Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Part 1: I, Genius

Not good.

Happy's words described the scene before Cabe appropriately, but were a severe understatement for the situation they all now faced.

Cabe Gallo, former Homeland Security liaison to the ragtag but extraordinary team of geniuses known as Scorpion, stood overlooking a beautiful landscape on an equally beautiful morning. A slight breeze caused his suit and tie to rustle slightly in the wind. He held his sunglasses in his hand, having taken them off to get a better look at the reason was called here.

A mangled highway guard rail stood on either side of him, and a bright spot of red shone on the side of the otherwise drab mountainside, about thirty feet down.

That red spot was the remains of the red Ferrari that precariously held Walter O'Brien; genius with a one-ninety-seven IQ, leader of Scorpion, and man he cared for like a son.

The mangled vehicle and the precarious balance of physics was all that kept Walter from crashing hundreds of feet to his death.

Cabe was not the only one occupying the small stretch of highway above the wreck. The three other genius members of Scorpion were here, along with multiple EMS, fire department, and police rescue crews. They all were focused on figuring out a way to get Walter off the side of that cliff alive.

Walter and Cabe's last conversation had not been on the best of terms. Walter essentially said he never wanted to see him again after Cabe's revelation to him. He had finally revealed the secret he had been keeping from Walter for over fifteen years.

Cabe had been the one to discover and recruit Walter when he was just a boy. Years later, Cabe enlisted him to create software to be used to target aid drops for refugees when he was just sixteen years old. Instead of it being used for what it was designed for, the military repurposed it without Walter's knowledge to target bomb strikes.

When the attack occurred, instead of eliminating the intended high value enemy combatants, two thousand civilians in Baghdad had been killed in their stead. It hadn't been the kid's fault. He had designed the software to favor speed over accuracy.

Cabe had told Walter sixteen years ago he hadn't known the military had different plans for his work, which had been the absolute truth. Walter had been angry enough back then, but Cabe had not told him the whole story.

What Cabe hadn't told Walter, until just yesterday, was he had been informed about the altered plans three days before the attack on Baghdad occurred. At the time, the targets were high priority and there was no way to change anything without jeopardizing an important operation and risking charges of treason.

Looking back, there was really no other choice he could have considered, but that didn't make it right. Cabe still felt the guilt of that day, both for the civilians that died, and the betrayal Walter felt. Cabe had revealed the final information to Walter yesterday. The subsequent fight and events lead him to resign from his position at Homeland Security this morning.

The problem they faced today, though, seemed to make those issues seem small in comparison.

After Sylvester, Toby, and Happy discovered Walter in his current predicament, they called him. Cabe came immediately without question. Even without his badge, his air of authority remained from years of practice. With a flash of his scuba certification card and some very direct words of authority, he paved the way for Scorpion to start doing what they did best. No matter how Walter felt about him after their falling out, there was no way he wouldn't be here.

His arrival had enabled the team to start working to their full effect, but he now felt completely helpless. As he stood overlooking the cliff, he couldn't help but wonder how even the Scorpion team was going to pull this one off with Walter still alive.

With the help of their bird-shaped robotic drone, Birdroni, some duct tape, and a video phone, Walter's injuries had been evaluated as best they could. He couldn't move his right arm well, likely due to several broken bones, and there was still a piece of metal lodged in his left side, impaling him from behind through his seat, literally pinning him in place.

Cabe couldn't help but be impressed with the kid's resilience so far. He had seen some soldiers pass out from less. Walter was one tough SOB.

Cabe knew just being tough wasn't going to save him, however. He watched the rest of Scorpion go though their usual back and forth banter and brainstorming, trying to come up with impossible solutions to impossible problems with their combined talents.

Toby: genius doctor and behaviorist with a splattering of narcissism, gambling addiction, and an almost unhealthy attachment to his hat, but loyal to a fault.

Happy: tomboy engineering prodigy with some anger management issues yet fiercely protective of her friends.

Sylvester: human calculator with severe OCD, anxiety, and more phobias than he'd ever seen, but the purest heart he'd ever met.

Because of their incredible minds, and despite their extreme quirks, he had seen them create solutions in hopeless, impossible situations many times before, and he prayed they did again.

He couldn't help feeling something was different this time, and not just because it was Walter they were working to save. He felt something in part of him that the geniuses didn't rely on regularly; his gut.

Something felt very wrong in every aspect of his being, twisting knots inside him. He couldn't help but feel that despite Scorpion's incredible genius, they weren't going to reach Walter in time. That's why this time was different.

Nevertheless, the rescue efforts continued, and he hoped his nagging feeling was unfounded.

Walter also seemed to sense that his chances were not improving.

"Cabe, uh, when I was sixteen years old-" Walter started, his voice coming through the tablet in front of them.

"What I did at Baghdad was wrong," Cabe interrupted abruptly. "You had every right to be mad at me."

"No, I was hurt and, uh…I overreacted. I was emotional, and ineffective, and if I had been logical then I would have realized the man who had known me when I was younger would never have hurt me on purpose."

Walter then explained how he had hacked the sprinkler system at his daughter's grave all those years ago to ensure it was healthy and green. Why would he have done that when he was so mad at me then? Cabe thought to himself.

Walter didn't answer when asked, but got to his point. "The point is I don't want there to be any more secrets between us."

Cabe made a silent oath there would not be.

Their next problem occurred when the car's oil tank caught fire. The team proceeded to successfully stop it from bursting into flames by draining it using a fire hose, duct tape, and a dart fashioned from syringes, continuing to buy Walter more time for rescue. It felt like a never ending race of obstacles and hazards, and Cabe felt even though they had so far met each one successfully, they were slowly losing ground.

The car shifted as Walter tried to lean back and counteract the weight of the drained oil, and the piece of metal impaling Walter's side was violently dislodged. Walter let out a sharp cry and Toby immediately jumped up to try and figure out how to meet this new threat to Walter's life.

Birdroni was maneuvered to better assess the wound. Dear God, that was a lot of blood, Cabe thought.

Cabe had his hand in his pocket, absentmindedly twirling a small metal object within it through his fingers.

Thinking quickly, Toby guided Walter how to cauterize his own wound internally with a found silver pen heated to scalding with the cigarette lighter. Genius and insane.

Again, Cabe marveled at how tough the kid was. He was equally impressed with the continued ingenuity of Scorpion. He just hoped it would be enough.

He saw Toby let out a big sigh as he lowered the tablet after successfully talking Walter through the procedure. As Walter had held the burning hot pen in his wound he had reminisced with Toby about one of the best weekends of his life with him. It seemed Walter was still thinking his time would be shortly up.

Cabe came up behind Toby as he told Walter how the bleeding had stopped substantially, but Cabe saw the expression on Toby's face. It was one of momentary relief, but disappointment. The bleeding hadn't stopped as much as he had hoped. The clock was ticking slower, but still ticking far faster than they would be able to keep up with.

They had bought Walter some time, but not much. Sylvester had no doubt redone calculations in his head, and Toby had assessed and reassessed the medical reality. Cabe's gut agreed. Walter was still going to bleed to death before they could reach him.

Nevertheless, they kept working, trying to come up with a plan to reach Walter in time.

Cabe became more mindful of the small, metal, cylindrical item he had been spinning slowly between his fingers in his pocket. He pulled it out and studied it, although he was very familiar with what it looked liked. He had kept this object with him for over twenty years. It was given to him to use as a last resort in the case of emergency. He unscrewed the metal cylinder, about two inches in length, and removed the object it contained.

The object was a small glass vial of a deep red liquid, and it had been a gift long ago from a fellow soldier, a man who was not entirely a man, in return for saving his life. The liquid inside, if consumed, would heal all wounds, and possibly buy Walter enough time to be rescued.

In the ultra-rational world of math and science the Scorpion team belonged to, Cabe fully realized the object's existence was starkly out of place, for the vial contained the blood of a vampire.

Chapter Text

There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy
-Hamlet

The vial contained the blood of a vampire.

The whole story wasn't something for Cabe to dwell on at the moment, but he recalled the basics of what he had learned the day the vial was given to him, over twenty years ago.

The blood would heal even severe wounds, allowing continued life with a second chance, and nothing more.

However, if one died with the blood still in their system, they would come back, caught between life and death with a staggering decision to make. Either to wait for death, which would come about a day later, or make the transition to a vampire, and all that entailed.

Immortality, strength, speed, durability, heightened senses…

He could hear the list in his head as it was said by Salv, the blood's source, all those years ago. He then heard the second list in his head, as a reminder of why he never used the vial himself.

No sunlight (usually), outliving those you love, hiding from the world.

And the bloodlust….

He had seen the capabilities of all these things first hand. He had been awed, and terrified by them at the time.

If he got this vial to Walter and he took it, it would heal his wounds and buy the team time to get to him, but if the car fell and Walter died, he could come back, and the kid would have a difficult decision to make.

If Cabe did nothing, Walter would die either from blood loss or the fall when the cliff gave out.

Cabe only thought about what to do for a few seconds. He closed his hand around the vial and headed towards Happy and Toby. In the end, he told himself he was going to give Walter a choice, which is something he wouldn't otherwise have. He prayed the contents of the vial only healed him, and let him live his life with nothing more than the burden of knowledge of the supernatural.

Cabe marched up to the table where Toby and Happy worked diligently. Rescue personal were moving constantly around them, trying to enact whatever plans they were thinking of. Toby stood over Happy's shoulder with a hand on her black leather jacket, keeping an eye on the tablet screen that fed them the image of Walter through Birdroni.

"I'm going to need to borrow your drone," Cabe informed them quickly. "I need to talk to Walter and get something down to him as soon as possible."

The duo looked at him for a brief moment as they refocused on him. Once they had, Happy replied only with a short, characteristic, "okay".

Happy grabbed the remote control box and led the drone back up the cliff and over to them. She picked up the machine once it landed and held out her hand for Cabe to give her what he wanted attached to it.

He handed her the vial. After a brief second looking at it, no doubt very confused, she tore a piece of duct tape off with her teeth and taped the small object to Birdroni. Cabe was relieved at her quick compliance to his request.

"There you go." She handed the drone and controller to him before standing up. "I'm going to commandeer a crane," she announced before running off.

Cabe raised his eyebrows, but knew better than to ask questions. He trusted she had a plan to reach Walter. Cabe's goal was to keep him alive until then.

The questioning, however, was Toby's job, and he had many regarding Cabe's behavior. He wasn't as useful with the mechanics, and he now felt utterly useless as the minutes passed by, closer to when Walter's injuries would become fatal.

Toby saw the object in Cabe's hand before Happy took it. As a doctor, he knew a vial of blood when he saw it. It looked wrong. Too dark and too thin. It looked like it had been drawn from a corpse.

Cabe started walking towards the cliff's edge with the drone, tablet, and controller in hand. Toby quickly followed. He started opening his mouth to ask his first question but Cabe cut him off.

"You're about to ask me a lot of questions we don't have time for. I will answer them later, but right now, I need you."

"For what?" Toby asked, intrigued. He was already analyzing Cabe to get nonverbal clues as to what was going on.

Even breathing and direct walking- conviction in a decision. Other body language depicting inner turmoil while trying to keeping fear under control.

All of them were sharing in the same fear, but what choice was Cabe struggling with?

"I'm about to give Walter a choice and an impossible story to go along with it. Any sane man, genius or otherwise, would think I'm lying or have lost my mind. I'm going to need you to inform Walter that I'm telling him the truth, because we don't have time for anything else."

Toby took this information and briefly absorbed it. He narrowed his eyes, his curiosity nowhere near satisfied. "I'll be able to tell if you're telling the truth, and tell Walter as much, but if we're being technical insane people are often telling the truth, it's just their own truth."

Cabe snapped him, clearly impatient. "Do I look, or I have I ever seemed, insane to you?"

Toby was thankfully able to answer completely professionally. "No. Never."

"And that will have to do," Cabe said, as he handed the tablet to Toby and started to steer the drone down to the wreckage.

Birdroni came even with the driver's side door, which was open and hanging on its hinge. Cabe got his first good look at Walter.

The kid looked awful. His lean frame was slumped in the driver's seat as the car leaned at its very steep angle. The genius's normally olive skin was grey and ashen while sweat dripped down his face and soaked his dark hair. He was breathing fast and way too heavily. He must have been in immense pain. His brown eyes, normally sharp with intelligence, went in and out of focus. He was doing his best to look at the drone mounted camera with the small bundle of duct tape attached to its side.

Cabe didn't need to be a doctor to know the kid only had a few minutes left before he passed out, then likely fall to his death. The look on the Harvard-trained doctor's face next to him more than confirmed his suspicions. Toby's eyes darkened as he tipped his head downward. The shadow from the brim of the hat he always wore only added to the effect. In that moment, Cabe saw Toby's complete realization that his friend was done for.

That meant Cabe didn't have long to enact his plan, but he needed to use those precious minutes to give Walter the choice he deserved.

"Have you gotten ahold of Paige yet?" Walter asked weakly between fast breaths.

Walter had asked a few times for her. Half of them Cabe suspected he wasn't fully aware of it. They hadn't been able to locate her yet. Her phone was off and she and Ralph were not at their home. He still had a few people trying to track them down.

She and Walter had had a fight the night before, and Paige and Ralph were likely on their way out of town to meet up with Ralph's father in Maine.

Paige had appeared rather by accident in all their lives; both her and her genius nine year old son, Ralph. After that Walter hired her to be the group's emotional compass while helping translate the human world for them, and vice versa. They all, in turn, looked after and guided her son Ralph. He was a young, fellow genius and through them, she was learning to how to connect with him.

While it started as a professional relationship, it was clear to almost anyone that the feelings between Paige and Walter had become more than platonic, even if neither were admitting it or acting on them. Walter cared for Paige deeply, and was very paternally protective of her son.

As Walter faced nearly certain death, he was, in his own way, trying to say goodbye and tell them all he loved them as he recalled his favorite memories. It seemed as Walter lost hope he was going to survive, his last remaining wish on earth was still to say goodbye to Paige and Ralph.

"Not yet, Walter. I'm sorry. As soon as we find her I'll let you know." Cabe wished he could tell him they were on their way.

Walter closed his eyes in disappointment. Walter started to say something else, but Cabe interrupted him.

"I can save you, son."

That got both Walter and Toby's immediate attention. Walter found the strength to open his eyes again.

"Or at least," Cabe clarified, "I can make it so you don't succumb to your injuries before we can get to you."

"How?" Walter asked, with the smallest inflection of hope.

"There's a small object taped to the drone. Reach out and take it," Cabe ordered.

That was easier said than done. Cabe got the drone as close to Walter as he could, but Walter still had to grab it. Walter reached out but was having trouble staying steady in his weakened state without unbalancing the precariously balanced car. He had to shift his weight further back before reaching to balance out the forces his body would make.

Walter reached behind him very gingerly and took ahold of the passenger seat while leaning forward ever so slightly. Cabe tried to maneuver the drone a little closer. Walter grabbed the seat and leaned forward. Both Cabe and Toby heard a sharp crack through the tablet speakers as Walter gave a short cry out.

"What was that sound…?" Cabe asked, afraid to know the answer.

Toby sounded sick as he answered, "His collarbone…"

Nonetheless, Walter held on and as steady as he was able. He wrapped his fingers around the duct taped parcel, and with a quick movement, pulled it free from the drone.

The car made a small groan, as if deciding if the slight movement was enough to kill its passenger, but it remained where it was.

Walter relaxed a bit in his seat, but Cabe could see the actions of the last minute had taken even more of a tole on his body, and had shortened the time Cabe had to talk to him. Despite his weakness, Cabe could see the vial clenched tightly in Walter's hand, as if hanging on to the small hope Cabe had just offered.

Cabe just hoped he wouldn't disappoint him.

"Ok, son. Everyone is up here working as fast as they can to get you out, but I think by now we both know your body is going to give out before then, no matter how tough you are."

Walter's expression was a silent agreement with Cabe's grim assessment.

"I'm about to tell you something you're going to have a hard time believing, but your life is going to depend on trusting me. I have Toby here, reading me, so he'll let you know I'm telling the truth."

After the briefest of pauses, Walter nodded, and waited for Cabe to continue.

"That vial contains the blood from a marine I served with. Thing is, he wasn't entirely human. He was different, with abilities beyond anything I had thought possible. If you drink it, it will heal your wounds completely, and as long as the car stays where it is, we'll be able to rescue you."

Both Walter and Toby gave him similar looks of hard skepticism.

"Toby?" was Walter's first question.

"He's telling the truth," Toby responded incredulously, not taking his eyes off Cabe.

"Insanity and telling the truth are not mutually exclus-," Walter started to argue.

"Walter!" Cade interrupted loudly. Walter stopped talking and Cabe took a deep breath. "I am not insane."

"I concur he doesn't appear to be." Toby added, one hand on his hip, the other still holding up the tablet for him and Cabe to see. His eyes weren't leaving Cabe's face, but Cabe could tell even he was having trouble believing what he was telling Walter.

Walter took a shuddering breath. "Go on."

"I'm going to try and make this story as short as possible. Many years ago I was overseas while in the corps. I got into a very touchy situation with a fellow marine in my unit. We were trapped, he was severely wounded, I thought fatally, the sun was coming up, and he had dropped something very important to him. A ring."

"Why did it matter that the sun was coming up? What was so special about the ring?" Walter asked.

"Because without it, the sun would have caused him to burst into flames the moment the rays touched him. He told me that if he didn't get that ring back or replace the blood he lost, we were both dead. It was then he revealed to me what he was."

Cabe didn't need to say it out loud. Even as sheltered as Walter was from popular culture, he knew what a vampire was. He took no more than a few seconds absorbing this information.

Walter couldn't help counter with a bitter, sarcastic response to Cabe's words. "And what else? Did he turn into a bat and recoil at religious imagery? Did you also serve with Frankenstein's monster and an anthropomorphic wolf?" He likely was momentarily angered by the possibility a joke was being played on him at such a dire moment, no matter how ridiculous that was.

"No, no, and no, Walter," Cabe replied quickly, running a hand down his face in frustration. He knew he couldn't blame the kid for being skeptical, though. He continued very solemnly, "I swear on my daughter's grave this is not a joke, and I am telling you the truth."

Cabe's words gave Walter pause and all signs of his cynicism disappeared. Cabe suspected he knew there was no more solemn oath he could make. Walter didn't even ask for confirmation this time.

Toby still gave it.

"Incredibly, he's still telling the truth," Toby said slowly, his eyes methodically moving back and forth from Cabe and the tablet screen where Walter was pictured.

Toby finished his sentence as a very large industrial crane pulled up amongst the rescue efforts. Happy jumped out of the driver's side door and started barking orders to anyone around her. She was working to set up the immense machine as quickly as possible.

Cabe had seen cranes such as this before. They took time to get into position, and time to prepare. Time was something Cabe was going to try and give her.

Walter spoke again as he looked at the vial in his shaking, bloody hand. "You're saying if I drink this, it will cure my hypovolemia, heal my broken bones, take away the pain that's crippling me, and stop me from dying from my current injuries, even though that's…beyond impossible?" It was more a confirmation than a question.

Cabe nodded. "It should heal you. I've seen it before. I know it sounds impossible, but again, I swear to you it's true." He wasn't finished, however. There was still more he had to tell him before time ran out. "I need to be honest with you, though. There could be a complication."

"Could be?…" Walter asked, looking weaker by the second.

"If we rescue you before the car falls, that will be the end of it. We'll cover up your miraculous healing somehow, and everything will go back to normal."

"But if I fall, I assume I'll still die," Walter concluded.

Cabe paused only a moment before answering, knowing the last information he had would be even harder for Walter to process. "Yes, but…you'll come back."

Walter looked him directly in the eye at that point, at least it seemed he did through the camera on the phone taped to the drone.

Cabe clarified. "You'll come back, and you'll have to make a choice. Either you'll still die in about twenty-four hours, or choose to live, and become like the man I served with."

Walter was silent for a few seconds and completely still except for his eyes, which were rapidly moving back and forth. As depleted as his body was, his mind was still working vehemently.

Cabe glanced behind him at the crane. It would still take far longer than Walter had left to get it into position. There was no way around the decision Walter had to make.

"Not all the stories are true," Cade added, almost finished with all the information he had to give Walter,"but some of them are. The marine who's blood that is, he was brave, and I was proud to serve with him, but what he was… he was capable of violence, of impossible things, and it's true what he had to drink to survive."

Walter made a short grimace at that statement, apparently disgusted by the prospect.

"We're doing everything we can to get you back up safely to make sure that scenario is never a possibility, but we'll need a little more time to do that. Whatever you decide, I'll respect it."

Toby didn't waste time giving his final report to Walter. "I have to say, buddy, I still cannot see any signs of dishonesty from him." Toby was shaking his head incredulously, despite his confidence in his own reading. "I'm not sure if I can tell you what that means, but he hasn't said a single untrue word."

Cabe could have easily left the last bit of information out, convincing Walter only of the blood's ability to heal, and hope the situation never got any more complicated than that. But after the revelation and fallout about Baghdad, Cabe swore to never keep things as big as this from Walter again.

Never again.

Toby and Cabe watched him on the monitor, holding their breaths waiting for Walter to make a decision, praying it was before it was too late.

Read on (and maybe review along the way) to see what happens next!

Chapter Text

"When you have eliminated the impossible,
whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
-Sherlock Holmes

Walter stared at the vial in his hand and at the dark liquid moving back and forth inside.

His brain was stuck, for lack of a better word. He was struggling to move past what Cabe just told him, but he knew he must.

He formed a hypothesis in his head to guide this thoughts. Given recent information, the hypothesis was as follows: Cabe was telling the truth. The vial contained the blood of a vampire, and drinking it would heal him and possibly save his life.

Walter listed through the facts of the past five minutes to see if this hypothesis was supported, or disproven.

First, Cabe was not insane. He would have known. Toby would have known. The possibility of insanity was not likely.

Hypothesis supported.

Second, Toby said Cabe was telling the truth, so lying was not likely. Walter trusted in Toby's abilities. In addition, Cabe swore upon the grave of his daughter he wasn't lying. Even Walter, with his low EQ, understood what such an oath would mean to Cabe.

Hypothesis supported.

Walter was starting to have real trouble keeping his eyes open, but he had to finish navigating his thoughts before deciding what to do.

Vampire. Both the word and concept were absurd to him. He didn't even like Halloween. Cabe hadn't named anything out loud, but this was the term to apply to what Cabe described.

As ludicrous as the existence of such a creature sounded, he scientifically couldn't disprove the existence of something. As a scientist, he had to keep preconceived notions of his belief in a mythical creature out of it for the time being.

The only scientific way to support or completely disprove the contents of the vial was to drink it, but like many experiments, the methods carried risk.

He felt the threads of human emotion try to invade his mental experiment. He gave it brief contemplation and allowed its input only, but wanted to keep his experiment untainted.

What this limited emotion introduced was fear, wonder, and curiosity. A small voice, that sounded awfully like Paige's, told him he should take these into consideration before making a decision.

Logically, he was going to die in a few minutes. Outside of any, dare he say, "supernatural" influence. That was now fact.

In order to gather any more data, he would have to drink the contents of the vial. Either his hypothesis would be disproven if he didn't heal and he died, or it wouldn't be, and he would have to remain open to the possibility of the things beyond his understanding. Not drinking the vial would lead to eminent death regardless.

What were the possible risks and outcomes of the next step? The most obvious being he would live. He would be rescued, and he might have a whole new world to investigate and research.

But if he died…

This is where emotion demanded a say. The fear, wonder, and curiosity arose. Even his mind couldn't contemplate what that outcome could mean. He found himself starting to speculate, which he quickly put a stop to. He simply didn't have enough data yet, and he would not have time to collect it.

But what if…

He couldn't help it. Even though the possibilities amazed him, and terrified him at the same time, despite his attempts to remain objective in his decisions, it was emotion that drove his final choice.

He wanted to live. He really wanted to live.

His thought experiment took the time span of blinking his eyes once. He took time to blink once more to confirm his decision. Then he took the top off the vial and drank the whole thing in one swallow.

It tasted extremely bitter and metallic. It tasted awful. Yet something in his body immediately seemed to relax as it passed down his throat.

At first nothing happened, but he started feeling a tingling in his left side. The sharp pain he had been withstanding decreased to a dull one, then dissipated all together. He lifted his shirt and with amazement saw only blood covering completely healthy skin.

He briefly panicked as his right arm did a small jump on its own, then the pain in his shoulder also subsided. His collarbone just reset and healed completely.

He watched as all the bruises, cuts on his skin mended and faded, and the ashen, pale appearance to his skin returned to normal. In just under a minute, the only evidence of his injuries was his torn clothes and the dried blood still stuck to various parts of his body.

Walter was momentarily frozen in a state of astonishment. Part of him had still strongly believed it was not possible, but here he was. He was now physically healthy, giving his team more time to rescue him.

Hypothesis most definitely supported.

Chapter Text

Toby and Cabe watched through the drone as Walter ultimately opened the vial. With seemingly the last of his remaining strength, he threw back his head and drank its contents.

At first, the only reaction they saw was a disgusted expression as he swallowed. After only a few seconds Walter's brow furrowed and he touched his left side. He lifted his shirt and, before their eyes, the large wound in his side finished closing without a trace.

Toby let out an astonished gasp. This was the moment he started believing, one hundred percent. Even though he had read no deception or mental instability when Cabe laid out his case to Walter, Toby admitted he had had a lot of trouble accepting what he was saying.

He watched as the healing continued.

He watched as Walter's fractured collarbone snapped back into place, as the color returned to his face, and the light that had been steadily fading returned to his eyes. Walter looked completely healthy, despite all the blood and dirt.

Happy ran up behind them and said that it would be a few more minutes until the crane would be able to lower Cabe down to Walter. She asked Toby if Walter looked like he would last that long.

Toby looked at the screen and said honestly, although incredulously, "Yeah, um, I think he will."

The vial of blood had bought Walter time, but they were still racing against the car losing its grip and continuing its tumble three hundred feet down the cliffside. They just had one less, albeit previously most dire, variable to worry about now.

Walter's mind seemed to displace any thoughts about the impossible healing his body just went through. Walter's first words after his miraculous recovery were about Paige. He asked again if she had been located. They had not been able to contact her, and Cabe told Walter as much.

"There will be time enough for that once you're on solid ground again, son. Let's focus on getting you topside. Don't make this for nothing."

Walter looked disappointed, and for a moment looked like he might argue, but ultimately agreed. He was now as focused on the rescue plan as anyone.

The plan was to lower Cabe via the crane and hook a rudimentary harness to Walter. He would then be pulled out of the car vertically through the passenger side door before the car fell.

Cabe was ready. It was a sound plan. Things started looking more hopeful.

Then a damn crow had to land on the edge of the car, creating a slight, lever-like force. If it took off, the brief jolt of the car rocking would be more than enough to send it over the edge. Cabe was hooked up and the crane's motor started. The way things stood, if that crow moved, or something else dislodged before Cabe could get to him…

Cabe focused on his task instead of thinking about the end of that sentence.

The crane positioned him over the car and started lowering him down. The crow was still there, keeping the car in that still, precarious position. How was it that all the plans and rescue attempts now depended on the whims of a bird?

Almost as absurd as relying on the supernatural.

Cabe reached above the car just as he heard Paige and Ralph arrive at the scene. He heard Paige yell Walter's name from the outlook, and Cabe saw Walter's eyes light up with a strengthened desire to live. With Cabe's arrival, though, Walter had no time to say whatever is was he wanted to. It would have to wait until he was safe to say them in person.

Walter was looking up at him through the passenger window, still and waiting. Cabe lowered the harness attached to his own. Since Walter was now healed, he was able to move more lithely in the car to prevent more shifting of weight as he put the harness around his waist.

Once it was secure Walter gave the thumbs up. It looked like they were going to be home free. Cabe gave the signal and the crane cable started to lift them both.

The harness was secure, and Cabe almost allowed himself a sigh of much needed relief, but as they started to be pulled up the car shifted again, just slightly, but enough that Walter's right leg became trapped between the two front seats.

Amazingly the crow was still there, as if it was morbidly determined to witness Walter O'Brien's fate.

Walter was trapped. This was a big problem. If the car now fell, Cabe would be pulled down with him. Walter had a decision to make in seconds.

He had to free his leg and be connected to the cable before the car fell. He had better leverage to free his leg, and more time, if he stayed attached to the cable with Cabe. It most likely would work. But if the car started its fatal slide, if that crow took off, Cabe would die was well.

It was still possible he could unhook himself, free his leg, then reattach the hook, but that would take more time. That meant if he put Cabe out of harm's way, more chance he would fall, he would die, then…

But Cabe would be free of danger.

He looked up, and Cabe seemed to immediately know the decision he made. "No, kid! Don't unhook that cable! We have time! Just reach down, free yourself, and it will be fine."

Walter knew the numbers. There was a chance of them both dying if he stayed hooked to Cabe, however small. He couldn't do that.

Part of Walter was confused by his decision. He was going against the numbers, and making a decision based on emotion.

It still might work out. As long as that crow didn't move…

Cabe knew when the kid made his decision. He tried to talk him out of it, to no avail.

"I'm sorry, Cabe," Walter said as he unhooked his cable.

Cabe held his breath. The car jolted briefly as some of Walter's weight returned to it, but it didn't fall. Still, the crow stayed on the hood, looking at Walter eerily.

Walter reached down and was able to gently dislodge his leg from between the mangled seats. He carefully reached up to once again grab the hook and Cabe almost started breathing again. Walter touched it with his fingers. He looked like he was going to make it.

With a haunting cry, as if it had waited for the final chance to remove all hope, the crow took off. With it, it took with it the car's remaining balance on the shifting rocks.

The car screeched as the hook slipped out of Walter's grasp, and out of reach. Cabe saw the fear in Walter's eyes when the car made one more large lurch. It then plummeted off the cliff, hundreds of feet down, taking Walter O'Brien to his death.

Chapter Text

“You can be a genius and still believe in things that are magical.”

    -Paige Dineen

As the car descended the jagged rocks of the cliff, Cabe could hear people screaming above him, especially the team. 

Especially Paige. 

He heard Paige’s cries above them all. Poor girl. He just hoped Ralph had not also seen the car fall.

By no means were things quiet as the car settled below, but after a fall that seemed to take an eternity, silence was all he felt. If this were a movie, this is where there would be that dramatic, tragic silent pause, where all sound cuts out. Cabe understood now why that technique was so effective. It was exactly how he felt inside.

“Get me down there…” Cabe said quietly over the radio, not taking his eyes off the wreckage below him. 

“Sir, he’s-” the operator started to say over the line. No doubt about to tell him there was no point.

Cabe didn’t let him finish. “Get me down there now!” he loudly commanded. Some of the despair he felt escaped with those words.

Cabe was grieving. Even though he knew Walter had a chance, he still felt grief for what had just been lost. If he lived, the kid’s life was about to get a lot more complicated.

Cabe knew he had to get to him, because as long as Walter was “intact” as Salv put it long ago, Walter should be coming back “shortly”. Cabe cursed that he didn’t ask for more details at the time.

While being lowered slowly down the cliff, he made one call over the radio. “Toby,” he sent. He needed to give a message to the one other person who might understand what was going to happen now.

A few seconds later the behaviorist’s voice answered him back.

“Yeah…” Toby’s voice was shaking, and broke slightly over that one syllable.

“Be prepared.”

Paige had rushed to the crash site as fast as she could. She only arrived in time to see Walter for a few moments before he fell in the car to the rocks below. 

She felt a part of herself tear out and plummet with him as she screamed his name over and over. 

She had been so scared when her son had put himself in danger trying to be a part of Scorpion, then so mad when Walter seemed to be ignoring Ralph’s calls. Walter’s actions to seemingly severe his ties to the two of them had momentarily made it easier to walk away. 

This morning, she was painfully shown how wrong she had been, and she realized how much she cared for him. 

When she saw the picture of him in that car on the tv at the airport, she wanted nothing more than to tell Walter how she felt. Now she would never get the chance. She didn’t know how long she knelt there, she and Ralph holding each other in sadness and despair. 

She heard additional yelling and loud noises around her, but she couldn’t really process any of it. Later she would recall seeing Happy, seemingly sobbing into Toby’s embrace, and Toby looking not quite distraught like the rest of them, but apprehensive, almost hopeful as he continued staring over the cliff. 

Right now though, none of that registered with her. The rest of the world was drowned out until she heard two life-changing words from Cabe over the radio.

“He’s alive.”

It took about five minutes for Cabe to reach the wreckage. With every event of the day, he knew his sense of time already had been greatly distorted. Many things that took only seconds had felt like eternities. All of them paled to the length of those five minutes.

The bottom of the cliff was silent, almost peaceful. His feet planted on the gravel with him facing away from the car. He unclipped the ring from his harness and wedged the cable between two rocks. He turned around to face the wreckage.

The car had settled upright. It was barely recognizable as a car anymore, but he could see the driver’s side opening was still visible. He walked slowly towards it. He looked inside the car, and after seeing what it contained, he was nearly sick where he stood.

Walter was in one piece, but that wasn’t saying much.

Walter was, without a doubt, dead.

He was almost sitting in the driver’s side seat, but that was a sickeningly loose description. His neck was clearly broken from the unnatural angle, and all his limbs were as well. Fragments of bone were visible, having torn through his skin in multiple places. His chest had collapsed, and the amount of blood was staggering. Walter was facing Cabe, and his eyes were open.

Beyond horrified, Cabe did puke at that point, falling to his knees in front of the body of the boy he had failed.

As he stayed on his knees, feeling as if there was a great weight holding him down, he cried. He had not cried since his daughter died over a decade ago. 

Could Walter really come back from his? If so, how long would it take for Walter to wake up? Would he be healed when he woke up or would he be in immense pain? Cabe didn’t have the answers, and it was killing him. He didn’t know if it would be better or worse if Walter came back or not.

Either way, he couldn’t wait too much longer without giving everyone up top an update. From this vantage point they couldn’t see him or what was occurring on this side of the wreckage. If nothing happened soon, he would have to tell everyone Walter was dead and figure out what to do when that changed later. If that changed later.

Cabe started to shakily stand when he heard a sudden, low cracking sound coming from the car. Then a second, then a third. The sounds continued as he slowly looked up. He was astonished by what he saw.

Broken bones were repairing themselves, disappearing back under Walter’s skin as the skin itself knitted closed. His chest regained its normal shape, and his neck snapped back to a normal angle. Cabe visibly saw the pulse in Walter’s neck stutter, then restart, causing color to return to his skin.

Cabe hadn’t noticed that at some point Walter’s eyes had closed. The healing process seemed to finish, and lying there in the seat, Walter looked like he was simply asleep. 

Something was still wrong, though, and Cabe realized Walter hadn’t start breathing yet. He reached out to touch Walter’s shoulder. Part of him still doubted it was possible, truly possible, that Walter was coming back to life. 

Just as he placed his hand on Walter’s blood-soaked shirt, panicked brown eyes suddenly snapped open. Walter let out a loud gasp and his whole body convulsed for a moment as he tried to take in a breath, but he seemed to be struggling.

His lungs aren’t inflating, Cabe realized. He must feel like he got the wind knocked out of him, in the most extreme way possible.

Cabe grabbed Walter and yanked him out of the car until they were both roughly sitting on the rocky ground. Cabe gave him some hard pats on the back while holding him to keep him from panicking. After several heaving coughs and gasps, Walter started breathing.

Walter was alive. 

Walter was confused. He was disoriented. He couldn’t breath. But he wasn’t in pain.

For some reason, he thought he should be in immense pain. He didn’t give it much thought, though. Right now, his sole focus was on trying to breath. 

He had taken a very hard fall once when he was younger. One of his experiments involving gravity didn’t go as planned, resulting in the wind being knocked out of him. His sister had been there and guided him until he was breathing normally again. This was ten time worse.

Like last time, he felt comforting arms around him, rubbing and patting his back until he could take his first even, deep breath. He was sitting, slightly sprawled on hard rocks beneath him. Someone was knelt beside him, holding him and patting his back in comfort. He looked up, squinting at the sunlight. It was Cabe. 

Cabe said something, and Walter replied, but he wasn’t sure what he said. His brain was still rebooting.

Then, like a massive file download, it all came back to him. The crash, the rescue attempts, the crow, the fall.

He remembered Cabe’s story. He remembered the vial and what it contained.

He remembered he drank it, and his injuries healed.

Then he fell.

Then he died.

Walter moved backwards out of Cabe’s embrace, leaning back on his elbows and staring at the car. He also saw his own body, and mentally started examining it. 

Every patch of blood, every tear in his cloths was a part of an equation he started calculating. Through them he saw all the injuries he endured after the crash and as he fell. 

For a moment his brain was blissfully acting like the emotionless computer he was accustomed to. It analyzed the scene before him, compositing the events through the damage to the car, the height of the fall, and the extent of the injuries that lead to his death. 

The analyses kick-started the actual memories, which were extremely unpleasant. He remembered mercifully blacking out rather suddenly halfway down.

 Huh, he thought. My neck must have broken. Makes sense. His thoughts, for now, remained cold and objective. He thought he might of said something out loud at this point.

His mind moved to the choice Cabe said was now before him.

As his brain finished its analyses, he found he started experiencing something he wasn’t accustomed to.

He started feeling overwhelmed.

He felt walls inside his brain crumbling. These walls were carefully constructed to keep emotion at bay, which usually wasn’t that difficult. In fact, it was usually challenging to even let emotion in, but this was too much. 

All the information, the reality of what he had gone through, what he was now going through, he couldn’t handle it. He couldn’t keep it out. He started to shake uncontrollably, then hyperventilate. He wasn’t in control of his body. 

What is happening? he thought. Am I still injured? Is there something wrong with me?

Not understanding what was happening to him only made it worse.

His brain found the answer. It reminded him this was how normal people sometimes act after a severe trauma. It had just taken extremes to get him there.

Walter was having his first panic attack.

Walter started taking shuddering, but even breaths after Cabe pulled him from the wreckage. Once he was breathing, he seemed to relax in Cabe’s arms. 

Walter looked up at him, squinting as he blinked in the bright sunlight. For a moment, his eyes looked exactly the same as they had when Cabe first met him all those years ago as a young boy. He had just been caught for hacking into NASA to find shuttle blueprints for his bedroom wall. He looked scared, confused, unsure. 

Child-like.

“Hey, kid,” Cabe said softly. 

“Hey, Cabe,” Walter replied. He seemed to relax for a second, smiling slightly up at him. It made him look even more like the child he once was. “Were you crying?” he asked, likely seeing the tears glint on Cabe’s face.

Cabe just smiled at him, feeling a bittersweet happiness. He chose to focus on the miracle before him now, before he had to think about anything else.

Walter turned to the wreckage and his smile disappeared. He lightly pushed away from Cabe and fell back on his elbows while continuing to stare at the car. 

Cabe had seen him with that exact expressionless, calculating stare when solving a problem. He imagined he was making several analyses and calculations his head, especially when Cabe saw his vision move between the car and his own body.

Dear God, he’s deducing what happened to him, Cabe thought. He waited for Walter to finish what he needed to do.

Cabe looked up. Thankfully they were out of sight of anyone at the top of the cliff. No one would be able to see Walter in his current unharmed state. He took the few seconds to stand up and grab his radio to send a message to the team, never taking his eyes off Walter.

“Guys, it’s Cabe.”

“Yeah?” Toby’s voice came over the radio again, apparently assigning himself as spokesperson for the team. Cabe was thankful he did, being somewhat in the know. He sounded stressed and emotionally overwhelmed in that one word. In the brief moment of his message, he heard sobbing and a lot of commotion. He imagined it was ugly up there.

“He’s alive.”

Cabe gave a moment for that to sink in, knowing likely they would be too shocked to respond at first, but that didn’t last long. 

In response he got a long string of expressions of disbelief and questions. 

What did he mean alive? 

How bad is he? 

Is he conscious? 

How much pain is he in?

And many more. 

Cabe didn’t have time to answer them right now, so he sent a second message. He didn’t elaborate. He wanted to tell the rest of the team Walter was all right, but that would be too impossible to believe, so he had to leave the message ambiguous.

“Grab my phone. Go to the fifth name in my contacts. Call it. Tell them I’m calling in my favor, and I need a helicopter here asap. We’re going to take him to, uh, a private hospital. Please don’t ask any more questions. Just trust me.”

The team said they would do it, so he put down the radio and put his attention back to Walter. He hadn’t moved and was in the same cold, analytical state. After a few more seconds Walter leaned up a little higher on his elbows and then said just a few words to no one in particular. “Huh. Makes sense.”

Cabe was almost relieved when Walter’s struggle with comprehending emotion seemed to be sparing him some unpleasant feelings. The relief stopped when the kid started to shake. And shake. It only got worse and worse. On top of the shaking Walter started to hyperventilate. Not having seen anything like it from Walter before, it took Cabe a second to realize the kid was having an honest-to-god panic attack.

Cabe knelt down immediately and grabbed Walter, hugging him harder than he’d hugged anyone in a long time. He kept holding him, trying to reassure him everything was going to be okay.

With all his heart, Cabe hoped it would be.

Chapter Text

Cabe held Walter close until the helicopter arrived. He knew the pilot, which was the main reason he called in that particular favor. He wouldn’t ask questions about the odd situation. 

The helicopter, by Cabe’s request, took them straight back to the garage. He radioed the team to meet him there before going to the “hospital” where Walter would be. All he kept telling them was that Walter was still alive. Cabe was sure that must have been frustrating for them, but he felt is was the best call.

Walter did not say a word the flight there. They landed in a clearing across from the garage and Cabe said a “thank you” to his friend before the copter took off again, leaving them standing outside. He knew the team would be close by, likely only minutes away.

Walter stood there, silent and motionless until Cabe started leading him inside. “Come on, son. Let’s get you cleaned up. You look…” Cabe couldn’t think of an appropriate analogy before Walter cut in.

“Like death?” Walter finished.

There was a very awkward pause before Walter started giggling. Actually giggling.

Shit, he’s still in shock, Cade thought. He didn’t blame him, but he didn’t know how to help him except give him some time and support. Walter’s team, his family, would hopefully be able to help him with that soon enough. 

They moved inside and went upstairs to the small living area. Walter split time living here and his off-site apartment. It was isolated away from the rest of the garage and where Walter could rest and get cleaned up. 

Cabe sat Walter down on his couch for a moment. He would lead him into the bathroom to shower himself if that’s what it took.

He heard the door downstairs slam open. The team had arrived.

“Cade?! Cade!?” Paige yelled.

Cade looked down at Walter, who was still staring at the wall. He didn’t seem to register his team’s arrival yet. 

“Wait here,” Cabe asked of him. “Please. I’m going to go talk to them.”

Cabe received the most subtle of nods in return, otherwise Walter remained motionless and expressionless.

Cade walked down the garage stairs and was greeted by the sight of the Scorpion team at the most distressed he’d ever seen them. 

They were all standing nervously, most likely hoping to leave very soon to wherever Walter was being treated. All except Toby, who was leaning against a pillar, looking at the floor in contemplation. He was holding Happy’s hand. Amazingly enough, she was letting him.

As he finished making his way down the stairs, Cabe watched Sylvester. The math genius was wringing his hands over and over. Something seemed off about him. He kept shaking his head over and over, then seemed to be lost in thought for a few seconds before repeating the behavior. Cabe suspected he knew what he was doing. 

Sylvester was going through the numbers and odds of Walter surviving that fall, over and over, and none of them computed for him. He was a human calculator in an endless loop, glitching and resetting over and over because it in no way made sense. 

Hopefully his explanation would help him, although it could just make things worse.

Paige showed the most obvious signs of her inner distress. There was clear evidence where tears had been streaming down her face, and although her crying had slowed, it had not fully stopped. She was trying to stay strong as best she could for her son, who was currently next to her, wrapped in her arm. He too, looked like he was trying to stay strong, most likely for his mother. Cabe thought they were quite the pair. 

Cabe let out a deep breath before starting his unbelievable tale.

“Before anything,” he started, “I need you all to take a seat. I need to go over a few things before, we, um, go see Walter.” Cabe looked at Toby with those last words. Toby met his eyes, then glanced upward and back down again at Cabe. Cabe gave the smallest of nods, confirming to Toby that Walter was here, upstairs. 

This conveyed to Toby that Walter was, at least physically, fine, and not in critical condition at a hospital. It also confirmed that Walter had in fact died, and come back. Toby breathed out a small sigh of relief, but also visibly paled. Conflicting emotions seemed to be the theme of the day.

They sat down at the small group of tables quickly, conveying their impatience to see Walter as soon as possible. Toby stayed standing. Happy sat down in a chair in front of him, but he kept a hand on her shoulder the whole time. 

Paige asked Ralph to go over to his table in the corner, and promised him if he was good and patient they would see Walter soon. It seemed she guessed whatever story Cabe was about to tell them would not be pretty, and she wanted to spare him from that.

Cabe stayed standing as he started his explanation to the team. “Like I said, Walter is alive. Now please, before you ask for more details, I need you to grant me a short amount of time to explain some things. What has happened today is going to have long term complications one way or another. Toby already knows a few details, since he helped me at the crash site, but there’s more to tell.”

Everyone glanced at Toby, who just gave a small shrug in return. 

Cabe started from the moment of his decision at the crash site, filling in some details of where he got the vial of blood, including its source. He told about Toby’s role in helping him convince Walter.

Upon revealing a supernatural influence was involved in Walter surviving his fall, the team, sans Toby, all look understandably skeptical. Cabe didn’t stop. He described how Walter healed miraculously in the car after drinking the blood.

They looked at Toby for confirmation. “It’s true,” he confirmed with a distant look in his eyes. “I saw it over the camera myself.”

With this confirmation, although still skeptical, the team looked more receptive to the story he continued to tell. He explained he told Walter about a choice after giving him the vial, but he momentarily withheld details about the choice itself- the choice now before Walter. 

The team listened to the rest of the story with attention. He told them how Walter disconnected himself from the cable to essentially save Cabe’s life, then about getting to the wreckage at the bottom. He glossed over the horror of Walter’s condition when he found him, but did tell them the reality of what he saw.

“He was dead when I got down there. There was absolutely no doubt about that.”  

Sylvester had stopped “glitching” once he realized there were missing variables he couldn’t have accounted for in his calculations. This was replaced with him looking very ill. He no doubt did similar math to Walter regarding the types of injuries his friend must have sustained. 

Paige put her hand over her mouth in shock. Pure emotional, normal human, shock and horror. 

Happy’s eyes widened slightly, which for her meant she was rattled. 

Toby also looked ill, understanding the limits of the human body better than any of them.

“But he came back,” Cabe continued quickly, not wanting the team to dwell on those thoughts any longer. “His wounds healed, and after a few minutes he came back. He was in shock, and I think still is somewhat, but for now, physically at least, he’s ok. I promise you that.”

They all seemed to believe him now. The primary expressions he saw on their faces was of joy and relief that Walter was alive. He was glad that was the main takeaway from the tale, but they, like himself, wanted to understand what happened next. He suspected he knew what their next questions would be.

What was this choice before Walter Cabe had mentioned? 

Did this mean Walter was okay? 

When were they going to go see him?

Sylvester, with his love of fantasy and comic books, seemed to catch on to the possibilities of today’s events more quickly than the others. He had one reigning question for Cabe. 

“Is Walter a vampire?”

The rest of the team’s questions stopped and there was a moment of silence as they tried to grasp the meaning of Sly’s question. All eyes turned to Cabe, anxiously awaiting an answer.

There was one question Cabe was asking himself. If Walter did complete the transition, what exactly would that mean for him? He had some information, but Salv was one individual. Was he the norm? The exception? Unless he could contact Salv quickly after so many years, Walter would have to make a decision on the limited information he could give him.

“No,” Cabe answered carefully. “Walter is not a vampire, but…”

Cabe took a deep breath and explained as best he could.

“From what I understand, he’s in some sort of transition. He died with the blood in his system, and came back. He has a choice to make. If he does nothing, in about twenty-four hours he will simply fade away and die, a painless human death.” 

Everyone started shaking their heads at this point, not contemplating that as a valid choice.

“So what’s the other option?” Paige asked with conviction, conveying the first option as unacceptable.

“The other option is what his body is going to be urging him to do. Complete the transition. Then, he would be a vampire.”

Happy cleared her throat, “How, um, would he do that, exactly?” She seemed hesitant to know the answer. Cabe suspected everyone in the room felt similarly.

“From my understanding, by drinking human blood.”

It was clear by the looks on everyone’s faces that no one particularly wanted to stomach that thought either.

“This really isn’t a joke,” Paige said as a statement more than a question.

Cabe closed his eyes and let out a sigh, wishing he could say differently. “No, I’m afraid not. This is real. I swear it.”

They were all trying to understand, but despite all the media and legends, none of them really understood what this truly meant. They all likely shared the next question, but it was Sylvester that spoke for them.

“What exactly is a ‘real vampire’?” he asked Cabe. The genius’s eyes stared straight ahead through his glasses, waiting for Cabe’s answer.

That was a good question. What exactly was the reality behind something generally thought of as fiction? 

Cabe was going to try and answer that question as best he could. “So the marine I served with is the only example I have to go by. That, and what he told me. So here it is. I didn’t know what he was at first. None of our unit did, and I’m the only one of us that found out as far as I know.”

“The two of us were separated from our group during a firefight. We called him ‘Salv’. We all felt something was a little off about him. He never seemed to get tired, and occasionally seemed stronger than he should be. That day though, would change my perception on many things.”

“It was night, and we had been cornered into a small, run down abandoned house. It was fairly defensible due to the single, bottleneck entrance. Once we made it inside I realized Salv was injured, and I don’t mean a sprained ankle or gun shot to the leg. He was riddled with bullet holes.”

Cabe more than had their attention at that point, and a couple of his audience leaned forward in their seats. He continued.

“I was shocked, to say the least. He should have been a corpse and there I was talking to him. As I leaned over him to assess his wounds, he looked me in the eye and started to talk to me very calmly, like he was trying to calm me down, and started to try and tell me I was seeing things, but then all of a sudden he stopped, said ‘screw it’, and sat back on the floor. I think he had been trying to hypnotize me to forget what I was seeing.”

“If that were the case, why didn’t he, do you think?” Sly asked.

“I never asked him, but I like to think we were two soldiers serving together in this crappy situation, and he figured it was a better idea I had all the information to get us both out of there. I also like to think he trusted me.”

Cabe returned to his account. “It still took some time for him to provide me an explanation, however. We spent a couple hours taking shots defending ourselves, waiting for rescue from the rest of our squad. It wasn’t until Salv noticed he lost something outside in our rush to the hut that he started looking worried.” 

“He told me he lost his family ring, and without it, when morning came, the sun would kill him. As you can imagine I needed to know more. That’s when he told me what he was. He said he was a vampire, and that’s why he was so strong, why he was alive riddled in bullet holes, and the ring, somehow, protected him from the sun. Without it, if he went out into the sunlight he would burn to a crisp and die.” 

Cabe could tell the geniuses were mentally cataloguing the information as he listed Salv’s witnessed abilities.

“The problem was, when the sun rose, I knew our enemy would be able to overtake us, and we didn’t know if the rest of our unit even knew where we were. We had to assume we were on our own to get out of there. Another problem was the hut barely had any roof left, so almost no shelter from the exposed sky.”

“I took the evidence before me as it was, and approached it as a soldier. The priority was to get us out of danger in order to get home. I feared if we were rescued it would not be until well after morning, so I needed to get that ring back. Salv could see amazingly well in the dark, and he could see it about twenty yards from the hut. The problem was it was in the bottleneck, and no doubt in the line of sight of the men shooting at us.”

“Salv was staying in good spirits, oddly enough, but he had lost a lot of blood. We started treating his bullet wounds, and I was amazed at what I was seeing. Many of them were starting to heal before my eyes, but I noticed the healing started to slow, then stop, leaving many of his injuries remaining. I asked him about it, and he just said something about ‘being out of gas’. He was looking more rough as time went on, and at that point could no longer stand.”

“He needed blood,” Toby guessed, “and I’m guessing you don’t mean by traditional transfusion methods.”

“Exactly. I made the same conclusion. The problem was, he wouldn’t take mine, because as crazy as it sounds, I offered. Later I found out that if he tried, he likely would have killed me, being in that state. He would have survived without a problem if he had, but he was holding out hope there was another option. The only reason I could ever think of is he truly didn’t want me to die that day.”

So far, this story was sounding pretty good in terms of what being a vampire could be. Almost like a superhero, and Cabe didn’t necessarily disagree. Salv had his respect as his comrade in arms, as a soldier, and as a friend, but Cabe wasn’t finished with the story. They had to understand more of what he learned.

“Several hours passed and our situation didn’t change. I needed to get that ring before sunrise or Salv was toast, literally, and we had another problem. Since Salv had lost so much blood, he was becoming less coherent. He made me bind him in a corner with anything and everything I could find, or else very soon, he said he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from attacking and killing me.”

The group started listening even more closely, realizing there was more to understand.

“It wasn’t long after I finished binding him that he lost himself, and his face changed before my eyes. His eyes, well, it’s hard to describe. Raised veins appeared beneath them and darkened, and the whites of his eyes turned a dark, blood red. And the fangs, that part of the stories is very real.”

“He kept trying to get free, and get at me, but he was weak, and I did my job well. What I saw that day…it was terrifying to be honest with you.”

Cabe felt his eyes wander with the memory. With a deep breath he refocused to finish his tale. “I focused on the task at hand. He needed that ring, and he needed blood, a lot of it, and I made it my new mission to get both. I decided to leave the hut and try and find one of the enemy combatants, then run like hell and try to grab the ring on the way back to the hut. It was a crazy plan, but the only one I had.”

“But obviously you were successful,” Happy concluded.

“Sort of,” Cabe clarified. “By sheer dumb luck I ran into an enemy soldier. I incapacitated him and started carrying him back to the hut, moving past the area where Salv said his ring was. Dawn was approaching, so I had little time. I moved as fast as I could trying to use the man I had as a shield. I worked, for the most part. Either his comrades refused to fire or they did and mostly hit him.”

“Mostly?” Toby asked ominously.

“Mostly,” Cabe confirmed. “I took four rounds. Two in the back, one grazed my neck, and one pierced my left leg.” 

“How did you survive?” Paige gasped, understanding the severity of those injuries.

“Because of Salv. I grabbed the ring and, through pure adrenaline and stubbornness, got me and the soldier back to the hut. I put the ring on Salv’s finger just as the first rays of morning came over the ridge, but he was still in no state to thank me, and I was fading fast. I made the decision at least he would live.” 

“The enemy soldier, barely alive himself, I dropped at Salv’s feet. Honestly it wouldn’t have mattered to me who he fed on, me dying and all. I undid Salv’s bindings and sat in the corner, ready to accept whatever happened. I managed to stay conscious through everything. I watched as Salv shrugged the rest of the rope off, and descended on the soldier.” 

Cabe paused his story briefly. He wanted to prepare the group for what happened next. “I’m not going to sugarcoat anything here, because you need to know. He tore the man’s throat out and drank every drop of blood he had, and I truly believed I was next.” 

“Instead, he stood up, covered in another man’s blood along with his own, and walked over to me. He bit into his own wrist and held it to my mouth. I was taken aback at first and tried to fight him off, but I was in no state to. I felt my injuries start to heal and my strength return. He clarified that his blood only healed me, nothing more, but I would have to be careful not to die in the next day or so unless I wanted to become like him. After that, Salv fought our way out.”

“How did he do that, exactly?” Sly asked, seemingly afraid to know the answer.

Cabe answered honestly. “He no longer had to hide his abilities from me. He was pissed off, and had just drained a full grown man. Apparently that was a deadly combination. I learned there were fourteen enemy combatants surrounding us in addition to the one I killed. In five minutes flat Salv killed them all either by breaking their necks, draining them as well, or impaling them on nearby objects. One he completely decapitated, seemingly with his bare hands.”

The team now looked more disturbed.

Cabe finished with giving his own view on the events he told. “Don’t get me wrong. Salv and I served together. I saved his life, and he saved mine. I would trust him to have my back in a tough situation again, even knowing what he is, but it was clear to me he had an internal battle that went along with his abilities, one that he nearly lost in that hut. Those weren’t the first he’s killed, he told me, and I’m sure it wasn’t the last, whether in the heat of combat or not. That is the reality Walter could be facing.”

The whole team looked like they were starting to understand the point Cabe was trying to make, and each one of them looked conflicted.

Cabe explained how Salv showed his gratitude. “After that he gave me the vial as a sort of thank you, in case I ever needed it to save my life in an emergency. I never used it, until today.”

Cabe finally sat down, and waited for everyone’s responses.

Chapter Text

It was too much. It was more than Paige thought she could absorb. Her emotions had been through the equivalent of a pinball machine all day. From anger at Walter, to sickening worry, then paralyzing fear.

She felt hope when he was almost rescued, to despair and grief as she watched the car fall. Relief, joy, and disbelief were the most recent. Currently though, she didn't know. All of them combined, maybe?

She took a deep breath and tried to focus on only a few. She tried to focus on relief and joy. Walter was alive. Right now, he was alive, and that was the most important thing. Anything else they could deal with. They were Scorpion. If this group of geniuses and non-geniuses alike couldn't help Walter through this, she didn't know who could.

She was also relieved her son had been spared the pain of losing someone close to him, and God help her, she did pray that continued.

Wait, she thought, where was Ralph? He wasn't sitting at his table.

"Ralph?" she called. Everyone else noticed he had moved from his table in the corner and started looking around.

"Mom," he yelled from above. They all looked up. He was standing near the top of the stairs, small hands on the bannister looking down at them. "Something's wrong with Walter. He's not acting right. He still looks dirty, but he doesn't seem hurt."

All eyes except Toby's gave Cabe a look of surprise at that point.

"Walter's here?!" Paige exclaimed.

Ralph answered her. "Yeah, Mom, he's here, and I think he needs help." With that Ralph ran back upstairs.

None of them hesitated as Paige ran upstairs after him with the others closely behind.

When they got upstairs the room was darker than normal. All the lights were off, but there was still plenty to see by from the large windows.

Ralph wove his way through the furniture to the far corner of the room, furthest away from the rays of sunlight. The team followed and saw Ralph stop and kneel down next to a shape huddled in the corner.

It was Walter.

He was still in the same bloody, torn cloths. His head was down, his eyes covered by his left arm and his knees were against his chest. Ralph knelt next to him and placed one small hand on his knee. They could hear Walter repeating numbers over and over to himself. It was an unsettling sight.

"What is he doing?" Paige asked.

"He's reciting proofs of equations," Sylvester explained. "He used to do the same thing when he got too far down the Rabbit Hole. It was his attempt to try and calm and ground himself when something didn't make sense."

Paige slowly knelt on the other side of Walter and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Walter, we're all here. Cabe explained what is happening to you. I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now. We're here for you, whatever happens." She took his shaking hand, still caked in his dried blood, and gave it a squeeze.

At the squeeze of her hand Walter stopped his recitations and slowly lifted his head from under his arm. He gave a small hiss of pain when the light hit his eyes. He blinked a few times then focused on Paige.

"Paige?" He looked at her, seeming to doubt for a second she was actually there.

She gave him a small, bittersweet smile. "I'm here Walter, we're all here."

Walter gave a quick, squinted glance at everyone else before looking back at her.

"You came back," he said, taking ahold of her hand and squeezing back. He looked so relieved and happy in that moment.

She nodded. "So did you."

He broke eye contact with her then, but still held her hand, almost like he was afraid she'd disappear if he let go. He leaned his head back against the wall and let out a stuttered breath. Ralph remained on his left side, trying to provide comfort similar to his mom's.

Paige continued to try and connect with him. "Walter, I think Cabe needs to talk to you a little more. He told us a story I think you need to hear, but right now I'm worried about you. You look like you're in pain. What can we do to help you?"

Walter squeezed his eyes shut at her words. "The light, it hurts. It's so bright in here. Everything's so loud. I feel strange. I'm so weak but feel wired at the same time, and…" he opened his eyes, stopping his sentence short and looking down.

Happy immediately grabbed Sylvester's arm and said something about looking for things to cover the windows to try and make Walter more comfortable. She ran down her workshop. Sylvester followed her, assuming to help. They had a project to keep them busy, which Paige was sure was what they needed right now.

"And what, Walter?" she asked, turning back to him. Something else was bothering him, and she wanted to know what it was so she could help him.

Walter raised his head again to look at her before answering. He looked scared, confused, and uncomfortable. It was hard seeing him like this. This was far from the calm, collected, stoic Walter he presented to them on a daily basis.

She put her hand on the side of his face, strengthening the physical contact, hoping it kept him grounded to attempt to further comfort him. "What is it Walter?" she repeated.

He hesitantly looked into her eyes, silently pleading for her to understand. His answering words were barely above a whisper, but their meaning was loud and clear.

"I'm so hungry…"

Paige suddenly felt cold, followed by a small spike of fear. She didn't move from Walter's side, but she couldn't help but glance at her son, also still sitting next to him. Walter noticed this, and immediately looked ashamed. No matter how much she believed in Walter, she was a mother first, and she wanted Ralph's safety ensured until they all got through this. She turned to her son.

"Ralph, sweetie. Toby needs to examine Walter, could you switch places with him please?" She couldn't help a small shake in her voice as she spoke those words.

Both Ralph and Walter were more than smart enough to understand what she was doing, even if Ralph didn't know why yet. He listened to his mother, nonetheless.

"I would never hurt him, not ever," Walter said to Paige, shaking his head quickly from side to side. "Not you, not them. Please know that." He was almost pleading with her.

"I know Walter, believe me I do, but please understand, there's so much we don't know."

Walter seemed to think for a second, then nodded. He thankfully seemed to accept her answer. "No, you're absolutely right. It's logical and rational. You don't have all the data yet, so it's wise to be cautious."

Now that sounded more like the ultra-logical Walter she knew. Paige was relieved he seemed to understand her caution.

Toby knelt down and started examining him. Paige leaned back to give them some room, but Walter held onto her hand, almost like a lifeline. She didn't think he realized he was doing it.

"Damn, Walter. Your pupils are dilated to saucers, no wonder you can't stand the light." Toby continued his exam. "There's not a scratch on you under all this blood." Walter's nostril's flared slightly at the word "blood," which Toby didn't fail to notice, but he continued his friend's exam without pause.

Walter only seemed annoyed when Toby lifted his lips and very clearly looked for signs of fangs. Walter slapped his hand away.

"What?" Toby said defensively throwing up his hands in an exaggerated shrug. "Like I'm not going to check?"

Cabe broke the uncomfortable silence that followed. "Kid, you're filthy and you need a shower. After that, there's more we need to talk about. Do you think you can do that?"

Walter gave a weak nod before slowly standing up, still holding Paige's hand. He looked down, as if he had forgotten he was still holding it. It was as if he was afraid she'd run away if he let go.

"Walter, I'm going to be right out here. I'm not going anywhere," she assured him. He nodded and slowly let go of her hand. Walter walked into his bathroom and shut the door.

Paige collapsed against the wall, sliding back to the floor for a moment, feeling suddenly exhausted. Toby rushed to her side. "Paige, are you ok?"

"Yes. I mean, no…well, honestly, I don't know."

"Girl, I know exactly what you mean."

Chapter Text

Walter did feel a little better after getting cleaned up, but he knew he was not okay. He was dying. Again. Somehow he could feel it. It was if he instinctively knew what would happen if he didn't…if he didn't…

He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. His pupils were indeed dilated, but his eyes were also bloodshot, giving them a very unnerving look. His skin was pale and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.

The feeling in his stomach, though, was more disturbing than anything. He was hungry. He felt he could eat the entire contents of the fridge downstairs, but he also knew nothing within it would satisfy this feeling. Only when his mind wandered to one particular thing did the craving seem to promise some relief if he obeyed it.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and shuttered in disgust with himself. He forced his mind to move to other thoughts. His symptoms were currently manageable now that he'd had some time to adapt. His mind was not unused to ignoring physical needs.

Part of him was still having trouble accepting what was happening to him. Not in a denial way. That was an emotional state. A state of grief.

Accepting the existence of a supernatural creature, and that he might become one, was the struggle. He was being forced to accept his world view had shifted, no matter how impossible today's events seemed. He thought of the famous quote by author Arthur C. Clarke: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

In other words, he still believed anything thought of as "magic" could be eventually explained by science.

Even so, what had happened to him, and was still happening to him, he had to admit, was well beyond the realm of what he understood.

Walter automatically dressed himself in his usual dark pants and button down shirt, but as he caught his reflection he allowed himself a wry chuckle. Not much point in looking professional right now, but oh well.

He made his way downstairs back out into the common room. He could hear Sly, Happy, and Toby in the workshop, brainstorming ways to efficiently decrease light and sound within his space.

Fascinating. He shouldn't be able to hear them so clearly. They even started talking about ways to block UV light completely without decreasing illumination. He was pleased they had something to focus on.

Paige was sitting off to the side with Ralph. He could hear her giving him a slightly amended version of his situation. She was trying to shelter him, but with Ralph's intelligence, he was likely filling in the gaps on his own, or would shortly.

Cabe was waiting at one of tables in the middle of the room, leaving a very obvious seat available across from him. Walter finished descending the stairs and took it.

"Hey," Cabe said.

"Hey," Walter replied.

Cabe tried to break the ice. "So, I wanted to thank you for trying to do what you did. I very well could have ended up falling with you on the cliff if you hadn't."

"Oh, um. Don't mention it." Walter shifted uncomfortably, not liking his decision rooted in emotion put in the spotlight.

"I won't. Don't do that again."

Walter nodded in acknowledgment if not agreement.

"Look, kid, I actually don't know what to say. I never wanted you to be in this situation. I'm sor-"

Walter interrupted him. "Forgiven. Please, I mean it. I don't want you to blame yourself for my current situation. You saved my life, and it was my choice to not risk yours on that cliff. I especially don't want you to bear any responsibility for whatever happens next. It's my choice, so thank you for giving me at least that."

"Alrighty then," Cabe replied, giving a short nod. He let out a big sigh before continuing further.

"Ok, Walter. I told the team the whole story about the vial, and who it came from. It will hopefully give you more information so you can comfortably make your choice."

Walter nodded and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. He listened while Cabe told him everything.

Cabe finished his tale and looked at Walter, watching for a response. The kid had not reacted or interrupted him once, instead absorbing and cataloguing the whole thing from start to finish.

Walter inhaled and exhaled once deeply, then said only two short words.

"I see."

Walter stood up and walked away without further comment.

Cabe stayed at the table, unsure what Walter's thoughts were or if he had made a choice yet. Walter, without a word, opened the door of the garage and went outside. Paige looked up at Cabe at the noise then stood up.

"I'm going to go talk to him," she said.

Paige found Walter about a block from the garage. She knew where he went sometimes when he wanted to think alone. The spot was contained, quiet, and isolated within group of abandoned buildings, but with clear view of the sky. She saw him standing in the middle of the clearing with his back to her. He was looking upwards, and the sun was setting. Walter was staring at the sun as it approached the horizon.

Paige walked up and stood beside him, looking up at the beautiful colors with him for a moment.

She turned and saw tears streaming down his face. At first she was shocked. She'd never seen him cry before. She momentarily thought he was crying because he was sad or upset, but then she saw he was struggling to keep his eyes open. The light from the sun was hurting his newly sensitive eyes, but he seemed to not want to look away.

"Walter, stop, you're hurting your eyes," she said. She put her hand on his cheek to turn his face away.

"But, what if this is the last time I see it?" he asked softly as he let her turn his face towards her. He looked so lost in that moment, so unsure about what to do. "Either way, I won't be able to see the sun again."

"You don't know that," replied Paige. Cabe is going to try and contact this 'Salv'. He could be in the sun, maybe you could, too."

"Maybe. But even so, I don't know if I could stand you, or any of the others, being afraid of me."

As Paige looked at Walter, she noticed the tears had started flowing again, even though the light was no longer burning his eyes. Now these were tears of emotional, not physical pain. Paige had never seen him look so vulnerable. She hadn't been sure he had the ability to be before now.

Is this because of what's happening to him? she pondered.

"I don't…" he started, but was cut off by a sob.

"I don't…" he tried again, but again lost his voice to the emotion he was being overwhelmed by and unused to controlling. He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration as he moved his hand up to grip Paige's own that was still rested on his cheek, as if trying to gain some strength from her touch.

"What is it, Walter?"

Walter took a deep breath to finish what he was trying to say.

"I was already barely human. I don't want to be a monster."

Chapter Text

"I was already barely human. I don't want to be a monster."

Paige's heart broke at his words. She didn't immediately know what to say or how to comfort him. She was dealing with an emotional Walter, and was momentarily taken off guard.

She knew Walter was well aware of his struggles with normal, human interaction. He had a low "emotional quotient", or EQ, as he put it. It was the balance to his high IQ and amazing mind.

Even after hiring her to address this deficiency, he would often fight her on her attempts to teach him, giving the impression he thought human emotional interaction was a waste of time. Paige suspected otherwise, though. She truly believed he wanted human connections just like everyone else, whether he acknowledged it or not.

She imagined that with this turn of events, it must feel like the universe was telling him his efforts of being "more human", as he sometimes put it, could never be achieved. When she thought about it that way, it almost did feel like some sick cosmic joke at his expense.

So many times she had guided the Scorpion geniuses on emotion and human interaction, but this was uncharted territory.

So, she did her best. For Walter, she would always do her best.

"Walter, I know this decision is yours, ultimately, to make, but I want you to know, whatever happens, I'll do my best to be there for you. It might take some adjustment for all of us, but I'll always trust you. If you decide to…stay, from what I understand, there will be a lot to get used to. We'll be there for you, but you'll also likely have to be patient with us."

Paige pauses before saying one last point she wanted to make. "Just because this might change what you are, it doesn't have to change who you are. Even if you are no longer human, it doesn't mean you'll be in any way, less human."

"That doesn't make any sense," Walter argued.

"It makes complete sense," Paige insisted, "and I aim to make sure you realize it. You could never be a monster."

The sun had finished disappearing over the horizon, and day's light had finished fading away.

"Have you decided?" Paige gently asked.

"Honestly, no," Walter replied, his normal stoic, analyzing expression having returned. "I want to use every moment I can before I do, and according to Cabe, I have until sunrise."

"We'll be with you."

"Thank you."

They both watched where the sun disappeared below the horizon a few moments longer.

"So you're not leaving anymore?" Walter asked, breaking the silence.

Paige was able to give him an honest answer to this question. "No, and I hope I still have a reason to stay tomorrow."

"So you think I should complete the transition, without fully understanding what the risks could be?" Walter probed.

Now for this she didn't have a simple answer, but she tried as best she could. "If you want my opinion, you should. The alternative is, well, it's unthinkable. After everything that has happened, I think I can speak for everyone that losing you again would devastate us all. Whatever being a…vampire, entails…you would have a family to help you through it."

It was the first time she had said the word out loud. Saying it felt ridiculous, yet all too real. It brought the reality more into focus, somehow. She still meant every word she said. She wanted him to stay.

"I'll…take that into consideration," Walter replied. She thought he still looked indecisive.

They both turned and started to walk back in the direction of the garage. It seemed Walter had some thinking to do.

The garage was just starting to come into distant sight when they heard a deep, accented voice behind them.

"Hey, nice driving."

Walter stopped in his tracks and turned around. Paige did the same. Behind them were three very large men. By the accent she heard in the voice her best guess was Serbian.

"Slavomir. What, um, brings you here?" Walter asked.

"Walter, who is this?" Paige asked.

The largest man in the middle, Slavomir, Walter had called him, gave her a small smile that made her skin crawl. "He and I had some friendly races a few months ago, but the thing is, I still think he cheated, and denied me a very nice car."

"I won fair and square," Walter quickly interjected, looking on edge.

Walter street raced? Despite Paige's surprise, this didn't matter to her much at the moment. It was not likely to be her primary concern shortly.

Slavomir took a step forward. She could see the glint of a gun at his hip, and noticed the other two men had them as well. "I saw you in the red Ferrari on the news, stuck on that cliff. I drove by to watch you fall, and I did. Imagine my surprise when I followed that helicopter back here, and saw you walk out, apparently unharmed. This tells me you have something to hide, faking an accident like that. Perhaps you're hiding more cars in that garage of yours. Cars you've cheated from others, perhaps?" Slavomir motioned with his head behind Walter and Paige, towards the garage.

Walter looked offended at his accusation. "Again, I didn't cheat. Not you, not anyone. There's nothing of value for you in there. I owe you nothing," Walter said through clenched teeth. All the while Slavomir and his two associates were moving closer to them as Walter and Paige slowly backed up.

Paige had a very bad feeling about this.

Walter was going through his options. These men were obviously here for a fight, convinced they would come away with some kind of riches they thought he had.

He had lost a street race to the Serbian mobster with a rental luxury car a few months ago. There had been a brief period of not knowing if he was going to be able to pay the man what he owed, but had won a second race in a double or nothing bet. Even though his debt had been wiped, it appeared the man still held a grudge over the turn of events.

Walter still didn't understand those types of feelings. As far as he had been concerned, the ledger was perfectly balanced, and their business concluded. He lamented how emotions, once again, were making everything so much more complicated than they needed to be.

He and Paige could try running, but in all his calculations they would be caught far before they reached the garage.

Screaming would not be effective either. From this distance no one in the garage would be able to hear them. He also wanted to try and keep them away from the garage. His team was in there, including Ralph, and Walter didn't know if Cabe was armed.

"Nothing of value here, you say?" Slavomir made a 'tsk' sound and turned to give a chilling smile at Paige. "Walter, you should show your woman more respect."

He felt Paige shiver in disgust next to him.

At that moment Slavomir stepped forward and grabbed Paige's arm. She yelled and broke his grip, but he grabbed her with both hands and roughly pulled her towards him.

"Don't you touch her!" Walter yelled and jumped forward. He got a fist in his solar plexus from the second man for his efforts. The blow dropped him to his knees.

Walter had been through so much that day, but he was dealing with it. If something were to happen to Paige, though, that wasn't fair. He couldn't let anything happen to her.

Part of him cursed his hesitance to complete the transition. If he had, he might be strong enough to protect Paige now. He pushed that thought aside abruptly. There was no point in dwelling on hypotheticals. All he had right now was his normal self and his mind.

It should take about seven and a half minutes for the police to arrive after they were called, but there was no way to signal to his team to call them. No way to signal there was a threat outside their door. No sound loud enough.

No sound, except one.

Walter knew what he needed to do to give Paige and his team a chance. He knew what he needed to do to call for help.

Slavomir broke his thoughts with a disturbing offer. "Tell you what. We'll take her, and I'll consider us even."

With that taunt his plan took no further prompting, and with a yell he rushed their attackers again.

The bullet entered the same place he had been punched. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt as much as the fist did.

Fascinating, he thought.

It was more as if the bullet cut a string within him, as he fell to the ground. After a moment he was able to push himself to his knees, but he couldn't stand.

The bullet likely has damaged my spinal cord.

The world around him was becoming fuzzy, and he was having trouble focusing.

It probably lacerated my aorta. I'm rapidly losing blood.

But the bullet had been fired and the loud, piercing noise had reverberated through the surrounding buildings, no doubt reaching the garage. His team would have heard it and they would know something was wrong. They would be warned, and Paige now had a chance.

If this was how he was going to die; saving Paige and the rest of his team, then he could accept that.

He heard Paige screaming, which became fainter as his breathing became shallower. He was still kneeling, slumped slightly forward.

He was glad he had been able to watch the sunset with Paige. He prepared for his death.

His final death…

Then something warm splattered across his face, and another option presented itself.

Chapter Text

"Tell you what, we'll take her, and I'll consider us even."

Paige's arm was in a crushing grip when Slavomir said those terrifying words.

"No!" Walter again tried to rush forward. Paige didn't know what he expected to do, so outmatched, but nevertheless, he tried.

He tried so hard.

This time, he received a bullet instead of a fist. Slavomir's associate pulled out a gun and shot Walter once in the abdomen. Walter immediately collapsed to the ground.

"NO! WALTER!" Page screamed at the top of her lungs. She kept screaming. Screaming for Walter, trying to scream for help.

Slavomir held her tight as she tried to reach Walter, but the firm grip from the large man held her back. She was so close she could almost touch him.

She turned and punched Slavomir as hard as she could in the face, followed by a knee to what she judged was a very small target. Her aim was still true.

"Bitch!" Slavomir yelled. He gave her a backhand across her face so hard her ears started ringing and stars filled her vision. She would have fallen if his grip wasn't so tight on her arm.

She tasted blood in her mouth and realized he had split her lip wide open and her nose was bleeding.

It took a few moments to get her bearings.

"What the hell?" she heard one of the other men say as her ears stopped ringing. When her eyes focused again she looked at Walter.

He was still kneeling, still bleeding, but he now had a thick splatter of blood across his face. Her blood.

What probably caused their attackers' confusion was the expression on Walter's face. It didn't appear to be that of a dying man. Not defeated, fading, or desperate.

He was looking straight ahead, looking but not seeing, and his whole body was slightly trembling. He looked suddenly energized, eager.

Hungry.

He slowly reached up and wiped his fingers across the blood on his face. Walter's eyes were fixed on the blood on his hand for a moment, and then with what appeared to be considerable effort, he tore his eyes away from it, moving them up to meet hers. The message his eyes conveyed was one she understood immediately.

He was asking her permission to use her blood.

He was asking her permission to live.

Without breaking eye contact with him, she nodded. "Yes, Walter. We can't lose you. I don't want to lose you. Please. Live."

Walter nodded, then closed his eyes, and licked the blood off his fingers.

At first nothing happened except for a slight shudder through him. What is supposed to happen? Paige thought. She didn't know.

Slavomir and his men looked at Walter with confusion and disgust.

Walter made a short choking noise in the back of his throat, and grabbed at his chest.

"What the hell is wrong with him? Why isn't he dying like normal?" one of the men asked.

Walter fell to his side, still clutching his chest and gasping, looking more pained by the second. The gasping only stopped when he let out a horrible, long, gut wrenching scream.

"Aw hell, just put him out of his misery. He was a good racer. Give him that," Slavomir ordered with some kind of twisted sense of mercy.

Walter received three more bullets from the same man who first shot him, this time to the chest, and he stopped screaming before falling completely still.

Paige froze in complete horror, then restarted her efforts to struggle against her captor's grip.

"MONSTER!" she yelled at him, attempting once again to hit him, but he quickly learned she wasn't some weak, passive woman, and already had a better grip on her.

"I shouldn't have hit you in your pretty face. But if you don't start behaving, you'll regret it," Slavomir snarled. He turned back to the garage.

"Put her in the car," he ordered his two men, passing her to the other man- the one who hadn't shot Walter. "Make sure she can't get away, then come back here. We're going to go see what's so valuable in there."

She started being dragged away, closer to the garage but also closer to something she didn't want to contemplate. So much was at stake, and so much was already lost.

Paige remembered how loud all the gunshots were. The team would have heard it. They would have called the police at least. But would they get here in time? To save her and the team, maybe, but not…

Oh God, Walter. Her mind was pulled back to what she just witnessed. They didn't get too far when she looked back behind her to where they left him, and stopped dead in her tracks.

Slavomir spoke, annoyance dripping off his words, "I warned you, woman. Don't…"

"Boss?"

"What?"

"He's gone!"

"What do you mean gone?" Slavomir turned and they all were looking at nothing but a large pool of blood on the ground.

Walter was gone.

Paige allowed herself a moment of hope. Did it work? Was Walter okay? He had to be. But what did that mean? Where was he?

The men couldn't understand what they were seeing, or rather, weren't seeing. They spent several moments yelling obscenities and querying each other how a dead body could have moved.

Paige felt a quick, gentle tap on her shoulder. She turned as best she could in the grip on her arm, but no one was there. She then saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned again.

There, about fifteen feet behind her captors, out of their view, stood Walter.

He looked terrible, once again covered in blood and dirt, and he was very pale. He stood there unnaturally still as a statue with a cold stare aimed at the backs of his killers.

The look on his face didn't sit well with Paige. It was so un-Walter-like. Cold and calculating was a very common expression on him, true, but it was always underlined with an almost child-like innocence and curiosity about the world. This look seemed to be underlined only with the mind of a predator.

She remained unsettled until she remembered the tap on her shoulder. That small gesture was a reassurance that he still recognized her and was still himself, and that gave her hope.

Even so, he didn't look good. His posture clearly told her he felt weak and painful. No doubt since he had been shot multiple times. She noticed his bullet wounds were still slowly seeping blood down his shirt. Wasn't he supposed to heal? she asked herself. No, she answered herself. He hasn't gotten what he needs to heal yet. Paige felt a small amount of bile rise in the back of her throat.

Walter's eyes flicked toward her and he slowly raised a finger to his lips in a "shhh" motion. Paige was sure he didn't mean it to be, since the gesture was meant for her eyes alone, but the sight was extremely creepy.

Then he disappeared. She blinked, and he was gone in a quick blur. Even more creepy.

Her captors seemed to decide they didn't care where Walter was and started dragging her down the path again.

There was a blur in the corner of her eye, and the lackey not holding her; the one who had shot Walter, let out a loud yell of pain and surprise.

She looked and the man was cradling his arm, leaning over. He straightened himself partially, his face red and disfigured with pain. Once standing his wrist was revealed to be at an angle nowhere near correct. His gun was now at his feet, bent in a similar shape, rendering it useless.

Slavomir and the man holding her drew their guns as they started looking around them in alarm. They knew they were under attack, they just didn't know by whom, or what.

Paige was roughly thrown to the ground and apparently forgotten for the time being.

Sounds started reverberating around them. Deep, inhuman growling.

"Show yourself!" Slavomir yelled, and he let out a few shots into the dark.

Out of nowhere, Walter appeared behind the man with the broken arm and grabbed him around the neck, pulling him against him as a shield. Slavomir, so on edge, reacted to the movement and started shooting. He hit his own man three times in the chest, causing him to drop like a stone, instantly dead.

As the body dropped out of his grasp, Walter seemed to stumble for a moment, then disappeared again. He looked like he was getting weaker, despite his displays of impossible feats.

All the while Paige had been slowly pushing herself backwards towards the garage. She might have well been invisible amongst everything.

She couldn't see Walter. She kept looking around for a sign of him, but he was nowhere to be seen. He seemed to be dragging it out, playing it safe, but Cabe gave the impression he was capable of more. The longer he drew it out, the weaker he was getting. She was starting to worry for him again. Why did he seem to be holding back?

*I don't want to be a monster*. Walter's words echoed in her mind.

Suddenly, she thought she understood why. He was afraid he would scare her. He didn't want to do anything that might seem "monstrous" or "inhuman."

She had a thought, and prayed Walter would hear her. Cabe had mentioned heightened senses as one of his new abilities. She closed her eyes and started speaking softly, being as honest and heartfelt as she could.

"Walter, I know what you're doing, but please don't worry about scaring me. I'm sorry if I might be initially or occasionally a little frightened by what you are. I can't promise that might not happen. But I need you to know, I'm not afraid of you. Never you."

She paused for a moment, gathering the rest of her words. "What I am afraid of is that these men might take me. I'm afraid they'll find and hurt Ralph. I'm afraid they'll kill you. That's what I'm afraid of. So please, keep us all safe, including you. I don't want to lose you again."

She opened her eyes. She couldn't be sure he heard her, since there was no sign of a response for several seconds. Slavomir and his remaining man were on guard, backing up towards the garage.

Through all this, they all had steadily gotten closer to it, and now were no more than twenty feet from the entrance. When they were close, the two men turned around and started to run towards their perceived shelter from danger. Towards the team inside the garage. They got no closer, however, as suddenly there was Walter, standing in their path between Paige, the garage, and them.

The two men raised their guns, but before they could fire off a shot, Walter ran right at the two mobsters. He ran at them, picked them up, and simultaneously threw them forward over fifteen feet into a concrete structure behind them.

Slavomir's remaining man started to try and stand back up when Walter ran toward him, picked him up with one hand and slammed him hard against the wall again. The man fell limp to the ground, clearly no longer a threat.

Unfortunately, Slavomir took advantage of the few seconds Walter was distracted. He ran and grabbed Paige and before she knew it she was standing with an arm around her neck with the cold barrel of a gun pressed firmly to her head.

Chapter Text

Now these next few chapters I'm particularly proud of. I hope you'll agree :).

"Do you know what a family of Scorpions is called?
A Cyclone
Now, Scorpions are very loyal to their Cyclone.
If one of them is attacked, all the others dive in.
Now we, all of us, are a Cyclone. "

-Walter O 'Brien-

Walter watched the man drop dead before him after he slammed him with inhuman strength against the concrete wall. He truly hadn't meant to kill him, but he had miscalculated. He, quite literally, did not yet know his own strength. Threads of guilt started to weave through his mind, but he pushed them down. He had no time for such thoughts now.

Walter looked down at his hands. His strength was astounding, not to mention his speed and reflexes. With every movement the equations in his head were adjusting and tuning until he could accurately understand what he was capable of.

Even so, he knew he was weaker and slower than he should be.

The equations were slowly balancing, but he suspected his impeded reaction time was somehow connected to the burning pain in his stomach. It was the same pain that was there before. The hunger. It was far more intense now. He did his best to ignore it, but the more energy he expended, the worse it seemed to get.

He knew he wasn't even close to understanding his condition yet, but he was trying to approach it empirically, and the equations seemed to keep him focused. They were making him feel more human and in control.

He turned around and saw the new problem before him and became very worried.

Slavomir was standing behind Paige with an arm firmly around her neck, and his gun pressed against her temple. Walter was about twenty feet from them, and they were standing not far from their garage door.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Slavomir screamed, his terror and frustration fully expressing itself. Walter smelled a sweet, almost intoxicating scent in the air. The scent made the pain in his stomach intensify. Something instinctual within him helped him identify the scent.

Fear. He was smelling Paige's fear of Slavomir, and Slavomir's fear of him. The revelation sickened him enough to momentarily push the hunger down again.

Walter replied involuntarily to Slavomir's question with a deep, inhuman rumbling noise that arose from deep in his chest.

Slavomir continued speaking, attempting to threaten his way out of his dire situation. "You care about this woman, and I'm going to guess that you will not risk her life. You may be fast, but do you think you're faster than I can pull this trigger? Faster than a bullet?"

Slavomir meant the question as rhetorical, no doubt, but Walter immediately started doing the actual the math. His thoughts became more lucid as he ran the equations, shoving the animal that was emerging back down.

Even with how fast he was now, with unknown variables there was still a 21% chance he didn't get to Slavomir before he pulled the trigger, killing Paige instantly.

That was far too high to take that risk. He needed other options.

"Let her go..." he threatened. The hunger was getting stronger, and the equations were getting more difficult to visualize.

He was starting to abandon the thought of additional options when a he heard a voice in the dark.

"We have your back, son."

Walter heard Cabe's voice from inside the garage. Walter could tell he was barely speaking above a whisper, but he could hear it loud and clear as if he was standing right next to him, just like he had with Paige.

"The police have been called. They're not far away.We see what's happening out there. We see what has happened to you."

Walter looked up and even in the dark, could see the slightest of movements from the upper windows of the garage. His team were with him. His cyclone.

He heard Cabe continue. "Sly has run the numbers after watching you, and I have no doubt you have as well. He's told us there's a chance even you won't reach her in time if that trigger is pulled. We have some ideas on how to better the odds."

Walter was listening.

"I've started teaching Paige some self-defense. If that guy's grip loosens a little around her neck, she can move down to try and loosen his hold on her, and move away from the barrel of the gun a bit."

Walter re-ran the numbers. 21% chance of failure decreased to 16%.

Happy offered her own contribution."The gun model he has, it's powerful and flashy but the trigger is difficult to pull. Bad design. If you are able to pull the gun down and away from him, that will be less force his finger has on the trigger, and it might buy you another split second." This provided him a slight mechanical advantage.

11% chance of failure.

Toby was next."Fear is a paralytic. If you stimulate an acute fear response, you should buy yourself at least a good second."

4% chance.

"I believe in you, Walter. I believe you can save my mom."

Ralph.

<1%.

"Remember what Cabe taught you," Walter said to Paige. The sentence meant nothing to Slavomir, who was still trying to comprehend the impossible man in front of him. Paige seemed to think about what he was trying to say for a second, then nodded.

The nod caused Slavomir to instinctively tighten his grip on her for a moment, causing her to let out a short grunt of pain.

Walter felt anger building within him. It was not a feeling he was accustomed to so intensely, but the math was set. The equations were not needed any longer.

"Let her go, and I won't rip your throat out," he growled slowly, and deliberately at Paige's captor. His voice sounded foreign to him. Deeper. Animalistic. It unnerved him. Luckily it had the same effect on Slavomir.

He saw a slight shake in his hand. It wasn't enough, though. Walter needed a bigger delay. Something that would momentarily paralyze Slavomir with fear.

"What…are…you?" Slavomir repeated again, more slowly through clenched teeth. His terror seemingly focused on getting an answer to that single question.

Walter looked at Paige. She was looking at him. There were no messages exchanged this time. There was no need. She had already given him her message. Protect their cyclone. Now it was Walter's turn to act.

"I'm a Scorpion," he answered with a low growl, turning his gaze back to Slavomir, "and you will pay for threatening my family."

He allowed his emotions and instincts take over, and the equations completely dissolved beneath them.

Walter gave in, and he changed.

Walter changed before her eyes.

Paige saw dark red veins slither beneath his eyes, and his eyes themselves darkened until they were wholly a deep blood red that faded into black at their center. With a loud hissing screech, he exposed extremely sharp fangs, which he bared at Slavomir. It wasn't only his face that changed, though. His entire posture became predatory.

It was a terrifying sight, and she couldn't help but feel a spike of terror herself.

She felt Slavomir stiffen in fear behind her, and his grip around her neck loosened ever so slightly. She remembered what Walter said, and she started to drop down, away from the barrel of the gun, and that's when Walter acted.

She barely saw him move, but she suddenly felt the arm holding the gun to her head be pulled down and away from her. It was abruptly followed by the arm around her neck being ripped away, allowing her to fall safely to her knees.

Walter had done it.

She was safe.

She turned around.

Her eyes widened.

Slavomir was on his knees, and Walter was leaning over him. Walter had the much larger man firmly by the throat, his face only inches from his opponent's. His face was still changed, with his teeth bared. Slavomir's eyes were wide, and he was shaking in terror.

Walter suddenly smiled widely, which the fangs made even more disturbing. He hissed a few short words to the man he now had at his mercy.

"Again, I win."

Walter struck.

Walter finally gave in to what he needed. What he wanted. He had won the battle, and it was time to satisfy this hunger within him. He couldn't resist it any longer. His instincts took over. The man he held had struggled initially, especially when he first sank his teeth into his neck, and started drinking deeply.

The sensation was indescribable. It was amazing. It was euphoric. His whole body felt like it was buzzing, with a warm feeling starting in his chest and spreading outward. What he was drinking was life itself, and he could feel that with every fiber of his being.

He started feeling his wounds closing, and he became stronger. Still he wanted more, so he kept taking more. The man became limp in his arms and started falling to the ground. Walter followed him down, still drinking.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, there was a sound repeating over and over. He ignored it and kept drinking. The man's heart was slowing, and it was more difficult to draw the blood out. He dug in deeper.

"Walter." He registered his named and was annoyed. Who dared interrupt him? He reluctantly tore himself away and looked up, giving an annoyed growl in its general direction.

He saw the source of the sound. A woman. He knew her, didn't he? He was having trouble remembering. Right now the blood was all that he could care about. He growled at her in warning, staying crouched over his prey. It was his. He had earned it. He was prepared to defend it.

Something about her though…her eyes, her face. He did know her. He…cared about her? Looking at her triggered a different kind of warm feeling in his chest, one even more pleasant than the sensation from the blood. He tried to remember…

But then another human arrived. He came from around the side of the building. He was older, but Walter knew he could be dangerous. He held a gun in his hand, not yet pointed at him. Walter was tired of guns. He vaguely remembered being hurt by them. He was not willing to let one do so again.

He shifted back into a defensive crouch, baring his teeth at the new threat. To make things worse, three more humans emerged from the building. They stayed behind the man with the gun. Their heartbeats were quicker. They were afraid. Afraid of him, but they still approached.

The wall of the building was behind him.

He was surrounded. They were all looking at him. They must mean to hurt him. He didn't want to be hurt any more today.

He crouched lower, ready to fight his way out if he had to.

Paige had promised Walter she wasn't afraid of him and that she trusted him. That was still completely true. She could never be afraid of Walter.

But the creature she saw before her, she couldn't find Walter anywhere as it sank its fangs into Slavomir's neck and appeared to start draining him of his blood. She couldn't look away as the man the creature was feeding on slowly died.

She had to stop this. She had to get Walter back.

But what if Walter was truly gone?

"Walter!" she yelled at him.

The creature didn't register her call, but kept feeding as its captive collapsed to the ground.

"Walter!" she yelled louder as she stood back up on shaky legs.

She received a growl as her only response. The vampire kept drinking.

"Walter…" She didn't yell this time, but said his name softly, pleadingly.

For some reason, that seemed to have an effect.

The vampire let go of Slavomir, who was very clearly dead at this point, and looked up at Paige.

Paiges hand went up to her face, over her mouth.

His face…

His face was still changed, his eyes dark and black yet almost glowing red at the same time, sitting amidst a sea of dark red, snake-like veins beneath his eyes. Those eyes were looking directly at her.

His mouth was covered in bright red blood and the fangs in his mouth were dripping red as well, all while bared at her.

She could see no sign of Walter in those eyes.

His head tilted to the side, apparently contemplating her presence. He then suddenly looked to his right.

She followed his gaze and saw Cabe emerge from around the side of the garage. His gun was in his hand but pointed downward at his side. Upon seeing the scene before him, though, he instinctively put both hands on his weapon. It was still pointed downward, but he was clearly ready to use it if he needed to.

"Dear God…" he said. "Walter?" Cabe's eyes were wide in shock.

Walter looked at Cabe with the gun and straightened up slightly but stayed crouched, looking ready to attack at any moment.

Toby, Sylvester, and Happy emerged from the building after Cabe. The addition of their presence seemed to only aggravate Walter more.

"Holy crap…"

"By the wizard…"

"Not good…"

Walter roared in their direction. Cabe raised his weapon in response to the threatening gesture. "Walter, please…" he begged. Cabe's gun wouldn't stop him. She'd learned that much. They couldn't seem to get through to him. She didn't know what to do.

One last voice joined the group. "Mom? Walter?"

Time seemed to stop as Paige's heart sank to the pit of her stomach.

There, the last to come around the corner, was Ralph. He was looking at Walter with wide eyes, and Walter was staring straight at him.

"No! Ralph, go back inside!" she screamed in panic.

But it was too late. Faster than her eye could follow Walter rushed at Ralph, descending upon him until her son was gone from her sight.

Another cliffhanger. Sorry not sorry :). I'll try to update soon.

Again, I was pleased at how this turned out. I have a few more chapters I'm particularly proud of, but if there's a chapter to review up to this point, it's this one.

Chapter Text

Cabe's heart sank when he saw Walter, now a vampire, seemingly lose all control of himself. It nearly stopped altogether when he watched Walter descend upon young Ralph. Cabe raised his weapon but couldn't fire immediately without being sure he wouldn't hit the boy.

Would it even do anything? He knew a bullet wouldn't kill Walter. A well placed bullet might incapacitate him and buy time, though. He just hoped it would buy him enough time to somehow get Ralph to safety. Cabe felt sick. He never meant for this to happen. If Ralph was hurt, or worse, and Walter became beyond helping, he would never forgive himself.

Walter's body had fully engulfed Ralph's smaller one, leaving an easier target with Walter's back facing Cabe. Cabe quickly raised his gun, ready to do what he must if he had to, when he saw something he hadn't expected, and hesitated.

"Cabe?!" Paige saw him hesitate and rushed forward desperately. She didn't know what she was going to do, but as a desperate mother, she was going to try and save her son in whatever way she could.

Cabe turned and held out an arm to stop her. "No! Wait!" he yelled.

"Cabe! He's-"

"No! He's not!" Cabe interrupted. "Look."

Paige, unable to move towards her son, looked closer as Cabe asked.

Walter's back was facing them. He was kneeling down, bent over Ralph's small body. Again the sight panicked her, but then she saw movement under Walter's arm. It was her son. He was looking up at her blinking, unafraid, and completely unharmed.

"What? I don't understand. What is he doing?" Paige asked, completely confused.

"I think…" Cabe started, then he showed the hint of a smile on his face. "I think he's protecting him."

"What do you mean? What is he protecting him from? Those men who attacked us, they're dead!"

Walter turned his head to look over his shoulder at the group of humans behind him. It seemed he had been waiting for an attack of some kind. Walter turned around, still crouched. He held his left arm out in front of Ralph as a barrier. Ralph seemed confused, but not frightened. Walter kept his eyes on them, growling lowly as an apparent warning to stay away.

"My God, you're right," Toby agreed.

"Please someone explain this to me before I completely lose it!" Paige pleaded, not exaggerating her emotional state.

Toby explained their theory, "When Cabe and the rest of us arrived, Walter was already in an, um, altered state of mind. He didn't recognize us, and it appears he still doesn't. By his body language he had perceived us as a threat and was ready to fight his way out."

"Wait. He's afraid of us?!" Sylvester asked disbelievingly.

Toby shrugged. "All I can say is that was defensive body language. I imagine if he was trying to be aggressive, he would have no trouble killing each of us."

Sylvester paled at the thought.

"But, with what he is, why didn't he just kill us if he doesn't recognize us?" Happy asked.

"Honestly," Toby said with a shrug, "I think it's not in his nature."

Given the current situation, his response seemed ironic, but it was starting to make sense.

"But how he killed that man, Slavomir...and he doesn't even recognize us," Paige countered.

"Yes, but that was someone who threatened him, tortured him, and killed him. All the while he was injured and, well, if any of the popular culture out there is to believed, probably very hungry. I don't think any of those guys were ever going to get out of here alive," Toby explained.

"As for recognizing us," he continued, "I don't have much experience to go by here, but I think his new conditionand the events of the day have simply overwhelming him. His emotions and instincts have overtaken his logical thought. In other words, he's a bit scrambled right now."

"Then why is he protecting Ralph?" she asked.

Toby thought about that for a second. "I think despite everything, the protectiveness he feels for Ralph has gotten through to him in some way."

In response to Paige's clear confusion Toby held up a hand and made his argument. "I don't think he fully recognizes him yet, but I think he recognizes him as someone he cares for and feels protective of, and when Ralph walked in amongst a perceived danger, he was ready to potentially give his life to protect him. And if I may add, I think a small part of him might recognize you, too."

Toby made a small, slow pointing gesture, as to not startle Walter. "Notice how he's keeping an eye on the four of us, especially Cabe, and hasn't tried to keep track of you for a while. He doesn't think of you as a threat."

Paige looked at Walter again. Really looked at him. His appearance was still terrifying. Blood dripped slowly off his chin with his teeth still bared. His arm was reached behind him, keeping Ralph mostly out of sight of the group. She forced herself to look in his eyes. His inhuman blood red and black eyes.

No, she realized, looking closer, the faint light of their surroundings reflecting off his eyes as they continued to move back and forth. She was wrong about them.

Initially, she thought the whites of his eyes that had turned to a dark red faded to a bottomless, soulless black at their center. Once she looked closer she realized that wasn't the case. The irises of his brown, human eyes were still there. They were just harder to see with the other changes he had undergone.

Paige watched the scene in front of her for a few more seconds, then suddenly, she really started to see it.

Beyond the blood, beyond the fangs, beyond the dark red eyes, beyond the vampire, she found him. She found Walter.

She found the Walter she trusted completely.

She found the Walter she deeply cared for.

Before her was not a bloodthirsty monster who had killed, or was about to kill, indiscriminately. It was a scared man that had been pushed to the edge, been in a car accident, died, tortured, and turned into something he didn't understand.

Finally, for reasons not in his control, he now felt cornered and terrified, not being given a moment's rest.

And even amongst all that, when Walter saw her son, and thought he was in danger, his first, and only instinct was to protect him.

"Oh, Walter…" Paige said, her voice slightly breaking. "Oh, God. I am so sorry."

Something in her voice got Walter's attention. This darting gaze suddenly focused on her.

She put a hand on Cabe's shoulder and slowly moved around him. She approached Walter and her son carefully. She knelt in front of them about five feet away to get to Walter's eye level. Everyone held their breath.

"Walter, thank you for protecting Ralph, but it's me, Paige, his mother. You remember me, don't you? I'm your friend." She was still very nervous, but when the words came out calm and comforting, she meant it.

Walter tilted his head to the side as if examining her closely.

Ralph broke his own silence and placed his hand on Walter's shoulder behind him. "Walter, thank you for looking out for me. I know you've had a really bad day, and I know you're different now. I'm not afraid of you, and I don't think my mom is anymore either. Neither are your friends. Do you remember our friends, Walter?"

Paige smiled at her son. Her little genius. Wise far beyond his years. He was paying attention the whole time, and had dissected the situation as well as anyone here. He was ready to help as a part of the team to bring Walter back to them.

Walter looked from Paige, to Cabe, to Sly, to Toby, to Happy, then back to Paige. He looked at Ralph behind him. Ralph didn't seem bothered by Walter's appearance. He seemed to see only his friend.

Slowly, Walter's arm dropped, allowing Ralph to pass. Ralph didn't run around him, suddenly free, but calmly walked to his mom, gave her a hug, then turned back to Walter.

Walter was looking at her when suddenly the fangs shortened, the dark veins around his eyes receded, and his eyes softened to reveal the clear warm brown she had grown so fond of.

"Paige," he said softly.

"Hey, there," she replied, showing a relieved smile.

He looked from Paige to Ralph. Ralph put a hand on his shoulder. "Found you, partner," the young boy said.

Walter looked at the body of Slavomir several yards away. Walter stared at it for a moment, as if deciding how he felt about it.

"Did he hurt you?" Walter finally asked Paige.

"No, I'm ok."

"Good." Walter slowly stood up, as did Paige. Cabe gently took Ralph's shoulder and lead him in front of him to try and shield him from the sight of the bodies any further.

Walter looked briefly at everyone around him, then looked down. He looked ashamed.

Embarrassed.

Dismayed, even.

It was not a common expression Walter wore. Even emotions he felt would rarely emerge on his surface.

"I don't even know where to start. I, uh, I'm…," Walter's eyes darted back and forth, not looking at anything in particular. "I'm so sorry."

He kept looking at the ground, clenching and unclenching his fists beside him. He had backed up several steps, as if unconsciously trying to distance himself from them and what they saw him do.

"None of that, now," Cabe said, taking a small step towards him. "Nothing to forgive."

Walter's gaze moved around to the three dead bodies in front of the garage. "I killed them." He said it as fact, likely expecting it to be some kind of indisputable argument.

"Walter," Happy walked forward, sounding annoyed. "Please don't act like a normal and insist on feeling guilt over your actions in a situation you had no control over. Given the information you've gathered, is there any reasonable chance it would have turned out any other way, with you, Paige, or us, all still alive?"

Both Walter and Sylvester started shaking their heads, clearly having run the numbers and scenarios in seconds.

"That's settled, then." Happy gave a small satisfied nod.

Walter did look appeased by her argument, but his troubled expression remained. "I may not be wholly responsible for that, but I think it's reasonable for me to be deeply unsettled by what I just did, with what I'm now capable of, and what I now am."

"That's fair. So are we," Toby answered matter-of-factly, giving a small shrug.

"Toby!" Paige hissed.

"What? We are!" Toby insisted. "I don't think that's unreasonable. I'm the shrink so I know I'm speaking for everyone. I'm in no way saying we're going to abandon him or stake the guy in his sleep. I'll stay by his side as always like the rest of you, but we can't pretend there won't be an adjustment period here. Why hide it?"

Sylvester had been the most silent of the group, watching everything, showing his usual amount of discomfort in an awkward or messy situation. That's why it surprised everyone when he calmly walked up to Walter and stood in front of him. Walter was filthy. He was covered in blood, dirt, sweat, and tears.

So when germaphobe, fastidious, obsessive-compulsive, cautious-to-a-fault Sylvester pulled Walter into the biggest bear hug he could, the message was the most powerful one Walter could receive at that moment, and receive it he did.

Walter, with a small sob of relief, returned the hug.

"Let's go home, brother," Sly said in his ear.

Paige felt a spark of hope. Things just might be okay.

Sylvester and Walter released their embrace. Walter tilted his head to the side, as if hearing a noise in the distance. A few seconds later the rest of them could hear it too. Police sirens. They had almost arrived.

"All of you go inside," Cabe ordered. "I'll handle this."

"I'm sorry, Walter, but I call the shower first," Sly said with a heavy grimace and a shudder, looking very uncomfortable in his own skin with the multiple contaminants and bodily fluids now transferred to himself.

"Fair enough, buddy," Walter said, more than okay with the compromise. He allowed himself his first true smile since this all began.

"Fair enough."

Can't wait to hear what you think!

Next we see how Walter's going to start to adapt, and someone might be stopping by in a few chapters to help Walter out a bit.

Chapter Text

This chapter ended up being very long so I turned it into two parts.

I'm glad everyone seemed to like the emotional components of the last chapter. I've been working very hard to reach the heart of everyone's reactions in a realistic and emotional way as we make our way through a very AU situation, of course with the splattering of some vampire action and fun. If you've been enjoying the emotional aspect of my storytelling, there's plenty more to come (*cough* part 2 of this chapter *cough*).

*A special thank you to the reviewers who have been with me every chapter so far. You know who you are ;).

Three Serbian gang members laid dead outside the garage. The rest of the team was inside, and Cabe stood outside to greet the police. One gang member had been shot multiple times, and one died from blunt force trauma to the head. Those would be far easier to explain.

Slavomir, though…

Cabe looked at the wounds on his neck. The marks. Fang marks, he reminded himself. Walter's. Cabe made a small shake of his head to clear his thoughts. Those wounds would cause many questions.

Cabe walked up to the body and took his knife out of his pocket. He felt unease as he used the knife to disguise the marks on the dead man's neck as stab wounds. Much more mundane and easier to explain.

Three police cars drove into the clearing in front of the garage.

Cabe stood in their headlights. He held up his scuba certification. "Homeland Security!" he yelled.

Cabe gave a sigh of relief as the police and coroner finished driving off. Cabe was able to give the police a story that satisfied them along the lines of hearing a battle between two rival gangs, and when he emerged from the garage, he found the three bodies outside. Cabe insisted there were no other witnesses. He didn't like lying to fellow law-enforcement, but he felt he had no choice in this situation.

After the bodies had been taken way, Cabe made his way back inside. Two members of Scorpion had taken their much needed showers, and they all just needed sleep. Cabe sent a text message to a number he had not contacted in almost fifteen years. It was short.

I used the vial. Not on me, but on a man I care for like a son. Walter O'Brien. He came back. Please, call me. -Cabe

Salv had warned him that he didn't check that particular number very often, but Cabe hoped it wouldn't be too long until he responded. He needed help. Walter needed help.

That night, the whole team slept at the garage. This was partially because everyone was too exhausted to go home, but mainly decided after Toby said he felt the team staying there would be a good way to communicate acceptance to Walter. Toby proposed the idea when Walter was getting cleaned up for the second time that day. They also all agreed no one should stay if they weren't comfortable.

No one elected to leave.

Cabe was the first one to awaken the following morning. It was an old guy thing. He moved the blanket off himself and stood up from the couch. He looked around to take stock of the team. Paige and Ralph were on the pull-out bed on the other couch. Paige's arms were wrapped around her son, and they both looked like they had slept okay.

Sylvester was sleeping on an inflatable mattress not far from them. The mattress was wrapped in "Super Fun Guy" sheets which matched Sylvester's "Super Fun Guy" pajamas. He was wearing a face mask and ear plugs. It was adorable, frankly.

Cabe glanced into Happy's workshop and saw her lying in a small, simple cot. There was a second cot right next to it, containing a snoring Toby. Cabe could have sworn the cots had been much further apart when he fell asleep the night before.

That left Walter. Initially, he was going to sleep by himself, upstairs away from the rest of the team, but they all insisted he stay with them.

Like a slumber party, Ralph had said.

Walter looked so young and worry free as he slept in the corner under a desk with only a thick blanket and a pillow. He insisted he needed nothing more. It appeared vampires slept just like humans, despite the inevitable coffin jokes Toby mercilessly threw at Walter last night. The windows by the half of the garage where Walter slept were covered with thick sheets to prevent light from entering the room as the sun rose. It would have been hard to explain spontaneous combustion as Walter O'Brien's demise. The only light was provided by some small electric lights and a couple uncovered windows on the opposite side of the building. The sun had risen.

Cabe put on his jacket and quietly opened the door. He had to go get something for Walter, and would be back shortly.

As Cabe closed the door behind him, his phone started ringing in his pocket.

He took it out and looked at its display. It was Salv.

The sound of the garage door quietly closing roused Walter from his sleep. He slowly blinked and winced as the dim light hit his eyes as they adjusted. He removed his blanket and stood up from beneath the desk he had been sleeping under.

It took him a few seconds to recall why he had been sleeping under a desk and why his whole team was asleep in the garage.

"Oh. Right," he whispered to himself as the events of the day before came flooding back.

For a brief moment he wondered if it had all been just a dream he just awoke from. A brief assessment of his surroundings and the differences he felt in his own body quickly disproved that scenario.

Everyone was still there. Everyone except Cabe, who must have been the one who shut the door and woke him.

Walter didn't think much of it. Cabe didn't leave a note or wake them, therefor he planned on not being gone long.

If he was to be honest, Walter half expected the team to have left him in the middle of the night, changing their minds about their comfort around him.

But everything appeared normal, besides them all sleeping in various spots across the garage, of course.

Could things really go back to normal, for the most part? Walter asked himself. Was that a possibility?

Walter took an assessment of himself. All his wounds had finished healing overnight. The hunger was still there, but very faint and more than manageable.

Quick flashes of memory of what he did to Slavomir tried to emerge, but he pushed the memories aside. Dwelling on events that he had no control over and could not change would be inefficient.

So what would be efficient?

Getting back to work. Working on his projects. Putting his mind to use.

If he couldn't go back to his normal life, as much as it was, he would at least start with a normal day.

He made his way across the room, trying to not to wake anyone. He found it remarkably easy to not make a sound.

He was almost to his desk when he halted to a stop. Right in his path was a narrow, bright beam of sunlight. The morning sun had just reached one of the remote, uncovered windows of the garage, and it lay across right where he wanted to go.

He made a quick assessment. There was no way around it, at least not without crossing other intersecting rays. All he wanted was to reach his desk and start his day somewhat normally, and already his new reality was impeding his efforts.

But what would actually happen? he asked himself. Would it just burn like a sunburn? Would his skin literally combust? He didn't know. Perhaps he could cross the beam quickly without little real consequence.

He had wanted to normalize his day by continuing with his experiments. He decided he would at least experiment, even if the subject wasn't as originally planned.

New instincts screamed at him to stop as he slowly reached out. His right hand interrupted the beam at its center, the sunlight splaying across it and his forearm.

For about a second the sun simply felt warm against his skin, revealing only that he was slightly more pale than he used to be. His brain initially didn't convey to him the pain when his skin started to redden, his mind laser focused on collecting data on what he was observing.

He watched with fascination as small waves of red illumination seemed to appear just beneath his skin and expand to the surface. The scientist in him was astounded. Excited even. He had never seen anything like it.

But the scientist within was violently shoved aside when Walter finally had to register the pain. His skin started smoking and burning mere seconds after he had first exposed it to the direct sunlight, and it hurt.

It hurt a lot.

He let out a short screeching yell as he yanked his arm back, clutching it to his chest, into the dark where it was safe. He was fully aware that sound wasn't one he was able to make before yesterday.

Also, his skin wasn't the only place the fire died down after he pulled his arm back. A tightness and heat in his chest died down that had erupted when his skin did.

Anger? he thought. No, he corrected,

Rage.

He, of course, had felt negative emotion before, but this had been more intense and abrupt. The pain, plus this feeling, was what caused him to yell out, not just one or the other. He wasn't used to his emotions being so intertwined with other sensations before. His skin had just caught on fire from basic sunlight, but he found himself equally disturbed by how his emotions had reacted to the pain than his smoking flesh.

Such emotion to be generated from him; it was uncharacteristic and unbecoming.

The fire on his arm and in his chest receded, but his hand and lower arm were covered in what appeared to be severe third degree burns, and it still hurt immensely. He sat down on the ground with his burnt arm cradled against him. The barrier of sunlight stayed spread beside him, with him sitting just out of its reach.

He lowered his head, feeling defeated. It sucked, but at least that was an emotion he was more familiar with.

Paige awoke to the sound of a sharp, off sounding cry. She sat up quickly and looked around. She saw Ralph next to her, still sound asleep.

After checking on her son, she looked for the source of the sound. She looked behind her and saw Walter sitting with his back against the garage wall with inches between him and a stream of sunlight from the window just above him and to his left. He was breathing heavily and clutching his right arm to his chest.

She jumped out of her and Ralph's bed, the concrete floor cold on her bare feet, and walked quickly over to him. She knelt beside him.

"What happened?" she asked quickly, concern lacing her voice.

"I, um," Walter started before stopping with a short grunt of pain. He took a few more quick breaths. "Turns out the sunlight actually does burn," he gasped out.

Veins beneath his eyes had also appeared and darkened to deep red, no doubt in response to the pain he was enduring. That was the extent of his change though, as his eyes were still his normal, human white and brown.

Paige realized what happened. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry Walter. Did we not cover the windows enough? Did one of the curtains fall?" She looked up at the window. She then tried to look at the arm he was pressing against his chest.

"No. I, uh, tried performing a small experiment," he grunted. "I suppose I didn't expect the results to be so drastic, or painful."

Paige realized what he did.

"For a genius, you can be such an idiot," she scolded.

She was able to pull his arm out to look at it closer. She pushed up the sleeve of his shirt and gasped. She was no doctor, but she could tell his hand and arm were horribly burned. Small plumes of smoke were still curling from the surface of his skin. She wrinkled her nose. It didn't smell great, either.

"Toby! I need you!" she yelled behind her. She turned back to Walter.

"Come on, Walter, let's have Toby look at that." She grabbed his other arm and helped him stand up.

A few seconds later Toby shuffled sleepily out of the workshop while giving a large yawn and stretch. He rubbed at his eyes, squinting at the pair while he gave a short, confused sniff of the air.

"Is someone frying bacon?"

His query was met only with narrowed eyes and unamused silence.

"Jesus, Walter," Toby expressed as he examined Walter's burnt arm. "How long did your stubborn self leave your arm in the sunlight to get it well-done like this?"

"Three point eight seconds," Walter replied, deadpan.

Toby couldn't hide his shock. That quickly to cause this much damage?

They sat across from each other in two chairs next to Toby's desk in a nice dark corner of the garage, away from any rays of sunlight. Toby had the first aid kit out next to him, and Paige stood with concern a few feet away, watching the exchange.

Toby finished his exam of Walter's arm. "Well, I usually treat plain old humans, so your guess is as good as mine how long this is going to take to heal, but I'm already starting to see hints of granulation tissue forming at the less burned areas, so at the very least it looks like you will heal far faster than us mortals. It's quite extraordinary. Still probably a good idea to bandage it though."

"Ok," Walter answered robotically, not giving much hint of his thoughts on the matter, just giving a pained hiss when Toby touched his arm to begin the bandaging. Toby noticed that with the increased pain the dark veins advanced towards his eyes more, causing them to start to redden and darken.

Toby looked at him for a moment, then asked a question.

"So did it look like the epidermis of your skin initiated the reaction with the sun? Like a distance thermal burn? Or was it was it more of a diffuse event that built up and eventually combusted, like there would be with a chemical reaction? Was the pain immediate or did it increase over time?"

Walter's gaze lifted and met Toby's, and his eyes seemed to brighten, both literally and figuratively at the scientific line of questioning. His eyes looked more brown and a small glint seemed to emerge.

There you are, one-nine-seven, Toby thought triumphantly.

Paige was a little bothered by Toby's seemingly callous question. She started to open her mouth to object when Toby interrupted her with a sidelong glance as he continued to bandage Walter's arm.

Walter seemed to perk up a bit. When he answered his voice was injected with a hint of enthusiasm. "Actually it seemed to start deep to the epidermis, and the reaction didn't appear to be completely diffuse, but appeared more random and multifocal. It seemed to coalesce and emerge until the superficial tissue caught fire."

"Interesting," Toby replied, sounding truly fascinated. "What do you think attributed to the apparent randomness of the reactions? Do you think it has something to do with variation in tissue composition in those areas?"

Walter leaned forward a little, his eyes brighter still, "You know, I was thinking the same thing. What if it's something like blood vessel densities or how deep the vessels are in my skin? I was thinking about looking into that more to find out exactly what part of my tissue initiates the reaction after exposed to the sunlight. Maybe we could-"

Walter and Toby continued to pass ideas back and forth as Toby finished bandaging his arm.

Oh, Paige thought, realizing what was happening. Although she still felt their conversation was a little morbid, she understood what Toby was doing.

Toby was engaging Walter's brain on a scientific line of thinking, therefor distracting him from the pain in his arm and whatever thoughts had been bothering him. Although she had no doubt Toby was also sincere in his curiosity, thinking about a scientific problem also seemed to raise Walter's spirits. His body language showed engagement as the theories and ideas passed between the two geniuses.

Paige also noticed that as they conversed, Walter's eyes returned completely to normal. Their only change now was an energetic gleam as he brainstormed with Toby.

Paige had been focusing on reinforcing and comforting his human side. She felt she and the team had reached that side remarkably well last night, but she had forgotten that Walter's mind was just as important to his self-identity, and perhaps was even more important for him to feel somewhat normal right now. Toby had realized that and started nurturing it.

She smiled at the two, glad that Walter was having experiencing some normalcy, despite the odd topic.

Between her and the rest of the team, Walter seemed to have a better and better chance of accepting, and adapting to, his new reality.

Reviews keep me going!

Chapter Text

Happy and Sly awoke shortly after Toby. They finished covering any windows that might impede Walter's movement around the garage during the day. They left a couple uncovered, partially because Paige thought no sunlight might be depressing, and partially because Sly expressed concern about Vitamin D deficiencies.

Toby and Walter were still at it, now talking about ways to experiment on Walter's physical capabilities and limits (some of them sounding quite dangerous in Paige's opinion) when Cabe walked back through the door, carrying a duffel bag over his arm.

Walter stopped talking with Toby mid-sentence and turned his whole body towards Cabe when he walked in. In a blur he appeared before Cabe, causing him to physically startle and almost drop the bag in his arms.

"Is that for me?" Walter asked, talking very fast, his eyes wide and hopeful. "It's for me, isn't it?" He sounded almost like a kid who's parent had just surprised him with a present.

Cabe needed a second to regain his composure before he could answer.

"Jesus, kid!" Cabe was regaining his breath. "Don't do that! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry," Walter apologized, looking apologetic, "but I, uh, I can smell what's in that bag. I just got really hungry, I think." He was shifting slightly back and forth, looking eager. Cabe also noticed the bandage on Walter's arm.

"What did you do to yourself, kid? I was only gone an hour!"

"He tried to see if sunlight turned him medium-rare or well-done," Happy replied from the top of a ladder, putting the last supports on for one of the blackout curtains.

Cabe looked back at Walter. Walter replied only with an embarrassed shrug.

Cabe shook his head and reached in the paper bag, pulling out one of the blood bags. Walter's eyes locked on it.

Cabe felt like he was dangling a mouse over the cage of a snake, hoping the snake struck the mouse and not his hand. Walter asked a question before Cabe could give it to him.

"Aren't those bags that humans need, at hospitals, though?"

"True," Cabe replied. "That's why I arranged that the rest of us would be making regular monthly blood donations as part of the deal to regularly acquire these. Even trade."

"Why don't we just donate and give bags with our blood directly to Walter? More efficient, less steps," Happy queried, jumping off the bottom rung of the ladder.

"I did briefly think of that," Cabe said, "but I assumed that Walter might feel uncomfortable using donations from that 'source' regularly." In other words, Cabe thought Walter might feel awkward drinking the blood of his friends versus strangers, even donated freely. Cabe glanced at Walter for confirmation.

Walter paused momentarily before answering. "You assumed correctly." He said nothing more on the topic. Cabe tossed the bag to Walter.

Walter caught the bag with ease and pulled it towards himself.

As he looked at the cold liquid moving around inside, his vision became hyper-focused and vivid, and he felt a slight itch along the gums of his canine teeth.

He looked up and in the smooth metal of the breaker box next to him, and he saw his reflection. The face of the vampire.

He had assumed the change he underwent would be unsettling, judging by the reaction Slavomir had the night before, but this…

He raised his hand to touch his face, his teeth. No, he corrected, fangs. And his eyes…Walter looked into the red-rimmed, fathomless red, dark eyes looking back at him. It was as if something inside of him was cruelly taunting him at what he'd become. He was at a loss. His friends were interacting with him, joking with him, caring for him almost as if nothing had changed, all after seeing him look like this?

He was horrifying.

He knew his team were all looking at him, and he suddenly became very self conscious. He bowed his head, trying to hide his visage as best he could, and made a direct path to the unoccupied kitchen.

Paige knew it had only been a day. She expected nothing to resolve quickly, for either Walter or the rest of the team. She also knew that all the time in the world would be meaningless if Walter still thought they were truly scared of or disgusted by him. Cautious, yes, adjusting, yes, still freaked out a bit, yes, but not that.

She saw self-loathing when Walter saw his other face for the first time. He tried to hide it from them as he walked into the kitchen. The geniuses looked helpless. This was not their territory. It was hers.

Despite all the assurances thus far, Walter was still seeing himself as a monster, and assumed they would as well.

A small hand grabbed hers. "Mom, I want to talk to him."

She looked down at Ralph with surprise. He had been making great progress in his communication, having the support from fellow geniuses, but full sentences were still a rarity, and him offering to go have a full conversation with someone was a first.

She replied after brief consideration. "Ok, but we're going to be watching you through the camera." Sylvester had installed a camera in the break room not long ago when his favorite yogurt kept going missing. Toby, of course, had quickly been caught as the culprit.

Walter had earned her trust around Ralph last night. She would still trust Walter with Ralph's life, but in this time of uncharted territory with both Ralph and Walter, she wanted to be close by and know what was going on.

Plus, she had no doubt the rest of the team would eavesdrop anyway, like they usually did on any "private" conversation in the garage.

"Ok," Ralph agreed, and walked into the kitchen after Walter.

Walter was standing next to the small break room table. He was still holding the blood bag in his hand, and in one quick movement he tore open the bag and started drinking its contents as fast as he could. The bag wasn't meant to be used in this way, and some was spilled, but he didn't stop until it was empty.

The blood was cold and lifeless, with a sour, bitter aftertaste he assumed was the added anticoagulant. His body still seemed to accept it as what it was looking for, but seemed dissatisfied that he was getting it in the "wrong" way.

Still, he felt better after drinking it, and his arm hurt far less. He would have to start keeping track of the cravings, and calculate the most efficient schedule in which he should ingest human blood. He tossed the empty bag on the table.

He sensed the presence of someone else in the room. He heard a small, quicker heartbeat compared to the rest of the humans in the building, indicating a smaller, younger individual. He turned around and saw Ralph standing in the threshold of the room.

Walter, realizing his face was still changed, quickly turned back around. He hadn't figured out how to change it back yet. He leaned with both hands on the table, keeping his face out of sight.

"Ralph, um, you really shouldn't be in here right now. You should go back out there with the others."

Where there are no monsters.

Ralph stood there another moment before starting to walk. Walter heard his small heartbeat walking further into the room rather than out. Walter peaked over his shoulder to watch what Ralph was doing.

Ralph took one of the chairs on the far wall and pushed it up to the cabinet counters. He stood on top of it and grabbed one of Sylvester's chip bowls and started putting various items in it. The salt and pepper shakers, the condiment containers, a few glasses and small cups. Once the bowl was full he walked over and sat down in the chair across from Walter and started unpacking the items he gathered.

Walter sat in his own chair and watched what Ralph was doing, momentarily forgetting about his altered appearance.

Ralph was setting up a chess game. Just like the one he and Walter played that day they met in the diner. The same game that made Walter realize the boy was different and a fellow genius, leading to Ralph finding his family with them, and begin connecting with his mother.

Once the board was set Ralph made his first move. Walter followed with his own. Their game was quick, and close, but Ralph checkmated him in the end. The condiments no longer looked hyper-focused. He concluded his visage had returned to normal.

Both geniuses sat silent for several seconds before Ralph broke the silence.

"Before we met, I was all by myself. I had my mom, but no one had shown her yet how to see who I was. I thought since no one understood me and I was so different, I would be alone forever."

Walter was momentarily stunned at Ralph's declaration. Walter had suspected how Ralph felt by comparing to his own experiences as a child, but this was the first time Ralph had expressed it out loud. Ralph wasn't done, however.

"But it turned out I wasn't alone. After you found me, I learned there were others like me. They taught my mom how to see me, and I could finally talk to her. They showed her I could see and do things no one else could, and in order to be me, I needed special things, different things than everyone else needed, and that was ok." Ralph did a quick flick of his eyes to the empty blood bag next to Walter.

"I learned that even though I was different, that was not something I needed to be sad about. Being different can be a good thing. I have a whole family, including my mom, who loves and cares about me for who I am. I know things will still be hard for me, but even if other people sometimes don't understand me, or are sometimes scared of what I can do, there will always be my family here when I need them. That's what families do for each other, no matter what. That's what you've done for me."

Walter was speechless. He felt an amazing, warm feeling in his chest, around his heart, and it wasn't the vampire this time, it was all too human. He was so sure of that. The feeling was a mixture of gratitude, acceptance, love.

Ralph looked up at him with hopeful, innocent, genuine, heartfelt eyes. "Is it ok if I try and do the same thing for you, Walter?"

Walter released a short, choked sound of relief and amazement. Emotion seemed to overflow, just like the tears that had appeared in his eyes.

Walter reached over and grabbed Ralph's hand and held it tightly.

"Ralph…you just did…you have no idea, or maybe you do, but, my god…you just did."

Ralph smiled and jumped off his seat, walking over to Walter. Walter gave him the most sincere hug, and he let himself feel pure, alive, warm human emotion.

Chapter Text

There was not a dry eye in the house. The whole team had watched the exchange through Sylvester's monitor. They all heard what Ralph said, and watched Walter's response.

"That's one hell of a kid you've got there," Cabe said, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Damn right I do," Paige replied, blinking away her own set of tears. Her son had reached Walter O'Brien on an emotional level. No small feat, and one few people could claim to. Ralph kept surprising her everyday.

Walter walked out of the kitchen, Ralph close behind and looked at the assembled team in front of him. Walter's eyes tracked to the monitor, realizing their conversation had been observed. He didn't seem to mind, though. He seemed almost satisfied, like all was now out in the open, including his new view on his situation.

Ralph walked to stand back next to his mother. Walter lifted his injured arm and unwrapped the bandage around it. Once removed it revealed only smooth, unburnt skin. He clenched and unclenched his fist a few times to ensure there were no issues. It seemed the blood triggered a much faster healing process.

Toby muttered a soft "holy crap" at the evidence of Walter's expedited healing.

Walter started addressing the group in a very familiar manner, like he'd done many times before an assignment.

"I want to thank all of you for your patience, and your acceptance. I can imagine all of you have had doubts about what my new condition would do to our team dynamics, at the very least. But you all seemed to adapt very impressively, in fact faster than even I did, it would seem. I just ask that if there are any concerns or doubts about my fitness to continue leading this team, you be completely honest and forward with me. I'll still need all of your help, just like always, to make Scorpion all it can be."

There was almost a collective sigh from the group as they all nodded in understanding. Walter gave a small smile back at them, showing that he now understood they were still a family, as always. Things might just be starting to get back to their normal.

As if to spite them, one of the sky panels of the garage shattered at that very moment, and a dark figure dropped from it, landing right on top of Walter, crashing him to the ground. It picked Walter up like he weighed nothing and threw him against a stone pillar in the middle of the room. Several pieces of stone cracked off with the impact.

They were under attack.

The whole team let out shouts of surprise. Ralph grabbed his mom's hand and Paige picked him up quickly. She turned around and handed him to Sylvester with a look carrying a silent message. Keep him safe. Sylvester ran with him to the back of the garage.

The figure, a man dressed all in black and a black leather jacket, raised his head. He had short black hair, and his face was changed like Walter's had been, the only difference being the deep blue eyes amongst the sea of red. The intruder was another vampire.

Cabe had pulled his gun instinctively but there was nothing to aim at. They were moving too fast.

The intruder sped towards Walter and lifted him to his feet, slamming his back against the pillar. Walter's face had changed as well, and he let out his own roar at his attacker.

The other vampire tried throwing him again, but Walter was able to push his leg against the pillar behind him, redirecting the force and twisting to throw his attacker instead. The other vampire twisted in midair and landed smoothly on his feet, clearly very experienced in this type of combat.

Walter wasted no time and rushed at him again, smashing into him and pushing him to the ground. He got off two strong punches to his attacker's face before the intruder pushed him up and over him with both legs to free himself, and quickly stood back up. Walter recovered shortly after, and soon the two vampires were circling each other, growling and snarling.

"Wait a minute," Cabe started, slightly lowering his firearm.

The intruder decided to end the standoff by rushing at Cabe, moving behind him and gripping his arm around his neck, preventing him from speaking. Walter froze, assessing the situation.

The intruder then took one finger and made a one inch scratch in the side of Cabe's neck, allowing a small stream of blood to flow.

Walter's gaze diverted to the blood immediately. It lingered there for a few seconds before returning to the attacker.

"Huh," the intruder proclaimed, sounding slightly surprised. "Well, let's try this, then." At that he shoved Cabe towards Walter. Walter caught him by the shoulders. Once again Walter's focus diverted to the blood slowly dripping down Cabe's neck, starting to stain his collar.

Cabe got a little worried, he wasn't going to lie. The kid's control was being tested over and over. Would he reach a limit at some point?

But once again Walter ultimately ignored the blood. He steadied Cabe then sped so he was standing between the attacker and all the members of Scorpion, ready for the next attack and to protect his friends.

But the attack didn't come. Instead the attacker held up his hands, stepped back, and his features returned to human. Apparently he no longer wanted to fight. Walter was not even close to relaxing yet, and remained in his protective position.

Cabe found his voice again and was able to say what he was going to before he had been choked.

"Salv!?"

"Hey there, Cabe," Salv responded with a slight shrug of his shoulders, looking sheepish, yet somehow smug at the same time. "It's been a while."

"What the hell are you doing!?" Cabe exclaimed, letting out a couple more coughs, trying to clear his still irritated windpipe.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to see your boy here in action. He carries one hell of a punch. And frankly I couldn't quite believe the control you described him having. I just had to test it out for myself."

"By dangling me as a potential appetizer?" Cabe accused incredulously, giving another cough to finish clearing his throat.

"I wouldn't have let anything happen. Promise." Again another sheepish, yet smug shrug.

Walter, now sensing there was no longer an immediate threat, relaxed and returned to a human complexion.

Paige was able to get a better look at their uninvited guest. He appeared to be in his early twenties. He had an air of danger around him that screamed "bad boy". His dark hair was just long enough to threaten to start covering his dark blue, extremely intense eyes.

"This is your fellow corpsman from twenty years ago?" Paige asked, looking very annoyed.

"Yeah," Cabe answered, "he was a smartass then, too."

Salv lowered his arms and held out a hand in offering with a slight bow and an overly charming smile.

"Damon Salvatore. The pleasure's all mine, my dear."

Paige walked up to him, and instead of taking his hand, slapped him hard across the face.

"That's for hurting my friends, and scaring my son," she seethed, looking pissed.

Damon was rubbing his cheek, looking impressed. "Damn, Cabe. She also has a good arm." His expression softened. "For what it's worth, I do truly apologize if you were frightened."

Paige motioned to Walter and Cabe, "Apologize to them," she ordered before walking away, presumably to Sylvester and Ralph. She asked Cabe a quick question as she passed. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he responded. "It's just a scratch. Go to your son. I'll make sure they don't kill each other."

Paige nodded and kept walking further into the garage.

"Is there anything we can do?" Toby asked, speaking for him and Happy.

"No, I don't think so. I think the three of us need some time to talk."

Toby nodded and gently touched Happy's shoulder. She didn't look pleased but followed him, nonetheless.

That left Cabe, Walter, and Damon in the middle of the garage. They were kept company only with an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Great place!" Damon suddenly said, breaking the silence. He looked around the cluttered garage, his hands in his pockets while rocking back slightly on his heals. "Now I prefer the old family mansion look myself with a little less…rust, but this ain't bad. Also, is it supposed to smell like that?"

Walter met his comment with an unamused glare. "Despite your crass introduction, I assume you're here because Cabe contacted you about my condition."

"Your vampirism," Damon promptly corrected. "It's ok to say the V word, buddy. We're vampires. Creatures of the night. Bloodsuckers. The undead. Nosferatu. Thought only to be legend by most sane members of society. Need to drink human blood to survive. That's us." Damon pointed a thumb at his chest to exaggerate his point. "I advise as a first step to admit what you are."

Walter let out an impatient sigh, not liking being corrected. "All right, my…vampirism." Walter still seemed to struggle over the word. "I would like to learn more about it, and discuss everything it entails in more detail. I started attempting my own research, but the numerous historical legends have multiple contradictions, not to mention the pollution of countless popular culture references. I need as much accurate data as possible so I can continue my analyses."

Damon turned to Cabe, pointing at Walter. "You weren't kidding about him."

Cabe nodded with a small sigh.

Damon motioned to the set of couches. "After you."

As they made their way over, Walter had to detour slightly to not enter the beam of sunlight that now streamed from the open hole in their roof. He didn't fail to noticed Damon was able to walk right through it.

Damon noticed Walter's inquiring stare. "Don't worry, I'll explain that in a minute," he promised.

It seemed Walter would afford a small amount of patience, and sat down on the couch. Damon sat on the one across from him. Cabe decided to stand, his hands crossed in front of him, as if prepared to mediate if needed.

Damon addressed Cabe first. "Great to see you partner, truly. We're definitely going to catch up after this. If you don't mind me saying, you've aged extremely well."

"And you haven't aged at all."

"Right you are, and that brings me to the first point of vampirism 101." Damon turned back to Walter. "It's true. Starting the moment you tasted your first drop of blood, you'll never age another day."

Walter had expected this one. Cabe said as much. The implications were something he would have to fully consider at a later time.

"Also," Damon continued, "by your fighting skills it looks like you've already discovered the enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes. You're more durable and will heal quickly, although more so with blood, and all your senses are much stronger than a normal human. Now for questions, I'm ready to answer."

"Ok. Religious imagery?"

"Nope. False."

"Garlic?"

"Love the stuff."

"Physical transmutation?"

"Huh?" Damon looked confused.

"Turning into a bat," Cabe clarified.

"Oh. No, thankfully. Gross."

"Flight?"

"I wish."

"Cardiac impalement with a sharp, wooden object?"

"Stake to the heart? Oh yeah, will kill you dead."

"As will fire?"

"Yup. So will beheading."

"Do I need an invitation to enter a residence?"

"You do."

Walter paused at Damon's answer. He had not expected that myth to be true. "Please explain."

"You need a verbal invitation by a mortal resident. The rules of what a 'home' is can be a little vague, though. It can also be a place considered a home for an individual or even a group, like this place."

Walter looked confused for a second. "How would you know that about this location?"

"I actually tried to enter a few hours ago, when you all were still sleeping, and I couldn't. I called Cabe after he woke up and he gave me an invitation."

Cabe interrupted. "I said you would be welcome at the garage when you got here, thinking you were at least a day away. You failed to mention you were already here, or that I was providing some kind of formal vampire invitation. I also assumed you would use the front door, and knock."

Damon just quickly raised and lowered his eyebrows with a large grin on his face, apparently still proud of himself.

Something didn't make sense to Walter, though. "But I entered the garage, last night, right after I…changed."

"Did you get an invitation?"

*Let's go home, brother*. Sly had provided him an invitation back into Scorpion's home without even realizing it. Walter nodded, but he still had more questions.

"Ok," Walter continued, "Sunlight…"

Damon nodded. "Ah, yes. By your very clear avoidance of the new sunroof I made- again, sorry about that, I'll pay for it, I assume you've already gotten extra crispy at least once."

Walter nodded in confirmation.

"Ouch. I feel your pain, man."

Walter continued his line of questioning. "Cabe said you have a ring that enables you to walk safely in the sunlight. Is this true?"

"Yup," Damon held up his hand, showing the large sigiled ring on his finger. "Without this, the sunlight is equally as dangerous to me as it was to you."

"How does it work?" Walter asked.

"Magic," Damon replied.

Walter started to look extremely annoyed at his answer, assuming Damon was being flippant again at his expense.

Damon held his hands up and clarified quickly. "No really! Spelled by a witch. Literally."

"Magic…" Walter repeated. Trying to comprehend the concept.

"Dude, you're a vampire! And you're questioning witches and magic? Fun fact, a witch created vampires over a thousand years ago. Magic is something you're going to have to accept."

This indeed was something Walter was going to have to work on accepting, but he filed it aside for evaluation later to ask the question he really wanted to.

"How can I also walk in the sunlight?"

Damon smiled. "Way ahead of you, buddy." At that he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small, shiny metallic object. Another ring. He tossed it to Walter. "Found it in the family collection. Had it spelled by a friend of mine. I think you'll appreciate the design."

Walter caught it in one hand and started turning it in his fingers to examine it. It was far less gaudy compared to Damon's but still most definitely a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. The base metal appeared to be at least 18K gold, and in its center was set an impressively sized deep red ruby. The detail that most caught his attention, however, was the metal engraving set in the center of the ruby.

It was in the shape of a scorpion.

Damon smiled at Walter's surprised expression. "Yeah, thought you might like that."

"Did Cabe tell you?"

"Nope. Google."

Walter gave a small laugh at that response. He put the ring on the middle finger of his left hand. Perfect fit. He stood up and walked over to the pillar of sunlight, and reached out towards it.

Once again the light shone across his skin, but instead of pain and flames, he felt only warmth. He fully stepped into the bright pillar. It had been only been a day, but the potential of an eternity hiding from the sun made it feel so much longer.

Walter smiled and let out a quick laugh of relief and joy. No longer did he fear he would have to hide in the darkness. Perhaps last night wouldn't be the last time he could watch a sunset with Paige.

Walter started to believe in magic.

Walter turned around and looked at Damon.

"Thank you." He didn't think those two words would ever convey his gratitude.

Damon didn't say anything for a moment. Walter expected him to accept, but quickly brush off his thanks. It seemed something about Walter's genuine gratitude seemed to touch a little deeper.

"Yeah, um, don't mention it. I mean, you're welcome." He looked almost Walter-like in that moment. Uncomfortable with displays of genuine emotion towards him.

Walter sat back down across from him. "There's one topic above all I need to know more about."

"Your new dietary needs?"

Walter nodded.

"It's our defining trait in all the legends, so you'd be right in assuming it's going to be a highlight of your existence from now on."

"Does it ever fully subside? The hunger?"

Damon shook his head. "Never completely, but you'll need to drink less frequently over time, and as long as you drink regularly, you'll be able to keep it at a minimum."

"Would I die without blood?"

"No, oddly enough. But you will become weaker and it will be much harder to control your instincts. Without it, eventually your body will shut down into a desiccated state, almost a suspended animation. It's not pleasant, and it's painful."

"How do I ensure I maintain control?" The comfort of Walter's team around him was a high priority, it seemed.

Damon eyebrows raised in surprise and he leaned forward. "Honestly, Walter, you already are. You have the most control I've ever seen in a new vamp. Also, Cabe told me about your first meal last night. Seriously, don't beat yourself up about that. I've met humans with less self control over their impulses, let alone a new vampire with the stressors you endured."

Walter seemed to think about Damon's explanation, then nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer so far.

"Personally," Damon continued, "I most likely would have snapped long before you did, even now. It was hard to believe. That was the point of my test with Cabe. Sorry about that again," he said, turning to his old friend.

Cabe gave a small grunt in response.

Damon turned back to Walter. "I guarantee any other vampire your age would have smelled that blood and pounced, especially when under the stress of an attack. And the older you get, you'll gain even more control. Now that doesn't guarantee that your nastier side might not overwhelm you in more extreme circumstances. Cabe mentioned he told you about our excursion in the desert?"

Walter nodded. "He had to bind you."

Damon nodded. "Not my proudest moment, but to be fair I had been shot multiple times and had not eaten in days. I was very weak, in pain, and both I and the vampire inside me were pissed off."

"What would be the precautions to take to ensure my friends' safety?"

"Fair question. That leads me to the second item I brought." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a glass vial with what appeared to be seeds within it.

"These, are vervain seeds. Vervain is a plant that is poisonous to us. It isn't deadly, but it will incapacitate us for a period of time. It can be used as a weapon, or if humans have it in their system they will be immune to your mental influence. Grow those and do with it what you will to give you some peace of mind." Damon tossed the vial not to Walter, but to Cabe, who caught it. "Probably better you hang on to those." Cabe nodded and pocketed them.

"Mental influence?" Walter echoed.

Damon nodded. "Last thing. We have some limited mental abilities. You can mentally influence people, kind of like indefinitely hypnotizing them. Simply stare into their eyes, focus, and tell them what you want them to do or believe. The only thing that will block it is if they've ingested or are touching vervain."

The thought of having control over someone's will didn't appeal to Walter, but he didn't dismiss that the ability might be useful on certain assignments.

"I think that concludes vampire 101." Damon stood up from his seat on the couch. "I'm going to be in town for another day or so, so if you do think of more questions, just ask. For now though, I'm going to go get a drink with Cabe."

Walter gave him a slightly alarmed look.

Damon rolled his eyes. "The bar! Alcohol! Cabe's hemoglobin is safe, I assure you! Come on, Cabe."

Cabe nodded and started to follow Damon out the door.

"Wait, one last question for now," Walter called out.

Damon turned around.

"Is that why you're helping me, because of Cabe?"

Damon glanced at Cabe, then looked back at Walter. Some kind of barrier seemed to lower as he started answering Walter's question.

"Walter, when Cabe met me all those year ago, I wasn't a good guy. And I don't mean slightly unpleasant. Cabe doesn't even know the full story, and I'm sure we'll talk more about it shortly, now that I'm telling you, but I was a killer, far more than those soldiers in the desert."

Damon put his hands in his pockets and planted his feet, as if he was forcing himself to commit to the words he was about to say. "I served in the Civil War, and those years are when I died my first death, so I've been around a while. During much of that time I lived a bitter existence, and I reflected that bitterness by spreading death around me. I've killed many people, some of them deserving, but many of them innocent. I'm the worst serial killer you'll likely ever meet."

Neither Walter nor Cabe knew what to say to that.

"I was in that desert for my own agenda, at first. I was chasing a very thin lead about an obscure magic to solve I problem I had been working on for over a century. I thought traveling as a soldier would be…not boring. Long story short, my own search didn't pan out. But in that situation, I stumbled across something I hadn't been searching for. Among Cabe and our fellow corpsman, I found brotherhood again."

Damon took a second for a deep breath, finding further strength to continue his very personal explanation. "For the first time in a long time, I thought of someone besides myself. Now I'm not saying I suddenly was born again and changed. In full transparency, I still killed, both innocent and not alike for many years after, but Cabe planted a seed of doubt in my miserable existence. That seed eventually grew to help me rekindle a relationship with my true brother, and lead me to wish to better myself for the love of another. I'm still a vampire, and habits die hard, but I like to think I stumbled upon some kind of path to redemption. That path may be a hopeless endeavor for me, but nonetheless, I owe Cabe for getting the ball rolling."

Damon removed his hands from his pockets, and stood up a little straighter, speaking the last words of his answer with conviction. "So you see, I owe Cabe my life in several ways, so when he said he used my vial of blood on someone he cared for like a son, and he needed help, damn right I got here as soon as possible."

Damon's nonchalant facade went back up.

"Well, that was way more sharing than I was comfortable with. Now I definitely need that drink."

Both deeply touched, and deeply rattled by what he just heard, Cabe paused for a second, but in the end he followed Damon out the door, ready for a long conversation.

Chapter Text

Damon and Cabe sat at the bar, both halfway through their first drinks at a local establishment. Cabe ordered a bottle of beer, Damon top shelf scotch. Damon offered to get him something better, but Cabe declined, saying he was fine with what he had.

They both finished their first rounds in silence. The bar was empty besides them. It was still early in the afternoon and the establishment had just opened.

"So…" Damon started.

"So…"Cabe echoed.

"Hang on one sec," Damon said. He motioned the bartender over.

Damon looked the bartender in the eye. "Anything you hear the two of us discuss will sound completely normal, and you will forget about it by tonight."

The bartender's pupils dilated slightly and he answered in a monotone voice, "Completely normal. No problem."

"Great," Damon said with one of his overly charming smiles.

Cabe observed the exchange, taking note of what Damon was doing.

"Does that have any side effects?" he asked as the bartender walked away.

"Not if you know what you're doing and you choose your words carefully," Damon answered. "If your boy is hell bent on being as straight and narrow as possible, he should use it sparingly. If anything, it can be addicting being able to influence the wills of those around you."

"I see," said Cabe. He tried to choose his own next words carefully. "So about what you told Walter in the garage. If I'm going to be completely honest, part of it made me feel honored, and the other part, well, it made me feel sick."

Damon didn't answer immediately as he took another sip of his drink, staring expressionless, straight ahead across the bar. "Fair enough," was his response.

"I guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything," Cabe clarified. "It's not like I didn't suspect your existence was, or might be still, very violent. Just hearing it out loud, and wondering if Walter could fall into that same pattern, well, I can't say I'm not having some serious concerns about the both of you."

Damon put his drink down and started slowly turning the glass back and forth. "I'm not going to pretend I wasn't a monster, or that I might not still be one, but I will say this. I live in a different world, Cabe. My world has so many shades of gray it would make a colorblind man seize. I've seen monsters redeemed, and I've seen humans be more than monstrous. I've killed innocents, and I've recently put my life on the line to save people I've barely known, because it was the 'right thing to do'."

Damon paused to take another heavy swallow from his glass.

"Being what I am, a predator to the human race, with the potential to live for centuries, or longer, it can really do a number on your sense of right and wrong when it comes to the relatively fleeting life of a mortal. I think we vampires tend to cheapen the value of the world, and those in it, because we feel so apart from it."

Cabe tried to absorb and understand his explanation so far. "Is it true what you said, that it was only recently you started trying to change, and what me and our brothers in arms meant to you?"

"Every word," Damon answered without hesitation, "but 'trying to change' I would say is a too direct way of putting it. Let's just say recently I've started finding value in true connection to the world again. Even potentially with eternity in front of me, taking value in what truly makes life worth living- love, family, friends, and all that other sappy stuff, well, I'm finding that I'm not exactly the same as I once was. Because of that, still being so dismissive of human life doesn't fit as easily into my world view as it once did."

Damon dropped his empty glass on the bar, and motioned to the bartender for a refill. Damon continued speaking as his glass was filled. "You were the first human I put my life on the line for, well, ever, up to that point."

He took a sip of his now full glass. "What you did to save me, even knowing to some extent what I was, I have to say I experienced nothing like that before; not as a vampire. It was a part of this strange, cruel world I had forgotten was there." Damon pointed at him, glass still in hand. "Because of you that day, I think I always remembered that facet existed. It would just be another decade or so until I thought I could maybe be a part of it again. So, well, whatever happens next, thanks for that. Truly."

Damon then put his glass back on the bar and stared at it. Cabe sensed that he was awaiting whatever moral judgement Cabe was about to give him. Cabe suddenly realized that Damon, a being over twice his age and who admitted to caring about very little during his long life, cared about what Cabe thought of him.

Well, I'll be damned, Cabe thought.

It was a lot to consider, and Cabe really didn't know if he could ever process how, or if he could either accept or judge the motivations and actions of this man sitting beside him. He had to agree that it was complex. He spoke his words slowly.

"You may be judged someday, for the things you've done, but us being, like you said, part of different worlds, that judge is not going to be me. I've seen that haunted look in men's eyes before, and I do believe you are searching for some kind of redemption. In my opinion, that's the only way to try and balance a bloody ledger, so as long as your world doesn't end up bloody in mine, we won't have problem."

Damon gave a sidelong look at Cabe. Honestly, Cabe had no idea what Damon was thinking, or if his answer had been anything he had expected. He suspected he was okay with it though, because Cabe got then a smile in return. This wasn't one of Damon's smartass smiles he had received countless times when they served together, but a genuine, emotional smile. Something told Cabe it was a rare sight, indeed. It was a good look on him.

Damon took the last swig of his drink, "Thanks, brother."

Cabe took another sip of his beer. "So, about Walter."

"Ah, yes, your extraordinary baby vamp. I've never seen anything quite like him. I'm going to address what is likely your main concern. His humanity, and the possibility of him losing it, like many of us vampires do."

Cabe gave a curt nod.

Damon shrugged. "It's always a possibility. Like I said, being what we are makes it very hard to feel connected to humanity, and if we do, time tends to take those connections away, which only severs our ties even further."

Cabe nodded, adding his own clarification, "Walter already has difficulty connecting to humans with his advanced intellect. He's felt alienated his whole life, and he has a hard time registering his emotions. He doesn't feel or empathize the way most people do. He does care about people deeply, in his own way. And, although very rare, I have seen him get emotional."

Cabe looked up for a moment, suddenly realizing something. "In fact, I'd bet anything that's how he ended up on that cliff in the first place. He was overwhelmed by his falling out with me and apparent loss of Paige and Ralph, so he responded to what he felt by driving way too fast."

Cabe finished processing his new realization before continuing. "So clearly, when he does connect with his emotions, he has trouble handling it. Often he just doesn't recognize it, so he can come across as cold and uncaring, almost robotic. That's actually Paige's job at Scorpion; to translate the human world to the team and vice versa. She tries to help Walter grow as a human."

"Huh, a literal 'human' translator. Not likely to find that on many people's resumés," Damon commented, swirling his drink in his hand.

"Hmm," Cabe said in agreement. "So because of all that, couldn't this now just alienate him even more and make it that much harder to retain his humanity?"

Damon seemed to think about that for a minute. He put his glass down and folded his hands in front of him.

"Yes and no," he eventually answered. He turned and faced Cabe, leaning against the bar. "Here's my take on it, although I can't guarantee I'm going to be completely right. Walter has more going for him than any new vampire I've seen before. I think what you worry about as hindering his humanity might actually help him hang on to it."

Cabe's confusion must have shown on his face, because Damon started arguing his point.

Damon held up a hand, counting off his arguments. "First, I think his unique mental abilities are giving him unprecedented control over his new urges and instincts. At least, that's the only explanation for it I have."

"Second, the alienation he's already experienced might not be a detriment, but an advantage. He's already had practice maneuvering in a human world not designed for him; a trial run, so to speak."

"Finally, he seems to have one hell of a family to give him a good reason to stay grounded. I heard the kid's speech to him when I was lurking on the roof. Even my cold heart started tingling a bit. Assuming every one of those humans, genius or not, feels the same way, he has more roots to keep his humanity intact than any vampire I've ever met."

"And after those connections are gone?" Cabe pried.

"Eh," Damon gave a casual shrug, "I'd take it one decade at a time."

Cabe let out a big sigh, admittedly encouraged by the points Damon just made. "There's a 'but' thought," he probed.

Damon nodded, turning back to face the bar. "We vampires, our emotions are helluva complicated. We feel things more intensely. Love, anger- everything is enhanced. It can be incredible, but when you're a predator wired to kill, it's the guilt and loss that overwhelms you."

Damon lowered his head a bit. Cabe got the feeling Damon was drawing on experience for this next piece of insight.

"Most of us can't live with it. So we, especially when we're younger, have the ability to turn off our emotions. Completely. Like a switch. It's to prevent our guilt from hindering our survival. It can be a tempting switch to pull, and a hard one to turn back on."

Damon looked up and gave a short laugh. "Walter almost sounds like he already was a vampire, emotionally speaking. Potentially intense emotions but with the tendency to not connect with them."

Damon's expression became more serious again. "In all seriousness though, if he ever flips that switch, it could be difficult to get him to embrace his humanity again. I honestly have no idea how this will interact with the existing struggles with emotion you described. They could keep the vampire volatility under amazing control, or under the right, or wrong circumstances, enhance it."

Cabe gave a small grunt of agreement and pushed his empty beer bottle away from him. "So basically this is uncharted territory."

Damon nodded. "Paige might have her job cut out for her."

Damon raised his glass at Cabe, in a positive gesture. "But again, may I remind you, as strange as it may sound, I still think he's got the deck stacked in his favor in the 'keep his humanity' department. I'll make you a bet that even if there may be a few hiccups, but overall, he's going to adapt."

Cabe only gave a short nod as he drank from a new bottle. Strange indeed.

A few minutes of silence passed between them. Cabe was halfway through his second beer and Damon ordered another glass of scotch.

"I was sorry to hear about your daughter. I'm sorry my blood wouldn't have helped her," Damon said suddenly.

Cabe was taken off guard for a second. The only other time he had contacted Damon was when his young daughter was diagnosed fifteen years ago. Damon had told him that although the healing abilities of vampire blood were extraordinary, it would only have enhanced the cancer cells, speeding up her condition. To say he had been disappointed at the time, would have been the understatement of the millennium.

"Not your fault," Cabe replied, "but thank you."

Another few minutes of silence.

"Would it work on MS?" Cabe asked.

Damon furrowed his brow at Cabe. "That's when the body starts attacking its own nervous system essentially, right?"

Cabe nodded.

Damon turned to him. "Someone you know?"

"Walter's sister. She has an advanced case."

Damon's eyes widened in understanding. If Walter hadn't already considered it, he would very soon.

Damon looked down at his drink. "Well, I'm sorry to say I don't think the blood would cure her condition. Since it's her own body doing the damage, it likely wouldn't recognize the disease as an problem. A similar issue happens with the blood and cancer. It might heal her damaged tissue for a day or so, but her glitching immune system would also be strengthened, and return with a vengeance, attacking her even more aggressively. I think she would die faster once the blood wore off."

"Couldn't she just be given more?"

"Yes, but I don't think it would work for long. Every time her faulty immune system would be enhanced, and eventually it would win."

Cabe nodded in understanding.

Damon wasn't quite finished, though. "If she died, however, and came back, her cells would regenerate as fast as her body could destroy them, or her body could stop destroying them altogether for good, like a reset. Since it's not a common issue, I can't be quite sure which. Either way, she would be essentially cured, but she would have to be a vampire."

"Oh, boy," Cabe sighed. This was going to be a dilemma at some point.

Damon seemed to sense what Cabe was thinking.

"My best advice is cross that bridge when you get to it, and focus on Walter for now. For what it's worth, he has one hell of a father figure to be his guide."

Cabe turned to Damon and with complete sincerity, said one word. "Thanks."

Cabe was now almost finished with his beer, and Damon was also finished with his last glass.

"Thanks for not eating me in the desert twenty years ago," Cabe offered before taking his last swig.

Damon blinked at his comment, then smiled, accepting Cabe's subtle olive branch. "And thank you for not letting me flambé with only a stubborn human for company."

"One hell of a human, you mean," Cabe held out his hand.

Damon took it.

"Damn right, brother."

Chapter Text

As the evening progressed, Cabe was still out with Damon, and the rest of the team had gone home. Walter had fallen asleep at his desk, apparently very deeply, as he didn't budge as the rest of the team continued later into the night with no efforts to keep the noise level down. Paige even let Ralph stay up late, as it wasn't a school night.

The whole team had returned home and decided to let the sleeping vampire lie. Everyone had left except for Paige and Ralph. Paige looked at Walter at his desk. His head was resting on his folded arms, his face towards her.

She saw none of the stressors of the past couple of days reflected upon it. Paige was uncertain if sleeping this soundly was a vampire thing or if it was just Walter still being exhausted from recent events.

The last couple of days…Paige was exhausted as well, and she felt more emotionally exhausted than anything. When she had seen his car balancing on the edge of that cliff on the news, she had rushed to the crash site as fast as she had been able. To get there only to see Walter fall to his apparent death, well, it had been devastating. Then to see him die again…

Each time she almost lost him, she had been forced to face feelings she had been denying within herself. She cared about him. She thought she might even love him.

She approached his sleeping form. The only way she could tell he was different than he used to be was how infrequent his breathing was and the slightly lighter pallor of his skin. It didn't matter, though, because all she saw was Walter and who he was, not what he was.

She placed a hand on the side of his face. He still slept soundly.

"Yesterday, I thought for a moment I'd seen you for the last time. It really bothered me that if that had happened, our final memory together would have been a fight. I'm really glad that wasn't the case, because…"

Paige leaned down and placed a soft kiss upon his lips.

"I really care about you, Walter."

She left the garage, meeting her son outside.

Walter didn't hear her, but his subconscious did pick up on her words in a way. He slept soundly and awoke refreshed the following morning with a sense of wellbeing and self-acceptance he hadn't felt in a long time.

Shortly after sunrise the team arrived at the garage one by one, just like a normal day.

Happy entered her workshop and soon the sound of large machinery echoed throughout the building.

Sylvester sat at his desk furiously typing at his computer, engaged in whatever math problem currently challenged him.

Paige engaged in small talk while going through files meant to keep Scorpion overall organized.

Toby seemed his usual laid back self, but his occasional probing questions to members of the team showed he was constantly psychoanalyzing.

Cabe even stopped by later, and was soon helping the team in each of their projects any way he could.

Ralph and Walter had on safety goggles, working on the latest components of their Soviet rocket project. Walter lifted a several hundred pound metal component with ease and held it in place while Ralph started securing it.

Walter looked up and saw Paige looking at him and Ralph, smiling. She didn't stop when she saw he noticed, and kept smiling at him, locking with his eyes when he gave a smile back.

Things would never be the same, but suddenly the future didn't look so frightening.

Chapter Text

Here we are. The second part. This first chapter is shorter and just a little filler. The next couple chapters are more standalone before getting into the longer plot of this section.

Thanks for everyone who has been reviewing! I too was skeptical regarding this plot line, but it seemed to develop very nicely (in my opinion). A brief forshadowing: Part II will be more action, Part III will be more emotional.

Part II: I, Vampire

In a little over twenty-four hours, the team's world had been turned upside-down, sideways, and inside-out. Even so, if any group of people was going to adapt to extremely weird and unexpected phenomena, it would be Scorpion.

Damon departed back to Mystic Falls the next day after a few more in depth conversations with Walter about what he now was, but he told Walter that he could call if he needed anything. The team was left to move forward.

Cabe was still out of a job with Homeland Security, so he spent more time with the team as he looked for his next step. He had a job interview as a tv police consultant coming up, but everyone could tell he missed his old role as liaison for Scorpion.

Paige had been given more responsibility by Walter, and started doing a large amount of research in how to manage the team from a business perspective. She felt honored by the promotion, and above all it was the most normal thing that happened to her recently. She read as much as she could about business and team management.

That by no means meant things were boring around the garage. Despite Damon's information, the geniuses weren't completely satisfied with his abstract explanations for Walter's new abilities and limits.

Their solution? Experimentation, of course.

Walter was as eager as anyone to find out what is body was now capable of, and the team was more than happy to participate. Almost giddy, even. That should have been a red flag to Paige.

Most of the experiments were benign.

Most of them.

Toby started with basic physicals. Most of the legends were false as Walter still had a heartbeat, and he still needed to breath, albeit both much more slowly than a human. His blood pressure and body temperature were also much lower. It seemed overall, his body processed energy differently and more efficiently. He still could eat human food, but it did nothing for his hunger.

They recorded intervals between feedings before Walter became hungry.

Happy built a system to measure Walter's strength before vs. after he ate.

Toby and Walter performed very brief and controlled experiments involving sunlight exposure. Happy even built specialized UV lamps to make things safer.

Walter and Happy tried examining the ring Damon gave him to walk in daylight. This was perhaps the most frustrating investigation, as they couldn't scientifically determine what made it effective. They told Paige they detected something being emitted from the ring. Some kind of faint, harmless radiation, but they had never seen anything like it before.

Paige suggested it was because it was indeed magic that made it work, she received annoyed looks and the "magic is just science that hasn't been understood yet" speech. She didn't necessarily disagree, but one of her closest friends was now a vampire. She felt being open to magic wasn't a crazy notion.

On the other hand, if anyone was going to uncover a scientific explanation for magic, it would be Scorpion.

Some experiments were more bothersome, such as when she was almost flattened by Walter outside the garage door, after Happy, well, happily pushed him off the roof. They said it was a test of his durability, but Paige had her doubts. Later she would learn Walter lost a bet.

Some of the experiments caused her more concern, such as when she returned from a coffee run to find Toby doing the chicken dance around the garage, with a bunch of geniuses laughing at his expense. Toby had wanted to know if Walter could hypnotize someone to perform skills they didn't know, such as a complex dance routine.

Paige was pretty sure Toby already knew the chicken dance, and therefor likely not the routine he had in mind. Walter rectified the situation after a glare from her across the room.

Other experiments tried to quantify his speed, agility, and durability (the later involving the roof again and occasionally a projectile more than once).

They all had a scare when Walter had tried to observe the effects of the vervain plant once the seeds had grown. He drank an extremely diluted mixture, but even that had left him collapsed and practically choking for several minutes. They all agreed not to perform any more tests involving the plant, although Walter insisted they keep it on hand.

The experiments everyone saw coming involved the healing properties of Walter's blood. Walter kept several vials available for testing. With Toby's aid, they started keeping detailed studies.

Paige couldn't claim to understand completely what they were doing. She knew they were predominantly mixing his blood with human blood and tissue while microscopically examining the results. She also knew many of the tests involved the blood and tissue from humans with various diseases.

Cabe had told them all about his daughter and what Damon theorized about the blood and MS. She remembered looking at Walter when Cabe told them the disappointing information. Walter's expression had been blank and emotionless. He only replied to the information with a short "we'll see". Paige suspected Walter would not be satisfied with that answer until he investigated himself.

Her suspicions were proven when she saw several slides of blood and tissue samples on the lab desk labeled "multiple sclerosis". The whole team agreed it would be best to let Walter proceed until he got the conclusions he needed.

The group's vampire experiments kept her on her toes over the next couple of weeks. The final straw though was when she walked in, and an honest-to-God cow was standing in the garage, right next to her desk.

"Walter!" she yelled.

"Yeah?" He appeared abruptly in front of her, startling her, which did not help her annoyed mood.

"Why is there a cow in the garage, next to my desk?" she asked him very slowly, trying to stay calm.

He turned around to look at it, as if he had forgotten it was there.

"Oh, sorry, we were going to move her outside but, well, forgot. We're going to try and supplement my diet with cow blood and see if it has any measurable effect on my abilities. Getting a renewable source seemed the most efficient means."

At that moment the cow did what cows do best, right next to her chair.

The look Paige gave Walter was as deadly as the sun.

Walter, sensing danger to even his immortal self, offered to take the ruminant outside.

"Please. Do." Paige answered, each word said very shortly and separately, "and you are cleaning that up."

"Understood."

At that Walter walked over to the animal, and instead of leading it, picked it up, and walked across the garage and out the back door.

Paige stared wide eyed after them for a few seconds, blinked, and then turned on her heel and left out the front door without another word. She decided she was going to leave and try again for a slightly more normal day tomorrow.

Chapter Text

The experiments became less frequent, then it was several weeks without anything related to Walter or his vampire state. It truly seemed everything had gone completely back to normal, with the only reminders being the "Walter-only" thermos on his desk and the occasional feat of strength or heightened senses. Everyone seemed to get lost once again in their own projects.

Walter had kept his distance from official Scorpion business since the accident. This was partially out of necessity. To the rest of the world Walter had miraculously survived the fall, but in critical condition in an ICU at an undisclosed location. It was amazing how the term "national security" deterred many lines of questioning.

Walter had to hide from the public for a reasonable amount of time to mimic his recovery from severe, life-threatening injuries. Paige knew this deception must have been hard for Walter. He couldn't even see his own sister, and she couldn't "visit" him. Paige suspected he planned to reveal the truth to her at some point, and she even suggested it to him soon after the accident. He avoided the topic, and when pushed only replied with a short "now's not the time" and walked away.

She understood, truly. He must be nervous how Megan would react. However remote the possibility, if for some reason she rejected him, it would break even his emotionally challenged heart. Paige suspected Megan would accept her brother no matter what, as they all did, but she agreed the added emotional stress was best for a later time.

For now he made phone calls to his sister weekly, assuring her he was on the mend. It would do for now. Paige couldn't help but think he also felt slightly uncomfortable stepping back fully into his former position as leader of Scorpion for now.

Even so, she couldn't help but notice Walter spent a lot of time at the garage. In fact, she couldn't recall the last time she had seen Walter go home. She knew he tended to spend a lot of time living in the small apartment upstairs, but he would usually go home at least several times a week.

She once asked him why he didn't stay permanently at the garage. He replied only with a comment about mental and physical compartmentalizing. She took that to mean even he needed some kind of separate place from work.

Not now, though. He was always there when they left, and the first one there in the morning. When asked, he would say he either stayed in his garage apartment or was was simply eager to continue his work.

Paige ran her suspicions by Happy.

"Huh, you're right," Happy reported after starting to pay more attention.

"Why do you think he's not going home? Is he afraid of being seen?" Paige asked.

"Doubt it. His apartment is not exactly in a highly populated area, so I dunno. You know what though, it's late. Leave this one to me."

"You sure?"

"Yup. Go home with Ralph. This mystery's mine."

Paige nodded in agreement. "Alright, but let me know if you, or he, need anything."

"Will do."

Paige left the garage leaving only Happy and Walter inside. Walter was sitting at his desk typing intently at his computer. She knew he must know she was there, looking at him, leaving her to conclude he was trying to avoid conversation. She walked up to his desk.

"Walter, are you going home soon?"

"Hmm?" he answered, glancing up at her. "Oh, uh, no I might stay here tonight. Will probably be up late." Walter was not a good liar.

"Again?" Happy prodded, not believing him for one second.

Walter furrowed his brow in confusion, sitting back in his chair. "I'm frequently nocturnal these days, in case you've forgotten, besides, I do live in the apartment upstairs," he argued, crossing his arms in front of him.

"But not all time," Happy said, not backing down. "You and I both know you need to separate yourself from this place occasionally to remove the temptation from working. You need to give your mind a chance to rest to keep you away from the Rabbit Hole. It was part of your promise to me when I pulled you out of that state last time."

"Ok, so I'll go back to my apartment tomorrow, no big deal."

Happy put her hands on his desk and leaned forward in challenge. "Liar."

Walter's eyebrows raised in surprise at her accusation. "What do you mean?"

"You've been living here for weeks. You haven't gone home during that whole time. What's up?"

Walter looked down at his desk, his shoulders slightly slumping. He whispered two words, and Happy couldn't quite hear them.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I can't…"

"What do you mean, 'can't'?

"I can't enter. It would seem being a vampire, I can't even enter my own residence without an invitation, and I lived alone. No one to invite me inside," Walter answered, looking frustrated, and…sad?

Happy thought about his words for a second, then replied with two short words of her own.

"Show me."

The two arrived at Walter's apartment building. They walked inside and approached his unit.

"Open it," she said.

Walter sighed and took out his keys, unlocking the door. It swung open, and Walter stood there. He approached the threshold, then paused, seemingly sensing an invisible force she couldn't perceive. It was clear he, for some reason, could not progress. He took a step back.

"See? I can't enter. I've tried many times."

Happy approached the threshold and examined it. "I assume you've attempted to identify any physical forces at work?"

Walter nodded. "Yes, for days. I think my neighbors think I went insane. More than once they observed me with multiple instruments attached to this door and myself, trying to understand what was keeping me out. It's obviously not a barrier of any solid matter, or it wouldn't affect just me. It's not a magnetic force by my measurements. The closest I came was identifying some kind of electrical field that manifests only when I approach, but I could never identify its source or find any mathematical consistency. For now the solution eludes me." Walter's shoulders slumped slightly with the last sentence.

Happy came here with two ideas to help him. Which idea would work depended on what exactly kept a vampire from entering a residence. Was it some kind of built-in mental component they couldn't overcome without hearing an invitation, or were there actual physical forces at work?

There was one way to find out. She stealthily put her arm behind his back, then without warning, shoved him forward as hard as she could.

Walter stumbled towards the open door, and as suddenly as she had pushed him, he was thrown back, past her, and into the hallway wall behind him. He hit it and slid down to the floor, looking stunned and without a hint of vampire grace. Happy couldn't help but find the sight slightly amusing. They received a lot of angry knocks from the neighbors for the racket.

"Well, that rules out one theory," she said with a small sigh, looking back at the door.

Walter stood up and brushed off the front and sleeves of his black coat. He wasn't hurt and didn't look remotely annoyed with her, not that she had expected him to be. As a scientist he would have understood the purpose of her experiment. He did offer some constructive criticism to her method, however.

"You could have just asked," he pointed out.

"That would have nullified part of my, now disproven, theory. The question was if your own intent of entry was a factor."

Walter seemed to think about her explanation and nodded in agreement. "I accept your method as sound."

That left some kind of invisible, distance force barrier to vampires. The forces at work to keep him out must be very complex, possibly beyond what they understood about the world scientifically. Even so, she pushed her curiosity aside. It was not the time.

Walter had lived in the same apartment for the last five years, right around the time Happy had done a big favor for him in the name of their friendship.

Walter's visa had been up, and he would have been soon deported back to Ireland. Happy had offered to marry him, purely out of friendship and convenience, not romance, in order to enable him to stay in the country. Walter had found the arrangement logical, if not legal, and agreed. It was a secret the two of them shared. The rest of the team didn't know. Through their marriage, Happy had ensured Walter would not have to leave the place he called home.

She aimed to do a similar favor again. She had an idea.

Happy walked into Walter's apartment and turned around to face him. She had actually never been inside his place. It looked sparse, but more homey and far less busy than the garage. It appeared he indeed tried to keep this place separate from the organized chaos that was his place of work.

She looked at Walter, took a deep breath, and spoke.

"Walter, as your wife, I invite you into our home, that we legally share."

Walter looked at her in confusion, then his eyes widened. He looked up at the threshold again, and took a step forward.

He entered his apartment.

His face broke out into a smile, and he hugged Happy.

"Uhh," she responded, not a fan of physical expressions of emotion.

"Thank you," Walter said, still hugging her.

"Anytime. Not a big deal," she replied, her voice lightly choked by the strong arms squeezing her. She wasn't used to Walter expressing this emotions this way. Despite her discomfort, she had to admit it was a nice side of him. She returned the hug.

After a few moments they stepped back from each other.

"Next time, just tell us if you're having trouble with something. It's no different than before you became a vampire," Happy lectured him.

Walter gave a nod in silent promise.

"Well, um, sweet dreams," Happy said as she moved to leave him to have a good night's sleep in peace.

She paused for a moment and turned around once more before she left. "One more thing. If you tell anyone, especially Toby, the details of why you were able to get back into your apartment, I'll stake you where you stand."

Walter blinked, then bowed his head in agreement.

"Understood."

Chapter Text

Things were starting to look up when Cabe was reinstated to Homeland, and Scorpion was about to receive their first assignment since the accident.

With an upcoming mission and Cabe back in his liaison position, Walter also stepped back into his role as leader of Scorpion.

One thing was still weighing on Paige, however. Ever since she kissed him and admitted she had feelings, she couldn't stop thinking about him. He hadn't heard her, of course, being deep asleep, but that almost made it worse. After months of feeling like she had a burden weighing on her, she decided the only way she could get past it was admitting to Walter what had happened.

When she approached Walter he was upstairs, apparently trying to organize a very large amount of paperwork to some degree of success. He was balancing a large, almost two foot tall stack with one hand while sorting through a different spread of papers with the other. It seemed he was trying to locate some specific files for their upcoming mission. Paige strongly suspected he was using some of his superhuman abilities to keep the large pile so perfectly balanced without falling.

"Hello," she greeted. Walter looked up from the desk to look at her, still keeping the large pile where it was. His eyes did seem to brighten at her approach. She thought he looked so adorable when they did that.

Oh, boy, she thought to herself. This was already more difficult than she thought it was going to be.

"I just need a second, if that's ok?"

"Sure," he answered.

She finished walking up to him. She noticed in his hurry he hadn't even tied his tie around his neck.

"May I?" she asked, pointing at the loose tie.

He looked down. "Oh, yeah, sure."

She started tying the tie as he stood there patiently.

"I saw all the books on your desk," he started. "You've really embraced the added responsibility I've given you."

"Oh, um, yeah. Actually one of the books was saying how without open communication, ventures invariably fail. So the team has to be able to share ideas and feelings without judgement or fear of repercussions."

"Oh, yes," he agreed, still balancing about two feet of papers in his left hand. "Unadulterated information flow is always optimal."

"Good, uh, because I have some information, to well, flow."

"Uh, huh," he said, clearly waiting to see where this was going.

"It seems when you were exhausted and deep asleep at your desk after your stressful and life altering couple of days, I well, sort of kissed you."

Walter didn't seem to move an iota, but the perfectly balanced papers suddenly slid and went crashing to the floor. He continued to stand there, still as a statue, his mouth hanging open and with the dorkiest look of surprise she'd ever seen.

About as far from badass creature of the night as he could get.

Paige continued before she lost her momentum. She started pacing back and forth in front of his still motionless form.

"I've had time to think about why and I've realized you've helped me and Ralph a great deal-"

Walter suddenly came back to life, so to speak. "Ralph!" he exclaimed, interrupting her. "How is he doing? Is he-"

She interrupted him back, talking very quickly, "In Maine, visiting his father but I really need to stay on topic or I'll never get through this."

"Ok, sorry."

"It's okay. Okay, so this job puts us in intense situations where emotions run high and I really respect you and like you so much as a person and I think that those feelings got tangled up and confused so I-I…I kissed you." She said this without taking a breath and ended with a nervous laugh. "I think it's important there be no secrets."

"Open communication," he agreed far too quickly.

"Right! And I think we agree I don't really have those feelings, I may have thought I had but I don't want to risk Scorpion in any way and I know I'm rambling so I'll conclude by saying I think we should move forward as professional colleagues because that's what we are."

"Yeah, I mean, I appreciate your honesty. I agree we experienced a very, well, stressful, and unusual, first year on the job."

Walter had started gathering the large number of papers that had tumbled out of his hand. When they were reassembled they were not nearly as neat as when they started.

Paige was relieved he agreed with what she was saying. "So since we're practicing an open communication doctrine, is there anything you'd like to share?"

"Uh, no," was all he had to say, but his expression said far more. He was clearly trying to still process and understand what she just told him. As much as she wanted to accept his words of acceptance at face value, part of her job was to pick up on the subtle emotions Walter felt and try and explain them to him. She knew when he wasn't being truthful to others or with himself.

Not that she was being especially truthful with her own feelings.

Looking at his big, brown, intelligent, and now confused eyes, she couldn't help feeling she had just jumbled his world even more. She felt like she had just hugged, then kicked a puppy and it didn't understand what had just happened.

An extremely adorable, genius, sweet, caring, occasional blood-drinking, cute puppy.

Yeah…she was in trouble.

The extreme awkwardness was broken by Toby's admission of eavesdropping over their new office intercom. She didn't know whether to be extremely pissed or relieved. She settled on both.

The mission given to them by the new Homeland Director, Adriana Molina, was just like old times. It was a completely new situation, of course, like nothing they had ever handled, but it followed a familiar pattern. Getting an assignment, trying to complete it, things going wrong, realizing they didn't have all the information, then trying to overcome an even more complicated and constantly devolving situation.

No extra-human abilities were called for, and once Molina was able to afford them all the information after a rather terse conversation with the President, Scorpion was able to successfully stop a falling satellite.

Once the mission was over, Walter reflected on his and Paige's conversation right after their success. He admitted he had had feelings for her as well, but he agreed with her that the best course of action was to stay profession. Any relationship that was anything more would endanger Scorpion, and he didn't want that.

It was all completely true, but what he didn't say was he still wanted more than a friendship with her, no matter what the risk.

But she had said she didn't want that, hadn't she?

Then why did she seem disappointed when he agreed with her?

Somehow he felt part of the problem was he wasn't picking up some nuance of human emotion.

He could handle complex equations, computer code, and process data better than almost anyone alive. He was even starting to get a handle on being a vampire.

But human emotions and connections? He felt it would take something more powerful than even magic to get him to navigate the complexity he observed, but couldn't seem to grasp.

Luckily he had someone as smart, witty, caring, beautiful, and strong as Paige to continue to help him navigate the world of humans.

His thoughts paused, recognizing once again the attraction that kept drawing him to her.

How was he supposed to learn to connect with the emotions of the humans around him, when he had so much trouble understanding his own?

There was still one human Walter did have to, and want to, connect with again.

It was time to visit his sister.

Walter had spoken with her weekly on the phone, but it wasn't the same, even for someone like him.

Sylvester had spent a lot of time with her during Walter's "recovery". He was glad his sister had found company in Sylvester when he couldn't be there for her.

Walter had tried experiment after experiment. He was trying to prove Damon wrong regarding the effects his blood would have on someone with multiple sclerosis. All Walter did was confirm the theory.

The blood repaired any damage tissue from the multiple sclerosis temporarily, but when the blood wore off, the strengthened immune system would attack the myelin sheaths of the nerves even faster and more vigorously.

Each time he reapplied his blood to the sample the tissue would start healing, but the immune system would overtake it faster each time. There was no point in repeated administrations.

If he gave his blood to Megan, she would be healed for about a day, then likely die within twenty-four hours after the blood left her system.

The other option…Walter had given it consideration, but he found he didn't want that for her. He accepted what he was, but Megan was a bright beacon of humanity and example of living life to the fullest. He could not see her as a vampire. He didn't think she would want it either.

Walter arrived at the hospital where Megan now resided. She had a permanent room filled with her personal things to make her feel more at home. Sylvester agreed to meet him there. When he arrived he looked through the hospital room window. Sylvester was sitting by Megan's bedside with his back to the door and Walter. He was in a conversation with Megan, and she was laughing at something Sly had said. She reached over and placed her hand over Sly's as they continued their conversation.

Interesting. Walter knew, and accepted, that Sylvester and his sister were dating. He had expressed his concerns to Sylvester the day he was told. He was concerned about Sylvester and the pain he would feel when…

Walter didn't complete his line of thinking. Regardless, he saw in their body language now that it wasn't just dating. The two of them had gotten quite close while he had been staying low.

Megan glanced over Sly's shoulder and saw Walter standing in the window. Her eyes lit up with a light he had missed. It was the light of someone who didn't have long left to live, and was trying to burn brighter during the time it had left. He smiled at her as he felt a familiar warmth in his chest.

Love, he identified. That sensation was love.

He opened the door and before he could enter he felt a familiar resistance across his body, warning him he wouldn't be able to cross the threshold. It seemed even the laws of the supernatural were reminding him how permanent his sister's declining condition was. This was her home now.

"Walter," Megan continued smiling at him, then held her arms out. "Come here, bro. I've missed you so much."

His invitation received, Walter entered and walked around to the other side of her hospital bed and accepted her embrace. He then sat down next to her and took her hand.

She looked good today. She sat cross-legged atop her colorful bedspread and many of her personal belongings sat on the nightstand next to it. Since he last saw her she had applied much of her own personal touches to the room. He felt a tightness in his chest as he realized she had accepted she was never going move out of this place. Her braces were propped at the foot of the bed.

Still, the smile currently on her face hinted at none of the sad details of her life. She looked only happy to see him. "I know you've been telling me you were recovering well, but I admit part of me was afraid you were protecting me. But here you are! You look great! That's some healing power you have there!" she said jokingly.

Walter and Sylvester exchanged a brief glance at the irony of her statement.

She furrowed her brow as she studied him more closely. "I will say though, are you getting outside enough? You look a bit pale, and my god, Walter, your hands are freezing." She briefly let go of his hand to rub her own together before grasping it again.

"It's…really good to see you, Megan. I really missed you." Walter's voice broke slightly as he felt that warm feeling travel up. He felt his vision become slightly blurry.

No, he tried to order himself, frustrated. He needed to talk to her. There was a lot of information to go over. This uninvited emotion was interfering with his plans.

Megan was looking at him with concern, having noticed the tears that had suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Are you ok, Walter? I've never seen you, well, emotional before."

"I'm not emotional," he argued even as he wiped the unwelcome tears from his eyes. "Just recently I've started to be able to connect with and feel the physical effects of my emotions to a greater degree."

Megan stared at him for a second, then started slowly nodding her head up and down. "Soooo…emotional." she repeated, pointing out his reiteration of exactly what she said.

"No, a nuisance. A distraction."

She took his hand in both of hers. Walter was looking down, trying to force away the unwelcome emotion so he could talk to his sister objectively. There was a lot of information to cover.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Sylvester said, standing up and making his way outside. "I'll be right outside if you need anything."

Walter and Megan were now alone. Brother and sister.

"Why did you start crying Walter?" she asked him.

"Because there was a momentary rush of endorphins that stimulated my lacrimal glands."

Megan gave him a small slap on the hand.

"No, dummy. Why, emotionally, did you start crying?"

Walter felt this line of questioning was inefficient and pointless. The feelings were a side effect, nothing more. He decided to humor his sister, nonetheless.

"I suppose, it was because I was pleased to see you. Also it has been some time since we've seen each other in person, so that was likely a factor as well."

Megan smiled at him. "You were happy. You cried because you were happy. How is something like that a nuisance?"

Walter didn't have an answer. He hadn't thought of it like that.

"I suppose I should consider that perspective."

Megan gave a small chuckle, but he felt her still studying him. "But that's not all, is it Walter? You look worried. Something's bothering you. What is it?"

Walter squeezed her hand a little harder. She always had been able to see right through him.

"Something happened to me, Megan, and I'm not talking about just the accident. I have a lot to tell you, and what I say is going to sound impossible. I just ask you let me finish my account before you comment. Just, please remember it's me who's talking to you, and when I'm done, if you must require proof of what I say, I'll be able to provide it."

Megan stared at him for a moment, analyzing his words and appearance. "Walter, you look scared, and that's scaring me."

Walter nodded in understanding. "I sincerely hope you're not scared of me when I'm done."

Walter then started his story before he lost his nerve. "It started after the car accident, when I was trapped on that cliff. I thought death was certain, but Cabe provided another option…"

As Walter began his tale to his sister, he just hoped this wouldn't take her from him. The MS might do that soon enough. He didn't want to lose her twice.

Sylvester watched Megan and Walter through the window. He couldn't read lips fluently, but he felt he was fairly proficient.

He watched as Walter began going over all of the events with Megan. Walter began with the crash and the rescue attempt. Megan looked slightly sick listening to that part. Most likely because up until now she had been spared the details of what Walter went through on that cliff.

She held Walter's hand tight and kept listening, apparently trying to comfort him as he recounted a very traumatic event.

Sylvester could tell when Walter started on the first supernatural details, and told her he had died after the second fall. Megan's expression become more incredulous and worried, and her breathing rate increased ever so slightly. Overall, she looked concerned, likely for Walter's mental well being.

Sylvester couldn't blame her. She had just seen her brother express emotion, and now he was telling her he had died on that cliff, come back to life. Right about now, he would be telling her he was a vampire. Judging from experience, sounding crazy would be an understatement.

To her credit, though, she honored Walter's request and didn't say a word.

Megan released Walters hand and sat back in her hospital bed when he started to recount the events with the gang members outside the garage. She was hearing Walter out, but Sylvester could tell she was struggling, and was deeply worried about her brother's sanity.

Sylvester noticed Walter's eyes were focused down, away from his sister's face as he spoke. He probably was afraid of seeing something he didn't like in her expression.

Walter seemed to finish his account, ending with many of the details of what he is now.

Then they waited.

No one moved for several minutes it seemed. Not Walter. Not Megan. Not Sylvester.

What was going to happen next?

Chapter Text

Walter finished recounting the events to Megan. He couldn't bring himself to look at her face as he did. The struggle wasn't logical to him. He would get so many more answers about her thoughts if he did, but for some reason the thought made him uncomfortable. Afraid.

He had heard her heartbeat and breathing speed up the more his story progressed. He concluded she either was worried about his sanity or afraid of him. He couldn't yet tell which.

She said nothing for a few minutes.

Her first words caused him to jump slightly. She spoke very slowly and deliberately. "You said you would have a way to prove to me everything you just told me. I don't want to think my little brother has gone insane, so please, Walter. Show me."

Walter hoped it wouldn't come to this, but he was willing to comply with her request. If she was horrified by him, or never want to see him again, he would honor her wishes.

He nodded, resigned to what he had to do, and looked up to meet her gaze.

After a moment there was a familiar change in his vision and itch in his mouth.

Megan now saw what had become of him. He had come to terms with it. His team had come to terms with it, but he wouldn't blame his sister if she could not.

Megan's eyes become the size of saucers. Her heartbeat sped up even more, as did her breathing. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. He could smell her fear.

I have my answer then, he thought, closing his eyes and lowering his head. He felt his body almost pull in on itself. She was afraid of him. His sister was afraid of him. He had accounted for this possibility. It was logical. At least now she knew the truth. He would leave now, forever even, if that's what she wished.

Suddenly he felt a hand under his chin, lifting his head.

He opened his eyes, despite their still inhuman appearance. What was she doing?

The tears were still there, slowly falling down her face. "What you said, it's all true," she said softly.

Walter couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement, but he answered anyway. "I only state facts." He still waited for her to ask him to leave.

Suddenly her expression softened to one of sadness. "Oh, Walter. You went through all of that?"

Walter didn't know what to say. He wasn't understanding her reaction. He couldn't comprehend her question. They weren't part of any of the scenarios he had anticipated. So he only nodded.

A tear fell down her cheek. "You really died?"

Again, he nodded.

"And now, are you…okay?"

This scenario was still unexpected. He did his best to adapt. "It's…complex. There are challenges, but I'm adjusting." He allowed his features to return to normal.

To Walter's surprise, Megan then grabbed him and pulled him forward into a hug.

"This, uh, was not what I anticipated," Walter stated, initially too off guard to return her embrace. He still did after a brief second.

Megan let him go and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "And what were you expecting, exactly? Me to scream in terror? Me to say I never wanted to see you again? Did it ever cross your mind that I would still love you and want to still be there for you as your sister?"

"Um, well, I did account for the former scenarios. The later ones, although preferable, I found less likely, especially without a longer period of adjustment. Are you sure you are okay after what I just revealed?" Walter asked, still not quite believing where this conversation was going.

"Oh, I'm freaking out, don't get me wrong!" Megan admitted. "And when you showed me your proof, you most certainly scared the crap out of me. I'm still not sure how I'm going to process everything. I have so many questions. Remember how many supernatural YA novels I read in my teenage years? You're going to have to set the record straight on what's real here."

Megan's apparent dichotomy of feelings confused Walter. "You're still ok with me being here even though you are 'freaking out'?" He looked at her dumbfounded. It didn't make sense to him.

Megan then gave him a good slap upside the head. "Yes, dummy! You're my brother! You could kill someone and I would still love you!"

Walter narrowed his eyes at her analogy. Megan grimaced, realizing what she just said. Walter had explained the details about the night with the Serbians.

"Sorry, I meant that as a figure of speech, but you know what I mean."

Surprisingly, Walter thought he did.

He grabbed her hand again and gave it a squeeze. "You are so…so…" he started.

"What? Amazing, awesome, utterly spectacular?" she jokingly guessed.

"Human," he said, smiling softly. "You are just so perfectly human."

She gave him a sidelong look. "Okay…I'm not quite sure what that means, but I'll take it as a compliment."

"Oh, it is," Walter clarified.

Megan looked at him closely for a minute. "Walter, there's something else, what is it?

Walter sighed. "Yes. There's one more I need to tell you." Walter went on to tell her all the details about his blood and the effects on MS, and the conditions under which it would and wouldn't cure it.

When he was done, he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Oh." It was all she said initially.

She followed with an "I see," about thirty seconds later.

She finally took a deep breath. "I'll be honest Walter. I'm going to have to think about this. A lot."

Walter nodded, he thought as much.

"What do you think?" she suddenly asked him.

"I don't think I should influence your thoughts on it, Megan."

"I still want to know what you think," she persisted.

Walter gave in. "I've worked my whole life trying to find a way to save you, and I'm still working on many of them, just so you know, many of I'm quite confid-."

"Walter," she interrupted the avoidance of his answer.

Walter paused for a moment before fully answering Megan's question. "Megan, I believe I'm adjusting as well as can be expected, so I don't want you to worry about me. But what I am now, I don't think it would suit you."

Megan nodded. "I'm too human?" It seemed she now understood what he meant by that.

"You're too human," Walter agreed.

"Well, I'll definitely take that into advisement. I'm not sure it would suit me, either."

After that they made some small talk, and Megan made Walter promise to start his weekly visits again. She told him she wanted to hear about everything- his experiments, his missions, his experiences and struggles as both a genius and a vampire. She said she wanted to be there for him since she had not been able to be there when everything first happened.

"I promise," he said to her. "I also promise not to keep anything from you again."

"You'd better not," she agreed, and reached out and ruffled his hair.

Sylvester finished watching the exchange between Walter and Megan. He was relieved, to say the least. Walter and Megan spoke a few more minutes before Walter gave her hand one final squeeze and they shared one more hug. Walter stood up and made his way towards the door, towards Sylvester.

Walter stepped out into the hallway, next to Sylvester. He didn't say anything for a moment.

"You ok?" Sylvester asked his friend.

Walter let out a deep, relieved breath and nodded. "I assume you witnessed our conversation?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I wanted to be here in case either of you needed anything." Sylvester started to feel anxiety, like maybe he had done something wrong.

"It's ok, buddy. I'm glad you were here."

Walter turned and looked through the door window again. Megan was sitting with her back to them, looking out the window. She likely was trying organize and contemplate everything she had just learned.

"She truly is amazing," Walter stated.

Sylvester looked at her as well, at the woman he'd grown to love.

"She truly is," he answered, smiling at the thought of her.

Walter then gave him a sidelong glance, studying him.

"Sylvester?"

"Hmm?" Sylvester was still looking at Megan with a whimsical grin on his face.

"Are you in love with my sister?"

Sylvester's smile abruptly disappeared, and he felt himself go colder and paler than Walter. He gulped. He turned to Walter, who had a cold stare aimed at him. The vampire was as still as a statue, awaiting Sylvester's answer.

"I, uh, we, um well…" Sylvester couldn't seem to find any reasonable words. He felt himself sweating, then start hyperventilating. His anxiety at Walter's accusation was getting exponentially higher by the second.

Suddenly he pictured Megan's face in his mind. Within his being he felt her courage, strength, and support. She was still in the next room, but he felt her right there with him. He suddenly stopped sweating, his breathing became even, and he stood up straighter. His head lifted in a gesture of confidence and he looked at Walter straight in the eye.

"Yes, I am. And she's in love with me."

Walter turned to completely face him once he answered, but still Sylvester held his ground. Walter already knew he and Megan were dating, and he had expressed concerns at the time. Sylvester imagined that seeing it progress might be a whole different concept to process. He honestly didn't know if Walter was pleased, or if he was about to break his neck.

Walter finally moved. He turned to look at Megan one more time.

"Again, Sylvester, I advise caution, but when I saw Megan talking with you, well, it's the happiest I've seen her in a long while."

Walter turned back to Sylvester. "It may seem counterintuitive, but my new immortality has made me acutely aware how short life is, so I wish the both of you all the happiness in the world."

Sylvester could only nod in relief and agreement. As Walter walked away, Sylvester was deeply happy for his friend. He had reconnected with his sister. Sylvester had no doubt that Megan's acceptance of him was the weight of many worlds off of Walter's shoulders.

Chapter Text

"Seriously, even now, you've never seen it?" Toby's words of disbelief the latest in his ongoing conversation with Walter. They sat at their respective desks in the garage. Walter was trying to work and Toby, well, wasn't.

Walter shook his head, looking barely interested in Toby's judgement of him as he worked at his computer. "I don't see the point."

"Don't see the-? Walter! It's, like, a cinematic requirement! Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas. It's an all-star cast!"

Walter met his statement with a blank stare.

Toby made a conclusion based on his knowledge of the genius and his continued silence. "You don't know who those actors are, do you?" Toby asked with defeated, hooded eyes.

"Uhhh…"

"I give up. I don't understand you." Toby concluded as he threw his hands up in defeat and slouched in his desk chair.

"Well, it's just that, I made a decision not watch any more vampire themed movies," Walter explained.

Toby perked up and sat up in his seat. "Any more? So you have watched at least one?"

Walter nodded. "I didn't enjoy them, and made an assumption I wouldn't enjoy any others."

"Well? Which ones?"

Walter stopped typing and looked up. He suddenly had a haunted look, like he was reliving a painful memory. He met Toby's eyes and said with a strained voice, "Megan and Paige made me watch the 'Twilight' movies."

Toby stared at him, motionless for a moment, then slowly stood up and walked over to Walter's desk. He placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Forgive me for my judgement, Walter, for I did not know."

Walter gave a small nod, which Toby returned in understanding.

"Please, friend, if you'll allow me someday, let me show you that there are better things out there. What you went through, that's not all there is," Toby assured solemnly.

"Seriously?" Paige interjected, walking up to them, having just returned to the garage from her client meeting and hearing the end of their conversation.

Both men looked up. "Why would you do that to him?" Toby asked of her.

"What? They're sweet," she said, defending her theatrical choices.

"If I started breaking down the main characters of those movies psychoanalytically, I would make you cry," Toby threatened.

Paige rolled her eyes at him and set her bag down before sitting at her own desk.

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard the garage door open, and a young woman walked through. She was petite and blonde, but she had a severe air of strength about her. She approached Cabe and started speaking with him.

Toby immediately guessed long lost daughter, but with a quick sniff Walter could tell that wasn't the case. Their blood smelled too different. She revealed she was a young girl Cabe had saved many years ago from the genocidal killings of a warlord in Croatia. Cabe had found a family in Italy to adopt her after her parents were murdered, and gave her his Silver Star for her bravery. Her name was Sonia Balasevic, and she needed Cabe's help.

She was in pursuit of the war criminal who massacred her village and displaced her twenty years ago. The criminal's name was Stanislav Zoric. Her aim was to positively identify him, capture him, and get the information he carried about the location of the twenty-three other war criminals he protected in his group. She believed Zoric was currently hiding in Cuba, so already getting to him provided a challenge.

Walter could clearly see she was completely driven by her emotion. There was a fire in her eyes when she spoke about Zoric. If they accepted the job, that could be a problem for the mission. Being emotionally compromised could over-ride logic, and create an unstable variable. He wasn't pleased at the possibility.

In the end, he accepted the task on behalf of Scorpion. It was logical, he told himself. The numbers favored the greater good- one war criminal and his twenty-three associates to get justice for thousands.

He had to admit Sonia's passion stirred something within him, enforcing his desire to help. Not to mention it was important to Cabe.

Was this sentiment he was feeling?

Their plan was to get a sample of Zoric's blood to compare to one they already had, to confirm his identity. Walter and Sylvester took only a couple hours to program the DNA analyzing software while Cabe spoke with Homeland Director Molina to secure their passage and obtain contacts once in Cuba.

A former drug runner's plane was the team's means to get in the isolated country. Only when they were almost there was it revealed they were not landing, but dropping out the back of the plane into the ocean. Everyone seemed game, except for Sylvester.

Walter himself gave a short "whoot!" before jumping into the ocean below.

As he made it to shore, he took stock of everyone. They were all accounted for, although very soaked. Sylvester immediately began lamenting about the sand in his pants.

Walter's eyes found Paige as she walked out of the ocean. He couldn't help but notice the lines of her body under her wet clothes.

He turned away before she noticed him looking, and made his way to the bag with their changes of clothes.

An SUV sped up to their position on the beach, and several men emerged from it. One man took the lead from the group and approached them. He wore a suit, identifying him most likely as law enforcement.

"By the authority of the National Revolutionary Police Force, you are hereby all under arrest!"

Everyone on the beach stilled. This wasn't good. Being arrested in Cuba and put in a Cuban prison was about as bad as their situation could get.

Walter felt a familiar itching around his gums and change in his vision. He wasn't about to let that happen.

He felt a gentle hand rest on his arm. He looked over and saw Paige. She looked at him while she gave his arm a comforting squeeze. "Wait," she whispered. "Let Cabe talk to them."

Walter felt his features return to normal. He heard someone's heartbeat suddenly beat even faster. He looked over and saw Sonia. Her eyes were wide and were looking right at him. She had seen him.

"We're just lost, friend," Cabe explained to the Cuban lawman, keeping his voice even and calm.

"Lost, or infiltrating my motherland without permission?"

There was a moment where everyone held their breath. Suddenly the lawman and his companions started laughing.

"Relax! We're the contact Agent Molina set up. I'm Alfonso. I'm just messing with you. Welcome to Cuba, amigos."

"Great," Sylvester said. "Now I have more than sand in my pants."

Cabe didn't find amusement in the situation like the Cubans did. "I hope you plan on taking the rest of this mission more seriously."

Alfonso dismissed his concerns. "Relax, relax. We have been trailing Zoric ever since Molina called."

"And do you have a plan for extracting his blood?"

Alfonso nodded. "We follow him, bump him with a cane that has a small needle in it. Zoric just thinks the cane hit his foot. You take the DNA, you test it while we keep him in sight. Call the Hague and we'll get an immediate warrant, we'll grab him, take him to a plane, you're on your way home. And with the time difference, you'll be back for supper."

It seemed like a sound plan. Simple, straightforward.

Walter really hoped it was that easy.

He glanced at Sonia, who was still looking at him.

But when were any of their missions that easy?

On the way to their room, Sonia would give Walter the occasional sidelong glance. She didn't say anything about what she saw, however. It seemed for the time being, her drive to catch Zoric and get the information he protected remained her main focus.

It could still prove to be a problem, Walter feared. He could compel her to forget what she saw, but he had only used that ability a few times. Damon had warned that things could go wrong if he wasn't careful, and he was hesitant to practice upon her, especially when they were in the middle of an assignment. He concluded if it was necessary to make her forget about what she saw, it would have to wait until they were safely back home.

Once they were in their room Cabe and Walter set out to where they suspected Zoric frequented, along with their Cuban contacts. The rest of the team stood by in the room.

Sylvester would be working to get their comms online any minute, so Walter took the opportunity to talk to Cabe about Sonia.

"I think Sonia saw me, Cabe, at the beach, when I became agitated over the Cuban's arrival."

Cabe looked at him, understanding what he meant. "Well…shit."

"I'm also worried her emotions will jeopardize our mission. I understand why, but she's volatile, Cabe. I'm worried she might act rashly when the time comes."

Cabe didn't have a chance to answer, as they heard Sylvester's voice in their ears.

"Ok, we've got the comms set up, do you copy?"

Alfonso and his men were in a car across the street while Cabe and Walter were in their own vehicle next to a small chain of shops. It was scorchingly hot outside with the sun blazing overhead. Walter briefly was glad there was no limit to the sunlight his daylight ring could protect him from, because if there was anywhere that would have broken through it, it would have been here.

"Any sign of Zoric?" Sonia's voice came over their coms.

"Not yet, but the Cuban's intel puts him in the area."

Cabe tried to reassure Sonia. "Sonia, I know you're anxious, but I want you to know I want this guy almost as much as you do."

Walter couldn't directly understand emotion driving someone to the extent it seemed to drive Sonia, but he had to admit, what he saw in those pictures and videos were beyond horrific. With what he'd learned about humanity, he concluded she was actually keeping herself amazingly calm and focused.

Even so, they had a mission to complete. He hoped emotion wouldn't be its downfall.

"Is that him?" Cabe said.

Walter looked, his enhanced eyesight giving him a slight advantage. The wind also turned in their direction at that point. The man-in-question's scent matched the blood spots on the shirt Sonia provided them. It was him. Now they had to get a DNA match for evidence that would hold up in an international court of law, which was not the enhanced sense of smell of a vampire.

"Yes," Walter answered. "It's definitely him."

"No security or guards?"

"War criminals on the run, they travel light. They don't want to draw attention."

"It doesn't mean he's completely alone, though."

Walter then picked up on a strange scent brought by the breeze. When he tried to locate it, he concluded it was coming from their contacts' van. When he focused on the vehicle he also heard a very faint clicking noise.

There was a bomb in the Cubans' car.

"Cabe, there's a bomb in their car!" Walter exclaimed as he quickly exited their own vehicle. Cabe quickly exited as well.

Walter couldn't vamp-speed across the road out in the open like this, especially not in the possible eye-line of an international war criminal. It was still very risky running towards the doomed vehicle, as it would likely blow their cover.

Walter and Cabe didn't hesitate. They were on the same page. They couldn't just let the men die.

Walter still was very fast even running normally, and Cabe was close behind. It was only seconds before they were within earshot of the men inside. They started yelling at the Cubans to get out and run.

It was too late. The car exploded, and Walter and Cabe were well within the blast radius.

"Cabe, there's a bomb in their car!"

Cabe didn't hesitate at Walter's words. He wouldn't have said them if he wasn't sure. Both of them got out of their vehicle and ran, yelling at the Cubans to get out and run.

It only took seconds to reach them. Walter was a few feet ahead of him, and he could see the men in the car look at them in confusion when their time ran out. The car exploded, killing the occupants instantly, and a wall of fire was about to engulf Walter and him. There was no escape.

Cabe felt himself thrown violently on the asphalt below him, and he waited for the pain of his skin being seared from the bone, then hopefully a quick, minimally painful death.

But it didn't come. He didn't know how long he laid there, stunned by the explosion and the force of the impact with the ground. It could have been seconds or minutes, but after a short while he realized he was alive. Besides probably a broken rib and several cuts and bruises from the fall, he seemed to be relatively unharmed. He put this miracle aside when he remembered who had been with him running towards the car.

Walter!

His next priority became clear in his mind, and he tried to get up, and found he couldn't. As he became more aware of himself and tried to move again he realized there was something heavy, and motionless on top of him.

Cabe opened his eyes and reached out to identify what was keeping him on the ground, and with a heart sinking realization, figured out what kept him alive from the impact and fire of the explosion.

It was Walter.

He was lying on top of Cabe. He must have sped over and shielded him from the blast as the car exploded. Walter was unmoving, which meant he was unconscious.

Or dead.

People were screaming and running around him as Cabe used all of his remaining strength to push Walter off of him. Walter fell limply onto his back and Cabe knelt beside him, putting two fingers on his neck to try and find a pulse.

There! Very slow, even for a vampire, and faint, but it was there. Cabe saw a shallow breath.

Walter was alive. For now.

His injuries were extensive from both the shrapnel and fire from the explosion. Cabe looked quickly at Walter's left hand. Walter's ring appeared undamaged and firmly still in place. Cabe gave silent thanks at least for that, but he had to get the kid out of here and get help. He didn't know if Walter would last without blood from what he saw.

As Cabe started to stand and call the team, there was a sharp blow to the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

Chapter Text

The Greater Good Theory: potential loss is acceptable as long as the
resulting gain is large enough.

Cabe awoke with a splitting headache. The first thing he noticed was the cooler and darker environment compared to his previous location.

He pushed himself onto his elbows. The air was still stiflingly humid, but the floor was cold concrete. He looked around to try and figure out where he was.

He was in an old, steel bar jail cell. He guessed one of the police stations, as much as they were in this country. He must have been in a basement since he saw a set of concrete stairs leading up, presumably to a door to the main level. There appeared to be four separate cells in this room. He was in the second one down. The two on his right were vacant. The single one on his left though, had an occupant.

Walter.

He was still unconscious and he wasn't moving. After a few moments of observing Cabe confirmed he was still alive, although he thought Walter's breathing was slower and shallower than even before. The exact details of what would kill a vampire were clear in some ways, but very vague in others, even by Damon's admission. Most of Walter's injuries were from shrapnel, but a good many of them were from the fire, and Cabe feared the kid's time was running out.

"A very fascinating friend you have there, yes?"

Cabe looked up. At the foot of the stairs stood Zoric. Cabe hadn't heard him descend the stairs, likely because he had been focused on Walter. Zoric had shaven since they saw him on the street, which means he and Walter likely had been in the cells for at least a short while.

Zoric was staring at Cabe with a very smug look on his face.

"You've gotten closer to me than most. If you only hadn't tried to rescue those lawmen your government bribed. I honestly hadn't known you were even there until you ran to try and aid them."

He took a smug step towards Cabe. "What I don't understand, though, is how you are still alive. I was there, watching my work. You were directly in the blast. Your friend here shielded you, but he should be dead." Zoric shook his head in amazement. "No doubt, he should be dead."

Cabe was quick to try and divert any suspicions. "He's tougher than he looks, and maybe he just got lucky."

"Or he's not entirely human," Zoric quickly countered.

Cabe went cold with that statement. "I don't know what you mean…"

"I think you do," Zoric argued with a direct nod of his head as he knelt down to Cabe's level on the ground. "You see, I did think he was dead, and I almost had my men leave him there, but I saw him draw breath, ever so slightly. I went to look closer and your friend opened his eyes for the briefest of moments before falling unconscious again. His eyes…they were, otherworldly. Inhuman. I admit, I was taken aback."

Cabe didn't like where this was going. He looked down and saw something glint on Zoric's finger.

Walter's ring. Zoric had taken Walter's daylight ring. Luckily there was no sunlight anywhere near Walter in the dark basement.

"Ah, yes. I too thought it was extraordinarily beautiful. I just had to have it," Zoric said as he lifted his hand to admire the ring he'd stolen. "But let us not get distracted. So again, I ask, what is he?"

Cabe stayed silent. Their situation seemed dire. Cabe prayed the rest of the team found a way to get them out soon.

Zoric seemed to read his mind.

"If you're hoping the rest of your friends will rescue you, I wouldn't bother. They came quickly to the site of the explosion and were promptly arrested by some of my own 'friends' as soon as they arrived. I love this country. For the right price you can rent your own policemen, as you well know."

Cabe still had nothing to say to him. He turned his attention to Walter. He still wasn't waking up, and if anything his breathing seemed slower and more shallow.

The door at the top of the stairs opened and Cabe heard many people begin to descend.

His team.

He heard many comments, such as sarcastic from Toby, angry from Happy, inquiring about the health safety of the basement from Sylvester.

They all reached the bottom of the stairs and came into view. Sonia emerged first. She saw Zoric and after a brief pause, she screamed and tried to rush at him, overcome by the anger and hatred that had been bottled up inside her for many years.

She didn't get far. One of the bought Cuban lawmen behind her grabbed her roughly by her hair and pulled her back.

Zoric calmly approached the furious young woman. "Ah, by the hatred in your eyes I assume I've wronged you in the past," he taunted.

Sonia spoke some very foul words at him and spat in his face.

Zoric seemed annoyed but unfazed. "Ah, yes, now I recognize your kind. Don't worry, I may not be able to throw you into the graves with the rest of your people, but you can still join them soon enough."

Sonia was shaking from her rage.

"Put them in the cells," Zoric ordered, looking bored. "I have some business to attend to." He turned back to Cabe. "I'll be leaving this country by tonight, but not before we finish our conversation."

Toby was thrown in the same cell as Cabe. Sylvester, Happy, and Sonia were thrown in the next one down from them.

Paige was put in the same cell as Walter, and a large canvas bag was thrown in after her.

"In the bag is a variety of medical supplies. I want your friend to live. I must have my answer of what he is, and if he could be useful to me. If he dies, you all die."

At that Zoric and the men he bought to do his biding left upstairs, leaving the team alone.

When the bomb went off, the team had heard the explosion over the comms. When they didn't get a response from Walter or Cabe they felt there was no choice but to go to where the explosion had occurred. There they were quickly captured.

They arrived at their current location and were led down the station stairs into the dark room holding the jail cells. Paige's eyes were just starting to adjust to the dim light when the cell door in front of her was opened with a large, metallic screech. She was roughly pushed inside, and a large bag was roughly thrown next to her. She heard similar events happen to her friends thrown into cells next to her.

Her eyes adjusted to the darker surroundings. She saw a motionless shape next to her.

Walter!

She quickly dragged herself to his side and put her hand on his chest. Her stomach twisted. The injuries she saw on him were staggering.

"He's alive," Cabe said through the bars next to her, "but barely. He shielded me from the bomb blast. He hasn't woken up since we've been down here. Paige, I think he's fading."

"Toby!" Paige yelled.

Toby was already kneeling next to Cabe, looking at the situation. "Pass me that bag," he said.

Paige immediately reached over and grabbed the bag and slid it towards Toby so he could reach through the bars and start looking through its contents.

"Not complaining here, but why are we alive?" Happy asked, although she was as focused as any of them on Walter's condition.

"I think because of Walter. Zoric want's him alive," Cabe answered.

"Why does Zoric want him alive?" Sylvester asked as he paced side to side with anxiety in the far cell.

"Zoric saw Walter save me. He saw his eyes. He knows Walter's different somehow, and he wants to know why."

"Not good." Happy, of course.

"I saw his eyes, too. At the beach. What is he?" Sonia said, staring at Walter over the shoulders of Cabe and Toby.

"I'll explain later, Sonia, I promise. Right now we have to figure out a way to save him," Cabe said, looking up over his shoulder.

Sonia gave a short nod, accepting her questions would have to wait.

"This is bad," Toby groaned. "I was hoping there would be transfusion supplies in here. We have antibiotics, bandages, some rudimentary surgery equipment, and some syringes. Zoric's definition of medical equipment is painfully lacking. None of this will help Walter."

They all knew what would, and without transfusion supplies, they all knew the only way he could get it.

Paige looked down at Walter. He had been through so much. He couldn't die here. Not like this.

She wasn't going to let him die.

"Toby, tell me what I need to do."

At her statement immediately came several protests.

"Paige. No!"

"You can't!"

"That's a bad idea!"

She interrupted them. "He needs blood to heal from something like this, right? I know with all of your experiments you must know that. Now Toby, help me or I'm going to try to do it myself."

Toby made a grimace of defeat. "All right," he spurt out reluctantly. He dug through the bag and removed a disposable scalpel blade and removed it from the sleeve.

"Here," he said, handing it to Paige. "Make a small incision over the vein on your wrist. Don't go too deeply or you'll severe the tendons. I'll have a bandage ready to stop the bleeding."

Paige took the scalpel blade and did as Toby instructed. She let out a small hiss of pain as she made a shallow cut over her left wrist. Blood started to drip from the wound and quickly she put it over Walter's lips. Blood dripped into his mouth. There was the smallest movement behind his eyes, but he didn't swallow.

That's when Paige noticed he was no longer breathing.

"No, no, no. Walter! Toby! He's not breathing!"

"Shit!" Toby yelled. "He's not swallowing! The fact that the blood is there is not getting through to him! Does he still have a pulse?"

Paige took her other hand and put it on his throat. "Yes!" she announced, "but barely…"

Toby ran a hand down his face, looking like he was searching his brain for any last information that would help. He grunted in frustration. "From my studies on Walter, his instincts to drink are heavily influenced by his senses. Sight, sound, smell, etc. Also, the closer the blood, the stronger the instinct. Maybe, if we were to overload his senses, as much as can with the stuff with a richer source, maybe he will…" Toby's words slowed to a stopped as he came to the same conclusion Paige then did. Paige and he locked eyes.

"Paige, it's too dangerous," Toby said softly, shaking his head.

But Paige was already moving Walter. She found the strength to lift him upright so he was in a makeshift sitting position. She sat in front of him and leaned him against her.

Toby tried to object again. "He will kill you. In this state, he will kill you."

But Paige wasn't listening. "When he wakes up, he can use his blood to heal me. Then everyone goes home."

"He could kill you before he can! It won't work if you're dead!" Cabe yelled.

"Do any of you have any better ideas?" Paige yelled back. "Besides, he's the only one who might be able to get us all out of here alive. The greater good, right?" Paige invoked the philosophy Walter often used, and she often argued with.

None of them could argue with it now, though, but it was clear they hated the only option presented to them.

"At least pull him closer so we can try to pull you away if we need to," Cabe asked, trying to make some sort of compromise in this dire situation.

Paige pulled Walter until her back was within arm's reach of Toby and Cabe. She placed Walter so his head was resting on the nape of her neck.

His head was right over her carotid artery, where he would feel her pulse, hear her heartbeat, and smell her blood at its strongest source. To add to that, she made a small nick over her neck with the scalpel blade still in her hand, so the blood welled up and dripped down her shoulder.

If this didn't trigger his instincts nothing would.

"Come on Walter. We need you," she whispered.

I need you.

She didn't know how long the two of them sat there in that position, but suddenly she felt Walter's head move, ever so slightly.

His head moved until his mouth was over the cut in her neck, and she felt him start to drink. For about a minute he seemed to just be licking the blood that freely flowed from her wound, but then there was a sharp pain, she felt blood being drawn out faster.

She let out a sharp cry as Walter's fangs pierced her neck. After a few more seconds she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her closer.

Walter was awake, and he was going to be okay.

But he kept drinking, and he wasn't stopping.

She had understood the danger of what she had chosen to do, and didn't regret her choice, but that didn't mean she wanted to die.

She tried to push against him, but found her arms were too weak to even lift. She felt two more pairs of hands grab her from behind, trying to pull her free of Walter's grip, but it was no use. He was too strong, and clearly not aware of what he was doing.

Paige was scared as she thought of her son, but she hoped Walter wouldn't blame himself for what happened here today.

Everything faded to black.

Chapter Text

Cabe waited, scared, like everyone else when Paige placed Walter's head against her neck. He didn't know if he was more scared that Walter could die, or scared that Paige might instead.

For a moment, he thought he knew which when Walter again didn't respond to Paige's new effort to get him to drink. He feared the kid was too far gone, and wasn't going to make it.

That was until his head moved slightly, just enough to place his mouth over the small cut Paige had made, and he started to drink.

He drank very gently at first, and Cabe saw some of his more severe wounds begin to heal. Cabe allowed himself a moment of hope that both he and Paige would get through this unharmed.

Then Walter's eyes snapped open. In a split second they transformed to vampiric red and black and Walter bit down into Paige's neck. She let out a sharp cry and Walter placed his hands behind her back, pulling her closer, and he started drinking faster.

His wounds nearly finished healing, but he wasn't stopping.

He was starting to kill her.

Toby and Cabe reached out and grabbed Paige, trying to pull her away from Walter, but it was futile. It was like trying to pull her out of an iron vice. Cabe and the whole team were also screaming Walter's name, begging him to stop, but that also was to no avail.

Paige was falling unconscious from the loss of blood, and the only thing the team could do was watch as both she and Walter approached a point of no return.

Walter lost all awareness after he made the split second decision to shield Cabe from the blast. It hadn't been a decision, really. He had thought of no other options at the time.

After that there was only darkness, at least until he became aware of the sound, smell, and taste of blood in his mouth. He started drinking. Healing his wounds. He needed the blood he was drinking more than he ever needed it before, and his hunger was screaming in agreement.

He continued to follow his instincts for several more seconds, not that he really had a choice. The heartbeat that brought what he needed to him started to slow. As he drank, the hunger started to lessen, and he was able to recognize input from his surroundings.

"Walter! Stop! You're killing her!" were the first words he heard and understood. He kept drinking while he tried to comprehend their meaning.

Killing?

That single word gave him the briefest pause.

Her?

He forced himself to stop drinking for a moment and registered the scent of who he was holding.

He knew that scent. It smelled of flowers, sunlight, and home. The scent roused feelings of comfort, fondness, family.

Love.

He was killing someone he loved.

His lucid mind snapped into place with that painful realization.

He released his hold on his victim's neck and looked at who he was holding.

It was Paige. He had been killing Paige.

No!

"No no no no no…" he said over and over.

What had he done?

Walter laid her quickly and gently on the ground. She was so pale. Was she even breathing?

He realized there were other people there. He looked up and saw his team in cells next to them. They were all looking at him. He locked eyes with Cabe, who looked almost as panicked as he felt.

"Your blood, kid! Give her your blood!" Cabe yelled at him.

Walter wasted no time. He held up his wrist and lengthened his fangs to bite down, causing blood to start flowing. He held it to Paige's lips.

At first nothing happened. He brought his other hand to the side of Paige's too pale face.

"Please," he said. "Please don't die. Please…don't let me have killed you."

She swallowed. Then again. The color returned to her face within seconds and then she started coughing and trying to sit up.

Walter let out a sigh of relief. It had worked. She was going to be okay.

He felt suddenly sick thinking about the source of the blood now sitting in his stomach. He jerked to the side and started retching, but his body would not let him expel the much needed blood, no matter how hard he tried.

Failing to be rid of it, he crawled as quickly as he could until his back hit metal bars. He was as far away from her as he could get in the small cell.

His insides were in painful knots, and it wasn't from the blood. It wasn't from hunger. It was an emotion causing it.

It didn't make sense. He didn't feel emotion like this.

Correction, you didn't used to. It's become more common since you came back, he reminded himself.

But this emotion, at this intensity was new. What was it?

Guilt, he recognized. He had experienced guilt before, but this time the feeling was causing him almost physical pain.

Guilt hurt.

As the emotion shredded him, in the corner of his mind an option offered itself.

You can turn it off. It was as if a silent voice within was giving him the option. He could turn off this horrible feeling that hurt so much. The feeling that made him feel like a monster.

But, he countered the voice, wouldn't that make me more of a monster? Wouldn't that make me even less human?

Paige's words from several months ago echoed back at him.

Even if you are no longer human, it doesn't mean you'll be in any way, less human.

He couldn't betray the trust Paige placed in him that day. He wouldn't become less human. He wouldn't hurt her any more than he already had.

No, he told the small voice. I won't do it.

The voice offering the temptation seemed to recede, almost with disappointment, but disappear it did.

With one internal battle under control, it was time to face what was before him.

No one was speaking. Everyone was looking at him. What were they thinking of him? He couldn't decipher their expressions. He didn't know what to do next.

Sonia said the first word. A single word in her native tongue.

"Vampir…"

He looked at her and remembered why they were all there. He remembered the mission. He remembered shielding Cabe from the explosion causing himself severe injury. He remembered Zoric.

Zoric. The war criminal who had killed all those people, who had killed those men in the car, who had almost killed Cabe, who had injured him. It was those injuries that almost caused him to kill Paige.

The guilt within him started to be replaced with a different feeling. This one seemed to burn outward rather than implode inward. This feeling was also familiar, but he was feeling it to a whole new level.

It was anger. It was rage. He wanted to kill Zoric for what he had done. He still couldn't empathize with Sonia's pain, but he started to understand the driving force of her anger, and how it had the ability to overcome rational thought.

Even with its intensity, he was able to somewhat compartmentalize this emotion as he normally did. It was difficult, but he was able to move it aside. For now.

"Are you okay?" he asked Paige. His voice came out even. Calm. He, of course, knew the answer. He knew his blood would have healed her completely, but he needed to hear it from her. He needed her to say something, anything to him.

"Yes, Walter. I'm okay," she answered. She tried moving closer to him, but he tried to move further away, against the bars. He of course could move no further, but his message was clear, and Paige stayed where she was.

Paige narrowed her eyes at him, apparently annoyed with his attempts to distance himself from her. "I'm going to put this simply, Walter. It was my choice to save you. It worked. You were able to save me. It was the logical choice, for the greater good." Walter didn't fail to notice her slight pause over the word "logical".

Paige continued, giving him a determined stare. "Now, put that high IQ, low EQ brain of yours to work and how about you geniuses get us out of here?" She looked at the rest of the team then, also trying to get their minds on track.

His genius brain seemed to almost click into place. He looked at his team and give a short nod. He stood up.

The first order of business was getting out of these cells.

"Happy," Walter said, passing the metaphorical baton. This was a problem for a mechanical prodigy.

Happy immediately started examining the cells and the locks holding them in.

"Damn, these things are dinosaurs. Solid steel. I don't think even you are strong enough to break through, Walter. What do you think, Sylvester?"

Sylvester started doing calculations in head.

"From what we know of his strength, it should withstand even him," Sly concluded.

"Ok," Walter replied. "Other options?"

Happy started examining the lock on her cell. "This is an old steel deadbolt lock. If I can find the right amount of leverage to twist the tumblers…"

She turned to Toby. "Can you get me the contents of that bag?"

Toby nodded and grabbed the bag through the bars. He started pulling out the contents and passing them to Cabe, who passed them to Happy.

Happy spread the multiple surgical tools and bundles of bandage material in front of her. She started picking up different instruments and using the medical tape to attach them to each other. She tried a few combinations in the lock, each time collecting a little more information on the shape and force needed to open it.

Finally, the set of tools attached to each other caused the lock to groan and the deadbolt snapped open.

There were several words congratulating her success, but their work wasn't done. Happy passed the tool through to Cabe, who also opened his lock. He was about to pass it to Paige when they heard the door at the top of the stairs open, and footsteps descend the stairs.

Hurriedly, Cabe pocketed the skeleton key and he and Happy made sure to keep their cells closed to hide that they were no longer locked.

Zoric came into view, along with two of the lawmen he had under his order. He must have payed them handsomely for their loyalty.

Zoric looked around, taking stock of the room and the changes which occurred while he was gone. His eyes eventually rested on Walter.

"Your wounds. They're completely healed. Incredible." Zoric looked very excited. "You must tell me how. I must have my answers."

Cabe watched Zoric focus on Walter. "What are you?" Zoric repeated.

Walter answered him with the same silence Cabe had.

Zoric walked a little closer to the cell, but seemed to make sure he was out of reach if Walter chose to reach through. Walter was now standing right behind the bars, staring at Zoric.

Zoric glanced at Paige and then back at Walter. They both had a fair amount of blood on them which hadn't been there when Zoric left. Paige on her neck and shirt, Walter on his face.

"Explain the blood to me, please," he requested.

Cabe noticed that even though Walter's expression was calm, he was breathing faster, and his hands had clenched into fists by his side. If he didn't know any better, he would have said Walter was pissed off.

Very pissed off.

Oh, shit. Cabe realizing that was exactly it. This was one of the situations Salv had theorized. Emotion was breaking through, and the vampire inside Walter was enhancing it. But what did that mean for him, or for them? A Walter O'Brien driven by emotion went far beyond uncharted territory.

The reminder Zoric gave Walter of Paige's blood on the two of them seemed to hit a trigger. Walter's face abruptly changed and he roared, rushing the bars and reaching through, trying to grab Zoric.

Zoric was just out of reach but still jumped back in surprise. The two men behind him let out profanities and raised their weapons at Walter.

"Don't shoot!" Zoric ordered. They followed orders, but they were clearly freaked out, balanced on a hair trigger.

The only one who looked remotely happy about the situation was Zoric. He was looking at Walter with amazement. With this final information, he seemed to have his answer.

"Vampir." Zoric used the same foreign translation Sonia had used. He was well out of reach of Walter, but Zoric was holding his arm out towards him, with a disturbing, almost ecstatic look on his face.

"When I was a boy, I was told stories of immortal creatures with immense strength. These creatures lived off the blood of mortal men with the ability to spread death and destruction as they pleased. I was always enraptured by these tales. The thought of a creature with such power over life and death, it was inspiring."

Cabe couldn't believe what her was hearing. Zoric wasn't frightened by Walter, but was in awe of him. He was admiring him.

No, Cabe corrected. He was admiring the monster Zoric thought he was. Cabe didn't like where this was going.

Zoric kept his hand up towards Walter. Walter continued to glare at him with vampiric eyes.

"Tell me, vampire, are these Americans forcing you to do their bidding? Do they have some kind of control over you that you must help them with matters against your nature, and beneath your talents?"

Even Walter furrowed his brow at that one.

"If so, please tell me, because I will help you. If you come work for me, with me, I will give you all the blood and death you could ever desire."

Walter stood there a few more seconds before turning around and walking to the back of the cell. Cabe obviously knew better, but to an outsider the action could be interpreted as consideration of Zoric's offer.

Paige slowly walked up to Walter and touched his shoulder. They started exchanging some quiet words only the two of them could hear.

Zoric, being the misogynistic sociopath he was, misread the relationship completely.

"If you want to keep the woman as well, I'll see to it she's yours, to do with what you will."

Uh, oh.

All Hell broke loose.

"Tell me, vampire, are these Americans forcing you to do their bidding? Do they have some kind of control over you that you must help them with matters against your nature, and beneath your talents?"

Paige couldn't believe what she was hearing. To think Zoric believed the words he directed at Walter. Zoric, as a monster, thought he was talking to a fellow monster.

Walter didn't answer him, but turned around and walked to the back of the cell. Paige walked over to meet him there.

Walter stood with his eyes closed, and was taking slow, deliberate breaths, as if he was trying to calm himself down.

Which was exactly what he was trying to do, she realized. Her job, up to this point, had been to try and get Walter in touch with his emotions and how to properly express them. Since he had become a vampire, her job had remained unchanged, for the most part. He still had his usual challenges with emotion and humanity, so she continued to be his guide.

Right now, though, she saw the complete opposite problem. This Walter was hanging on control of his emotion by a thread. Cabe had warned her of this possibility after his discussion with Damon. Their theories were proving to be a reality.

"Hey," she whispered calmly. "You're not what he says, not in a million years."

Walter opened his red eyes slightly and looked at her.

Walter spoke through clenched teeth. "I know that, of course, but his words, his actions thus far, they're making me feel." He hissed out the word "feel", as if frustrated with the word.

"Angry?" she guessed.

He nodded. "Yes, but more. Worse. Is this how humans usually feel when they're angry? Is this what Sonia has lived with her whole life?"

Paige of course had no way to answer that.

Walter continued. "You've told me that I need to accept emotionality, and that it can be an advantage. What I'm feeling right now, I think I can use this to get us out of here. I'm concerned though, that this emotion could make things worse. I don't know if trying to use this feeling is the right thing to do, or if I should fight it and try to approach this logically. Or is it a mixture of both? I need to you give me the answer."

Paige took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Walter, you're trying to quantify emotion again. It can't be solved like a theorem. You are feeling what you are feeling. It's a part of you. Don't let it change you, or make you do things you don't want to do, but if you want to harness it, you have to accept it. Emotion is there to express who you are, not change you. There is a time and place for emotion. If you can get us out of here, do it. Just always remember who you are. I believe you'll be okay."

Walter took a deep breath, then nodded.

Zoric interrupted their moment. "If you want to keep the woman as well, I'll see to it she's yours, to do with what you will."

Walter slowly closed his eyes at Zoric's disgusting words. He gave Paige's hand a squeeze, as if he was trying to find strength. Paige was worried, she wasn't going to lie. She could tell Walter was furious, and about to snap.

"I won't let you down," he promised her and let go of her hand. "Stay behind me."

In a blur, he charged the door of their cell, unleashing all the rage he had been holding within.

Chapter Text

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

"I don't get 'pissed'" -Walter O'Brien

BANG

The sound of Walter hitting the steel door at full speed and strength was deafening.

Zoric seemed to break out of his spell of admiration, and replace it with fear. He must have realized his attempts to connect with Walter had been in vain, and now recognized the danger he was in.

The jail door protecting him from Walter was still standing, but Walter was readying another charge. Zoric started running upstairs.

"No!" Sonia yelled. Even amongst everything, her focus stayed on catching Zoric.

The guards' momentary shock at Walter's charge wore off, and they rose their weapons to fire on him. Cabe threw open his own cell door and tackled the man closest to him. Their fall threw him into the second man like a domino, momentarily unbalancing him.

BANG. Walter hit the door a second time. This time the sound was accompanied by a loud groan of metal. The door was giving way.

Cabe began wrestling for the gun of the man he tackled, and Toby soon joined the fray, but he noticed the second guard was recovering.

BANG. With the third hit the solid steel door flew off its hinges, slamming into the man readying his gun. Walter emerged from the cell.

He turned to Cabe and Toby's grapple with their opponent and sped to them. Walter reached around and grabbed the man who was now kneeling over his friends and slammed him against the adjacent wall.

The corrupt lawman's feet hopelessly scrabbled for footing that was a good foot beneath him while trying to pull at the iron grip around his throat. Walter bared his teeth at him. Cabe half expected Walter to kill him right then and there, but instead Walter lowered the man to eye level and through clenched teeth commanded one word.

"Sleep."

The compelled man went limp in Walter's grip. Walter then stepped over and threw him, very unceremoniously in the empty cell Toby and Cabe had resided in.

The second guard had partially freed himself from beneath the door. It looked like he had a broken leg, and likely had a concussion, but his arm still worked. Stunned, he raised the gun that was in his hand and pointed it at the first thing he saw.

Paige.

Walter sped over and grabbed the man's arm, breaking it. The man let out a scream and dropped the gun as Walter dragged him from under the door and threw him to join his comrade in the cell.

Once they were both inside Walter slammed the door shut and with a yell, twisted the metal at the edge of the door to lock it in place. Walter then leaned against the door, breathing heavily, looking exhausted. Cabe had a feeling it wasn't just physical exertion he was exhausted from.

Damn. Cabe thought. What the kid had just done was beyond impressive, and he wasn't just referring to his display of strength.

Nearly blind with rage, he had resisted killing these two men, as easy as it would have been. Cabe also had no doubt part of Walter had wanted to, especially when Paige's life had been threatened. The kid had used his anger to drive him, but hadn't let it overcome him.

They all then heard the door at the top of the stairs open again.

Sonia. She was going after Zoric.

"Sonia! Wait!" Cabe started running up the stairs. Walter beat him to it, though Cabe wasn't far behind. Walter opened the door into the main room of the station.

They emerged on the floor and were met with the sight of Sonia struggling with the last remaining man Zoric had bribed. They saw Zoric disappear through the door to the next room.

Walter rushed and grabbed the man away from Sonia and with a single punch to his face, knocking him motionless to the ground. The man was unconscious, but alive.

Sonia wasted no time once she was free and pursued Zoric again. The whole team was now out of the basement, and they followed her into the next room.

This room as rundown like the rest of the station, and Zoric was trying to open a back door to exit outside.

The door wouldn't budge due to either being locked or its worn condition. It likely hadn't been opened in years. The door had a large window in its center, allowing a thick beam of sunlight to flow over Zoric as he struggled. Walter couldn't approach, as Zoric still had his ring.

That didn't stop Sonia though, and Cabe was close behind. She ran at Zoric full speed and pushed him to the ground. She pulled out a gun; likely grabbed from one of the unconscious men. She pointed the gun at his head while standing over him. Displayed on her face was all the anger and pain she had held in most of her life.

Zoric held his hands up defensively.

"Sonia…" Cabe said carefully. "We need him to get the intel on the others. You're better than this. You're better than him."

But Sonia didn't seem to register what he was saying. Cabe was also worried about what Walter would do. He had shown incredible restraint thus far, but he was pacing back and forth, just out of reach of the sunlight still covering Zoric and Sonia. He looked like a wild animal waiting for a safe opportunity to pounce.

This situation could turn for the worse at any moment. There was a lot at stake. Not only the intelligence that would lead them to the other twenty-three war criminals, but also Sonia's humanity; her soul. Walter's own humanity wasn't out of danger yet, either.

They suddenly had one less concern when Paige came behind Walter and put a hand on his shoulder. No words. Nothing else. He stopped pacing and looked at her. A heavy breath left him, like all the tension was being released from his body. His features returned to normal and he took a steady step backward to Paige's side.

As Walter took a step backward, Zoric looked to him one more time and reached his hand out towards him.

"Please, vampire. Do you not realize how magnificent you are? A magnificent monster. I apologize if I somehow insulted you before. Imagine what we could accomplish together. We could cleanse the weak and build a regime of strength. Help me."

Walter would never accept, of course, but everyone was curious how or if he'd answer. In reaching out, Zoric's hand exited the patch of sunlight. Walter calmly approached and grabbed it to hold it still as he took back the ring that was his. He didn't harm Zoric in its removal.

Walter placed it back upon his finger and said only four words in reply. The words were straight forward, as if stating a simple, obvious fact to an ignorant child.

"Your offer is absurd." He then walked back to Paige's side.

Cabe recognized that constantly calculating look. Normal, genius, familiar, robotically calm Walter was back.

But that left Sonia. She still had the gun trained on Zoric. Her hands were shaking, showing she still hadn't decided what to do.

"You see me as a monster, child, yet you contemplate murder, and take company with a creature of death itself. So go ahead, and kill me." Zoric taunted her with a sneer.

Sonia made a quick glance at Walter before looking back at Zoric.

"You killed my family, and now I can kill you." Her hands stopped shaking, signaling she had made a decision. "But I'm better than you." She lowered the gun and looked at Walter. "And so is he. That 'monster' over there, as you say, is more human than you can ever be, and I have more humanity than you ever will."

Zoric had lost, but their job was not done.

Cabe turned to Walter. "Do you think you can get what we need from him?"

Walter calmly nodded and approached Zoric. He picked him up from the floor and looked him in the eye as he concentrated.

"Tell us how to find the others in your network."

They collected a flash drive containing the locations of the other war criminals, handed to them personally by Zoric, no less, with a little influence from Walter.

With the drive and his blood sample, their work in Cuba was done, and they just met their plane in time before the extraction window closed.

On the plane trip back to Los Angeles Cabe sat next to Sonia while everyone else slept.

Sonia looked good. Her life's pursuit had been completed, and Cabe had no doubt a big part of her was now at peace.

"I know that must have been hard, letting Zoric live, but it was the right thing to do, and now he and all of his network will face justice. I'm proud of you."

Sonia looked up at him and gave a small smile. It was the same smile she gave him all those years ago when they first met. It was a smile of hope.

There was one last thing Cabe needed to address, however.

"Look, about Walter…," he started slowly, trying to ease into the subject.

Sonia furrowed her brow and gave him a sidelong glance. "What about him?"

"I know what you saw must have been confusing and frightening, to say the least, but I just want to assure you, Walter is a good man. He may be different, but he's nothing like the monster Zoric thought he was."

Sonia gave him a perplexed look. For a moment it crossed Cabe's mind maybe Walter made her forget what she saw before they boarded the plane, but that wasn't possible. She had never been out of his sight.

"Cabe, I've seen true monsters. I've seen the faces of evil and the horrors they inflict. Your friend Walter," she turned to look at the sleeping genius, "is not one of them. He saved us all. I have been consumed with pain and anger for so long it blinded me and influenced every move I made. I started to feel I was losing my own humanity chasing these men." Sonia looked down and folded her hands in her lap, It looked as if she was trying to distance herself from the memory of her darker side.

"I would have killed Zoric today if it wasn't for what you said to me," she continued. "Who am I to judge someone who has more strength to keep his humanity than I did? And if I did judge him just for what he is, how would that make me any different from Zoric?" She looked back up at Cabe, meeting his eyes with a promise. "His secret is safe with me."

Well, Cabe thought, impressed. That was certainly a way of looking at it.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "I think you're going to be okay, kid. You've got a good head on your shoulders. I think with all this behind you, your future is going to be bright indeed."

"Thank you for everything, Cabe. For the first time since you found me, I feel like I can move toward the future. I feel hope."

Chapter Text

The team returned to LA in the middle of the night. Everyone was exhausted and nobody spoke on the drive back to the garage.

Their prisoner and his information had been passed to the authorities before they left Cuba. Sonia said her goodbyes to the team at the airport before boarding a flight home.

When they walked in the garage they dropped off their equipment before leaving for their respective homes. They all agreed to take a few days off, at least through the weekend to recover from this one.

Everyone else was in the parking lot at their respective means of transportation, and Paige was close behind. It was logical for Walter to stay at the garage, so he started making his way up the stairs without a word.

"Um, Walter?" Paige said softly after him from the bottom of the staircase.

Walter didn't turn around, but paused halfway up the stairs and turned his head slightly over his shoulder, indicating he was listening. "Yes?" His response wasn't cold, but did lack all emotion.

Paige found she hadn't actually figured out what to say. What do you say to someone after what the two of them had been through in Cuba? Her conviction had been real in that cell, including her belief that what happened should not be something to be dwelled on or feel guilty about. It happened, she did what she needed to, and they both were ok.

Still, she felt she should say, well, something.

But what?

*A sharp pain in her neck, unnaturally strong arms keeping her from moving.*

Paige gave a quick shake of her head to clear it of the unwelcome memory.

"Did you need something, Paige?"

She looked up and saw that Walter had turned around to face her, but he remained halfway up the stairs. His neutral expression matched his neutral tone. Even his eyes were blank.

*Scared brown eyes the first thing she sees when she opens her own, a metallic taste in her mouth, coughing to catch her breath, she sees blood around his mouth. Her blood.*

"Yeah, um…" she lets out a sigh of annoyance, only with herself and her tired mind.

She looks back up at him. "I'm glad you're ok, Walter. You gave us quite a scare."

Walter's eyes narrowed for a moment, then softened every so slightly. She would have missed it if she hadn't been paying close attention.

"Likewise."

This is ridiculous, she thought.

She ran up the steps and threw her arms around him and pulled him into the biggest hug she could, and she started to cry.

It was instances like these she was teaching Walter about. Instances where is was appropriate and inappropriate to let one's emotions come into play.

In the cells, they had to work together objectively even in an overwhelming situation. Emotion could be used as a tool, as Walter had done, but all of their fear, happiness, sadness, and pain? That was not the time express those emotions.

Now, though…now could be a time for emotion.

Walter seemed to be taken off balance for a second when she ran into him, but quickly steadied himself.

"Um, ok," Walter seemed to not know how to respond. Eventually he wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. Not firmly though, without yield, like in the cell. This was an embrace of strength and comfort, as when one wants to share as well as receive its benefits.

"Please, Walter, stop making it a habit of scaring us like that," Paige asked of him, her quick bought of tears under control.

She felt him nod. "I'll try," he responded. "As long as you promise never to put yourself in danger like that again."

"I'll try," she echoed.

Walter let her go and put his hands on her shoulders. He lowered his head to look her in the eye, not to compel her, but to plead with her.

"Please, Paige. I'm serious. Don't put yourself in that position again. If something happened, if something happened to you, especially because of me, it would, would…"

Walter's eyes started moving back and forth, like he was scouring his brain for the appropriate words to express what he was feeling.

His eyes stopped moving as if he had found the right words, then narrowed slightly, like he didn't quite understand them.

If that were the case, he looked back at her and said them anyway.

"It would break my heart."

Paige couldn't help it. She let out a small laugh, smiling through her tears as she listened to and understood his words.

"Did I say something funny?" Walter asked. He didn't look mad. He truly looked concerned that he had said something wrong.

"No, no, Walter, you didn't." Paige kept smiling, wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Then what?"

"You said something human, and it was beautiful."

"Oh."

Paige nodded, knowing he didn't fully understand, but it was a start.

They both stood there for a moment before Walter broke the silence. "Paige," he started, "even if you were fully aware of the risk you took, and even knowing I was not in control of myself at the time, it would be a great weight off my mind if you accepted my apology, regardless."

The only time Walter wasn't efficient with his time and words, it seemed, was when he was trying to convey something emotional. Therefor, it took Paige a second to realize he was simply trying to say "I'm sorry".

*Fearful eyes staring at her from across the cell, equalling the fear she felt as she felt her life being drained away moments before.*

She nodded, "Ok, Walter. It wasn't your fault, but I accept your apology."

They both seemed to feel a weight completely lift off their shoulders with those words.

Giving him one last squeeze on the shoulder she descended the stairs and headed towards the door.

"I'll see you next week?" Walter called quietly after her.

She turned around and looked up at him with a soft smile. "Yeah, Walter, I'll see you next week."

He gave a small smile in return. "Good."

She left the garage ready for a hot shower, warm meal, and a good night sleep. She got all three.

Walter and Paige did see each other the following week. They, along with everyone else, anxiously went back to work. Less volatile assignments did mean more regular work hours, luckily. That meant they were able to go home on time and enjoy some time to themselves.

Knock, knock, knock.

Walter heard three firm knocks on the door of his apartment. He had only recently arrived himself, and was just getting ready for bed.

Who could be knocking at this time? he thought.

He rose from his couch, setting his book down on his coffee table. He walked over to his door and twisted the lock before opening it to reveal who waited behind it.

It was Paige.

She stood there and gave him a soft, friendly smile.

"Hey, um, sorry to bother you," she started, "but, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out, watch a movie? Ralph's at a sleepover, believe it or not, and the house is kinda empty. I was going a little stir crazy," she explained.

Walter was taken off guard, but he tried to remember the manners Paige had been teaching him. "Oh, uh, yes, of course. Come on in."

He opened the door wider and stepped aside, allowing Paige entry. He noticed her looking at his t-shirt with amusement.

He looked down, honestly forgetting the shirt he grabbed without looking out of the closet.

It depicted a grumpy looking leprechaun underneath large green text displaying the words, "Kiss Me, I'm Irish". It had been a birthday gift last year from a certain behaviorist with a sense of humor. It almost seemed like the joke had waited until this moment to be sprung right in front of Paige.

"Uh…" he said awkwardly. "It was a gift from Toby."

"Of course it was," she answered, still with an amused sparkle in her eye.

She walked further inside and took a quick look at the surroundings. He imagined she was surprised at the difference between here and his garage lodgings. This apartment had very little in it, and was very organized, where the garage was always full of gadgets, items, and evidence of multiple ongoing experiments.

The rule for the lodgings here was no experiments or anything his mind could get lost in. He did sometimes bring paperwork here, but that was the extent of it.

She glanced at the spot where he had been sitting minutes before, evident by the mug and book laying next to it. He saw her glance at the title.

She looked up at him with further amusement. "Anne Rice? Interview with a Vampire?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "It was suggested."

She nodded. "I read it a long time ago, myself. What do you think so far?"

Walter answered her. "I'm enjoying it. The quality of writing is very impressive. The characters and prose are well developed with great detail. I'm finding the turmoil of the main character regarding the potential loneliness of immortality convincingly sad and…realistic."

Walter hadn't meant his assessment to be so revealing, but it came out that way without him even realizing it.

Paige slowly nodded, absorbing his words. "I would agree," she answered. Walter didn't know if she was agreeing with his book assessment or his unintentionally revealed concern.

"Would you like a seat?" Walter asked, wanting to move on from the unintentionally comber moment.

"Oh, sure, thanks," she responded and moved towards the couch.

Before she could sit down though he tried to nonchalantly walk over and pick up the mug he was drinking from when she came in. Its contents was not something a human would find appetizing. Walter wasn't sure if she noticed what he was doing. If she did she didn't say anything. "Was there a film you had in mind?" he asked as he walked over and put the mug in his fridge.

Walter could clearly see the outline of a few DVD cases in her bag. He had a feeling that some or all of them may have had a supernatural premise, but he was surprised when she said she didn't.

"No," she answered shaking her head back and forth. "I thought maybe you could choose the movie, for once."

"Well, uh, I don't normally watch movies on my own, but I was going to make some time in the near future to watch this new documentary on cosmic energy and solar radiation."

Paige gave him the "you're such a nerd" amused look she had given him countless times before. He started to feel slightly exposed, like he often did when he occasionally revealed to a regular human how different he was in his tastes and activities. Maybe he should have just suggested they watch something she had brought.

But then the amused look broke out into an endearing smile. "I think that would be perfect tonight, Walter." Now Walter didn't have Toby's gift for lie detection, but he was certain she was being completely truthful in those words.

He made popcorn and they sat in front of his TV. About halfway through the film Paige fell asleep, and ended up resting against him.

Walter paused the documentary and looked down at Paige, gently resting on his shoulder. He felt so calm then, so, dare he say, happy. Their agreement to not act on their feelings seemed to make less sense by the second as he took in her sleeping form.

There were so many reasons for them to be hesitant though, especially now with all the challenges his new state brought forth.

Even so, that night, as he gently tucked the blanket around her shoulders before he moved to his own bed, the world seemed to make more sense to him than it had a in a long time.

Chapter Text

Part III:
I, Human

The day-to-day life of Scorpion continued, but Paige noticed as time went on, Walter became more and more entrenched in his research for Megan. Once Walter realized his blood would not save her, at least not the way either of them wanted, he focused back to the research he had been conducting before he became a vampire.

The predominant plan involved the transfer of consciousness into a computer storage unit. Paige thought it sounded like science fiction, but hey, this was Walter. If anyone would figure it out, it would be him.

But even if he could accomplish such a feat, Paige felt less confident he could do anything in the time Megan had left. The worse she got, the more Walter turned in on himself, and his research.

Paige occasionally went to the hospital with Sylvester; sometimes as his ride, sometimes to see Megan, who she now thought of as a friend. Every time she went, Megan was looking worse.

Paige tried many times to subtly convey to Walter that his time might be better spent with Megan than in his lab, but she couldn't break his focus from what he believed was still a chance for her to live.

Paige had thought he had come to terms with Megan's reality, but the more she observed him, the more she realized he was falling further and further into denial. She was worried he might be completely distancing himself from the possibility of Megan's death, which would only make it worse for him when she did pass.

Paige only hoped he would let them all be there for him when the time came.

Things became heated between Sylvester and Walter when Megan's lungs became so compromised the only option to keep them going was to have her intubated for a time. Walter had gotten a court order to take control of her medical decisions to make that happen. When it had become necessary to intubate her again, Walter had been stopped in his tracks by a new development.

Sylvester and Megan, in the hospital, had gotten married.

When Walter was confronted with this information, he realized up until then, he had been constantly moving, so to speak. He had been running as fast as he could, trying to keep his sister alive for as long as possible until he came up with a solution to save her. Even though he knew he was taking control against her wishes, he truly had not considered what he was doing was wrong.

But when he saw the two bandages wrapped around the ring fingers of Sylvester and his sister, he came to a dead stop.

He saw his actions through their eyes, and he didn't like what he saw.

What had he done?

Walter walked over to his sister's bedside and looked down at her. For the past several weeks, he now felt he had seen everything so wrong. He had been seeing this frail, human body wasting away; a machine that was failing, and a problem he needed to solve to save his sister trapped within.

Now, he looked down at her, so pale and sick, but sleeping peacefully now that she had control of her life again. For the first time in weeks, he saw his sister again. She had been able to look within him and accept his reality for everything it was. Who was he to not be able to do the same thing for her?

In that moment he realized, he truly realized, she was going to die. He was going to lose her. Judging by her condition, she had days left at most. This was no longer about keeping her alive at any cost, but making the quality of life of her time left as comfortable as possible.

He sat down at her bedside and put his hand on her head, gently stroking her hair. Even though he now understood the reality of her condition, he wasn't ready to fully deal with the emotions that went along with it yet, so he ignored them for now. Not in a "switch off" vampire way, but in a low EQ "avoidance" Walter way. He would deal with them later. He just…couldn't…right now.

Walter looked at Sylvester across Megan's sleeping form.

"There's something I need to tell you, Sylvester."

Sylvester had been watching him with a mixture of nervousness and strength, not knowing how Walter was going to react to this development. His eyebrows raised, understanding that he and Megan had finally gotten through to Walter.

"What is it, Walter?"

"A few weeks ago, Megan and I took one last trip to the beach to watch the sunset. We had a conversation you should be aware of."

Then he told Sylvester about Megan's last request of him.

The siblings sat on the sand, looking out over the water. Megan could no longer walk on her own, so Walter had gently carried her from the car and placed her on a towel just out of reach of the lapping waves of the ocean. He sat beside her with his arm placed around her shoulders.

They didn't need to say anything for a long time as the sun darkened the horizon and the beautiful colors emerged from the fading light.

"I've thought a lot about what you said Walter, and I've made a decision."

Walter immediately knew to what she was referring, and didn't interrupt her as she continued.

"Despite the challenges you've told me about, I've seen you be more you over the past two years, and even more after your accident. If anything, being a vampire has somehow helped you express yourself and connect with the world more effectively than you ever have before. I couldn't be more proud of the man you have become."

She leaned away from him slightly so she could look at him before she spoke further. She took hold of his hand and held it as tight as she was able.

"Me though, I think it would do the opposite, and I think you agree with me. I don't want to be a vampire. I was meant to be in this world only a short time, and I want to stay the human you see me as now. Maybe I can be that short, bright beacon of humanity for you, however long you are here, giving your gifts to this world."

Walter honestly didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed with her decision. Paige had been teaching him that he could feel two conflicting emotions at the same time, and that was normal. If that were the case, what he was feeling right now was normal to the extreme.

Megan wasn't finished, however.

"But…you said that your blood would heal me for one day. Enable me to walk, run, be completely normal for a short time again. I want you to promise me Walter, even though we know what will happen when it wears off, when you see me near the end, please, give me that one last day."

It was a logical request, Walter thought, so he agreed, and gave her his word.

As the two finished their evening on the beach, Walter didn't grasp how difficult it would be for him to fulfill that request when the time came.

Walter looked at Megan and held her hand as he explained her wishes to Sylvester. Sylvester's gaze also traveled to Megan, his wife, when Walter was finished speaking.

"As her husband, Sylvester, I feel it necessary you have a say in this. Megan has days left, at most. I will fulfill her wish, but only if you permit it."

It was not long ago that Sylvester would have had paralyzing emotional turmoil at such a decision, but he found he immediately knew what he was going to say, and was at peace with it. Everyone thought that Megan's death was going to ruin him. He knew once she was gone, he would be heartbroken, sad, and mourn her, certainly, but there would be no regrets.

Since they found each other, they had wasted none of their limited time. Every moment together had been full of life. Near this end, if there was something she wanted to watch, they watched it together. If there was a book she wanted to read, he'd read it to her. They had made more happy memories together in a few months than most couples did in years. Now, he would be able to have that dance with her before their story ended.

"Yes, Walter. I think it would make her very happy, so let's do it."

Walter nodded and stepped over to a tray of medical supplies by Megan's bedside. He picked up a syringe and rolled up his sleeve. He inserted the needle into a vein and drew up a small amount of his blood.

Walter walked over to her IV and paused as he was about to insert the needle. Sylvester then reached out and grabbed Walter's wrist.

"Walter, please, let me. I'm her husband. It should be me."

Sylvester swore he saw the briefest flash of gratitude across Walter's face at his offer. Walter seemed to think about it and then nodded, gently handing Sylvester the syringe.

It took only seconds for Sylvester to inject the blood in her system, and only moments for the two of them to see the results.

The blue coloring around her lips disappeared. The light wheezing that she emitted with each breath faded. The rosy color Sylvester remembered when he first met her returned to her cheeks. The dark, sunken appearance of her closed eyes brightened, then with a flutter, they opened.

Megan looked at the two most important men in her lives and immediately gave a smile. "Hello, boys." She frowned with how clear her voice sounded. It had been a while. She then took several deep breaths, appreciating how clear her lungs must have felt. Realizing something was very different, she looked down at her legs, and gave an experimental twitch of her foot. It moved easily.

She reached over and pulled off her covers and took the oxygen cannula out of her nose. She then moved one leg, then the other and sat up, slowly swinging them to the side of the bed.

"Woah, easy," Sylvester said, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. Walter had placed his own hand on her other arm.

Megan leaned forward to place her weight on her own two feet on the floor below, and she stood up on her own. It was the first time in months she had stood, and the first time in years she had done without any assistance.

Seeing the joy in Megan's face would have been enough in itself, but she still had a full day ahead of her. Megan quickly figured out what was going on.

She turned to Walter. "So it's that time, huh?"

Walter nodded stoically. "I estimated you only had a day or two left at most."

She took his hand and squeezed it. Knowing Walter better than anyone, Sylvester suspected she knew how hard such an action doing this for her would have been for him. Not one day ago he was using every means necessary to keep her body alive, despite her comfort. Now he had done a complete one-eighty.

Megan took a few experimental steps forward, and let out a bright laugh as she found no problems in the action.

"You said I have a day, right? Well, what are we waiting for?" She gave them both a big, eager smile.

Despite his and Walter's bittersweet feelings, her smile was infectious, and they both couldn't help but return it, sharing in her joy.

Walter looked at Sylvester. "Would you call the team and tell them what's going on? We have much to do today, and I want us all to be together."

Sylvester smiled and nodded. He knew what Walter meant. Today was going to be all about Megan; a celebration of her life. They were going to throw her one hell of a party.

Megan quickly changed out of her hospital gown into a set of clothes left over from when she still was well enough to go out in the world.

Sylvester started wondering how they were going to literally walk a terminal patient out of here unnoticed when the doctor walked in.

"What the hell?…" he said, not quite understanding what he was seeing.

Walter was immediately in front of him. He looked him in the eye before the doctor could say anything further.

"This patient will be resting all day, and will not be disturbed. No one will open this door but you for the next twenty-four hours. If anyone inquires you about it, say you are tending to her yourself, per her family's wishes. After that, you will forget about this and believe there was nothing abnormal about her care."

The doctor blinked once and nodded. "Have a good day, then," was his only response before leaving and locking the door.

Megan raised her eyebrows. "Impressive, bro, but what about the dozen other staff member that we will have to pass on the way out, who know me very personally?"

Walter had already walked over to the room's window and looked it up and down.

"Remember that one scene from that movie you and Paige like? The movie I abhorred? The scene in the treetops?"

There was only a moment of confusion before Megan's eyes widened and she grinned with glee. "Oh, this is going to be fun!" She ran to her brother's side.

Walter was smiling now. How could he not at the sight of his sister so bright, energetic, and happy? He looked at Sylvester.

"Megan and I will meet you at the garage. Can you go ahead and prepare?"

Sylvester nodded. Between the members of Scorpion they would come up with something, he was sure.

"Also, the item sitting on the corner of my desk. Would you procure a real one for the day?" Walter asked cryptically.

Sylvester nodded. He was sure he would figure it out once he saw what Walter was referring to. "See you there," he said.

Walter then looked to his sister. She smiled widely before leaning down, then taking a huge leap, landing on her brother's back. She wrapped her now strong arms and legs around his neck and waist. "Just don't call me spider-monkey."

Walter nodded, "Understood."

Then, Walter placed one foot on the window sill, and with a fluid movement, took a flying leap out the fourth story window. Both brother and sister let out loud "woohoos" of glee and adrenaline as they seemed to fly down to the adjacent rooftop. Sylvester ran over to watch after them.

Luckily, Megan's window didn't have a view to any prying human eyes and faced only a bunch of smaller buildings, upon which the siblings were now making their way across the top of in a way that was only possible for a vampire. Amazing.

With one last smile after them, Sylvester wasted no time turning and making his way out of the hospital. He had a party to prepare. A party to celebrate the life of one Megan O'Brien-Dodd.

Chapter Text

As Walter ran and jumped across the rooftops, he couldn't help but participate in Megan's infectious laughter over his shoulder. She held on tight. Walter had to be careful not to be seen by anyone below, but there were plenty of paths to take as he ran and jumped, albeit with a scenic route, towards the garage.

They were almost there. In their path was one very tall building with brick siding. It was at least fifty feet taller than their current rooftop, and at least forty feet away, far further than any of the buildings he had jumped across on their journey so far. He only sped up.

"Walter…" he heard in his ear. Megan saw the distance as well, but he was almost there, and took a flying leap. His sister screamed in his ear as he flew towards the side of the building.

"Walterrrrrrrrr!"

He grabbed her arm around his neck, securing her as he reached out and grabbed one of the many irregularities and protuberances of the side of the worn wall, stopping their descent. He then hung there on the side of the building like one of the characters from Sly's comic books.

For a moment he thought he had gone too far as Megan breathed heavily in the ear from the adrenaline and fear, but then she squealed.

"That was amazing!" she yelled. Walter then started climbing the wall, using the numerous small holes and occasional missing brick as handholds.

He pulled himself over the edge as they reached the top. He gently leaned over, signaling to Megan to climb down.

She did and leaned over, placing her hands on her knees, catching her breath.

She stood up. "Just, wow!"

He reached out to take her hand. She took it and followed him, skipping the whole way. They reached the edge of the building. It wasn't extremely tall by any means, but it was tall enough to see the ocean, and much of the view of the city from here. The yard that housed Scorpion's garage was not far from here. It was still morning, so the sun highlighted clearly almost everything in sight.

"It's beautiful, Walter," Megan said, taking in the sight before her.

"I come up here occasionally to think, I mean, ever since I started being able to climb buildings. It's…peaceful."

Walter sat down on the building's edge, and Megan mirrored his action. Partially he wanted to give Sylvester and the team more time for preparations, but he also wanted some alone time with his sister.

Walter was fully aware he was not facing what was going to happen tomorrow. Any feelings related to it were still firmly held back by the walls in his mind. He could feel them constantly trying to knock through that wall, but he held it firmly in place. He didn't know if that was the right, human thing to do, but he was enjoying his time with Megan now, and that felt very right.

Megan took his hand. "Thank you, Walter. This has been incredible so far."

"Of course," he answered. He placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

They sat in silence for several minutes, the only movement from the gentle breeze through the air.

"Walter, um, tomorrow, when I-"

"Today is about you," he interrupted. As she started those words he felt a particularly violent hit on those mental walls, nearly breaking through.

His quick interruption seemed to make it clear to her that he didn't want to talk about it.

They sat there, exchanging a few words until the sun was high in the sky.

"Don't wait anymore, Walter. Don't be afraid," Megan suddenly said.

Walter didn't initially understand what she was referring to.

Megan looked up at him. "Walter, let me share some wisdom from my perspective. From the girl who will live less time than she should, to the guy who will live for more time. Life is short, time is relative. Even if you live for a thousand years, there will never be enough time." She looked out over the landscape. "But you can also make one day seem like it's lasting forever."

Walter wasn't yet understanding her point, so he kept listening.

"I know you, Walter. You're afraid what will happen when I'm gone, so you're afraid what will happen if everyone else is gone someday, too."

Another hard hit to that wall.

"I can't say I'll understand what you might go through someday, but don't let fear keep you from making those human connections. I don't want you to have any regrets. If you don't have any regrets, no matter what happens, I think you'll be surprised at how much life is still worth living, no matter how long you're in it."

Paige. She was referring to Paige, he realized. More broadly, she was referring to him being afraid to get, and stay, close to humans he cared about.

Megan leaned back against his shoulder. "Promise me, Walter, that if you ever have trouble finding your way, you'll think of me. 'Perfectly human' me," Megan quoted his words back at him. "This is how I want you to remember me. Happy and healthy, and someone who loves you so much. Let me be a reminder of how wonderful human existence can be."

She placed a hand on his chest. "Don't be afraid of who you really are. You're not your brain, you're not inhuman, you are your heart. There are people in this world who love you so much. Walter, promise me you won't be afraid to love. I want you to be as happy as I am."

The pressure against his mental walls seemed to recede somewhat at her words. Not because he was letting the wall down, but because the blocked feelings themselves seemed to calm for a time.

"Okay," he said, "I promise."

She smiled at his short, characteristic response. They knew how to communicate with each other, and Megan knew that just a few words from him meant so much more.

Even though Walter wished the two of them could stay on that rooftop forever, there were other plans for the day. They should get going.

"We should go, they'll be waiting for us," he informed Megan.

She nodded and they both stead up. He turned around and she jumped once again on his back. He turned in the direction of the garage.

"Walter?"

"Yes?" He turned his head towards her slightly over his shoulder.

Walter could hear the grin in her voice at her next words, "Don't hold back, go as fast as you can."

He returned her grin and looked straight ahead. "Understood."

Then he took off, doing his best to obey her wish.

From then on, he would always do his best to obey her wishes.

All of them.

Walter and Megan landed on the roof of the garage, then he jumped off the edge and landed smoothly on the ground next to the entrance.

She jumped off his back, turning towards the door.

Walter reached out and opened the door, holding it for Megan as she walked through.

Once they entered, they were met with quite a sight.

The whole garage was decorated. Granted, in a fashion reflecting the short notice they had to do it, but it was decorated from top to bottom.

Happy had threaded together every light they had, it seemed, and strung them up and down the walls and on the ceiling. The desks had been moved to the side to create a makeshift dance floor. A disco ball reflected the numerous lights as it spun in the center of the room.

A table stood to the side filled with all of Megan's favorite foods and drinks. Next to it was a stack of games she loved to play.

In the certain of it though, standing together, stood Scorpion. Everyone, even Ralph, was there for Megan's last day.

After taking in the sight, Megan's hands went up to her mouth, and tears appeared in her eyes.

She then ran at the group of people and launched herself into their arms, hugging each of them in turn. All their expressions were bittersweet, but like she had done with Walter, her joy was infectious, and the bitter half of their expressions soon dissipated.

Walter smiled and walked up to them, joining the celebration.

That day, she ate her favorite foods, reminisced about her favorite memories with Walter and Sylvester. She even had a few good stories about the rest of the team. They also shared their own in turn. Embarrassing, sad, happy, they told them all.

What she enjoyed most of all, was the dancing. Toby started the music, and they danced for hours. Best of all, she and Sylvester were able to dance. Sylvester had told Walter once that he wished he would have been able to truly dance with her, and now he got his chance.

Everyone cut in once or twice. Cabe danced with her very properly and politely, while Toby danced much more loosely with many dips and twirls. Even Ralph got a turn with Megan. Toby and Happy did a lot of dancing together, as their relationship had become a lot closer recently.

Paige and she danced side by side during many of the faster songs, and soon even Happy joined the two other girls. It was much to Walter's chagrin when the three women ran up and dragged him to the dance floor, despite his objections. He didn't think he would have overpowered them even if he used his super strength.

At the end of the night, Sylvester had one more slow dance with Megan. As they did, Walter stepped outside to get what he had asked Sylvester to acquire for him.

Megan rested her head against Sylvester's chest as the song finished. It was very late now, almost past midnight. She knew she didn't have much time left.

Today was one of the best days of her life. She could never express how she felt. Put simply, it had been perfect.

As the song ended, she looked up at looked into Sylvester's eyes. He was smiling at her.

"No regrets?" she asked.

"No regrets," he answered truthfully.

Suddenly she heard the sound of a very powerful engine outside, revving loudly.

"Walter has something for you," Sylvester said.

Apparently she hesitated for a brief moment, because he added a few more words.

"Our time together has been everything I could have ever wanted. It's ok. Go spend some more time with your brother."

She nodded and turned to the rest of the group. They all were looking at her.

"Thank you, everyone, for the best last day I could have ever hoped for."

They all nodded, acknowledging her thanks.

She then turned and ran to the garage door, and opened it.

Once she did she was met with the sight of Walter, hands in his pockets, leaning against a running car, and not just any car. It was her dream car, a yellow Lamborghini.

That was what he told Sylvester to do, find and rent the car she told Walter all those years ago to get her to pay her back for being such an awesome sister.

Her expression must have been matching her amazement, because Walter broke out into a wide grin.

"Want to take it for a spin?" he asked.

She had drove briefly when she was a teenage, before the MS had started affecting her motor function. It had been a while, but she was sure she could figure it out.

"Absolutely," she answered, and ran to the driver's seat.

Megan didn't hold back driving the car. She was very adept at it, it seemed. Far more than someone who physically couldn't drive for twenty years had any business being.

Even Walter got a little nervous at some points. Megan hit his shoulder jokingly when she caught him chanting to himself "I can't die," over and over to remind himself of his durability as she drove at high speeds.

Honestly though, he was pleased with how much Megan was enjoying herself.

Besides some banter and mild reminiscing, they didn't talk much during that time. They didn't need to. Megan had conveyed the messages she wanted to. On the road together, they just enjoyed being.

It was approaching sunrise when Megan pulled back up to the garage. She gave Walter's shoulder a small squeeze before exiting the car. He did the same as she walked around the front of the vehicle.

As she made her way around, he saw her stumble slightly and lean against the hood.

There was a moment of silence before she looked at him with a nervous smile. "I think I've lost my glass slipper. Guess it's time to go back before this Lambo turns back into a pumpkin."

Popular culture references often went over Walter's head, but he understood this one. Cinderella had been Megan's favorite fairy tale as a child.

Paige often spoke about timing when conveying emotion. It was a concept he still struggled with. There were a few words he had to say, but he didn't know if now was the time.

Figuring he would never know, he just said them.

"I love you, Megan. I'm going to miss you."

The words came out quickly and even toned. To any outsider, this words would have sounded inadequate, cold even.

But Megan had been translating Walter all her life. She still understood him better than anyone, although Paige was becoming a very close second.

She pushed herself off the hood, and with her last remaining strength to stand, ran and collapsed into Walter's arms. He caught her in his arms as she gave him the biggest hug she could.

"I love you too, Walter."

They held each other for a moment.

"It's okay to cry, Walter," she whispered in his ear.

And he did. The walls were still standing, but he let some of the emotion through, for her.

"I'm going to miss you," he repeated through his tears.

"I'll always be here. I know that sounds corny, but it's true. Even if it's a thousand years from now, I'll be here." She took her hand and poked at his chest. Abstract concepts usually went over his head, but he felt he understood this one.

He nodded and she let him go. He held on to her, though, as she could no longer stand on her own.

"Ok," she said. "Bell's chiming. Time to leave the palace and go back home."

He gently placed her in the passenger seat of the sports car. He sent a message to Sylvester that he was taking her back to the hospital. His parents would also be arriving soon.

He drove her back and entered with her through the same window which they left. He helped her change back into her hospital gown and get settled back in bed. He had the doctor hook her back up to her IV and machines before releasing his compulsion and erasing the memory of his strange tasks.

When he was finished Megan was nearly back to the state she was before yesterday. Time had caught back up. She fell asleep as soon as she was settled back in her bed.

Walter leaned over and gave her one last kiss on her head before leaving for the airport.

Chapter Text

In typical Scorpion fashion, the final hours with Megan were hindered by an infectious fungal outbreak in the hospital, of all things. Walter and Megan's parents had arrived from Ireland to say goodbye to their daughter, and the whole team had been there to support them. Walter never felt close to his parents, since they understood him as well as most humans, but he was glad they were there as a family.

Megan was fading. Sylvester, Paige, and his parents were with her, but Walter was trapped as he helped the rest of Scorpion with the rest of the outbreak.

They solved the outbreak just in time, and Walter's focus was getting to his sister in time.

He ran into the room. Sylvester was sitting by Megan's side and his parents were standing over her.

He had made it. He sat down next to her and took her hand. It was colder than even his.

"I'm here, Megan."

She looked at him, struggling to take her last breaths.

"Don't….don't…be afraid…of who…you are."

She conveyed her last words to him before she closed her eyes, and let out her last breath.

Time seemed to slow as the monitor next to her went from beeping to a consistent tone. He heard his mother crying, he saw the pain in his father's eyes. He saw the sorrow in Sylvester's. He saw the sadness and sympathy in Paige's.

And himself…

Suddenly, he was no longer sitting in that hospital room. He found himself standing in the middle of a different room. This room was a construct within his mind. There were four walls around him, and Walter immediately knew they were somehow the walls that he used to compartmentalize his emotions. They were constructed long ago by his genius mind since it often didn't know how to process and convey emotion, so he would often lock it away.

Now, they looked like they had gone through a war zone. They were battered and cracked, seized upon from the other side. They were like a dam that was being overwhelmed from all the pressure.

A loud deafening noise invaded the room he was protected in. It was a loud, piercing whine. He tried covering his ears, but it had no effect.

It became so loud, he dropped to his knees. The sound. It was the relentless sound of the heart monitor that had flatlined, indicating she was gone.

Megan was gone.

His sister was gone.

His own scream of despair joined the piercing, persistent noise.

Suddenly the walls started vibrating with both his screaming and the sound of the screeching monitor. The walls started breaking apart, not able to withstand the forces against them any longer. As they cracked, a dark, red, liquid started to seep from them, and once it did, the walls completely collapsed. Soon the room he stood in was being flooded by the torrent.

He was quickly forced under the current. He was drowning. He couldn't escape. He was being crushed. He tried to scream again but the blood-like fluid, the emotions, forced themselves down his throat, further burying him. He felt like he was dying. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to make it stop. He couldn't breath. He was going to die. He had to make it stop.

So he did.

The next instant he was sitting back in the hospital room. The whine he was perceiving had returned to a normal volume. Everyone looked so sad still. Not more than a moment in real time had passed it seemed.

And he felt…he felt…

Nothing.

He felt nothing at all.

Which was…interesting.

"Oh. Okay." Those two emotionless words were the only ones he spoke before he stood up and calmly left the room.

Megan was dead.

There was no point in staying there any longer.

Paige watched Megan's last moment with her family around her. Walter had arrived in time to be with her, thank God. He sat next to her and took her hand. She listened to Megan's last message to her brother before she took her last breath, and passed away.

Her own tears made their way down her face, but she was here to support her friends. Mostly she was here for Walter.

As the steady tone of the monitor started, proving Megan's passing, she moved her eyes to him, waiting to be there for him, whatever he needed.

She watched as he seemed to freeze. He was inhumanly still for several moments. Nothing moved. Not a muscle. Not his eyes. Nothing. He didn't even seem to be breathing.

Then he blinked several times suddenly, as if coming out of a trance. His gaze moved through each person in the room before settling back on his sister.

He squinted his eyes at her and leaned forward slightly, as if studying her. The action looked wrong to Paige. She kept watching.

He sat back up straight and tilted his head to the side. He spoke two words that were so calm and mundane, yet they chilled her to the bone.

"Oh. Okay."

He then calmly stood up and left the room.

She would have accepted a similar response maybe from his normal, low EQ genius brain. She had in fact expected some kind of not-normal response from him to Megan's death, and she tried to tell herself for a moment that was all it was, and he would find a way to express his emotions and deal with them later.

But something in the way he looked, something in the way he moved. The difference in his expression before and after he went into that trance for a moment. She felt it was more than that.

She deeply hoped she was wrong, but part of her knew she wasn't.

He had flipped that switch. He had turned off his emotions.

He had turned off his humanity.

She felt numb. Paige suddenly didn't know what to do. For several minutes, she didn't know what to do, so she just stood there, looking at the door he just left through. She was hoping with all her heart that the Walter she loved hadn't just died with his sister.

Chapter Text

The whole team, sans Walter, sat in Cabe's living room. It had been about a week since Megan died, and all of them had realized by now that something was very, very wrong.

Paige had been the first to realize it, but hadn't said anything at first. Even though every time she looked at Walter she felt something very important was missing, she didn't want to say anything if she was wrong. Maybe he just needed some space.

It wasn't until the day she ran her suspicions by Toby that everyone became sure that Walter wasn't, well, Walter. She recalled how disturbing the realization had been.

Toby was looking at her skeptically after Paige ran her theory by him.

"I don't know, Paige. I mean, admittedly I haven't really spoken to him. Giving him some space, and all that, but that seems…"

"Can you talk to him, see if you can get a reading on him?" she earnestly asked the behaviorist. Her worry about the possibility must have shown on her face, because Toby ultimately agreed to her request.

"I can try. I'll be honest, even if you're right, I'm not sure what I'd be looking for. They don't exactly teach vampire psychology at Harvard."

The two of them arrived at the garage. They were the only other two there that day. Happy and Sylvester had other plans.

Walter was sitting at his desk, typing away at his computer. It was the same thing he had done for the last week. Either that or spend time upstairs with one of his many projects. To an outsider, he might just seem like a focused genius. She still hoped that was the case. The two of them greeted Walter, and he gave them only a short "hey" in return. Not abnormal, honestly.

Toby walked over to Walter while Paige casually sat at her desk to watch their exchange.

She couldn't make out everything they were saying, so she watched their body language. Toby was his usual expressive self. He gave Walter a friendly slap on his back in greeting and sat down in a folding chair next to his desk.

Walter looked mildly annoyed at his disruption, but he didn't ignore him, by any means. He appeared to be conversing with Toby in a normal manner. He even gave a smile or two at something Toby said. He even laughed once.

Maybe I'm wrong, she thought. This could just be Walter's unique brain needing time after his sister's death. Their conversation was looking more normal to Paige until Walter asked Toby something at the end.

"Is something wrong, Toby? Your heart rate is increasing," Walter questioned his friend.

"It is?" Toby asked innocently. "Probably the four cups of coffee I had this morning."

"I would advise then you decrease your caffeine intake in the future, then. The sound is…distracting." Something about the way Walter said that sentence gave her goosebumps.

Toby gave a nervous laugh. "I'll try, buddy."

Toby got up and motioned with his eyes that he wanted to meet Paige outside. Paige followed him. Walter didn't even seem to notice.

She met Toby, who was pacing some distance outside the garage. When she approached him, he looked deeply rattled.

"Toby…?" she asked. She had rarely seen the behaviorist look so disturbed. "What is it?"

"That isn't Walter," was the first thing he said when he stopped pacing back and forth.

"Toby, what do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, it's obviously Walter, but it's not Walter," he tried clarifying as he pointed to the garage.

Paige thought she understood what he meant, but she needed to know what he saw. "Toby, I'm going to need you to break that down for me."

Toby stopped pacing and took a big, shaky breath. "I used every tool I had to test for empathy, conscience, and so forth. I even brought up Megan to look for signs of emotional pain, suppressed or otherwise. There was nothing there, Paige. And with me just now, when he showed some sort of emotion, he was lying. He was faking it. Every smile, every laugh."

"You're sure that wasn't just his low EQ? Some sort of response to Megan's passing?"

Toby shook his head. "You seemed to sense something was wrong, hence why you came to me, but with my training, I saw it Paige, or rather, I didn't see it. I saw nothing human there. I've never seen that before. The closest I've ever seen is when I've had conversations with sociopaths."

Paige looked back at the garage. She had been right. There was no other explanation.

"What do we do?" she asked, close to tears.

"What do we do? He can't…stay like this." Paige said to everyone sitting around her.

Cabe pulled out his phone and started scrolling through the contacts. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Getting some help. I think we're going to need some guidance on this one."

They all gathered around the phone as it rang. Cabe put it on speaker.

"Hey there Cabe, what can I do ya for?" Damon's voice answered.

"Hey, Salv. We're going to need some guidance here."

"What's up?"

"Walter's sister passed away last week, and since then he's been, well, we think he flipped that switch you warned me about."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a second before Damon responded. "Oh boy. Well, that can be a tricky one."

"Is he dangerous?" was Cabe's first question.

"Because he flipped the switch? No, not necessarily. I mean, if he decided to kill someone he wouldn't care, but when we turn everything off, we're still us. We can still understand right, wrong, and remember what's supposed to be important to us. We still feel in many ways. We don't turn into robots. We just no longer care about anyone or feel any kind of emotional pain. It's like, well, let's just say there's a reason many of the legends about vampires describe us as 'soulless'".

Soulless. That's exactly how she would describe what they had been dealing well.

Paige could easily tell Damon was speaking from experience. "What made you turn your humanity back on, when you turned it off?" She knew it was a personal question, but she didn't care.

As expected, Damon took a while to answer that question. She was surprised when he answered with a very straightforward answer.

"Love," he said. "The only reason I chose to care about anything again, to endure the guilt for the things I've done, or feel the pain of loss, was for love."

No one spoke for a second. Damon decided to clarify a little further. "It started with a girl, of course, then it was reconnecting with my brother. I even have some people that I would call close friends. I'm speaking for myself, of course, but all of that counts."

They all understood what he was saying, but all of them were at a loss of how to use that information.

"If you want my advice, I would try reaching the part which seems to be missing. Trust me, it's still there, so he's aware of and remembers it. He just doesn't feel it."

"Should we take precautions when we confront him?" Happy asked.

"Might not be a bad idea. He might not try anything, but remember he doesn't feel guilt right now, so he may have less restraint if you did piss him off."

With that information Scorpion decided to set up what was probably the strangest intervention of all time.

They all returned to the garage when Walter was not there, and made preparations.

A few hours later Walter returned, as expected. Sylvester had been tracking his phone. If Walter had been paying attention he no doubt would have noticed in a second, but there was not reason for him suspect they wanted to keep track of him.

He also no doubt knew they were all there when he entered. With his heightened senses he would know the position of each one of them in the building, but again, there was no reason for him to think anything would be strange about that.

They tried to calmly watch as he walked over to his desk, like he did everyday. If he sensed any of their overt anxiety, he didn't show it. He picked up the coffee thermos he left on his desk and took a long sip from it.

Almost immediately he started gasping and choking. He collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, trying to expel the vervain from his body. They had given him a high dose, though, and it wasn't long before he fell unconscious on the floor.

No one spoke as they moved him. They all hated what they were doing, but knew it was necessary. Once he was in position they simply waited for him to wake up.

Paige watched as Walter started to stir. He let out a long groan as he slowly sat, then stood up.

She let out a word of warning as he stumbled slightly, momentarily falling into a bright beam of light.

He yelled, his face changing with a growl as he nursed the minor burn on his hand. He looked around himself, still growling.

He was standing in a dark, approximately four by four patch of the floor. That patch sharply turned into bright illumination around him. From the ceiling hung multiple lamps, pointing straight down creating a cage of ultraviolet light. They were the lamps Happy had developed for their experiments with his UV sensitivity several months ago. She saw Walter look down at his hand and notice his ring was missing.

"Take it easy, son, we don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk," Cabe said calmly, trying to placate the angry vampire.

Walter was pacing back and forth analyzing his prison. They all had no doubt he was trying to figure a way out.

"Walter…" Sylvester started.

Walter's gaze whipped towards the math genius.

Sylvester looked uncomfortable by the threatening gaze suddenly turned towards him, but he held his ground.

"Do the calculations, Walter. I have. You won't be able to leave that circle before you sustain life-threatening burns, so please. Don't." Sylvester said this, his voice pleading rather than threatening. He really didn't want to see his friend hurt.

Walter contemplated his argument and his visage returned to normal, seemingly accepting there was no logical point for him to do anything else but to hear them out.

Walter still didn't look happy about the situation.

"I hope you all have a good explanation for this," he said, almost too calmly.

Paige took it upon herself to approach him. "It's just a precaution, Walter, that's all. We think your judgement might be off right now, so we're just being safe."

Walter looked very impatient with her as she tried to explain.

"Why would I harm any of you? There's no reason to," he stated, as if simply making a logical argument.

*"I would never hurt him, not ever. Not you, not them. Please know that," he said, almost pleading with her.*

The tone of his words were in disturbing contrast to when he first thought she might be afraid of him all those months ago.

Paige tried to not let it phase her as she continued talking to him.

"Walter, after Megan died…"

No reaction.

"Did you make the pain go away? Did you shut everything off?"

She expected him to either lie or avoid answering. Perhaps even be in denial about it, like he hadn't realized what he had done. She was ready to argue why they would have thought otherwise.

What she didn't expect was him to answer quickly and honestly. He simply, logically, stated the fact.

"Yes."

Hearing his calm admission was like a floodgate opening within her. She felt hurt, angry, scared. She had planned for all of them to try to slowly and gently reason with him.

All those plans changed because, frankly, she became utterly furious with him.

She wasn't thinking as she marched up to him and slapped him hard across the face.

"Paige!"

"Paige…"

She received multiple urges of caution at her action.

"How dare you do something like that," she seethed.

Walter didn't make any motion to stop or retaliate against her. He simply rubbed at his cheek where she had struck him.

"Do you have any idea what a betrayal that is? To us? To yourself? To me?" she yelled at him through tears. "This isn't you. You must know that."

She tried to calm down for a second. "Please, Walter. I know it will hurt, a lot, but please, don't shut out your humanity."

Walter only stared at her with an icy, soulless gaze. His hands were in his pockets, looking almost bored. His robotic calm was more unsettling than when he lost control that first night outside the garage.

It only served to anger her more, and she just let loose at him.

"Fine! Throw away everything we've worked for! All the progress you've made! You want to be a robot, or a vampire, instead of human? Go right ahead!"

She was breathing heavily, but then it slowed, Her next words coming out softer. Sad. "Just know I won't stay here to watch you throw your humanity away because…because…it's breaking my heart. It's breaking our hearts, and I know it would break Megan's, too."

Walter's eyes widened ever so slightly at those three words.

Breaking my heart…

She hadn't meant them to be, but they were the same words he had said to her on the stairs after Cuba when he was trying to convey what losing her would do to him. Maybe, he would at least remember what those words meant to him at the time, even if he couldn't currently feel them.

Her hopes started fading, when he continued to stare at her coldly, with no hints of further emotion.

She shook her head hopelessly at him, mourning him in a way, and started to walk away. There was nothing more for her to do, it seemed, and no reason for her to stay.

"I didn't want to lose her."

Paige froze. She slowly turned around.

Walter hadn't moved. He still stood there with his hands in his pockets, but now his expression had changed from cold to slightly contemplative. His eyes were unfocused, as if trying to analyze a memory, and struggling with it.

"I didn't want to lose her," he repeated.

He inhaled a deep breath and let it out, then again. The third time he did it, his breath seemed to catch slightly, and he started breathing a little faster. His hands were now clenched at his sides.

Walter finally looked her in the eye, and he looked, he looked…

So...Sad...

"I didn't...want...to lose her," he said one last time, having to say the words between his heaving breaths.

Paige's jaw dropped.

His emotions. His humanity.

He had turned them back on.

In spite of the pain he knew he would feel, he had turned his emotions back on.

Walter was back.

And he was in pain.

Paige ran to him and grabbed him in an embrace as he collapsed to the floor in anguish.

Chapter Text

As Paige dropped to the ground with Walter, she didn't land on the cold, hard concrete of the garage floor. Her fall was broken by warm sand, and Walter was no longer in her arms.

Beyond confused, she slowly stood up. She brushed the sand off her legs and looked around to see where she was.

She was standing on a beach. The waves gently lapping at the sand were colored red orange by the setting, or rising sun on the horizon. She couldn't yet tell which. A warm, gentle breeze caused her hair to blow slightly across her face.

She gazed off in the distance. Some ways down the beach she could see a figure sitting in the sand, looking at the horizon.

Walter.

She ran through the sand up to him. From a distance, it looked like he had been sitting in the sand, tranquilly enjoying the sunset. One she got closer, though, she saw he was anything but tranquil. He was sitting with his knees to his chest, he was shivering, and he was soaked.

Still not remotely understanding what was happening, she knelt next to him and spoke to him.

"Walter."

She got no response.

"Walter!"

Still nothing.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Walter!"

He jumped slightly as he turned to her.

"Paige?" He looked very surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"You're asking me? Where are we Walter? What's going on?"

He seemed to think about her question but didn't answer. He eventually looked out at the water again, still shivering. He seemed distant, unfocused, like he was caught in a dream.

A dream…

It couldn't be, could it?

She looked around again, then back at Walter. She thought of her inexplicable appearance from the garage to this strange beach in an instant.

Was she…inside Walter's mind?

Cabe said vampires had some telepathic abilities. She thought that just meant the ability to influence minds, but maybe not. It seemed crazy, but as she thought about it, somehow it didn't. Somehow…he must have pulled her into this place. She would bet Walter didn't even know what he was doing.

Either way, even though she was a bit freaked out, she was here, and she was going to see if there was anything she could do for him.

She had already tried directly asking him what was going on, which didn't work.

So she sat on the beach next to him and put her arm around him. He started to shiver a little less.

"How are you feeling, Walter? Why are you soaking wet? What happened?"

He turned his head towards her, but didn't answer.

Or at least, he didn't answer with words.

Suddenly she was somewhere else, again. Or more specifically she could see another place in her mind. It still felt like she was sitting on that beach with Walter, but what she was being shown something very different.

She was looking down at Walter as he stood in what appeared to be a turbulent, blood red sea. The sea wasn't touching him, though. It was being held back by four crumbling walls.

She somehow knew this was some kind of representation of how Walter felt when Megan died. This must be the place Walter felt he was when he zoned out in the hospital room.

She watched as he started screaming and the walls started crumbling. She found herself trying to scream his name as she saw him swallowed by the red sea. Of course he couldn't hear her.

In a flash she was back at the beach. Shaken, she turned her head to Walter.

She was still angry and hurt by what he had done, but he just showed her, in a very abstract way, why he had done it. She started to find within herself some understanding.

Now, sitting on the beach that looked like it had just violently washed Walter ashore, he didn't know yet what to do.

For a mind which only used its left brain, it seemed remarkably good at creating metaphors.

"I can't control it. I can't keep it at bay. It's going to drown me," he suddenly said, looking at the horizon.

She looked up with him and in the distance, saw an extremely tall, large wave. It looked like was moving, but it didn't seem to be getting any closer yet. She had no doubt, though, at some point it would reach the beach.

"How did you control it before?" she asked him.

"With the walls…"

The four rigid, now destroyed walls

"I need them, Paige. My brain, it can't change what it is. They were a part of how it worked. Without them, I won't work."

"Can you build new walls?" she asked.

He nodded, but looked hesitant. "But, what if the same thing happens someday? What if they break, and I feel like I have no choice but to make everything go dark again? The darkness was safe. It was quiet. But I really didn't like it."

She did her best to keep following the metaphor, and advise him.

"What if you don't make them so rigid? What if you made it so they could still protect you, and allow your brain to work, but they could bend, and let some things through a little so it doesn't build up and overwhelm you?"

She had no idea if anything she just said was even possible, or if he even comprehended what she was saying. She wasn't even sure if she fully understood what she was trying to say to him.

Walter seemed to, though. He seemed to think about her idea for a second, the he slowly stood up. He looked at the wave coming towards them, again looking like it was moving, but not yet getting closer. He closed his eyes and lowered his head. He made his hands into fists by his side. Then, he looked like he started to deeply concentrate.

His fists started shaking at his sides in effort, and Paige felt the ground beneath them start to rumble. She looked around her, and saw this mental reality start to change before her eyes.

A low wall of sand seemed to raise up several feet in front of them, right where the waves met the beach. Several palm trees uprooted behind them and moved to lay out in front of them, resting on top of the sand layer. Several vines and branches from the surrounding brush were woven and stacked to bind the structure together.

It seemed to take several minutes, but then the rumbling ceased, and before them was a rudimentary, but strong looking wall. A larger wave hit it. The barrier bent slightly at the pressure, and some of the water seeped through the gaps. Some of the sand immediately was worn away, but appeared to be quickly replaced.

It was very clear the structure was strong, and would hold against a larger onslaught, mostly because it was flexible and had some gaps to allow some of the water through if needed. For now though, the gaps were slowly filled in with the ever moving sand.

Above the structure, they could still see much of the ocean, along with the sunset, or was it sunrise? She asked Walter which it was.

"I don't know, actually. Both I guess," he answered. The distinguishment didn't seem to bother him.

She noticed the very large wave they had been watching had started to get closer.

"Will it hold?" she asked Walter.

He nodded. "It will, but much will go over. I'll still have to endure a lot of it."

She took his hand. "You won't have to do it alone. We'll all be here with you. I'll be here."

"Thank you," he said.

They waited as the wave got closer. The fast moving wave violently hit the barrier, but it held and didn't break. Water did make its way through, and about half the wave rose over the top. Its strength had been tempered, but it still descended upon Walter's position, but now with Paige at his side.

Paige braced for the impact, but at the exact moment the wave would have hit her, with a jerk of her body, she found herself again in the garage, holding Walter as he finished his descent onto the floor. Not even a second had passed it seemed.

He was kneeling on the floor, overcome with the emotion he just let wash over him.

She held him ran her hand along his back, trying to comfort him.

"I didn't want to lose my sister. I miss her so much," he sobbed.

"I know, Walter, I know."

"I miss her, Paige, it hurts. It hurts so badly."

"I know Walter, and we're here for you. You don't have to go through this alone."

Suddenly everyone was around them, joining in the comfort Walter suddenly needed.

They all just stood there with him, showing their support for several minutes. In true Walter fashion, though, even though he was momentarily paralyzed by what he was feeling, he recovered and regained his composure quickly.

After about a minute, his breathing evened out, and he stood up. He still looked like he was dealing with the pain of his loss, but he was dealing with it.

He looked embarrassed as he glanced at everyone around him. This was Walter, showing his normal amount of discomfort when his emotions were exposed. "I'm sorry, everyone, that was, uh, unprofessional." He cleared his throat.

He looked at his surroundings. The UV lights were still on. They soon were turned off quickly as Happy reached for the switch.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking confused.

"Do you remember the last week?" Cabe asked him.

Walter's eyes were already darting back and forth, searching for the memories she spoke of. They widened when he seemed to find them. His hand raised to his face, where Paige had slapped him out of anger only minutes before.

He turned to her, his eyes widened in horror.

"Paige, I swear, I didn't mean to. Shut everything off, I mean. I didn't realize I did it. I-"

"Walter, it's ok," she interrupted him.

Walter's brow furrowed in confusion, not understanding her rapid forgiveness.

"Do you remember a beach?" she asked him.

Now he looked even more confused. "A beach? No…I don't think so."

She thought as much. He didn't remember. To him, everything had just happened in a few short minutes, so her drastic change in attitude must have seemed strange to him, and likely everyone.

"Don't worry about it, Walter. I understand what happened, and I think it won't be as easy for you to do it again in the future."

Walter wasn't allowed to try and decipher her words any further. Toby came up and gave Walter a friendly slap on the back. "Glad to have you back, buddy. Seriously, it was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Super creepy."

Cabe walked up to Walter and tossed him his daylight ring, which he deftly caught and placed back on his finger. He then let out a sigh, which caught in his throat, but only once.

"You going to be ok, kid?" he asked.

Walter looked around at everyone, and for the first time in weeks, gave a small, genuine, smile. He looked at Paige, and nodded.

"I think I will."

Chapter Text

Walter was ok, but that didn't mean he wasn't struggling.

Walter sat beneath the night sky, his legs overhanging the side of a brick, featureless building as he sat atop it. It had only been a day since his team reached him, and brought him back to himself.

No, since Paige reached him.

He remembered every moment of when he suddenly felt nothing after Megan died; a blissful, yet terrifying nothing.

Things were not blissful anymore, as the pain of Megan's death was almost too much to bear. But because of Megan, Paige, and his team, he wasn't terrified anymore, either.

Even so, he felt the pang of regret as he recalled the events of the last few days. He had told Paige the truth when he said he hadn't meant to flip that switch; to block out everything. To feel no pain, or much else, for that matter. He had been aware of everything, but he just didn't care. He knew what he had done. He knew it had been wrong to block everything out, he just didn't care enough to switch everything back on.

Or…even though he had been incapable of fear, a deeper part of him had been terrified of the feelings he drastically escaped from.

Walter let out a sigh of frustration. He honestly didn't know which it was. He supposed it didn't really matter.

Now that he felt again, it was as if the absence of his emotions, then their return, now made him aware of how much he did feel, even before his change. He compared it to if someone had taken away every sound, whether loud or slight, and left him in total silence. Then when the sound returned, he was aware every sound so much more.

Recent events were forcing him to recognize a feeling he had long been ignoring, but knew had been there for years. With his recognition, didn't necessary come clarity, however. The words of his sister echoed in his mind.

"I can't say I'll understand what you might go through someday, but don't let fear keep you from making those human connections. I don't want you to have any regrets. If you don't have any regrets, no matter what happens, I think you'll be surprised at how much life is still worth living, no matter how long you're in it."

Walter hung his head. His heart ached with the loss of his sister. The pain of her passing was like a black hole in his chest, constantly making it difficult to draw breath.

But draw breath he did. One breath at a time, he continued living, and feeling.

To continue living…possibly for centuries…potentially millennia.

Baring any supernatural influences, or his own demise, he could outlive everyone he cared for.

Everyone he…loved…

His thoughts focused back on that feeling he knew he must face. Now obvious, and impossible to ignore, was his true feelings for Paige.

He loved her.

He now fully accepted he was in love with Paige, and had been for a long time.

She had been so angry with him. He remembered the look of utter betrayal as she slapped him. He remembered being little more than annoyed by her feelings at the time. Now, the memory of the pain he caused her, and his reaction, or lack thereof, sickened him.

He had never been one to care for the feelings of others. His work with Paige was improving this, but he still felt taking time to consider what others felt could interfere with his work.

He was starting to understand why Paige urged him to…what was the word? Empathize, with people.

Feelings could be so strong.

All at the same time, he was feeling his love for Paige, the loss of his sister, and his regret for hurting Paige.

His regret.

He again thought of his sister's words. "I don't want you to have any regrets."

He knew what she was referring to. He wasn't a complete idiot when it came to emotions, but he had to wonder. What would be the greater regret?

If he acted on his feelings, he could hurt Paige again, in more ways than one. He had already hurt her, and it was killing him thinking about it.

Walter looked down at his hands. He felt himself breathing faster as memories started overtaking him- memories of how he had recently hurt Paige.

*"Fine! Throw away everything we've worked for!"*

*"Walter! Stop! You're killing her!*

*"Your blood, kid! Give her your blood!"*

*"Don't scare me like that again."*

*"You're breaking my heart…"*

Walter squeezed his eyes shut to try and block out the memories. He let out a yell as his hands clenched into fists, then he violently slammed his right fist into the ledge beside him. The stone shattered beneath his blow, small pieces tumbling over the edge and falling to the alley below.

Walter continued to breath quickly as he stared after the receding pieces of rubble. He forced himself to take a long, even breath before removing his uninjured hand from the small crater now beside him.

After a few moments Walter looked up. The roof he sat upon was across the street from Paige's apartment building. He knew she was asleep. The lights of her window had been dark for some time.

His sister died not wanting him to have any regrets. She wanted him not to ignore his feelings, and to be true to who he was.

But what if there was risk of more than one regret? What if he could end up regretting more being with her than not being with her?

What would be the greater regret?

Walter looked up at the sky. He didn't quite know why. He didn't believe in the superstitions of spirits ascending into some paradise after death. Yet it seemed logical somehow when he spoke his words.

"I understand, Megan, what you meant."

He looked back down and glanced at the darkened window of Paige's apartment. He stood up upon the ledge, and continued.

"I will keep my promise to you the best I can. I'm not afraid of who I am, and I will be true to myself. I won't ignore, or be afraid of my feelings any longer. You were right. Life is too short to ignore what I feel. Thank you for making me face myself."

He paused before finishing what he meant to say, although a part of him was wondering why he was talking out loud. Megan couldn't hear him.

He continued, somberly, shaking his head. "But… I can't risk her. To me, hurting her would be the far greatest regret. I'm immortal, she is not. I will care for her, and keep her close, but, we are…just not meant to be."

So Walter swiftly turned away and jumped back into the night. To him, he saw no other way things could be.

What he couldn't have seen was the figure now standing where he had been not moments ago. The figure watched after his fading form with a look of annoyance before letting out an ethereal sigh.

If Walter had still been there, he might have heard the faintest sound of the figure's single word before fading away.

"Dummy…"

Chapter Text

Part IV:
I, Walter

They had gotten Walter back. Even though they all were saddened by his grief, they were relieved his humanity was not lost forever. Walter was going through a grieving process like a normal human.

Well, almost.

There were a few hiccups related to his "normal" low EQ. He started talking to himself, occasionally. Then there was the sister's-ashes-in-a-coffee-can incident, but that was normal, abnormal Walter. Paige helped him recognize what he was doing and he slowly was starting to adapt.

He seemed to finally get closure after a specific phone message. The message stated he was going to be awarded the $15 million grant for his rocket and its design. It was the rocket Ralph had been working on with him. Walter had started the project to win the grant to apply the money to Megan's research. He decided to not accept it.

Instead, with the help of the team, he decided to launch his rocket into space. It carried the coffee can containing Megan's ashes to forever orbit the Earth amongst the stars.

Walter's life got even more complicated, if that was possible, when Cabe was assigned a new Homeland trainee. His name was Tim Armstrong, and he was an invalidated Navy SEAL after an explosion left some shrapnel dangerously close to his spine. He hoped to return to active service, but he was exploring his options by taking a position with Homeland.

Walter just hoped he didn't explore too closely.

Walter took Cabe aside after their first mission involving Tim, which was successful, but Cabe had been captured and tortured when attempting to retrieve stollen artifacts in Djibouti.

"Cabe, I'm not pleased with Tim's presence. We don't know enough about him, and it's too high of a risk that he might find out what I am. If I had been able to use my abilities in Djibouti-"

"Things would have turned out exactly the same way," Cabe interrupted him. "I would have been saved still, just a little sooner. I'm still ok, Walter."

Walter accepted Cabe's analysis, but he still had reservations. All in all, Tim seemed like an honorable man, and logic kept telling him that he was someone to be trusted.

What he definitely didn't like was how Tim started looking at Paige. Then when he asked Paige out, Walter started to feel an ugly, rolling feeling in the pit of his stomach. For several days he tried to ignore it, and refused to identify it.

He had to recognize it, however, when it caused a close call occurred regarding Walter's undead status.

The trigger, of course, involved his still present feelings for Paige.

Before that though, there had been harrowing near death experiences to get him primed.

Tim had left town for a few days to address some details regarding his injury and the Navy's stance on it. Tim was hoping to rejoin the SEALS, but the remaining shrapnel near his spine was being classified as a liability. He was trying to appeal their decision.

After all the insane recent events, they all enjoyed a very uneventful period of time. So for that morning, they enjoyed things being boring.

At least Paige thought it was boring. She returned from a meeting with a client. It had been a short, but strange meeting. The man decided not to use their services after only a few minutes of talking. No big deal, she supposed, but she was mildly annoyed that she had to take the afternoon off and have Ralph find a different way home from school because of it.

She walked into the garage and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Toby was sitting on the edge of Sylvester's desk, chatting about something in a one-sided conversation while Sylvester did his best to ignore him. She could hear Happy using some kind of high powered equipment in her workshop. Walter was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't concern her. She was sure he was somewhere around.

She sat down at her desk and sighed. "Sorry guys, client changed his mind. A waste of time, to be honest."

She heard the two men exchange some quick whispers back and forth. "Uh, huh," Toby said, looking up at her. And Sly looked…uncomfortable?

"Boo!"

Paige screamed and nearly fell out of her chair.

She heard heavy laughter before she could get her bearings. She swiveled her chair around. Hanging upside down, like Spiderman, from a thick cable coming from the high ceiling, was Walter. It seemed he had silently climbed down behind her after she sat down.

His face had several grease spots and his shirt, equally dirty, was falling slightly around his waist. His head was level with her own as she sat, and on his face was a large grin of pure amusement at his success.

"I'm sorry," he said, still laughing. "I couldn't resist. I was working on some wiring on the ceiling. It was too good an opportunity to pass up."

She glared at the two other men.

"Toby made me not say anything," Sly said quickly, looking sheepish. She still thought she saw an amused glint in his eye.

Toby, of course, was unapologetic.

She looked back at Walter, still hanging there, slightly swinging back and forth. He was still smiling at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. He looked so happy and carefree in that moment. How could she stay mad at him?

"Uh, huh…" she said in acknowledgment, trying to sound annoyed. Instead of saying anything else, she stood up and gave Walter a firm push.

"Woah!" His amused look turned to one of alarm as he went swinging towards the wall behind him. He twisted and stopped himself from hitting it with his legs, then fluidly pushed off to swing in the opposite direction. He released the cable, twisted in the air, and landed on his feet in front of Paige's desk. He straightened and turned to her. The amused smile returned.

"Show off," she accused him, but this time returned his smile.

He gave a shrug. "I admit I've felt a little restless since I've had to hide my abilities with Tim around."

Tim. Her thoughts turned to him. He had asked her out after Djibouti. He was amazing. Every girl's dream to be honest. She would likely go on another date with him. There was absolutely no reason not to.

She glanced up at Walter, who was still smiling at her.

At least, no one was giving her a reason not to.

Their lighthearted moment was interrupted when Cabe abruptly opened the garage door.

"After all this time, you geniuses are still lousy at answering your phones!" he chastised angrily.

Happy poked her head out from the next room, completing the group. They all sensed the urgency in his voice.

"What's going on, Cabe?" Walter asked.

Cabe slowed and came to a stop in front of them.

"The Governor received a ransom demand about twenty minutes ago. A local group claiming association with ISIS has hijacked and taken a school bus. It had just left an elementary school, and it was full of kids. The driver was killed and left on the road with the demand."

Cabe reached in his pocket and pulled out a flash drive, tossing it to Walter.

"With the ransom demand we received a live video feed of the inside of the bus. On that drive is the link."

Walter immediately plugged the drive into his computer and pulled up the link.

"This is so awful," Paige said, "But this sounds more like work for a hostage negotiator or the military. What can Scorpion do?"

Cabe wasted no time answering. "Two things. First, we were hoping you could confirm that's a live feed and see if you can get any information from it," Cabe started.

They heard a soft 'beep' as Walter pulled up the feed.

"And second?" Page asked.

"Paige…" Walter said.

They all looked at him. He looked up at the team with a look of severe concern.

They all moved around to look at his screen.

On it they saw the interior of a school bus. The camera was placed high and in the front. They could see every seat and at least the heads of every child. A rough looking man carrying an AK-47 walked slowly up and down the aisle.

What caused Walter concern, was what he saw on the left of the feed, in a seat about halfway down the aisle.

A small, dark haired boy sat in the aisle seat. As the soldier walked past the children, almost all of them shied away in fear, or were crying and huddled low in their seats. Not this boy. With each pass he would just look up at the armed man, with a look of constant analysis.

One of the children on the school bus was Ralph.

The team immediately started working at full mental capacity. These men had just made two grave errors. First, they provided a live video feed to a team of geniuses, and second, they had kidnapped Ralph.

They, of course, were concerned about the rest of the children on that bus, but by human nature, nothing motivates like threatening one of your own.

Walter took the feed and immediately started tracing it. It wasn't easy, even for him. The signal kept being bounced around and made it difficult to track down. But he was a genius with a one-ninety-seven IQ. Overall, it didn't take him long to isolate the source.

There.

His head snapped up. "I found them!" he announced.

"Let's go!" Cabe yelled. They all grabbed their equipment and immediately took off out the door while Cabe made a phone call to Homeland.

Walter and Paige sat in the back of Cabe's SUV while he was on the phone as he drove. The rest of the team followed close behind. Paige hadn't said much of anything since they learned Ralph was one of the children taken. Walter provided Cabe with the area where the signal was originating and they were on their way.

Walter looked over at Paige. She was staring into space with her fingers unconsciously twirling her necklace back and forth. She was clearly terrified for Ralph. Walter was deeply concerned as well, but he relied on facts, numbers, and odds. He didn't have all the information yet, so in his mind, there could still be a very high chance of success, so there was no point in worrying to that extent emotionally yet.

However he had come to understand that most humans didn't think that way, and he recognized that Paige must be in a lot of emotional pain right now.

It would be a few more minutes until they reached their destination, and Walter didn't like the thought of Paige going through something so unpleasant. It made him feel even more, dare he say, anger, against the men causing his family pain.

"Paige?" He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Paige jumped slightly, clearly lost in her own thoughts. She looked at him briefly before looking in the distance again. "He never takes the bus," she said.

"What?" He didn't initially understand her statement.

She looked up at him again, this time holding his gaze. "Ralph. He never takes the bus. I needed to meet that client, and it was right when school would let out. Ralph said he was okay. I thought he was ready."

Walter had come to realize humans often blamed themselves in illogical ways during dire situations, or dwelled on how normally inconsequential decisions butterfly into tragic events. He couldn't say he completely understood it, but he was coming to accept that human nature was often illogical, and the best way to approach it was to support those suffering from it, regardless.

And right now, Paige was definitely suffering, and Walter wanted to help her.

Walter placed a hand on her shoulder. "It was impossible for you to have known the situation Ralph would now be in. You know that, Paige."

Paige only slowly nodded. "I know that, Walter, I do. It's just, how does such a small thing lead to something like this?"

Walter was starting to become better at recognizing "rhetorical" questions, so he tried to just support her by making her a promise. "I swear to you Paige, Ralph will be okay. He's important to all of us. He's important to me. We will get him back."

"It's times like this I wish I had your constitution, Walter." Paige gave a soft smile, recognizing his words. "But for right now, I'll settle for your empathy."

"We're here." Cabe announced from the driver's seat.

"Ok," Walter said, now focusing on their task. He looked down at his phone, which was running his tracking software. "Stop here. We should be several hundred feet to the south of where the feed should be coming from. We don't want to get too close and alert anyone who might be there. We'll set up here and see what further information we can gather. Did you talk to Director Molina?"

"Yes," Cabe answered. "She agreed to let us take point on this, for now. I convinced her we would be the best chance to gather information quietly, but she only gave us an hour. If we don't have any headway by then, she would be calling in the hostage negotiators and the military."

Walter narrowed his eyes. He didn't like that. "Her attempts to take an aggressive stance and be in the spotlight could do far more harm than good."

"It's the best I could do, kid, so let's get to work."

Walter resigned to their time window and quickly exited the parked car, followed by Cabe and Paige. Toby, Happy, and Sylvester exited the car behind them.

Walter looked at his phone and their surroundings. They were standing at the entrance of a very large dockside yard of barely used warehouses. Walter looked up through the gate of the yard entrance and made eye contact with the building he was sure housed the signal that brought them there. The building where Ralph was. It was large warehouse a few hundred feet from them.

Surrounding this section of the yard was a tall, metal wall. Behind it was as good a place as any to start setting up their equipment. Their job was to try and come up with ways to determine what exactly was inside that building. Where the bus was, how many of the terrorists, if there were explosives, and how many.

Their job was to determine the safe way to get Ralph and the rest of the children home safely.

The sun was starting to set, and it would likely be dark within the next twenty minutes or so. They set up a makeshift workstation behind the barrier upon which they set up their laptops a various pieces of equipment.

"Ok," Sylvester said quietly. "We are up and running and receiving the live feed. We'll be able to see inside the bus at all times. Outside, however, we're still as blind as anyone else."

Walter sat down again at his laptop, seeing if there was any other advantage they could gain from the feed they had to the bus. Despite his new abilities, a computer keyboard was still where he felt most powerful.

He kept having this nagging feeling, thought, that this was too easy. They had found the bus and Ralph too easily.

What did that mean then? The terrorists wanted to be found?

He ran the scenario and logic in his head.

Oh, oh of course, Walter thought. The scenario suddenly made perfect sense.

"This is a trap," Walter said out loud to everyone, but no one in particular.

"What do you mean?" Happy asked.

"This was too easy. It was far below my abilities to intercept that signal and lead us here. They wanted to be found."

"Ok, egomaniac, why would they do that?" Toby prodded annoyingly.

"You tell me," Walter shot back.

In a second Toby shifted from sarcastic pain-in-the-ass to genius behaviorist. Toby glanced at the feed then his eyes moved back and forth, seemingly analyzing all possible human behavior behind Walter's theory.

"Uh oh," he finally said.

"What, uh oh? What is it?" questioned Happy.

"Walter's right. This is a trap." Toby went on to explain. "These are terrorists. They do the whole kidnap and ransom thing occasionally, but not like this. What are terrorists biggest goal? Terror. Their goal, especially in the country they're trying to terrorize, would be to have those bombs set off, not receive a payday."

This was not doing anything for Paige's calm. She went pale.

"Then why haven't they just done it? God forbid," Sylvester asked.

"As awful as this will sound, that's not terrifying enough. Think about it. If they just set the bombs off, the children would be killed, it would be a tragedy, but do no more than anger the American populace. But if the government tries to infiltrate where the bus is, and instead accidentally sets off a bunch of explosives…"

The rest of the team was now following the line of thinking. Toby still finished his explanation. "Not only would there be a tragedy, but to the outside world, it would have occurred not just because of terrorists, but from the incompetence of the American government."

It suddenly made a sickeningly amount of sense.

"How certain are you of these motives?" Cabe asked Toby. Far too much depended on any intel they had.

Toby watched the feed, and the man walking up and down the bus aisle. After a few moments of doing some kind of analysis to add to his interpretation, he looked back up at Cabe. "Very certain."

Surprisingly, the strong voice to break silence that followed, was Paige's.

"So then what do we do about it?" she announced.

Her words spurred the group forward once again. Walter's mind started working.

"No doubt they have scouts for the major entrances," Cabe said.

There were three large doors they could see. Three sides of the warehouse opened on solid ground, and one faced the ocean. In additional there were multiple windows on the upper level that gave whomever was inside a high ground advantage in terms of surveillance.

"Remember though, the theory is they won't trigger anything until it's clear someone is inside, or their plan won't be as effective as they want," Toby pointed out.

"True, but it will still be ideal if they are unaware they've been found yet."

Walter glanced back at the live feed. At Ralph.

Ralph was still staring at the armed man as he walked back and forth. He had one foot up on the seat and was hugging his knee to his chest as his other leg was fidgeting up and down.

Wait…Ralph didn't "fidget".

"Guys!" Walter said.

They all gathered around his laptop.

Ralph's leg wasn't fidgeting in nervousness. It was actually moving in a quick sequence over and over. Morse code.

Walter watched the sequence to decipher it.

Has detonator.

The man inside the bus held the trigger for whatever explosives were around the warehouse.

Clever Ralph. He would have realized the camera was providing a live feed. Walter didn't know if Ralph knew Scorpion was the one watching, but he was doing his best to provide more information to whomever was.

"Happy, what are the odds there's more than one trigger for any explosives in that building."

"Unlikely. More than one signal can create complications, or premature detonation."

So most likely if they were able to keep the man in the bus from realizing anyone was there, the more time they would have to reach him and prevent anything from happening.

They still needed to see what was going on in that building, though.

Walter recalled the image of the building in his mind for a moment.

He saw the large brick and metal structure. He also saw the very dated, large poles lining the dock where numerous power lines attached. Some of those power lines crossed over the building itself.

There was nothing more his computer skills would provide, at the moment, but maybe he could contribute in a different way.

"Paige, remember that joke we just played on you? I think I have an idea."

Chapter Text

"I'm not sure about this, kid. What if they spot your approach?" Cabe asked.

Walter was finishing buckling a tactical vest around himself. He had changed so his clothes were entirely black.

Happy was currently helping Walter outfit himself and set up a very small, hi-def button cam that was hooked securely over his ear. She was also outfitting him with several repelling cables and various tools she thought might be handy. She even packed a blood bag in a side pocket in case he needed to heal quickly from an unexpected injury.

Walter answered Cabe's question. "They're very unlikely to see me. By the angle of approach there are no windows that directly face up and in that direction. The ones indirectly facing have weather covers blocking the vision of anyone looking upward. Someone would need to be physically leaning out the window to see it where I'm going to be coming from."

Cabe knew better than to try and argue with him. "Ok, kid. Just be careful. I want Ralph and those kids safe as much as you do, but an AK will still do a lot of damage to you, no matter how durable you are."

"I promise I'll be careful."

"You'd better," was Cabe's response.

"Ok, let's get you up there," Toby said as he finished helping Happy.

Paige walked up to him as Happy finished wiring his vest. She looked scared, but carried with her strength and determination. Walter once again was impressed by her, in so many ways.

"Walter, I know you must be walking a fine line a lot of the time, but…"

Paige stopped for a second, hesitating. She looked like she was trying to decide if she should say what she wanted to.

She seemed to decide as she looked straight into Walter's eyes. She spoke with complete conviction and with all the underlying fury of a desperate mother. "Please, Walter. I know this might be a lot to ask, but don't you hesitate to do whatever it takes to get Ralph home safely."

"Paige…" Cabe said, his voice carrying warning for her words.

He looked back into her eyes, and he answered, adding the conviction of his own concern for Ralph. "Understood."

"But you also come back. Understand? Everyone goes home today."

She then gave him a hug, which he returned.

"We'll get him back, Paige," he promised.

"We're up and running," Sylvester announced. Walter could see the image from his camera displayed on the screen in front of Sly.

The sun was starting to set, which started providing some darkness to cover his movement. He approached the large pillar that stood outside the metal barrier, and jumped straight up.

About twenty feet up he grabbed onto the metal handholds on the side and continued climbing. Within seconds he was at the top. Once there he turned to the next pole down the line a few dozen feet away. He crouched down and made some calculations in his head, and jumped once more. He landed squarely on top of it. He repeated this maneuver until he was standing on one of the pillars with cables passing directly over the roof of the warehouse building.

"Ok, guys. I've reached one of the adjacent pillars," he whispered.

He took one of the bundles of repelling cord and looped it over the power line, creating a make-shift zip line. He jumped off and let gravity take him towards the center of the building.

When he reached is goal and he wanted to stop, he threw up his legs and wrapped his ankles around the cable to act as a brake. He ground to a stop and let go of one side of his cable so his arms would swing free.

He was now hanging upside down from the power line, dangling over the center of the warehouse's roof.

He heard an odd, lurching noise on the other end of the comm.

"What is that?" he whispered.

"Sylvester," Happy answered. "The camera feed you're providing is not motion sickness friendly, fyi."

Oh, oops.

Walter hooked the cable around the power line and gently started lowering himself gently to the top of the roof. Once he made contact with the surface he pulled one side of the cable to pull it off the line. He packed it in his vest in case he needed it later.

"I'm on the roof," he informed the team, although he was sure they could see that for themselves.

"Ok, now you have to make your way inside. Safely."

Using all of the supernatural stealth he possessed, he quietly traversed the roof to the side facing the ocean. He bet there would be less, if any men there to watch that side.

Sure enough, he heard only one heartbeat nearby as he looked over the side. He took some time to listen, and determined the pattern the man was patrolling back and forth across what must have been some sort of catwalk.

He was momentarily tempted to consider reaching through one of the windows and pulling the man through. But not alerting them and staying stealthy was still the primary goal.

He had another idea. He waited for the man to walk to the other side of the walk, then Walter lowered himself down and quietly dropped to grab the bottom half of the window. He was now hanging underneath it.

His drop made a slight noise, though, which he was okay with. He heard the man turn around and start walking towards the window to investigate. Walter focused his mind. He would have to do this quickly.

The man approached the window and was about to look over the side, where he would see Walter. Just before he did, Walter, with vampire speed, pulled himself up so he was eye level with the man.

"Don't scream. Don't make a sound," he ordered. The man stopped moving and obeyed.

"I'm not here. You can't see me. You won't use your gun tonight."

The man nodded, his expression slack.

Walter almost was able to start questioning the man about more details of the building's interior, but he heard a second heartbeat approaching.

Walter dropped back down under the window.

"Anything there?" the second man asked.

The man he compelled turned around. "Nothing here," he answered.

"I mean, that's really cool, but kinda creepy, dude," Toby stated over the comms. Walter imagined they were all getting a unique point of view of his abilities through the camera he was wearing.

Walter let out a slow breath. He waited until the second heartbeat walked away before pulling himself over the side of the window into the warehouse. The man he compelled gave him one look before contenting his pace back and forth, not caring he was there.

Quickly and silently, Walter jumped up to grab one of the metal rafters and froze so that he would be less likely to be seen.

From this vantage point Walter could see nearly the entire warehouse. There were catwalks around the edge and multiple pieces of random debris littered across the structure. Apparently this place hadn't been used in a while.

There were three other men he could see monitoring the other end of the structure, where any responders were most likely to be seen approach. In the dead center of the building was the school bus. There was no one immediately near it, but he knew the man on the feed must be inside with the children and Ralph.

What had him very worried, though, was the many steel drums of explosives that were set around the bus. They were all wired together, connecting to some kind of black electrical box set behind the vehicle, ready to explode when they received the signal to.

Walter pointed his head towards the bus so the team could see what he was seeing.

"Not good," Walter heard in his ear. "That's some powerful stuff, there. They seem to all be connected to the same source though. If we could disarm that box…"

Walter couldn't get down there without being seen. As he looked up to see what paths were available to him, he saw something.

"Sylvester, is this building's water supply functional?"

He received confirmation after a moment. "Yes, it is."

"Happy, what would water do to that box?" he asked.

"From what I can see it's pretty shoddy work. It would most likely short it out."

"Would that set off an explosion or prevent it?"

"Look at it again and let me see something."

He did as she asked.

"Ok, the components on the top look like they are only associated with receiving the signal. Anything to do with the explosive charge must be deeper in the device."

"So it would short out the receiver and prevent any signal from setting it off?"

"Most likely, yes. Even if you disable it though, they'll be able to detonate it manually."

That was a problem. He continued to study and analyze the scene before him.

"Remember the guy inside the bus too, kid. As long as he's in there, he's a threat to the kids, bomb or no bomb. He'll need to be lured out somehow." Cabe reminded him.

Walter continued analyzing. "Toby, what are the chances he leaves the bus if he realizes he can't remotely detonate the explosives, or if he starts hearing a confrontation?"

"Well, these are zealots. None of the body language I've seen indicates any fear or hesitation. They've decided their lives are going to end tonight. If he can't detonate the bomb, he'll likely run out and try to do it himself."

Walter realized he could kill two birds with one stone.

There were still many unknown variables, though. It all depended if he could get to the bus without being incapacitated.

There was one last problem. If bullets started flying, the children could be in danger.

"Happy, is there any place on that bus the children could be safe from gunfire?" he asked.

"Well, not the windows, of course. The lower down the better. The metal sides won't withstand a direct onslaught, but may deflect a bullet or two."

If he could somehow get the kids under their seats, they'd be safer.

He had an idea.

He removed one of the D-rings from his vest and with his strength, broke it and started straightening it out. He broke the ends off to expose the hollow tubing, and started squeezing and shaping it.

"What are you doing?" Paige asked him.

"Young children can hear frequencies much higher than adults. If I can make a whistle that hits those higher frequencies, I can send Ralph a message the adults won't hear." The other children would hear it too, of course, but they likely would think it random noise, since he doubted any of them knew Morse code.

He was nearly finished and gave his makeshift whistle a few experimental blows. Being a vampire, he could also hear the higher frequencies. Once he believed he and found it he produced several tones that spelled one word. RALPH.

"Guys, tell me if he reacts."

He waited several seconds.

"He just nodded at the camera! He hears you!" Sylvester yelled.

Walter smiled. He raised the whistle back to his lips, and sent his message.

It took several minutes, but when he was done, he finished with a query if Ralph understood.

"He just nodded again," Sylvester reported.

Good.

They had a plan. The only thing left was to try and implement it.

"How are you planning on setting off the sprinklers? Sorry but I didn't pack you a lighter. Is there anything in your vicinity that would help?" Happy queried.

Walter started looking around for such as thing, and he found it.

The sun hadn't fully set yet.

An extremely thin stream of sunlight came through a loose panel next to him.

"I have an idea," he said.

The team no doubt saw him remove the ring from his finger and place it in a pouch on the front of his vest.

"Kid, I don't know about that. The fact that it'll hurt you aside, you could draw attention to yourself. They could see you and start shooting," Cabe warned.

"I'm aware, but it's the only choice we have."

No one could argue with him.

Walter took a deep breath to prepare and held his hand out to the thin beam of light as it quickly faded as the sun finished setting.

It took only a few seconds for his exposed skin to light on fire. He held back any cry of pain and quickly held his hand up to the sprinkler system. It took several painful seconds for the sensor to kick in, but with a sputter, the system went off. Water rained down in the interior of the building from the sprinklers, causing many shouts of surprise from the men inside.

It extinguished the flame on his hand and when he looked down, he saw the signal box spark for a second, then several lights on the top went dark. It had worked.

"Look! Up there!" he heard one of the men from the floor yell.

True to Cabe's prediction, the light of the flame had drawn eyes to him. He immediately started moving through the rafters as fast as he could as water sprayed around him, followed closely by the sparks of numerous bullets from the automatic weapons.

The team huddled around Sylvester's laptop, watching Walter's movements through the camera over Walter's ear. They let out short cries of triumph when they saw the water disable the remote trigger.

But then they heard the sounds of the bullets.

They heard cries of surprise from the children in the bus at the sudden noises, and they watched as Walter moved inhumanely fast through the rafters, attempting to outrun the bullets that were now chasing him. It was like watching the most terrifying first-person video game ever.

It got more terrifying when they heard several dull "thuds" and Walter cry out. The view from the camera was then impossible to follow as it seemed to be spinning very quickly. It suddenly stopped with a clear view of the ceiling, although the camera would occasionally be splashed by water, making it hard to see.

It was clear what just happened. Walter had been hit and had just fallen from the rafters. By the distance, he likely landed on one of the catwalks, and not the ground floor.

The sprinkler system then stopped, having not sensed any smoke or fire for a time.

The gunfire had ceased, likely because the shooters thought he would be dead either from the shots or the fall.

Walter let out a cough and a groan and seemed to roll to his side, and try to sit up.

When he did, the camera faced downwards, and the team was able to get a glimpse of his injuries.

Toby had leaned closer to try and assess what he was seeing.

"Ok, buddy, talk to me. I'm seeing at least three gunshot wounds to your torso."

Walter coughed again. "Four," he corrected.

"Ok, keep looking down and let the doctor take a look," Toby ordered.

Walter did as he asked.

"What's that splash of blood on your right side there? Another wound?" Toby asked.

"No," Walter said before several more coughs. "The…*cough*…the blood bag Happy gave me in case I was…*cough*…injured."

Oh. Not good.

They saw him try and stand up but collapse again to the ground.

"You need to get up, kid. Get moving! You're a sitting duck!" Cabe yelled at him through the comms. Bullets weren't supposed to be able to kill vampires, but they were sure dozens of them would definitely stress that theory.

Walter didn't get a chance to obey Cabe's order, though.

"You! Don't move!"

One of the men approached Walter. They saw Walter's head lift to focus on the man pointing his gun at him.

"How many of you are there? Are you with the military? Are they here?" The man asked, no doubt trying to see if their plan still had a chance of success.

The team heard Walter's struggled breathing first.

"Please. Don't…" they heard Walter beg.

They all felt helpless. They could only watch.

"There's no use in begging. You're going to die. It just depends how quickly. Answer my questions!"

"Please…" Walter repeated. They saw him push himself up on his knees, then look back up at the man. They could actually see down the barrel of the gun.

There was nothing they could do to help Walter.

"Please…don't watch this," Walter finished saying, and they realized he was actually talking to them, not the man threatening to kill him.

Then, as they heard a roar and a scream through the comms, they realized that in that instance, Walter didn't need their help.

Chapter Text

Walter wouldn't know if all, or any of his team listened to his plea, but that didn't matter anymore.

He was going to get Ralph home, no matter what it took.

That started with making sure he survived his wounds.

Which meant he needed blood.

The man threatening his life at the barrel of a gun had gotten very close to him, so when Walter moved, he doubted the man even realized what was happening until it was too late.

Walter felt his fangs lengthen as he pounced on the man in front of him with a roar. The man screamed as he bit into his neck and started drinking as fast as he could.

It took only a few seconds for the pain from the gunshots to start fading, but in order to be strong enough for the next few minutes, Walter couldn't afford playing it safe with the life of a terrorist.

For Ralph's sake.

He took as much as he could, as fast as he could. The terrorist wouldn't survive this.

He was forced to stop when he heard two more men start running to his position, and Walter couldn't stay stationary any longer.

Now Walter had used his vampiric abilities before, of course, but he never had really put them to the test in their entirety. Suddenly having multiple automatic weapons firing at him, having Ralph and a bus full of other children at stake, there was no better time to truly see what he was capable of.

He jumped straight up off the man he had just fed from just as spread of bullets hit the wall where he had been crouching. In less than a second he was quickly running and jumping from catwalk to floor, to catwalk. He just started moving.

With everything suddenly happening so quickly, he discovered an interesting effect of his combined reflexes and genius mind. As a vampire he was able to react and move at speeds the human eye almost couldn't follow. Combined with the processing power of his brain, he was able to observe and react to his environment at nearly impossible speeds.

When he focused, he observed his attackers, their rate of fire, the angle of the barrel of their guns, measured the probabilities of the path of the bullets based on weapon and shooter accuracy, and could calculate when and where a bullet would hit, and make fast adjustments to avoid them if needed.

In short, he started dodging bullets.

There were two men actively shooting at him as he wound his way around the warehouse. He stayed on one side, opposite from the bus to keep the gunfire far away from the bus, the children, and the explosives. Instinctually, they were moving closer to him as they fired to try and get better accuracy.

There were four other men in the warehouse, he concluded. The one he placed his compulsion on was just standing, watching everything unfold. He wasn't registering Walter's presence, and he wouldn't fire his weapon as ordered. He was not a threat. The second and third were currently shooting at him.

The last one had done what they'd hoped, and emerged from the side of the bus, and started sprinting towards the box that would set off the explosives.

Walter estimated he had about ten seconds before the explosives would be triggered. He couldn't move to stop him, though, until the other two men were incapacitated. He couldn't risk bullets hitting the drums or the bus with the children inside.

With a roar he launched himself down at the shooter closest to him. He was on the lowest catwalk to Walter's left. Walter hit him squarely and slammed him down into the grated floor. Walter picked him up and threw him over the rail and to ground floor below him. Walter followed over, falling about twenty feet, and landed squarely on the floor. That left one active shooter to deal with before he could safely approach the bus.

Walter looked up and found the third man was not shooting at him currently, but had started screaming.

Walter realized he had started screaming out of fear. Fear of him.

Good.

The man didn't stop shooting for long, though. He raised his gun again in terror. Walter screeched at him and charged. He hit him square in the chest and the man flew backward at least fifteen feet and slammed into the wall of the warehouse and collapsed to the floor.

The men were incapacitated for now.

With a growl, teeth bared, Walter turned to the man who was just reaching the box.

Walter moved. In less than a second the man's throat was in Walter's grasp as the man hung off the ground. At the sight of Walter's extremely angry, vampiric features he kept trying to scream, but couldn't due to the pressure on his throat.

This man had almost murdered a bunch of children in cold blood for some twisted, misguided cause. Walter saw this man, without hesitation, ready to detonate the bombs if Walter hadn't stopped him in time.

Walter had a true monster, literally in his grasp.

Why shouldn't this man now die by his hand?

"Walter."

Walter heard Ralph's voice from inside the bus. He turned at the sound.

Walter was standing just a few feet from the back window of the vehicle, and he saw Ralph looking straight at him from over the back of the driver's seat.

Ralph had received his message, and enacted his plan. As soon as the shooting started and the bus was abandoned of its guard, Ralph had instructed his classmates to get under their seats and stay there, and they had listened. They couldn't see him. Then Ralph had moved up to the driver's seat to hot-wire the bus in case Walter had to drive it out of there. It had been best to keep their options open.

As Ralph met Walter's eyes, he didn't look frightened by him. Even so, the thought that Ralph might see him do something very frightening was all the motivation he needed to drop the man he held, and simply punch him unconscious.

He looked at Ralph again, and saw pride in the young boy's eyes. They had done it. It was over.

Or Walter thought it was.

A bullet suddenly hit Walter in his side. Then a second and a third. He roared in pain and looked over to see the man he had thrown over the balcony attempting to stand on a broken leg while shooting at him from the far wall. He must still have been very disoriented because he started simply spraying the area with bullets.

The area was still full of explosives. Walter saw many of the bullets spark at the drums. There was likely only seconds until one was pierced, and set off.

"Ralph! DRIVE!" Walter screamed.

Ralph had been nearly done with his task of hot-wiring the bus just moments before. He ducked down and only a second later the bus roared to life.

Tires squealed and children screamed as Walter jumped on the top of the bus and held on tight. The bus started accelerating towards the wall and without slowing, violently broke through.

Not a second later Walter heard a dull "thud" of one of the drums being finally pierced by a bullet. The roar of the drums detonating immediately followed.

Chapter Text

After Walter requested they not watch what he had to do, Paige honestly didn't know which of the team did as he asked.

She didn't close her eyes, and she didn't cover her ears.

The camera honestly didn't show much, but they could hear what was happening very well. Her worry for Ralph, and Walter for that matter, overshadowed any unsettling feeling she might have felt.

She knew they all looked at the monitor when the shooting started again. Walter jumped away from the man who was now likely dead. At first she didn't understand what she was seeing through the camera.

"Sylvester, is the camera malfunctioning?" she asked, leaning forward of Sylvester's shoulder, towards the screen. The image kept blurring, like when a photo was exposed too long and there was streaking from the subject's movement.

He startled at her words, as if coming out of a short trance. It seemed he hadn't closed his eyes either. He quickly checked the feed. After a moment he answered, sounding awed. "No. He's just…moving that fast."

Oh…

But that meant they couldn't initially tell what was going on. All they saw was a choppy, blurry image and the sound of automatic gunfire.

They saw the image clear when Walter threw one of the men off the catwalk, and blur again followed by the image of another man flying into the wall far in front of the camera.

"Damn," Toby commented. "He's pissed."

The camera turned again and saw the man who was in the bus reach the box.

"No!" Paige audibly yelled out. She knew if that man triggered the explosives, her son and Walter were dead.

But that didn't happen. The next image was of Walter's hand firmly around the man's throat. They could hear Walter snarling, and they saw panic in the terrorist's eyes. It looked like Walter was about to kill him.

For a brief moment Paige felt satisfaction at the thought. These men were monsters. They had planned to kill her son. They deserved to die.

Once the moment was over she felt ashamed. Most of all, she didn't want them to die by Walter's hand if it could be helped. He would already be uncomfortable about the man he killed to survive. She didn't want him to be burdened any further.

Before she could say something to try and prevent it, the camera suddenly turned towards the bus and she could see her son through the rear window at the front of the bus. He was calmly looking at Walter. Almost immediately the growling ceased and they watched as Walter dropped his captive and punched him out.

Paige smiled, knowing exactly what just happened.

All of them let out figurative and literal sighs of relief. Walter had done it. It seemed to be over.

Then the camera lurched several times and Walter roared.

He was being shot at again.

They also heard the metallic pings of bullets hitting the drums.

"Ralph! Drive!" they heard Walter yell.

"They're going to break through the wall!" Happy yelled, running towards the entrance to the yard so they could now see what was going to unfold in person. Everyone else followed close behind.

Just as they rounded the corner they saw the wall explode outward and the bus emerge through the debris. It didn't slow down as it continued to move away from the warehouse as fast as it was able.

The warehouse exploded.

A fireball erupted within it and escaped through any windows, doors, and the new gaping hole just made by the escaping bus.

Luckily, the bus had cleared the building enough to be only briefly jolted forward before it came to a complete stop.

The team couldn't help but let out several cries of triumph as the bus safely came to a stop, apparently in one piece.

Paige immediately started running towards the bus at full speed.

She saw the bus door open and a small figure jumped from it onto the ground.

Ralph.

She ran even faster.

She reached her son and fell down onto her knees in front of him. She pulled him into the biggest hug she could manage, and started crying.

"I'm okay, Mom," he said, hugging her back.

She heard commotion from several of the children inside the bus, now having recovered from the shock of the explosion.

Toby ran past her and jumped into the bus, no doubt to assess if the rest of the children were okay. Only a few seconds later he yelled out confirmation that the children were rattled, but unharmed.

But wait…where was Walter?

It was difficult to let her son go after what happened, but her concern for Walter was now her new focus. She gently released Ralph and stood up, still with a hand on his shoulder and started looking around.

She backed up and started searching. She couldn't see him on the roof or under the bus.

Please no, don't let him have been inside the warehouse, she thought.

Having only one last place to look, she and Ralph ran to the back of the bus.

They turned the corner and looked down.

There, sitting on the ground, legs splayed out with his back resting against the back bumper, was Walter. He was breathing heavily and looked utterly exhausted. He was full of soot from the explosion and his clothes had far more holes in them versus when he first entered the warehouse.

"Hey, buddy," Walter said, smiling at Ralph.

Ralph ran up and gave his friend a hug, which Walter returned.

"You did great, Ralph," Walter said. "You got us to safety."

"You did more," Ralph argued, stepping back. Paige nodded her agreement.

Cabe then arrived behind them and took in the sight. He gave Walter a smile of paternal pride. "Well done, kid," Cabe said.

"Thank you, Walter," Paige said, kneeling down and giving him her own hug. "Thank you for bringing him back safely."

"Anytime," he answered in her ear.

He let out several rather violent coughs.

Paige turned back to the fact he was in rough shape. He should be okay. She had seen him look far worse, but they needed to get him out of here and back to the garage.

Of course that was the moment several black SUV's sped into the property and agents emerged from within them. Apparently Director Molina had decided their hour was up. Molina, never one to miss being in the spotlight, was the first one out of her car.

This was partly a good thing. The children needed to be cared for and returned to their families as soon as possible.

The problem was Walter was in no shape to be seen. It was clear he had endured injuries no human should have been able to survive. In addition, the realization of Homeland's arrival, and the stress of looming discovery added more to Walter's stress. Paige watched as he started breathing faster. Dark veins appeared beneath his eyes until they caused them to turn dark, vampiric red.

Not good.

She kneeled back down next to Walter. They were still hidden, being at the back of the bus, but that wouldn't last long.

"Walter, your face, you have to change back," she whispered to him urgently.

He looked at her, red and black eyes wide. There was no brown to be seen, as his pupils were dilated wide in panic. "I…I can't," he hissed through his fangs.

What a time for him to have trouble controlling his emotions.

Paige glanced around the side of the bus. Cabe had moved and intercepted Molina. He was speaking with her, keeping her from advancing past the front of the vehicle. Paige heard him give her an amended version of events, basically saying they had found a way to sneak in and drive the bus out, with the terrorists detonating the explosives only after they escaped with the bus. Not long after Cabe finished his explanation, Molina motioned for several agents to start helping the children.

Paige turned her attention back to Walter.

"Ok, Walter. Take deep breaths. We will get you back home safely, but you need to relax, and change back."

Paige took him by the shoulders and placed her forehead against his. She started taking long, slow, even breaths, which after a few seconds, he started matching.

She held that position with him until the tension she felt in his shoulders started relaxing. She knelt back and saw only brown, human eyes looking back at her.

"Thanks," he said.

"Anytime," she answered with a small smile.

They still needed to get him back to the garage, though, past Molina and the Homeland agents. Not only that, they had to explain what happened.

Things were becoming more and more complicated for them as she started to think things through.

"Bring her over here," she heard Walter say.

Paige didn't understand what he meant at first.

"We can't afford scrutiny, so we need to make it so no one is wanting to scrutinize us."

Paige suddenly understood his plan.

"Are you strong enough?" she asked him.

Walter nodded, and with a grimace, used the bus behind him to help himself to his feet.

"I'll be strong enough. Besides, I'm still displeased with what she did to Sylvester," he answered, referring to when she left Sylvester alone to fend for himself inside a prison. "Don't worry," Walter reassured her, "she won't be harmed."

Almost as if on cue, they heard Molina's voice from around the bus. "Where's O'Brien?" she yelled out with authority.

Walter leaned against the bus, and nodded at Paige.

"Um, over here, Director Molina!" Paige answered, moving from behind the bus.

Cabe turned around in alarm at her words, not understanding why she wold be calling Molina over. He relaxed after quick eye contact with her. He must have understood she had a plan of some kind.

"I have some questions for him," Molina explained as she marched over to Paige. She turned the corner around the bus and took in the sight of a bloody, soot covered, bullet-ridden Walter O'Brien as he leaned heavily against the school bus.

Her eyes widened. "What the hell-" she started.

Walter jumped forward and met her gaze. "Scorpion saved these children tonight. We snuck in, and got them out. There's nothing more to it than that. You see nothing abnormal here, and will not think anything strange happened here tonight. You will help us go home without another question."

Molina slowly nodded with a blank look on her face. Paige became momentarily worried his efforts had failed when her usually authoritative look returned quickly, and she looked Walter up and down.

"Well done, O'Brien. Your team is to be commended for what it accomplished here. Go home. Get some rest. We'll debrief at a later time."

Molina turned to her agents. "Someone get these guys a car!" she ordered.

Soon after an agent drove an SUV up to their position. Paige quickly helped Walter into the back seat. Ralph jumped in after them. Cabe got in the front and drove away, towards the garage. The rest of the team returned to their workstation outside the yard and packed up to follow shortly behind.

Chapter Text

When the team got Walter back to the garage, he immediately drank a few pints of blood and went straight to his bed upstairs. He slept for a full twenty-four hours.

Walter awoke later the next day, and after a much welcomed shower, made his way, still groggy, down the stairs to the main room. He still felt slightly wiped from the events of the previous day, but overall a lot better.

He woke up extremely hungry, though, and he thought it best to address that as soon as possible. He opened his apartment fridge and found it empty of blood bags. He had finished them yesterday. He wasn't worried, since there were more downstairs.

As he started down the stairs he heard Tim's voice, along with Paige's, coming from the direction of the kitchen.

Walter approached and saw the two of them conversing over two cups of coffee at the break room table.

They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Paige was laughing and Tim leaned forward to take ahold of her hand.

Walter cleared his throat to indicate his presence.

"Oh, hello Walter! How are you feeling?" Paige asked him. She looked at him with genuine concern.

Tim also turned his way.

"Walter! I heard about what happened. You have no idea how glad I am Ralph is ok. Paige told me how you snuck in that warehouse and got all those kids out. That's beyond impressive."

Walter gave a short, impatient grunt in return as he made his way to the fridge. He would have to be discrete in grabbing what he needed from it with Tim around.

Tim turned his attentions back to Paige. "Hey, are you still interested in going away next weekend? I know we've only been on a couple dates, but the jazz festival will be something you won't want to miss, I promise."

Suddenly, Walter couldn't help it when that rolling, ugly feeling in his stomach caused his features to change. He fully realized he was losing control. He leaned against the refrigerator. From the angle, Paige would be able to see him, but Tim wouldn't be able to.

"Uhhh, Tim. Can I have a moment with Walter? He had a rough couple of days. I want to just speak with him for a second," Paige said, although stuttering over the first couple or words in surprise.

"Uh, ok. Sure. I'll be by your desk."

Walter heard Tim get up behind him and walk out of the room. Paige hurried up to him.

"Walter…you're worrying me," she whispered.

"I'll be ok, just…give me a second." Walter took a few deep, calming breaths and concentrated until he was able to return to human features.

Paige leaned in to whisper to him.

"What's going on with you? You never lose control like that," she accused, looking slightly worried about him.

Walter gave a small grunt. "I guess I'm just still on edge after yesterday. A few more days rest and I should be back to normal." He was lying, and he knew he was. It was so uncharacteristic of him to do so, but he felt admitting he was losing emotional control because of jealousy would be far more difficult to explain.

Paige continued to look at him with worry. It seemed she believed his explanation. For now. She placed a hand on his arm. "Ok, Walter. Just, be careful, ok? I'll keep Tim at my desk while you grab the blood. Go get some more rest."

He gave her a nod of acknowledgment before she turned around and went around the corner to try and give Walter a moment of privacy.

The second she was out of sight he quickly opened the refrigerator and opened a specific drawer on the bottom. He wasn't uncomfortable storing some of them in here. Claiming they were being used for some experiment wasn't far fetched if any prying eyes came upon them. He grabbed a blood bag from and closed the appliance door.

He should have taken it back upstairs, but for some reason he didn't. In some kind of uncharacteristic emotional frustration, he tore into it right there. He drained the bag quickly before throwing it away.

He turned towards the fridge and debated whether to take another bag.

"Hey, Walter."

Walter quickly turned around. Luckily his features were human, as Tim stood there at the entrance to the room. Walter narrowed his eyes at him. "Where's Paige?" he asked him.

"Oh, uh, she had to take a quick call. She said you needed some space to yourself, but, uh, wait, are you ok?"

Walter immediately went on guard. "What do you mean?" he asked quickly.

Tim walked a little closer and Walter unconsciously backed slightly away.

"There's just some blood on your shirt, it looks like," Tim said, pointing and Walter's collar.

Walter looked down. There were indeed a few large spots of blood where Tim was pointing. It seemed he had been careless when consuming the blood.

"I'm fine. Nosebleed," Walter answered shortly.

Tim seemed to study him for a moment before nodding and continuing with what he originally was going to say.

"Look, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be trying to be a part of this team. I know there was no way for me to know but I feel awful I wasn't here when to help during such an important time. I just want you to know that even know I'm trying to appeal the Navy's decision about my injury, I'm here to give one-hundred percent. So please, anytime, tell me how I can help."

Walter did hear Tim's words, but he felt his judgement being influenced by that rolling, ugly feeling in his stomach that he was trying to deny.

"Well," Walter answered, "the garage has become in a bit of disarray. You could start by maybe tidying up a bit, maybe do the dishes and take out the trash?"

Tim blinked at him, but, true to his word, he agreed to Walter's request.

"Ok. This place will look spick and span in no time," he said with a sigh.

"Is everything ok?" Paige just quickly cam around the corned, no doubt realizing Tim had not been where she left him. She gave Walter a quick look of apology from behind Tim's shoulder.

"Everything's fine," Walter answered her, still looking at Tim. "I think I just need more sleep."

Walter brushed past them without another word. He was still tired and irritable it seemed, and he honestly didn't know if it still was from exhaustion or…other reasons. He didn't want to accidentally reveal something he shouldn't to Tim.

More sleep did seem to help. He felt more himself the following day. Tim seemed a little colder towards him, though. He caught the former SEAL staring at him occasionally. Walter actually started feeling like he should try to work things out with him. Like Tim said, he was likely going to be around for a while, and Walter didn't want to discount a man who was hardworking and more than competent.

Every time Walter thought about doing so over the next few days, though, he would see Tim interacting with Paige, reminding him how close they were getting. He found his motivation disappeared each time.

It had been about a week since the warehouse, and Walter still was trying to figure out his feelings. Almost everyone else had gone home. Paige was still at the garage working on some paperwork. He was ready to go home so he said a quick "good night" in Paige's direction. After she said it in return, he made his way to his car, ready to drive to his apartment. Maybe some distance from the garage would give him some clarity.

He took his keys out and unlocked the door. Right as he did, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. He hissed and reached up to pull a small dart from his skin. His initial confusion was soon overshadowed by a pain that spread from where the dart hit. Soon it felt like his blood was burning as he collapsed to the ground.

He felt consciousness leaving him as he laid there helpless on the ground. He had only one thought as darkness started to fill his vision.

"Paige…" he weakly said with his last remaining strength. He knew he was in trouble, yet she was his only thought. What if she was in danger, too?

His worries faded quickly, however, as he soon slipped into unconsciousness.

Paige was sitting at her desk, finishing some late work for the night. Walter had just left the garage. She was a little worried about him. Ever since the warehouse, he had seemed distant. She also was saddened that he and Tim were still not getting along, despite Tim's best efforts. Tim and she were getting closer, and she was worried that would only create more problems.

Deep down, she knew why Walter likely was still being hostile towards Tim, but she didn't want to think about it. She and Walter had decided any feelings between them should not be. There was nothing to do about it now.

Right?

"Paige…"

She was roused from her thoughts by Walter's voice speaking her name. She looked around the garage. She couldn't tell where it came from. Walter was nowhere to be seen. He had already left. His voice had sounded far away, or was it close? It almost sounded like it had been in her head.

Suddenly, she simply knew that Walter was in trouble, and she had to find him.

Chapter Text

Walter awoke with a throbbing headache. He felt incredibly weak and could barely move. When he did move, all his muscles seemed to spasm in protest.

Walter looked up and saw Tim standing over him. He was several feet away with a dart gun in hand by his side. Walter looked around slowly, as even slight movements hurt and were making him nauseous.

He was in an apartment. He assumed Tim's apartment. He was tied to a chair very effectively with thick corded rope. But why did he feel so weak?

Vervain, Walter realized. Tim had shot him with a dart of vervain. But that would require Tim to know what he was, and to know about vampires.

The fact that Walter saw a long, sharpened piece of wood leaning against the far wall behind Tim backed up his suspicions.

Walter began to really worry.

Paige was driving her car while on the phone with Cabe.

"Tell me again how you know Walter is in trouble, and where we are going?" Cabe asked doubtfully over her phone. He had said he was now driving not far from her, headed in the same direction, wherever that was going.

Paige shook her head in frustration. "I don't know, it's a feeling, I guess, like this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, along with a strange pull in a specific direction. I can't explain it," she let go of the wheel for a split to throw up her hands in a small gesture of exasperation, even if it was just for her own benefit.

It was troubling to say the least. She had been sitting at her desk when she thought she heard Walter say her name, very faintly, except he was no longer in the garage.

She would have brushed it off as a side effect of exhaustion, but then the feeling started. She somehow knew Walter was in trouble, and somehow felt like she should start heading in a certain direction. It was greatly disturbing, to say the least, but she was taking no chances.

She was driving in the direction the feeling was telling her to go, when she approached a familiar building.

It was Tim's apartment building, and when she laid eyes on it, she suddenly knew that was where Walter was.

"Cabe, I think Tim has Walter," she said disbelievingly, yet with certainty at the same time.

"What do you mean 'has Walter'?" Cabe questioned.

She gave another grunt of frustration. "I don't know! Just, meet me at his apartment. I'm going in."

She abruptly hung up the phone, quickly parked, and started running inside.

"I'm sorry, Walter. I'm so sorry this happened to you." Tim was looking at Walter with sorrow in his eyes. Pity, almost. "Was it when I was gone?"

Walter looked up at him in confusion.

Tim probed further. "Is that when you were turned?"

Walter was still confused.

"You see, I noticed you were acting odd when I came back-"

Because you started getting closer to Paige, Walter thought. It had affected his focus for several days, much to his confusion and frustration.

"You didn't leave your room for days."

I was exhausted, having just taken on a cell of terrorists. Walter countered in his head.

"After I saw you my first day back, I started observing you. I didn't mean anything by it, but I started to notice strange behavior."

Because you started spending more time at the garage, and my guard was down because I was distracted. Walter realized what Tim thought. He thought he had been become a vampire recently, and no one on the team knew about it. Tim must think he was some ticking newly turned time bomb.

He found he couldn't speak yet. He was still too weak and he was having trouble forming words. What had tipped Tim off, though? Did he move a little to fast, lift something a little too heavy?

"What tipped me off was when I found the bag, and saw the blood-"

The blood bag, the small amount of blood on my shirt, Walter realized. When he had made Tim take out the trash in spite. The bag he had uncharacteristically ripped into. Tim must have found it, and figured it out. Walter chastised himself for being so careless.

"-it made me start to suspect what you had become." Tim lowered his head slightly. He truly looked disappointed he had been right.

Tim knelt down, resting the dart gun on his knee. "At first I didn't think it could be, because I saw you still go out in the sunlight, but after I started paying attention, it was obvious. I don't know how you're able to do it, but frankly, a vampire able to walk in the sunlight as well as night, the thought is terrifying."

Tim got a far off, haunted look in his eyes. Walter realized he must not only have knowledge, but past experience with vampires. Judging by his prejudice and caution, violent ones at that. That's how he would know about vervain.

Walter couldn't help but glance at the ring on his finger when Tim mentioned his ability to walk in the sun. Tim, of course, noticed.

"Is that how? Did the one who turned you give that to you?"

Walter still couldn't answer.

Tim then displayed a look of confusion. "But, you've been wearing it since we met."

Yes, Walter thought. Figure it out, Tim. I've been a vampire since before we met. You've seen I'm no threat to anyone, that I've always been just myself and not a monster. Despite his feelings about Tim's relationship with Paige, he did give the normal some credit.

Walter felt he could figure it out.

"So if you've had it that long, this couldn't be the reason you can walk in the sunlight," Tim incorrectly concluded.

He did not figure it out.

Walter's chances of getting out of this alive were dropping.

Despite that, Walter found he did understand Tim's assumptions. Even so, he felt an urge to harm Tim in trade for harming him. He felt anger for his current situation, even if Tim did not have all the information, part of him wanted him to enact vengeance for his situation.

Despite his frustrations, he felt Tim's actions were perfectly logical, given the information he had. Logically then, Walter had to try and give more information to Tim.

His discomfort over Tim's proximity to Paige aside, Walter always had the impression the Navy SEAL was intelligent and rational, at least for a normal. He needed to explain so he would understand he was no threat.

The problem was, he still was too weak to speak. There was no way to communicate his defense.

There was another problem. He hadn't eaten in a while. It hadn't been a problem initially, normally having a day or two before the hunger became uncomfortable at the most. But that was before he was drugged.

He was in no danger of losing control by any means, but he was hungry and weak, and when Tim knelt in front of him, so close, Walter caught the scent of blood beneath his skin, and he couldn't stop his eyes from darkening and his fangs lengthening.

That did not work in his favor.

Tim tensed, looking at him with a mixture of fear and sadness. He stood up and grabbed the stake leaning against the wall.

"Again, Walter, I'm so sorry. I greatly respected you as a scientist and person. I took you so your team wouldn't have to know what happened to you. I think it will be better this way. I'll make it quick, and just remember your friends will now be safe. If there's anything left of you in there, I hope you can take solace in that."

Tim stood over him, starting to raise his lethal weapon, and Walter was powerless to stop him.

"Tim! What are you doing!?"

Paige. She was here in the apartment. She found him somehow, and apparently Paige had a key.

Of all things, the thought of Paige with a key to Tim's apartment caused a growl to escape Walter's throat.

Tim, of course, thought he was growling at her, since she had just arrived. Tim moved towards Paige protectively to keep her away from Walter.

Paige gasped, her hand moving up to cover her mouth as she took in the scene before her.

Tim misinterpreted Paige's look of horror as a reaction to Walter's appearance, not the situation itself.

"Paige, I know it's shocking to see, but that's not Walter anymore. Something happened to him, and that's a monster in his place."

Paige looked at Tim in confusion. She wasn't able to move past him. He was gently, but firmly still blocking her path. Tim continued his explanation.

"I know this is hard to believe, Paige, but vampires exist, and Walter has been turned into one. The proof is right there." Tim pointed at Walter, or more specifically his face. "I really wish you didn't have to see this. I'm sorry, but Walter is gone. I need to put this creature out of its misery before it hurts anyone, especially Scorpion, especially you."

Paige took in his words, apparently now understanding the situation before her. "I know he's a vampire, Tim! He's still Walter. He is not a monster and he's not dangerous!"

Walter felt a sort of pride at Paige's support as she came to his defense. Walter was still far from being saved, however.

Tim seemed to have a realization. Unfortunately it was the wrong one. "He's compelled you…"

"What? No!"

Tim gently took her by the shoulders, trying to both comfort and convince her of his theory. "Paige, you probably don't even realize it. If he's gone, it will wear off. You'll be okay."

Paige was now starting to get very frustrated. She looked at the dart gun that was still in Tim's hand and abruptly pointed at it. "That's vervain, right? That's what you used to catch Walter?"

Tim looked down at the weapon in his hand, likely not understanding where her question was going. He looked back up at her. "Yes," he answered.

"Give me one of the darts," she demanded, holding out her hand.

Tim seemed to see no harm in it, so he did as she asked, removing and placing one of the darts in Paige's open hand.

She took both Tim and Walter by surprise when she took the dart and stabbed herself in the arm with it, injecting its contents into her bloodstream.

"What are you doing?" Tim exclaimed.

Paige dropped the dart on the ground with a grimace of pain. "If that was vervain, it's now in my bloodstream, and Walter would not have any influence over me, if he ever did, right?"

Tim could only nod, agreeing with her argument so far.

"Then listen when I say that I already knew Walter was a vampire. We all did. He is still himself; a decent, caring, sometimes infuriating genius and has as much humanity as any of us. He's not a threat. Please let him go."

That seemed to reach Tim. He looked like he was starting to question the conviction he had regarding Walter. He needed just another small push.

"Stand down, Armstrong!"

Cabe had arrived.

Chapter Text

Cabe entered Tim's apartment, and upon seeing the situation playing out, immediately gave his trainee a direct order.

"Stand down, Armstrong!"

At Cabe's order, Tim's military instincts kicked in, and he immediately turned to attention.

Cabe approached the three of them and assessed the situation.

"Well, isn't this a pickle. It seems there's been quite the misunderstanding. Paige, go ahead and help Walter."

Tim jerked a little in their direction, showing he still thought Walter was a danger, and worried about Paige getting near him.

Cabe put a hand on his shoulder. "Easy, son."

"You knew, sir?" Tim asked him, not taking his eyes off Walter and Paige as she knelt down and started to unwrap his bindings.

Cabe nodded. "I was there when he came back last year. We were all there helping him through it. Things have been interesting, to say the least, but he's still Walter, a good person, I assure you."

Paige was almost done removing the ropes from Walter.

Cabe studied the disturbed look on Tim's face. "I take it your own experiences with vampires were much different to reach the conclusions you did?"

Tim nodded, the haunted look returning. "When I was overseas several years ago, my unit and I encountered a small group of them. We were taken off guard when we discovered what they were. They were monsters in every sense of the word. They butchered a whole village in less than a night. Those they turned lost themselves to their bloodlust within days, including a SEAL brother in my unit. When he came back, the things he did…the things they all did…War is Hell, sir, but the few days fighting those things was worse."

Cabe was starting to understand. "How did you make it out?" he asked.

"A few of the locals, elders mostly, knew what we were dealing with. They taught us about vervain and the creatures' weaknesses. At the end of the day, we were still a unit of trained SEALs. Once we had the right tools and knew what we were dealing with, we were able to eliminate them. Our brother, he was the last one we put to rest."

Despite his disturbance with the situation, Cabe found he couldn't completely blame Tim's reaction to Walter, based on the experience he just described. Cabe could see Paige's anger at Tim interject with a hint of sympathy as well as she finished freeing Walter of his bindings.

Tim instinctively tensed and backed away slightly as he saw Walter, now freed. Paige placed Walter's arm around her shoulders to help him stand out of the chair. As they walked towards Tim and Cabe, Walter leaned on her heavily.

"Wait," Walter croaked out. Paige helped him stop in front of the two soldiers. He removed his arm from Paige's shoulders and stood up straight, although Cabe could see it took some effort. Even so, all in the room could see the mixture of strength and resentment that was displayed in Walter's face, and directed toward Tim.

Tim, rightfully so, looked wound tight as a drum. Walter's eyes had remained dark red with red-black veins snaked beneath, and they were glaring straight at Tim.

Walter took a steady step forward, and Tim took a shaky step back, stopped suddenly by the wall behind him. Cabe became very nervous about what might happen next, and his fears were echoed in the worried eyes of Paige, who still stood behind Walter. For a brief moment, Cabe wondered if it had been safe to free Walter until he had a better idea of his state of mind.

"Son…" Cabe said slowly and carefully, not quite sure what else to say yet in the tense moment.

Walter's eyes snapped their intense gaze to Cabe with his single word of attempted placation.

Cabe didn't flinch, and he didn't yield. He held Walter's gaze for what likely was only a few seconds, but felt a heck of a lot longer.

Walter's focus eventually turned back to Tim, and his eyes returned to brown and the fangs disappeared. His eyes narrowed, contemplating the man in front of them. Cabe again held his breath as Walter started to address the man who had attacked him, drugged him, and kidnapped him with slow, purposely spoken words.

"Tim Armstrong, what transpired here tonight has made me reconsider whether you could have a place amongst us at Scorpion, to say the very least." Walter took one last step forward until his face was mere inches from Tim's. Tim held onto the composure of the soldier, but his quick breaths and tension in his jaw and body revealed the unease he struggled to control.

This didn't look promising. Cabe really worried Walter would enact some sort of vengeance right then and there.

Walter eventually let out a long, deep sigh and took as small step back from Tim, although he held his gaze and maintained his stance of strength. He was keeping it clear he was still in control of the situation, and not done with what he had to say.

"My personal…feelings…aside, instead of attacking me outright when you suspected what I was, you collected data, made a plan, and systematically implemented it. You acted in what you thought was in Scorpion's best interest, and tried to spare my team the pain of my overt demise, although I would strongly recommend you henceforth consider what being a part of a team means, instead of taking matters into your own hands." Walter couldn't keep a low growl escaping with the word strongly.

Now no one understood where Walter was going with this, and he wasn't finished.

"When confronted with new information, you listened to the input of your teammates, despite your preconceptions. I fully appreciate this effort, and not least because you decided against killing me, as you originally planned. You allowed logic to reign over emotion."

Tim was still on edge, but his visible tension had eased with Walter's words. "What makes you think I don't still want to stake you where you stand?" Tim countered.

Walter gave a small sniff before answering. "I can…tell. You may still have reservations about me, but I can sense you now accept I'm not a threat to anyone here."

"What's your point?" Tim asked curtly.

"That despite a very…rough start, you have potential." Walter held out his hand. "Welcome to Scorpion."

Tim, seeming to be suffering from some sort of mental whiplash, was too dumbfounded to do anything else, and slowly took Walter's outstretched hand.

Walter, with his point made, and message delivered, let a small amount of the discomfort he still endured from the poisoning show again, and limped out the door. Paige followed close behind, but not before she touched Tim's shoulder and gave a short squeeze, promising they'd talk more later. It was clear she was deeply rattled by what had happened tonight, for many reasons.

Cabe shared in her unease. How close had Walter been to a more violent outcome here tonight? They might never know. But giving Tim a chance as a part of Scorpion? That surprised even Cabe. Was that how Walter truly felt? Or was the kid trying to do what he thought someone else would do? What he should do? Cabe sighed, accepting that the actions of Walter O'Brien would continue to keep him on his toes.

At that resignation, Cabe turned his attentions back to his trainee. Tim's actions here tonight were not exactly something he could professionally reprimand, but he felt some valuable lessons had been learned here, regardless.

Cabe furrowed his brow as he studied Tim. The soldier was still staring at the door Walter and Paige left through moments before. The look on Tim's face was so shocked and confused, it was actually very comical. Cabe suspected the shocked expression hadn't changed since Walter and Paige had left.

"You ok, son?" Cabe asked. He suspected Tim was trying to process what had happened, and trying to figure out how he was still alive, let alone just given a chance as a member of Scorpion.

Tim just pointed at the doorway and turned to Cabe, blurting out his answer. "Ok, maybe I could buy that he's not a threat, like you say, but you have to admit, vampire or otherwise, he's far from normal."

Cabe chuckled. "I know exactly what you mean."

Paige drove Walter back to the garage. There was only silence during the trip, and that extended to after they entered the building. Once there Walter made a beeline towards the fridge and quickly downed two whole bags of blood, which seemed to clear the effects of the vervain from his system. He caught Paige staring at him.

"Something's bothering you, about me," Walter accused, looking over at Paige.

"How was I able to find you?" she asked him, and she looked uncomfortable.

"I was actually about to ask you the same thing," Walter countered. "Initially I assumed you just happened to show up, to see…him, but my theory was proven wrong when Cabe arrived."

Paige looked anxious as she explained what happened. "I heard you, Walter, when I was sitting here, finishing up work for the night. I heard you say my name even though you weren't here, and then I was just, well, drawn to you, and it's freaking me out." Paige said, wrapping her arms around herself.

"That's…perplexing," was Walter's response. "I don't have an answer currently, Paige."

Paige offered more information. "The feeling disappeared immediately when I injected myself with the vervain, Walter, so I'm going to ask once. Did you, or have you ever, compelled me without me knowing?"

Walter's eyes widened. He looked like she had struck him.

"No!" he immediately exclaimed. "No! Never!"

"Because if you have, Walter, I don't know if I could ever forgive-"

He ran up and quickly took her by the shoulders, not wanting her to finish that sentence.

"Paige, I swear on my sister's memory, I have never compelled you."

Paige looked into his eyes and studied him for a moment, then seemed to relax in his hands. "Ok, Walter." She nodded a few times. "I believe you."

Walter also relaxed, relieved she did believe him.

"But then what happened?" she asked him. She still had unanswered questions.

"I have no reasonable theories," Walter answered, "but I'm glad you knew I needed help, or Tim likely would have killed me."

That brought Paige to her second point. "You know, giving him a chance with the team was not a normal response to what he did, right?" She truly wondering if he realized how much of an odd duck he was.

Walter blinked at her in confusion. "Should I not have? I thought refraining from letting my emotions lead to rash actions would be preferable, compared to the alternative?"

Paige was afraid to know the answer as she carefully asked her next question. "And what was the alternative, Walter?"

Walter looked at her after her question was asked, and after a period, looked down, choosing not to answer.

After it was clear her query was going nowhere, she broke the uncomfortable silence. "Well, I guess it was the best outcome, so I should thank you," Paige finally said. "I appreciate you trying to give him a chance, especially after everything."

A subtle grimace passed across Walter's face. "Are you not angered by Tim's actions tonight?" Walter asked.

Paige was slightly hurt by his question. She didn't hesitate answering. "Of course I am, Walter! He hurt you, and believe me, I'm pissed, and I'll be talking to him about it later. But after hearing what he went through, I have to try and understand why he jumped to the conclusions he did, as wrong as they were. Believe me. I'm glad you're ok."

"I'm nothing like the monsters he described," Walter argued quickly. But it almost seemed like he was arguing with himself, not her. She then wondered what he actually had been thinking during his standoff with Tim.

Either way, she fully supported him. "No, Walter. You're not. You've never been, and I truly believe you never will be. And tonight…"

And tonight I'm glad you didn't prove Tim right.

Paige didn't say the last part of that sentence out loud. She just couldn't think of a way to say it without betraying how worried she had been, even momentarily, that things might have turned out differently.

If Walter picked up on what she was thinking, he didn't show it, and changed the subject while giving her an odd look she couldn't decipher. "I had not realized the two of you had gotten that serious."

Paige looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You have a key to his apartment."

She blinked at him, then gave a small laugh.

Walter looked at her, confused by her response.

"Walter. He has a fish tank."

Walter still didn't seem to be following her.

"Last week, when he went out of town for a few days? He asked me to feed his fish."

"Oh!" Walter said, now on the same page. "That, uh, makes sense. So you're not, um, serious?"

She pursed her lips at his question. "Not like that no, but we've gone on a few dates, as you know, and I've had a good time. Who knows where things will lead," she answered.

Walter nodded. He said nothing more, but he didn't like it. He was fully aware of that now.

Paige shook her head and diverted back to her original concern. "I'd still feel a lot better knowing how I was able to find you."

Walter nodded. "I wouldn't mind understanding it as well."

Paige pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her contacts.

"What are you doing?" Walter asked.

"I'm seeing if I can get an answer. I'm calling Damon."

"You have his number?" Walter asked, looking surprised.

"Only for emergencies. He's not the type I would want to regularly talk to."

Paige put her phone on speaker as it rang. It rang a few times before the line picked up.

"Not-so-friendly-neighborhood-vampire, speaking." Damon answered, likely knowing it was Paige calling.

Paige rolled her eyes. "Damon, we got into a small situation and something weird happened. Walter and I here were wondering if you could shed some light on it."

"Shoot," he answered, waiting for them to continue.

Paige recounted the events, and what she had felt. She also mentioned the strange pull disappeared when she injected herself with vervain.

They waited for Damon's response.

"Huh. Well, this is awkward."

"What is it, Damon?" Paige asked impatiently.

"Well, I think I have an answer for you, but I'm gonna have to pry just a bit. Walter, perchance did you, I don't know, drink a large amount of her blood, then maybe she drank some of yours as well?"

Only crickets filled the silence that followed.

Both Walter and Paige knew the answer of course. That exact event occurred when Walter was dying in the cell in Cuba.

"Um, something similar to that occurred, yes," Walter answered, shifting side to side and looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Well, there you go, then. Something like that tends to create a connection, granted a mystical one. When you took the vervain, Paige, you nullified it, so you shouldn't have to worry about it anymore."

"Would there have been any more side effects to this connection?" Paige asked.

"Well, maybe a his mental abilities would be stronger with you, if used." She thought back to the beach. "There should be no effect on your free will or feelings. It's more of a physical connection, as strange as that sounds."

Paige nodded and let out a sigh. "Thank you Damon, you were a big help."

"Anytime, beautiful."

Paige rolled her eyes one more time before hanging up the phone.

"Well, that clears that up," Walter stated, followed by a nervous clearing of his throat.

"Yup, sure did," she agreed very quickly, feeling just as awkward.

"Well, I'll just go upstairs then. Might as well stay here tonight, since I, well, live here, sometimes," Walter said, pointing behind him at the stairs.

"And I'm going to go home, since it's dark, it being late and all."

"Great."

"Excellent."

They turned away from each other and Paige left the garage without stopping. She heard Walter quickly go up the garage steps.

She found she had been nervous waiting for Damon's answer, about whether there were no other side effects. Part of her had been wondering that was the reason for her feelings. The feelings she still had for Walter.

But if she had been hoping there was an excuse, why did she feel relief and hope when it was confirmed the feelings were hers alone?

Strange thing was, she thought she saw something similar on Walter's face before he had turned to go upstairs.

Chapter Text

Things started to go back to normal, although Tim's manner towards Walter remained hesitant and slightly cold. It seemed even though he was accepting what Walter was, he was going to remain wary of him.

Walter was having a problem, though. For weeks, he was not sleeping well at all. He kept having dreams that would wake him in the middle of the night. Actually, it was the same dream, or variations thereof.

It would always start with him sitting at his desk in the garage. The team would each be sitting at their desks at well. Everything would be bright, happy, and normal. Then, one by one, each member of his team would slowly fade, and disappear from where they sat, living only Walter, sitting alone in a darkened garage.

Each time he had the dream, it would last a little longer. Each time he would wake up when it ended, feeling despair of impending loneliness. Impending eternity.

He told no one of his dream, choosing to try and endure the problem on his own, as usual.

Then, one night, the dream continued and something different happened.

Like every instance before, everyone slowly disappeared. He was sitting in the middle of the large, empty, dark, lifeless garage. Once again, he was alone. Until he wasn't.

"Hey there, bro."

Walter looked up. Sitting across the desk from him, was Megan. She was sitting across a backwards facing chair. Her arms were folded and resting atop its back. Her chin rested on her hands, and she was looking straight at him with a carefree smile.

"Megan?" he asked with surprise. He looked around at the garage, still empty of anyone else. "What are you doing her?" Her presence surprised him, since she hadn't appeared before, but he accepted it, as one often does within the confines of a dream.

She didn't answer his question. Instead, she appeared annoyed with him. "You're very lousy at keeping your promises, you know that?" she accused.

"What do you mean?"

"You promised me you wouldn't be afraid. You promised me you would be true to who you are."

He felt the familiar sadness of the dream return. He looked at the empty garage around them. "You were the first one I lost. Someday, I'll lose everyone else, too. How can I get close to people if I know someday I'll feel all that pain?"

Suddenly, Megan was no longer in front of him, but standing beside him. In the next instant she gave him a firm smack to the back of the head. Interestingly, when she hit him, he became more lucid within his dream and his thoughts were no longer trapped within its repeated scenario.

Megan wasn't done with him yet. "Life is pain bro. Everyone goes through loss. What you don't have to go through is regret. Whether you live thirty years or three hundred, if you aim to live without regret, you'll be surprised how much life is worth living." She glanced at the wedding bandage on her finger.

"You made me a promise, Walter. Don't be afraid to get close to someone. You don't know how much time anyone, even you, has. No one knows what the future of your story holds. You can do your best to try though, by living everyday to make your story a good one."

With Megan's words, the garage around him seemed to lighten with his outlook. When she was done speaking, his surroundings suddenly changed drastically.

In an instant, his team was back in the garage around him. The atmosphere had lightened, and everything seemed okay. It also seemed like everything was going to be okay from here on.

There was still one person missing from the scene, though. Walter looked at Paige's desk, still empty, and everything suddenly became clear to him. He turned back to his sister.

Walter took Megan's hand and smiled at her. "Thank you, Megan. Thank you for being here for me once again and guiding me, even if you are just a manifestation of my subconscious."

Megan then gave him a slow, cheeky smile. "Now, Walter. What ever made you think I'm just a manifestation?"

Walter's smile slowly faded as he absorbed her words.

No way…

She just kept smiling, and gave him a wink.

He awoke from his dream.

He was no longer in his garage, but back in his bed.

"Don't be afraid…" he heard echo in his mind one more time.

He got out of his bed and quickly got dressed.

He knew what he had to do.

It was late, and Paige was about to get ready for bed. It had been a long day, and she was ready for a warm bath and a good night's sleep. Ralph was sound asleep in his bedroom, and she would be too shortly.

At least, she hoped she would be shortly. She had been having trouble sleeping lately. She told herself it was just stress from work, but deep down, she knew if was conflicted feelings and not stress keeping her away at night. She just had no idea what to do about it.

She stepped into her bedroom and was about to undress when she heard a small tapping at her bedroom window.

She jumped and turned towards the sound.

There, kneeling on the fourth floor windowsill of her apartment window, was Walter. He gave her a small wave and a sheepish smile.

Once her heart rate had slowed, she marched over and opened the window.

"Walter!" she loudly whispered, trying not to wake Ralph. "What are you doing here? Why are you at my window?"

"Sorry," he answered. "I thought this would be less likely to wake Ralph. Also, this method of entry seems oddly popular for vampires in many of the stories. I was curious." Walter took a moment to study the window itself. "I admit though, it only seems impractical, and now I realize a little invasive. I'll use the door next time."

With a sigh she held out her hand, motioning for him to come inside.

"Uhh…" he said, again looking sheepish.

Oh, right, she thought.

"Oh, uh, you can come in, Walter," she said aloud.

With a nod he jumped through, and she closed the window behind him.

"Ok, now please explain to me what you're doing here in the middle of the night," she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

Walter looked nervous, but determined. It wasn't long before he took a deep breath and started explaining.

"Paige, a lot has happened to me in the last couple of years. Scorpion has become a reputable, cohesive team. I've starting learning how to express my emotions. I've suffered loss with Megan's death. Not to mention, I've died, and gained immortality."

Walter started pacing back and forth in front of Paige as he spoke. She was standing patiently watching him, her arms still crossed in front of her. Walter kept talking.

"All of that, I've processed, or am processing. There's one thing, though, that I've spent the last two years trying to process. I was trying to figure out how it should be handled, but maybe it's not something that's supposed to be 'handled'. Maybe it just is."

Walter stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Paige. He looked her directly in the eye, and continued.

"I've been led to the realization that I shouldn't be afraid and overthink things. I should try and live every day as if it were my last, and focus on what I know now, and not leave anything to regret. You probably don't feel the same way about me, and I understand, but I figured I should be completely honest with you. You deserve that because, well, whether genius or vampire, I never feel more human than when I'm with you."

Paige's eyes were slowly widening and her lips were slowly parting the more he spoke. Then he said it.

"What I know now, is that I love you Paige. I've been in love with you since shortly after we met."

As Walter said those words, he looked like the world itself had been lifted from his shoulders. He was clearly waiting for her to say something, good or bad.

The thing was, Paige didn't know what to say. She just stood there, the same expression on her face. She couldn't figure out how to respond.

So instead of trying to figure out what to say, she simply said what she felt.

"I'm in love with you too, Walter."

She expected Walter may have been hopeful for those words, but she didn't think he actually had been expecting them.

"I, uh, I don't know what to do with that information," he responded. He actually did look like a computer that was glitching for a moment.

She stepped towards him until her face was inches from his.

"I have an idea," she offered.

Then, she kissed him.

And he kissed her back.

With that one kiss they seemed to exchange the passion they had missed out on for the last couple of years. All of the pent up feelings, repressed emotions, and regrets were released between them.

They likely would have exchanged even more that night if they hadn't been interrupted.

"Finally!"

They quickly stopped and turned towards the door.

Ralph stood at her bedroom door with the biggest, most joyful smile she had ever seen on her son's face.

"Ralph, uh, you're supposed to be in bed." She and Walter stood next to each other, looking embarrassed at being discovered.

Ralph just kept beaming at the two of them.

"Ok, pal, your mom and I have just a little more talking to do. It's way past your bedtime, I think."

Ralph pouted, looking a little disappointed. "Ok, but only if you promise you'll still be together tomorrow when I wake up. This had better not be a dream."

Paige and Walter looked at each other and they exchanged knowing looks.

"We promise," Paige said, turning back to her son.

Ralph nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer, and walked back to his bedroom.

Paige gave a small laugh as he left.

"I think we'll have to settle with just this, for now," Walter observed.

"I agree," she said. "But I hope we won't have to settle for long."

Walter, standing there with her, felt like he was standing at the edge of eternity. This time, he wasn't feeling the weight of endless time, but the freedom of limitless possibilities.

I think we all echo Ralph's opinion here. Lol. Only a handful of chapters left. There's still a small plotline to explore after this. It will follow an altered plotline of the series.

Look forward to hearing from you guys!

Chapter Text

"You're actually worried about a man's life? That's not the Walter O'Brien I remember."

-Mark Collins

Tim understood. Paige extended the respect he deserved the next day and told him how she felt about Walter and what had happened. Luckily, Walter had expressed his feelings before things got serious between her and Tim.

Tim was disappointed, to say the least, but being the amazing guy she still knew he was, he understood. He offered her some subtle words of warning to be careful, however. She knew he wasn't only referring to her heart. She assured him it would be okay, and she meant every word. They exchanged a heartfelt hug and a promise to remain friends. She meant every word.

The rest of the team had predictable responses when they revealed their newly kindled relationship.

"Well, it's about damn time," Cabe said, speaking for the whole group.

Paige and Walter were not the only ones who had been kindling a relationship. Toby and Happy had become a lot more serious recently.

A few days passed, and Walter and Paige found their newfound relationship growing stronger. They looked forward to some time alone together in the near future.

One morning, Happy was in a foul mood. Toby hadn't answered her calls yet that day. They all could tell she was worried about some kind of gambling relapse. Paige had advised her to give it more time. Most likely he had simply overslept.

Walter was at his computer when Paige came up behind him and put her arms around him, glancing at what he was doing over his shoulder.

He was watching the video from the warehouse. The one that had been taken on the camera he had worn. She hadn't realized it had been recording at the time.

"Why are you watching this?" she asked.

Walter let out a sigh. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I suppose I was curious how the camera perceived events."

In other words, he was wondering how they might have viewed what he was able to do that night, and what he had to do.

"What you did was incredible, Walter. You saved all those kids and brought Ralph home safe."

"It was a team effort," Walter argued quickly. "I just did the more, unseemly contribution." Walter paused the video suddenly. It stopped on a single frame, depicting the man he had been forced to kill.

Paige might have said something along the lines of Walter doing what he had to do, and he hadn't had a choice, but she didn't. Instead she kept staring at the picture on Walter's computer screen, not really understanding what she was seeing.

She hadn't realized it that night. Most likely a combination of her state of mind and worry for Walter. Now, though, she really saw that man's face, and she recognized it.

"Walter," she said pointing at the screen. "I know him."

"What do you mean?"

"The client. The one I met with that morning. The one that I thought was odd since he only met with me a few minutes before saying he didn't want to hire us. That was him."

Walter looked back at the screen. He didn't respond to her, at first. He was trying to figure out what this information meant. Walter spoke first, but they came to the same conclusion at the same time.

"Ralph. They wanted him to be on that bus that day. They lured you to that meeting so you couldn't pick him up that day."

The problem was, realizing this didn't alleviate her confusion.

"But why would they want Ralph on that bus? How could those men have been connected to him, or us?"

She thought that terrifying night had been behind them, but it seemed there was still a deeper mystery.

And that meant there was a possible remaining threat to worry about.

Walter sat with Paige over his shoulder, looking at the image from the video that had suddenly confused them both.

That group had planned for Ralph to be on that bus, but why?

Walter searched his brain for any other clues from those events.

After searching, he thought about the feed of the bus that had been provided to them- the live feed that had led to the cell's location.

At the time, Walter bragged how he had cracked it without an issue, but the truth was, the feed had been well encrypted. Whoever had coded it had been talented, indeed. No one he had encountered in that warehouse that night showed the intelligence needed to pull that off.

Which meant, there was someone else. Someone else who had been pulling the strings. Someone who must have a vendetta against Scorpion.

Then, almost as if the universe was confirming his suspicions. Cabe walked up to Walter and Paige after getting off the phone. He had a somber expression on his face.

"Guys, I was just informed Mark Collins escaped his mental health hospital."

Suddenly, it all snapped into place in Walter's head. The complicated signal, Ralph being targeted, now Happy not being able to ahold of Toby. Suddenly everything came into clear, horrifying focus.

Not a day before, Toby had testified that Mark Collins was still mentally unstable and unfit for release, sending him back to the mental health hospital.

Mark Collins used to be one of them. He had been a member of Scorpion over four years before. He had been brilliant. A mind second only to Walter's own. The problem was, the more time went on, the more clear it became how unstable he was.

Walter connected with him most. The two would disappear in their thoughts for weeks on end sometimes, deeper down the Rabbit Hole. The time with Collins had been some of the most liberating experiences of Walter's life. When they focused on a problem together, it was as if both their minds could reach their full potential. It had been exhilarating, like driving a high performance sports car down a highway at top speed.

But it also had been terrifying, and there were times he couldn't stop heading down that rabbit hole deeper and deeper. More-so, the rest of the team had hated how Collins' always seemed to make them doubt themselves and each other. They hated more the effect Collins' had on Walter.

Then, one day, he was just gone. It happened after Happy pulled Walter out of a state of dehydration and near insanity after almost two weeks straight of nonstop theorizing and mental computing with Collins. After Happy basically nursed him back to health, Collins was nowhere to be found.

It was two years later that they learned Walter had committed Collins to an insane asylum. Then Collins almost allowed a nuclear plant to explode to express his feelings of betrayal. He likely would have succeeded, too, if Scorpion hadn't discovered what he was doing and stopped him.

Now, it seemed, Collins' manipulations had not stopped, nor his vendetta against Scorpion. Somehow, Collins had found a way to influence a sleeper cell of terrorists, of all things, to strike out at them. It had ultimately failed, thankfully, but Walter imaged that Toby's testimony put Collins over some kind of edge, and he had broken out to exact revenge.

A swelling of anger rose up within Walter, and he started breathing faster in response. He felt Paige's hand rest upon his shoulder, and he took it and held it tight.

Collins had almost gotten Ralph killed, and now he had Toby.

His family was being threatened, and he doubted Collins realized exactly what he now was dealing with.

Collins was a radio-wave expert, or "hacker" as he proudly labeled himself.

It wasn't long until he reached out to the team, confirming that he had taken Toby.

They are were tense as the insane genius started talking, but none more than Happy, who looked like she wanted nothing more than to leap through the phone and choke the life out of him.

As the whole team listened to the sound of his voice, he demanded research he and Walter had worked on many years before, but Walter knew that wasn't his endgame. This wasn't about research. Walter knew Collins' motives were far more personal.

Even if Collins would deny it until the end of time, this was about revenge. This was emotional.

And if things weren't tense enough, Collins then revealed a secret Toby had been keeping. He boastfully announced the ring he found in the doctor's belongings, revealing Toby's intent to propose to Happy.

That only served to piss Happy off more.

There was no group more driven. They used Collins' own radio signals against him to track him down.

As they did, Walter got the same off feeling he did when he tracked the warehouse signal. It had been too easy.

I didn't matter, though. They were going to find Toby.

****SVD****

Toby slowly awoke to the sound of a man softly muttering to himself. He felt an injury to the back of his head that no doubt was the cause of his blackout. After focusing his eyes he saw who had taken him.

Before him was a disheveled looking man. His brown hair looked like it was cut only often enough to keep from getting in his way. He wore a short beard that had been growing for at least a few days. Bright, but unstable eyes peered from behind large, dated eyeglasses.

Collins wasn't looking at him, but was focused on an array of interconnected radio units laying on a bench before him.

"What have you got there, some kind of science project?" Toby asked. He couldn't help throwing inappropriate humor in response to his anxiety.

Collins didn't miss a beat responding. "You're not going to joke your way out of this one, Tobias. No, today is a very serious day."

Collins turned to Toby, aiming his insane gaze at him. "When my work is done. No one will be laughing."

"What work is that, Mark?" Toby was almost afraid to know the answer.

"To help Walter."

"Crazy man says what now?" Toby spurt out. He couldn't help himself.

Collins seemed to ignore his jab.

"There was so much we were achieving. Do you know how close we came to creating a working theory for actual brain-to-brain interface before he turned on me? Before you and the others made him turn on me? Walter and I went to places you could not even imagine. We would have accomplished so much together, for the greater good."

Even the psychologist in Toby was struggling on how to respond to the delusional mind before him. He decided it wiser to say nothing as Collins continued.

"I maintained hope that our work, our partnership, would one day continue. That he would realize the sentiment he had for the rest of you could only be fleeting. Did you know he started visiting me once a week after our…reconnection, at the power plant?"

Toby hadn't known that. He doubted any of the rest of Scorpion knew that either.

"But then, he suddenly stopped, and I no longer heard from him. I mean, I knew about the accident and his recovery. I was understanding, but after, he didn't come back."

Toby was understanding what had happened. So much had changed after Walter's accident, and at first he couldn't visit Collins. Most likely he then decided it was unhealthy, and stayed away.

"I feared the potential of his mind was being lost further, so I tried to teach him a lesson. I tried to show him how vulnerable sentiment was making him."

Now Toby was lost. He wasn't following where this was going yet.

"You'd be amazed how easy it is to gain access to the signals in a mental hospital. There's just things lying everywhere in everyday items. The dark web was laughably simple to reach. So many pliable minds looking for ways to express their purpose. Misguided and distasteful ideas, I absolutely agree, but their enthusiasm wasn't hard to point in the right direction."

Toby felt cold and sick as he understood what Collins was referring to. The warehouse. Ralph's kidnapping. The bombs. The bus. Collins was saying he had orchestrated it. He had found a sleeper cell of terrorists and gotten in their heads to provide them with a plan. As Toby put the pieces together, the monologue continued.

"I only asked in return they ensure a specific young member of Walter's cyclone was involved. To be clear I wished him no harm, but it was the most efficient way to make my point. I suppose, ultimately, I was glad you were able to rescue the children, but I was hoping my point still would have been made. I was hoping Walter would realize how vulnerable caring made him. I'm curious, though, how did you manage it? I'll set aside my pride and admit I haven't been able to figure it out."

Of course, Collins didn't know about Walter's supernatural advantage that day. If Walter hadn't been able to do what he did…Toby couldn't bear the thought.

Toby could only stare at the incredibly sick man in front of him. Even his behaviorist mind was having trouble processing Collins' twisted logic, but with a wave of nausea, process it he did. He came to a simple conclusion. Again.

"Collins. You're insane."

"Correction. I'm focused. I can see the world in a way you could never hope to understand, so I see the bigger picture. There's something different about Walter now, Tobias. I can feel it. I aim to know what so I can help him."

Collins dumped out a large sack of supplies. Most of it was rolls of standard dental floss.

"But first," Collins added, "I need to lay out the web."

Toby took some comfort knowing that Collins had no idea what really had been happening with Walter recently, and what was now coming for him. Even so, somehow Toby felt Collins was about to pose a threat where even a vampire might not be enough to bring him, and Scorpion home unscathed.

The team worked hard to find Toby, and find him they did. They tracked him to a group of abandoned buildings. It wasn't long before they found the correct one and made their way towards it.

Then Walter spotted Collins running towards an adjacent building, and went after him without hesitation, and before the rest of the team could stop him.

The rest of them entered the building that held Toby, and initially they didn't understand what they were seeing. Toby attempted to explain.

"Hey, guys. Welcome to the inside of Collins' brain," Toby said with a sick note.

They stood before a literal web woven in a large, mostly bare room. Large windows lined the top of the walls on either side, flooding the room with bright sunlight. There were several pillars along either side, around which was wrapped what must have been thousands of feet of dental floss, creating a multi-layer barrier between them and the room's other single occupant. In the center sat Toby, tied to a chair with his head restrained backward against the pillar behind him. Above him hung what looked to be a mason jar, precariously held up by one of the strands of floss.

"Oh, what's happening here?" Sylvester asked.

"The mason jar is held by floss, the acid is in the jar," Toby quickly responded.

Sylvester reached out to touch one of the strands.

"Don't touch anything!" Toby yelled with panic in his voice. "One of these threads leads to the jar. You jostle it, the acid eats through my septum, then back through my trachea. I'll suffocate in seconds."

"That's a problem."

"It gets worse. He shaved down the floss right over my head. It won't hold more than a few minutes."

"Collins is calling us to outthink him, and if we can't, Toby dies."

"Happy, Sly, I need you to figure this one out fast! Guys, I'm running out of time here!"

"Okay, you're the math guy. Figure out the pattern here," Happy ordered Sylvester.

Sylvester looked at her wide-eyed. "What do I look like, a dentist?! I have no clue how to solve this!"

Paige knew they needed Walter's help. She called to him over their comms. "Walter, we cannot crack what Collins set up. We could really use your mind over here."

She received nothing but static.

"Walter, answer me!"

Walter entered the building Collins fled to, and entered a room full of piles of neatly stacked wooden pallets. Initially, Walter didn't know where his target went. He closed his eyes and listened.

There.

His eyes snapped open. A heartbeat. The sound wasn't panicked or exerted, but calm, and confident. Walter's anger rose at the thought of Collins' hubris. If he only knew what now stalked him.

Honed in on Collins' heartbeat, Walter could almost see his target weaving through the forest of pallets. He made his way swiftly and silently, closing in on him.

Collins came into sight, and Walter saw him standing behind one of the tall stacks of pallets. His back was towards him, and he seemed to be looking around to see if the path in front of him was clear.

Seeing Collins now, knowing what he had done, and was doing to the people he loved, made Walter feel an anger that caused him to see literal red. A deep instinct in Walter wanted him to pounce right there, and end the threat to his family once and for all.

Walter honestly didn't know if he would have acted on it. His thoughts were interrupted as he took a single step forward onto a piece of amorphous trash that broke with a very loud snap. Not very supernaturally stealthy of him.

At the sharp sound, Collins whipped around and saw Walter. He tried to make a run for it but Walter was obviously faster. Walter closed the gap in an instant and grabbed Collins behind his shirt collar before he had even taken a step. Walter slammed him against one of the pallet stacks, resisting the urge to reveal what he was, and what he was truly capable of. Walter was holding things together, but he wanted to end this quickly. He didn't trust himself to be alone with Collins for too long.

"I have Collins!" he snarled over his comm.

"Well, who cares, get over here! Toby's in trouble!" Happy responded.

"But I can't just leave him here!" Walter yelled back.

At first, Collins looked shocked and puzzled at Walter's aggressive attack, but it was replaced with amusement at Walter's dilemma. "I clearly don't care, Walter. But you do. That's why you'll let me go to save your friend."

Walter struggled with what to do. His former friend had become dangerous. If he let him go, he could harm more people. But Toby needed his help.

"Look at how weak they've made you. The old Walter never would have struggled with this," Collins said, disappointment evident in his voice. Walter also heard the faintest hint of a stutter. Even with all of his confidence, part of Collins must have been sensing the danger he was in, like a prey animal sensing the presence of a predator.

Walter tried a solution with a middle ground.

Walter looked in Collins' eyes and spoke very clearly. "Tell them how to save Toby. Now." He saw Collins' eyes dilate ever so slightly, but then only narrow at him in contention.

"The greater good clearly dictates that you do not let me go, because I can do harm to many more people than Tobias could ever help," Collins taunted.

Walter blinked in surprise. It hadn't worked. He tried again. "Tell me how to save Toby."

It still didn't have any effect, but Collin's realized Walter was trying to do something to him.

"What was that, Walter?" Collins looked intrigued as he tried to study him. "It was like a tickle in my brain. What were you trying to do? I was right, wasn't I? Something is very different about you. What is it, I wonder?"

Why wasn't it working? Walter asked himself. After a moment, he got his answer as he looked into the unhinged eyes before him.

He couldn't compel Collins because he was genuinely, truly insane. He was so far down the Rabbit Hole even the telepathic abilities of a vampire couldn't reach him.

Walter was so unnerved by his realization that he didn't notice Collins reach and grab a large metal rod resting on the pallet behind him. He swung it around and with all his strength hit Walter squarely on the back of the head, breaking his hold and forcing him to his knees.

Vampire or not, a blow like that hurt and the concussive force stunned his brain. Unfortunately, it only took a moment for another section of his brain to take over in its absence. The blow likely would have killed him if he'd been human. In his moment of pain, surprise, and disorientation, he didn't notice his vampiric features present themselves. Walter was on the ground on his hands and knees, so his change wasn't immediately visible to Collins.

Collins stood over him, the pipe still in hand.

"Oh, my. Apologies, Walter. I didn't mean to hit you that hard. To be fair, physical violence really isn't my style. For what it's worth, I'm very glad I didn't kill you."

Walter still was disoriented. He got one foot under him but his head was still bent down as he knelt on the floor.

Collins apparently wasn't done explaining himself to Walter, launching into some kind of villainous monologue.

"Walter, do you know why the Wolf Spider is a Darwinian marvel? Because it lives alone. That's what makes it superior. It depends on nobody. Does that remind you of somebody? Kicking me off Scorpion, it was a deep betrayal, but it served me well."

Walter was able to hear and comprehend what Collins was saying, but his body was still stunned. It was improving as his injury healed, and he just needed a few more seconds.

Collins knelt down in front of him, only about a foot from his still hidden face. "You know, I never considered myself a killer before, but I am what you made me. And you are what Scorpion made you. A weak and feeble man who cares more about feelings and sentiment and friends than about a logical course of action."

Walter lifted his head to look at Collins, his brain still slightly scrambled. Unfortunately, he still hadn't realize his features were no longer human.

He painfully became aware of it, though, with a sudden sinking feeling in his abdomen. He saw it as he watched Collins' expression when their gazes once again met, and he saw himself in the reflection of Collins' glasses.

Collins' jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and he, ever so subtly, started to shake. A smile stretched across his face which reflected pure, unadulterated glee. Then, Collins started to laugh.

Walter quickly changed his features back to normal, but the damage had been done. Collins had seen him. Walter's strength was nearly fully returned and he started standing up.

Even though Collins seemed ecstatic by what he just saw, he still seemed to understand there was much more to Walter now than even he imagined, and therefore more dangerous. He jumped up quickly and backed away as Walter slowly stood up.

Neither genius said anything for a few seconds.

Collins broke the silence. "Thank you, Walter. No one has ever challenged my mind, or surprised me like you do. Just when I think I have you figured out…I thought Scorpion made you weak, more human, but now I see it's far more complicated. What have you become, Walter? Was I wrong? Do you actually have more humanity than you used to? Or far less? Oh, this is going to be fun."

Walter, however, was not amused. With nothing left to hide, his fangs lengthened and he pounced at Collins, slamming him against the wall behind him.

"There's one flaw with your metaphor, Mark, about the spider," Walter hissed. Walter's fangs were bared mere inches from Collins' face. Walter didn't move as he finished his point with three short, crystal clear words.

"Scorpions. Hunt. Spiders."

There was only silence following Walter's chilling threat, but Walter could tell by the scent in the air that the insane genius finally had the good sense to be very, very afraid.

"Walter! We need you! Toby doesn't have much time left and we can't figure this out!" Happy yelled desperately over the comms.

The desperation in Happy's voice broke Walter out of his predatory trance. Despite the corner Walter now had Collins trapped in, both literally and figuratively, Walter knew in that moment he had to let Collins go. Having no time to waste, he sped away full view of Collins, releasing him, for now, to help save his friend.

Walter found them quickly. He sped in and stopped abruptly by Tim's side, startling him. Tim clearly was still uncomfortable around him, but like the true SEAL he was, he didn't let it distract him from his mission.

Walter took in the scene as the team had minutes before. He focused on the jar hanging above Toby's head. Inside the jar was a clear, water-like liquid, but Walter could smell the bitter, caustic scent of a very strong acid.

"Woah, this is bad," he said.

"I've been running this through my head at top speed, and I can't figure it out," Happy explained quickly, looking nearly panicked.

"You don't have to," Walter answered. "We figure it out. Collins said it's our team that makes us weak, but it's the opposite, so we solve this together." He silently cursed the time he had lost when he was stunned, and the further time when Collins discovered his secret. Otherwise he may have gotten here sooner. They would need to make every millisecond count. "Now what do you know?" he asked. He quickly realized none of his vampiric abilities would be useful in this situation.

Paige was beside him. She didn't need to say her question out loud.

"I had to let him go," Walter said to her.

She took his hand and nodded. "You did the right thing. Don't worry, we'll get him. Now let's rescue Toby."

Walter gave all his attention to the puzzle in front of them. "Looks like standard dental floss. Seems like it's covered in per-fluorinated polymer, similar to what they use to coat frying pans or guitar strings."

Guitar strings…

"It's like a guitar! The floss is just coated strings pulled tight, so they'll give off a sound."

"But one of the strings would sound different, the one with more force pulling on it."

"Right, the one weighted down by the mason jar will make a sharper note," Tim clarified.

"You're the jazz master, give it one pluck."

"Do not give one of them a pluck!" Toby yelled.

"Look, I will be careful, ok? I promise."

Tim reached out and very gently plucked one of the strings. A light, clear note rang out. He pointed at the string, "That's a pure 'B'". He plucked another string. The same note rang out. "Also a 'B'. Cut them both," he instructed.

They all held their breath as the two strings were cut. Nothing happened.

"Ok, guys. We have to cut every piece of floss that's a 'B' note," Walter ordered.

They quickly continued their strategy. They found a strand that sounded different. "No, don't cut that one. I'm not sure about that one yet," Tim said.

They continued to systematically make their way through the netting of floss, slowly getting closer to Toby.

"Happy, listen, we both know the question I was going to ask you today."

"Ok, shut up, Doc."

As they made their way through more strands, Toby told Happy about the ring, and Happy kept yelling at him to stop talking, telling him he was not going to propose to her while tied up to a chair.

"Toby, we'll be to you in ten seconds!" She yelled, trying again to shut him up. They only had one barrier of floss left between them and Toby.

"I don't think I have ten seconds…Happy, I love you."

The mason jar above Toby's head twitched slightly as the second to last fiber of the floss snapped. It was going to fall any second.

"Screw this!" Happy yelled. She threw down her cutting tool and charged forward through the last web. The mason jar fell as Happy sprung forward, tackling Toby in the chair to push him out of the way. She was fast, but was she fast enough to get them both clear in time?

As a combination of Walter's enhanced reflexes and his mind's processing power, he could watch and process the scene before him in a kind of slow motion. He saw Happy charge at Toby as the mason jar started to fall. Happy collided with the behaviorist and they both began to sprawl down towards the floor. The mason jar just passed their heads as it fell, but the liquid inside…

As the jar fell Walter noted and quantified the acid's viscosity and movement. He measured the angle of the couple's fall and calculated the location in relation to where the jar fell. The equations he performed in his head, once completed, confirmed his suspicions. It was going to be too close. When the jar hit the ground, the liquid inside was going to splash as it broke, hitting Happy and Toby.

Walter didn't hesitate as he sped as fast as he could towards them. He doubted any human would have even seen him move, but even with his speed he was barely going to make it there in time as the events he predicted unfolded.

Instinctually he reached out his left arm to shield the two as he too fell to the ground, the jar breaking right in front of him. Luckily, the spray of the acid was narrow, and it all hit his left arm and open left hand instead of the faces of Happy and Toby. He had succeeded. They were safe.

They had done it, all of Scorpion, together. They all had worked together to get them close to Toby, Happy had tackled him out of the way, and Walter had shielded them from the acid.

With Walter's relief came the pain. The acid had eaten through a large amount of the skin and tissue of his forearm and hand. Walter knew it would heal, but that didn't stop it from hurting like hell. With a pained yell he quickly snapped his arm back.

Clink…

A small, metallic noise echoed from the far wall of the room. With that small noise, Walter's feeling of relief and triumph violently switched to despair.

With a sickening realization he noted the acid had eaten through the band of his daylight ring. When he had snapped his arm back in response to the pain, it dislodged and was thrown into the far wall.

Walter was laying completely unprotected in the middle of a brightly sunlit room. There was no cover he could get to fast enough. There was nowhere to hide.

At least they were safe, he thought.

Walter closed his eyes, having no choice but to accept his fate as his skin started to burn.

Chapter Text

Walter hoped for a quick death as he felt his skin start burning in the rays of the direct sun. Milliseconds later licks of flame started dancing across him. His final thoughts drifted to Paige, but were interrupted suddenly as he was roughly tackled to the ground.

Someone was lying on top of him, and the searing light through his closed eyelids darkened as he felt a covering thrown over his head, extinguishing the flames that had been consuming him. By the scent Walter was able to identify the one who had taken the initiative to try and save him.

It was Tim. The SEAL had thrown his jacket over his head to protect him. It was mostly working, but the intense light was still seeping through the fabric. Walter was momentarily surprised at the identity of his rescuer. Tim was buying time and had extinguished the flames, but Walter wasn't out of danger yet.

Walter heard yelling around him. There was nothing he could do. He could only wait to see if the sun would still eventually kill him or if his team could come up with a way to save him in time.

Scorpion watched as Walter saved Toby and Happy from being splashed with acid. They all shared in his relief at his success, and they all felt disturbed and sympathetic when they noted the injuries he sustained from the acid.

Finally, they shared in his despair when they realized what happened to his ring, and noted the intense sunlight he was now exposed to.

All of this occurred in less than a few seconds, so it was understandable it took everyone a few seconds to try and consider what to do.

As Paige started screaming in horror as Walter's skin caught fire, Tim was the first to act. He threw off his jacket and sprinted at Walter. With a tackle his football days would have been proud of, he pinned Walter to the ground while throwing his jacket over his head, extinguishing the flames.

Cabe was closely behind Tim. He removed his own jacket and quickly used it and his body to help cover Walter as much as possible. Between the two men, the jackets, and Walter's own clothing, he was sufficiently protected for the moment. Walter went still beneath them. Tim could feel him breathing heavily and unevenly, indicating he was still conscious.

"Find that ring!" Cabe yelled.

Immediately Sylvester and Paige ran to the location they thought they heard the ring land. Happy quickly freed Toby and the two of them joined the search.

Tim started becoming more nervous when the uneven breathing beneath him turned into a soft, low growling. He feared the pain was starting to overwhelm Walter's control.

"Guys, hurry up!" he yelled.

"Found it!" Paige yelled. "Oh, no…" she continued.

Happy ran over to her. "Is the stone still intact?" she quickly asked.

"Yes, but, the band is gone." Paige answered, holding it out to Happy.

Happy quickly took the ring from Paige and looked at it. "From our analyses of the ring, we couldn't identify what made it work, but it seemed whatever it was emitted from the stone only."

"So if he holds it, it will still work?" Sylvester asked.

"Yes, I think it should."

Happy started running towards the three men on the floor. The growling beneath Tim had only gotten louder.

"Wait!" both Tim and Walter yelled out. Tim was surprised when the warning was also yelled out by the vampire beneath him.

"What? Why?" Paige asked.

"Don't…give me the gem yet," Walter said from beneath the jacket. His voice was rough, low, and strained.

Tim was stunned at his words, but knew exactly why he was saying them, for he had had the same thought.

Tim looked up to address the group. "He's losing control. If you give him that gem, and we let him up, he could attack us."

The team gave him looks telling him they were trying to decide if he was correct in his assessment, then Walter, of all people, backed him up.

"He's right," he said with a growl from beneath the jacket. "My injuries…severe. Need blood…lucidness…fading. May be able to… keep control…but please…don't take that chance."

No one knew what to do.

Cabe heard the kid's words of warning. It was too risky to give him the gem and free him in this state, but they couldn't exactly stay where they were either. Due to the damage from the acid and the sun, Walter's mind was fading by the second, despite his extraordinary control. If that happened and he pushed them off, he would die, and could possibly take one of them with him.

There were no immediate options available to them.

Suddenly, Tim's shoulders dropped and he let out a long, loud, frustrated groan, as if coming to a conclusion he didn't like, but felt he had to accept.

While still holding Walter down with one arm, Tim took his teeth and undid the button holding his shirt around his wrist, pulling it down over his elbow. Cabe realized what he was about to do.

"You sure, son?" he asked. Cabe knew how his trainee felt about vampires. Even though Tim had to accept one was the leader of Scorpion, he still seemed to keep an eye on Walter when they were together. They were professional, but it was still a tense relationship.

Cabe received a short nod in return. Tim didn't look happy about it, but it seemed he was determined in his decision.

"It makes the most sense," he explained. "I'm the biggest and the strongest. We can't give him that ring and let him up like this, but he'll burn to death without it. I see only one option, sir."

Of course there was another option, being let Walter die. Cabe followed Tim's logic, but even so, his decision would not make sense if Walter hadn't gained at least some of his trust and respect.

Cabe nodded. The rest of the team paced nervously around them, but didn't say anything, likely seeing no other option, either. Paige looked the despaired. She knelt by Walter's side, her expression reflecting the helpless she must have felt at the peril the man she loved once again found himself in. Knowing Paige though, she still cared about Tim and wouldn't want him hurt either.

Tim leaned over to say something to Walter only, but Cabe could hear, being so close. "Let me be clear, O'Brien. I still think any vampire, even you, is dangerous. What you are, it's a ticking time bomb that could explode violently at any time."

Tim gave the briefest of pauses to gather the rest of what he was trying to say. "That being said, I've seen actions from you that would measure up to any SEAL I've ever served with. So you keep diffusing that time bomb with that unique brain of yours and don't make what I'm about to do a foolish decision. Convince me that bomb might never go off. Don't make me regret this."

There was no response for a moment, then Cabe saw a slight movement, indicating a nod of Walter's head. Tim mirrored the motion in understanding. He had one last thing to say, however.

"If you start going too far, remember all it will take is me removing this jacket, and the sun will stop you, and kill you."

Cabe honestly couldn't tell if Tim's last sentence was meant to be a threat, or reassurance to Walter that he wouldn't allow him to hurt anyone. Maybe both.

He saw another nod from under the jacket. With the motion Cabe also heard an odd, crinkling noise, like ripping tissue paper. Initially confused by its origin, Cabe had the sinking feeling that the sound was Walter's badly burned skin. If that were the case, he was silently thankful everyone was not able to see the state Walter must be in right now.

Acting before he could talk himself out of it, Tim quickly placed his arm under the jacket, being careful not to expose Walter to the light. Even so, Cabe caught a quick glimpse of Walter's arm as the jacket briefly rose, confirming his suspicions about the severity of the damage the sun had caused.

Cabe really hoped this worked.

"Ow! Shit!" Tim yelled out as Walter bit down on his wrist, but the SEAL held his ground. Paige kept a hand on Walter's covered shoulder, but placed one as well on Tim's other arm, giving a silent thanks for what he was doing.

Cabe saw Happy suddenly move out of the corner of his eye. She ran to Toby's bag and started rummaging through it.

"Where is it?!" she asked Toby.

"What?"

"The ring! Where is the ring?!"

He looked confused at first, then seemed to be on the same page as her. He then looked frustrated at Happy's apparent plan.

"I'm sure it's beautiful, and that I'd have loved it," Happy assured him. "I promise when the time is right, I'll still love it. Were is it?"

Toby ran over to Happy to help her locate it. Cabe glanced back at his trainee. He was starting to look a little tired, but he was still okay. For now.

Happy found the ring and opened the box. She looked momentarily touched at the sight of it, then quickly removed it. She took some tools out of one of her many pockets and laid it and the gem on the table in front of her. She pried the diamond off the setting and gently handed it to Toby, trying to convey her appreciation of the piece as best she could.

The ring was obviously too small for Walter, so she deftly cracked open the metal band to widen it. She quickly placed the scorpion-engraved ruby in the setting and secured it. The work was rough, but it would serve their purpose.

Tim was starting to look pale and his eyelids were drooping. Sensing he had no more blood to safely give, he gave his arm a short tug, but it didn't initially budge. He tried again but was too weak, and Walter was too strong. Tim started to slump on top of Walter's form.

Just as they started to worry, but before they had to start thinking about measures, drastic or otherwise, to ensure Tim's safety, Walter let go.

Tim, weak but ok, stayed where he was to make sure Walter stayed covered. Toby grabbed the new ring Happy had made and ran over to them and knelt down.

"Now I imagined a different kind of proposal with this ring, but what are you gonna to do?" he quipped with a shrug. He lifted the jacket ever so slightly to find Walter's hand, and he reached under and successfully placed it on his finger.

Toby cleared his throat in mock nervousness, as if before a real proposal. "Walter O'Brien, will you tell us it's ok to get these two dashing military men off the top of you, and we talk about going after the bastard that ruined this day for all of us. What say you?"

The whole team seemed to appreciate the bit of lightheartedness Toby was trying to inject into the situation. Even so, he was awaiting his answer.

"Do you accept my proposal?" Toby prodded. "Come on, don't embarrass me, I'm down on one knee here."

Toby heard a clear, though slightly annoyed response from beneath Tim. "Yes…"

Toby gave a thumbs up to everyone.

Tim let out a relieved breath and rolled off Walter onto his back next to him. Paige was still kneeling next to Walter, her hands on him as he remained covered head to toe. Cabe stood up and pulled the protective clothing off the top of the kid.

Cabe's eyes were met with the image of a tired, emotionally uncomfortable, but healed genius lying on his side. No flames. The new ring was working. There was a small amount of blood around his lips and his clothes were singed, but other than that there was no indication anything had happened to him.

Cabe held out his hand to help Walter to his feet. Walter grabbed it and stood up. Paige immediately took him in a strong, relieved embrace, and Walter readily returned it.

"I though we agreed you'd stop scaring me like that," she said to him, relieved tears falling down her cheeks.

Cabe suspected the hug was to convey many things: how worried she had been about him, how proud she was he had let Collins go to help them, how glad she was everyone was safe, how impressed she was he had stopped before hurting Tim.

Cabe suspected these things because he felt the exact same way.

They finished their embrace and Walter looked around at each one of them.

"Is everyone ok?" he asked. His gaze started with Happy and Toby, who he had nearly died to save. "Toby, Happy?" The two nodded, both giving him looks of immense gratitude for his actions. He received confirmation from each of the team to his question.

The last one he looked at was Tim. Tim had sat up and propped himself up against one of the support pillars next to them, breathing a little heavy and holding his hand over the seeping wounds on his wrist. Paige had moved to kneel beside him.

Walter crouched down next to him. There was so much Cabe imagined he could have said, but after a few short moments he settled on two short, abrupt words.

"Thank you."

Tim's head rested against the pillar behind him. He looked at Walter out of the corner of his eye, and a short moment after hearing Walter's words gave him a quick nod in return. Although a very brief exchange, Cabe could see the immense amount of information passed within it.

"Now we have to deal with Collins," Cabe reminded them.

"Okay, call the FBI," Paige suggested. "Let them know he's on the loose."

"He's loose because of me," Walter said, standing up. "I let him go to come here."

"Kudos for that, by the way," Toby conveyed with gratitude.

Walter still looked frustrated. "There's a dangerous man out in the world because of me. What's even worse, he saw me, my face. I don't know if he understands exactly what I am, but he knows I'm not human anymore. Now you can call the authorities if you want, but I'm going after him."

He received nods of agreement from everyone in the room along with looks of deep concern at his revelation about Collins' discovery. It was followed by a short grunt as Tim tried to stand up, but quickly sat back down when he became dizzy.

"Hold it there, Captain America. You've lost a lot of blood. Take it easy." Toby kneeled next to Tim, takin this pulse and giving him a quick exam. "You're going to be fine, but no super heroic feats for a while, ok?"

Walter was halfway to the door, and the team had started to follow him to go after Collins, all except Paige, who seemed to be silently offering to stay with Tim, since he was in no state to follow.

Walter's sudden pause was unexpected. Time was of the essence. Even so, he stopped and quickly turned around, making his way back to Tim and crouched next to him again.

Walter looked him up and down. "We may need your help in apprehending Collins," he explained.

Tim, not understanding his meaning at first, processed the words as some kind of military order and tried to stand again, unsuccessfully. Only after he failed to stand a second time did he pause and understand what Walter was saying.

He looked at the genius and the muscles in his neck tightened as he answered. "I'll pass."

"You're being illogical," was Walter's response. "Time is of the essence. Collins is unpredictable. When we find him, Cabe could need assistance arresting him if he becomes violent, especially if it's in a public place where I can't assist."

Tim's silence confirmed he didn't disagree with Walter's argument so far.

Walter continued, "Besides, it will take weeks to regenerate the blood you've lost without a transfusion, which would also take time to procure. You're weak and clearly uncomfortable. It's your choice, but make it quickly, because we're leaving here shortly with or without you."

Walter had a talent for lacing blunt words with hints of evidence that he actually cared. Tim had only recently started being able to translate that.

Tim didn't look happy about it, but eventually took a deep breath and looked Walter in the eye. "Let's go get that bastard," he said with conviction.

Walter didn't show any reaction other than lifting his wrist to his mouth and biting down, drawing blood.

Tim made a quick face of disgust before accepting it and taking only what he needed before pushing Walter's arm away. I didn't take long for his pallor to return to normal and his strength to return. Walter stood up and offered Tim his hand. Tim took it and returned quickly to his feet.

"If I die in the next day, O'Brien, I'll make your eternal life a living hell," Tim said, but there was no trace of harshness in his words. Everyone there knew he was actually saying "thank you."

"Understood," was Walter's only reply.

Without further hesitation, they all moved quickly toward the exit to catch up with Collins. As they did Walter said he might have an idea where to find him.

Cabe noticed Tim pause for a moment after he started to walk. His trainee's brow furrowed as he gave a small stretch.

"All good?" Cabe asked.

Tim looked at him, realizing he was being addressed. "Yes, sir."

Cabe nodded and followed the team with Tim close behind.

What Cabe didn't see was Tim touch his lower back, where the shrapnel threatening to cut his spine in two was lodged after the IED explosion that invalidated him. What had given Tim pause was that the constant pain, the pain he had been enduring since the explosion, was no longer there.

Chapter Text

It only took a couple hours to find Mark Collins.

Walter watched as Tim led Collins off the interstate bus with Cabe close behind. Collins stepped off the vehicle and came face to face with Walter, his hands cuffed behind him.

Collins initially showed a hint of fear at seeing Walter, but once noting that Walter was in a much more…human mood compared to their last encounter, he just narrowed his eyes at him. "You interrupted my journey," he accused, sounding annoyed.

"Mm-hmm." Walter said in response. He was waiting to see what he said about his supernatural discovery. Turns out that was not Collins' reigning curiosity at that moment.

"So how did you find me?" Collins questioned.

"Like I said, Mark. Scorpions hunt spiders."

Collins' lip raised in a small snarl at Walter's answer, but his skin also paled slightly as he recalled his fear only hours before when Walter spoke those same words.

Walter smiled at Collins' discomfort and proceeded to explain how he remembered when Collins once told him about a summer he spent in South Carolina when he was ten with his uncle, the only person who really accepted him for the way he was. Collins didn't understand initially where Walter was going with his recount.

"How is any of this relevant?" he asked with impatience.

Walter took a step closer to Collins so he could speak more softly.

"Well, I'm not like most humans, Mark, and even though I'm not technically human, as you now know, I have gained humanity these past years."

Collin looked slightly ill at the word "humanity." Walter continued to explain. "The old Walter would've remembered the story about your uncle but not really understood the relevance. But now I know why, out of all the solitary animals you could've chosen, you picked…the Wolf Spider, the state arachnid of South Carolina. It's the local of your fondest childhood memory. You were about to be on the run and scared, and I knew that you'd want to go back to the one place you'd ever felt safe."

Collins didn't look pleased about how Walter had figured him out. Walter finished by clarifying his own feelings.

"I understand that feeling, Mark. I feel the same way about my cyclone at Scorpion."

Collins looked disappointed. "They ruined you, Walter. Today I saw you go against the greater good and let sentiment rule your actions." Collins nearly spat out the word "sentiment". He lowered his head in apparent sadness. "I mourn the Walter I once knew."

But then Collins raised his head just slightly. Just enough to make eye contact with Walter, and his expression was no longer one of sadness, but of intrigue. "But that's not the only thing I saw today, was it Walter?" That sick smile once again stretched across his face. "You say you've gained humanity, and by your actions today, I must accept that." His insane smile seemed to widen even further. "But I must wonder, what's even the point of that, now that you are no longer even human? Did you tell them, Walter? Did you tell them how close you came to killing me today? How long do you think you can keep hold of this new found humanity?" Collins taunted, venom dripping from his voice, injecting doubt into Walter's mind.

Those words sent a chill down Walter's spine. Walter couldn't get into Collins' mind, but it seemed Collins could still get into his.

He felt the thread of doubt start invading and growing until he felt someone take his hand, and it stopped. He looked over. It was Paige.

She stood beside him and looked at Collins with an icy stare, and responded to him with conviction. "He already has kept it, many times over, and continues to gain more humanity every day. In my opinion, he's not the genius standing here who isn't human."

Walter noticed his whole team was there. They had approached and were now standing with him, silently backing Paige's assessment and support. Even Tim, still restraining Collins, gave a small nod in agreement with her words.

Collins had no more words for them, and only glared at the group with disdain at his defeat.

Tim, sensing there was no further good to come from continued conversation with Collins, led him away.

As they watched Collins move further from view, Paige took Walter's hand, standing by his side. She then asked him a question.

"Do you remember that night, the night we watched the sunset, when I said even if you are no longer human, it doesn't mean you would be any less human?"

Walter recalled the conversation. "Yes," he replied as he watched Tim push Collins not so gently into a patrol car.

"Do you remember when you said that statement did not make any sense to you at the time?"

Walter nodded.

"Do you think it makes sense now?"

Before he replied, he looked around at his team. His family. It was difficult to explain, but at that moment, he could almost tangibly feel the strength they carried together. There was no hint of the weakness Collins perceived.

They had all worked together that day. Walter himself had contributed both his vampiric abilities and his genius mind, but in the end, it was his humanity which contributed most to saving Toby, then apprehending Collins.

He, Walter O'Brien, was a genius as well as a vampire. Right now though, standing there with his family and the woman he loved, he had never felt more human.

"Yes," he answered her honestly. He put his arm around her and gave her a soft kiss, before gazing lovingly into her eyes. For the first time in his life, everything made sense.

"Perfect sense."