Author's note: This was written before Lie in the Sand (4x22) aired.
Kiss and Tell
"You did WHAT?"
Walter could tell Paige was upset with him, and he had to concede (up to
a point) she had a valid reason to be. If she would just let him explain,
she would see she was getting all worked up over nothing.
"I kissed Florence," he said.
"You kissed. . ." She shook her head as she sat at her desk. "In your dream,
hallucination, whatever the hell it was. . . Right?"
"No. I kissed her the night we attended the DNA lecture together," he announced
as he stood in front of her, feeling as if he were a naughty school boy being
reprimanded by a nun. An occasion he was all too familiar with. "I was testing
a hypothesis and. . ."
"Testing a hypothesis?" Walter sighed. If she was just going to parrot his
words back to him, this senseless argument would go nowhere fast.
"Yes, an experiment similar to the one you and I conducted three years ago
to gauge our attraction to each other."
"Oh, God."
When she didn't continue, he went on, "I had to make sure. . ."
"Make sure of what?" He rolled his eyes as she echoed him again.
"To make sure the kiss in my. . .my dream, hallucination, whatever. . .wasn't
my subconscious telling me I was more compatible with Florence. It was an
experiment which benefited not only me, but all three of us."
"How in the hell does you kissing another woman benefit me in any way?"
she shouted. "At least when Drew cheated on me, he didn't try to excuse it
by wrapping it up in a steaming pile of scientific bull poop. Because that,
mister, is exactly what this is."
"No." Dammit, she was growing more unreasonable by the second if she was
comparing him to her asshole of an ex. "By kissing Florence, it proved I had
no feelings for her beyond friendship. It was like kissing Happy."
He was glad looks didn't actually kill because the one Paige tossed in his
direction. . . By all rights, he should have been bleeding out on the floor.
"It proved you're the only woman who can. . .can. . ." He racked his brain
for the proper wording. "Stimulate my desire. M-My love. Only you."
She stared at him for an uncomfortable amount of time. "You. . .You son
of a bitch," she finally whispered.
"If it helps, I am sorry," he pleaded. "I should have told you about taking
her to the lecture from the start. But I was trying to spare your feelings.
Like you were trying to spare mine by not telling me you'd rather spend more
time in the swamp with the alligators than go to the lecture with me."
"That's not. . ." she sputtered.
"I overheard you talking to Ralph after we got back from Louisiana," he
cut in. "You were right. My feelings were hurt when I found out the truth.
That's why I decided to put your white lie concept into practice, telling
you the lecture was canceled and letting you off the hook."
"Oh, God." She dropped her head into her hands for a moment, then glanced
back up at him. "You weren't suppose. . ."
"Hear that? I know. But I did." He took a deep breath. "I did attempt to
ask everyone else before I asked Florence," he stated. "She expressed interest
in it and I knew she would enjoy it much than you would have." Swallowing
nervously, he added, "And it scared me."
"Scared you? Why?" Paige scrunched up her face in confusion.
"She and I are so alike and you and I. . .aren't. It scared me that Collins
could be right. That we're too different. It scared me I enjoyed being with
someone who cared about what I care about and. . ."
"Wait, are you saying I don't care about you?" Paige got to her feet.
"No, that's not what I. . ."
"Because I do," she interrupted. "Care about you. Care about what interests
you. Because it's all a part of who you are. And. . . And even if it doesn't
always seem like I do, I love who you are." She placed her hands on her hips.
"It's you who doesn't care about my interests."
He opened his mouth to protest but she kept speaking. "I know they seem
shallow and silly to you, but not everyone has an IQ of 197. Some of us like
our non-nerdy pursuits."
"I didn't. . . I've never meant to make you feel stupid," he said. "And
I've discovered some of your interests have valid applications regarding
problem solving and. . ."
Paige rolled her eyes. "Nice save," she said. "But we're getting off track.
This is about you enjoying spending time with another woman. This is about
you kissing that other woman then lying to me about it."
"I never lied to you about it. . ."
"Lying by omission is still lying." She sighed wearily. "I should have never
told you it was okay to tell white lies. I have to accept some of the blame
for this. But. . . Dammit, Walter. . . Not telling me hurts a lot more than
coming clean a long time would have."
There were tears gathering in her eyes, his own were growing moist. "I know
that now. I am sorry." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "I shouldn't have
kissed Florence, experiment or no." He stepped toward her. "You are
the love of my life. And that is not a lie."
"I know," she replied as she skirted around the edge of her desk. "I wasn't
lying either when I said you were mine." Stopping about a foot away from where
he stood, she continued, "I meant every word I said to you when you were
trapped. That I loved you and I didn't care whatever it was you were hiding
from me. I just wasn't. . .wasn't expecting something like this."
Walter watched as she bit her lip, her tears flowing unabated down her face.
"I heard every word. You said whatever it was, we would be okay." He gazed
down at his feet, unable to bear to look at the misery he'd caused her. "I.
. . If you've changed your mind. . . I, uh. . .I understand."
"Oh, God, Walter." She surprised him by closing the gap between them and
throwing her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. Dampness
stung his cheeks as he clung to her trembling body, hoping against hope it
wasn't for the last time.
It would serve him right though. He was a complete moron when it came to
relationships, and not just romantic ones. Every relationship he'd ever been
in had been contentious. His parents, his classmates, his teachers, his co-workers,
his friends. . . He'd even managed to screw up with Megan, the one constant
in his life. He'd been so obsessed with his futile attempt to save her, he'd
almost allowed what little time they had together to slip through his fingers.
"I'm so sorry," he murmured over and over, kissing her hair as he awkwardly
tried to soothe her. He didn't know what would happen if he ever lost Paige.
All he knew is he didn't want to ever find out.
She relaxed in his arms, lifting her red-rimmed eyes to gaze into his. "I
am, too, Walter. I'm sorry too."
"So where do we go from here?" he asked half dreading the answer.
"Where do you want us to go?" she countered, clearly dumping the decision
into his lap.
"I love you," he replied. "And no matter how different we are, I always
will."
"Good answer." She flashed him a watery smile.
"I am a genius." He grinned back.
"I love you too." Reaching up, she kissed him gently on the mouth. "But
we really need to work on our open and honest communication," she said. "No
more lying."
He nodded. "No more dragging you to boring science events."
"They're not all boring," she said, then laughed. "Okay, most of them are.
No more attempts at ‘healthy eating'."
"It wasn't all bad. I've grown to like yogurt." He pressed his lips together.
"No more listening to other people's advice," he said, thinking of all the
bad guidance he'd received over the past few years from people who thought
they had his best interests at heart. "Not unless we ask for it."
"Deal." She moved out of his embrace. "So there's honestly nothing but friendship
between you and Florence."
"Honestly. I knew it from the moment my lips touched hers. It was like kissing
my hand." He glanced at her. "I just have to look at you and. . .and any number
of, uh, inappropriate thoughts fill my head."
"Inappropriate, huh?" She was staring at him with a light in her eyes he
didn't understand.
"For the workplace, yes."
"What about away from the workplace?"
"Uh, I guess they would be less inappropriate. . ." Oh.
She reached out and took his hand. "Maybe we should find out. If they're
inappropriate or not."
"Okay."
"So how often do you make out with your hand?" she teased as he let her
lead him up to his loft. Where he learned most of his thoughts were indeed
quite inappropriate for the workplace. And where he kissed far more than
just his hand.