Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion…

So I really should be editing the next chapter of Married but this has been rattling around in my brain since I saw the preview last week. I've been jotting down dialogue for days but didn't think it was going anywhere. But then when lookingforthestars posted her latest chapter of "Why" with the amazing scene between Paige and Ralph I felt compelled to finish this because Ralph really is the best character on that show these days and he deserves as much airtime as well as fanfiction time as the others.

Anyway, I have no idea what's going to happen in the episode but this is how I imagine it will end.

I know episodic television usually likes to wrap everything up with a nice bow at the end of an hour but it really irks me when that happens. Sly and his Dad having a moment, Walter and his two tormentors from childhood making nicey nice, then he and his parents who basically treated him like the crap from the second he arrived in Ireland… Now with Paige's mom – I'm betting they are going to find common ground by the end and she'll share Thanksgiving with them. Blech.

Well not in my world. I would much rather see the episode end this way. This is the second story from me in as many weeks with no smut. I'm not sure what is going on with me but I hope I get over it soon… At least the next chapter of Married will have some.

Anyway… enjoy! And thanks for reading and reviewing.

Like Mother, Like Daughter; Like Mother, Like Son

"I am nothing like you!" Paige's shrill voice filled the garage from where she stood in the kitchen facing her mother. She didn't have to look to know everyone's eyes were on her.

"Keep telling yourself that, kid," Veronica scoffed. "If it makes you feel better."

Paige clenched her hands at her sides and inhaled a quick sharp breath. "You're selfish and a liar and a cheat and you drove the man who loved you more than life into an early grave from heartbreak. I would never do that."

Veronica shot a quick, obvious glance at Walter before her eyes returned to Paige. "Are you sure about that?"

Paige's eyes flashed but she hoped her mother could only see her anger and not the guilt the words evoked as well. "How dare you try to compare us? I would never…"

Paige started again but paused realizing she couldn't say she'd never hurt the man who loved her more than life because she knew she was hurting Walter every day by being with Tim. She wasn't trying to deliberately hurt him; she was just confused and scared and hiding from the reality of his feelings for her, maybe even more than he was.

And that was why everything in her life was such a mess. Paige was trying to blame the woman in front of her but the reality was she was the only one at fault. But she would never admit that to the woman who abandoned her, so instead she said, "I would never abandon my child."

"No you wouldn't," Veronica finally agreed after scrutinizing her daughter silently. "But you're just as stubborn as I am. And like I did, for far too long, you stay with a man you don't love because you're terrified to take a chance with the one you do."

The color drained from Paige's face and she bit her lower lip to keep the obscenity threatening from spewing out. "You know nothing about me or my life and it's time for you to go, Veronica."

Paige pointed toward the door but Veronica just crossed her arms defensively. "Walter invited me to stay for Thanksgiving dinner; don't you remember?"

Paige gritted her teeth. She was going to strangle Walter when she had the chance.

"Thanksgiving is for family so you're not welcome here."

"This is Walter's garage….. home….whatever." Veronica waived her hand vaguely at her surroundings. "It should be up to him who stays or goes."

Paige dropped her hand and tugged at the tie on the back of her apron. "Fine, then Ralph and I will leave."

"Come on, buddy," Tim said to Ralph from where he stood beside the rest of the team near Paige's desk. "Let's get your stuff."

"But I don't want to go," Ralph said at the same time Walter clamped his hand down on the boy's shoulder, his eyes flashing with a combination of panic and anger.

"No," he barked in a tone that he very rarely used with anyone and all heads turned toward him. Ignoring them, he stepped toward Paige and her mother, stopping beside the liaison before he spoke again. "Veronica, this garage or….. whatever is Paige's home too. And she's asked you to leave so you need to go."

Paige felt an intense rush of relief and gratitude flood her body. She instinctively reached for and grabbed Walter's wrist. It was the only acknowledgement she was able to provide at the moment because she suspected if she spoke she might just sob. She felt Walter flex his fingers and she knew he wanted to grasp her hand back but he didn't.

The action didn't go unnoticed by Veronica and her lips curved into a smirk before it vanished almost as quickly.

"Very well. I'll go." She nodded and looked back at her daughter. "But for what it's worth, I'm sorry I hurt you, Paige. You're my child and I'll always love you-"

Paige's scoffed derisively but Veronica just continued speaking. "But I can't go back and change the past. And to be honest, even if I could I probably wouldn't do anything any different. "

"Of course you wouldn't," Paige said scathingly. She expected nothing less from the woman in front of her.

Veronica looked at Walter and held out her hand. "Thanks for your help today, Walter."

"Goodbye, Veronica," he replied gruffly but didn't reach out to shake her hand.

"Good man," she murmured under her breath as she turned and walked toward Ralph. Both of them heard her but neither one moved until Paige unconsciously brushed her thumb over Walter's pulse point. It made the genius tremble slightly.

Veronica walked up to Ralph who was staring at her with a frown. "It was very nice to meet you, Ralph. You sure do look a lot like your grandfather."

"Goodbye, Veronica," the boy mimicked Walter as he stepped back away from her hand when she went to pat his head.

Veronica said no other goodbye's and just walked out. The garage was eerily silent except for the ticking of the clock hanging on the wall.

"Well, I don't know about anyone else but I'm so hungry I could eat a half-cooked turkey right about now," Toby said as he looked around at the others.

SLAP!

"Ow!"

"Shut it dipstick," Happy growled before yanking him toward his desk.

"The turkey still needs at least forty four minutes to cook before it will be safe to consume," Sly offered in an attempt to break the uncomfortable tension in the room but it fell flat.

"If you'll excuse me, I need a few minutes," Paige said as she released Walter's wrist. Walter nodded but didn't reply as he stepped back, his skin still tingling where she touched.

"Thank you," she whispered as she lifted her apron over her head and looked at Walter. She wanted to step into his arms and hug him, feel him wrap his arms around her until this day just faded away.

But she shouldn't want comfort from him. She didn't deserve it because despite how vehemently she denied it her mother was right. And that made her want to scream and sob at the same time.

She stepped around Walter and headed for the stairs. Tim approached her but she just held up her hand. "Tim, please. I just need a few minutes alone to clear my head, okay."

"Okay," Tim replied with a frown but Paige didn't have it in her to try to make him feel better.

She ascended the stairs briskly, calling back down behind her. "If anyone follows me there's going to be hell to pay."

################

Paige leaned back in the lounge chair in the center of the roof as the late afternoon breeze blew tendrils of hair around her face. She'd been hiding up here for longer than she intended but because she left her phone downstairs she wasn't sure exactly how long it was.

If the timer on the oven had gone off, someone would have gotten her, despite her earlier threat, because none of them dared go near the oven. They all acted like it would explode if they tried to use it. Who knew a bunch of geniuses who risked life and limb on an almost daily basis, to help save the world, would be so terrified of a kitchen appliance?

Seeing her mother had really thrown her off balance. To have the woman, who she hadn't seen in almost twenty years, be able to read her so well was incredibly disturbing. And it made Paige wonder if her mother was right. Maybe she was just like her. But the thought sickened Paige because her mother was a selfish bitch who abandoned the family who loved her without a second look back.

The door opened and Paige sighed, still not ready to talk to anyone. She heard Ferret Bueller chattering as the person walked closer and she turned her head, knowing the animal had not yet learned to open doors on his own, although Walter and Ralph were trying to teach him.

The only person she didn't mind seeing at that moment walked up beside her.

"Hi, Mom."

She could see the worry in his eyes and although she never liked to see her son upset, the fact that she could recognize any emotion in him was a relief. He had come such a long way since Walter and Scorpion had come into his life and she once again gave silent thanks for the team of geniuses that came into their lives.

"Hi, sweetheart," she smiled for him and for the first time all day it wasn't forced. "What are you doing up here with Ferret Bueller?"

He held the small animal out to her. She took him and the ferret burrowed against her, snuggling and chattering happily.

"I know you like petting him so I thought he might make you feel better."

Paige looked down and scratched around the small animals ears. "Thank you, honey. That was very considerate of you."

Ralph shrugged as his lips curved up into a smile of his own. "Walter likes petting him, too, when he's upset. He also sniffs him a lot but I don't know why. It's kinda weird if you ask me."

"I've never seen him do that," Paige said as she chuckled. "Why would he sniff the ferret?"

Ralph pulled the other lounge chair closer to Paige's before he sat down on it. "I don't know. He always smells like you so maybe that's it."

"I'm sorry, what?" Paige shook her head as she gave her son a confused look.

"Ferret Bueller always smells like you, like your lavender hand cream anyway. Go ahead, sniff him. You'll see."

Paige's brow furrowed but she did as Ralph encouraged and sure enough the small animal smelled like her familiar hand cream.

"Well that's….. unexpected," Paige murmured as she set Ferret Bueller back on her lap.

"Are you feeling better?" Ralph asked as he bit his lower lip just the way his mother did.

"Yes, honey, I am." Paige reached over and squeezed his hand where it rested on his thigh. "I'm sorry you had to see that today. "

"It's okay." He picked at the frayed edge of the fabric on the chair. "I'm sorry that your mom makes you so upset."

She squeezed his hand again before pulling her hand back. "I let her get me upset but I shouldn't. I know who she is and expecting her to be anyone, but who she is, that's on me."

Ralph took a breath and looked up at her again. "Did you really name me after your dad?"

Paige smiled softly. "Yes."

"You must miss him." Ralph reached out and took Ferret Bueller from Paige, pulling his head out of the front of his mom's shirt.

"Every day," Paige replied and her smile turned sad as she felt the acute absence of the man all of a sudden. Veronica was right, Ralph did look like her dad, more each year he grew, but only rarely did it make her sad now. The joy her son brought her overshadowed any residual sadness she had these days. Usually.

Ralph put Ferret Bueller on the ground and the ferret scurried off.

"Should you let him run around up here like that?"

"Walter lets him do it all the time."

"Won't he try to run up and over the walls?" Paige looked worried as he ran up and over and around the other furniture scattered about the roof.

"He did once but Walter put one of those invisible dog fences around the perimeter and he hasn't done it since."

Just as Ralph finished speaking Ferret Bueller screeched and Paige looked over alarmed to find the ferret jumping off the top of the wall.

"Except for today, apparently," she murmured with shake of her head.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Ralph asked so quietly that Paige almost didn't hear him.

"Of course, honey," she said as she gave him her undivided attention.

"How did Veronica know you love Walter?"

"Oh…Uh…um… I-I do-" Paige stuttered but the knowing look from her son stopped her in her tracks.

"Mom, I'm eleven and a genius. Not blind."

Paige sighed heavily and looked out toward the horizon where the sun was starting to drop in the sky. Ralph didn't deserve the burden of her grown up problems but she was tired of lying to everyone, including herself. "I don't know, Ralph," she finally said as Ferret Bueller jumped back up on Paige's lap and dove his head down the front of her shirt. She tapped him on the nose before tucking him along her side. "Mom's have a sixth sense about these things sometimes I guess."

"Walter loves you too, you know," Ralph said as he looked at her.

"I know," Paige whispered.

Ralph bit his lip and she could tell he wanted to say something else so she waited patiently. Like Walter, Ralph needed time to gather his thoughts when it came to things other than math and science. When he finally spoke Paige was surprised by his words.

"I know you like Tim, mom. And he's nice. I get it. But if you love Walter, why aren't you with him?"

She again felt the need to be truthful with her son. "It's complicated, Ralph."

"Why?" he looked up at her and she could see the genuine confusion and curiosity in his eyes. He was trying to understand something that was far beyond his years even though he was a genius.

"Because loving someone isn't always enough," she replied honestly. "I know that's probably hard for you to understand right now but someday you will."

"And so will Walter," Ralph said with a tone bordering on desperation and it surprised Paige. "He doesn't know how to show you he loves you. That's his problem. He loves you so much is scares the crap out of him. Those are Toby's words, not mine," he added when Paige arched her brow at his choice of words.

Paige frowned. "Toby shouldn't be talking to you about any of this. He and I are going to have a serious chat about what is appropriate for an eleven year old to be privy to and what is not."

"We've already agreed there are no secrets around here."

"Ralph, you don't have to worry about this," she insisted as Ferret Bueller wiggled in her hand and climbed back onto her lap.

Ralph huffed out a frustrated breath before he inhaled more slowly. It was something Walter did all the time and Paige wondered when her son picked it up from him.

"I know I told you if you're happy with Tim then I'm happy too. But are you really happy?" He clenched his small fists on his thighs. "Tim's normal and I know it must be hard for you to always be around us, to always have to deal with us and our genius quirks but-

"Hey, you listen to me," Paige stopped him as she reached for his hand again and smoothed her thumb over where his was tucked into his fist. "There is nothing hard about being around you, Ralph. You are my son, the most important person in my world, and being with you makes me happier than I am with anyone else. Your genius is what makes you special and I love every part of you, baby."

"I know, mom. That's not what I mean." Ralph's fist loosened and he let Paige tuck her fingers into his. "None of us are easy and I know Walter is the hardest to understand. He wants to show you how much he loves you but he doesn't know how and he's afraid he'll screw it up. He likes to pretend he's not afraid of anything but he is."

"Ralph, sweetheart, I really don't want you to worry about this, okay. None of this is going to affect your relationship with Walter."

He shook his head again frustrated she wasn't getting his point. "I didn't know how to show you once either. But now I'm better at it. And he can be too. If anyone can show him how it's you, Mom. "

Paige blinked back the moisture her son's vehement words invoked. "Your faith in me is so precious to me, baby. I don't know if I can live up to it."

"You already do." Ralph pulled his hand out from beneath Paige's and patted the top of hers. "And if you really want to be with Tim I won't say anything again. But if you love Walter like he loves you, you should be with him. Me and him make a great team and we can help each other show you."

Paige's lips curved into a soft smile but when she tried to speak it took a minute before she could get the words out. "I don't know why I'm continually surprised by your maturity, Ralph. Sometimes I think you're more mature that all of us put together."

"Yeah, so do I," he said and Paige laughed before reaching up and slipping her fingers through Ralph's hair. She cupped the back of his neck and pulled him closer as she leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

"I love you so much, Ralph."

"Me too," he sighed in the way only a boy could when his mother was loving on him.

"Thank you for always knowing just what to say to make me feel better."

"Not always," he admitted with a shrug. "But I do try."

Paige gasped softly as she was reminded of the words Walter said her to so long ago, after Ralph accidentally stumbled upon that backdoor in the Overt Target video game.

"I know you do," she replied the same way she had to Walter that night. Because if there was one thing she knew for sure, it was her geniuses do try. Always for her.

Ferret Bueller started chattering and yanked on the front of Paige's shirt. She yanked him away.

"The oven timer is going to off in six minutes," Ralph said changing the subject.

"How do you know?"

He raised an eyebrow at her as he stood up and took Ferret Bueller back from her.

"Never mind. Forget I asked." Paige stood up and wrapped her arms around Ralph. "Thank you for our talk, baby. You made everything better. You always do."

He pulled out of her arms when Ferret Bueller screeched.

"Good because I'm ready for turkey. And so it Bueller. Can we eat now?"

Paige watched as Ralph turned and headed toward the door. He gave her a lot to think about and like his presence always did, he calmed and centered her world.

She wasn't sure what she was going to do about Tim or Walter but she knew she was being unfair to both of them. Being with one man when she was in love with another was cowardly and she needed to make a choice. She needed to make it right for all of them.

But not today. Today she had to feed her family and give thanks for the amazing people she had in her life.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing.