Belated Holiday Greetings and Well Wishes for a Wonderful New Year. This is a new story about how Walter will respond when Paige is hurt on a mission and he cannot be there. There is really only one thing that could keep Walter away (traveling to Berkeley to present his rocket to the Karman Line Prize Committee). I started this story prior to the mid-season finale, so it does not follow the show exactly but I hope it is still enjoyable. This will not be as long or as complicated as Graduation Day.

Karman Line Prize

Chapter One – Unscheduled Stop

Walter swerved into the gas station. The first safe parking place he saw on an unusually desolate stretch of California highway outside of Bakersfield and the first one since he received a text from Cabe about 20 minutes ago. URGENT! Call as soon as possible, outside of the earshot of Ralph. There has been an incident on the mission.

Cabe's request for the call to be away from Ralph meant only one thing, and the possibilities of what had happened to Paige, his new girlfr—his company liaison and a person with whom he was beginning a romantic relationship, consumed his thoughts. Walter O'Brien fumbled with his phone, pacing in front of the truck and muttering to himself, quietly chastising himself for leaving his team, especially Paige, during such a delicate mission. The 197 genius finally dialed Cabe and the agent answered on the first ring.

"Son, there is no easy way to say this, so I am just going to get to it. Paige has been shot. She…."

Before Cabe could finish the update on Paige's condition, Walter interrupted, "Okay, I am heading back now. I will be there in about two hours." He glanced at the sleeping brown-haired boy in the passenger seat and realized he would have to restrain his speed. "Make that three."

Cabe could hear the door slam and the engine turn over as the car started. He tried to get Walter's attention, but to no avail. Cabe gave the phone to Toby, hoping the behaviorist would have better luck convincing the genius not to return to LA.

"Walt, listen to me. You need to stay on the road so that you can make it to Berkeley on time. Paige wouldn't want you to miss this opportunity. Listen to me, find a hotel and hunker down for tonight. She is still in surgery and we won't know anything for a while. If you come back you will just spend hours pacing around the waiting room. From what I saw at the scene, it looked like a through and through, and surgeons should be able to stop the bleeding once they find the source. Walter, are you listening?"

Walter half-listened to Toby, but was in a bit of a daze. Paige was hurt in Los Angeles, and he wasn't there. Walter knew that Toby was right; driving back to LA in his emotional state was dangerous. Reluctantly, Walter resigned to the idea of staying in Bakersfield and listened as Cabe gave instructions about the hotel reservations already made for Walter. Cabe also called in a favor with the local PD to make sure that Walter got to the hotel safely. While Walter waited for the police, he walked a few feet away from the car and screamed. He couldn't believe he left Paige alone on this mission and now she was hurt. They were just beginning to explore a life together and it would be over before it really started. He had just agreed to stay on his planned route to Berkeley, but he was conflicted. Paige had suffered enough relationship abandonment for one person, first her parents and then Drew. How could he add to that by not being there for her when she needed him? Walter jogged back to the truck, determined to return home. He needed to be there for Paige.

The sirens in the distance jolted Walter, then Cabe called to confirm that the escort was there to take him to the hotel. Cabe further instructed that one of the officers was to drive the truck since Walter was too emotional. He wanted to protest and insist on returning to LA, but Cabe and the officers at the scene never gave him the chance.

~~ SCORPION ~~

Somehow, Ralph managed to wait until they were settled in the hotel to question the unscheduled stop. "Walter, why did we stop at a hotel? We weren't supposed to stop until we got to Fresno, but this is Bakersfield. Also, why did the police bring us here?"

Walter looked the boy in the eyes and sighed. Walter had learned from Paige and Toby that physical contact could help when delivering bad news, so he held Ralph's hand and bluntly told him, "Ralph, there been an incident back in LA on the mission. Your mom was shot. We stopped here tonight so that we can wait for more information. Based on what we find out, we may head back to LA or we will continue to Berkeley." Given that the young genius experienced the same pain from abandonment as Paige, Walter felt the need to explain himself. "Ralph, I was prepared to go back right away as soon as I heard, but Toby and Cabe thought it was more prudent to wait until there is more information in the morning. They think that your mom is going to be okay, and we will be able to continue to Berkeley. If you want though, we can go back to LA right now. Your mom is more important to me than anything, I hope you know that."

Ralph sat up a little in the bed, and looked his mentor in the eye, understanding why Walter would feel the need to reassure him. He too had learned from his mom and Toby the importance of looking people in the eye when he wanted to be understood. "I know Walter, mom and I mean more to you than anything, even the Karman Line Prize, which we have been working toward for a long time. If she were in serious trouble, or if there was any way that you could help, I know you would have gone back. It's okay we can wait to hear from Cabe and Toby before deciding what to do."

After making Ralph as comfortable as a young genius could be in a strange place with his mother hurt, Walter went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. He would also have a tough time sleeping in a strange place, with Paige, his—someone who was important to him—in trouble back in Los Angeles. Still, Walter knew that if he were to drive tomorrow, he would need sleep. After showering and changing, Walter stretched out in the bed. He had given his tablet to Ralph, and didn't really want to watch TV, so he just laid there thinking about the events of the last few weeks. He found some solace in replaying the last conversation with Paige in his mind. She appreciated the importance of his pursuit of the Karman Line Prize and was absolutely adamant that he take this trip.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

1.I do not own Scorpion or its characters, CBS owns Scorpion and its characters.

2.Special thanks to my betareader: Lookingforthestars (If you haven't already check out her series Lightning and her story Will You)

3.I hate to start one story while I am in the middle of another one, but this idea just wouldn't leave my mind until I wrote it down. This story will be short (right now the plan is five chapters at most)

4.Thank You: I just wanted to thank the Scorpion fandom for providing such a great outlet, especially during such a stressful time in my life. Scorpion is the first show that I have liked enough to explore reading or writing fanfiction and I am really enjoying it.

5.Please enjoy, favorite, and review!