classic pose for Walter, when he was contemplating an unfavorable situation.
If he heard it, he didn't respond in any way that showed his acknowledgment when the door to the Loft squeaked open. The sound of Paige's shoe on the asphalt of the roof fared no better in eliciting a reaction from him that demonstrated that he was aware of or concerned about anything else going on around him. Neither the sound of the door clanking shut or his name carried by her voice caused any movement from him.
"There you are. I've been worrying about you." Paige said as she began walking over towards him. "Walter? Are you okay?" Paige said as she began to grow very concerned at his lack of any response to her voice. And now as her hands began touching and tugging at him, there was no movement. "Walter, please…say something, let me know you are okay."
Walter was still silent and unmoving, except for the shallow breaths his body took ever so often.
"Okay, something is definitely wrong with you. I'm going to get Toby." Paige said a bit in panic as she pulled out her phone to call Toby.
"Eighty-three point four minutes." Walter finally said as Paige started to step away.
"I'm sorry?" Paige said, puzzled as she paused in clicking Toby's name. She saw Walter's hips were slowly twisting as were his shoulders until his eyes met hers. His eyelids still half closed, and his eyes seemed to be looking past her.
"Walter, what are you doing?" Paige asked as the look in his eyes made her worry.
"I'm thinking, what do you think I'm doing?" Walter said in a voice that caused Paige to jerk her head back a short distance.
"That's no reason to speak to me like that." Paige said as she grew angry.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Walter told her. The sarcasm in his voice was of a level that would impress Toby.
Paige swallowed as she tried to get a grip on what was going on.
All Walter had done was twisted to look at her, his hands were still in his pockets, his eyes weren't moving about like normal. His lips barely moved when he spoke.
"Walter?" Paige said nervously. "I…I really don't like what you are doing, how you are acting."
"Oh? Does this mean I won't see you naked again now?" Walter asked.
Paige shook her head as she took a half step back.
"Wh-what?" Paige mumbled.
"Isn't that what you do now?" Walter said coldly. "Emotional blackmail, to get what you want?"
"Walter…" Paige gasped.
Walter's hips and shoulders slowly twisted back as he resumed his previous position, looking out over the city of Los Angeles.
Paige felt a disturbing cold by Walter's words and demeanor as the cold gripped her tightly. Her thoughts seemed to be racing but they weren't getting anywhere.
"W-w-what is going on?" Paige asked as she stepped further back.
"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" Walter was still speaking in monotone.
"Walter?" Paige said as everything was still overwhelming her.
"What's my greatest weakness?" Walter asked her.
Paige frowned as she tried to understand his train of thought so far. "Umm, probably your Ego."
"ATTttttt!" Walter said loudly. "Wrong answer, thanks for playing."
"No it isn't. You asked me what your greatest weakness is, you didn't ask me what I thought you believed was your greatest weakness." Paige managed to say.
Paige continued to stare as she saw Walter's shoulders kind of jerk, almost as if he kind of laughed.
"Fine, what do you think I believe is my greatest weakness?" Walter rephrased.
"Y-you'd say it is your lack of understanding emotions." Paige told him.
"And you don't agree?" Walter said.
"Of course I don't. Yes, you still need some work, but you've been improving, ever since you asked me to come work for you." Paige told him lovingly.
"And by how much would you say I still need to improve?" Walter asked.
"I…" Paige frowned. "Walter, I don't know how to quantify that. What is going on?"
"Answer the question." Walter demanded.
"I don't know…forty percent." Paige finally threw out to him.
"So, you think it is perfectly fine to use emotional blackmail on someone who is forty percent disabled when it comes to emotions." Walter stated.
"Walter!" Paige cried. "Where is this coming from, I didn't blackmail you. Emotionally or otherwise."
"You didn't?" Walter asked.
Paige shook her head even though Walter couldn't see her.
"So what would you call it when the person you love, who claims to love you, decides to withhold not only intimate affection but normal affection as they can lead to intimate affection, whenever they want, until you comply with their desires?" Walter asked.
"I didn't do that." Paige gasped.
Except for his feet turning him to face Paige, Walter's body didn't seem to move a muscle.
Suddenly Walter's facial muscles changed and he adopted the same scowl and his voice mimicked Paige's as he uttered her words back to her. "Walter. You ever want to see me naked again, you figure this out."
Paige gasped again, finally seeing what Walter was upset over.
Walter's muscles returned his expression to that almost dead look.
"Would you care to revise your answer?" Walter asked.
"Okay, hold on." Paige said as her eyes closed.
"Can we just sit down and discuss this normally? Please?" Paige asked, opening her eyes to look at Walter when she said please.
"Ah…another emotional blackmail." Walter said. "Fine, let us sit down. But I'll need you to explain to me what you mean by, normally. Before I can discuss this."
"That wasn't an emotional blackmail either." Paige sighed as they both stepped over and then sat down on opposite sides of the picnic table.
"You say tomato." Walter said as his hands finally left his pockets. His hips sat forward on the chair as his shoulders reclined back against the chairback. His left elbow rested on the armrest as his right rested at his side.
"Walter…" Paige started and paused seeing his expression hadn't changed. "By normally, I mean how you usually look at me, how your voice usually has tones and inflections, that they normally express your love for me. Or, at least your willingness to meet me halfway."
"Do you mean as some little slave puppy? Bent on trying their best to please you?" Walter asked.
"Walter…No." Paige said as she shook her head. "Come on. If you need an example. She paused as she thought for a moment. "Like how we spoke together after we talked about how Collins was trying to chip away at our relationship."
"Is this more what you had in mind?" Walter asked in a voice that sounded like him even as his muscles shifted his expression.
"Yes." Paige said in relief. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Walter said.
"W-Walter, I really wasn't trying to emotionally blackmail you." Paige started.
"How can you say that?" Walter demanded even as the door squeaked open.
"Oh, this is where you went." Toby grinned. "What's up?"
"Toby, just go back downstairs and leave us alone." Paige said as a tear ran down her cheek.
"Hey, I'm great at relationship issues. What's going on?" Toby said while still grinning he moved over towards the picnic table.
Walter angrily flew out of his chair and cut off Toby's advance.
"Did you not hear her?" Walter demanded with fury. "Get…out…now."
Toby's eyes opened wide as he took a couple of steps back.
"What's eating your shorts?" Toby managed to say.
"It's none of your business." Walter told him as he began walking towards him. "Now, either return to the Garage floor or leave the premises, completely." Walter's arm thrust out, his finger pointing off towards the heart of LA.
"Now look here…" Toby started before he felt a hand clap his shoulder. He swallowed hard seeing Cabe behind him.
"I think you got your marching orders, so march." Cabe told him.
Walter's eyes never left Toby as he slowly stepped back before he turned and left the roof.
"Thank you." Walter said as his eyes looked at Cabe.
"You're welcome." Cabe said as he saw Paige sitting at the table, her face in her hands. "I'm not sure what is going on up here and maybe it isn't any of my business…But you both mean so much to me. I'll give you a little more time but I will be back to check on you. If you need a third party just let me know." Cabe smiled. "I love you both."
"I love you, Cabe." Walter said softly. "Thank you."
"Love you too, Cabe." Paige said almost too softly.
Cabe went back downstairs while making sure Toby wasn't trying to hide somewhere.
"Walter and Paige need some time alone. No one…" Cabe looked at Ralph first. "Is to go upstairs and bother them."
Sylvester nodded quickly as Cabe's voice had just scared the crap out of him. Happy just nodded nonchalantly as she shrugged.
"You're going to answer me verbally doc, because you won't try and deflect like you didn't hear me. And if you try to go back up there, I'll kick your ass." Cabe told him.
"Umm, acknowledged." Toby said scared.
"What's going on with Mom and Walter?" Ralph asked concerned.
"I don't really know, Ralph." Cabe sighed. "But something is definitely between them. And I know you want them together, but give them some time to talk and figure this out. I'm going to go back up and check on them shortly."
Ralph nodded as he sighed.
Cabe walked over to Happy by her workbench.
"What happened out there?" Cabe asked quietly.
Happy shrugged.
"We stopped the poachers and saved the deer and its baby." Happy told him.
"They didn't fight or have any words?" Cabe pressed.
"Cabe, I might not be quite as bad about emotions as Walter but nothing they said raised any kind of alarm." Happy promised Cabe.
Cabe sighed and walked over to Sylvester.
Walter turned and saw Paige still sitting there, seemingly lost in her thoughts. His heart ached so badly not only for how she was feeling but for her to be in his arms again.
"Look…" Walter said and then began walking to his chair. His anger was fleeing, his will bending. "You know my emotional shortcomings, y-you know, you know…you know how hard it is for me to assign appropriate information to softer emotions. But I know anger, disappointment, disgust and sadness well." Walter swallowed hard.
"I-I've had to live with those displayed to me by family, neighbors, coworkers and employees for most of my life. There was anger and disgust in your eyes and voice as you threatened to withhold your affection from me. And you did it publicly." Walter's voice warbled between emotions as he spoke honestly.
"A-as much…as much as I l-love you…as mu-much as I want this." Walter wiped at the sweat on his forehead. "M-m-maybe we shouldn't be together."
"W-what?!" Paige almost screamed. "Walter…No! Absolutely not."
"P-Paige…" Walter stuttered. "With…with absolutely no regard, no con-consideration you said this to me. Y-you meant it." Walter looked down and saw his hands clasped and his thumbs twirling about each other. "L-look how much time has passed since you said those words…the words you meant, to me. It took eighty-three point four minutes from the time we got home for you to realize I wasn't around."
"And then you used your emotions to play on mine when you said please." Walter said while still looking at his thumbs. "Please don't insult my intelligence and try to deny it. Maybe as someone with normal EQ you don't even consider it, but I can assure you as someone with a forty percent disability in emotions, that is exactly what you did." Walter sighed and then looked up at Paige, their eyes peering into the other's.
"I won't." Paige said weakly as her lips trembled as another tear ran down her cheek.
"I…I've had to harden myself to my Father because of how he has always treated me. My Mother, a little less so." Walter said as a tear ran down his face. "I can't do that with you." Walter's head shook. "Not just can't, I don't want to. But I can't have you threatening me like that."
"I won't…" Paige started saying.
"Don't, not right now." Walter shook his head. "I promise you, all you had to say was something like, Walter, I really want you to save this deer and her baby." Walter's eyes shone so red. "I'd do anything I can for you Paige. All it takes is for you to make the request. I-I, I don't need threats from you." Walter choked out the last before he began crying.
"Oh…God…Walter." Paige said as she flew off her chair and around the table. She nearly fell over Walter as she grabbed him with her arms before pulling against him, hugging him as tightly as she could.
Even as they both cried, she felt a huge wave of relief as Walter's arms wrapped around her and pulled her up onto his lap, hugging her back just as hard.
"Walter, I was so stupid for saying those words. I didn't even stop to think they could affect you differently than most. I'm so sorry." Paige told him. "I was just so upset at the situation. But the thing is, as you just said, I did ask you. I was arguing with everything in me to get you to do this. And you said it was impossible. I said what I said, because I needed you to understand how serious I was about it. Because I know you, I know you love science and there is no one, not a single person on this planet that can compare to you. I trust and believe in you and I was right, once again you proved that my faith and trust in you are well founded."
Walter's eyes opened and they looked at each other for a moment and then their lips met.
Slowly Walter nodded.
"You're right, you did ask. I'm sorry too. I promise to listen better next time." Walter whispered.
"Gather up, everyone." Toby called out. "Happy and I are setting up a surprise."
"Cabe, can you and Sly put the couch movie-style?" Happy asked.
"So…today, what, uh, Toby said about you doing Cabe impersonations…" Paige started as they came down the stairs.
"Uh, it was not, uh, an impersonation." Walter hemmed.
"Live action role-playing?" Paige smirked.
"Your point?" Walter asked.
"I think you were having a hard time today because of what happened to Cabe and it affected you in a really, really weird way. And I want you to know just because I'm your girlfriend now doesn't mean I can't still do my job. So when you're having emotional stuff, like EQ issues, I'm-I'm here to help you. Our relationship doesn't change that." Paige explained.
"Thank you." Thank you Walter smiled.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! I've got a small gif I post from time to time on Twitter based on 4x03 "Grow a Deer, a Female Deer" and back at the end of July the thought of Paige threatening Walter with never seeing her naked again clicked this story out. It is just a simple out and in to the episode, nothing really changes, maybe a bit more understanding between them...But like other brief moments, the writers have Paige making these statements of support and encouragement for Walter and his EQ but in the end they fall flat as she walks out of his life.
A big thank you to LouBe, while maybe not intending to, and it is just too great of a pun, she gave me a name for this one shot as well as correcting a few gaffs. Sorry for no update for "Creep" the Muse hasn't been very cooperative with the story. Hopefully by next Sunday I'll have another chapter to post, if not then I might update "When It Rains".
To the Adventure! -Tim