Jan 18th, 2015, Scorpion Headquarters:
Paige hadn't liked Walter having to jump from the plane as it moved quickly down the runway at 100 mph. But she understood he hadn't had a choice. She laid into Cabe as he drove them back to the Garage, saying Homeland needed to start having an agent do these incredibly risky acts.
Cabe was quick to offer to check on it with Homeland.
Walter had started to explain it had all been very calculated but his mouth snapped shut as Paige slowly turned her head to glare at him. Walter wasn't scared by much…one thing he was scared of was Paige when she got upset.
"Guess we know who wears the pants in that relationship." Toby smirked.
Happy slapped him in the back of his head.
"Yes dear." Toby said as he grinned while grabbing the back of his head.
With his injuries not so minor, they waited until they were back at the Garage to treat them. Walter sat still in a chair by the front door as Toby worked to address his injuries from jumping off the burning plane.
"I'm gonna write you a script for antibiotics, too." Toby explained to Walter as he finished wrapping his arm. "Why am I doing that, Ralph?" Toby inquired.
"'Cause burns cover more surface area than cuts, so are more easily infected." Ralph explained.
"A-plus." Toby congratulated him as they bumped fists.
"Jumping out of a burning plane." Toby reminded Walter as they both laughed.
"Yeah." Walter got his meaning quickly.
"When did we become action heroes?" Toby asked.
"I have no idea." Walter answered.
"You're set." Toby told him finally.
"Thank you pal." Walter thanked him.
"Mm-hmm." Toby acknowledged his thanks as he got up to move away.
"How about a story?" Walter asked Ralph.
"Yes, please." Ralph quickly agreed.
"Yeah?" Walter smiled at him as he moved onto the couch next to Ralph. "Robo-Spies, issue one. The dawn of a new breed of secret agent: half-spy, half-robot. It was a dangerous time for spies. And human spies could no longer do the mission. Their skin, and their mortality, the way they thought…" Walter started reading as Toby started to walk away just when the Garage door opened.
An older looking woman in a trench coat and over large sunglasses walked in. Her strawberry blonde hair was covered with a scarf. Toby's instincts instantly went into overdrive as he stared at her. And not just because it was late.
"Can I help you?" Toby asked even as Walter and Ralph looked up from the couch.
"I'd seriously doubt it." The woman told him as she looked him up and down. "Scruffy, hat, lanky…You must be Toby…Harvard trained." She said with a smirk.
"What's it to you?" Happy said. Her voice had anger in it over her description of Toby.
The woman smirked at Happy.
"Straight, black hair, Asian descent. That would make you Happy, mechanical prodigy, something that doesn't really begin to describe your abilities." The woman smiled at her.
"You're right but that doesn't explain what you are doing here." Sylvester said as he moved over.
The woman nearly laughed.
"My, your profile really didn't prepare me for you being so direct. Someone with so many phobias usually isn't this bold." She grinned.
"I'm unsure what you need from us, but I suggest you get to it." Walter said as he closed the book and stood up.
The woman turned and looked Walter up and down as she smiled.
"Now, you have to be the boyfriend. Walter O'Brien, fourth highest IQ ever measured. Home town of Callan, Ireland. Your parents, Sean and Louise." She grinned and then she saw Ralph. "Oh, my little Ralph. Do you know you look a lot like your Grandpa when he was little?"
Walter nearly growled as he stepped between her and Ralph.
"I demand you explain yourself and don't try to engage my son again without permission." Walter told her angrily.
"Aww, does a Grandmother really need permission to engage with her grandson?" The woman grinned.
"Grandmother?" The geniuses all said at once.
"Walter, dinner will be ready in about…" Paige paused as she came out of the kitchen. She was now frowning at their exclamation. "Who are you?" Paige demanded as her stomach rolled and her hair seemed to stand on end upon seeing the woman.
The woman turned at Paige's voice and she smiled as she reached up and pulled her glasses off.
"There's my angel." The woman said with a broad smile.
"No! No…there is no way. You died thirty years ago, in a car crash." Paige said as she kind of swayed.
Walter jumped over the coffee table and bolted across the floor towards Paige. Walter barely grabbed her in time as she nearly fell. He pulled her tightly into his arms as he lifted and helped to support her.
Toby was moving almost as quickly as he made his way over and helped Walter get Paige into her chair.
Ralph had followed after them to his Mom. He reached his Mom's side by the time they got her in the chair.
"My, while I expected you to be shocked, I didn't expect it to be this bad." The woman said.
Toby knelt next to Paige and was checking her pulse and her eyes.
"She's okay Walt, just a big shock to her system." Toby explained.
Hearing that Ralph didn't waste any time. He ran back through the kitchen towards the bathroom.
"Grandpa! You've got to get out here, quickly! Mom needs you. Please hurry." Ralph begged at the bathroom door as he listened to Walter and the woman talking.
"How could you just show up like this?" Walter demanded as he turned to confront the woman. "If you are who you claim to be."
"How else would I approach it? Send a letter?" The woman asked. "Dear Paige, I know this is going to be a shock to you, but I'm alive! Surprise! And I'm stopping by to see you on the 18th." She smirked. "At best you'd think I was a wacko up to no good."
Ralph Dineen quickly washed his hands and came out of the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" He asked Ralph.
Ralph grabbed his hand and half dragged him towards the front of the Garage.
"How about you approach it by first speaking with someone else. Let them prepare Paige for your appearance." Walter said hotly.
"Well, I have got to admit that might have been a better idea. But then, I'm nowhere as close to you in intelligence." The woman smirked.
"Veronica?" Ralph Dineen all but roared as he heard her voice from the kitchen and he began running towards the front.
"Oh no, Ralph is here?" Veronica seemed to pale.
"What the hell?" Ralph Dineen said as he came out behind Paige and saw Veronica standing about half way between the desk and door. "How are you alive? Who did we bury and mourn?"
Veronica sighed as she saw the man she loved standing there.
"Let's wait for Paige to recover first." Veronica finally said as she slowly stepped closer to the desk.
Toby looked up and saw Ralph Dineen's expression and his eyes went wide. He pointed at the chair by Walter's desk even as he stood up from Paige.
Walter pulled the chair over to Ralph Dineen as Toby grabbed his arm. Veronica had pushed forward and with Toby, helped Ralph Dineen to stand. As the chair came up behind him they helped him to sit down.
"Do you have a heart condition?" Toby demanded from Ralph Dineen.
"I'm so sorry Ralphie." Veronica said at the same time.
Ralph Dineen barely nodded at Toby's question as he watched the tear run down Veronica's cheek.
"Grandpa takes nitro, he keeps it in his shirt pocket." Ralph volunteered as he stood there watching.
Toby quickly reached into his shirt pocket and pulled the small silverish metal tube out of his pocket. He unscrewed the cap and got a tiny pill out even as Ralph Dineen opened his mouth and lifted his tongue.
As Toby placed the pill under his tongue, Ralph heard his Mom's timer go off and he moved back into the kitchen and quickly silenced it. Happy had heard it as well and she moved in and watched as Ralph got the large lasagna out of the oven, carefully, and set it on top of the stove.
Perhaps fifteen minutes passed and slowly Paige finally recovered from the shock even as Ralph Dineen's pain had subsided and he grew stronger.
"Daddy, are you okay?" Paige turned to him first.
Ralph Dineen smiled and nodded as he patted her arm.
"How is this possible?" Paige demanded as she looked up at her Mother.
Veronica pointed at the chair beside her desk.
Paige nodded and watched apprehensively as she stepped up and sat down.
Walter stepped behind Paige and put his hands on her shoulders to give her support.
"You won't remember this sweetie but I used to go play bingo. On one bingo night about a year after you were born I got involved in something I shouldn't have. Every bingo night after that I wasn't playing bingo, I was scamming people. The thrill of it was like nothing else I'd ever experienced. And shortly after your second birthday I did something really stupid. I scammed the wrong person. Know your mark, and I thought I did. I thought I was smart, thought I had thought of all the angles, but I was wrong. I found out a few days later when I was out having a late dinner with a friend I sometimes pulled scams with." Veronica told them.
"We were sitting at an outside cafe that night, when I saw two men watching me. Like I said, my friend was like me and she'd understand. I quickly told her I was being watched. She left first to get my car ready. As she left she arranged for a waiter to walk over with a couple of drinks for the men. As soon as their eyes were off me and on the waiter I slipped away. It was a mad dash to the parking garage. I saw my friend sitting in the passenger seat, she was kind of tucked down but the car was running. I jumped in and took off." Veronica sighed.
"At first, I thought I had lost them but the lights in the rearview mirror told me they knew where I was. We figured they must have put some kind of tracer on my car in case I did get away. My friend suggested I drive out of the city…just in case we had to get into a firefight. They obviously had much better driving skills as they were taking all kinds of risks to catch up with us. And at one point they hit the back left corner of my car. It caused the backend to skid out to the left. I turned the wheel to compensate when we were struck again and we ended up going off the side of the road and down the embankment of the hillside." Veronica told them sadly.
"We must have gone down at least three hundred feet of that hill before we struck a large tree on the passenger side of the front end. The car was immediately turned sideways to the left and the driver's side impacted another tree and the car came to a hard stop. I kind of blacked out for a moment but fought to regain consciousness. My friend was dead as she wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I could hear the voices of some guys, they sounded a good distance off but I wasn't about to wait and see. I tried to start the car but all that managed to do was start a fire. I couldn't get out of my side so I crawled over my friend's body." Veronica said as a tear ran down her face.
"I'd gotten out and was about to run when I thought about you and your Father. I couldn't lead them back to you guys, everyone would have to believe I died. I tossed my purse through the windows so it laid on the ground outside the driver's door and grabbed my friend's. She looked a little like me, she had no family to worry about. The fire would conceal any obvious physical difference. With my finger prints and car, my purse and what few effects were in it the authorities would pronounce me deceased. The guys would find nearly all the money I had scammed from their boss so that would keep them from doing anything worse. And so I ran." Veronica said as another tear ran down her face.
"I've lived a life on the run ever since. Never staying any place long, no more than three months. But the two of you were never far from my thoughts. Worrying about how much I had hurt you both, wishing I could have taken it all back." Veronica told them and then grew quiet.
"So what changed, that made you think now was the time to return?" Cabe demanded as he stood with Walter.
Veronica gave him a weak smile.
"About two weeks ago the man I had ripped off died. There was no reason now that I couldn't come back, at least for my daughter and husband. To apologize, to try and make up, at least a little, for what I had done to them. To meet my grandson and the man I learned my daughter was crazy for." Veronica told him.
Paige sat shaking her head the whole time.
"Daddy, I'm glad you are feeling better. But I can't do this." Paige said as she quickly pushed back in her chair, nearly knocking Walter down. She turned with a barely audible "Sorry" to Walter and ran up the stairs to the Loft.
Walter sighed as he watched her flee.
"Paige fixed a very large lasagna for dinner. Ralph, would you please make sure your grandson eats. Everyone, enjoy dinner, I'm going upstairs to be with Paige." Walter told them before heading up the steps.
Walter stepped into their recently finished bedroom and closed the door. Paige sat on the edge of the bed, half bent over with her arms around her knees. Walter stepped up to the side of her and sat down.
"I'm sorry Paige. I'm out of my depth here. I feel like I need to be here for you, if nothing else, just to hold you. But if you want me to go away, I will. I'll go sit on the couch and wait on you." Walter told her softly as his hand rubbed her back.
Paige turned as she sat up and threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly to her.
"So, thirty years on the run huh?" Toby asked as they moved into the kitchen area and began assembling the last of the meal Paige had been in the middle of preparing for them.
"Do you want to yell at me now?" Veronica said to Ralph Dineen while she ignored Toby.
"I want to do a hell of a lot worse than that." Ralph Dineen told her. "Was your life so bad? So boring? So, whatever it was that made it seem like a life of cheating people out of their money was entertainment?"
"Ralph…No my sweet bear. Never. I loved our lives, our daughter. I can't really explain it." Veronica told him as she stood there quite embarrassed.
"Oh sure. Loved us…sure, I believe that. For two years Paige cried nearly every night, she couldn't understand why you wouldn't come home. She couldn't understand why we had to put you in a box and buried you. It wasn't until my Mother died when she was almost five that she finally understood what that meant, what the box and burying it meant." Ralph Dineen said through tears.
"If it was just me, I could forgive that. But my daughter, you abandoned her, hurt her in ways you can't begin to imagine. All because you were bored or whatever. I can't forgive that." Ralph Dineen nearly roared.
Toby saw Veronica shrinking from his words and then his hand shot out and caught her wrist just before she turned to run.
"You can't just run out of here now. You created this mess, you need to stay and help fix it." Toby told her sternly. "You have a gambling addiction, don't you?"
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! Well, that was a nasty place to stop...Just 1 chapter left for this leg of the story!
Lucy - Yes, no more Drew and garbage cop indeed! hehe It was definitely a surprise visit. Probably not quite the surprise they got with this visit...lol We can only hope the divorce and new visa goes off without a hitch...But won't happen before next chapter.
Railman - Thank you, glad you liked it! That is a very good question and yes she had some reticence about the check for sure. She was just unsure, given how "fortunate" she was in escaping Drew, that she "deserved" the money. She just felt like it should have gone to someone who really suffered...so to speak. I'm so glad you are liking Mrs K! She's been such a treat in this story!
LouBe - lol Yep, they met and it did go smoothly...maybe too smoothly for Scorpion? What could that mean for the future wedding? *yikes* lol I agree, I think Mrs K's advice will help in the long run. A formality you say? hehe Well, I wouldn't say that...but you are a little right, with only 1 more chapter it won't happen this run...but I'm confident there will be a future addition to the story! And what trouble will it bring then?
Pearliegirl - So glad you loved it! Hope you love this one too! lol
SkunkeeFunk - So glad you are enjoying it! I'm not sure I wanted them to kill Drew in the show...but I differently was glad he was basically out of the picture after S1. I'd say I was shocked they didn't reference him much after that, but really that was who the character was. Excited at the start of something and then quickly fades to the back, seldom seen or heard from again. I guess he would have shown up again come around Ralph's 16th birthday. Must be a 7 year itch thing.
To the Adventure! -Tim