Author's note: Alternate ending for "Bat Poop Crazy" (3x06)
My Pleasure
Walter's brain churned through the day's events. Rabid bats, dying scientists,
the seemingly endless costume photo shoot, Agent Linehan figuring out his
marriage was a sham. . . All of those events, or even less horrendous ones,
like blowing up a cave wall using candy corn, should have stood out in his
mind. But they didn't.
All he could recall was weight of Paige's body atop his after they had slid
down a fifty foot drop. The story she had told him about her father and how
he'd been crushed when her mother had left. Remembering the way she looked
in her Halloween costume, with its short skirt, her hair pulled up on top
of her head, those glasses. . .
He shifted uncomfortably under his covers. He had to stop thinking about
her or he'd never get any sleep. It was already past midnight. He needed to.
. .
The downstairs door opened, its creaking echoing throughout the garage.
He sat up, throwing off his blanket, wondering who it could be. An intruder
would have set off alarms. And since that hadn't happened, it must be one
of his co-workers. But who would still be out so late?
"Walter?"
Closing his eyes, he groaned as he recognized the voice uttering his name.
Paige. What was she doing here? She was supposed to be out trick or treating
with her son and the interloper, not disturbing his already troubled sleep.
She called out again, her footsteps tapping as she crossed the lower floor.
He listened as she climbed the stairs, his body coiling tighter with every
step. Trembling with anticipation, he heard her approach his bedroom.
"Walter?" A soft knock accompanied her quiet inquiry.
His breathing grew harsh as he barely managed to get the words "Come in"
past his lips.
The door opened slowly, revealing the woman of his dreams, still dressed
in her Halloween costume.
"What are you doing here?" At least that was what he meant to say. Only
it came out as "Whaaa. . ." before his throat closed up as she moved closer
to his bed.
"I didn't wake you, did it?" she asked. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Walter,
but. . ." She inhaled sharply. "But I need to know what you meant earlier.
When Ralph thought you wanted to take us out. . ."
"I, uh, I. . .I never said. . ." he sputtered, his heart pounding in his
chest. "R-Ralph misunderstood."
"I don't think he did." She inched forward. "I think you wanted to take
us trick or treating."
"S-So what if I did?" he countered. "You went with Tim." He narrowed his
eyes. "Where is he? H-He's not w-waiting downstairs, is he?"
"No. he's probably at his apartment. He dropped me and Ralph at our place
a couple of hours ago. My neighbor is keeping an eye on Ralph." She smiled.
"Does that answer all your questions?"
"Yes," he replied. "All but one." She arched an eyebrow. "Why are you here?"
"Because I can't stop thinking about you." Shoving her hands into her lab
coat pockets, she swung them from side to side. "Today, in the cave. . .it
felt like the way it used to between us. Having each other's back, being able
to confide in each other. . . Before Linda. Before Tim. I've missed it. I've
missed us."
"I've missed it, too." Walter swallowed nervously. "I-I-I. . . You c-could
have w-waited until tomorrow to. . ."
"I couldn't sleep." She sat down uninvited on the opposite side of his mattress.
"I should be exhausted. All the spelunking, and chasing Ralph from house to
house, going through his candy, finally getting him down from his sugar high
so he could go to bed. . . But I'm not. I feel restless, like something's
wrong. It took me awhile but I finally figured out what it was."
Smoothing his blanket with her hand, she gazed up at him through her lens-less
glasses. "It was us, Walter. We're what's wrong. And I want to fix it."
She rose up off the bed, shedding her long white jacket while she kicked
off her shoes. Reaching up, she unpinned her hair, letting it cascade down
to touch her shoulders. Then she rested one of her knees atop the mattress,
lifting her skirt higher up her thigh.
"F-F-Fix how?" he choked out. He thought he knew what she meant, but he
needed her to say it.
"By doing something we should have done a long time ago."
She crawled toward him, pushing him back against his pillows before straddling
his legs.
"P-P-Paige. . ."
Placing a finger on his lips, she leaned over him. "Do you want me?"
He nodded. Moving closer, she touched her lips to his lightly before pulling
away. She started to remove the glasses but he stayed her hand.
"L-Leave them on."
A huge grin broke out on her face. "You like them, huh?" Grasping his face
in her hands, she then slid them up into his hair, threading her fingers through
his curly hair. She didn't give him a chance to answer as she nipped his
earlobe before kissing along his jaw until their lips met.
A tortured moan escaped him as he felt her tongue glide inside his mouth,
tangling with his own. The purring noises emanating from the back of her throat
loosened his hold on his rapidly dissolving control.
"Paige," he murmured when they came up for air. "I-I don't. . . I mean,
I haven't. . ."
"Shh. . ." She pressed her body to his, conjuring up memories of their accidental
embrace in the cavern. "It's okay, Walter." She breathed his name into his
ear and a shiver ran down his spine. "We can stop if you want."
"No." He wanted her. She obviously wanted him. He didn't need to be a genius
to know he'd be a fool to turn her away.
"Good." She pushed up her glasses and smiled at him. He hadn't thought he
could become even more aroused, but he'd been painfully wrong.
Walter woke with a start. Rubbing his hand over his face, he realized it
must be morning since sunlight streamed through the windows.
"Paige," he whispered as the night's events came rushing back to him. He
turned to where she had been curled up against him, sated and sleepy, before
he had drifted off.
She wasn't there. Panic filled him as he ran his hand over the cool sheets
where she had slept. Lying still, he listened for noises indicating she was
somewhere else in the garage; downstairs, in his kitchen, the bathroom. .
. Nothing but silence greeted him.
Sitting up, he closed his eyes. Had he dreamed the whole thing? Paige in
her costume, the mind blowing sex, the declarations of love murmured as they
laid entwined afterwards.
He ran his hands through his hair. It had seemed so real, so vivid. Her
soft skin, her breathy gasps and moans, how amazing it had felt as she climaxed
when he had been deep inside her. It couldn't have just been his subconscious
running wild. He refused to believe it.
Gradually, he became aware he was naked. He never slept in the nude. Scanning
the room, he saw his t-shirt crumpled into a ball in the far corner, his boxers
hanging on the bedside lampshade.
Taking a deep breath, he caught the scent of lavender still lingering in
the air. Maybe he'd grown too warm in the night and had thrown off his undergarments.
Maybe she'd straightened out his bed after Ralph had slept on it a few nights
earlier. Perhaps they were just coincidences.
Wondering what time it was, Walter glanced at the clock on his nightstand,
catching a glimpse of something which didn't belong. Scooting forward to get
a closer look, his heart skipped a beat as he remembered how he had finally
slipped them off her and set them aside.
He hadn't been hallucinating. It hadn't been a dream.
Paige's costume eyeglasses rested on his nightstand next to the clock.