When he heard the news about someone dying outside of Scorpion headquarters Ralph Dineen quickly left his job and drove over to ensure his little girl was okay. He thought of calling first but then worried it could be chaotic right now so driving over was the right thing to do. The news had only said a man had died, so he was relieved to hear that what happened, hadn't happened to Walter. Ralph decided to take them out for dinner. He didn't want Paige trying to do anything the rest of the day. He wanted to take Ralph off their hands but Ralph and Walter refused. They both wanted him to stay home after what had happened.
"Walter?" Paige said softly as they laid in bed together. They hadn't felt like making love, but they were all tangled up together and snuggled down into the bed as they tried to sleep. It had only been a few hours ago that Drew had been alive and then he wasn't.
"Yeah?" Walter said softly as he kissed her ear.
"You really are okay over what happened with Drew, right?" Paige asked gently.
Walter sighed.
"It isn't easy to know someone was dying right in front of me. And while I know I didn't really have any responsibility for his death, I still struck him and he fell, hitting his head. But if it hadn't been for what Nemos had done then he wouldn't have died." Walter explained.
"I'm so glad Nemos is going to be okay. That was very kind of you to pay what his insurance didn't for his hospital bill." Paige told him.
"It seemed like the emotional thing to do. He did his best to protect you. And I appreciate that." Walter smiled.
"What's with the check I got today in the mail?" Paige asked just as quietly.
"Oh." Walter said simply as he sighed. "Well it's kind of an involved story, but I'll try to shorten it." Walter yawned. "I've been trying to track down the women who were in Drew's revenge porn section. I'm a bit more than 60% done at this point. I've also tracked down four of the women Drew sold into slavery. I'd sent that info to the FBI, anonymously. So far they have recovered three of them. The fourth, I'm afraid, might have been killed. The trail I found stopped with one place but when they raided it, she wasn't anywhere to be found. But they found a couple of other enslaved women there who said they thought she died." Walter sighed.
"So in trying to help the three they have rescued I divided the total amount I got from Drew and his business in half. Half of that I divided in fourths and I sent checks to the three they found. The other half I divided by the total number of women in the revenge section and sent checks to all the women I had identified, including you." Walter told her.
"Oh." Paige said softly as she thought. "Well I'm sure most of the women would have said you should have just given it all to those four." Paige said finally after several minutes.
"Maybe, but no money will make what happened better. Thankfully those three are getting free psychiatric help to deal with this. I thought about donating some of Toby's time to help any of the victims. A few of the women from the revenge site live in LA." Walter explained.
"Oh, that might be a good thing. If he can keep his snark under control." Paige nodded.
"I thought maybe he could run some group therapies for any victim of such abuse. I asked Cabe tonight to talk to Homeland and see if they would donate a safe place they could come to for it." Walter told her.
"That's a really good idea Walter." Paige smiled. "When you said that, I thought about having it here. But then I thought about the area, it might not sit well and actually make it harder to open up."
"That was my thought too." Walter nodded.
"They won't be able to trace this back to you will they? With what you did with the money I mean?" Paige asked, a little concerned.
"No…Even if they somehow got the bank where the money is, to release the account name, it would trace back to an alias. I've got several deep background fake IDs. And none of them tie back to me." Walter kissed her ear again.
"Okay then." Paige nodded as she snuggled tighter against him.
Paige's eyes opened again as she thought.
"Do you have any idea how he found me?" Paige asked.
"Well I did some checking while Cabe and I were on the way back home. It was really simple using Homeland's access. And I noticed that your government file with the IRS had been accessed two days ago. I was able to track it back and found out it was Drew's friend, William Helmsley. His Uncle owned the strip club. Right now I'm guessing him and Drew finally thought about your employment record at the club. So he accessed your file and got your last employment with your social security number. The IRS is so up to date they didn't have you working for Scorpion yet."
"Gawd…are we going to have to worry about him now?" Paige sighed.
"I'm monitoring the situation closely. Now that Drew died, my guess is, he'll just stay at his Uncle's place. That is unless the FBI can find a trail to him and Bobby that shows they knew what Drew was doing. Then he might be going to federal prison." Walter smiled.
7 a.m., December 15th, 2014:
"I'm coming." Walter called out as he hurried down the steps of the Loft. Puzzled about who it could be or why they were there so early. Clearly it wasn't one of the guys since they all had a key and security code. He sighed as he flipped the lock and opened the door.
"Walter!" Walter's eyes went wide as his Mother squealed out at him.
"Mother? Father?" Walter said, shocked seeing them standing there and then Louise was in his arms hugging him. Walter returned her hug and finally smiled at his Father.
"I don't understand. What are you doing here? Why didn't you let us know you were coming? Does Megan know?" Walter said as he moved to the side so his Mother could enter.
Louise waved her hand at him as she walked on in.
Walter shook his Father's hand before taking two of the suitcases. They walked on in and Walter sat the cases next to the couch.
"This place looks…lovely." Louise said apprehensively.
"Paige, Ralph, my parents are here." Walter called out.
"Sorry lad, your Mom wanted to surprise you. This place looks more like an industrial slum." Sean said as he looked about.
"Sorry, the ground floor isn't the best. But it was too good of a location, I couldn't pass it up for the price." Walter blushed. "The Loft is better, but still needs work."
"Don't you worry about that." Louise told him as she kissed his cheek. "You should have seen the flat your Father was living in when he got out of the army. Ten times worse."
Walter smiled a bit.
"Grandma? Grandpa?" Ralph yelled and came running out into the living room of the Loft and flew down the stairs before running over and into Louise's arms.
Paige had started to put on her mid length robe but then changed to the full length upon hearing Walter's voice. She heard Ralph fly past their bedroom just before her hand touched the door of their bathroom to leave.
Sean grinned as he waited to hug his grandson.
"Good morning." Paige said as she reached the stairs and saw Ralph now being hugged by Sean.
"Good morning my dear." Louise grinned as she moved over quickly to the base of the stairs and hugged Paige as she reached the Garage floor. "Sorry for just popping in, I was worried Walter would try and stop us from coming if we told him." Louise told her softly with her mouth next to Paige's ear.
Paige smiled. She knew Louise was probably right but that didn't make it any better.
"Well Walter and Megan are supposed to have their monthly lunch at the beach today, but I am sure Megan would be just as happy to come here." Paige smiled.
"Oh no, no…If the pair have a lunch set up they should keep it. If it is okay we'd be happy just to be here with you and our grand." Louise smiled.
Paige frowned as she thought about it.
"Oh, did I overstep?" Louise asked worriedly.
"No, I was just trying to remember if Ralph has a test today at school. If he doesn't we could keep him out of school for today." Paige smiled.
"No, I don't have any tests today Mom." Ralph spoke up quickly.
"Well thank you for that Ralph." Paige laughed.
"Do you already have accommodations to stay at? We don't really have any extra rooms, unless you want to stay in the Airstream." Walter kind of waffled on the end as he pointed.
"You are not putting your parents in the Airstream. They can take our bed and we can stay in it." Paige told him quickly.
"Oh don't worry about that." Louise waved her hands.
"Yes, I got us a great deal. We got reservations at the Royal Modest Inn so don't worry." Sean grinned.
"Oh no you won't." Paige told them forcefully. "That place is disgusting and you're liable to be shot, stabbed or killed in some other fashion. After being beaten up and robbed and who knows what else. You are staying with us. And that is the end of the discussion."
"Well, if you think it is best." Sean kind of rubbed the back of his head as he thought about it.
"Paige is right, it is right around the corner of some pretty bad hangouts. The noise alone would be detrimental to you. Besides, you don't want to try and win an argument with her." Walter nodded.
"I'm glad you are learning my little Irish boy." Paige stepped up grinning to Walter.
Walter sat with Paige and Ralph in the booth at Kovelsky's restaurant. His sister and parents were there with the rest of his friends after leaving Owen and his parents at the hospital.
"So now, is this what you guys do all the time?" Sean asked as they ate.
"Not exactly Father." Walter told him. "But knowing Owen was trapped in that cave I could only think about Ralph. And I would hope that someone would care enough for him to do everything they could to save him, so I had to do the same." Walter reached past Paige and rubbed Ralph's head. "I would give everything, suffer anything to keep him and his Mom safe. But knowing they were outside of that sand, depending on me, it gave me all the extra incentive I needed to fight like the devil when that sand began collapsing on me. And thankfully Cabe wasn't leaving it to chance as he crawled back in after getting Owen out and got my hands to help me escape." Walter smiled at Cabe.
"I'll never leave you alone in a situation like that." Cabe told him.
Happy felt a little emotional at that and she bumped her shoulder into Cabe's.
Paige smiled and kissed Walter quite deeply.
Everyone was grinning while they kissed.
"And how is my favorite couple?" Mrs. Kovelsky asked as she stepped up seeing them kiss.
"Why thanks for asking Mrs K, Happy and I are doing quite well." Toby chipped.
"Bah. Like you have a chance with this one." Mrs Kovelsky shook her head. "You want a shot with her, you better grow up. You're too childish, putting your Harvard training out front of people like you do. You let little things get under your skin, what will you do when they are big things? This one needs stability. Can't you see? She's fought hard for years by herself. Making do, she has a hard shell and your snark will only cause it to harden more. Treat her with respect and love if you want it to soften."
"Ouch." Toby complained.
"Don't give him any ideas." Happy told her even as she blushed.
"I think we're good Mrs Kovelsky. Thank you." Paige smiled as they broke their kiss.
"Can I have a hot fudge sundae?" Ralph spoke up before Mrs Kovelsky could leave.
"Of course you can, my sweet boy." Mrs Kovelsky told him and since no one else ordered, walked off to get it.
"Does she always just give Ralph what he wants?" Sean asked.
"Pretty much." Paige laughed.
"Paige?" Ralph Dineen said as he came into the restaurant.
"Daddy." Paige smiled as she pointed. "This is Sean and Louise O'Brien, Walter's parents. And this is Megan, Walter's sister. This is my Dad, Ralph Dineen."
Ralph Dineen stopped and shook Sean's hand.
"Nice meeting you Ralph." Sean greeted him.
"It's good meeting you and your lovely wife too." Ralph Dineen told him. "Megan." Ralph Dineen greeted her before sitting on the edge of the booth bench next to his grandson. "Seeing you here, all of you must be okay after what happened?"
"We're fine. Walter was the only one who was in any real danger. Well not counting Sylvester as he bravely tried to brace that cave wall so we could move the machine that was breathing for Owen. That was pretty risky too." Paige smiled.
The hostess brought a chair over and Ralph Dineen switched to it while thanking her.
"I owe that to Megan." Sylvester smiled a little shyly. "She gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get out of my head and help."
"You're welcome." Megan grinned at him.
"Sorry I couldn't get out of my meetings today. By the time I did, the hospital said you all had left. So I went to the Garage but of course no one was home." Ralph Dineen chuckled. "What is that unpleasant smell?" Ralph Dineen looked around.
Everyone but Paige and Ralph looked at Walter.
"Sorry, most people don't like the smell of my preferred food." Walter told him. "Normally I don't eat it when others are with me. But Paige is always telling me to get it no matter what."
Ralph Dineen nodded as he sniffed again.
"Well it isn't too bad I suppose." He said trying to downplay it now that he knew.
"Hah!" Toby complained. "Only because Walter's mostly downwind from us. Oww" Toby complained and grabbed the back of his head and glared at Happy.
Happy shook her head and he saw both her hands were in her lap. Toby swallowed hard as he saw Mrs Kovelsky now standing next to him.
"You were complaining?" Mrs Kovelsky asked.
"Uhh, nope, not me. Hey, is there any apple pie tonight?" Toby asked as Mrs Kovelsky stepped past and handed the sundae to Ralph.
"There might be. I'll see what I can whip up for you." Mrs Kovelsky glared at him before smiling at Ralph Dineen. "Is there anything you would like…Handsome?" Mrs Kovelsky grinned.
"Ah, I think a BLT would be nice." Ralph Dineen told her.
"Is that all?" Mrs Kovelsky asked while winking at Paige.
"Coffee, black?" Ralph Dineen nearly stuttered.
"Very well." Mrs Kovelsky turned and walked away.
"Daddy, she was just teasing you. She's quite happily married." Paige told him. "She actually is quite wise in the way of romance." Paige grinned at Walter who returned her look with a face that was clearly twitterpated. "That's my man." Paige kissed him.
December 23rd, 2014, 8 am:
Cabe walked quietly up to the Loft where Happy was finishing the work on the bedroom and bath for Walter and Paige. Since Toby and Sylvester hadn't arrived yet it seemed like the best time.
"How are you doing kid?" Cabe asked gently.
Happy shrugged as she looked over at him as she stopped painting.
"Not too bad." Happy told him.
"Well, Walter asked that I give these to you. He didn't want just anyone coming in and spilling the beans to Sly and Toby." Cabe told her as he pulled the manila colored envelope out of his jacket and handed it to her. "You've been served." Cabe gave her a half smile.
"Damn. Took the courts long enough." Happy said as she opened the envelope and pulled the divorce petition out.
"Yeah, pretty standard though, sixty days to get the petition drawn up." Cabe nodded.
Happy, read the complaint. Even though California was a no fault state for divorce, Walter nonetheless listed his falling in love with another as the underlying cause of him seeking a divorce for INS's sake.
Happy sighed…even though she was happy for him and Paige it still hurt a little. It was also a scary situation. Would INS decide to investigate it any further? Or just accept it? The immigration attorney Cabe's friend had recommended to handle the proceedings was certainly costing Walter enough. But he had never failed to win a case of any kind with INS so he had to know what he was doing.
Happy signed the form Cabe had to take back to the city council building to file showing she was served the papers.
"I guess four more months and this will be over." Happy said as she handed the form to Cabe.
Cabe just nodded.
"It helps that you guys have already split everything so it just needs a judge to sign off on it." Cabe told her.
"And your friend's attorney is sure Walter's going to be fine getting a new fiance visa?" Happy asked.
"Yep, he's already got all the paperwork written up to give to them. My friend said he is the best there is." Cabe nodded at her.
"Good." Happy told him as she hid the papers inside the lining of her jacket.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well!
Railman - LOL Yeah, Drew was a real peach of a guy. lol Walter did good, I got to admit.
LouBe - He was definitely a loose cannon! Better off gone. I'm so glad he didn't either...a nice sedate end to that chapter of their lives was definitely better in my book. Good on Walter and Paige to think of counseling service for anyone who had gone through such measures...Toby on the other hand as facilitator I'm not convinced of. lol
Susan - Happy did good, so glad she was vested enough to try and help! Left to his own devices, Walter can really create some problems. lol Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the bit of mystery of last chapter! After the pilot Cabe and Walter seemed to have such a great chemistry together...And then there was the episode Cliffhanger. That was a nasty bit of work!
Pearliegirl - Like Bill Engvall, Walter is about 15 degrees off cool! lol If you don't know he's a fairly famous comedians and that was one of his jokes and I think the name of one of his specials. Yes, I am slowly copying my stories from here to AO3. I took a long break from it but after FFN seemed to nearly die last fall I thought I better get back to trying to do it again. lol
To the Adventure! -Tim