A/N: Thank you all for your incredibly kind words and reviews of encouragement. I'm doing my best to get this story wrapped up with my final edits. And while I know I promised it wasn't going to be super long, well, I lied. There's still at least 5 chapters after this I believe. Possibly more, I'm not certain. This is a shorter, filler one, to give you a nice rest before what's to come. Don't say it didn't warn you.

Thank you for sticking with me.

Xoxo

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Two weeks had passed with every tick of the clock a loud and blasting reminder that despite all of Scorpion and Homeland's best efforts, Tim was still out there, elusive, a shadow in the wind. False leads and dead ends had become the new normal. It had been an exhausting stretch of time, one that wore on everyone, especially Paige. Though the bruises on her face had faded to a pale yellow, barely noticeable now, and the cuts had healed, leaving only faint red scars, the emotional wounds were still fresh, raw in ways that no amount of physical healing could hide. In ways that she couldn't heal, not without the closure of Tim being behind bars.

Walter had been her constant through it all, never leaving her side. Over the past two weeks, they had grown closer than ever before, their only solace in it all. Frequent, casual touches exchanged between them, fingers brushing as they passed each other tools or cups of coffee, longing glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. They had shared every meal together, laughed over much needed distracting board games with Ralph, and spent long evenings watching movies where Paige would eventually doze off against Walter's shoulder, her head resting there like it belonged, like she had born to have her head there. And it felt natural, right, even.

Walter had taken it upon himself to keep Ralph busy with projects and experiments. The boy, sharp as ever, had thrown himself into the work with gusto, eager to escape the constant doom and gloom of the situation. Walter had been able to offer him that, a simple way out, a distraction, even though his own mind was constantly running in the background, always returning to Paige.

But now, as they stood together in the quiet garage, Walter could sense the shift coming, even before Paige spoke. She had sent the rest of the team home a week ago, telling them to go back to their lives, that they couldn't stay holed up in the garage forever. But she and Ralph had stayed, needing the safety, the closeness of the garage, of Walter. But he had known all day long that something was coming. Now, as they stood at the sink, their new routine of I'll wash-you dry, her body language, her subtle hesitations, told Walter that she was about to say something he wasn't ready to hear.

"Walter." Paige began softly, her voice gentle, but there was a rigidity beneath it, an unspoken struggle. She was standing close to him, as she often did these days, the space between them minimal. Walter could feel the warmth of her presence, the subtle power of her energy pressing into him like a constant reminder of her nearness. It had become such a comforting part of his day, something he looked forward to, the small touches, the shared glances. Something he found riveting and had spent countless hours trying to decode. "I can't keep staying here." Paige said, looking up at him with a soft sigh. Her eyes, though tired, still held the fire he admired in her, the resilience she had always had. "Ralph and I… we need to get back to our lives. He needs to go back to school. I need to get back to work. We can't live in this… limbo forever."

Walter's heart sank, though he tried not to show it, his hands only briefly stilling in the sudsy water. The idea of her leaving, of them returning to their separate lives, suddenly felt unbearable. He wanted her here. He wanted to wash the dishes with her, and play board games, and watch her terrible movies, and know that she was safe.

But Paige was right. He couldn't deny that, not to himself, and not to her.

He could see it in her posture, in the determined set of her jaw. Paige Dineen wasn't the type of person to live in fear, to let someone like Tim keep her trapped, to hide. It's one of the things that he loved about her. She took life by the horns, lived it fully, embraced it all. She was right that this, living under the fear of constant retribution from Tim, wasn't living. And yet, the thought of her going back to her apartment, the very place where she had been attacked, made his chest tighten with fear.

"I know." Walter replied, his voice soft, though it lacked the conviction he wanted it to have, as he handed her a plate. "But Tim is still out there, Paige. He's… he's dangerous. And I don't want you to--"

"I'm still scared, Walter." She interrupted, her voice dropping to a near whisper, as if admitting it took all the strength she had left. She placed the plate in the dish rack, pulling at his arm to turn, and stepped closer to him, their bodies almost touching now. She tilted her head, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity that made his heart race. "But I can't keep letting him control me. Every day that I stay here, hiding, is just another day I'm letting him have that power over me. I need to face my apartment, to face what happened. I can't stay frozen in fear because of him. I can't keep being a burden on you."

Walter's breath caught in his throat as he looked at her. There was a quiet strength in her words, a determination that made him admire her even more. But the thought of her leaving, of not being here with him, terrified him in ways he hadn't expected, in ways he couldn't comprehend.

"You're not a burden." Walter said suddenly, taking a step closer, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. He reached for her hand, his fingers trembling slightly as they intertwined with hers. Her hand was warm, soft against his, and he held onto it as if letting go meant losing her entirely. "You're not a burden to me, Paige. You never have been."

Paige looked down at their hands, a soft smile playing at the corners of her lips. Her heart ached at the tenderness in his words, at the way he held her as though she was something fragile, something he wanted to protect. She had never seen Walter this vulnerable, and it made her heart skip with emotion.

"I don't want you to be my safety crutch, Walter." Paige whispered, her voice wavering. "I don't want you to feel like you have to babysit me. You have your work, your life… and I can't keep depending on you like this. It's not fair."

Walter shook his head, his grip on her hand tightening just slightly. His other hand reached up, almost unconsciously, to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. His fingers lingered for a moment, grazing the soft skin of her cheek before falling back to his side.

"I don't care about any of that." Walter said quietly, his voice thick with feeling. His eyes searched hers, his gaze intense, almost pleading. "I like having you around, Paige. You and Ralph. It's… it's more than just making sure you're safe. I want you here."

Paige's breath caught in her throat as she looked at him, her heart pounding in her chest. Words she never in a million years thought she'd hear uttered from his mouth. There was something in his voice, something raw and vulnerable, that made her pulse quicken. She had known for a while that their relationship had shifted, that something deeper had begun to grow between them over these past two weeks, but hearing him say it, hearing him admit that he didn't want her to leave, made her realize just how much she wanted to stay, just how deeply things had changed.

"Walter…" She whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she looked up at him, their faces now only inches apart. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin, and her pulse raced with anticipation, with the unspoken possibilities hanging between them. The air around them seemed to inspissate, the tension palpable.

Walter's hand, still holding hers, gave the faintest squeeze as he took a breath, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't want you to go, Paige."

Paige's heart swelled at his words, at the sincerity in his eyes. Without thinking, she took a step closer, closing the already minimal distance between them. Their bodies were almost flush now, and the space between their lips seemed to shrink as her gaze flickered down to his mouth, then back up to his eyes. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, the chemistry between them almost overwhelming.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment, both lost in the closeness, in the feeling of being on the verge of something they had both been resisting for so long.

And then, as if the weight of everything that had been left unsaid pushed them over the edge, Walter leaned in, his lips brushing hers in the softest, most tentative kiss. Paige's breath hitched, and for a second, time seemed to stand still.

But then she kissed him back, her free hand reaching up to rest gently on his chest as she pressed herself closer to him. The kiss deepened, and all of the hesitance, the longing, the fear—they melted away in that moment. It was just them, together, in a space that had become their safe haven.

When they finally pulled back, breathless, Paige looked up at Walter, her eyes soft and full of emotion. Her hand still rested on his chest, and she could feel the rapid beat of his heart beneath her fingers.

"I don't want to go either." she whispered, her voice barely audible, but full of meaning. Especially now."

Walter smiled softly, his forehead resting against hers as they stood there, wrapped in the quiet intimacy of the moment. For the first time in weeks, the fear seemed to fade, replaced by the warmth of something new, something real.

Kissing her forehead gently, he pulled her into him, wrapping his arms securely around her, knowing that things had just changed entirely, but that she still had to go. Knowing that they weren't just facing this together anymore.

They were choosing to be together.