I don't own this...

One wrong step

Claudia falls in the warehouse and hits her head. She tries to hide the pain from Artie, Myka and Pete, but when she collapses, they come to her aid, as any family would.

"Just a little higher," Claudia muttered as she stretched her hand upwards to where her Farnsworth was sitting on the shelf. She had been doing inventory of the upper shelves and had set her Farnsworth on the shelf above her. She had forgotten about it when she moved the ladder a few feet to the left, and she didn't see the point of climbing all the way down, moving the ladder two feet to the right, and climbing back up fifteen feet. She was so close, if only she was a little taller. She lifted up her back foot and leaned forward slightly. Just as her fingers brushed the Farnsworth, she lost her balance and slipped off the ladder. She let out a scream as she fell forwards against the shelves. Claudia tried to stop her fall by grabbing something, anything, but she only succeeded in hitting her shoulder against the edge of one of the shelves.

She hit the ground on her back with a thud, effectively cracking her head on the ground and knocking all the air out of her lungs. She curled in on herself, trying desperately to breathe and bring the world back into focus. Finally, she was able to drag in a breath. Although she couldn't make the world stop spinning, she sat up and leaned against the shelf. That hurt, she thought as she moved a hand up to the back of her head. There was a big bump that was already forming. She'd be fine. It wasn't that bad. She looked up slowly to see her Farnsworth still sitting at the top on the shelf. She groaned and stood up shakily. Artie is going to ground me for sure, she thought when she realized that there was no way she could climb back up the ladder to retrieve it. Well, I should probably finish inventory then get back and tell Artie where the Farnsworth is.

She used the shelves for support as she made her way down the aisle. She only had two things left that she had to check, so she could go find Artie soon. And then she could get grounded. Great. The world was still spinning and now her head was pounding with each heartbeat. She stumbled unexpectedly and fell to the ground again. This didn't help her head at all, or her now bruised hands. She moaned again. Come on, Claudia, get this under control. You are fine; this is nothing anybody else should have to know about. With that, she dragged herself to her feet again, and after checking the final two artifacts, she staggered down the aisles and up the stairs to Artie's office.

Before entering the room, she brushed her hair back, stood up straighter, and made sure it looked like she was fine before walking in. "Hey Artie," she said.

"Are you all done with the inventory?" He asked without looking up from his computer.

"Yeah," she replied. She was getting dizzy again and reached for the table for support. Artie looked up at her.

"Is everything okay Claudia?" he asked slowly.

She started to nod, but then stopped and said, "Yeah, of course!"

"Alright," he said slowly. Claudia wasn't sure if he believed her or not, but the world was starting to get blurry and her head was pounding even more. "Pete and Myka are waiting for you in the car so they can go for lunch. When you get back you can check out what's wrong with the electrical system. It's causing problems again."

"'Kay, see you later." She walked as confidently as she could across the office and into the tunnel where she immediately sat down and put her head on her knees. She felt so sick. Her head was pounding, she was starting to get nauseous, and blackness was approaching at the edge of her vision. Maybe she should tell Artie. On the other hand, he was obviously busy and she didn't want to bug him. She had taken care of herself for years. There was no reason to inconvenience someone else. She sat there for awhile, but then she heard the door at the end of the tunnel click. Someone was coming in. It was probably Pete coming to find her because he was hungry. Knowing she wouldn't be able to stand up soon enough, she rolled onto her hands and knees and pretended to be looking for something. Sure enough, Pete walked through the door the next moment.

"Claudia, what are you doing?"

"Um, looking for my hair clip," she made up quickly. "Here it is!" she pretended to put it in her pocket. Now how to get up without arising suspicion? "Care to be a gentleman and help a girl up?" For a moment, she worried that he would think something was up, but after a pause, he crossed the tunnel and helped lift her up. She let go of him as soon as she knew she wouldn't fall over again, but he still gave her a weird look. "I'm fine," she assured before he could say anything. "Let's go." She walked passed him. He followed her out to the car where Myka was waiting. She slid into the back seat while Pete got in the passenger seat. Myka always drove.

Claudia buckled her seatbelt and leaned her head forward against the back of Pete's seat. Neither Pete nor Myka noticed as they were deep in conversation about their latest artifact find. Claudia closed her eyes and wanted nothing more than to disappear. She thought about telling them, but then she remembered that last time she told someone she was sick, she ended up being abandoned by her boyfriend while he went out with another girl. Alright, so telling someone that she was she wasn't feeling so great wasn't an option. She wasn't sure what Pete and Myka would do, but she knew it wouldn't be good. She would probably end up alone again.

They got to the town after a half hour and by that time, Claudia was feeling a little bit better. She hadn't budged since she got in the car, but when she finally looked out the window, she was happily surprised to find that everything was mostly in focus and nothing was spinning. "Ready to go Claud?" Myka asked, finally looking back.

"Yeah," Claudia said, forcing a smile. They all got out of the car and walked into the little café. Pete ordered a stack of pancakes, Myka got a salad, but Claudia didn't get anything. "I actually ate a late, big breakfast," she told them. This was a complete lie, as Claudia hadn't eaten anything that day, but at this point she felt so sick that she didn't think she could eat anything. She didn't say much during the meal, but Pete was happy to tell her all about their latest mission. Claudia zoned out halfway through his story as she tried to stop the headache. It would be okay though, she would get back and take a nap and when she woke up, everything would be fine.

Finally the meal ended and they got up to walk back to the car. Claudia gripped the table tightly until she got her balance. Pete gave her a weird look, but didn't say anything. They walked to the car, Pete still chattering away as he got in the passenger seat. Right before Claudia got in, Myka put a hand on her shoulder. "Claudia, is something wrong? You've been really quiet all day."

"Yeah, I'm great," Claudia assured weakly. She put on a smile. "Just a little tired I guess." With that she turned away and slid into the car. Myka didn't totally seem to believe her, but she didn't argue. Myka got in and started the car. Claudia closed her eyes again and leaned against the side of the car. She could faintly hear Pete and Myka muttering something to each other. Probably about her, but the gently vibrations of the car were lulling her to sleep. For a moment she thought that she shouldn't sleep, but she couldn't figure out why, so she let the darkness surround her.

The next thing she knew, Pete was calling her name and shaking her lightly. "Claudia, wakey wakey. Rise and shine," he said excitedly. Her eyes fluttered open, but then closed tightly again when her headache reared its ugly head again. "Good morning!" He crowed. He was so loud. "Come on, Artie wants us." She sighed and dragged herself out of the car. Myka had already entered the warehouse. She followed Pete slowly, hanging onto the car for as long as possible. Pete glanced back again and stopped walking. "You okay?" She groaned. She had to get better at hiding things.

"Yeah, great." Claudia stumbled when she let go of the car. Pete caught her and supported her. "Okay, maybe not."

"What's up Claud?" he asked as they started walking towards the warehouse. She didn't respond. She was too busy trying to stay upright. He kept his arm wrapped around her tightly, making sure she wouldn't stumble again. He opened the door carefully and led her inside the tunnel. Right before they opened the door to Artie's office, Claudia pulled away from Pete. "Are you sure?" She nodded weakly.

"Please don't tell anyone," she pleaded. "I just have a headache." Before he could respond, she pulled the door open and went inside.

"Oh, good you're here," Artie said immediately. "I need you to do a little more inventory, then fix the electrical system, and track a new artifact." He continued giving her details, but suddenly Myka walked in and started talking with Pete too. An artifact alarm started going off, and normally this wouldn't faze Claudia, but this was the final straw. Everything was too overwhelming. Her headache was getting worse with each throb and blackness was starting to creep in at the edge of her vision. The world gave a sudden jerk and Claudia staggered forward and clutched the desk. Everyone grew quiet and stared at her. "Claudia?" Artie asked softly. She tried to answer, but before she could, the blackness took over and Claudia sank to the ground, unconscious.

Oh no! Is she going to be okay?