Chapter Four
Paige was charmed he asked her out so formally. And it was sweet he was so
nervous. She didn't know why she found his awkwardness so endearing, but
it was one of the things she loved most about him
Walter must have misunderstood her hesitation because he lowered his gaze
but not before she noted his disappointment. "Uh, it's okay if you don't
want. . ."
"I would love to have dinner with you, Walter," she said, trying to suppress
a smile and failing miserably. "And Friday works for me. Ralph already has
plans to spend the night at Sylvester's. They're going on another marine
biology field trip on Saturday."
She watched as his face turned red, felt her own cheeks flush as her words
sunk in. "Oh, I, uh, I mean just d-dinner, not, um. . ." he said, staring
at the ground again.
"It's all right, Walter," she said, giving his hands a reassuring squeeze.
"I know what you mean." She'd seen the flare of desire in his eyes before
he had looked away. He wanted her. She wanted him, too. They had only been
together the one time and even though neither of them had mentioned it, she
knew they had been waiting for Walter's ribs to heal. She had a pretty good
idea of how the evening was going to end.
"So. . .I-I'll pick you up at seven?" he asked.
"Seven is good." She freed one hand to cover a yawn. "Sorry, I'm really tired.
It's been a long day and Ralph has school in the morning and we should be
going home."
"You could stay," he offered. "I mean, you and Ralph. . .and I'll sleep on
the couch. . .and. . . You shouldn't be driving if you're too tired."
She really was exhausted and the effort it would take to go back to her condo
seemed monumental. "Okay. We'll stay," she said. "I should go tell Ralph."
She got to her feet then and Walter stood up as well, bringing them nearly
chest to chest. She lost her balance for a second, grasping his forearms
to steady herself. She moved her hands upward, feeling the muscles hidden
under his shirt sleeves, and wet her lips. He encircled her waist with his
hands, resting them on the curve of her bottom. Her breathing grew shallow
as he stared at her with a look of wonderment in his eyes which always made
her weak in the knees.
He closed the distance between them, gently touching his lips to hers. Lifting
her hands, she tangled her fingers into his still damp hair, pressing her
body to his as the kiss deepened. Need swirled through her and she could
feel Walter growing hard against her belly.
A knock on the door, followed by it opening slightly, startled them. "Walter?
Paige?" Cabe's voice caused them to jump apart. Paige had to hide a smile
at the embarrassment and annoyance mingled on Walter's face. He kept his
back to the door as Paige stepped around him.
"We're here," she called out. The Homeland agent came into view as he pushed
the door open wider.
"I'm giving Sylvester a ride home," he stated. "And Ralph can barely stay
awake. Just thought you'd like to know."
"Thanks," she replied. "We'll be down in a minute. Good night."
"Good night," said Cabe. "Good night, Walter." The agent, a knowing grin
on his face, departed, leaving the door open.
Paige turned around, noticing Walter hadn't moved. "Walter?"
"What?" He ran his hand over his face as if he was just waking up.
She bit her lip. "Are you sure you want Ralph and me to stay? I don't want
us to be a problem for you."
"Yes. Stay. Please."
There was something in his voice, something telling her he needed her tonight,
a feeling she understood because she felt the same way. All day long it seemed
as though forces had been trying to tear them apart, and if staying meant
she could ease both his mind and hers, she would do it. "Okay." She started
toward the door, then stopped, reaching out her hand. "You coming?"
"Yes." He entwined his fingers with hers and they both headed back inside.
It didn't take long for Paige and Ralph to settle into his bed. Ralph complained
about having to sleep in his clothes until Walter found an old pair of pajamas
for him to wear. They were several sizes too big, and Walter couldn't bring
himself to tell the boy they had once belonged to Megan, but they placated
him enough he was soon sound asleep.
Paige opted to sleep in what she had on. Walter checked on them before he
went to lie down on the couch, expecting to toss and turn for a few hours
before resigning himself to another sleepless night. But he found himself
drifting off within minutes of his head hitting the pillow.
A glint of light crossed his vision and he found himself in a darkened room,
a familiar musty odor filling his nostrils. Turning his head, he saw Paige,
her wrists and ankles bound, tears rolling down her cheeks, a knife pressed
to her throat. A man was looming over her. No, he had to stop them, stop
her. . . No. . .
"Walter! Walter, wake up." He bolted upright when he heard her voice and
felt her hand touch his hair.
"Paige." He reached out and pulled her into his lap, burying his face into
her shoulder.
"Walter, it's okay. It was just a nightmare." He could feel her lips on his
neck. "You're okay."
Lifting his head, he stared at her, expecting to see the bruised and bloodied
woman from his dream. He sighed with relief when her uninjured face filled
his vision, with only the mostly healed cut on the left side of her chin
as a reminder of their ordeal. "I'm sorry, " he said. "Did I wake you up?"
"No," she replied. "I was already awake." She glanced away and he realized
she'd had a bad dream of her own. "I should go back. . ."
He was aware enough now to notice her thigh pressed up against his groin.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, he forced himself to remember her son was
in the next room and what he wanted at the moment was out of the question.
But he still needed to keep her close, to protect her.
"No, stay." Gently, he slid her off his legs so they were sitting side by
side on the sofa. After covering both of them with his blanket, he wrapped
his left arm around her shoulders. Smiling weakly at him, Paige kissed him
on the cheek before resting her head against him and placing her hand over
his heart. He slept peacefully the rest of the night.
"Ralph, honey, hurry up," Paige urged her son the next morning. "Finish your
cereal. You know we have to run home first and change clothes before I drop
you off at school."
"Mom, they just said on the news that most schools are closed today," said
the boy genius as he used his spoon to play with the milk in his bowl. "They're
having structural engineers check the buildings for any damage caused by
the quakes."
"Well, I haven't received a notifi. . ." she started to say before she was
interrupted by the buzzing of her phone. "Okay, no school today," she said
as she read the text message. "We still need to go home and. . ."
Once again, she was cut off, this time by the sound of the door creaking
as Toby, Happy, and Sylvester entered the garage. Dammit, she hoped to be
long gone before the others showed up. She knew what they would be thinking;
especially Toby; but they'd be wrong and she didn't feel like explaining
herself to anyone.
"And what do we have here?" the psychiatrist asked in a mocking tone. "Did
you and Walter have a sleepover and not invite the rest of us?"
"It's none of your business, Toby," she said with a sigh.
Walter chose that moment to hurry down the stairs, carrying a file folder.
"What are you all doing here so early?" he asked as he came to stand beside
Paige.
"So no fraternization at work, eh?" said the shrink, ignoring his boss's
question. "What do you call this?"
"It was late and Paige was too tired to drive so I offered to let her and
Ralph spend the night." Paige could feel how tense he was even though he
was standing a foot away. "It was efficient."
"I bet it was," Toby said with a smirk. "So it's all right for you and Paige
to engage in efficient fraternization but not the rest of us? Hypocrite much?"
Walter set the folder down on the table and took a step toward the doc. "I
only said no fraternization during work hours. What I do on my own time is
my affair." Paige bit her lip as she watched his hands curl into fists.
Toby also moved closer. "Interesting choice of words there, 197."
Paige glanced from one man to the other and realized their verbal sparring
was on the verge of turning physical. "Stop it," she said as she positioned
herself between them. She looked over her shoulder at Happy. "Can't you help
me talk some sense into them?"
The mechanic shrugged. "I've seen them fight before. Trust me, no one's going
to get hurt."
Toby turned to glare at her. "Hey, I actually boxed in an amateur match."
"And got KO'd 21.2 seconds into the first round," Sylvester pointed out with
a laugh. "Happy's right," he said to Paige. "The last fight they got into,
the only thing that got hurt was a chair Toby tried to throw at Walter and
missed. That was before you." He and Happy both were acting if a fight between
the two men would be amusing instead of a serious setback to their friendship.
"I don't care," said Paige, crossing her arms over her chest. "Toby, if you
would just stop provoking Walter. . ."
"So now this is my fault?" the shrink said with a fury in his voice she'd
never heard before. "You two are the ones who are all fucked up in the .
. ."
He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Walter moved past Paige
and swung at Toby's head. "Don't speak to her like that!" he snarled, stumbling
as his punch missed its mark. He tried to strike again but the psychiatrist
blocked his fist before clipping Walter on the chin. The genius was stunned
for a second, then launched himself at his friend, knocking the shrink off
his feet.
"Stop it!" Paige yelled as the two men wrestled around on the floor. Walter
aimed a punch at Toby's nose, but the other man deflected it at the last
second and it hit his eye instead.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Cabe's voice rang out from the doorway.
Walter and Toby froze, both with their fists raised, ready to hit the other.
Walter was the first to scramble to his feet, adjusting his tie as he noticed
the Homeland agent's scowl. "Nothing that can't be continued at a later time,"
he said, sending an angry glance in the shrink's direction. His chin stung
and he could taste blood in his mouth from biting his tongue, but he wasn't
going to give Toby the satisfaction of knowing he'd scored a point.
"Fantastic. Now that's settled. . . O'Brien, Dineen, Dodd. . .you're coming
with me. We're going to a disciplinary hearing."