Chapter 14 - A New Phase in Their Relationship

"That was a wild one today!" Toby exclaimed as the team entered the Garage, rearranging his ubiquitous hat as he spoke, a sure sign that all the adrenaline hadn't worn off yet.

Sylvester nodded his agreement as he pushed past the Harvard-trained behaviorist who was standing just inside the doorway, and made his way to his desk and his wholesale club-sized jug of hand sanitizer where he began to apply it liberally before pulling up the renegade space capsule's telemetry. He'd misplaced his travel-sized gel much earlier in the afternoon in the midst of all the excitement at Richard Elia's space program development site. "It's a good thing you got out of that rocket before it launched, Walter. I've been tracking its orbit and it's already decaying. I calculate it will crash to Earth over the Pacific Ocean in nineteen hours, twenty-eight minutes."

"At least we don't need to worry about casualties from falling debris," Cabe peered over the human calculator's shoulder and studied the readout on his computer as if he understood a single thing other than the large X in the middle of the vast ocean where the craft was projected to return to Earth.

Toby narrowed his eyes and looked directly at Walter as the curly-haired genius sat at his desk. "We just need to worry about the fact that the chances of Scorpion ever being hired by Richard Elia, or any of his billionaire friends again, have been effectively shaved down to zero. It's one thing for Walter to crash Elia's Ferrari or even load a worm into the software that ran his smart building. It's a whole other ball of wax to crash his rocket into the ocean."

"Come on, now, Toby. That's not fair. You know none of that was Walter's fault, not really… the car, maybe, but the other stuff… that was bad luck. Besides," Paige patted Walter's shoulder comfortingly. "Richard Elia, who needs him? Let's focus on something positive!"

"I'm positive I'd feel better if I had something to eat," As if on cue, Toby's stomach growled. Happy elbowed him in the ribs, but she nodded in agreement with his sentiment.

"I second that," Sylvester chimed in.

Paige sighed, sometimes there just was no talking to them. "Fine. I'll go pick up some takeout from that Mexican place a few blocks away. Fajitas may just be the cure for a bad day, or so I've heard." She turned to the Homeland intern leaning silently on one of the Garage's support pillars simply observing the team's dynamic. "Nathan, do you want to come with me? Help carry everything?"

Nathan stood up straight. "Yes, of course. I'd be happy to help." He had been looking for an opening to talk to Paige about the sparks between the two of them during the hot yoga class last night and the even hotter kiss afterward, but when the day's mission had taken a turn for the worse when the rocket had been struck by lightning, he hadn't thought he would get the chance.

"Let's take my car," Paige called once the two were outside in the alley where the team parked, and tossed her keys toward him. Nathan caught them easily. Once they were seated, he started the car and put it into gear while Paige dialed the restaurant to call in the team's food order.

After Paige disconnected the call, she rested her head back on the seat behind her and closed her eyes for a moment. Nathan glanced over at her profile and once again his breath was taken away by her beauty. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white to keep himself from tracing the curve of her cheek. As much as he wanted to ask her what the kiss meant, he also wasn't sure he wanted to know. Maybe she already regretted it. All Nathan knew was he felt a surge of desire just remembering the way Paige's hips felt under his hands, the way her lips tasted, and the way her tongue finding his had been the stuff of the erotic dreams that had kept him awake for weeks.

After a few moments Paige opened her eyes, but instead of turning and looking at him like he very much hoped she would, she worried at a loose thread on her sweater, giving it all her attention as if her very life depended on it. He could see by the heightened color on Paige's cheeks and her uneven breathing that she was thinking about the kiss too.

The silence between them stretched out until he almost couldn't bear it any longer. They stopped at and red light and he was just about to speak. Before he could get a single word out, Paige took a deep breath. Nathan turned his head to face her. She was leaning toward him slightly. Maybe she was planning to kiss him again. He wouldn't kiss her back again, Nathan immediately decided, not until they'd talked. That would just be asking for trouble. Paige bit her lip uncertainly. Nathan sat unmoving as desire nearly overwhelmed him at the sight. He definitely wouldn't kiss her again… probably.

But Paige didn't even attempt to kiss him, instead, she moved away, as if she thought better of whatever her plan was, leaned back against the door frame, and crossed her arms over her chest. At last, she spoke, "The restaurant is a short drive, so I'll get right to the point. Last night was not an example of my best judgment. Still, I don't regret it," Paige paused as if gathering her thoughts before she continued, "Walter and I both decided a while ago that a relationship between the two of us would be destabilizing to the team. Scorpion is just too important to both of us to risk it. I know that he and I have a history and there is still a lingering attraction between us. I think that's lasted as long as it has because neither of us has met anyone we've been interested in pursuing a relationship with," she looked at Nathan and it felt as if his heart might hammer out of his chest. "I hadn't been interested in anyone else… until now." Paige finished barely above a whisper.

At that moment, the light turned green and as Nathan accelerated did his best not to immediately cause a traffic accident. "Just to be clear, Paige, did you just say you're interested in pursuing a relationship with me?" Could he sound any more idiotic?

Paige nodded, unaware of how ridiculous his question sounded to his own ears. "I haven't said anything before now because I wasn't sure if you were interested. You kind of seemed like it. But every time I thought you might make a move, you pulled back and I thought I was imagining things. But then last night, at yoga, it was pretty, er… obvious you were interested in me, but then you basically ran out of the studio with your hair on fire. I probably wouldn't have even done anything about it even then, but with my friend, Amy, giggling in my ear, she encouraged me to make a move. And I did. If I overstepped, I apologize. I don't want to ruin our friendship, our working relationship…"

Thankfully, they had arrived at the restaurant. Nathan eased Paige's car into a parking space, grateful to finally be able to focus all of his attention on her. "Oh, Paige, of course I'm interested. Any man would need to be blind and stupid not to be interested." He practically sat on his hands to keep himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her senseless, but Fiesta Time's parking lot didn't seem like exactly the right place.

Paige grinned, her shoulders sagging in relief. "I'm so glad. I wasn't sure if I should bring it up. It's not like I have a lot of experience in relationships. Being a single mom is enough of a turn-off to most men, but when your kid is developmentally delayed like I thought Ralph was for so long, it really sends them running in the opposite direction, if you know what I mean."

Nathan matched her grin. "I can imagine. I don't have a huge amount of dating experience either. Living under the ocean for months at a time isn't exactly great for meeting women. Maybe we can figure it out together."

"There's just one thing. It's partly because of Ralph, but mostly because of me."

"Anything. Name it." On impulse, Nathan took Paige's hand and held it between both of his.

"I would just really like to take things slow. Let's just see how we feel, where this goes. Let's not jump into anything serious right away. Just a nice time with someone I'm getting to know. Let's enjoy the journey without wondering, 'Where this is going? What does this mean?'"

Nathan blinked for a moment, processing her words.

"Crap, I've offended you," Paige attempted to pull her hand away, but Nathan held on, lifting it and pressing a kiss into her palm before speaking.

"No, I'm just taking it all in. You surprised me with that kiss last night. I had no idea what it meant, what you were thinking and now you're putting all this out fairly directly. It's surprising is all. I actually find your lack of interest in playing games extremely attractive." Nathan hesitated, the one thing that had always seemed to stop him from saying anything sooner on his mind. "There's something that I have to say. There is this extremely complicated thing between you and Walter, and I've hesitated to get in the middle of that. Do you think we should talk to Walter about it? About us?"

Paige sighed, she loved Walter, she truly did. She thought that a part of her would always love Scorpion's founder, but she was tired of waiting for him to figure out that he was in love with her too. "Why? It's not as if we need his permission to spend time together outside of work hours. If you and I choose to be in a relationship, it really has nothing to do with him. He's not my father or my boyfriend." Paige could see the concern on Nathan's face and it was one more reason why he was a man worth getting to know better. Nathan was just so decent. Walter was his friend and he cared about that friendship. "If you feel strongly about it, you should talk to him."

Nathan nodded. "I think I will. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't."

Nathan and Paige returned from the restaurant. Paige carried several bags of food, and Nathan balanced a tray of beverages in one hand, his other arm draped across her shoulders as they walked into the Garage. Sylvester nearly fell out of his chair at the sight. When Toby looked up, startled by Sylvester's reaction, his feet fell off his desk and the medical textbook he'd been reading dropped to the floor with a bang. Cabe choked on a sip of coffee he'd just taken. Walter's eyes widened at the unexpected sight, but he gave no other reaction as his fingers continued dancing across the keyboard writing code at superhuman speed. Only Happy appeared unfazed by the couple, a small, secret smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Perhaps Walter can get back to normal.

Toby quickly approached the pair while the rest of the team descended on the bags of food, though obviously listening in. "This is a surprising new development," he gestured to how closely Paige and Nathan stood to each other, "Anything you feel like sharing with the class about your change in relationship status?"

Toby's eyes followed the movement of Nathan's hand, his fingers brushing Paige's, and the fleeting smile that crossed her face as he did so before she hooked her fingers loosely around his. "There's not really anything to tell," she squeezed his fingers lightly and leaned against him for a moment before continuing, "Nathan and I have decided to start dating. But it's nothing serious. We're not in a serious relationship. We're just getting to know each other," Paige grinned at the handsome Navy Ensign, "for now."

Toby appeared to have no response to this turn of events and turned his attention to Walter who still hadn't moved from his computer, though his fingers had gone still at Paige's words last two words. "Walter, do you hear that, buddy? Do you have any thoughts on the matter?"

Every eye in the Garage swung over to observe his response and Walter rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortable at becoming the center of attention, but still refused to turn his eyes from the computer screen. Cabe stepped towards the behaviorist and put a firm hand on Toby's arm, guiding him toward the table and the food the rest of them had laid out. "I don't think now is the time for this. Let's all sit down and have a nice meal and enjoy the fact that no one got blasted off into space today on Elia's damaged rocket."

Toby opened his mouth to argue, but Happy cut him off, "For once in your life will you just listen to someone else and give Walt a break?"

"Fine," Toby huffed. He inhaled dramatically, letting the mood shift, "Those enchiladas smell heavenly. I'm starved."

The team sat down to eat and eventually even Walter joined the group though he appeared preoccupied at times and his eyes never missed a single touch or look shared between Paige and Nathan.

The evening wound down, most of the other team members had said their farewells and gone home for the evening. Stifling a yawn, Paige crossed to her desk and gathered up her purse and jacket. "I need to get home and relieve the babysitter," she stated to no one in particular, then looked over at Walter, who was seemingly lost deep in thought as he made notes in a binder in between spurts of typing code into his computer. "Goodnight, Walter."

Walter showed no sign of hearing her. Paige and Nathan's eyes met and she shrugged as Nathan hurried to her side, "I'll walk you to your car."

Paige smiled, "I'd love that." With his hand resting comfortably on the small of her back, Nathan and Paige walked outside, leaving Walter and Toby alone in the Garage.

When the door clanged shut, Toby moved from where he had been reclining on the sofa, observing the newly dating pair to perch on the edge of Walter's desk. "Do you see what's happening, 197?" he asked, "You are losing her! You're so obsessed with keeping this team together, to attach some meaning as to why you are the way you are, that you're willing to sacrifice love for it. I'm gonna make it easy for you. You're a genetic fluke. So freaking what? It doesn't matter! What matters in life is love! I would do anything for my love. And you, you jackass, you pushed your love out the door to start a relationship with another man! A big, sexy, muscled Navy Ensign man! ¿Comprende, 197?"

Walter looked away from the computer screen and calmly faced the behaviorist. He refused to be dragged into Toby's hysterics, as he answered in a measured voice, "Nathan is my friend. I know he's a good and kind man and will treat Paige the way she deserves. Any woman would be fortunate to be in a relationship with him. She is a grown woman who can make her own choices about who she does and doesn't date. It's true, I still have feelings for Paige, but we already decided that a romantic entanglement between the two of us was suboptimal for Scorpion." Walter stared off into space thinking about the missed opportunities he'd had to tell Paige the truth about how he felt, that he didn't care if Scorpion burned to the ground if it meant he could have her, always thinking there was time to make his feelings clear. He'd never actually considered the possibility that Paige might grow tired of waiting and move on. "I'm a moron," he muttered, still lost in thought.

"No. You're just a genius," Toby mused sadly. He snapped his fingers in front of Walter's face to try to get his attention, "And what are you going to do about it?"

Walter stood and glanced around the room indecisively before sitting back down at his computer, shoulders slumped in defeat. "It's too late to say anything now."

"You and I both know that's not true. But it won't stop you from doing the exact same thing you've been doing for the past three years, 197. Nothing. The trouble with that decision is now Nathan is here, doing something and everything's just gotten way more complicated."

Toby stood from his perch on Walter's desk. "I'm going home. I can't stand to sit here and watch this slow-motion train wreck anymore tonight, but mark my words, no good will come of this. You will regret this as the moment you didn't listen to me. The moment you could have claimed your lady fair and instead you sat at your desk and wondered where it all went wrong."

Without another word, Toby ambled out of the Garage. Silently Walter watched him go, he wondered for a moment if the behaviorist could be right, but with the lowest IQ on the team as an official member, not a temporary Homeland intern attaché, Walter sincerely doubted that Toby knew anything he didn't. Instead of following Toby's advice, Walter made his way up to the computer in his loft and his research on neutrino mass and oscillations. Putting Paige and Nathan's budding relationship and Toby's warning out of his mind, Walter was quickly immersed in searching his research data for patterns.

After watching Paige drive away, Nathan returned to the Garage. "Walter? Are you in the loft? Do you mind if I come up?" Without waiting for a response, Nathan began his ascent. He stopped at the top of the stairs, seeing Walter typing furiously at his keyboard, doing his best to act like he had no idea Nathan was there. But Nathan knew better, he saw the muscle in Walter's jaw working, giving away his agitation, even if the leader of Scorpion himself didn't recognize it. "I know that you and Paige have a mutual attraction that you have decided not to act upon. I respect that."

Walter shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It was one thing for Toby to bring it up, and quite another thing for Nathan to do so directly, so he continued doing his best to ignore the Ensign.

"I didn't want things to progress any further between Paige and myself without talking to you. This whole thing is new to both of us. It was only while we were picking up dinner for the team that anything came out into the open. Paige and I recognized our interest in each other after we ran into each other at a yoga class last night. We've decided to see each other romantically, to start dating. It's not a relationship, more like a beginning, the possibility of one. Paige felt quite strongly that it wasn't anyone's business, and frankly, it's not. We don't owe anyone any explanations, but out of respect to you as my boss and friend, I wanted to make sure you understood this wasn't anything either of us planned."

Walter had had his moment of emotional overwhelm earlier and now he had shoved any feelings he had about Nathan and Paige's romantic intentions aside to be categorically ignored. He was done thinking about it and wished that everyone else would stop bringing it up as well. Walter sighed, "I do appreciate your transparency, though it is unnecessary. I don't believe in intraoffice romance as a rule, but the team has made it abundantly clear that this policy is unacceptable to them. So as a benevolent leader, I have acquiesced to their desire not to interfere in their romantic lives. In addition, as you are just part of Scorpion as a temporary assignment, it has even less impact on the team, I find it even less objectionable. Please comport yourself appropriately during office hours and on cases and we won't have any problems."

Nathan was surprised by Walter's reaction, after the way he'd acted during dinner, Nathan had thought that Walter would still seem at least a little upset or maybe even jealous. He had also vaguely wondered if the revelation that he and Paige had decided to start dating would be the kick in the backside Walter would need to declare his own feelings for Paige. He'd half expected Walter to challenge him to a duel, not to act like he and Paige were unruly children and throw a bunch of ten-cent words at him. "Are you sure?"

Walter smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Of course I'm sure, I want nothing more than for both of you to be happy," Walter shut off his computer monitor and reached for the GO board sitting on the desk nearby. "Enough talk about feelings. How about a round or two?" At the invitation, Walter's demeanor shifted and he seemed truly excited to play the ancient game.

Nathan readily agreed, grateful their friendship was still intact, though still not entirely certain what had just happened.