I actually changed this chapter quite a lot from what I had even just a few days ago. It's still the same basic stuff, it just lacked... flavor, I guess? I don't know, but I'm much more satisfied with this now.

I've used some suggestions from reviews in this chapter, things I wanted to use but wouldn't have made sense until this chapter. So thank you for that.

And thank you for supporting this story, I hope you enjoy the 8th and final chapter!

"Walter, I don't ever want you to think that you only bring pain to my life. My life changed for the better when I met you. Ralph too. And the only reason you are able to hurt me is because I love you-"

His head snapped up, "What?"

She looked confusedly at him, "What?"

He was staring intensely at her in a way that took her breath away, "You- you said, um, y-you, love m-me...?"

"Yes, Walter, I thought you... I thought you remembered space...?"

"I- I did, I just thought, um, you were trying to save me."

"Well, I was, but..."

"But you meant it?"

Paige sighed, "I'm not sure that I knew I meant it at the time, but yes. I love you, and I have for a while now."

He frowned at her for a second, trying to digest this. "H-how long?"

"How long have I loved you?" She gave a small giggle in spite of the situation, "I don't know, Walter. At some point, I just sort of... did."

He looked away and gulped, realizing that was exactly how it was for him.

When she continued, her voice was softer, almost afraid of the answer, "So... you thought I didn't love you?"

He frowned again, "I guess I never... I just assumed..."

"Oh, Walter," she whispered. She could feel tears springing to her eyes, making them feel scratchy. "I can't blame you, though. I've, um, done a lot of stuff I regret regarding us. Walter... I made the decision to try to escape what was happening with us, and I did that without any regard for you. I was being selfish. I had been hurt, so I stopped trying. I'm so sorry for that."

Walter didn't know what to say. He pressed his lips together as he struggled to sort through his thoughts. Then he looked down when he felt her hand slide over his. He turned his palm up so they could link fingers, then he looked back up at her, "I'm, um, sorry I hurt you to the point that you felt the need to protect yourself from me. I was scared of losing you... I figured out that I would lose you anyway if I kept you at arms length, but I still wonder if you'd be happy with me. I know I'm not easy, and I probably never will be."

One of the corners of Paige's mouth turned up, "Well, I'm gunna pull a cheesy line and quote Theodore Roosevelt, 'nothing worth having comes easy.'"

"I just... I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't want to hurt you either, Walter. But obviously staying friends didn't stop that."

Walter sighed, "I know."

After a pause, Paige shifted her weight to face Walter more, "Look, we've both hurt each other, we both regret things, and we both love each other." She smiled and half-joked, "Maybe we could just call it even?" Walter briefly smiled before she grew serious again, "I know we both have a lot to make up for, and it's gunna be a while before things are back to the way they were, m-maybe better than they were..." She trailed off for a second, searching his face. "But maybe we can move forward now? Work on this together?"

Walter nodded, feeling his whole body relax with relief, "I'd like that."

Paige smiled, "Okay." She didn't know what to do next. Boy, she wanted to kiss him, but they still hadn't exactly defined their relationship. Was a kiss too much-?

Walter interrupted her thoughts by pressing his lips on hers. They were still holding hands, but Walter brought his other hand to rest on her thigh. This kiss wasn't deep, but it was sweet, and she melted against him. When they broke away she threw her arms around him and closed her eyes, missing him. "God, I love you."

Walter slid his arms around her waist, "I love you too."

"I knew you guys would make up!" Walter and Paige jumped at the sound of Ralph's voice. They turned to see Ralph standing in the doorway, a big grin on his face, and Veronica standing behind him.

"I'm sorry, I told him not to come in." Ralph gave Veronica a look. She had told him to come in.

Shrugging Ralph came further into the room and smiled mischievously, "So. When are you getting married?"

Paige's eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows in a stern look, getting up to shoo him out, "Okay, that's enough. We have to check out by noon, so pack up then we'll go to Disneyland before going home."

Ralph turned around, "I'm already packed! We can go now!"

He started for the doorway, but Paige grabbed his shoulder. She sagged, looking forward to the time it would've taken Ralph to pack so she could take a nap. And Ralph seemed a little... overexcited. "What did you have for breakfast?"

"Chocolate chip waffles with peanut butter, honey, and whipped cream, and muffins, and a donut!"

Paige glared at her mom, and she defended, "What? He had peanut butter." Paige gave her an exasperated look. Why the hell did peanut butter matter? "It's... protein..." But even as Veronica spoke, her voice faded as she crumbled under Paige's death stare.

Paige then turned back to Ralph, "Ralph, Walter and I haven't really slept, so why don't you and Grandma go into Disneyland while we nap. We'll catch up with you later."

"Okay!"

Veronica followed Ralph out, but not before saying, "Okay, you two have fun 'napping.'" Then she threw a wink over her shoulder.

Paige's mouth dropped open, "Mo-" but promptly snapped her jaw shut, not daring to make a big deal of it in front of her son, fearing he'd catch on to what her mom was referring to.

Paige really did just want to sleep. Not that the other kind of 'sleep' wasn't appealing... but they'd only barely begun to repair their relationship, and she didn't think that was a line either one of them was ready to cross yet. Besides, she was absolutely exhausted. She wasn't sure she could get through another five minutes of conversation, let alone... other stuff. Turning back to Walter after Ralph and Veronica left, she stuttered, "I- I didn't m-mean that..."

Walter snorted a laugh, "I know."

After a pause, Paige continued, still feeling awkward, "A-and sorry about Ralph, h-he's, um-"

"Excited. And on a sugar high. I know." He smiled, "It's okay."

Wow. He really had evolved so much from that man she met at the diner. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before, and felt a fresh wave of guilt. She stepped closer to him and pulled him into a hug.

Somehow he understood, and as he hugged her back, he whispered, "I forgive you."

She thought she might start crying again, so she pulled back, "I'm gunna, um, change into pajamas."

Walter nodded as she left, and sighed. It felt like the first deep breath he'd gotten in so long. He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. He was half asleep when heard Paige come back in, and opened his eyes in surprise when he felt the bed compress with her weight, and drowsily muttered, "Oh."

She looked at him, "Oh, is this not okay?" When he didn't respond immediately, she started to get up, "Th-that's okay, I can sleep in the other bed-"

He grabbed her wrist before she could get up all the way, "Wait."

She stopped and smiled, "Really Walter, it's okay. I know all of this is new-"

"No." He slipped his hand from her wrist to her hand, and began to pull her back toward him. She smiled when she got what he was saying, and tentatively laid her head on his chest, her hand on his stomach.

"This okay?" She whispered.

He gave a noncommittal hum, already half asleep again, but answered her by wrapping his arm around her and settling his hand on the small of her back.

Paige woke up to the smell of coffee. Cinnamon coffee. She opened her eyes and sat up. The bed was empty, and when she looked around the room she saw Walter at a desk on his computer. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, "What time is it?"

Glancing up, he answered, "11:00am."

She groaned. She'd gotten about 3 and a half hours of sleep. "How long have you been up?"

"Uh, since 10:30. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Getting out of bed, she answered, "No, I think my sleep deprived brain smelled coffee and decided it needed some." Making her way to the coffee machine, she asked, "Speaking of, how'd you get the cinnamon? I've never seen that in room coffee."

"Oh, they had it at the continental breakfast downstairs. I wanted to get it before they closed, which is just about now."

Paige grinned, "You went all the way downstairs just for some cinnamon?" She turned around to face him, "That's sweet, Walter."

Walter smiled briefly at her. He hadn't considered it sweet, but he was glad Paige thought so. He just hadn't put cinnamon in her coffee in so long at the garage, and wanted to bring things back to the way they were. He hadn't realized how much they had become like strangers until they were friends again.

She walked over and kissed him on the cheek, and he was slightly embarrassed to feel himself blush. Okay, maybe not friends exactly.

She pulled him out of his thoughts when she grumbled, "Uh God, I look like a hot mess." He looked up to see she was standing in front of her reflection in the wall mirror, apparently just noticing her disheveled appearance. The redness had gone from her eyes, but they were still slightly puffy, her makeup still smeared, and now her hair was tangled and looping in different directions. But he found it... cute? And now that he wasn't as physically and emotionally exhausted, he noticed she was wearing a light purple silk camisole and matching colored plaid shorts, making her legs look miles long. It was out of his mouth before he even realized he had the thought, "Emphasis on the hot."

He froze. Did he just say that out loud? Judging by the way she stopped brushing mid-knot and slowly turned around, he was guessing he did. He gulped.

She felt a furious blush creep up her cheeks as she gaped at him. Walter O'Brien, calling her hot? That was something she never thought she'd see. Then a smile slowly crept on her lips as he fumbled, "I-I mean, um, I didn't- I was, uh, just saying that it- I d-don't mind th-the look."

"I'll bet you don't," she smirked as she grabbed her clothes and stalked off to the bathroom for her shower, making sure to sway her hips as she went.

The two found an all-day breakfast buffet that was right next to the hotel. As they walked in, Paige inhaled, "Mmm smells good."

They picked up their plates and scanned the buffet, until Paige spotted some waffles. "Oooh, waffles," she headed in that direction, and Walter followed. She put two on her plate, "I haven't had these in so long." She then grabbed the honey and began to pour it onto her waffles, when her hand slipped and she squirted honey all over Walter's hand.

She gasped, "I am so sorry," trying and failing to hide her giggles.

She grabbed a napkin as he also failed to hide a smirk, "You think that's funny?"

She shook her head, "No," now in a full fit of laughter.

She began to wipe it up, but he pulled his hand back, "I'm gunna have to wash this off. Where are the bathrooms?"

Her mischievous streak showing, she covertly dipped her finger in the honey she had scooped up with the napkin. With the other hand, she pointed away from her, "Over there."

As he looked over his shoulder, she swiftly touched his cheek, leaving a glob of honey behind.

He turned back to her, his face stoic. Wait... was he mad? She... she was just teasing. She opened her mouth to apologize, when his hand came up and swiped across her nose, leaving something gooey. He licked his finger with a smug expression, "Yogurt."

She opened her mouth in fake protest, then swiped her finger across his cheek to his nose, carrying some of the honey to his nose.

Grinning now, he immediately moved to wipe more yogurt on her face, but she ducked. In one smooth motion, she caught his wrist and licked the yogurt off his finger, only barely closing her lips around the tip.

His smile disappeared immediately, replaced by a warm, smoldering look as a jolt of desire rushed through him. She nearly melted under it, but she decided to play it innocent and asked casually, "Mmm what flavor is that? It's good." He didn't answer her, his mouth was too dry. She leaned forward toward him, reaching past him so he caught a whiff of lavender. When she pulled back she was holding a yogurt container, "Oh, strawberry. I think I'll take one." She wiped the yogurt from her nose and licked it off, fully closing her lips around her finger and pulling her finger out of her mouth, drawing out the action. His eyes trained on her lips of their own accord and he gulped when she licked her lips. Then she whisked around and walked away, finally dropping the act and smirking to herself. This teasing thing was really fun.

Walter stared after her, and realized he wasn't breathing. He inhaled sharply, taking in some much-needed oxygen.

After breakfast, they walked through the main gaits of Disneyland, Paige on the phone with Ralph, "Yeah we're coming in now, where are you guys?"

"We're in line for Haunted House. You guys gotta hurry before we go in."

"Okay, see you there, love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

Paige hung up and told Walter where they were going, and they needed to hurry. She hated to admit it, but she had been feeling giddy all morning, and everything was making her happy. She had the strangest urge to skip, as if she were still a kid, but instead grabbed Walter's hand and began running through the park, pulling him along, "Come on!"

When they arrived at the entrance to the line for Haunted House, Walter quipped, "I don't think I've ever run that far when there wasn't a national emergency involved." Paige laughed, and as they slowed to a walk, he half expected her to let go of his hand, but she didn't. He realized how much he had grown to expect a certain level of distance between them, and anticipate the disappointment of it. This was going to take a lot of getting used to. But in a good way. They shared a glance as they caught up to Ralph and Veronica. Yes, definitely in a good way.

They were in front of the line, deciding who would ride with whom. Paige asked Ralph, "You wanna ride with Grandma?"

"Sure."

Veronica added, "Yeah, you and Walter will go together." She subtly raised an eyebrow, just enough so Paige would get the message loud and clear.

Paige gave her an exasperated look and vaguely shook her head, except this time she blushed. Because this time her mom was right.

After they got on the ride, Paige sidled up close to Walter, and held his hand. After a few seconds, she rested her head on his shoulder, then placed her other hand on his thigh, tracing small circles on him with her finger. He shifted, and she knew she was getting to him. She turned her head, letting her breath tickle his neck. She saw him gulp, and felt a smirk begin to slide onto her lips. She was slowly moving to kiss him lightly on his neck, when suddenly his lips were on hers.

He swallowed her soft gasp, and almost immediately ran his tongue along her bottom lip. She parted her lips to let him deepen the kiss, and they were going quickly from sweet to fervent. He sensed he had turned the tables when he surprised her, and left her lips to kiss along her jawline to her neck.

When he found a particularly sensitive spot, he nearly passed over it, but quickly returned when he realized its effect.

"Wal..." she trailed off, unable to finish his name when he ever so slightly sucked. She had to bite her lip to keep herself quiet, and somehow managed to have the presence of mind to realize this was going too far.

"Wal-Walter." Apparently he took that as encouragement, because he only emboldened his attention to her neck, passing his tongue over her skin, and she thought she would jump out of her skin. "Walter. Stah-Stop."

He pulled back and looked at her, confused. "What- I thought, I thought you liked that."

She laughed and answered emphatically, "Yes, I did. It was good, just um..." She swallowed, "Maybe a little too good."

"Oh." As he processed what she meant, a slow smug expression took over his face.

She playfully slapped his chest and laughed, "Shut up."

He scoffed, "Hey, that's just payback for this morning."

After Haunted House, Ralph, of course, wanted 'one more ride.' But Paige insisted they head back to the garage. She and Walter had, after all, only gotten a few hours of sleep, and she really wanted to have an early dinner and go to bed.

When they got back to the garage, Walter went upstairs to put his luggage in his room.

As he disappeared upstairs Veronica turned to Paige, "You know I've been rooting for you two."

Paige rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you've made that clear enough."

"Hey, I was right wasn't I?"

"I could have done without the interference."

Veronica muttered, "Oh, you don't know the half of it."

Frowning, Paige was about to ask what that meant when Walter reappeared. Deciding to ignore her mom, Paige asked Walter, "Hey, you, um, wanna go out to dinner with me and Ralph?"

Walter smiled. It had been a long time since they'd done that. Add that to the list of things he missed. "Yeah, sounds good."

She pecked him on the cheek and he slid his hand into hers as Ralph shared a secret high five with his grandma. Then they headed toward the door for dinner. The three of them. A family.

Paige sighed, and without turning around, called out, "Come on, Mom."

One final note for those in the Scorpion forum: I know Walter wasn't exactly covered in honey, but it counts, right? Hehe.