Walter hated many places, the hospital being near the top of the list. He hated the smell, he hated the lights, he hated the 'soothing' colors on the walls. But most of all, he hated the reason why he was there.

Paige had been driving back to base after dropping Ralph off at school when she was hit by a drunk driver. Quinn had told him the car Paige had gotten had great crash test ratings and that she was probably okay. But still he had found himself sitting in the waiting room, staring at the clock and running trigonometry algorithms off it to keep himself from pacing, or better yet, yelling at the nurses to let him back into the ER. His hands were beginning to shake despite him keeping them in clenched fists. If his leg bounced any harder it would bounce off. He could feel the adrenalin in his bloodstream like acid eating away at him, he could feel the anxiety building in his chest like cancer, and he could feel the dread settle into the pit of his stomach like lead.

Just before he lost his nerve, a nurse came and called him back. A few seconds later, he walked briskly into the room to find Paige sitting up in bed, patiently waiting to see him.

"Are you hurt?" Walter demanded as he stood at the foot of the bed, his hands shoved deep into his pockets to disguise any remaining trembling.

"I'm gonna be fine," Paige assured him slowly, already sensing Walter's discomfort and anxiety.

"What happened?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"I was going through an intersection; a guy ran the red light and hit the back corner and spun me. I'm a little banged up from the impact, but I'm fine. I didn't break anything, and I'm not bleeding. I'm just going to be sore for a few days," she explained.

Walter nodded, some of his anxiety beginning to melt with Paige's gentle, encouraging smile, despite her pain. She gestured for him to come closer so she could hold his hand.

"I'm going to be just fine," Paige repeated, squeezing his fingers. "They're going to release me any minute."

Walter took a deep breath and squeezed her hand back.

The next day, Walter watched Paige closely and noticed that she had taken more than her recommended dosage of pain killer, and that she was continuously massaging her left shoulder. He could tell by the way she was standing that her back was out of alignment, pinching a nerve.

He began to look up chiropractors and massage therapists, and a few moments later he gave Paige a piece of paper with names, addresses, and times written down for her appointments.

"What's this?" Paige asked as she looked it over.

"Your appointments. You need to see a chiropractor and probably a medical massage therapist as well. You've been favoring that shoulder, and at the angle you've held and massaged your neck for most of the morning is evidence that several of your cervical vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae are out of place. They're pinching your lateral cord, medial cord, and probably several thoracic intercostal nerves as well, causing you pain and discomfort which would be why you've taken one and a half dosages of your hydrocodone sixty-seven and a half minutes earlier than recommended," Walter explained.

Paige narrowed her eyes slightly at him, and while normally she would have been put off by someone watching her that closely, she knew Walter meant well.

"Okay," she agreed with a small nod. She noted that she would have to leave right away to make the appointments on time, and she went to get her purse.

"You're not driving," Walter stated as he took the keys from her hand.

"Excuse me? I'm perfectly capable of driving. I'm an adult; I can take myself to my own appointments," Paige argued as she tried to grab the keys back.

Walter held them just out of her reach. "Your body's saturation of the hydrocodone hasn't peaked yet, and they put those warnings to not operate heavy machinery while taking this drug for a reason. Just let me drive. You can't get in another accident," he told her as he headed out the door.

Paige tried and failed to withhold an aggravated groan as she followed him. Then she rode in the passenger seat as Walter dutifully drove her to the appointments he set up, and three hours later they returned to base. By then Paige was feeling better than she was willing to admit. Neither did she want to admit that what Walter did for her was exactly what she had needed.

But when they were alone for a minute, she stood up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek with a simple, whispered "thanks."

Walter blushed and ducked his head and mumbled, "You're welcome."

Author's notes- Many thanks to Alaburn and thank you so much for reading. :)