Chapter Fifteen
Walter watched as Paige stepped forward to greet the newcomer. It was part
of her job as the team's liaison, something she had done at least a dozen
other times before. He'd never been bothered by it in the past, and he shouldn't
be now. Yet he was.
"Well, hi, um. . ." she said, extending her right hand which was still holding
the half-eaten bagel before snatching it back. "Welcome aboard."
"Thank you. I am, uh, thrilled to be here." The trainee smiled at her before
making a wiping motion by his mouth. "Um, you got a little bit on your. .
."
Walter caught a glimpse of foam from her latte on her upper lip before she
wiped it away with the back of her fingers. A small growl escaped him as
the memory of her licking cheesecake from his lips . . .and what had happened
afterward. . .popped into his head. His hands curled into fists at the thought
of this interloper touching her in a similar manner.
Deciding a distraction was needed, he strode up to the trainee. "Um, Tim,
I'm Walter O'Brien," he announced.
"Hi." Tim eagerly shook his offered hand, giving him what Walter could only
describe as a shy smile. Puzzled, Walter wondered if he was misreading shyness
for something else.
Mentally shrugging, he introduced the rest of the team and Ralph. "Happy,"
Tim addressed the mechanic. "I read up on the micro jack device that you
designed to save that kid in the sinkhole. . .that was brilliant."
"Um... thank you." Happy looked startled by his attempt to suck up to her.
Toby moved closer to where she was sitting. "Uh, yeah, I actually helped
her build that. I'm her boyfriend."
Paige glanced over at Walter, wondering if he would claim they too were romantically
involved. She was a bit disappointed when he remained silent, even though
she did understand his reluctance to declare his feelings for her to a virtual
stranger.
Plus it had been kind of juvenile of Toby to volunteer he and Happy were
a couple, she told herself. It's not like they were in middle school. Although,
and she smiled at the thought, Toby probably had been only six years old
when he had been in middle school. That would explain a lot.
The honking of a horn startled her from her musings. "Ralph, carpool's here,"
she called out as she went to help her son gather his belongings. "Bye, sweetie,"
she said, kissing the top of his head. He ducked out from under her lips
and ran out the door.
"Uh, how was your weekend?" She whirled around as Walter stood behind her,
taking a bite from an egg bagel.
"Oh, great. Ralph and I had a lot of fun," she lied. They had a lot of fun
if fun meant cleaning their apartment, watching science documentaries, and
ordering a pizza which must have given her food poisoning because she had
been sick the next morning. She'd missed him terribly. "How was yours?"
"It was productive," he lied. It had been productive only if productive meant
driving to San Francisco and back and only getting one speeding ticket. He'd
missed her terribly.
"Hey, you two, get your asses over here," Cabe yelled at them. "This is important."
Walter listened as the Homeland agent outlined their mission, installing
a powerful audio surveillance system at an US military base in Djibouti.
"That's impressive but a basic setup. Any decent audio engineer could do
this. So why us?" Happy gave voice to his misgivings the assignment appeared
a little too easy.
"The Feds want it properly installed, and they want it installed yesterday,"
replied Gallo. "They know we're good and fast, and they're willing to pay
you for it."
"Guess we're going to Africa." Toby, still wearing his coconut bra, walked
over to confront Tim. "You know, we like to learn about the people we're
working with, Timothy. There's a chunk missing from your online history."
The other man chuckled. "I was a SEAL. Last year, I caught some shrapnel,
some of which is still lodged in my lower back. So the Navy medically discharged
me. I'm appealing their decision. I figured if I don't win, Homeland would
be another option for me to serve my country."
Walter frowned as he slid a glance at Paige, who was standing next to him.
He couldn't tell if she was impressed by the other man's heroics or not.
"I requested Scorpion detail because I've read about all of you," the newcomer
continued. "And. . .you're amazing." He smiled at Walter again.
"Of course, we're amazing," the shrink agreed as Cabe offered to show Tim
around and the two men moved out of earshot. "Maybe he's not such a putz
after all."
Walter snorted. "No, you were spot on with your first assessment," he said.
"He's a putz."
"Play nice," Paige murmured in his ear. "Like you said, he's a temporary
trainee." She patted his shoulder. "I need to go make overnight arrangements
for Ralph."
"Okay." Keeping his gaze on her, trying to calm the apprehension swirling
in his gut at the thought of her traveling to a third world country in her
possible condition. That he was going with her did little to ease his anxiety.
"Uh, hey, boss."
Happy's words snapped him out of his head and he glanced over to where she
was cramming tools into a duffel bag while Toby handed them to her.
"Hey, look who's here for a Djibouti call," quipped the doc, laughing loudly
at his own joke. When no one else joined in, he quit abruptly and pointed
at the door where a short, blonde woman stood.
"Linda?" What the hell was she doing here? And wearing a coat covering up
what she had on underneath. Oh, shit. . .
"Hi, Walter," she said, moving toward him. She whipped open her coat, revealing
a skirt and blouse. "See, no bomb this time. Just me."
He exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Uh, what are
you doing. . ."
"Doing here unannounced?" she finished his sentence as she bobbled her head.
"In a bold and possibly embarrassing move?" Glancing around, Walter noticed
both Paige and Happy were giving her what he considered hostile stares. Linda
must have seen them too, because she added, "Um... ...can we talk in private?"
"Sure." He lead her to a far corner of the garage, wondering with every step
why she had sought him out again. "So. . .is everything okay?" he asked once
they had come to a halt.
"Oh, yes. Well, kind of. Um. . ." She glanced down at her shoes. "It's just.
. .I've been thinking about you. A lot." Raising her head, she looked at
him with wide eyes.
"Oh." He wasn't sure how to process her words, whether to be flattered or
concerned, although he was leaning toward the latter.
"I feel like I didn't give you a fair shot. Especially after you saved my
live and all."
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" She thought he'd just let her get blown up because
their date had been a failure? "It was partly my fault you were in that predicament.
It was the responsible thing to do."
"Well, I'm taking responsibility for saying ‘no' to a date with a great guy,"
she announced. She smiled expectantly at him. "Unless you'd like to call
it a ‘joint social endeavor'? We could go on one of those."
Oh, she wanted another date. He remembered asking her for a second date,
but it seemed like such a long time ago. So much had happened since then.
"I'm sorry," he began, rubbing the back of his head, "but, uh, I'm kind of
in a relationship now."
"Kind of? You mean, you don't know?"
"It's kind of complicated at the moment," he said, not wanting to explain
what he felt for Paige and that she might be pregnant with their child. "Listen,
Linda. . .um. . .I'm not interested in dating you anymore. Or anyone else.
Except the person I'm in the relationship with. . . Uh. . ." Realizing he
was babbling, he stopped talking.
Linda moved closer, placing her hand on his arm. It took all his willpower
not to jerk away from the unwelcome touch. "I know now I screwed up when
I turned you down for another date. I really wish you would give me another
chance, Walter. I think. . .I think we could be good together."
He took a step back, disengaging from her grasp. "I guess I should have been
clearer," he began. "I-I'm in love with P. . .this other woman. It's. . .It's
just a bit. . .complicated," he repeated.
"Oh." Her disappointment was obvious. "Well," she said, giving him a cheerful
grin even he knew was false. "I guess you can give me a call if your complicated
relationship ever blows up in your face." She laughed nervously. "See, I
can make bomb jokes, too."
Walter winced, recalling the inappropriate texts he had sent her the day
after their date. He had been such an idiot, for sending those lame messages.
. .and for agreeing to go out with her in the place. He'd been in love with
Paige, even though he'd been unwilling to admit it at the time.
He became aware they were just staring at each other, wasting time he didn't
have. "Uh, Linda, um. . . I'm sorry, I need to go now. We have a mission
and. . ."
"Oh, okay," she said. "I guess I'll be going then. Goodbye, Walter." She
took a step back. "And good luck." Waving her hand, she added, "with your
mission. . .and your relationship."
"Thanks. You, too," he returned awkwardly. He chewed on his lip as he watched
her walk out of the building.
"What did she want?"
For the second time that morning, he turned around at the sound of Paige's
voice. "Uh, she. . .she wanted to give me another chance. I told her I wasn't
interested."
"But are you?"
"What?" He didn't like the look in her eyes. He wasn't sure what it meant,
but he was sure it wasn't good. "Interested? No, of course not. Why would
you. . ."
"Even think that?" She crossed her arms. "Maybe because you went out with
her in the first place. And I know you asked her for a second date."
Okay, so she was jealous, and more than a little pissed at him. Which was
illogical because he certainly hadn't invited Linda to visit him at his place
of work. "You're the one who wanted me to be more social."
"I didn't mean date other women."
"How was I supposed to know that? You told me to be more social but then
you didn't tell me how. You just threw me to the wolves. . .or in my case,
to the coyotes." He grinned stupidly at her, hoping to lessen her exasperation.
It didn't work as she continued to glare at him.
"So this is all my fault?" She moved closer. "You're the genius with a 197
IQ. I thought you could figure out how to do anything."
"If I hadn't figured it out in thirty-two years, why would you think I could
in a matter of weeks?" He stared at the floor. "I've had trouble with emotions
all my life. Burying them made life easier. It doesn't hurt so much if I
can't feel in the first place."
"Oh, God, Walter. . ." She placed her hands on his shoulders before running
them up the sides of his neck and into his hair. Closing his eyes, he let
himself yield to her touch. It wasn't until moments like this he realized
how much he craved it. He felt her breath on his lips as she moved closer.
A shiver of anticipation ran up his spine.
"Dammit, O'Brien!" Cabe's shout from across the garage brought him back to
his senses. "Plane leaves in little over an hour," the Homeland agent stated.
"We need to head out now."
"We. . .We'd better go," he mumbled as she withdrew from him. He felt the
loss immediately, it was almost painful.
"You have to stop doing that," she said as they walked over to their desks
to gather up their gear.
"Stop doing what?" He frowned. She was the one who had initiated contact,
if that's what she meant.
"Irritating the hell out of me, then disarming me by saying something either
sweet or sad or. . .just so. . ." Her voice trailed off.
"Oh. I don't mean to. . ."
"I know. That's what makes it all the more effective."
"Well, I do like to be efficient." Failing miserably to suppress a grin,
he took her hand on their way out the door as Toby was telling everyone to
get their booties to Djibouti.