AN: I know I have another fic up that's unfinished. But I sort of lost inspiration after the finale and what happened with Claudia's character. This came to me when I was at the gym, for obvious reasons. If you want, I'll continue. If not, I think it's a pretty good oneshot.

------------------------

Working out helped her to think. The sound of her feet hitting the pavement reminded her she was alive. The sting of her lungs as she took in air at the end of her run helped her to feel. The cool air cleared her head and helped her put things in perspective.

Artie had no idea what he'd asked her to give up when she left her state of the art gym back in DC. Now she was left with running, crunches, pushups and the occasional free weight. She felt deprived. But running always made her feel just a little better.

Her work out pants fit her snuggly in black lycra. She wore only a sports bra on top, white piped in black. It kept the sweat from pooling places while she ran. Kept her cool and not focused on her clothing.

Nearing the bed and breakfast again, she slowed to a walk to calm her cardiovascular system. She had put her life in perspective once again, had come to terms with her frustrations and angers. She always felt very calm after a run, potentially because she didn't have any energy left for any emotions.

She walked into the bed and breakfast living room and started to stretch out her muscles so that they wouldn't cramp with the cold. She bent forward, placing her hands on the floor, stretching her hamstrings, reveling in the pain that it caused. The pain of stretching also made her feel good, like she'd accomplished something.

"Hey Myka!" she cringed at the sound of the yell that her partner emitted. Whatever he wanted, she was sure it would ruin her calm.

Pete came barreling into the living room but Myka didn't stop stretching. She hoped it would deter him from staying too long.

Pete walked into the room ready to ask Myka about some paper work that she'd finished and of course he hadn't. But he was met with the site of her butt in the air in those tight black work out pants and his breath caught in his throat.

"What do you want Pete?" Myka was frustrated. He was interrupting her altered workout routine and she was not happy about it.

"I..um…well….you see." His thoughts weren't coming out right in his head or his mouth. His brain was scrambled.

Myka spread her legs and bent down further and peered at him through her spread legs. Her cleavage was just visible enough over the top of her sports bra in that position. Add that to her new spread leg stance and she wasn't helping Pete's thought processes at all. "Spit it out already."

"Right….well…." Pete took a deep breath. "Do you think you could stop doing that for a second?"

"Doing what?" she reached towards one foot.

"Whatever that is. I can't think. And I forgot what I needed to ask you."

Myka popped up from her stretch and turned around to face him, slightly concerned. That is, until she saw the look in his eyes.

"Pete!" she slapped him across the arm.

"What? I'm only human. I'm only a male." He gave an embarrassed smile. "I'm a human male and you have a very well built human female form."

Myka rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest. But again this only served to enhance the cleavage he could see.

"What did you want?" she was more than a little frustrated.

"I think we should probably talk about it later. When I can remember what it was."

"You interrupted me for that?" she was physically peeved now, so much for her calm.

"Well, I didn't know I would be interrupting you. And I didn't know you'd be doing…..that." he waved his hand vaguely.

"I was stretching Pete. I went for a run and my muscles were tensing in the cold of the B and B. You know, that thing called exercising? Have you forgotten what that was?" she put her hands on her hips, annoyed that he would make anything sexual out of a completely innocent action.

"Yeah, I remember exercising. Sweating, lots of motion, lots of…..tension." his eyes went dark in front of her and despite herself she had a flash of being in bed with some nameless form.

"Pete! Quit sexualizing everything!"

"I can't help it Myka! I haven't had any action since we're been here. And you're not exactly unattractive."

"Oh that's nice Pete. Way to make a girl feel special. 'Not exactly unattractive'. Thanks."

"Well, I was trying not to say 'You're hot.' But I'll try that next time if you prefer."

They stood in the middle of the room, staring at one another. The implication of his state was obvious. Neither of them had seen any "action" since coming to South Dakota because let's face it, there wasn't anyone else around. But that wasn't a good enough reason to try anything, as far as Myka was concerned. But if you factor in the fact that she had been attracted to him before they came here, things might be different. If only she knew what was going on in his head.

She turned away, feeling her cheeks blush.

"I'll come up and answer whatever it was you wanted to know after I shower." She said quietly.

"Yeah, that'd be good. I'll be in my room."

"Ok." She walked slowly up the stairs and she could feel his eyes on her ass as she moved. And despite herself, she smiled slyly.