Hello!

Aren't you proud of me! I worked really hard to get this up for you all on time. I hope you enjoy it! This chapter is a lot happier than the other ones.

Thank you for all of the great reviews! It helped me get this chapter out for you quickly. Also, thank you to a guest reviewer for your comments on the ending of the first chapter. I am thankful for the constructive criticism.

Finally, a huge shout out to ao3feed-scorpion for posting my story on Tumblr! As I've said before, I don't have a Tumblr, so I can't promote my story there. Thank you for the help!

Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion.

"Toby! Wake up!" Happy yelled in Toby's face as she blearily read the alarm clock, "She's going to be here in a half hour!"

"Whaaa…?" Toby cracked open his sleepy eyes and stole a peek at the alarm clock. 12:30 it read. Three hours later than what he set it to the night before.

"Crap!" he shouted and flew out of bed, "I swear I set the alarm for 9:30!"

Agitated, Happy picked up the clock and checked the alarm setting. Realizing the shrink's mistake, she sighed and turned away towards the door.

"9:30 PM."

Toby's eyes widened. He dove across the bed, determined to prove her wrong. However, much to Toby's dismay, the alarm as indeed set to 9:30 PM, not AM

"Oops," he muttered, putting on his puppy dog eyes and looking up at his angry wife, "I'm so sorry, Happy. I'm an idiot and-"

"Just shut up and get dressed," Happy said, grabbing a towel and her bathrobe, "I'm taking a shower. Make sure you look presentable for the social worker."

The past year was an emotional rollercoaster. It took Happy a few weeks to recover physically from the surgery, but the emotional scars would never heal. Even though the couple had been doing a good job keeping their grief at a healthy level, there were days when neither genius could take it. Some days, Happy questioned the reason she ever developed her EQ. Other days, Toby wanted to take to the bottle and the poker table. But, somehow, they managed to pick up each other's pieces and keep the other from making rash decisions.

They decided early on in the year that their next step would be foster parenting. Adoption was expensive and difficult, so they decided fostering would be a better place to start. Happy put her extra time and energy into getting the apartment child-proofed and safe, creating special locks on the drawers to dangerous chemicals, alcohol, and her tools. She also built a bed and furniture for their spare room. Toby worked on all of the legal things, getting together proper paperwork, reading up on the fostering and foster-to-adoption programs. He helped clean up the living space and threw away anything that was considered unnecessary. He arranged classes at the medical center for Happy and himself. They worked like a well-oiled machine.

All of this led up to today's meeting, the day that the social worker was coming to evaluate the apartment. The couple had spoken with the social worker once before over the phone. She was one of the new recruits at the agency around the time that Happy was released from the system, so she was familiar with Happy and her quirks. The mechanic was not sure if this was a good or a bad thing, but she planned to go along with it and hope for the best. After Happy got out of the shower and Toby got dressed, they prepared a quick breakfast, straightened up the living room and kitchen and sat down on the couch. A tense, but excited silence filled the air as the duo sat, staring at the blank television screen. Thousands of thoughts and worries passed through their minds as they waited for the social worker to arrive.

Finally, there was a knock on the door. Toby jumped up and answered the call. The door swung open to reveal a short and kind-looking middle-aged woman. Toby looked her down once over and determined that she was a happily married mother of two children and a labrador. She also did pilates on the weekends.

"Hello! I'm Tracie Puller," the lady said happily, "you must be Dr. Curtis?"

"Yes ma'am," Toby replied, careful to use good manners, "Please come in."

The social worker nodded and entered the apartment. Her eyes began closely scrutinizing the space, checking to make sure it seemed safe and clean. The look in her eyes told Toby that she was satisfied with her first impression. Happy stood up as she saw Mrs. Puller enter and put on a fake smile. She held out her hand to the social worker and she accepted it.

"Happy Quinn!" Tracie exclaimed, "My, how you've changed!"

"It's actually Happy Curtis now," she replied, "but thank you. It's been so long since I've seen you."

"And you as well," the social worker returned. She entered the living space of the apartment and stopped to check a few items on her checklist. Then she turned to the anxious couple.

"So," she began, "We will begin with the household examination and then I will ask you some questions. I assume you have prepared the paperwork I told you to fill out?"

"Done," said Toby, handing over a manilla envelope of papers.

"Fantastic," Mrs. Puller took the envelope, "Can we begin with the kitchen?"

The inspection went relatively well. Happy showed off her state-of-the-art security systems and protective locks. At first, the social worker was concerned about the quality of the handmade devices, but was quickly proven wrong when she heard Happy credentials. Mrs. Puller commented that the apartment only met the minimum size requirement, and even though this would not hinder them from getting a license, it may be easier to move into a larger home at some point. Other than that, the social worker was satisfied and impressed with the quality of their apartment.

"Your home meets all of the requirements," Mrs. Puller said as she scribbled a few more notes on her clipboard, "are you ready to begin the interview?"

Toby and Happy nodded and led the social worker to their kitchen table. She took a seat across from the couple and pulled out a new form and a pen. Toby and Happy sat nervously, holding hands underneath the table. Tracie smiled at the two.

"Relax!" she said in a soothing voice, "All you need to do is answer these questions truthfully and as best as you can. I'm not here to judge you."

Mrs. Puller saw the couple's shoulders relax. Knowing Happy's background, she understood her nervousness. Trust issues were hard to break down.

"How long have you known each other and how long have you been married?" she asked.

"Eight years, married for three," Toby replied with confidence.

"Have there been any arguments that have caused threats of divorce or separation?"

"No."

"With your permission, I have looked through your medical records. Happy, within the past year, you were treated for a miscarriage. Has this caused any disharmony in your marriage?"

Happy frowned but shook her head.

"If anything it has brought us closer together. We accept that we cannot change what happened, but that we can keep going."

"Do you agree, Mr. Curtis?" said the social worker.

"Of course," he replied, eyes showing the truth.

Mrs. Puller nodded and continued. Most of the questions had to do with their lives at home and work, as well as their social lives. How long have you been employed with your current employer? Have stressful relationships outside of your home caused any issues in your marriage? For most of the questions, their answer was the "correct" answer and Tracie was able to move on. However, a couple of issues did rise.

"Can your line of work put you or your potential foster child in danger?" the social worker asked in her usual cheery tone.

"Well…" Toby began nervously, "We do work for Homeland Security, so we find ourselves out in the field. We do everything in our power to assure that harm does not come to ourselves or any of our team members."

"Would you be okay if I talked to your employer and coworkers to verify that fact?" Tracie asked.

"Definitely," Happy replied. She knew the team wouldn't mind being asked a few questions for their friends.

Then the next tough question came up.

"Do you have a mental disorder that could cause harm to your foster child?"

Happy swallowed thickly. Toby looked down at his feet.

"We both were raised in unfavorable circumstances," Happy began, "It did leave us with scars that have caused us problems, but they improve every day."

"Can you please expand on the types of issues you are talking about?" Mrs. Puller prodded.

"As you probably already know," Toby began, "Happy's experiences have left her with trust and anger issues, as well as some social anxiety. I have addictive tendencies and egomania."

"We feel like we have been able to help each other," Happy continued, "Not only does Toby have a PhD in Psychology, but we are able to understand each other in ways that nobody else can."

"Have you seen a counselor or therapist?" Mrs. Puller questioned, keeping a neutral position.

"I have my own therapist who I consult on occasion," Toby replied, "Happy usually comes to me to speak about her problems, but she also has connections with outside parties if she wants a second opinion."

"Personally," Mrs. Puller said, dropping her cheery facade, "I can see the improvement that you have made, Happy. You are twice the person you were when you left the system."

"Thank you for your compliments," Happy said, "But I just needed to find the right person to knock down my walls."

All three people at the table smiled. Toby lightly squeezed Happy's hand.

"You are both going to need to undergo psych evaluations with a government certified psychiatrist before I can approve you," Tracie replied, "but as long as this will not affect the child, it should not be an issue."

The rest of the interview went smoothly, and Mrs. Puller had made it through her list quickly. After checking the paperwork and arranging times and dates for their psychology appointments and workplace interviews, the social worker turned to leave.

"It was a pleasure to see you again, Happy," Mrs. Puller said, "You have grown into a great young woman. I wish you and your husband the best."

"It was nice to meet you," said Toby, shaking her hand.

"And you," Tracie replied, "Take good care of Happy for me."

"Always," Toby promised, smiling into Happy's eyes.

Finally, Mrs. Puller took her leave. As soon as the door slammed shut, both of the fake smiles fell off of the genius' faces. Groaning, they fell backwards onto the couch.

"That was exhausting…" Toby sighed.

"How do normals do it?" Happy murmured, placing her head on Toby's shoulder.

"I don't know," he replied, "but we are going to have to if this is going to work out."

Happy sighed.

"Are we ready for this?" she questioned, disheartened.

Toby smirked and looked down at his wife.

"Almost."

Sorry if there were a few inaccuracies. I got all of my information off of the internet, so you never know. Send me your reviews!

Title of the next chapter: "Almost There"

~be-a-genius