"The forceps of our minds are clumsy forceps, and crush the truth a little in taking hold of it." - H.G. Wells
This takes place after Vendetta, starting in the morning before Where and When. The characters are borrowed from Warehouse 13 and are not my own. I have also borrowed the occasional quote from the actual H.G. Wells. Please forgive my clumsy forceps; I see a truth and this is but my humble attempt to take hold of it. ~Krystalarrow
Night was failing in the growing nearness of the warm morning sun and all was quiet at Leena's but for the sound of Claudia tapping away on her laptop at the dining room table. A ray of sun streamed through the window, shining on freshly cut poppies in a little vase on the table, which sat next to a plate of cookies covered with a cloth. The just-baked smell of them filled the warm room.
Claudia was scowling and muttering as she hunched over her computer, peering at the screen, her sunset orange hair extension sticking out at an odd angle, resultant of all of her frustrated rumpling. A giant mug of black coffee was quickly cooling next to her. Thumping the table, Claudia threw back her head and mouthed silent curses at the ceiling.
Pete walked in, yawning and scratching his head, to see Claudia clutching at her hair with her back arched and her head rolling around with wild eyes.
"Whoa, what's going on Claudia, are you alright?"
"Arrgghhhhh!" Claudia's face was constricted and her hands clawed the air above her head.
Pete ran over to the table, "Wait wait, is it something like that spine; is it on you!" He couldn't stand the thought of Claudia experiencing the excruciating pain he still remembered so well. He reached out to her.
"I'll get it off, just hold as still as you ca- Ooomph!"
Pete's feet thundered to a halt as Claudia suddenly got a serious look on her face, leaned back in her chair and put a big black boots right in the middle of his stomach, stopping him in his tracks. Winded, he put his hands in the air, spiraling them to steady himself. Claudia raised an eyebrow at him.
"Whoa there boyo; where's the ice cream truck?"
Realizing Claudia was okay; Pete leaned forward and peered out of the window hopefully. Claudia shook her head, grinning, and then pushed Pete off.
"There's no ice cream truck Pete."
Sighing hugely, she spun herself back around to the laptop screen and resumed her typing. Pete crossed his arms in front of his chest and pouted.
"Hey, no teasing when it comes to ice cream. What was going on then? It looked like something was attacking you from behind!"
Claudia looked up from the screen; face drawn and pale from lack of sleep, eyes too bright, and gave Pete a half-hearted smile for caring.
"Well, I'm looking for Todd. He should have been reassigned to another place in the program by now, but nothing I've tried so far has given me any clue where he is."
Pete came and stood behind her, hunching down and squinting at the screen. Claudia looked at him over her shoulder with a withering expression.
"If I can't find him, no amount of you sitting too close to the screen is gonna help; though the square-eyes might give me a few minutes' humorous diversion at least."
Pete took a step back, putting his hands up in front of him as he retreated.
"Alright, alright, I bow to your ultra-techy-super-awesomeness Claud."
She gave him a crookedly pained smile and grabbed her coffee, grimacing when she realized it had gone cold. Pete slumped down on a seat by the table, sighing.
"You know, HG might be able to help you find Todd the old-fashioned way. She's pretty inventive, being an inventor and all. Plus, she tracked down those guys who... broke into her house in Paris."
Claudia looked up at him in interest, tapping her fingers on the table as she thought about it. She should probably stop being so surprised when Pete came up with good ideas, but he was such a goofball that she sometimes forgot how intelligent and perceptive he could be.
"You know Pete, that's a brilliant idea," she said.
Pete beamed and rubbed the knuckles of his right hand on his chest, striking a debonair pose.
"Well, you know Myka thinks she's the brains on the team, but I know better. I am so smart, I am so smart," he sang.
Claudia shook her head at him, laughing and ruffling his hair as she wandered off to find HG. Pete spotted the plate covered by a tea towel.
"Ooooo, and what do we have here, something made specially just for Petey? I think yes!"
He peered under the cloth, pilfered a handful of oatie cookies and started munching away happily while humming his little song to himself.
Myka awoke slowly, stretching and yawning; she grabbed her teddy bear and gave him a big squeeze and a peck on the nose. She glanced at the clock; it was earlier than she usually woke up. She sat up on her elbows and tilted her head to the side, staring at the clock in confusion. Then, hearing some bumps and bangs coming form the hall outside her door, she smiled in realization; the noises had woken her early. Sliding out from under the sheets, she swung her feet out of bed and slipped into her fluffy slippers, shuffling out of her room to investigate.
She opened the door to the hall to hear a horrible screeching noise and some shockingly vivid swearing made strangely eloquent by HG's accent. She was attempting to drag a very large and old-fashioned metal and leather suitcase up the stairs backwards. Myka leaned on the doorframe with her arms folded across her chest, watching HG's balance becoming precarious and smiling to herself.
"Do you need a hand there?"
HG let out a whoop of surprise, slipped and landed solidly on the hard wood floor at the top of the landing with a thump. She lost her grip on the suitcase; which fell with a thud between her splayed legs and bumped down the stairs one by one. She cursed colorfully and whipped her raven head around to face Myka with a scowl.
"Ouch!"
Myka gave her a big grin and shuffled over to help her get up.
"Oh no poor HG; here let me help"
HG swung her legs around and put out her hands; which Myka grabbed and heaved on to pull HG to her feet. Her fluffy slippers skidded on the polished wooden floor and then all of a sudden Myka joined in with HG's 'whoop!' as their hands flew apart and they both fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs. HG laughed out loud at the shocked and dazed expression on Myka's face; who was complaining loudly with a grimace.
"Owwww my bottom! My slippers are all slippy! And slippery, slipper... hmmm."
She frowned at them like they were misbehaving children, and then both Myka and HG groaned as they slowly rolled onto their knees and pushed themselves to their feet. HG winced as she rubbed her posterior.
"Oooo, that smarts! I think I'll be purple for a week from that second one!"
Myka gave her an apologetic smile, rubbing her own bottom as well.
"Yeah, I got off easy, you got the double whammy."
They kept looking at each other as the hall fell into silence. HG broke her gaze with Myka, clearing her throat and putting her hands on her hips. Myka crossed her arms over her chest, gripping her own elbows and looking down; suddenly quite conscious of the sleeveless, knee-length cotton and lace nightshirt that she had worn to sleep in. She shook her hair from her face and lifted her chin to HG.
"Erm.. So where did the suitcase come from? I guess you're moving into Leena's now that you're part of the team?"
HG descended the stairs and grabbed onto the end of the suitcase. Myka jumped and uncrossed her arms; quickly following to grab the other end and help HG lift it back up the stairs. As they hauled it one step at a time, HG cleared her throat again.
"Yes, I decided that rather than stew over the outcome of the regents' decision as to whether or not I could become a warehouse agent, I would do something useful with myself. So, I took a flight to my old house in London and collected a few of my things. When I found out that I was accepted, Artie told me I should move into a room at Leena's so that we could all be nearby. This is the first chance I've had, so here I am."
She grinned at Myka over the top of the bulging old suitcase. Together they heaved the thing over the landing and the last few feet down the hall to the door, ambled over to the bed and with one, two, three swings; hauled it up on top, where it bounced once or twice before settling in place. Myka stood back and watched while HG unzipped the suitcase and flipped it open. Inside, she saw, it was full of books and knick-knacks. Myka took a couple of steps forward and put her hand on HG's shoulder, peering interestedly at the remnants of HG's life. She turned to look at HG who was smiling like she was remembering a very faraway place.
"Don't you have any clothing or photos, Helena? Is this all there is?"
Myka thought how strange it was that such an accomplished and interesting woman should have so little. The room was completely unadorned, an anonymous place as yet impersonalized, but for the suitcase on the bed and the figure standing before her, the extraordinary woman herself.
HG blinked, shaking her head like she was waking from a dream. She turned to face Myka and saw her looking at her intently with wide open, interested eyes and lips slightly parted in curiosity, only inches from her own face.
HG licked her lips and turned her head away, leaning forward to pull a stack of books from the suitcase. Myka's hand fell away from her shoulder with an unintentional, but oddly sweet because of it; feather-light caress down her arm as it fell.
"These books, and these few inventions and useful bits and bobs in here; they're all I will need in this modern world. I have my photo of Christina of course; I keep it with me always. Any clothing I had is unnecessary here, except for costume parties, I suppose. These things are the only things that can be useful to me here and perhaps, bring me some small joy. Here, look"
She held out the first book for Myka to see. Myka reached out for it, gasping when she read the title, eyes shifting from HG to the book, to HG, and then staying on the book. HG put her hands on Myka's shoulders and guided her to the bed, where she sat down, hard; jaw hanging and mind reeling.
"How did you? But, where would… Of course, this is from back when… But… wait,"
She turned to her side, grabbing the edge of the suitcase and leaning in to see the titles closer. Her hair fell over her face and she tucked it behind her ears with her left hand, holding the book HG had passed her carefully in her right. She turned to face HG, fire in her eyes.
"What do you have in here, Helena? This, this is a treasure trove! My dad would kill to get his hands on some of these."
HG was flushed and grinning at Myka's pleasure. She climbed onto the bed at the other end of the suitcase and folded her legs in front of her, feeling a childlike exuberance, which she hadn't felt in a very long time. She looked up at Myka's excited face and laughed delightedly, revealing her pleasure.
"Oh Myka, thank goodness for you. I never thought I would find someone I could share this obsession of mine with. These books, each one of them is like a best friend or a treasured memory. The one you're holding, Utopia, it -" Myka interrupted.
"Thomas More; first published in Latin in 1516, but this copy, if I recognize it, is a first edition of the English translation by Ralph Robinson; London, 1551." Myka turned it over, admiring the care with which it had been preserved.
"Even in your time, this must have been quite difficult to get hold of." Myka said.
She thought of the many ways in which HG could have come to acquire such a book and shut it with a snap, turning her face away and placing the book down carefully on the bed next to her.
HG perceived what Myka was thinking and leaned back, placing her hands on the bed behind her and considering Myka's moral dilemma with a shrewd smile. Myka was so clearly excited by her rare and wonderful; if small, library and yet, she was so strong in her convictions of right and wrong, good and evil, that she was waging an internal battle between her honor code and one of her strongest passions. Myka's face was a window to her soul, and Helena couldn't bear the agonized indecision she could see so clearly through the glass. She sighed and her face lost all hint of humor.
"The road to my present is paved with the desperate acts of my past, Myka."
Myka pursed her lips, eyes hardening in disapproval. HG stared intently at a frayed corner of the rug on the floor; thinking, then looked back up to the reproach in Myka's eyes.
"You must remember, the past is but the past of a beginning," she said, leaning forward in her need to be persuasive.
"I have done the things I've done, not out of evil, but out of love or necessity. I have my regrets, its true; but never once have I failed to learn from my mistakes. I hope -" she reached out and clasped her hand over Myka's; which still clenched the edge of the suitcase, "Myka, it is all I hope for - to be the type of person my daughter could be proud of... were she here now. I do my best to be that person, for her."
HG squeezed Myka's fingers gently, and then released them to pick up Utopia.
"This book, it... is part of who I am. I acquired it from a book thief, which makes me a book thief too I suppose; though this book feeds my heart, where it would have fed his pockets."
HG held her gaze on Myka, hope and fear in her dark eyes and stomach tight with worry about what she thought of her. She felt a bit silly, investing so much in this woman's regard; it made her feel like an awkward teenager again, desperate for somebody she cared for to think well of her. It was a feeling she hadn't known for a very long time and it unnerved her to feel so desperately vulnerable now, in front of her. Her eyebrows rose and quivered a little as she searched Myka's face and sent her a silent plea for understanding. Myka was one of the only people whom she had in this modern world, and she was the only one she felt an affinity with. And so, what Myka thought of her was deeply important.
Myka saw the pain, the stark honesty on Helena's face and she knew, she could not doubt, the truth of her words. She had some lingering misgivings about HG, but this dispelled them; she knew the truth when she heard it. It was one of the reasons she had been selected as a warehouse agent in the first place; her attention to detail was second to none and she could read a situation simply by being aware. An ill-timed blink, a reluctance to meet her eyes, a nervous habit, if something was out of place she knew it and recognized it for what it was in an instant. The flipside of this was that she could read Helena's honesty in the pale hue to her normally pearl-like skin, the emotional flush to her cheeks and the beginning signs of tears coming to her eyes – HG was desperate. Myka stopped her thoughts in their tracks, she was treating Helena like a suspect and she was ashamed.
"Oh, Helena" she sighed, full of feeling for this woman - this friend, who had lost so much.
Myka went to her, climbed on the bed next to her and put her arm around her shoulders. Helena turned her cheek into the warm crook of Myka's neck, letting free a soft sob as she clung to her only friend. Myka held Helena, held her as though she were the only thing that could hold her together. She rested her cheek on Helena's dark head and breathed deeply through her nose, smelling the clean freshness of her hair; then let out a little gasp as she felt a weakness fork through her stomach and around the sides of her body. Myka froze as the feeling trickled down her arms and legs, causing her neck to warm and her fingers to tingle. Helena pulled away and looked up at her, eyes bright with unshed tears and lips moist red. Myka blushed fiercely and pulled away, eyes downcast as she climbed off the bed.
"Are you okay?" said HG
Myka gave her a small smile, wandered to the window and looked into the distance. She sighed.
"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just, hard for me to see you in pain. I hope you know that you can always talk to me, if you want, you know. You don't have to, but if you want to, I'm here."
She rubbed her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ears. Helena pulled a lace handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes, sniffing a little.
"Thank you, Myka. Your friendship is a healing balm on old wounds. It means the world to me." Helena smiled at her.
Myka's heart raced in her chest and her cheeks felt too hot as she looked at the sweetness and care in Helena's eyes. She licked her lips and turned to the suitcase.
"Would you like me to help you put these on your bookshelf?" she asked.
Helena smiled again, "If you would like to; I would very much enjoy the pleasure of your company for a little longer."
Together they started pulling out books and placing them on the little bookshelf, Myka exclaiming over each new title that she discovered and HG laughing and telling the stories of the circumstances which had led to her having each of them. Laughing and working together; honest now and open, was how Claudia found them when she knocked on the partly open door of the room to ask whether HG could think of any way to help her track down Todd.