Five Times Walter Almost Told Paige He Loves Her (And One Time He Did) #6

WriterFreak001

Summary: Part 5. Walter is determined to tell Paige he loves her, and this time, he's going to make sure nothing interrupts him in any way. A "5 Things" Fic collaboration by WeBuiltThePyramids, WriterFreak001 and FoxPhile. Cover art designed by WriterFreak001.

Author's Note: This fic is part of a collaboration between WeBuiltThePyramids, WriterFreak001 and FoxPhile, inspired by discussions on the Scorpion FanFiction thread on FanForum. 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. Links to all the stories can be found on my profile page.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Scorpion (CBS). (Though, I wish I did).

Chapter 6 – Elevator d'amour

"Don't be afraid of who you really are. You are not your brain. You are your heart, and there are people in this world that love you so much. Walter, don't be afraid of love. I just want you to be as happy as I am." – Megan Dodd, Scorpion 2x10 "Arrivals and Departures"

"Cabe, our handler, is taking care of the arrest as we speak," Walter said as he shook the client's hand once more before slowly backing away from him. "If you need our services again, don't hesitate to call our office. Paige," the genius gestured towards the radiant woman standing next to him and smiled gently, "will discuss payment options with you now."

As Walter motioned for Paige to step in, she flashed him a small, bright red grin before escorting Mr. Ellington, the owner of Ellington Enterprises, to the side for privacy. Walter watched the way her frilly black skirt swished around her long legs as her scarlet stilettos clip-clopped along the wooden floor of the penthouse, and inhaled a deep breath, unable to look away.

It had been almost a week since his last attempt to tell Paige how he felt, and even though he was pretty sure their current relationship was in good standing, he wanted more. So much more.

He was completely and absolutely disappointed with himself. All he wanted to do was say three words, THREE WORDS, to Paige, but something or someone (he blamed Tim, logic be damned) didn't seem to want him to confess his love to her.

But not today.

Definitely not today.

Aside from the unexpected case, he eliminated every threatening factor he could think of so that he could have a moment of peace to finally tell Paige he was madly and deeply in love with her. Just for today, he blocked all incoming calls from Drew and Tim to Paige's cellphone and redirected them to his number just in case of an emergency. He also paid Toby to butt out of his love life for the next twenty-four hours and to keep his trap shut from accidental revelations. The last thing Walter needed was Toby blurting out the truth to Paige before he even had a chance to tell her himself. If Toby valued his paycheck, he wouldn't dare try to defy Walter's orders.

Luckily, Happy and Sly didn't seem to be a problem, but Cabe had a tendency to interrupt many of the small moments he had with Paige so to avoid any unwanted interruptions, Walter promised Cabe he would treat him to a meal sometime next week if and only if he agreed to kindly buzz off after the case. Cabe happily accepted.

Last but not least, his proudest achievement was getting rid of Tim for the day. This morning, Tim received orders to assist his former superior with a top secret assignment (all thanks to Walter's astounding recommendation) and left for Mexico an hour later. The best part? He's not due back for another few days.

So after securing a few loose ends, Walter was now, more than ever, determined to tell Paige how he felt. Nothing was going to stop him. Not a single damn thing.

Walter Patrick O'Brien was going to tell Paige Dineen he loved her even if it killed him.

"Cool it, 197," Happy harshly whispered to Walter as she walked past him to pack up her things. "You look like you're getting ready to pounce Dineen."

"Believe me," Walter answered absentmindedly as Paige casually flipped her bouncy hair with the back of her hand, and he inhaled a deep breath before adding, "you have no idea how tempted I am…." Walter suddenly froze and gravely turned towards Happy. "You weren't supposed to hear that…."

"But I did," she grimaced and shook her head slightly before shoving her hands into her pockets. She rocked slightly on her toes and glanced at Toby before returning her attention to Walter. "Don't wait too long, Walt." Happy pursed her lips together. "Tell her the truth; if you don't, you might lose her forever."

"You withheld information from Toby for months, but the two of you seem to be okay now."

"We're working on it," Happy crossed her arms, "but it's going to take some time before Toby completely trusts me again. Don't make the same mistake I did, O'Brien. She won't wait forever."

"I know."

"Good. You better."

Happy spotted Paige slowly making her way towards the genius in front of her. She gave the liaison a small smile as she started to pass Walter and quietly whispered, "She's one of a kind…. Don't screw it up."

Walter spun around to respond but immediately froze as his eyes locked in on Paige's, taking a moment to bask in her beauty. Her hair flowed behind her like a golden veil of silk as she slowly approached him, and the way her hips swayed in rhythm as she walked towards him, how her skirt swished and fluttered about her knees, and how she waved and smiled at him short-circuited his brain, but he did not care. He absolutely did not care.

How could he be so lucky to find a woman like Paige? Statistically, it didn't make sense, but there she was, so eloquent, so perfect, so beautiful, floating towards him like an angel, and all he could do was stand there and stare.

And boy, did he like staring.

She was then standing in front of him, eyes sparkling with desire? And when her tongue sensuously licked her lips, he knew he was a dead man.

"Walter," her voice was like a thousand ringing bells, so beautiful, so clear, so electrifying, and he dared to wonder how she would sound if he was kissing her neck…, her collarbone…, her breast, her… her…. His cheeks flushed deeply, and he started to chastise himself for being so inappropriate, but then her fingers fluttered up his arms, and he couldn't function anymore. All he could hear was her beautiful voice lilting softly in his ear, eliciting tiny explosions inside of him.

He was a goner for sure.

"Walter," she ran her hands down from his collar to the middle of his tie and pinned her lower lip between her teeth before leaning dangerously closer. "I want to personally thank you for saving my life today." Paige wrapped her hand around his tie and tugged him closer to her until their lips were almost touching. Was this even real? "It was so brave," she muttered lowly, walking her fingers up his chest before weaving them into his thick curls. "So sexy," she purred, her hot breath lacing with his within the small space between them.

Paige yanked even harder on his tie, jerking him towards her until nothing but clothing was separating them. Her crimson lips kissed him intensely, sending the genius into a deep frenzy, and the next thing he knew, his hands were everywhere, touching and massaging and teasing her any way he could.

She whimpered his name – repetitively – as his mouth peppered kisses down her neck, but he wanted more. He wanted everything. He wanted—"

"WALTER!"

The genius immediately snapped his attention to the woman standing a few feet from him and gulped as she suspiciously cocked an eyebrow at him. "Is… everything all right?"

Walter blinked many times and tried to suppress the need to blush as Paige incessantly tapped her foot against the floor. "Yeah, yeah," he scratched his neck and rolled it gently before shaking his shoulders, "Everything's good." He flashed a forced smile and crossed his arms to prevent himself from touching her, "Very good," he paused, "W-Why?"

"I said your name about five times…."

"Oh," Walter pressed his lips together to a fine line. "I was, uh…."

"Daydreaming?"

More like fantasizing…. "You could say that…."

"About what?"

"I...," he swallowed thickly and then cleared his throat, "I don't remember?"

Paige did not believe him for a second but decided to let it go for the time being. "Well, did you even hear what I said?"

Walter opened his mouth to reply but immediately closed it and shook his head to avoid sharing anything from that oh so amazing fantasy he had just had of her. "No."

"I wanted to thank you, Walter," Paige replied as she took another step towards him, flashing him a small smile. Walter gulped nervously, wondering if he was some sort of psychic now. He didn't even believe in fortunetelling, but at this point, when it came to Paige, everything he ever believed usually went out the window. She planted her feet in front of him and took his hands in hers as she stepped a little closer. "Thank you for saving my life…," her thumbs brushed over his knuckles gently as she bit her lip again. "F-For charging that man," she continued, "after he had threatened to kill me… for pushing him into the company pool and for apprehending him." She swiftly leaned forward and pressed a ghostly kiss to his cheek. "It was very brave. Stupid," she laughed quietly, "but brave."

Though he was flattered by her gratitude, that really wasn't how everything went down…, but she didn't need to know how it actually happened. Not yet, at least.

After the culprit threatened to kill Paige, he just sort of… lost it and blindly charged towards the man, hoping to knock him down, but he ended up tripping and colliding into him, sending him flying into the pool. Walter tried to regain his balance but couldn't and face-planted into the water, completely knocking the other guy out.

"Thanks…," A colorful smile stretched across Walter's lips, and Paige immediately smiled back. "As I said when we first met," Walter looked down at their conjoined hands and then met her smiling eyes again, "I won't let anything happen to you."

"And I believe it," Paige giggled softly as she squeezed his fingers. She moved closer to him, and he braced himself for what he had envisioned earlier, but it did not come. She stopped and leaned backwards, giving him a onceover before laughing again.

"Is something… funny?"

"I guess you were right," Paige's smile stretched ear to ear, and Walter decided to keep his thoughts to himself, knowing she didn't need a reminder about him being always right.

Instead, he said, "About what?"

"It seems you are doomed to get wet any time you're with me," Paige mused, and Walter couldn't help but smirk.

"That does seem to happen a lot," Walter chuckled as he looked down at his still soaking wet shirt. One of these days, he was going to remember to pack a dry set of clothes to avoid obtaining the wet clothes rash he was unmistakably going to get. At least he was lucky enough to have forgotten his phone and wallet in his briefcase before he went off chasing after the perpetrator. "At least, this time, getting wet was worth it."

Before Paige could respond, Cabe had reentered the penthouse and made his usual announcement, telling everyone to wrap things up and head for the van. Walter had a plan and knew exactly how and when he was going to tell Paige he loved her so to avoid being stuck in an elevator with the other members of the team, he purposely packed up his things slowly. He now understood how love seemed to affect people in strange ways. The old Walter O'Brien would have never deliberately move slowly for anything. Before Paige, he would have been the first one to the door, ready to leave as soon as possible.

It was only after Paige came into his life did he realize that slowing down wasn't a bad thing. It might not be as efficient, but it was almost always very rewarding.

Once everything was packed, he slung his shoulder bag over his shoulder and reached down for his briefcase as everyone else filed into the elevator. Seeing that it was already filled, he flashed his team a smile, and said, "I'll take the next one."

"This is the only elevator that leaves the penthouse. It could be twenty minutes before you get a chance to catch the next elevator," Cabe replied as he grabbed Walter's arm and dragged him inside. "We'll make it work."

"Fine," Walter sighed, not wanting to argue, "but Sly has claustrophobia so to spare his sanity, I'm going to get off at the next level down and take the next elevator."

"Oh, Thank God, because I literally thought I was going to die with all of you in here," Sylvester exclaimed loudly, splaying his hand across his chest.

"I'll hop off too," Paige said with a smile, her eyes never leaving Walter's. "The fewer the people on this elevator, the better it is for Sylvester."

"Paige. Walter. Remind me to give both of you a big hug down in the lobby. You two are life savers. Literally." Sylvester flashed the liaison a grin and then glanced at Walter as Cabe pressed LEVEL 16 and then the LOBBY buttons.

"It's no problem," Walter replied, giving Sylvester a knowing look as Paige touched the human calculator's shoulder.

"Anything to help."

As promised, when the elevator stopped at the level below the penthouse, Walter and Paige stepped off of the lift and headed for a different one. Paige pressed the DOWN button, and they waited in silence for a few minutes before the elevator in front of them landed and opened. Three people stepped as Walter and Paige slipped inside, followed by a crowd of four. The genius was not happy; in order for his plan to work, they needed to be alone.

They stood in the back, side by side, as the others talked amongst themselves, and after descending three more levels, another person filed in, forcing both genius and liaison to turn towards one another in order to fit the new arrival.

"Hi," Walter whispered quietly, and she flashed a small smile as she curled a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Hi," she mouthed as Walter leaned against the side of the elevator. When the lift stopped again, the group of four filed out, but five more people squeezed inside. A much bigger guy accidentally pushed Paige into Walter, and being unable to move backwards, she hooked her chin over the genius's shoulder and just stood there, and Walter couldn't help but notice her lavender perfume. Like always, it was a lovely scent. "Sorry," she whispered into his ear, her breath brushing against his neck, sending chills down his spine.

"Don't be," Walter mumbled into her hair as he turned his head slightly towards her, wanting a stronger whiff of her perfume. He sniffed quietly and closed his eyes briefly before the elevator stopped again. Everybody but an elderly woman walked out of the elevator, and the moment Paige had stepped away from Walter, he acted quickly and closed the elevator doors before anybody could step inside.

Paige noticed Walter's sudden action but decided not to say anything. When the elderly woman finally left the elevator at the fourth floor, Walter did the same thing and closed the doors rapidly. And as soon as he knew the elevator was between floors, he pressed the EMERGENCY STOP button without hesitation.

"Walter?" Paige cocked an eyebrow and gently touched his shoulder, "Is everything okay?"

"Of course," Walter nodded swiftly, trying to keep his nervousness on the down low. "Why?"

"I know you can come across as a little uncouth to some people, but you literally just closed the elevator doors on a group of people and then shut the operation down entirely…. Even I know that's not usually something you do." Paige crossed her arms in front of her and tapped her fingers over the skin just above her elbows. "So… I'll ask again…. Is everything okay?"

Walter nodded honestly and leaned against the side of the elevator again before gripping the bar behind him. "I just… I needed…," he inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly, "I needed to talk to you…. I've been needing to talk to you for several days now, but any time I've tried to tell you what I need to tell you, something or someone always interrupted me. I know this isn't the best place to talk, but…," he ran his hand through his hair and took a step towards Paige, "I… I need to talk to you."

Paige gave Walter her undivided attention and let out a breath, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she walked up to him and reached for his hand, wrapping her fingers around his to comfort him. "Walter, it's me," she smiled sweetly and squeezed his palm. "Whatever it is you need to say, it's just m—"

"I love you," Walter said almost too rapidly as he impulsively gripped her shoulders, then the base of her neck, before grasping her cheeks desperately. His nostrils flared as she just stood there, shocked from his revelation, before he repeated himself in a softer, more confident tone. "I love you so much, Paige. W-What I feel for you is…, well, it's unquantifiable."

Paige's eyes slowly his, and she inhaled a slow breath before speaking. "Y-You love me?"

"Yes," Walter said without hesitation. "Yes, I do."

"B-But you said…"

"I'll explain my thought process later. We only have about two more minutes before management overrides the Emergency Stop system, seeing as there is nothing wrong with the elevator. So… if all possible, and if you're not mad at me for taking a long time to realize how much I love you, right now, I'd really, really, really, really like to kiss you if that's okay?" He paused, "Is that okay?"

A colorful smile stretched across Paige's rosy lips, and she slowly strung her arms around Walter's neck as she leaned towards him. His hands dropped from her cheeks to her hips as Paige touched her nose to his, whispering, "I thought you'd never ask."

And then their lips met as Walter closed the distance between them, and he kissed her slowly at first, wanting just to feel her against him. As his arms wrapped around her, pulling her into an intimate embrace, Paige kissed him harder, humming softly as he mindlessly pressed her against the wall of the elevator.

They inhaled and exhaled together as their breathing escalated, and Paige whimpered quietly as Walter's hand slid down to the small of her back, covering the small strip of skin between her blouse and skirt. Her lips parted against his, and she welcomed him as he stroked his tongue against hers, causing both of them to shiver with delight.

Paige's fingers weaved into Walter's dark curls and crimped them in short grasps, unable to concentrate on doing anything else aside from kissing him. He crushed her against him, still pressing her hard against the elevator wall and groaned lowly as he involuntarily grinded against her. Good God. Maybe there was a heaven after all.

She cried out in pleasure, breaking away. "Oh my," Paige mumbled between pants, and Walter's fearful look alarmed her as he backed away suddenly. "Hey," she smiled gingerly as she approached him in two long strides and pecked him on the lips, "that was a good sound."

"Was it too much too soon?"

"Oh, God, no." Paige shook her head and let out a soft giggle. "Not enough!" With one hand still hidden deep within his curls, she wrapped the other hand around the back of Walter's neck as she swung her legs forward, locking them around his hips, before kissing him hard on the mouth again. The force of her swift movement sent him backwards towards the other side of the elevator, and he absentmindedly moved his hands from her back to her ass, rucking up her skirt a little and gripping the tops of her thighs tightly to support her weight. (At least that was the explanation he was giving himself anyway).

He tipped his head backwards, and she nipped at his bottom lip, sucking on it gently and slowly as she rolled her hips against his. And when her tongue slithered into his mouth and swept against his, he knew he was done for. There wasn't anything this woman could do that wouldn't send him over the edge.

Neither one of them noticed the elevator moving again and opening to a hallway of businesspeople. No one moved and waited awkwardly and silently until the door closed again. Walter had half a mind to reach over and hit the EMERGENCY STOP button again to buy them more time, and he was very glad he did.

He would stop the damn elevator all day and night if he had to.

The taste of her mouth was sweet like strawberries, and he couldn't get enough. He was absolutely drunk on everything she was doing to him, and she was only giving him a sample of what she could offer later. And if this – what he was feeling, what he was experiencing, what he was drowning within – was even a fraction of what's to come, then Walter Patrick O'Brien was a dead man.

And Paige Dineen was his beautiful assassin.

He could live with that.

"Walter," Paige deliciously hummed against his lips.

"Hmm?" He was too lost in this woman to speak coherently.

Paige popped her lips off of his and giggled gleefully as her palms found his face. She brushed her thumbs under his eyes and rubbed her nose lovingly against his before leaning over to kiss the arch of his brow. "I love you, too," she muttered softly as she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his. "I love you, too, Walter, and you cannot believe how happy I am to finally know what I've always suspected… what I've always hoped was true…."

"It is true. I cannot explain it, but I do love you," Walter gave her a warm smile, and she grinned in return.

"I know. I know you do," Paige quickly kissed him before brushing away the thin wisps of hair in front of his eyes. She gazed deeply into his eyes, and he could literally feel her love touching him in ways he didn't really understand. He could feel it everywhere, but also concentrated in his chest. It made him want to carry her off to a vacated room or office or wherever he could find and do things with her he never considered himself doing with anyone, and yet it also made him want to kiss her slowly and gingerly and hold her against him for as long as he could before the damn elevator started working again. Everything he was feeling for this woman was incredibly overwhelming yet entirely simple at the same time.

Paige was right.

Love is crazy.

Walter was completely in awe of and unparalleled by this woman. She was everything he wasn't. She was perfect. She was beautiful. She was loving and caring and strong and damn right sexy, and even though he was a challenging man in many rights, she loved him anyway.

Him.

Walter Patrick O'Brien.

Paramount of all nerds.

He was suddenly starting to doubt himself again. How could a stunning woman like Paige be in love with a guy like him? It didn't make sense. They were like vinegar and oil; they shouldn't mix, and yet here Paige was, holding him incredibly close.

She must have detected his sudden sense of doubt because she hovered her lips over his, and whispered, "All of this is real, Walter. What you're feeling, what I'm feeling. It's all real."

"How do you know I won't mess it up?" Walter swallowed thickly, and Paige gently grazed the back of her manicured nails against the side of his face.

"How do you know I won't mess up?" Paige replied quietly, and he opened his mouth but couldn't find a solid, thorough answer. Paige smiled warmly and laughed lightly. "Exactly. We can't know these things. All we can do is protect what we have, day by day, and promise to be honest with each other no matter what." She paused and strummed his bottom lip with the pad of her thumb. "Do you trust me?"

"Always."

"And I always trust you," Paige delicately kissed his forehead. "I think we owe it to ourselves to see where this – us – goes. Don't you?"

He nodded almost too quickly, causing her to laugh.

"Are we good now?"

"Yes," Walter nodded again, and she smiled in response.

"Then shut up," she hovered her lips over his and gripped his face again, "and let me kiss you senselessly."

"Copy that,"

They never moved together so fast.

Sometime later…

"I think I fixed it," Happy said to the manager as she wiped her brow with the back of her hand. "I overrode the operation and temporarily disabled the Emergency Stop system so that when the elevator resets and descends to the lobby, it shouldn't stop until the system is enabled again. In theory, that is."

"And what if it isn't fixed?" the hotel manager frowned, receiving an eye roll from the mechanic.

"Well, if it isn't fixed, which it should be because I'm the best damn mechanic in all of Los Angeles, but if it isn't, at least we'll have eyes inside and see why it keeps stopping." Happy said as the elevator began descending again.

"Here it comes now," Cabe mumbled as the rest of the team gathered in front of the doors. The indicator beeped, and the doors slowly opened, revealing their friends in compromising positions.

Everyone blinked as Walter and Paige heavily made out on the floor of the elevator. It was hard not to watch, and Toby had a wide grin plastered to his face. "About damn time."

As soon as the doors closed on them, and Happy disabled the elevator altogether.

"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna grab some lunch," Cabe said as he started walking backwards towards the double doors.

"Ditto," Happy replied as Sylvester followed.

Toby didn't move.

"You're going out for lunch too, doc." Cabe said as he grabbed the shrink's arm and dragged him out of the building. "A very long lunch."

End Note: Thank you for taking the time to follow our second collaboration! It was fun writing all of these pieces so we really hope you enjoyed them. :) And if you did, please let us know!