Couch Time With Toby

Couch Time with Toby


Toby woke up that morning, smiling as the remembrance of his dream washed over him. Ah, Happy wearing nothing but those little cat whiskers… Then he mentally went over what he had to do that day: get a shower, brush his teeth, get something to eat. Oh, breakfast, what would he go with? Bacon and eggs? Waffles or pancakes? White toast or wheat? What jelly would he put on his toast? Oh, what about biscuits and gravy? Or ham and grits? Oh, chicken fried steak sounded delightful, and maybe an omelet with some fresh fruit. What would Happy usually like for breakfast? Would she ever do the breakfast in bed kind of thing?

He really did have a thing for food. Well, he had a thing for pleasure, period, but food seemed to kill two birds with one stone, and while he was at it, he figured he would get breakfast for the team. Much to Happy's surprise, he had not, in fact, gambled away his last paycheck. And he had made good when he had gone back to Vegas with Walter, so money wasn't necessarily an issue today.  

Paige seemed like a crepe kind of girl, Walter was a solid eggs and sausage kind of guy, and Happy didn't really eat breakfast. Occasionally a breakfast burrito maybe, but he figured she would probably only go for toast, maybe some bacon. Sylvester had been a bit of a nervous wreck and needed the comfort of carbs – waffles - definitely waffles. For himself, an omelet did sound really good. He needed a little bit of everything this morning.

After going to a diner and getting, well, everything and bringing it back to Scorpion headquarters, Toby took a seat at the table and surrounded himself with his movable feast.

Happy walked in and raised her eyebrows at the sight of Toby practically gorging himself.

“You're welcome to join me,” Toby offered, his mouth still mostly full while trying to smile at her.

“No thanks. I'm not one for breakfast anyway,” Happy replied as she grabbed a bottle of water.

“Toast?” he suggested as he held out a plate of it toward her.

Happy huffed but grabbed the slice of toast he offered before she walked back to her area.

Toby smiled to himself over his tiny victory before Sylvester came in.

“Got you waffles,” Toby greeted, handing them to his friend.

“Oh, good. Hey, when you get a chance, I'm gonna need some couch time today,” Sylvester informed him, trying not to sound as anxious as he was, but his mood visibly lightened with the prospect of fresh waffles with strawberry topping and whipped cream.  

Toby nodded between chews and mentally added that to his to do list that day.

Then Paige and Ralph came in an hour before Ralph had to go to school, as had become their new custom.

“There's my favorite guy in the universe!” Toby greeted Ralph with a high five.

Ralph smiled and sat down.

“Help yourself. There’s plenty here,” Toby said as he gestured to the mountain of food in front of him.

“Wow. What’s the occasion, Toby?” Paige inquired as she watched her son dig in.

“No occasion really. I just wanted to do something nice for myself and everyone else. You get us food all the time, and I wanted to return the favor. I got you crepes,” Toby explained as he handed them to her.

“How did you know I liked crepes?” Paige asked as she took the last chair.

“Your delicate and sweet nature tipped me off,” he answered with a smug grin.

“What's all this?” Walter asked as he came in.

“Breakfast,” Toby answered, handing Walter his eggs and sausage.

“Thanks,” Walter replied as he walked away, only to return with another chair to join the group at the table, choosing to sit between Toby and Ralph.

Toby gave his friend a meaningful look but didn't say anything.

“How are you this morning, Walter?” Paige asked, as it looked like Walter could have used at least another hour of sleep.

“I'm fine,” he answered, looking up for a moment before returning his attention back to his breakfast.

Paige's face flashed something for a fraction of a second before returning to a practiced pleasantness. Toby caught it and it peaked his curiosity. Couch time with her was going to be interesting, to say the least.

After breakfast was over and Paige had left to take Ralph to school, Toby decided that it was probably the best time to have his couch time with Sylvester.

“I feel like Collins is still with us. I mean, we've dealt with him before, so we knew how to counteract him, but he still got to Walter. You heard and saw how Cabe gave him his last goodbye, and he just said 'okay' like it was nothing. I know Walter has low EQ, but when Collins came around, it was like he stripped Walter of what little he had. It’s like he took his humanity away.”

“And that can be very frightening,” Toby agreed. “Collins is a master manipulator; he knew where and how to hit us and undermine us, and I hope for all our sakes that Collins stays locked up forever.”

“Yeah. Do you think he'll come back?” Sylvester asked, trepidation coloring his every feature.

“I don't know, but we'll stick together and remind Walter to keep his distance if he ever does,” Toby assured him.

Later that morning, Toby stopped by Happy's area to check in on her.

“How's the piston?” he asked as she took apart an engine block.

Happy smirked and pulled the piston out, showing it had snapped. “Like Collins’ neck if he ever comes around again,” she answered.

“Awesome,” Toby replied with an approving smile, fighting the urge to at least wrap his arm around her waist. “Did he get to you?” he asked softly as he picked up a tool and examined it nonchalantly, trying not to pressure her.

“Thanks to you, no,” she admitted. “That note helped,”

“You're welcome. How’s the book?” he inquired.

“It was okay,” she muttered. “It helped me keep my head.”

“Good,” Toby murmured.

“You need to help Paige,” Happy blurted out suddenly. “When we went back to Collins' basement, I walked away to read your note and keep my head, but I think when I did that, Collins got into hers. She hasn't been quite the same since.”

“Yeah, I told her she was welcome to have some couch time. Hopefully I can smuggle her away from Walter this afternoon.”

“Good luck with that,” Happy snorted. “It's painful to watch him sometimes. He likes her so much, but he can't process that he likes her.”

“Do you think the attraction is mutual?” Toby asked, impressed at Happy's deftness.

“Is gasoline flammable?” she retorted, which got Toby to laugh.

God help him, he loved her sense of humor and quick wit.

“I picked up on that too; I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one who could see it,” he admitted before looking at her meaningfully. She was so effortlessly pretty. He really could look at her all day long.

“Don't you have some couch time to do?” Happy reminded him.

“Yeah, I better go do the couch thing - the thing with the couch - couch time,” Toby punned, which did get a tiny smirk from Happy, underneath her annoyance that he was still lingering.


Toby waited until Walter had gone quiet for a moment before stealing Paige away.

“Can you spare a few minutes?” Toby asked.

“Oh, for couch time?” Paige asked quietly so Walter wouldn't hear.

“Yeah, or whenever you're ready,” he offered.

Paige looked back over her shoulder at Walter, who didn't seem to notice her absence. “Sure,” she agreed.

“You don't actually have to sit on a couch, by the way,” Toby mentioned, causing Paige to crack a smile.

“Have you ever been to a therapist before?” Toby asked once they got to the roof. He thought the fresh sunshine might help.

They leaned on the pony wall overlooking the city as Paige began to reply. “Yes, actually. When Ralph was first diagnosed with being ‘challenged,’ we met with a counselor. And then when Ralph's father and I started having problems because we couldn't connect with our son, we stopped connecting with each other. Then one day a blonde in a Tahoe came to pick him up, and we never heard from him again.”

“Did you ever get divorce papers or anything?” Toby inquired.

“No. We were never married,” Paige admitted.

Toby nodded and decided to change the subject. “So you seem to have found your stride here. Walter was right; you're thriving.”

He noted that when he said Walter's name, Paige deflated, just by a fraction, but then quickly regained her composure.

“I'm getting there. You guys haven't made it easy,” she leveled with him honestly.

“True, and I would like to apologize for that. I'm gonna try to make it easier on you. But just a second ago when I said Walter's name, you had a micro reaction. What's going on there?”

“How many times has Walter 'tried on' someone? To see if they fit, and if they don't, discard them?” she asked, trying to keep her pained expression at bay, but her eyes gave her away.

“Never. He’s unbelievably picky,” Toby answered, but his concern started to rise. “What gave you the impression he would do something like that?” he asked.

Instead of replying, Paige turned her face away as her shoulders dropped.

“Paige, what happened to make you think that?” he rephrased.

“Collins,” she admitted.

“What did he say to you?” Toby asked, his voice soft but earnest.

“He said that Walter tries people on, to see if they fit, and then if they don't, he discards them. Collins also pointed out how Walter will simply say 'I'm fine' when he really isn't just to shut you out, which is something Walter does to me all the time. And with Ralph getting so attached to everyone, especially Walter....” Paige recounted but paused as she fought to keep her voice even. “If Walter did that, I don't know if Ralph would ever recover.”

Toby's understanding suddenly broadened as things clicked into place. Collins got in her head and played. He got to her, manipulated her, found her fears, and planted giant seeds of doubt.

“Paige,” Toby began as he leaned forward and made sure he kept eye contact. “That's not what is happening here. You’re as necessary to Scorpion as the rest of us. If anything, you bind us together just as much as Walter does we would have been without a clue back in Vegas if hadn't been for you. Collins is a master manipulator; he does this to everyone, especially to Walter. He is the most mean-spirited person I've ever encountered, and let me tell you, I've seen my fair share of horrible people,” he tried to reassure her. “Have you told any of this to Walter?”

“Yeah. He just told me that I was one of you guys, and that 'we can't do this without you',” Paige reiterated.

“Well that's true, but do you believe him?” Toby inquired.

Paige was silent for a moment as she thought it over. Toby didn't say anything, as he sensed she just needed a minute to get her thoughts together.

“The way he looked at me when he said it,” Paige finally answered. “I don't know; when he looks at me it's like, I know his brain is probably working on a thousand other things, but when we're talking one on one, it's like I am the only one in the world worth talking to. All of his attention gently rests on me,” she explained.

“Then that should squelch those doubts right?” Toby encouraged.

Paige shrugged and couldn't help but smile.

“You're going to be just fine Paige,” he assured her.

“Thanks.”

“Do you want a hug?” he offered, more as a joke than anything.

“Will Happy put my car's engine in my bed?” Paige asked, making a Godfather reference with a lighthearted laugh.

Toby softly chuckled along with her as he fantasized about Happy becoming that territorial of him.
“I don't think so, but better to be safe than sorry with her,” he replied.

Walter came up to the roof only to find Toby and Paige standing close and smiling at each other. Jealousy licked up his spine and caused his core to clench uncomfortably.

“Guys, Gallo's here,” he called out.

Paige and Toby turned and quickly came to the door to go downstairs to see what Gallo had for them. Only Walter held Toby's arm and waited until Paige was out of earshot.

“What was going on up here?” Walter asked in a low tone.

“Couch time,” Toby answered as he moved to join the others. “And word to the wise, stop telling Paige you're fine,” he admonished before pulling away and heading downstairs, smirking as he felt Walter's harsh gaze on the back of his head.


After everyone had started packing up for the night to go home, Toby came over to Walter's area and put a bottle of beer on his desk as he held his own.

“What's this?” Walter asked as he eyed the cold bottle that had already started to form condensation on the label.

“You need couch time more than anyone,” Toby reminded him.

“I'm fine,” Walter insisted as he started to shut down his computer.

“You know I can read you like a book. You're not fine. You’re stressed and anxious and most importantly, in denial,” Toby argued as he pulled up a chair across from his friend.

“Really, I'm in denial?” Walter deadpanned.

“Yeah, about a lot of things. I mean, we've nearly had the team destroyed and had more meltdowns than chyrnoble, but yet we as a team are still here, and dare I say, stronger than ever. But still, you're uptight,” Toby noted, and with every word he said, Walter showed more signs that he was hitting the nail on the head.

Walter finally gave in and took the beer, unscrewed the top off with his hand, and took a swing while he sat back in his chair.

“How was couch time with Paige?” Walter asked.

“It was fine. Collins got into her head and did some nasty things,” Toby baited and watched Walter's jaw clench and his eyes narrow as he gripped the armrests of his chair tighter. “He had her convinced that you were going to drop her like a hot rock,” he continued. “Abandon her like everyone else in her life, including her ex. And that if you start saying 'I'm fine' all the time, you're pushing her away and pushing her out, and that's one step away from leaving her completely. However, Paige is mostly concerned about Ralph, which is completely understandable since her life revolves around that kid like any good mother's life should,” Toby explained, thinking that disclosing that piece of information wouldn’t completely break their confidentiality agreement.

Walter pursed his lips as he thought about what Toby was saying.

“Collins really did a number on us, Walter. He had Sylvester damn near in hysteria with nightmares, and he had Happy in a homicidal rage. He knew when and where and how to pick us apart and he did, all to get to you again. He is the biggest threat to Scorpion and to you personally. You showed serious regression in your EQ when Collins came back. He got in your head and under your skin, and it scared all of us,” Toby leveled.  

“So is this couch time or a lecture?” Walter rebutted.

“This is me being completely honest about the state of affairs around here,” Toby replied. “So, now that we have that out of the way, how are you?”

“I'm okay. Tired, if I'm honest. Mostly just trying to make sure Scorpion stays afloat,” Walter answered.

“Hmm, sounds very adult and boring,” Toby noted before he took a swig of beer.

Walter cracked a smile and took a swig of his own. “It is, but it needs to be done.”

“That's why you get to do it. So anything else?” Toby pried again.

“If anything happens, I'll let you know.”