This story is starting to turn into a little bit of a let's-hate-on-Tim fic. Even though he's gone, I think I still hold a little resentment toward him hehe.

Ralph knocked on Paige's door, pulling her away from her thoughts, "Mom? Can I come in?"

Brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear, Paige answered, "Yeah, Ralph."

He opened the door, "Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why would you ask that?"

He shrugged, "Well, it's getting late, and I heard you pacing."

She looked down at her feet. She didn't remember getting off her bed, let alone pacing. "Oh, uh, yeah, I-" she stopped, knowing her son wouldn't buy it and wondering how much she should tell him. "I just... I made a mistake, and I'm worried about it, that's all." Forcing a smile and putting her laptop away so Ralph wouldn't see her hands shaking, she glanced at the clock. "It's past your bedtime. You need to sleep."

But Ralph just sat on her bed, "If you're staying up, then I am too. I want to help."

Paige sighed, her overemotional state leaving her vulnerable to the love that welled up for her son, making her eyes sting. She sat on the bed next to him, hugging him to her side, "That's very sweet Ralph, and I appreciate it. But you need your sleep. And so do I, which is why we are both going to bed. Okay?" and kissed the top of his head.

Ralph sighed reluctantly and stood up, but before heading for the door, he turned around to look at her, "Whatever it is, you know Walter will forgive you."

Her eyes widened, "How did you-"

"Mom, there's not a lot of things that would get you this upset. It's not hard to figure out."

Paige opened and closed her mouth, unsure how to reply to that. She had no idea she was so transparent. Then she pressed her lips together, resigning to the fact that Ralph was much more perceptive than she gave him credit for. She had to remember he wasn't five anymore. She couldn't keep the hard things from him like she used to. She reached up to brush his hair across his forehead, "I'm not sure it's gunna be that easy. But I'm gunna try my hardest to make up for it."

Ralph smiled, "It'll be enough, don't worry. Like I said, Walter will forgive you."

Ralph's confidence confused her, and she tilted her head, "Ralph, how can you be so sure of that, when you don't even know what it is."

Ralph shrugged, "I don't know, I just know Walter. He can't stay mad at you for long."

Somehow that made her feel worse. She tried not to let her face fall, but Ralph must have seen it anyway because he studied her for a moment and hesitated before asking, "Does this... have anything to do with why you're mad at Walter?"

Paige stared at him, blinking rapidly in an attempt to keep tears from building in her eyes. How had she not known that Ralph was affected by all this? Paige had never talked about or hinted at the change in her relationship with Walter. She knew how much Ralph adored Walter, and she would never do that. But of course Ralph knew anyways. The late nights and early mornings at the garage had stopped, and she couldn't remember the last relaxed, friendly conversation with Walter.

I'm a moron.

Paige jumped up from the bed, startling Ralph, and searched for her car keys.

Ralph's eyes followed her, "What are you doing?"

She looked up at him, "Ralph, I want you to be in bed by the time I get back, okay?"

Ralph nodded with a smile, knowing exactly where his mom was going.

When Walter heard a knock on the frame of the open door to the loft, he turned around, "Hi."

Linda smiled back and held up two paper plates covered in plastic wrap, "I brought cake."

Walter wasn't really in the mood for cake, but he accepted it anyway as they sat down on the couch to eat. Linda asked, "So, how are you?"

Walter studied her for a moment, unsure if she was actually asking, or if it was just a formality of small talk. Deciding he should abide by common social etiquette, he replied, "Well, we recently saved a young boy's life, so that's always fulfilling. Oh, and Sylvester is working on a project which will hopefully result in full tomato coverage on a slice of bread."

Linda gave him a curious look with a slight smile, and without an explanation, Walter was left to ask, "What?"

Linda shook her head and took a forkful of cake, "Nothing, I'm just wondering what it feels like to save lives on such a regular basis that it becomes part of normal life."

Walter frowned, "I-I didn't mean to devalue the importance of saving the boy's life, I-"

She raised her eyebrows, "Oh I know. I didn't think that. I just meant that I'm still really amazed at what you're able to do with Scorpion." She rested her chin on her hand and leaned forward, asking playfully in an exaggerated reporter voice, "Tell me, Walter, does all this saving lives business ever get to your head? Would you say you have a God complex?"

Walter smirked, "Many people would certainly say I do." Growing more serious, he cleared his throat, "I'm working on that, though."

Linda leaned back in her seat and sighed, "You know, Walter, I meant it when I said you're a good person. I might not have fit well with you, but any woman who does is very lucky."

Of course, Paige immediately flashed to his mind. There was always something about him and Paige that just fit, but there were so many obstacles... Walter doubted he would ever "fit" with anyone like that again. Even if he did, he wasn't sure he would want it. It would always come back to Paige.

Linda tilted her head and spoke softly, "What? You just went somewhere." Walter opened his mouth to respond, but he didn't know what to say. Linda helped him along, "Does it have something to do with why you called me?"

Walter sighed and began telling her everything, all the way from when he first realized he had feelings for Paige when they were dancing together at that art gala. He was a little nervous at first, unsure if she would be angry that he had feelings for Paige when he and Linda were dating. But she didn't seem to react negatively. He supposed they had only dated for a few weeks, and she never had real feelings for him. There wasn't really anything to be angry about.

When he finished his story, Linda narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment, then spoke, "You know it's not your fault? What happened when you went down the rabbit hole?"

Walter inhaled a deep breath, and slowly let it out. She must have seen his doubt, because she continued, "Walter, we might not have known each other for very long, but I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't hurt a fly if you could help it."

Walter scowled, "B-but I could have helped it. I-"

She interrupted him, her voice adamant, "How? You were in no state to help yourself. And you couldn't have known that was going to happen."

"I-I'm not sure that makes me feel better. If I couldn't have prevented it, then there's nothing I can do to keep it from happening again." He squeezed his eyes shut, "Maybe I'm just not good for her. I thought I could improve, but..." he shook his head.

Linda sighed, "Walter, I'm sure you think you're far from normal. And in a lot of ways you are. But what you're experiencing right now? And how you're reacting? It is completely normal. Even someone with high EQ really struggles to find their way through a broken heart."

Walter turned his head to her and blinked. He hadn't thought of what he was feeling as a broken heart. He had never understood the term before, but the tightness in his chest... he supposed it was an adequate description, in a metaphorical sense. Linda continued, "Burying yourself in your work when you don't want to feel the pain is normal, and really common." She cocked her head and shrugged with small smile, "You just... were a little more intense about it."

That gave him little comfort, and his stomach turned, "It just seems like our relationship is too complicated. I make it complicated. It could have been simple..." He licked his lips, thinking, "Paige and Tim's relationship is simple. As much as I hate it," he curled up his lip, "she seems happy with him. I'm not sure I could do the same for her."

Linda glanced to the side for a moment, then back at Walter, "Wait, so you're telling me they've been dating for this long, and never had a fight? No bumps in the road? All smiles and sunshine and roses?"

Walter cleared his throat, not sure why Linda would be pointing that out to him, "A-as far as I'm aware."

She shook her head, "No. I don't buy it. Every relationship has issues. You know what they say, if it sounds too good to be true... Walter, a complicated relationship isn't necessarily one that isn't meant to be. Hell, some of my best relationships are also my most complicated ones."

Walter didn't know what to say to that. He had always valued efficiency, and more often than not, simple meant more efficient. So, by extension, he had valued simplicity. It rarely occurred to him that complications could be better. But relationships had never quite followed the rules of the universe that his mind had come to understand.

Linda broke into his thoughts, "I think you should tell her."

"Huh?" He wasn't asking what Linda was referring to. He hadn't even considered telling Paige how he felt as a possibility, not until Tim was out of the picture, and Walter and her were on much better terms. If that ever happened.

Linda leaned forward, "I know you promised not to tell her. You would be breaking a promise, and there could be consequences to that. I get it. But you're obviously struggling with this, and I think you would feel better with everything out in the open." She hesitated, seeming to weigh her words before she continued, "Plus, Walter, did you ever think that maybe she doesn't know how strongly you feel about her, and more importantly, that you're willing to act on those feelings? Maybe, she would make a different decision if she had all the facts."

Walter frowned at this, trying to think of all the different ways that course of action could play out. "W-what if she thinks I'm not sincere? She's been so mad at me lately..."

Linda pressed her lips together, "I don't think so. It's no secret that you have trouble expressing emotions. Saying that you love her is much, much different than changing room reservations or photoshopping a picture. Walter, she might think you were just being petty." After a pause, she continued, "I can't guarantee that she'll choose you, but..." She bit her lip and asked, "Why did you date me when you had feelings for Paige?"

Walter looked at her curiously, wondering if he had misread her before, and maybe she actually was upset about it, "Uh... I, I guess... I was, um, afraid. I mess up most of my relationships with normals, and I just couldn't risk... I mean, it was stupid. But I was trying to run away from it, channel those feelings into someone I wasn't so afraid of losing."

Linda raised her eyebrows, and Walter thought for a second that might have came off insulting. But he relaxed when she responded, "So... maybe she's doing the same thing."

Walter sucked in a breath. He'd never thought of that before. "B-but I wouldn't leave her."

"Maybe. But Drew did." When Walter opened his mouth to argue, Linda held up a finger, "I know you're not Drew. And I'm sure Paige knows that too. But that kind of thing doesn't just go away. And after you've used Scorpion as an excuse to not be together..." She shrugged, "Maybe she's afraid of you leaving her as much as you're afraid of her leaving you."

Oh, boy. Walter leaned back, trying to figure out when everything went so wrong. But one thing didn't add up, "It only took a few weeks for you and I to realize there was nothing there. Paige and Tim have been together for months, and they're apparently committed enough to work through a long distance relationship," Walter winced at the thought. "Surely, if there's nothing there, they would have broken up by now."

Linda nodded, "Except with us, there were no real feelings on either side. As far as we know, there's no reason for Tim to not have genuine feelings for Paige." She turn to face Walter more, "Which is why, Walter, you need to tell her. If she thinks your feelings aren't as strong as Tim's, she definitely won't take the risk with you." Leaning back and taking the last bite of her cake, "Besides, in my opinion, Tim was out of line."

Walter frowned and gave her a sidelong glance, a question in his eyes. Swallowing, she elaborated, "Walter, they'd only been dating for a few weeks when they went to Tahoe. There's no way he felt as strongly about Paige as you did. I could see him being disappointed, sure. And maybe annoyed because," she gave him a friendly nudge and a teasing smirk, "you did have two years to ask her out. But making you keep it a secret from her? Uh-uh." She shook her head.

He pondered that for a second, "I-I mean, he didn't really make me. I offered."

Linda sighed, "Maybe. But then calling you pathetic? No way. Not cool."

"T-to be fair, he didn't call me pathetic. He called my attempts to undermine him pathetic."

Linda rolled her eyes, "Potato, pot-ah-to. And you need to stop defending him. He's a potato." Walter looked at her in surprise, the image of a potato-Tim making it difficult to keep a laugh from pushing past his lips. "Besides, I mean, you're way more handsome than Tim."

Walter raised an eyebrow in skepticism, amused that she said it as if being more handsome would be game, set, match. "You're just trying to make me feel better."

She smiled, "I mean it! I always thought he was too..." She gestured and narrowed her eyes, trying to find the right word. "Jock. Like, he'd be the high school star football player." She shook her head and chuckled, "Never trust the star football player."

Walter snorted, and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke with his gaze fixed on the opposite wall, "I keep thinking of a potato-Tim."

Linda giggled, "PotaTim."

Walter let out the laugh he'd been holding back. It felt good to genuinely laugh about something. It felt like so long since he'd done that.

Paige pulled up to the garage, and immediately knew something wasn't right. There was a car parked outside, one she didn't recognize. She glanced down at the clock in her car. It was 10:20. Who the hell was here so late? It would be weird enough if it were one of the team, but a stranger?

Paige got out of her car and quietly slipped inside the garage. She didn't know why she was sneaking in; it wasn't as if she wasn't allowed to be there, and she obviously couldn't talk to Walter without making her presence known. Something just... didn't feel right. She smirked as she imagined Walter's response to that, something about it being illogical and unfounded in reality.

The only light filtered down from the loft, giving the downstairs space a strange glow. Paige cautiously began to climb the stairs, but she froze when the sound of laughter floated down to her. She knew that laugh... but she couldn't quite place it. Against her better judgement, Paige crept up a few steps, straining to hear the conversation.

After a few moments, Paige heard Walter, "I know we haven't spoken in awhile, but I'm glad you came. To be honest, I wasn't totally sure where I sat with you after what happened."

"Oh, of course. I had a good time tonight, just like old times. Minus the bombs. And I'll always be here if you ever need someone to talk to."

Oh, God. No no no no no. Paige finally figured out who that voice belonged to. Spinning around, Paige tried to tamp down her turning stomach as she rushed out of the garage, no longer caring to be quiet.

Paige leaped into her car and pulled onto the road, Linda's words echoing in her head. She couldn't decide which part she hated most. "I had a good time tonight, just like old times." What did that mean? Were they dating again? "I'll always be here if you ever need someone to talk to." Paige used to be that person for Walter. But she'd blown it. She'd taken his trust, put it through the shredder, set it on fire, and threw it in the trash. And now he was turning to someone else, and Paige had no right to ask to be that person again. But God, she wanted to so bad.

A door opened and closed downstairs, interrupting Walter and Linda's conversation. Linda turned around on the couch, "Is someone here?"

Walter frowned as he stood up, "I don't know." He wasn't expecting anyone. He climbed down the stairs, Linda following him, and called out, "Is anyone here?" There was no reply, so he took a quick look around the garage, but found nothing.

Linda stood in the middle of the floor, "That's... strange. Could someone have broken in?"

"It doesn't look like anything is out of place. It was probably just one of the team, forgot something. I'll ask them tomorrow."

Linda smiled, still looking around a little nervous, then glanced at her phone, "Oh, it's getting late. I should go." She grabbed her purse and started to leave, but turned around, "I mean it, Walter. I'm here to talk to. Sometimes it's good to get a third party opinion."

Walter nodded, "Uh, thanks."

"Walter..." She hesitated, "Just remember you don't have to be perfect for her. It's okay to make mistakes and mess up a little, as long as you learn from it. And... if she can't see that, then you're not the only one who has things to work on." The she smiled and left.

Walter stood for a few seconds, and it was only just sinking in that he should tell Paige. How exactly was he going to do that? How could he even approach the subject? He couldn't just blurt it out; he had much more to say about it. So much more. Three words weren't enough to explain everything that had happened, and to convince her that he wouldn't change his mind about it next week, or month, or year. The possibility of hoping for too much and losing her because of it still scared the hell out of him. But he understood now that running away from it would only result in losing her anyways. He needed to tell her, and soon, before it was too late. If he hadn't already waited too long. And it would either result in what he'd wanted with her for so long, or it would blow up in his face.

Oh, boy.