Author's Note: This fic is part of a collaboration between WeBuiltThePyramids, WriterFreak001 and FoxPhile. Each Author has written two stories that, together, make up the collection. The stories are best read in order. You can find information on the next story in the series at the end of this chapter.

We've been working on this for several months, with many a Skype session, texting, and rewriting. If you enjoy a chapter, we really, really love reviews.

"Toby," Happy said, slightly more firmly than the first time. "Toby!"

"I'm awake!" Toby said, jumping to his feet.

"You've been pretty out of it all day, kid," Cabe said. "Everything okay?"

"You mean other than the fact that none of us have gotten any sleep for the past three days and I have to send half of the paycheck we got today to the bookie I still owe. My body is trying to put me to sleep both for biological necessity and to protect me from fixating on that."

"I get that," Cabe said. "My ex – wife used sleep as a coping mechanism...sometimes. But your desk is no place for that, especially at the end of a long day and a long case. Let the wife take you home, doctor."

Toby frowned. "Wife?" He blinked, looking at Happy in alarm. "Have I been so out of it I missed our wedding?"

"Nah, kid," Cabe said with a smile. "I just like the sound of it."

"It was a joke, old man," Toby said. "Sarcasm. Perhaps you've heard of it."

"Come on, Toby." Happy said. "Let's go home. I'll go get the car started if you promise you don't fall back asleep and leave me out there."

Toby leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Never again, sweet thing."

Happy tried to hide her smirk as she grabbed the keys and exited the garage.

"You really didn't get that that was a joke?" Sylvester asked, glancing at Cabe.

"What I don't get is the insinuation that I can't pick up on sarcasm because I'm older than the rest of you," Cabe said, "when the most oblivious one here on that subject is Walter."

"Well, how about this one then. What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?" Toby asked. He promptly turned and walked out the door.

Cabe blinked. "Huh?"

"That reminds me of a joke we used to tell in school," Ralph said. "We'd ask someone hey, how do you keep an idiot in suspense, then when they'd ask how, we'd say I'll tell you later and then go back to what we were doing."

"Ralph," Paige said. "That is horribly mean."

"I never actually said that to anyone, Mom," Ralph said. His voice grew quieter. "They always said that to me."

Paige bit her lip. Walter reached out and put a hand on her back.

"Well, I'm taking off too," Sylvester said. "I have to prepare for tomorrow, and even though I can memorize all the required material four times faster than average despite it not being in my field of expertise, I do want to get a good night's sleep on top of that."

"Me too," Cabe said. "Walter, Paige, you want one of us to take Ralph?"

Paige and Walter glanced at each other, and she cleared her throat. "No, Cabe, it's alright. I haven't seen much of him lately either."

Cabe raised his hand as he and Sylvester exited the building.

Walter dropped into a hunker. "Sorry we kept your mom so busy these past few days, bud."

"I enjoyed being able to help with the case."

Walter grinned. "I know you did. We were glad to have your help." He reached out and tousled Ralph's hair. Paige smiled. Since she and Walter had started dating, Paige couldn't help but notice the change in her son. He seemed to float everywhere. The smile was almost never on his face.

Ralph needed Walter just as much as his mother did.

Walter rose, turning toward Paige and sliding an arm around her waist. "Good night," he whispered, his nose nearly touching hers.

"Night," she said with a smile, tipping her head just enough to kiss him.

She and Ralph were already in the car when it occurred to her that Cabe's insinuation might have bothered Walter, might have given him the same slightly uneasy feeling that she'd gotten. "Ralph, can you give me just a minute, please?"

The boy was just putting on his seat belt. "Yeah, sure."

She found Walter at his desk, near where he'd been when they'd left the garage. "Oh," he said when he saw her. "Did you forget something?"

"No." She walked toward him. "I just wanted to make sure that Cabe didn't make you uncomfortable."

"His comment about my inability to detect jokes and sarcasm?" Walter said. "I actually did appreciate what Toby said before he left. In posing the question as a joke, but then leaving and therefore leaving the question as rhetorical, he provided the answer to the joke within the question itself."

"No," Paige said. "I mean yes, but that's not what I was talking about. I meant him suggesting that he could take Ralph so we could have time alone. Because he was thinking..." She shifted her weight nervously. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Okay so…" Paige blew out a long breath. "Have you thought about…" she gestured back and forth between them "you and me…" she wracked her brain for the way he would phrase it. "Becoming intimate?" We've been dating several months. They all assume that we are already.

His eyes darkened and his fingers pressed lightly against her hips, giving Paige her answer. Then he cleared his throat. "I, uh…" he frowned in concentration. "I w – I have. I only…" he bit his lip. "I…"

"Say what you're thinking," Paige said, reaching up and stroking his cheek. "Go ahead."

"I have thought about us," he said. "I have thought about it. So much. But my past intimate encounters…I wasn't ready for them."

Paige blinked in concern. "Were you pressured?"

"It's not their fault," Walter said, "the women. Sarah and Janice both, I felt I had to because we were in a relationship but if I'd told them I didn't want to…I don't doubt that they would have let it be. But I…I didn't love them, I…I never loved anyone before you. You know that."

Paige nodded, and Walter continued. "I considered it a fulfillment of the obligations of a relationship. I didn't want to. I was uncomfortable and my experiences weren't pleasant. Not for them and not…" he bit his lip. "Not for me either. Everyone says it's always good for…for the man, but…" he shook his head. "It wasn't." He looked down, averting his eyes from Paige. "And with you…" he closed his eyes and shook his head. "With you, for the first time, physical intimacy is something I want. But you have Ralph. And…and I know that you spent the better part of ten years without…and…" he looked at her again. "And I don't want to do this unless you know for sure that you're ready. Because…" he bit his lip, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Because I don't want you to regret me."

"Oh, Walter," Paige breathed, running a hand up and through his hair. "Walter I could never regret you." She leaned in and pressed her lips to his, melting against him as he kissed her back, his arms sliding around her back. When their lips separated for air, she smiled, pressing the tip of her nose against his. "I love you," she said. "Please don't doubt my desire to be with you…in any capacity." She kissed him again. "We have those lunch plans tomorrow," she murmured against his lips. "What time were you picking me up?"

"Eleven thirty," Walter said. "The restaurant expects us at noon."

"I don't have to get Ralph until four," Paige said. "It's lunch, we'll be at the restaurant an hour at most. We will have a couple of hours when we get back." She cocked her head to the side, running a finger down the middle of Walter's lips. "Do you want to…plan…for after lunch? Go up to the loft and get to know each other a bit more?"

"Mmmm." Walter kissed her again, gently, and Paige whimpered against his lips as his fingers ran slowly through her hair. "That sounds wonderful."

"Are you sure?" Paige asked quietly. What he'd just told her made her worried. "Are you sure you're not…because I told you I wanted to, are you sure you're not feeling like it's an obligation?"

"I'm not," Walter said, his grip on her tightening as if to give his words more credibility. "Paige, shy of…" he stopped, drawing a slow breath. "Shy of saving my sister, I have never wanted anything more than being right where we are." He kissed her again. "Believe me. The only thing that distresses me is that we don't have time tonight. And that we're tired, anyway. Because I want you."

Paige's eyes fell closed and she sighed as her lips met Walter's again. Now that they'd had the discussion, now that they had plans to go to bed, Walter's kiss shot through her like an electric current, the feeling pooling in her stomach, reminding her of the night they kissed for the first time and she'd have been willing to cross every line in existence if he hadn't pulled away. She was tempted to pull him upstairs tonight. But her son was waiting in the car. And she didn't want to overwhelm him – or herself. Loving Walter O'Brien, being loved by Walter O'Brien, was already so different from any other love she'd shared with anyone. In many ways, this relationship was a first. And in that way, she and he weren't so different.

"I'm surprised you didn't order that new duck appetizer," Walter said. He hadn't ordered his smelly fish. Paige appreciated that.

"Oh gosh, I didn't tell you," she said with a laugh. "I can't eat duck right now."

He cocked his head. "Why not?" He asked curiously.

She smirked. "Because of the Duck Avenger."

"Oh, God, yeah," Walter dropped the fry he was holding back onto his plate. "I still have to read that."

"No no," Paige says. "This isn't Sylvester's Super Fun Guy fanfiction. This is real life. Remember how I was a little late getting gas in the car last week, and you commented that traffic must have been really bad?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Well, we were launched into a case, so I didn't elaborate, but I had to go in, because for some reason it wasn't taking my card. And there was this guy in there, and he had like, these big camouflage suspenders on. And he was telling the poor girl at the counter that he needed a phone to call the police."

"And you didn't get out of there?" Walter asked.

"Okay Walt," Paige said, "there was no pressing issue and even if there had been given the case we had that day it still probably would have been the tamest part of my Tuesday." He smirked. "So anyway," she continued, "the girl asks him what's wrong, and he tells her that the previous day, he saw someone run over these ducklings with their car, and one car had already swerved to avoid them, but this guy went right on through."

Walter cocked his head. "The previous day?"

"Yes."

"How does that warrant calling the cops?"

"Can I finish the story?"

"Right. Sorry."

Paige took a sip of her water. "So the girl asks him why he's calling the cops. He gets indignant and says he needs to report a crime, and isn't there any sense of justice in the world anymore? He turns and sees me, and says you there! Wouldn't you be angry if your toddlers were senselessly murdered?" She shrugged. "I mean, I wouldn't let any toddler of mine jaywalk on the highway, so it's kinda apples and oranges." She took another spoonful of soup. "So then the guy, he's got this gigantic mug, he asks her to refill it for him. She says that mug isn't from this gas station but she can sell him some coffee. He tells her that he's disgusted that she won't help a Good Samaritan out. At this point, the girl sees that I'm impatient, and she suggests to the gentleman that he step to the side and make his phone call so she can help me, since I look like I'm ready. He turns to look at me, but looks past me, and rushes by me and outside."

Walter cocked his head. "Why?"

"I'm getting there," Paige said. "Although..." she smirked and reached across the table to take one of his hands, "given what our after lunch plans are...I appreciate that you ask a lot of questions." She paused a moment, giving Walter what she hoped was a flirtatious look, then launched back into her story. "So it turns out some...official vehicle...I think it was the road commission...was turning into the gas station parking lot, and he ran out to tell them about these baby ducks. By the time I filled up with gas and left, a cop car was in the turn lane toward the station, so I guess he eventually did call them. But I mean, he's not going to get anywhere."

"This is the strangest story you've ever told me."

"It was really...not the way I'd expected to spend my morning," Paige said with a laugh. "And being on Scorpion for several years now, you'd think that nothing could surprise me anymore. But real life...it continues to be stranger than anything you read in books."

"Well, that does make sense, thank you," Walter said, addressing the end of his sentence to the waitress as she appeared seemingly out of nowhere to refill their glasses and ask if they were ready for the check. "I think truth is stranger than fiction more often than not. Because fiction can only be created from the limitations of the human mind. The real world does not operate under any such restrictions. The real world does what's possible regardless of whether or not we can imagine it."

Paige stared at him. Sometimes she got annoyed when he overanalyzed her comments. But there was just something about the way he put that particular analysis. "You ready to get out of here?"

"Yeah," Walter said, sticking his credit card into the folder. "Yeah, she should be back soon."

Paige shifted her weight. "Pay cash. Let's go now." She was glad that she wasn't in a relationship with a Toby Curtis. He'd have realized that the explanation about the limits that the human brain has was what had gotten her hot and bothered. For once, she was glad that Walter was still, for all his good intentions, fairly oblivious.

"If that's what you'd like." Walter pulled out his wallet, leaving enough for the bill and a generous tip. "Let's go."

Paige jumped up, taking his hand as they left the restaurant.

"Something is going on up ahead," Walter said, gesturing with his chin.

Paige had just noticed what he was talking about. "The joys of living in L.A." she commented, though now that she'd thought about it, the traffic hadn't been heavy at all leading up to this. She reached over and turned on the radio.

"...no serious injuries, but reports say that it will take time to clear the highway. Travelers are advised to seek alternate routes."

"Hmmm," Walter said, glancing briefly at the radio before refocusing on the road. "We just passed an exit. Doesn't look like there's another one before where those lights are."

Paige hadn't yet noticed the lights, which had just come into view in the distance, at the top of a slight incline. "Dammit," she said. Up ahead, horns started blaring. Under normal circumstances, Paige would have rolled her eyes at them. But she'd been looking forward to getting home from lunch, and now they'd be delayed. And it'd been a long time since she'd been this excited about consummating a relationship. She slid her hand over to rest on Walter's knee as the car slowed to a stop, several hundred yards before the lights. He looked down at it, then removed one of his hands from the steering wheel to cover hers. "It's only one – forty five," he commented.

"I know." She smiled at him. "I'm just looking forward to getting home."

"Me too." He squeezed her hand, looking over at her. "I said this earlier, but uh...that's a good top."

Paige smiled. She'd been very choosy about her bra and shirt combination that morning. And on top of everything else, this particular shirt was fairly easy to unbutton. She was looking forward to Walter discovering that. "Thank you."

Walter's eyes were lingering, and Paige blushed. He noticed, his smile turning into an embarrassed grin as he looked away. "Hey," she said, stretching out the word until he looked back at her. She raised her eyebrows. She'd left the top two buttons undone from the time she'd gotten dressed, and she now lifted her free hand up to deftly undo the third.

"Paige, we are in the car."

He was trying to come off as a voice of reason, but Paige could tell by the subtle change in his tone that wasn't why he didn't want her to undo another one. "Ah, you really like this top, huh?"

"Not the top," Walter said. "Y – you."

He smiled immediately. He knew he'd said the right thing. Paige leaned across and kissed him, grunting slightly at the restrictive seat belt. When she pulled back, she gave a loud huff of frustration as she fell back into her seat. "Ugh, I hate traffic."

It was a sentence she repeated several times over the next hour and a half.

"That was the absolute worst," Paige said, shoving her hand into her hair as they finally moved – inched really – past the scene of the accident.

"I wish they hadn't refused my offer of help," Walter said. "I could have called the team, Happy could have improved their equipment."

"No one is around today, Walter," Paige said. "By the time they got here it would have cut less than fifteen minutes off the total time."

"I do appreciate you stopping me from making that guy mad."

"That's why you keep me around, after all," she said with a playful smile. "It used to be, anyway."

"No," Walter said. "It was never entirely about that." He looked at her. "You know that, right?"

She smiled. "Yeah."

It was nearly half past three, and they were still twenty minutes from home. At this rate, they'd be back at the garage after it was time for her to leave to get Ralph.

"I guess we're going to, uh, have to wait. To..."

"We'll get home at three fifty two. At least you won't be late to get Ralph."

"Yeah." Paige said again. She looked down at her hands. "It could have been worse, I suppose. We could have been involved in the accident."

"We may have to thank the Duck Avenger for that," Walter quipped, "seeing as you telling that story slightly delayed us in leaving the restaurant."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

Walter grinned.

Paige heard the opening notes of a song she liked. "Ooooh. She turned up the volume, closing her eyes and tapping one foot. Music always helped ease her frustrations.

"Well, thank you for lunch," Paige said as they both walked into the garage. She crossed to her desk, yanking off her shoes and replacing them with the sneakers she'd left on her chair. "I really hate to have to run," she said, looking up at him. "I really hate that I have to run. Especially today."

"You have to get Ralph," Walter said. "It's completely understandable."

"I know, I just..." She stood up. "I don't like having to postpone plans. And uh..." she stepped closer to him. "And I was really looking forward to this."

He slid his arms around her. "Go get your son." He kissed her, and they rested their foreheads together. "Nothing with us has ever happened when we intended it to. But it always does."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Paige said quietly. They separated and, smiling at him, Paige turned and headed for the door.

"Paige?"

She stopped, a hand already on the knob. "Yeah?"

Walter smiled. "I love you."

Head over to writerfreak001's page for the next chapter! (Also note – not all these chapters will show up on the main page because of their M rating.)