It's the last chapter, y'all! Thanks for reading and especially to the reviewers who consistently encouraged me throughout this story. I am planning to continue Innocent at some point. Hopefully soon. I have another 3-4 chapter story I'd like to get started on before that.

It always felt a little odd, having Drew in her home.

She couldn't say they'd ever really had a home together. They had a string of apartments where they weren't allowed to paint or hammer nails into the walls or own pets, because they would be moving again soon and they needed the security deposit back. And then she was with Ralph, bouncing between motel rooms and crappy sublets, always wary of getting too comfortable because that was the exact moment she would lose everything. Until she finally scraped together enough money waitressing to rent this place. If not something permanent, then at least something stable.

This was the first place she ever truly felt at home, even more so when she joined Scorpion and could stop worrying about eviction every second of every day. And Drew's presence always seemed strange here. Like an anachronism. A piece of her old life standing in the world she'd fought tooth and nail to build without him.

She shut the door behind her. "Ralph, can you—."

"I'll be in my room," the young genius sighed, offering her a knowing look. "With my headphones on."

Sometimes his ability to read social cues surprised even her. Paige kissed the top of his head. "Thanks, baby. We just need a few minutes."

Ralph paused to grab a water bottle out of the fridge before disappearing around the corner. He was spared the sight of his two father figures trying to kill each other, but the tension in the garage and on the car ride home was all but suffocating. She would have been concerned if he hadn't picked up on it.

Walter's wounded expression when she walked out was branded into her brain. You're leaving with him? After he…? But Drew's harsh words didn't make him a danger, and the single last place she wanted to have this conversation was in the garage.

Paige waited until she heard the click of her son's door and crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her volume low both for his benefit and because it terrified Drew. "You are not allowed to talk to me like that. Especially not at my place of work. And never in front of Ralph. Do you understand me?"

She could almost always read Walter's expression clearly, look into his eyes and understand the depth of whatever he was feeling. But Drew was different. He was staring at her so blankly she wondered if he'd even heard her.

"I meant it, Paige," he said finally. "You know I don't like what you do. Even more so now that you left Ralph for six days," his voice rose slightly, "and came back with bruises from doing god knows what. You think you can hide them until they heal? What happens when they're somewhere you can't cover up?"

Paige tugged subconsciously on her cardigan. Ralph had seen her injured before; he could handle this. But it always seemed a little dissonant to lecture him about avoiding danger when she was running directly into it. "I'm not a waitress anymore, okay? I'm not a cheerleader, or a sorority girl, or the woman who followed you around the country. This isn't just a job. This is my life. It's important to me." She glanced toward Ralph's room. "You don't know, Drew. What he was like before Scorpion. Before you came back. He was…" She blinked, surprised by how rapidly her vision had clouded. "He was lost in his head. Completely unable to connect with the world. You have no idea how much he's changed. So you can show up here and criticize Scorpion and accuse me of being reckless for doing what I do, but you don't know. Everything I do is for Ralph."

"I'm not saying you have to leave," he rebutted immediately, like he'd just been waiting for her to finish so he could cut in. Typical. "I'm asking why you have to be the one risking your life all the time. You've been shot, right? Faced...fires? Bombs? Geez, Paige, it's a miracle you're still alive. Excuse me for not wanting to be the one who sees Ralph's face when I have to tell him that you're not coming home."

She'd be lying if she said she never imagined that. Never said a prayer, in a hopeless moment, that Ralph would grow up to be everything he was capable of being. With or without her.

But she lost her father. Happy lost her mother. Walter and Sylvester lost Megan. Sometimes it was beyond their control. And Paige knew that if the worst case scenario ever happened, she wanted Ralph to remember her as someone he could be proud of. "Millions of people have dangerous jobs, Drew. Parents. The day I met Scorpion, Ralph handed me my car keys because he wanted me to help them. He's always supported me." Reaching down, she unfastened the buttons on her sweater and tugged it down over her arms. She shouldn't have to hide the bruises. They were just one more reminder of a challenge she faced and won, and that was nothing to be ashamed of. "I'm glad you're worried about Ralph. You should be. But he's safe. And happy. Quite frankly, anything beyond that isn't up for discussion. I've been here for every minute of his life, and you're welcome to give your opinion, but the only person who is qualified to decide what's best for him is me."

This time, Drew didn't answer right away. He dropped onto the couch, rubbing his palms over his legs. "So I just...don't get a say in this."

Paige sighed. She tried not to continually rehash the past with him. The pain he caused was healed as much as it could be. But he still clearly had some trouble respecting her boundaries. "Why should you? That was a choice you made a long time ago, Drew. I don't ask you for much when it comes to him. The tradeoff is that you have to respect my choices, and not question them in front of Ralph. Can you handle that, or is it going to keep being a problem?"

He just looked at her again, clearly caught off guard. She so rarely got like this when they were together, so rarely stood up for herself. But scrapping it out on her own with Ralph for ten years changed her and she had no intention of going back.

"I know I've, uh, missed a lot. I can't really argue with you there." Drew frowned, tapping his fingers absentmindedly on his knee. "You've done a good job with him, Paige. And I know how much you love him. But I don't agree with you about this. I probably never will."

Paige shrugged. "That's fine. I don't need you to."

She'd blindly trusted in his decisions once, with disastrous consequences. She and Ralph already had all the love and support they needed. If it was time for her to open up more, share the weight of raising a child, then she would do it with the people who had improved her life, not sent it into a tailspin.

"Okay," he agreed begrudgingly. "I trust that you'll do what's right for Ralph. And if I have something to say, I won't say it in front of him."

I'll stop butting in because you're the one who's done all the work would have been preferable, but that was as far as they were going to get tonight. "Good."

"Look, my flight's at one tomorrow, and Ralph has missed you, so...let's just hang out with him for a while, okay? No fighting."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Of course."

Three hours.

He made it exactly that long before the stillness of the garage overwhelmed him and he grabbed his keys, heading for the place he knew he should already be.

Walter didn't blame Paige for separating him from Drew. He gladly would've taken a swing if the opportunity presented itself. She was the best mother he'd ever met, and certainly did not deserve to be challenged by a self-centered deadbeat who only wanted to be a part of Ralph's life when it was convenient for him. Regardless. She was right. If he'd lost control in front of Ralph, the damage to their relationship could have been severe. That was the last thing he wanted.

Despite being acutely aware that he was staying at Paige's apartment, Walter was startled when Drew answered the door. The speech he'd rehearsed suddenly evaporated into thin air. "Oh. Uh...I need to talk to Paige."

"Sure," Drew said casually, opening the door wider. "She's in the living room."

Walter blinked. He still wasn't great at reading cues. Perhaps he was missing a vocal inflection or subtle facial expression that indicated disdain. "Okay?"

When the genius didn't move, Drew just huffed out a laugh and stepped back, throwing his hands up. "Dude, I'm already in enough trouble with her. I'm done for the day. Do what you need to do."

"Th...Thanks." He didn't know what he'd been expecting. He knew Paige wouldn't approve of a fight, but he was certainly prepared to encounter more resistance. It didn't matter. He and Paige had been putting off this conversation all week, to both of their detriment, and he couldn't wait any longer, no matter what the outcome.

She and Ralph were curled up together on the couch, watching a movie, and a twinge of something unpleasant struck Walter when he saw the pillows arranged on the other end and realized that Drew had been sitting with them. Paige withdrew her arm from Ralph, looking between her ex and the genius uncertainly. "Hey Walter," the young boy offered, a welcome smile on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Go get your telescope, kiddo," Drew suggested, nodding toward Ralph's room. "Let's head up to the roof for a while."

"Okay. Walter, are you coming?"

"In a few minutes, buddy. I, uh...have to talk to your mom first."

Ralph raised his eyebrow. "Apparently everyone does." He slid off the couch, disappearing into his room before emerging with the device. "See you up there."

"Yeah." Walter was painfully cognizant of Paige's eyes on him, but he waited until the door shut and Ralph's footsteps were audible on the stairs to turn to her. "Uh, Cabe called. Homeland got the intel they needed off the drive. They're assembling strike teams now. So that's...good."

Paige stared at him impassively. He hadn't intended to lead with that, but at least, possibly, she could take some comfort in knowing that her near-death experience would yield life-saving results. "Good," she said simply.

"I h-haven't slept yet. But I am...calm. And I…" She shifted on the couch, and for the first time, he could see her injured arm. Walter was by her side before his brain caught up, taking the seat next to her and holding her arm in both of his hands to inspect it. "What happened?"

"The guards were a little rough, that's all." That's all. He felt anger build up inside him again—at Chatha's men, at Tim, at himself for failing to protect her. "Walter, I'm okay. It looks worse than it is."

When the genius lifted his head, Paige's expression had softened. She placed her hand over his and tugged it away, and Walter let her, suddenly concerned that he was hurting her. "Ralph saw them?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to hide them. I want him to know that this job is dangerous, not to make him worry, but so he'll…" She shrugged. "Be safe. Understand the consequences of being reckless."

Walter was only processing every third word she said. Seeing her hurt had always scrambled his cognitive function and he never seemed to get used to it, no matter how long she worked with Scorpion. "I'm sorry."

"There's no way you could have known about any of this."

"N-Not for that." He shook his head, and Paige fell silent. "I mean not just for that. I should have...I should have been better. You were hurt and I was s-so wrapped up in the case and my frustration with Tim that I didn't notice." One hand ran through his hair before dropping back into his lap, his gaze falling down with it. "I wasn't there. When you needed me. I told you in the rocket that I couldn't be what you needed, and I was right."

"Don't," she said softly. "The truth is I barely noticed. If I was really in pain, I would have told you."

"Would you?"

She paused. "What does that mean?"

Walter took a breath to steady himself. He glanced back up, biting the inside of his cheek. "Our communication has been less than...open, lately. You've admitted that you withhold certain information from me."

Paige bent her elbow on the back of the couch, leaning her head against her open palm. There was a long silence before she spoke again, and Walter didn't dare to break it, convinced that he would find a way to make things worse. "Yeah. I did say that." She sighed. "Well, we're here now. So let's talk."

"Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No. Just my arm, and that was fine with a couple of aspirin." She tilted her head. "Did you really think Tim and I were sneaking around together?"

"No. It was just...something Toby kept suggesting and I…I'm sorry," he said again. "I trust you."

"Then why did it bother you so much that he was back? Even before you knew he wasn't telling us the truth, it was like you could barely function around him."

Walter had spent far too much time pretending that the trainee's presence didn't bother him. And pretending was exactly how he'd lost Paige to Tim the first time.

"We never talk about him," the genius said quietly, taking time to gather his thoughts. "I understand why we don't. But you need to understand that…" Walter's chest tightened as the difficult memories rushed to his mind. "That watching you leave the garage with him and Ralph every night was excruciating. I thought you both finally had what you wanted and I...I was n-never going to be a part of that."

He couldn't look at her. She didn't make him. "But you are part of that. You know Ralph and I are yours now."

Those words meant more to him than she would probably ever understand. But there was a tumultuous and painful part of their relationship that hadn't healed just because they were together. Not completely. "B-But I can't forget it, Paige. What it was like when you were with him. How unhappy I was." His eyes squeezed shut as he attempted to keep his EQ in check. "And things have been so strained lately and you've been so mad at me and I...I can't help worrying that history is going to repeat itself. Or t-that seeing Tim will make you remember that dating a normal was easier." Walter could tell that she was about to interject, but he didn't want to lose his nerve before it was all out. "And then you were upset at the garage and you came home with Drew. Another person I almost lost you to once, a-and it's worse, because he's Ralph's father, and I…" He inhaled sharply, his rambling causing him to run short on oxygen. "I don't want to be insecure, Paige. But I don't know the correct way to handle this."

"That's really how you remember things?" Her voice was thick, and Walter was surprised to see moisture glazing her eyes when he finally met them. She swallowed. "When Drew wanted us to move, all you had to do was ask me to stay and I did. When Tim was taking me to Tahoe, I practically begged you to stop me." Paige expelled a shaky breath, tears finally spilling onto her face. "Walter, I have always chosen you. Even when I didn't see any hope for us. Even when I didn't want to."

As much time as they spent together, he still rarely saw Paige cry. Unsure if it was the right thing to do, Walter slid his arms around her back, relieved when she buried her head into his neck and let him hold her. He brought one hand up to rest in her hair, rocking her gently. "I love you," he murmured.

The genius felt her breathing slow after a few minutes, and she came up, wiping her face with both of her hands. "Oh, god," she sniffed. "I think I probably needed that."

"Are you okay?"

Paige nodded. "You want to know something?" It was a rhetorical question; he constantly pursued knowledge, especially as it pertained to her. She continued without waiting for him to answer. "The moment things got bad on this case, I just wanted you to be there. You're always the person I want by my side when I'm scared. And wanting to be with someone even when things are hard...that's what makes it real, Walter. That's what makes it last."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She took one of his hands in hers, lacing their fingers. "Drew's leaving tomorrow. I think maybe we should take a few days off after that to spend time together. Talk more."

They needed to talk. They still had hurdles to clear. But he didn't want this to end, not now and hopefully not ever. "I love you."

"I love you too." Paige pressed her lips to his, her other hand resting at the base of his neck. She smiled when they separated. "Come on. We've got a kid waiting for us."