Author's note: AU ending for The Hole Truth (3x14)
Love, Mom
Paige sat in shock as she stared at the envelope filled with $100 bills.
Where had her mother gotten all this money? Why hadn't she used it to pay
off her debt to the greasy slimeball who didn't even have the courtesy to
let a daughter grieve for her mother before harassing her for money?
She picked up a stack of the money and fanned the end of it. She and Ralph
would never have to worry about money again. She could quit her job, spend
more time with Ralph, not have to worry about sinkholes and counterfeiters
and illegal arms dealers and kidnappers and. . .curly haired geniuses with
an IQ of 197 who drove her to distraction.
Taking a deep breath, Paige put the bills back in the envelope and tried
to close it back up. That's when she noticed another smaller envelope underneath.
A white one with her name written on it in her mother's handwriting.
Veronica had told her everything she'd wanted to say, hadn't she? Why
would she need to write her a letter? Wondering if there was some sort of
explanation of the money's origins or maybe a password for an offshore bank
account, she slit open the flap and unfolded the single sheet of paper she
found inside it.
To my beautiful daughter Paige,
I can't watch while you make the biggest mistake of your life. Marrying
your father was the biggest mistake of mine. I thought I needed someone
safe and stable so I wouldn't need to do the things I do. But it didn't
work, in fact it failed miserably. And I ruined your father's life. . .and
yours.
You may think Tim is what you want. Someone safe and steady. Someone who'll
always say and do the right thing because they've been told it's the right
thing to do and say. Your father was that way. Giving me flowers and candy
and jewelry for special occasions. Taking me out to dinner for birthdays
and anniversaries. It's what he thought I wanted, when I never said I wanted
any of it. I wanted adventure, excitement, spontaneity. Not predictable blandness.
I was so unhappy. I ran cons to make myself feel better, but it didn't
help. I hurt your father every time he had to bail me out of jail, hurt you
every time I missed something important in your life because I was chasing
a long con. I don't think I ever really loved him and that made what I did
so much worse. He didn't deserve what I did to him.
I'm worried you're going to make the same mistake I did. I settled for
what everyone expected me to settle for. The same way you're settling for
Tim because you think Walter will never be the man you want him to be. If
he wasn't the man you wanted him to be, you would have never fallen in love
with him in the first place. You're willing to let him slip through your fingers
because you've been told you shouldn't want him. Yes, he's arrogant and rude
and stubborn and childish at times. He's a man. All men are like that to
some degree. He loves you more than anything in this world and he's dying
inside every day you push him aside for Tim. You're the reason he's regressed
so much in the past few months. You stopped helping him evolve. You tossed
him in the deep end and you're letting him drown because you don't want to
admit you've failed him.
For your sake and for Ralph's, I hope you decide to throw him a life preserver
before it's too late and you let the man you love sink to the bottom and
lose him forever. Please don't make the same mistake I did. I pay every day
for what I did to you and your father. I wouldn't wish this on anyone else,
especially my own daughter. Tim is all wrong for you. You'll end up hating
him. You wish every day you'd taken a chance on Walter. I'm not promising
it will be all rainbows and kittens with him, you'd get sick of that, just
like I did. You'll keep each other on your toes. There'll probably never be
a dull moment. But that's what makes life worth living.
If you've read this far, I might as well spill another secret. Ralph is
the one who contacted me. He found a copy of your birth certificate while
doing a school project, learned my name, and looked me up on the internet.
We've been writing to each other for two years now. He's told me all about
you and his father and how you both found a home at Scorpion. And he's told
me all about Walter. How important he is to both of you. Your son loves
him.
But I suspect you know that. He's always told me he's your number one
priority but lately he feels that isn't so. He told me you had trouble connecting
with him in the past and that Walter was helping you to do so. But now you've
all but removed Walter from his life and put Tim in his place. Someone who
may treat your son well, but will never connect with him on the same level
Walter does. You're losing your connection with your son and you either have
no idea it's happening or you don't care that it is. You'll end up hating
yourself for driving your son away as much as I do for driving you away.
Well, I certainly didn't mean for this to go on forever. But I guess I've
needed to get this off my chest for a long time. I want to thank you again
for allowing me to spend time with my grandson, and you, and the wonderful
family you found for yourself. They are special people and you should fight
for them as fiercely as you fight for Ralph. And you especially need to fight
for Walter. He needs you the most. But you already know that. I hope when
the time comes (which it will) and you have to make a choice, you'll go
with your heart and make the right decision.
Give Ralph another hug and kiss for me.
Love,
Mom
Paige set the letter down on her desk. It was then she realized tears
were streaming down her face. Oh, God. She'd screwed up so badly, she wasn't
even sure where she'd gone wrong. Wiping ineffectively at her damp cheeks,
she then stuffed the letter back into its envelope, tossed it on top of the
money, and closed her desk drawer.
She knew what she had to do now. It was going to be difficult and messy
and she was going to have to swallow a lot of pride. But she was not going
to make the biggest mistake of her life. Her heart had made its choice two
and a half years ago. And deep down, she knew he had been the right choice
all along.