WriterFreak001:

This idea came to me in a dream, and I just had to write it out. It'll most likely be no more than five chapters, but we'll see. I don't think it'll be a long story, though.

WARNING:

This story will handle sensitive material involving sex trafficking. There will be some angst during the actual case itself, but for the most part, the events leading up to the assignment will be somewhat humorous. This story will be mainly Paige's point of view, and if you find anything inaccurate with what I am writing in this story, PLEASE tell me.

You are under no obligation to read this story at all, and I won't be upset if you stop, but please no flames. If something upsets you, contact me via PM and let me know so I can fix whatever inaccuracies I may accidentally include.

Title | Model Behavior

Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)

Description | "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do." This self-discovery fic is mostly focused on Paige as she encounters what could be her biggest trial yet as a member of Scorpion. She will be challenged in unexpected ways and may have to depend on her own strength to save not only her life, but also her freedom as she tries to save others in the process.

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T.

POV | Limited Third Person

Disclaimer | While CBS owns Scorpion, I am the owner of this masterpiece.

Claimer | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something should be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

Model Behavior

Written by WriterFreak001

Chapter 1:

Conviction

~ SCORPION ~

"Absolutely not," Paige leaned against her desk and shook her head violently as the team slowly closed in on her. Everyone except for Walter was silently imploring her to participate, but she wasn't going to cave so easily. "No means no. I won't do it."

"You have to," Toby crossed his arms. "You're the only one who could pass off as a supermodel! We're too ugly and hairy, and Happy, as beautiful as she is, doesn't meet the height requirement for the competition."

"Doesn't matter," Paige folded her arms in front of her and frowned. "I'm willing to do a lot for this team on a regular basis, but I draw the line at impersonating a bikini model at a competition, involving me wearing a skimpy swimsuit in front of a crowd of drooling porn addicts!"

"Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic about all of this?" Toby cocked an eyebrow, and Paige sent him an evil glare. He threw his hands up in defense. "You're overgeneralizing. Not all of those men are going to be porn addicts; at least a handful will be porn producers. Probably. Most likely. Actually? You know what?" Toby forced a laugh, "I'm certain most of the audience will be fashion magazine reporters."

Without warning, Happy jabbed her elbow into Toby's side and grumbled, "Not helping."

"Paige," Cabe was the next one to speak. "I know it's a lot asking you to do this for us, but if we don't send someone in undercover, our intel on the sex trafficking scouts is useless. They need to be caught in the act; otherwise, we might not get another chance. No one is forcing you to go undercover, but we can't make a solid case without you."

"It's still not going to happen," Paige shook her head again. "Hire a bimbo if you must, Cabe. I'm sure there are plenty of willing women ready to show off their bods to horny men."

"Still overgeneralizing," Toby mumbled audibly.

Paige ignored him and added, "Find your girl elsewhere because I'm not doing it."

"You're being a little bit ridiculous," Toby chuckled, receiving another jab to the ribs from his girlfriend.

"No. I'm not. I have an eleven year old to think about. You guys are asking me to risk my life… possibly my freedom… to gather intel on sex trafficking lords. I'm basically being used as bait! Hell, no."

"We've gone against far worse, and now you're just worried about Ralph?" Toby couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, Miss Dineen, but your excuse is kind of worthless right now. I get it; you're scared shitless, but are you seriously going to let your fear get in the way of stopping those bastards? Think about the greater good!"

"Are you even hearing yourself?" Paige placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "This is a CIA case, and while I understand they recruited Scorpion to infiltrate the competition on a technological front, I don't see why I have to be roped into their undercover operation. I'm not trained in martial arts; if something goes wrong, I can't protect myself, and there's a great possibility I would never see my son again. Of all people, why me?"

"S-she does have a point," Sylvester stammered from behind Cabe. "Statistically, a CIA agent would have a 90% chance of success; Paige, on the other hand…." He didn't dare finish his statement. "A-anyway, we're tech geeks, and Paige is our translator. She's not cut out for such a dangerous mission."

"Paige," Happy clapped her hands together and captured the young mother's attention. "It'll be an easy case. You go in, you strut your stuff, and then you follow CIA's instructions. Should be pretty easy, and according to our dossiers, you won't be technically going in alone…. We just won't be walking on stage with you."

"Doesn't matter," Paige crossed her arms again and tapped her fingers slowly. "I don't want to do it. Yes, I admit, one of the reasons I won't do this is because I'm scared of what could happen if things go south, but the other reason is because I have a little something called dignity. I'm not just about to willingly catwalk on a walkway, wearing a G-string bikini and act like I actually enjoy showing off my body to random strangers. Again, like I said. Not happening."

"Man up, Dineen." Happy frowned as she shoved her hands into her pockets. "The CIA wouldn't be recruiting you to go undercover if they didn't have a good enough reason. Swallow your damn pride and show Central Intelligence exactly what you're made of."

"I certainly don't think that's going to be a problem," Toby deadpanned before receiving yet another jab in the ribs. "Would you stop that?!"

Happy rolled her eyes, and added, "Like I said, the CIA's hands are tied for whatever reason; I'm sure we'll get more information about the case once the deputy director gets here so… before you get your panties in a wad, at least hear her out first."

"Guys," Walter finally spoke, "I agree with Paige."

"You always agree with Paige," Cabe, Toby and Happy said in unison, receiving a glare from the super genius.

"Anyway," Walter cleared his throat, "Paige is right; she's not cut out for this assignment. CIA agents… even Homeland agents… take weeks to train for undercover operations like these; Paige would only have hours, at best. While she would certainly look the part," Walter paused as everyone, including Paige, raised their eyebrows at him, "W-what I m-mean to say is…," he began to stutter, "b-because of h-her fl-flawless genetics," he swallowed thickly and cleared his throat, "P-Paige just doesn't have the combat training she would need for a high-demanding case like this."

Walter glanced over at Paige, and she sent him an appreciative smile before she turned to Cabe. "Please," she bit her lip, "I implore you, have CIA find someone else."

Cabe, knowing he couldn't force Paige into doing something she didn't want to do, sighed and nodded. "I'll give Katherine a call and see what I can do."

"That won't be necessary," Katherine Cooper said as she walked into the garage with another woman in tow. "CIA just received new intel on the case, and Agent Teresa Carver has been appointed by the director of Central Intelligence to serve as Scorpion's liaison during this assignment. After the information CIA received, two more models have disappeared from last night's showing. That's altogether six models missing within two days. Tonight is the last showing for the preliminaries, and if we don't act quickly, we may never find those women."

Walter frowned as he rubbed his chin perceptibly. "How is CIA receiving its intel exactly? Have there been missing person reports?"

"No. We have a CI working within the facility." Agent Carver replied swiftly.

"And why can't this CI do what needs to be done?" Paige asked as she pushed herself away from her desk and approached the women slowly. "Why do you need me?"

"First of all, our CI is not a qualified agent. He is an acquaintance of a fellow coworker, and after he started his job as a janitor at the arena a few days ago, he noticed something was fishy and called it in. We sent in an agent to follow-up on his suspicions, and she was one of the first to disappear. Five more women went missing after her so you can see why we are pressing for time. If we don't infiltrate the competition tonight, there is a strong chance we won't find any of the missing women."

"But how do we even know we're up against sex trafficking scouts? How do we know the perpetrator isn't some serial killer after young, sexy women?" Paige asked, still unconvinced why she had to be the one to risk her life.

"That information is classified," Agent Carver replied quickly.

"If I agree to do this, which I haven't, but if I do, then I'm not going in blind," Paige parked her feet in front of the female agent and folded her arms in front of her. "Apparently you're desperate enough to involve an untrained person like me to impersonate a bikini model in a sensitive case in which your agents couldn't get the job done. So excuse me for being curious, but if you really need me on this assignment, then you better tell me everything you know whether it's classified or not. Otherwise, find someone else."

Everyone behind Paige, especially Walter, smirked as their manager challenged the CIA agent and firmly stood her ground.

Agent Carver sighed loudly. There wasn't time to argue. "Fine," she pushed her blonde bangs back, "I will tell you everything I know, but if any of you breathe a word of this to anybody, you will be tried for treason."

Katherine angled her body towards Agent Carver and raised an eyebrow. She, too, was curious with what the agent was hiding from her.

"This is not the first time an agent went undercover at a bikini modeling competition. Five years ago, in France, there was a similar event taking place in Paris, and Interpol got themselves involved after receiving word from an anonymous caller that this competition was a ruse for sex trafficking scouts to capture and collect. By the time Interpol responded to the tip, four women from different European countries, were missing. And, not long after that, Interpol's agents went missing as well. Only one woman, who just so happened to be one of the agents, was found after months of searching. She was dehydrated and doped up with Flunitrazepam – commonly known as Rohypnol, a date-rape drug – when Interpol found her discarded body in the middle of an alleyway in Ukraine. She was on the brink of death, but she survived, and after a long road to recovery, she eventually told Interpol what was done to her."

"That's horrible," Paige mumbled as the color drained from her face. "And you want me to do the same thing as she did before she was taken? Fantastic."

"Paige," Walter approached her from behind and gently touched her arm. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. We are simply contractors for the government; we have a right to refuse to take cases, especially from the CIA. We don't owe them anything."

"Thank you, Walter," Paige whispered towards him as she casually covered his hand with hers. "Your support means a lot to me."

She discreetly rubbed her thumb over his knuckles and sweetly smiled at him as Cabe took a step towards Agent Carver and returned everybody's attention to the conversation at hand. "Could the Interpol agent identify her captors?"

"Not likely," Toby said, answering for Agent Carver. "Flunitrazepam, if used excessively, has dangerous side effects. Not only is it addictive as hell, but it also can cause amnesia. Remember when Walt was roofied by that chick a few months ago? Imagine his side effects times ten. That's how ugly the drug can be, and if used with certain forms of alcohol or other drugs, it can be lethal too."

"Then how could she remember what had happened to her if she had amnesia?" Paige blinked as she tried to wrap her mind about what she might be signing herself up for.

Toby shrugged. "The brain is a wonderful marvel. Something could have triggered a memory, or it's also possible she wasn't doped up 24/7. There's no certain way of knowing how she could recall what had happened to her, but if the CIA is up against the same scouts, then they're probably smart if they've gone untraced for this long."

"Again," Paige redirected her attention towards Agent Carver, "Why me?"

"We can't recruit just anybody; because you work for the government, you have limited clearance for governmental issues, and you fit the profile for the woman you would be impersonating. Not only do you look like her, but you were also raised in the South, correct?"

Paige slowly nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. But practically anybody can fake a Southern accent."

"True," Agent Carver agreed, "but not everybody is trusted by the government."

Paige snorted at the woman's comment as the geniuses behind her tried to contain their amusement. "Sorry, it's just…" Paige suppressed her smile, "The government, especially after our last encounter with the CIA, barely has a reason to trust us, and we hardly have a reason to trust you guys so… forgive me if I find that response somewhat rehearsed."

"Miss Dineen," Agent Carver frowned, "This is a time-sensitive case, and I was instructed to recruit Scorpion for the mission. You've all received your dossiers, and are privy to classified knowledge, and if you don't undergo this assignment and take part in your duty to the government, then I can't guarantee a favorable outcome towards you and your team."

"Is that a threat?" Paige step forward as her other team members also advanced towards the woman.

"It doesn't have to be," was all the agent said before glancing at the deputy director. "If Scorpion does not agree to this mission, then my hands will be tied, and I will be forced to report them to my superiors. And if these sex trafficking scouts disappear with the missing women, and our agent vanishes with them, then Scorpion will be charged with treason for ignoring their duty to their country and to the world."

"With all due respect, Agent Carver, I understand Scorpion's hesitation, especially Miss Dineen's. She was ambushed with this assignment, and it's not fair for her to make such a decision on short notice. I am curious, why not have another CIA agent go in her place? It's what they're trained for, correct?"

"True as that may be," Agent Carver punctuated, "we have circumstantial reason to believe the scouts have somehow required intel on our agents, and thus, we can't risk another one. It's better to send in a nobody instead."

"Excuse me!?" Paige exclaimed loudly, "W-what did you just say?!"

"I think she just called you disposable," Toby retorted with a taste of anger in his words.

"That's what I heard too, Doc." Happy frowned as Sylvester nodded vigorously.

"Me three," Cabe grumbled lowly.

Walter suddenly stepped in front of Paige and clenched his fists, ready to slug the woman. "Paige is not by any means expendable. We don't have to take this case, and Paige doesn't have to do anything she's not comfortable with. We agreed to hear you out and learn more about the assignment; we did not agree to take it."

Agent Carver closed her eyes and sighed loudly as she rubbed her temples. "I didn't mean to say Miss Dineen is dispensable. All I meant was that the scouts wouldn't have a reason to suspect her, hence a nobody."

After a long period of silence, Paige brushed the back of her fingers along Walter's arm as she circled around him and heaved a loud sigh. "Are you sure there is no one else capable of this assignment?"

"I wouldn't be here groveling if there was," the agent said stoically.

Paige inhaled a deep, shaky breath and released it slowly. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Then we should get straight to business," Agent Carver said as she grabbed Paige's hand, but Paige ripped her hand out of the woman's grasp.

"I wasn't done talking. I have my terms."

Agent Carver clenched her fists and pursed her lips before forcing a smile. "I'm listening."

"I said I would do it, but I'm not doing it because CIA wants me too. I'm doing it because I have a son. I'm doing it because those women are probably wives, mothers, daughters and sisters of people they love, and I don't want to be the reason they are taken away from their families. If I was forcibly taken away from my baby boy, I don't know what I would do. I don't know how I would handle myself if I never saw my son again. I am fearing that possibility, but those women are living it, and that is why I am choosing to do this assignment. This has nothing to do with the CIA, nothing to do with my work here with Scorpion and nothing to do with me, but everything to do with them and the people they could be unwillingly leaving behind. This is not the CIA forcing me to go undercover. I am volunteering. I'll do what you need me to do to save those women, as long as you promise me you won't target Scorpion if something goes wrong."

"That can be arranged," the woman sighed and nodded hesitantly.

"And however I need to prep, I'll prep here, and meet you wherever you need me to meet you at whatever time you need me. No sooner." Paige added with piercing eyes.

"Fine," Agent Carver pursed her lips. "I'll have Deputy Director Cooper give you all the information you need." Though the agent wasn't happy with Paige's terms, she was desperate. As she turned around to head for the door, Paige spoke up again.

"I'm not done. I have one more term."

"What," the agent, obviously aggravated, snapped.

"I get to choose what I wear at that competition. I'm not going to wear that skimpy thing. Ever. I'll wear what's comfortable to me."

"Fine, but if you get caught because you chose to wear something else, then CIA will not be responsible with what happens. You made it very clear that you are not part of CIA so, in order to respect your terms, we will not treat you like an agent. We will aid you when needed, but if you get into trouble because you refused to work on our behalf, then you are on your own." Without another word, the agent left in a huff and slammed the door behind her.

Paige, though proud of herself for standing up to the woman, suddenly grew weak in the knees and wanted to vomit. She had just signed herself up for a dangerous undercover assignment, and because of her big fat mouth, she practically denied all help from the CIA to back her up on this case. She grasped her heart and bent over to catch her breath as her courage drained away.

"Walter! You need to calm her! She's going into shock!" Toby exclaimed loudly.

As Paige's world started to spin, a pair of hands gently gripped her cheeks, and she heard a soothing voice talking to her in jumbled, alien-like phrases. It was like her whole world was deafening around her, and then all at once, her senses crashed together and pierced her mind as she heard his calm voice continuing to speak to her. She still wasn't sure what he was saying; she was hearing the words but made no sense of them. She found a pool of dark brown irises staring deeply into hers, and as she focused solely on his eyes, she could hear him counting slowly. Her breaths slowed, and her own voice, as though on autopilot, joined him in counting, and then the world dissipated around her, and it was only them for a few seconds before she was zapped back into reality with multiple voices trying to reach her, but it was only Walter's she could fully process. She inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes as she brought her hands to his, not wanting him to let go of her face. In this moment, she needed him to be her anchor. Her rock. Her strength.

She wouldn't be able to do this assignment without him.

"Are you okay?" he eventually asked as his thumbs gently wiped away the tears under her eyes.

She slowly nodded. "I think…. I will be…. I have to be."

"No one is forcing you to do this mission, Paige," he said softly. "You can still back out."

She shook her head. "I've got to do this, Walter. I was against it earlier because I was scared of something going wrong and possibly never seeing my son again… never seeing you…," she paused and bit her lip before adding, "or the team again…, but…," she splayed his hands apart with hers and curled her fingers over the spaces between his knuckles before briefly bringing his palms to her lips and kissing them lightly. "But, as I said to Agent Carver, those woman are currently living my nightmares, and I can't sit idly by knowing I could have helped them. And yes," she inhaled deeply as she pulled his palms from her face and held them to her heart, "it could end badly for me, but at least I would have tried."

"Paige…"

"Remember the case when you, Happy, Toby and Cabe went to Antarctica a few months ago?"

He nodded quietly.

"Ralph was really touched by Captain Decker's bravery, and though all odds were against the man, he believed in my son, and Ralph believed in Scorpion and everything Scorpion stood for. He said, "Scorpion never fails," with so much conviction, and knowing how much faith my baby boy puts in this team… i-in you… and in me, I can't let him down, and I can't let those women down either." She inhaled a deep breath and brought his left palm to her lips before whispering, "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do."

"If it's something you feel so strongly about, then we will back you up 100% of the way," Walter smiled. "But, just know, if you change your mind, we'll support your decision to do so, too."

"Thank you." She mumbled against his fingertips.

"But, like you, I don't like it either." Walter muttered. "I feel like Agent Carver hasn't told us everything."

"I feel like that too, but, for now, we have to trust her."

He sighed. "I hate it when you're right."

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "You hate it when anybody is right other than yourself."

Walter feigned annoyance. "And she's back."

"Thank you, Walter," Paige whispered to him as she quickly leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to the man's cheek. As she lightly pushed away from him and turned towards the team, Toby, Sly, Happy and Cabe pretended not to have witnessed such a seemingly intimate exchange between the not-couple, as Katherine approached the mother and gently touched her shoulder.

"I'll brief you on the specifics of the case in a few hours. In the meantime, do whatever you need to do in order to prepare for the mission. Okay?"

"Okay," Paige closed her eyes and nodded.

"Hey, forget the CIA," the deputy director said. "If things go awry, Homeland will be there to pick up the CIA's slack. I'll assign a few extra agents to the case to go undercover as extra security detail for the after party."

"The CIA could deny your request, though!" Sylvester exclaimed loudly.

To everyone's surprise, a wide smirk stretched across Katherine's lips. "What the CIA doesn't know, won't hurt them."

"Oh, believe me," Walter chortled as Katherine made her way to the door, "They'll find out."

The deputy director's eyebrows lifted innocently, and as she stepped outside, she blinked. "Find what out?"

Toby smirked as the woman left the building and chuckled. "Oh, she's good." He then turned to Paige and took off his hat. "I'm sorry I was such a hard ass earlier. If I knew the whole story before I started being a pain in the tuckus towards you, I would have never tried to pressure you into this mission. Everything I said to you was unfair and uncalled for."

"Thank you, Toby." Paige gave the shrink a soft smile. "Your apology means a lot."

"Yeah," Happy chimed in. "I'm sorry too. While I wasn't as terrible as Toby, I certainly didn't take your side like I should have…, and, while we're sort of on topic, I'm sorry for not clocking that woman for insulting you. She pissed me off when she called you a nobody. It doesn't matter what she said to try to save her ass, she totally dissed you, and that's not cool."

"Thanks… I think." Paige replied, issuing Happy the same smile she had given Toby. "Anyway," she headed for her desk and grabbed her purse, "Looks like I need to go shopping for a new swimsuit." She turned towards Walter and bit her lip. "Coming?"

Walter blinked and swallowed the lump in his throat as he idiotically pointed to himself and muttered, "Me? You want me to go?"

"I need someone to drive me," she nervously laughed. "My legs feel like spaghetti, and if I drive myself, I'll never leave the garage."

Walter flexed his fingers and glanced at Toby who was wiggling his eyebrows and giving him two thumbs up. He inhaled a deep breath and forgot to release it as he squeaked out an "O-okay" and grabbed his keys.

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

Wow… didn't expect the first chapter to be so long.

I hope I represented Paige properly. I didn't want her to do this assignment against her will so I tried to find a way for her to choose to participate on her own volition, validated by her own reasons and not because she's "forced" to do it by the CIA. I want this case to give Paige a voice in the mission, and in general, because we don't see much of her POV on the show. The purpose of this case is designed to show how important Paige is to the members of Scorpion, and while this will be a Waige fic, it will also showcase Paige as an independent person, proving that she is just as important as the rest of the team.

It really bugged me that she considered herself as expendable on 2x16 "Fractured," when she volunteered to save that man in the car so I wanted to use this dream I had as a way to help Paige realize that she IS NOT expendable. That she is just as important as anybody else on the team. So, yes, while this is a Waige fic and a family fic, it is also majorly a Paige fic.

This fic was originally planned to be humorous (and not originally contain sex trafficking in the case), but my fingers had a different plan, and I just couldn't stop typing.

Please let me know what you think of the first chapter and whether or not I should continue. I hope I have not offended anyone as that was not my intent.