Author's note: This sequel begins approximately three weeks after the
end of "Shell Shocked".
Chapter One
Okay, so maybe Toby had been right, Walter conceded. If he had taken the
shrink's advice, he, Sly, and Paige, in all probability, would not be currently
staring at the barrel of a gun.
It was supposed to be a simple operation; he and Sylvester would hack into
the aircraft carrier's main computer, remove the ransomware infecting it,
then get it back online. How was he supposed to know one of the sailors would
make a nasty remark about Paige and he would punch the man in the face?
"You just struck a ensign." announced Captain Reynolds, the carrier's commanding
officer, as he aimed a pistol in their direction.
"He shouldn't have. . ."
"Walter." The tone of Paige's voice caused him to leave the rest of his thought
unspoken.
"I was informed you were professionals. Obviously somebody lied. I should
toss the lot of you in the brig."
"Sir," Paige said, smiling at the man. "We are professionals. Mr O'Brien
is just a little overprotective of his employees, that's all."
"He's never punched anyone for me," murmured Sly. The liaison shot him a
look which caused him to stand up straighter.
"Please, Captain," she continued, "he is really very sorry. Aren't you, Mr
O'Brien?"
"Oh, yes, very sorry," he agreed immediately. Sorry he didn't hit the guy
harder for the filthy comment he had made about her.
"Very well," said Reynolds as he lowered the weapon. "The malware's gone?
We're fully functional again?"
"Yes. . .sir," Walter replied, adding the last word after Paige silently
prompted him. "You might to want to put a pornography blocker on your system
though."
He had never seen so many faces turn red before in his life. He didn't understand
why they would be embarrassed. They were sailors, even he had heard stories
about sailors on shore leave. "It's what caused the problem," he explained.
"I can recommend. . ."
"You've done enough, Mr O'Brien." Paige grabbed his arm, pulling him toward
the door of the bridge. "We are free to go, right?" she asked the captain.
"Yes. However, I will be reporting this incident to Homeland. They need to
know one of their contractors is out of control. Dismissed." He waved them
off.
Sylvester made a beeline for the door, escaping both the confines of the
small space and the captain's wrath. Walter followed Paige, throwing one
last glance at the sailor who was holding his bleeding nose. A smirk twisted
his lips as he recalled the satisfaction he had felt slamming his fist into
the pervert's face. The knuckles of his right hand still stung but he didn't
care. It had been worth it.
No one said anything until they reached Paige's car parked in the base's
parking lot. "What the hell, Walter?" Paige said she unlocked the vehicle's
doors. "You can't go around assaulting military personnel."
"But they can say. . .what he said about you?" Walter stared at her across
the shiny red roof.
"It was pretty disgusting," volunteered Sly. "If anyone had said that about
Megan, I probably would have punched him too." Walter threw him a grateful
glance as they fist bumped.
"I had to put up with much worse when I was a waitress," she said. That information
did not make Walter feel any better. In fact, it made him want to punch every
person who had ever insulted her.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Toby's right." Paige said as she opened the
car door. "If I hadn't been here, none of this would have happened."
"So you don't want to be with me?" Walter asked, wincing when he heard the
words which came out of his mouth. "I mean. . ."
"I know what you mean," she said, her cheeks turning pink, "and, yes, I do
like working with you. But I don't want you to put the team in jeopardy because
of me. Take this mission today, it was a computer issue." She sighed. "That's
you and Sylvester's area of expertise. You didn't need me."
Walter inhaled deeply. Yes, he did. He needed her. He needed her to protect
her. He needed to feel her body against his again. He needed her so much.
"I know you're frustrated, Walter," Paige said as if she read his mind. "But
you should be released from light duty at your doctor's appointment this
afternoon and we can get back to working more interesting cases."
"I don't know," Sly said, "I've enjoyed the not-so-crazy pace lately. It's
been like a vacation."
Walter saw the smile on Paige's face and felt his own lips curl as well.
They both knew Sylvester hated conflict and danger and avoided them whenever
he could. The ride from Oxnard to the garage was quiet and uneventful, and
the trio walked through the door, heading for their desks to start filling
out their reports. Toby and Happy were nowhere in sight.
"Maybe they went somewhere for lunch?" Paige suggested when Sly wondered
about their whereabouts. "It's only ten thirty. . ." the human calculator
began when the door to the turquoise trailer popped open and a very disheveled
mechanic and psychiatrist emerged from it.
"Oh, shit." Happy said as she came to a sudden halt, causing Toby to stumble
against her back. "Not good."
"I beg to differ," the shrink said in a low voice. "It was very good."
"Stuff it, Doc."
"What the hell were you two doing in there?" Walter asked stridently as he
marched up to them.
"Exactly what you think we were doing," replied Toby, tucking in his shirt.
"It's not my fault if you have a dirty mind."
Walter opened his mouth to reprimand him but was interrupted by the arrival
of Cabe. "What the hell is this I hear about you punching a naval officer,
O'Brien?" he growled as he stalked into the building. "Homeland is up my
bu. . ."
"He deserved it," Sylvester chimed it. "You should have heard what he said
about Paige."
"I told you so!" announced Toby gleefully. "I told you not to take her with.
. ."
"Stop gloating, Doc. . ."
"This is my team and I'll take who I want. . ."
"That's no excuse to hit military per. . ." began Cabe as he glanced at Walter's
right hand. "You better go ice those knuckles, son."
"Oh, ‘my team,' Mister Egomaniac," Toby said.
Walking over to the refrigerator, Walter glanced at the shopping list pinned
to its door with a magnet as he pulled out an ice pack from the freezer.
"Dammit, Toby, quit writing hazelnut in front of creamer. I don't like hazelnut
creamer."
"Oh, so we all have to have plain creamer because you don't like hazelnut?"
"I don't give a crap about creamer," barked Cabe. "You guys have bigger problems.
Scorpion is in danger of being defunded over your. . ."
"Shut up! All of you just shut up!"
Everyone turned to stare at Paige, who stood in the middle of the garage
with her hands on her temples. "What's done is done," she said in a calmer
voice. "We just need to deal with it and move on."
"But you and Walter haven't dealt with it, so you can't move on." Toby waved
his hands at them. "Look at you two. If the circles under your eyes were
any darker, they'd be portals to hell. And you've both lost at least ten
pounds in the past month."
"Fifteen." Walter bowed his head. He'd had to tighten up his belt another
notch just that morning.
"Oh sorry, 197, my bad," the shrink said sarcastically. "Fifteen pounds then."
He shook his head. "You're angry and frustrated and she's in denial. You're
both not sleeping, not eating, you're both reluctant to leave each other's
sight. Neither of you has said a word about what happened when you were held
hostage."
Walter's hands curled into fists, the ice pack falling to the floor, and
he heard Paige gasp. Glancing over at her, he saw she was shaking uncontrollably.
Without a second thought, he went to her and wrapped his arms around her.
She immediately relaxed, sliding her hands over his torso to his back as
he felt the rage inside him dissipate. He stared into her eyes, losing himself
in their hazel depths.
A loud smack startled them and they jumped away from each other, staring
down at the large book resting on the concrete floor next to their feet.
"You two fall apart every time someone mentions it," said Toby as he bent
over to pick up his copy of the DSM. "You're putting the whole team in jeopardy.
I've scheduled an appointment with Dr Rizzuto this morning . ."
"I already have an appoint. . ." Walter started to say before the other man
interrupted him.
"It's been moved to next week," said the shrink. "As your personal physician,
I don't think you're ready to go back to full duty. Physically or mentally."
Walter frowned, realizing Toby wasn't going to stop until they agreed. "Fine,
we'll go."
Paige grabbed his arm. "I don't want to go," she whispered.
"It'll be all right," he reassured her. "We'll go this one time and get Dr
Know-It-All off our backs. Okay?"
She bit her lip. "Okay." He put his hand on hers and she laced her fingers
with his.
A loud bang caught their attention once again and they jerked apart. "That's
the second time in five minutes you two have slipped down the rabbit hole,"
said the shrink, his hand atop the huge manual as it rested on the kitchen
table. "The appointment is in half an hour. I'm going with you." He held
up his hands as they started to protest. "Not to sit in, just to make sure
you get there."
"Fine." Walter picked up the ice bag and hurled it into the sink.
"I'm going to need to talk to you when you get back," Cabe said. "You're
in hot water at Homeland."
"Fine."
Taking Paige's hand, Walter led her toward the door. They were almost there
when Happy blocked their path. "I don't know what's going on with you two,"
she said in a quiet tone which belied the storm raging in her eyes. "But
you need to get your heads on straight. Scorpion going under because of this
is not an option. Are we clear?"
"As crystal," snapped Walter. He stared at the mechanic who unflinchingly
met his gaze for a few moments before stepping out of the way. Wrenching
open the door, Walter ushered Paige through it before slamming it shut.
"Sure hope this therapist can get through to them," Gallo said.
"You and me, both," Toby muttered. "You and me, both." With a shake of his
head, he followed his friends out the door.