Walter took Paige to lunch at Kolvesky's and he got the fermented fish he liked to eat.
The smell took a bit for Paige to get used too but overall she felt it would be okay. She just had one stipulation, in the future he had to go brush his teeth immediately after eating them. Mrs Kovelsky had a bottle of Scope she let Walter use when he asked her.
As they left Kolvesky's, Walter turned the other way and Paige looked at him puzzled.
"Uh, you didn't say we were going anywhere else. Did you need something?" Paige asked.
"I thought we'd hit that overstock warehouse real quick, see if they have a regular bed and mattress set we can get for Ralph." Walter told her.
Paige stared at him for a moment and then a smile broke out on her face as she hugged his arm.
"You are so amazing Walter." Paige told him.
"Well I only state facts. And whether you guys do move in permanently or not, there will be times we'll have to work late and Ralph should have a decent bed to sleep on." Walter blushed.
"I was thinking about what we'll tell everyone when we have proof Ralph is your son." Paige said softly. The matter was settled already for her, they were moving in.
"I was just planning to tell them he's my son and that was the end of it." Walter smiled.
Paige smiled briefly as she continued to snuggle against his arm.
"Well, yes, we could try that but from what Toby is doing I can't see that answer satisfying him. I don't want to reveal to them what happened though." Paige sighed.
"You never will. We can just say we had been a couple, you got pregnant and I couldn't deal with it and left you." Walter volunteered.
Paige shook her head before she spoke.
"Absolutely not. You aren't going to make yourself look like a deadbeat." Paige said with a bit of fire.
"Well the idea will have to be good, really covering the facts well to fool Toby." Walter explained. "He really is good at reading body language."
"Well the truth is, I've always wanted children. And back in 2005 I was with a guy who was not worth being with, let alone having children with. So I got myself inseminated. Now leap forward ten years roughly and I see Walter in person for the first time. I knew I knew him from the moment I saw his face. It really shocked me, kind of like deja vu. It wasn't until the day after he offered me this chance to work with him that I realized where I knew him from. Walter had been the donor of the sperm that produced Ralph. And he completely accepted my story about the situation and that he was Ralph's Father. I of course was not offended or objected to Walter wanting to run a DNA test on him and Ralph. We just got the results back and it proves that Walter is Ralph's Father." Paige recited what she had been thinking most of the morning.
"I think you have hit on a winning combination for the story." Walter smiled.
"You got it kid." Cabe said before hanging up his phone. "Doc, Sly, Walter needs us out front." Cabe told them as he got out of his chair and moved to the door.
Sylvester was quick to jump up and move for the door. Toby being the closest was the slowest as well. As he came out the door Cabe was undoing the ropes that held the doors closed and the bedset on top of Walter's car.
"What is this?" Toby frowned.
"It's a bed." Sylvester told him.
"I can see that idiot." Toby said and then cried as he grabbed the back of his head.
"Don't insult my friend. Not to mention he's smarter than you, so if he is an idiot what does that make you?" Happy told him. "Not a bad brand, must have gone to the overstock warehouse. I think the kid will like it." Happy nodded as she helped Cabe get the ropes off the car.
"Thanks Happy. I had no idea Walter had wanted to get him a bed. I guess the sight of him sleeping on the couch last evening made Walter consider it." Paige smiled as Cabe opened her door.
"Well I'd have moved him to my bed but he looked comfortable enough. Just figured this would be better." Walter smiled.
"I'm calling shenanigans." Toby said as he stepped up and helped Happy pull the box spring off the top.
"Call it whatever you want, just learn to man up and lift better." Happy told him.
They all pitched in and got the items brought in and up to the Loft. Walter, Paige and Happy stood looking around the floor and discussing places to set the bed up at.
"What do you guys think?" Toby asked quietly of Cabe and Sylvester as they watched.
"You're not dragging me into anything." Sylvester told him and left.
"What is it with you Doc? You seem hellbent to always stick your nose everywhere but where it belongs." Cabe asked.
"There is more to the story between these two and it is bugging me." Toby told him. "Like if she is here, where is her car? Did they spend the night? Walter doesn't just cozy up to someone that fast." Toby told him.
"What does it matter? Neither of them are your responsibility and they both are consenting adults. Or are you seeing something that suggests Walter is being taken advantage of?" Cabe asked.
"No, nothing like that." Toby started.
"Then let it go. Legally they are adults and they appear to be consenting. So unless one of them contradicts that perception we need to let them live their lives." Cabe told him before he turned to go downstairs.
"Well maybe there is something." Toby said as he walked down behind Cabe.
"And what would that be?" Cabe asked.
"You weren't here when we got here. There was a note on Paige's desk in Walter's handwriting. I naturally read it." Toby told him.
"Of course you did, because you can't leave things alone." Cabe shook his head as he walked into the kitchen.
"The whole thing was this elaborate emotional letter stating things about Walter and Paige. It took me a moment and I realized it was something Mrs Kovelsky had said to them. Walter took it to heart and wrote it down verbatim." Toby told him.
Cabe rolled his eyes as he let out his breath. He grabbed the coffee pot and began pouring coffee in his cup.
"And what exactly is your point about it?" Cabe asked as he stopped to put creamer in his cup.
"When have you ever known Walter to be moved by something emotionally?" Toby asked him. He saw Cabe's eyes open a bit wider. "Aha. I think now you see."
"You think Mrs Kovelsky is manipulating Walter into a relationship with Paige? For what purpose? None of us even knew Paige before the other day. What would be the purpose? Walter isn't rich by any standard and Scorpion was close to going under. I think you are barking up the wrong tree." Cabe said before sipping his coffee.
"Maybe I am, but now, now we have an inside track to Homeland. Now does that change anything for you?" Toby asked.
Cabe stared at Toby for a moment.
"I better call Homeland and have a background check run on Paige and Mr and Mrs Kovelsky." Cabe said as he pulled his phone out.
Toby nodded with a grin.
"Cabe, don't. He's just playing you to get information he wants." Sylvester spoke up as he stepped into the kitchen.
"No one asked you." Toby complained.
"Are you kidding me?" Cabe demanded even as Toby walked out of the kitchen.
"He's been obsessing over them since Walter announced Paige is now working with us. He was trying to get me to run a history check on her last night. I told him I wasn't doing it. Walter would have done it himself and that was good enough for me." Sylvester told him.
"Thanks kid and way to stick to your guns." Cabe told him as he cupped Sylvester's shoulder.
After they looked around and discussed various places around the Loft, Happy walked over to Walter's blackboard and grabbed a piece of chalk. She roughly sketched out an outline of where the walls would be for the room, including a half bath.
Walter pulled the mattress over and since it was still in protective plastic he laid it down on the floor. He moved it all around inside the wall boundary. Along with Paige they were trying to decide where it might look best and if the room was big enough.
Happy walked over and grabbed Walter's blackboard and brought it over. She maneuvered it until it was able to form a partial wall, separating the area from the most commonly used areas of the Loft.
"We can also use the box the bed frame is in to help fashion a temporary wall." Happy told them. She pulled out her multitool and began pulling the large staples out of the end of the box. She slipped the headboard and footboard out after getting the rails out.
Happy opened the box down one side, so she could open the box up. She walked down to her workbench and got several pieces of pvc pipe she kept on hand. As she started to go back up she grabbed a spool of twine to take up.
Walter explained Ralph might prefer his bed facing the North window the best as he would be able to see the stars better.
Paige wasn't sold on the idea but agreed to setting the bed that way. At least until Ralph came in to give his thoughts on it.
While they discussed it, Happy quickly fashioned a stand, out of the pvc pipe and poked holes into the sides of the cardboard. Using the twine she tied the cardboard to the stand and moved it up to block the other side of the 'room' that was exposed to the rest of the Loft.
"Not pretty, but functional for now." Happy nodded.
"Thank you Happy." Paige smiled as she nodded.
"Umm, since you want me to build an actual room here, does this mean that Paige and Ralph are moving in here with you?" Happy asked Walter as he stood there talking to Paige.
"What? No, well at least temporarily. Their apartment isn't in a very good area of LA. I volunteered to let them live in the Loft while I will sleep in the RV. It'll take a few days for the check to clear her bank and even longer to find a suitable complex to move to." Walter told her.
"Kind of you." Happy said as she began assembling the bed. "So are you guys knocking boots already?" Happy asked.
"Happy." Walter said in disbelief.
"Look Walt, I'm not trying to pry but we've all seen the changes in you. In almost three months with Janice, you never held hands with her in front of us, if ever. You never gave her little kisses and definitely no kisses on the lips. You were still having problems with her touching you last week. Paige on the other hand, you don't shy from her touch. You hold her hand, you rest your hand on her hip. You kissed the side of her head as well as her lips. I'm not complaining, it is about time you found someone you can connect with. But add all that together and it made me wonder, that's all." Happy told them.
"No, we're not making love…yet." Paige grinned.
"Now we're talking." Happy grinned even as Walter blushed.
"You mean we're going to move in here with Walter?" Ralph asked his Mom excitedly.
Paige laughed even as Toby was doing his best to listen to their conversation without appearing to be listening.
"Well at least for a little while. Walter and I are worried about where we live. We'd be safer here. Once Mommy's check clears the bank we can start looking for a new apartment complex to move to." Paige told him softly.
"But if we stayed here you wouldn't have to worry about being late to work. You'd already be here." Ralph said excitedly while hoping to point out an obvious logical benefit.
"Well that's true." Paige laughed. "But what if Walter meets someone he wants to ask to be his girlfriend? Do you think that would be fair?"
"But you can be Walter's girlfriend." Ralph said just as excitedly.
"I don't think you are going to convince him about moving out of here." Walter whispered to her. "Or me for that matter." Walter kissed the side of her head.
Paige smiled at Walter, before looking back to Ralph.
"Regardless, we're going to take this slowly. We don't want to run out our welcome, do we?" Paige asked Ralph.
Ralph shook his head no.
"Okay, get your homework finished. Walter bought you a new bed and it is already set up upstairs. In case it takes longer than we think, Happy said she'd stay with you while Walter and I run home so I can get a few things. Is there anything there you want me to be sure to bring back this time?" Paige asked.
Ralph started to shake his head and paused.
"My game system?" Ralph asked. "And the TV? Since Walter doesn't have one."
"I think we can manage that buddy. Finish your snack and get your homework done." Walter told him.
Toby looked at Happy after Walter and Paige left. He got up and walked over and leaned against her workbench.
"So what's your thoughts on the subject?" Toby asked.
"I told you doc, I couldn't care less about you." Happy said before she continued to work.
"Actually I wasn't speaking of that, but we both know you do have feelings for me. I'm talking about how Walter is acting." Toby told her.
"No, I don't. Against you, in spades. As for Walt, I'm happy it seems like they really like each other." Happy told him while continuing to work.
"Come on Happy, you know this isn't a good thing. They barely know each other and now they are moving in together?" Toby asked.
"You know, you always present these things as if they are reasonable concerns and questions. The problem is we all know it is total bull shit. You are just trying to drum up support to get information you are not entitled to. If you really want me to look at you in a better light, try being a real human. Support people without an ulterior motive." Happy told him.
"So you're really going to support this? Walter doesn't know anything about her." Toby asked.
"How do you know what Walter knows about her? Maybe he already did a background check on her. Have you ever known him not to?" Happy asked.
"Huh…well that's a fair point. He might have done that already. I've got to hit the toilet, do you want some coffee or anything when I come back through?" Toby asked.
"No thanks." Happy told him as she continued to work.
"Walter would have run a background check on her. Why didn't I think of that before?" Toby thought as he walked through the kitchen. "Now if he did, which computer would he have run it on? Probably the one in the Loft. It has less access than the one on his desk." Toby grinned as he saw the fire escape. All he'd have to do is go out the back door, climb up and use his key to open the roof door and he'd have at least three hours to search his computer.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well!
Railman - Yes, Mr Dineen seems to be a much different man than in my other stories...Their meeting...hehe Only time will tell if they keep it "friendly" or tussle about! lol Well as you can see here...Toby isn't about to change any time soon! lol It would be weird if he did though. As the new girl, she's trying to be lenient but I got a feeling she won't hesitate to set him straight. lol
2LawDog - Paige says "Thank you!" lol I'm not sure he smoothed them as much as just gave her Dad what he wanted...a reason they couldn't come see him immediately. Like seriously, who wants to meet potential in-laws that quickly? lol I always though Walter had the potential to do it, if he was motivated enough. But usually he's all about efficiency but, having this connection to Paige and fully believing Ralph is his son is the motivation he needed to start exercising his skills towards conflict resolution. It is probably the one thing I didn't understand in S4. Walter knew all the ways he had failed in previous relationships, so why didn't he use that information to change his behavior with Paige? Even if stunted emotionally, he's a genius with a command of memory recall like no other after all. hehe Glad you enjoyed the "Wait" moment and Ralph sneaking some extra grub! lol Totally would have been me as a preteen-teen! lol
Lucy - So glad you loved it! hehe Well they both have confirmed it as much as they can, now they'll have to wait for an "official" DNA test. After Walter's story in chapter 4, Paige is positive he's Ralph's Dad, and Walter accepted her word she hadn't had sex anywhere around the time of conception except for him...so...lol
LouBe - Oh she absolutely has him around her finger, no doubt! lol But I might not have worded that be best, what he had not wanted to do was tell her how many times the video Drew made of them had been viewed. No, the story hadn't told whether he was still alive or not, so don't be confused. lol It was kind of meant to be a surprise. But since Paige had moved back home, she was there when he had his heart attack, and he survived thanks to her assistance. So glad you enjoyed the phone conversation. I wasn't too sure about it at first. "Oh Toby" indeed! lol It is probably the hardest thing...waiting for you guys to get to the chapters that really tickle or move me. lol You really should create an account! It's free! lol I'd be happy to ask some dialogue help if I get back into that story again if I have a way to communicate privately with you. lol
Susan - So glad you and LouBe enjoyed the conversation! I was worried over it. Yes, definitely an easy conclusion based on her words as someone explains to her in a future chapter. lol But definitely insulting...even if she was, he didn't need to bring it up until she did. lol Toby finding a job...that would be a good one! lol
Pearliegirl - Isn't he though? lol I try to keep her happy...I say her but have no clue. lol
To the Adventure! -Tim