Title: The Crown of the Queen
Author: Dancing Star
Crossover: PSI Factor / Warehouse 13
Pairing: Connor / Lindsay, Pete / Myka
Rating: 12
Category: AU, Mystery, Romance
What happens: An artifact fades Mykas memory of the warehouse. Can Pete and his new friends help?
Notes: Inspired by many great Warehouse 13- episodes and I want to note that I haven´t watched season 5 yet. Therefore, I can only guess what happens after Season 4. :-)
Greetings from Bavaria!
The crown of the Queen
"Can you please drive a little faster?", Myka asked when Pete drove the car along a snow covered road. They just came from the nearest town. It was a few days before Christmas and they were alone in the hotel because Artie, Steve, Abigail and Claudia assisted in the establishment of a Warehouse in Australia.
Outside it was freezing, so Myka rubbed her gloved hands.
"I´m also cold," her partner and best friend Pete replied. They drove past a car that stopped at the right side of the road. A woman and a man stood in front of the open hood and talked.
"Who are they?", Myka asked in the moment in which they passed the car.
"No idea. Never seen them before. Shall we stop and take them with us?"
"No!", Myka cried, "This is the direct road to the hotel. Maybe they are on the way to us and if we have a lead, we can stop them... Whatever they want from us..."
After another five minutes´ drive Pete stopped the car in front of Leena's Bed and Breakfast. Myka ran to the house in a hurry with a grocery bag and left Pete alone in his car. "We need to talk urgently this evening," Myka called to him. Then the door swung shut behind her.
"Whatever you want..." The cold air winded around him and he thought of the couple who was stranded in the car on the roadside. He decided not to listen to Myka, got into the car and drove down the road again. When he saw the silver Audi, he stopped and got out.
"Good day," he said to the two.
"Hello. Um, our car is broken... ", the blonde woman said.
"The belt is broken," a black-haired man informed when he looked up from the engine, "You don´t have a spare with you?"
"No," Pete shook his head.
"Our phones also don´t work," the woman added, "Do you have a cell phone with you?"
"Yes, but I have something better, I can offer you," Pete said, "At the end of this road there is a hotel. I live there and you can get a accommodation for the night. In addition, there is a landline phone, which allows you to call for help."
"Thanks, that's very nice, but we usually don´t enter a strangers car. You could be a mass murderer..."
"What?"
"That was a joke. But it´s unusual to offer a hotel to complete strangers in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota."
"You're right: This sounds suspicious. Under these circumstances I also don´t want to ride with me." Pete handed her his cell phone and the woman phoned the breakdown service. But the breakdown service couldn´t be here until tomorrow afternoon, the man said on the phone.
"I'm afraid we have to accept your offer," the blonde woman gave in, "Otherwise, we freeze to death out here in the night..." If the dark-haired man, who generously offered them help, actually was a mass murderer, they would meet their maker anyway.
"I promise I'm not a killer," Pete raised his hand solemnly.
"Well... Oh, that's Connor by the way, I'm Lindsay."
"Hi, I'm Pete," they shook hands, "I suggest you lock your car and we leave it here."
Leena's hotel turned out to be a charming cottage with a huge snowy garden. "Who is Leena?", Lindsay asked as she got out of the car and Connor took her bag.
"Leena is a friend who died a few years ago. The hotel was hers and is now under new management, but we found it was wrong to rename the house after her death." Pete led them through the ground floor and then showed them two guest rooms in the first floor. "Here are the keys... There´s no TV in the rooms unfortunately..."
"That's fine. However, we only need one room, " Lindsay said and Pete understood immediately. Because they were still cold, they sat down next to the fireplace in the living room. The strange voices in the house lured Myka out of her room. She crept down the stairs and saw the two unknown persons who sat on a couch across from Pete and talked to him.
Pete and the guests stopped talking when she entered the room.
"Who is that?", asked the woman with the dark hair.
"These are Connor and Lindsay," Pete introduced them, "And that's Myka."
"Is she your wife?"
"No," Pete said.
"We hope that our presence is not a problem to you," Connor said.
Myka smiled. But then she leaned in Pete's direction. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
They left the living room and stopped in front of the door.
"What are you doing?! We have vowed that we won´t bring civilians to the hotel", Myka hissed in a whisper," Do you remember what happened when we did it the last time? Paracelsus caused a lot of problems."
"Of course I remember," Pete agreed in a whisper. He stretched out to take a look: Connor and Lindsay were still sitting in the living room and drank tea. "But the two are harmless..."
"That's what we thought back then, too..."
"The two are really harmless. I feel it in my bones."
"You better don´t say this ..."
"Oh come on, Myka. Have a heart. The two´s car broke down and... Besides, this is a guest house... Only one night."
"Then tell them we are fully booked."
"But there are no cars in front of the house and except for you and me, no one else is here," Pete complained.
"They can sleep in their car!"
"I don´t know when you last looked out the window, but outside there is the dead of winter ..."
Myka realized he won this time. "Fine. But tomorrow they´ll leave." She rolled her eyes and Pete clenched his fists triumphantly while he made a jubilant grimace.
They had pizza for dinner. Pete was ashamed a bit because he wasn´t able to offer nothing better than pizza to the guests, but Connor and Lindsay didn´t mind.
"So, Connor and Lindsay," Myka began when she bit into a piece of cheese pizza, "What are you two doing for a living?"
"We are working for an organization which investigates unexplained phenomena around the world," Connor told and Myka almost choked on her food.
"We just returned from Africa. Supposedly all metal objects from a village are gone and frequently appeared on a hill again, "Lindsay said now and Connor noticed the look between Myka and Pete.
"...Last year we were in the Himalayas and were looking for the Yeti," said Lindsay, "No joke, it really exists. However, on closer inspection it turned out that it was a giant ape."
"What do you do for a living?", Connor asked now.
"We work for the Secret Service," Pete replied promptly.
"PETE!", Myka was horrified that he was so trusting.
"What?", Pete didn´t understand her problem.
"What are two Secret Service agents doing here in South Dakota?"
Before Pete could answer, Myka intervened: "We might ask you the same: What are two people from... from ..." She had forgotten the name of their organization.
"From the OSIR", Connor added.
"Thank you... What are two people from OSIR doing here in South Dakota?"
"We are actually on the way to a case to Montana. Supposedly aliens landed there", as Connor said that, Pete laughed that he had always known," But as a result of snow all flights and trains were canceled so we travel by car since Chicago. There are no flights to get. Not even in Des Moines or Sioux Falls... "
"...Probably we'll never get there in time," Lindsay added.
"We have told you everything", Connor said, "Now it's your turn."
"If you are familiar with paranormal phenomena, you've surely heard about Warehouse 13."
"PETE!", Myka was horrified.
Connor and Lindsay looked at each other. "Yes, but we always thought that was a myth. We have tried several times to be able to visit one of the Warehouses, but our requests were always rejected."
Pete got up from his chair and grinned. "Then today is your lucky day."
"Welcome to Warehouse 13," Peter said when he led his new friends on the balcony in front of Arties office. Connor and Lindsay were looking at a gigantic warehouse.
"This is incredible," Connors whispered, "I thought it would be smaller."
"How big is the Warehouse?" Lindsay asked.
"There is growing steadily," Myka answered her question.
"Here, all kinds of artifacts are stored. Mozart's clock, the walking stick of Nelson Mandela, the piano of Lady Gaga..."
"Lady Gaga's piano is an artifact?", Lindsay's eyes brightened.
"I was also very surprised," Myka agreed.
"The piano has the power to make things appear every night... The side effect is that it causes Alzheimer's," Pete said, "We have some interesting items. If you want, I'll show you a few."
"Sounds very interesting. Thank You!"
Because Pete suggested it to them, the two walked down the stairs.
"Are you crazy?!", Myka whispered.
"I'll show them just harmless artifacts and promise we make a detour around the bronze sector." The bronze sector was a place where evil people and characters who had earned a penalty were turned into bronze figures and they were stored there, too.
"If Artie finds out he's going to kill you," Myka said, folding her arms across the chest.
"Yes, but you won´t tell him. I've got a premonition... ", as soon as he had said this, he went down the stairs.
"You don´t have to act like a great host!", Myka called after him whispering and leaned over the railing.
"You´re right."
Myka decided she had to follow Pete before he got into something mischief.
The corridor through which they passed was bathed in warm, pleasant light. Some colorful lights danced in the air. "Don´t touch anything," Pete said as they reached a shelf where a Viking headgear, the helmet of a knight and a cowboy hat were stored.
"And that is probably the Department of funny hats," Lindsay said, grinning.
While Pete demonstrated Connor the effect of an artifact, Myka kept Lindsay in her eyes.
"What´s that?", Lindsay asked. A sparkling object had caught her attention.
"That?", Myka came to her and stopped right beside her. Lindsay leaned over to a red velvet pillow on which a crown was mounted.
"This is the crown of the Empress Sissi. She has worn the crown when she and her husband, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, were crowned as King and Queen of Hungary."
"What´s the power of this artifact?"
"It is said that the one who wears the crown will become just as beautiful as the Empress Sissi."
"And what about the other side?", Connor wanted to know who had heard their conversation. Myka and Lindsay turned around.
"It's never been investigated," Myka said.
"Really? I can´t imagine, "Connor said.
"Well, after the Empress was murdered in 1898 in Geneva, the emperor kept some of her possessions in a chamber in the castle in Vienna. Another part was sent to Bavaria, where the family of the Empress lived... There was only one woman who has ever tried to wear the crown. She was beautiful and wrinkle-free until she got hit by a bus in the age of 70 years."
"Very tragic," Connor said.
"I wish I could demonstrate," Myka said.
"Myka, you're still vain," Pete's voice was mocking, actually he didn´t mean it that way.
"You know what?", she asked defiantly, "I will put on the crown."
"Why? You don´t have to become prettier. You're already beautiful."
"What?", Myka thought she had misheard.
"Oh, nothing." Pete scratched his nose while Myka placed the crown of Sissi on her head.
"Look, Myka. You don´t have to prove that you're just as cool as I am, "Pete said now," Put the crown back down."
"Do you see a difference?" Myka asked.
"Looks as if glowing snowflakes descend from the crown."
"Really?", because Myka didn´t see the snowflakes, she placed the crown quickly back on the shelf.
When they got back to the hotel, Myka first threw a look in the mirror. She noticed the crown of the Empress already showed the effect. But Myka also wondered what the other side of the coin was.
A knock at the door tore her out of her thoughts and she said, "Come in." Then Pete entered the room.
"You wanted to talk to me today," he reminded her, "What is it?" He flopped down on her bed and there he jumped up and down.
"Really?", Myka asked helplessly, "Well, I don´t know what I wanted to talk to you..."
"It sounded important..."
"I really don´t know," she repeated, "If I know again, I tell you, all right?"
"All right," Pete got up and she gently smiled at him before he left her room.
The next morning Pete asked if she now remembered while they had breakfast with their guests: "What did you want to tell me?"
"What?", Myka asked while she bit into a bagel.
"You told me yesterday you have to talk to me. What is it?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You're weird, since we are back from the city."
"We haven´t been in the city yesterday."
"However, we were", Pete claimed. It dawned on him what had happened when he saw Mykas puzzled face, "So this is the side effect of the crown. It deletes memories."
At lunchtime Myka had forgotten the last week, she didn´t recognize Connor and Lindsay. Instead, she spoke of Catherine, with whom she had recently moved into a hotel in Geneva. Pete didn´t know anyone named Catherine.
After Myka had fallen asleep in the evening, Pete hurried down the stairs to the ground floor. His guests sat in the living room, staring anxiously into the fire.
"How is Myka?", Lindsay asked, as Pete walked into the room.
"She has forgotten the last year so far. Instead, she repeatedly speaks of someone named Rudolf. "He tried to calculate how long it would take until Myka didn´t remember to the Warehouse, but he didn´t come to a result.
"Why don´t we ask that Artie for help?", Connor asked.
"Because he kills me as soon as he finds out that I have led civilians into the Warehouse."
"But yes! That's it, "Lindsay said," The crown doesn´t only delete Mykas memories: It overrides hers with the memories of the Empress Sissi" She looked into the questioning faces of the two men..
"Rudolf was the son of the Empress," Lindsay said, "He and his partner committed suicide. That's what broke the heart of Sissi... Myka has said, Sissi was assassinated in Geneva. And she mentioned that she had moved in a hotel with a woman named Catherine... I suppose Catherine is the name of the maid... "
Connor now got up from the couch, "I have an idea so we don´t have to ask that Artie for help: Perhaps there is an artifact that can reverse the effects of the crown," he suggested, "But where shall we look for? "
"Once, I heard Artie talking that the diary of the Empress is also located at the Warehouse," Pete said.
"A diary?", Lindsay asked, "How can we help Myka with a diary? The solution won´t be written down there..."
"I know," Pete admitted, "Myka was always the wiser head of us..."
However, they decided it was an option and so they split up: Connor scoured the database of the Warehouse, if there were other artifacts from the time of the Empress, Pete and Lindsay searched the books department for the diary of the Empress. Lindsay was on a ladder and just checked the personel notepads by Charles Dickens while she was wearing purple gloves. Pete also was on a ladder and searched boxes, but on the bookshelf in the next corridor.
"May I ask you a question?", Pete suddenly asked, but he wouldn´t let her the opportunity to respond, "Are you and Connor a couple?"
Lindsay's brow furrowed.
"Sorry, I didn´t want to offend you..." He was sorry that he was going like a bull at the gate.
"Was that the question you wanted to ask?"
"No," Pete replied sheepishly, like a boy who had done something, "I don´t know how to say..."
"Pete Lattimer!", Lindsay said, "Are you secretly in love with your colleague?" Her face lit up when Pete put a box on the shelf with a shrug. "I am honored that you just asked me for advice," she put a hand on her heart, "Does Myka know?"
"Well, I don´t know how..."
"Don´t worry, my friend. When the time comes, you will know how to confess her", Lindsay said," I don´t know you for a long time, but I think you're a great guy."
"Thank you." Pete reached for the next box and pulled it off the shelf. "I've got it!", he exclaimed, "I have found the diary of the Empress!"
They met in Arties office and leafed through the diary of the Empress. "I'm done," Connor, who had read the book first, said. They had previously found out that there were no other artifacts of the Empress in the Warehouse except the diary. And there were no artifacts that had once been owned by a relative. So there was nothing except the book, which could help them.
"Towards the end of her life, the Empress was pretty depressed. It was told she several times had thought of drowning herself in Lake Starnberg, just like her cousin Ludwig II had done", Connor put the book aside.
"Man, the guy had everything. Lived fame on Neuschwanstein castle and he was still absolutely miserable..." Suddenly it dawned on Pete, "Are you saying, Myka now has thoughts of suicide?" When he realized they had left Myka alone, he decided he had to return immediately to the hotel.
"Myka?", Pete cried and hurried with long steps up the stairs. He opened the door to the room of his partner and noted that her bed was empty. She also wasn´t next door in the bathroom. Pete went through every room in the floor. Then he went downstairs.
"Myka isn´t here," he sounded worried.
"She left the house," Lindsay said.
"I know that too!"
"She has left a trail," Lindsay pointed to a trace of fine, sparkling snowflakes, which lay on the carpet that led to the front door.
"The Crown. Myka has taken the crown from the Warehouse."
They grabbed their jackets and some flashlights. Before Pete left the house, he grabbed purple gloves and a bag then he ran outside. "Myka!", Pete exclaimed.
"Connor and I are going in that direction," Lindsay suggested.
"All Right. I´ll take this direction."
It was cold. They had to find Myka. Lindsay now understood why the only woman who had dared to wear Sissi's crown, was hit by a bus: Maybe the woman´s memories were overwritten and she couldn´t remember that large vehicles represented a danger to pedestrians.
Lindsay's was worried and her foot broke through the iced cover of a cold puddle of water, while the beam of her flashlight flickered across the floor. She hoped that Myka hadn´t fallen and lay unconscious on the floor. At these temperatures, she wouldn´t survive long.
"Anything?", Connor asked.
"No," Lindsay shook his head, "Let's keep looking."
"Myka!...", Pete's breath formed little clouds in the air, "Myka!" The beam of his flashlight flickered through the forest, but didn´t caught more than drought and branches and snowflakes falling from the sky. "Myka!"
But then a voice answered: "Pete!"
He ran as fast as he could in the direction from which the voice had come. His light cone finally touched a figure which stood with its feet in a puddle.
"Myka, is that you?"
"Yes," her voice trembled, "What am I doing here?"
Pete realized that this was a clear moment, Myka experienced and wasn´t to blame to the memories of the Empress Sissi.
"You have the crown."
"No, I don´t. It´s at the Warehouse. "
"It's on your head, Myka."
"What?", Myka now noticed the heavy weight on her head, "I have not taken the crown. I swear it."
"I know you probably don´t remember," he took a step toward her, "Give me the crown."
"Pete, help me," she pleaded.
"I try. Give me the crown, Myka." He reached her and stretched out his hand to her. Myka took the hand and overcame the final distance between them. Pete felt how cold she was. She just had left the house with the crown, without getting dressed in something warm.
"Pete, I...", Tears welled up in her eyes, "I think the artifact changed me. I feel that something is not right..."
"The artifact will overwrite your memories with those of the Empress Sissi."
"That means, I´ll forget the Warehouse and all the people who work there?"
Pete didn´t like to have to agree with her, so he said nothing. But Myka knew him too well: She knew what that meant.
"I won´t forget everything," her forehead leaning against his, "I love you, Pete." With her hand on his neck she pulled him close and kissed him deeply.
Pete took the opportunity and took the crown from her. At that moment, a strong pain sensed her head. Her cries lured Lindsay and Connor.
Pete put the crown in a bag, which immediately sparked. Lindsay took the bag when Myka swayed and so she didn´t fall into the puddle of water, Pete caught her. She was unconscious, so he carried Myka back to the hotel. There, he laid her on the couch.
Myka was almost unconscious for half an hour until she finally opened her eyes. Her head still ached.
"Are you alright?", Lindsay asked, "What do you remember?"
"I have placed the crown on my head and there was a light... I think I've been looking for someone who's name is Catherine... And then I only remember a conversation with Pete... We were standing in the woods and it was pretty dark... "As she said this, she looked at him. That meant she also remembered the kiss.
"Shall we call a doctor?", Connor suggested.
"No, I'm fine. I could use a nap, "Myka agreed. They helped her getting up but left it to Pete, to bring Myka in her room. "Are you sure you don´t need a doctor?", he asked anxiously.
"Sure," she murmured, "Because of the snowstormnobody comes here..." She just needed a warm bed and sleep.
After Pete had convinced himself that Myka actually slept, he went to the Warehouse with Connor and Lindsay to bring the crown back to its place.
The next morning, Myka felt much better. Her memories of the Warehouse and the last years have been almost completely restored.
She found Pete in his room and didn´t believe what she saw: He cleaned up. He just put T-shirts in the drawer of a dresser when he noticed her. "Hi," she smiled.
"Hi," he said.
Now she also leaned on the dresser and looked at him. "Thank you for saving me from the crown," she said, noting how strange it sounded. Then she remembered something: "As far as I remember, I wanted to tell you something before it all happened."
"Right," Pete nodded. He was excited and at the same time very surprised when Myka slid to the right so she stood with her back to the dresser and directly in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Myka smiled in relief when he returned the kiss and she felt his hands on her hips. She couldn´t hold it any longer, but still managed to step back with the last spark of sanity.
"This is the last night in which we´re alone in the house," she said, "Tomorrow, Artie and the others return from Australia again... I guess you know what that means?"
"Is that what you wanted to tell me?"
"No," Myka agreed, "I just wonder when we tell them. I can´t believe they haven´t noticed yet."
"Yes, I can't wait to see Claudia's face." Pete and Myka laughed. Just like Pete, she was tired of the secret. They kept it for two years.
"It will change everything. We can stay in the same room...", she suggested, "And our game of hiding." Whenever they were on a mission, they booked two hotel rooms, but they always used just one. "It is high time, you know?", Myka asked, "I can´t hide for long."
"Yeah, me neither."
"I don´t think we are talking about the same thing."
Pete looked at her puzzled, when she slapped her hands to her face and then again put her arms around his neck. "I am pregnant... Finally." When she learned two years ago she had cancer, all her plans smashed because she had always comforted herself with the fact she had plenty of time to have children. Suddenly she realized her wish would always remain a wish and she realized how much she wanted to start a family with Pete. When she learned what he had done to save her from her disease, the scales fell from her eyes. She loved him. She had never met such a sincere man who would do everything to save her. Since then, they were a couple, but no one knew about it. Of course it was hard to act like nothing has happened and Pete was sure that Steve already had an idea.
"It´s... It´s..."
"It's a miracle."
Pete picked her up and hugged her. When he let her down again, he apologized.
"It's all right, the baby is fine. I am in the seventh week and I know it since our last visit to the city. I secretly saw the doctor..."
"My God, that's great... Myka, It´s a super- Christmas gift."
"Yes. Actually I wanted to give you a space ship so you can return to your home planet but this is much better... Do you want a boy or girl?"
"Doesn´t matter as long as the baby is healthy."
Myka laughed, before they kissed again.
"Pete, I have found the scissors you're looking for, but...", Lindsay appeared in the doorway of his room and when she realized in what situation she had disturbed them, she quickly apologized and walked away.
Connor and Lindsay said goodbye to them the next morning. Pete and Myka stood in front of the guest house and waved to them, when the silver Audi drove away. It snowed a little.
"Now there are only a couple of hours," Myka said as she hung up at Pete, "How do we tell the others?"
"I've played through every possible scenario..."
"Yeah, me too." She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Let's go inside. It's cold."
Pete agreed and so they returned to the house where they were waiting for Artie, Abigail, Steve and Claudia.
When your legs do not work like They used to before
And I can´t sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love
Will your eyes shut smile from your cheeks
And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70
And baby my heart Could quietly falling as hard at 23
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Oh me I fall in love with you every single day
And I just wanna tell you I am
So honey now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are ("Thinking out loud" by Ed Sheeran)
"How did it go last week?", Artie asked, "I hope my warehouse still stands."
"Yes," Pete and Myka answered. Claudia made a joke about the two and then complimented Myka about her hair.
"But that's not the only news," Myka finally said, she decided to put their friends no longer on the rack, "We..."
"…Got a new job," Artie said, "We need to find a list of artifacts. The problem with this artifacts is, that it´s a kind of scavenger hunt. "
"That means, we learn about the next searched artifact, if we found the first one," Steve said.
They were interrupted by a knock and when they turned around they saw a blonde woman and a dark-haired man standing in the doorway. "Sorry for the disturbance," Connor said.
"Who are you? And how did you get in here?", Artie asked.
"Artie, these are Connor and Lindsay. Myka and I are their friends... "
"We were fired because we didn´t reach Montana in time," Lindsay told.
To be continued...