And here our journey ends. I've neglected 90% of my normal life to write this fic so best that we wrap it up haha. But I've enjoyed your sweet, hilarious reviews immensely. Thank you for a very fun week and happy Scorpion day!

He didn't want to see her.

Judging from the way he had himself practically barricaded in the loft, he wasn't interested in seeing anyone. Paige didn't dare go up there, not after the catastrophic failure of the night before. She sent Sylvester—the only member of the team, aside from Happy, who didn't seem to be experiencing tension with Walter—with a plate of food around noon and received a secondhand thank you, which she suspected the mathematician might have embellished slightly.

The last week had ground her down and she was grateful for her two upcoming days of freedom. She planned to spend them exclusively with Ralph, who was almost shockingly supportive as she sobbed on his shoulder like an unstable mother. Paige felt determined to pull herself together and find a way to show her appreciation for how amazing of a kid he was.

She dropped him off at school early so he wouldn't be around when Tim came into the garage. The trainee was confused, though not wholly surprised after the way they left things at the restaurant. He insisted he wasn't jealous of her friendship with Walter and that it was only a problem if she reciprocated the genius's feelings. When she didn't respond, the light dawned in his eyes and he'd merely leaned over to kiss her cheek before telling Cabe that he was taking some personal time and disappearing for the remainder of the day.

The look in his eyes had hurt her. But not as much as the look in Walter's had and she supposed that was all she really needed to know.

Paige switched on her turn signal and made a left into the alleyway. Delivery drivers seemed incapable of finding the garage, so she'd volunteered to get some fresh air and pick up Italian for the team. It smelled amazing and she wondered if it might even be enough to lure Walter out of hiding.

But the genius's car was nowhere to be found and Paige felt the knot in her stomach tighten. He had used her absence to sneak away. She'd been so nervous, before, about the prospect of permanent strain between them. Now she was wondering if he ever planned to look at her again.

Toby stepped out of the garage alone, circling straight around to her backseat. Paige pressed a button to unlock the doors and climbed out to help him. "Thank you." Trying not to sound too anxious, she added, "Walter's car isn't here. Is he…?"

"Okay?" the psychologist finished her sentence. He nodded. "Yeah. He told us he was going to the beach and didn't expect to be back for a while."

"Oh. Uh, good to know." Paige opened her mouth to say something else—even she wasn't sure what—and closed it abruptly, returning her attention to the takeout containers.

Toby paused, and she stopped too, the crinkling noise of plastic bags entirely too loud in her ears when she was only one handling them.

"This has been an amazing year for me," he said out of the blue. "I've worked really hard not to screw things up with Happy. It's in my nature to self-sabotage when my life is going well. But I haven't."

Paige frowned, unsure what his philosophical waxing stemmed from or how she should respond. "I know. That's great," she offered tentatively.

He placed one hand on the roof of her car and used it to support his weight. "Yeah, but what if instead of self-sabotaging, I sabotaged someone else?" She arched her brow in a silent question, and the psychologist pressed his lips together, looking as close to ashamed as she had ever seen him. "I think I might have been so focused on not blowing up my own life that I meddled too much in Walt's."

Oh.

Oh.

"Cabe and I told him not to confess his feelings for you," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. "And then I told you not to confront him about the capsule. I thought I was protecting him. And you. But, uh…" Toby's lips twisted into a smirk. "Walt kinda laid us out last night and he was right. We messed up. You've always worked best when you were honest with each other. I should have been encouraging you to tackle your issues, not hide from them. Sorry."

Paige swallowed hard. She'd assumed, after Tahoe, that Walter never consciously admitted his love for her because he wasn't ready. But he had been ready and stayed silent out of respect for her and Tim. Considering Walter's heightened emotional state the night before, it wasn't hard to imagine a few of Toby's prying questions breaking open the floodgates.

The liaison sighed. "Thanks. We screwed everything up pretty royally, though. I think it might be a while before he's ready to talk to me."

"Nah." Toby gave her a reassuring half-smile. "He's had a day to cool off. There's nothing he wouldn't forgive you for, Paige. And yeah, that's a lot of control to hand over to another person. He just needs to know you won't abuse it."

She exhaled and rubbed her eyes, which had been dry and grainy all day from the crying and lack of sleep. "But maybe I did abuse it. And I don't know how to explain it. Or how to apologize for it."

Toby abandoned the bags and turned, leaning back against the car door that wasn't open. His arms traveled over his head and he flattened his palms on top of his hat. "Your job is to make us understand things, isn't it? And Walt hired you because you're damn good at it. You've always known how to get through to him." He nodded in the direction of the garage. "Hap and I can take care of Ralph if you want to go. Or not. My meddling days are over."

What if he really wasn't ready to see her? What if she was just about to make things even worse?

They probably can't get worse, actually.

Her last attempts went badly because she asked him for more than he could give. She wouldn't make that mistake this time. If she could just salvage their friendship, that would be a good start. "Yeah. Thanks. And I'm sure Walter understands that you and Cabe meant well."

"Eh, we've gotten through worse. You know, after Happy rejected my proposal, Walter said I should stop trying to make it work with her and I called him an ass." He leaned down to gather the bags in both hands and then nudged the door shut with his knee. "Guess I'm the ass, huh?"

Paige shrugged. "You are," she teased, a small grin forming on her face. "But I think we've all been lately."

It didn't take her long to locate him. Walter brought her and Ralph to this spot a few times after Megan was gone. Paige was surprised he'd been willing to share it with anyone else, but grateful that he allowed them to honor his sister's memory even though they only had a short time with her.

He was staring at the ocean, looking strangely peaceful as the wind rustled his hair and billowed his shirt. The sunset was gorgeous—vibrant orange streaks painting the sky and fading out into pink rays. She understood why Megan begged to come here so often.

Paige had pulled off her wedges while walking in the sand and set them to the side before lowering herself next to him. She pulled her knees to her chest and curled her arms around her bent legs, surprised that the silence which fell between them was almost comfortable, or at least not as tense as she'd expected.

"I ended it with Tim," she murmured after a few minutes. The genius didn't turn to look at her, but she saw him shift his weight from the corner of her eye and knew that he heard. "I'm sorry, Walter. I don't know what I was thinking—showing up at the garage like that last night. I should never have told you how I felt before I was free to. I put you in an impossible position."

"You didn't."

She blinked, surprised to hear him respond. "Didn't what?"

"Tell me. How you felt."

"Oh." Paige replayed their conversation in her head, even though she knew his memory was impeccable. "I guess I didn't. Not really." She cast her eyes downward as she toyed with the hem of her blue top, twisting it around her fingers. "Well, I love you, Walter. I think maybe I've loved you for a while. I just…I stopped believing that you would ever feel ready or even want to be with me." She bit the inside of her lip. "The irony is that after everything that's happened, maybe you've decided you don't want to be with me after all."

"Paige," he said softly, but she cut him off, not ready to hear his rejection until she'd said everything she came to say.

"I'm only telling you because I don't want any more secrets. I'm not expecting…anything. I didn't break up with Tim for you. I did it for me. And I know we've been through a lot, so if there's too much baggage, if you don't want to do this or you feel like I'm not the one for you anymore…" That idea alone stole her breath. "It's okay. I'm still here for you and the team. No matter what."

Walter uttered her name again, and she fell quiet, tilting her head in his direction but not meeting his eyes directly. "I appreciate your apology. But you're hardly the only one who has erred here." He stretched his legs out in front of him and her attention was drawn to his hands again as he massaged his left palm with his thumb. "I was upset by your actions. I'm still…hurt. But perhaps I failed to take into account my past decisions. The many times I've pushed you away. My courtship with Linda."

Paige stiffened involuntarily at the mention of the other woman. She hadn't been quite as forthcoming with her jealousy as Walter was, but that didn't mean she was above it.

"I know I don't apologize often. Not as frequently as I should. But I am sorry for hurting you, too." His fingers curled and Paige could see the impressions that his nails left on the skin. "I just need time. Once I've processed the events of the past few months, we can restore our equilibrium."

Equilibrium. That was Walter speak for "normal" and she wanted to get back to that—in some ways, but not others.

You promised you wouldn't push him too hard.

But she'd failed at keeping her disappointment off her face, clearly, because even the genius picked up on it and furrowed his brows in concern. "You're upset. What did I do?"

Paige swallowed. Her throat felt thick and each breath took effort, but she was determined not to alarm him. "No, Walter. It's okay. I'm okay." The breeze pushed a few strands of hair into her face and she forced them back behind her ear. "You're willing to rebuild our friendship and that's…that's all I can ask you for right now."

A look she didn't recognize passed through the genius's eyes before he returned his gaze to the water, which was starting to look black as the light disappeared.

"Paige, I think you may have misunderstood." He rubbed his hand over his jaw. "Yes, my mind requires time to…catch up. Both of us will need to exert significant effort to reestablish trust and open communication. And I acknowledge that I still have substantial room for growth." Walter exhaled and his expression softened as he glanced back at her. "But I love you. That hasn't changed. That won't change. Now that I've, uh, accepted my feelings, I don't believe there are any variables that would negatively impact my desire to be with you."

The liaison's heart pounded against her rib cage. He was expressing himself the best way he knew how, and it wasn't poetic in the traditional sense but Paige was sure she'd never heard anything more beautiful. "So…we're working on it?"

His lips curved up. "If you're willing."

Heat crept into her cheeks. Walter had no idea how willing she was. But she could wait, as long as she knew what she waiting for. "I'd like that."

He smiled down at her—it felt so good to see him smile, to have made him smile—and as hard as she fought for control, she couldn't quite drag her eyes away from his lips. Whether he remembered the cues from their first kiss or her impulse was just painfully obvious, Walter seemed aware of her intention. She didn't even realize she'd said his name until he nodded and relaxed his shoulders. "It's okay, Paige."

She tucked her legs underneath her to get better leverage and brought her hands up to his face, fingers drifting down to his neck, giving him time to move away if he needed space. But he was still except for the accelerated rise and fall of his chest. Paige didn't know how often they would do this, while they were waiting, but it felt like sealing an agreement, receiving confirmation they both badly needed. The liaison was suddenly grateful that he'd stopped her before, because now it was just the two of them, and she would have no regrets about what she was preparing to do.

She pushed up slightly, onto her knees, and slanted her head to brush her lips over his. Walter felt warm and stable against her, secure in a way that made her grasp just how much she'd missed him. She melted into him as he deepened the kiss and rested his hands on her waist, clutching her shirt, keeping her steady.

A small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that they were in public, even though there weren't many people left around them, and it was better, regardless of where they were, not to get too carried away. Paige tugged on his bottom lip before pulling back, balancing her weight on her shins. He was staring at her with so much affection it made her blush.

"That was…overwhelming."

She laughed quietly. "Yeah. A little bit for me too."

The genius's fingers flexed into her waist, and Paige realized it was a signal for something he wasn't sure how to ask. She smiled and sat on the sand, scooting down so she could lean comfortably against his chest. Walter's arm came around to rest on her other side and she tipped her head back onto his shoulder. She could feel his breathing, steady and even, and if not for her son, Paige was pretty sure she'd have no intention of ever moving.

This was enough. For now, this was more than enough.