This heartbreak is never going to end, is it?
Leena follows Claudia's horrified gaze and sees the woman that practically brought her up… shrivelled up to nothing more than a mummified corpse. The innkeeper's lips quiver, and she calls out Mrs. Frederic's name, almost as a hope that the woman would plump out, sit up and tell them she was fine. But that won't happen… because the Warehouse is dead, Leena knows that much. And with the Warehouse, possibly Helena…and Myka, and Pete… Artie.
Leena covers her eyes and scrunches up her face, sobbing into her hands.
Claudia glances over, knowing that Leena's distress isn't in vain. Everything is wrong. Everything feels wrong. And that's the thought Claudia has when she sinks to her knees, holding her chest. This is a heart attack, right? Was this what a heart attack felt like? Had she been injected by someth- Her thoughts are cut off as the pain intensifies and she slinks to the ground.
"Claudia?" Leena turns slowly, hearing the dull thud of a body hitting the floor. "Claud?" She asks, dumb, watching the unmoving figure on the floor, hoping for it to move. Claudia's mouth is hanging open, her eyes shut. "Claudia…" It's no use calling. Leena springs into action and dives to the floor, lifting the young woman up until she's cradled in her arms. The innkeeper crosses her legs underneath the heft of her friend, and she presses her face to Claudia's. "Claudia, can you hear me?" She whispers, her voice cracking. The redhead is still alive, she can tell that much. And yet. Leena's eyes close and a tear rolls down her cheeks. It won't be for long. Claudia's usual browns and fiery oranges, colors of copper and brass are disappearing quickly; overtaken by a dreary grey. Why is this happening? What did Claudia do to cause this? Oh. Leena pauses as it sinks in. The next one. The new one.
Nope. That' just not good enough. Leena holds Claudia a little closer, shaking her slightly. Nothing. Not even a grunt. Claudia really is slipping away, and Leena wants to just scream and cry and smash things because this can't be happening. "Claudia, don't leave me." She sniffs, unruly tears falling onto Claudia's cheeks. "Please, don't leave me here, I can't-" her breath hitches as a wave of grief overwhelms her. It's like something's calling her in this grief and she feels her chest squeeze with emotion. In a sudden surge of confidence, Leena's head shoots up and she looks at her hand.
She doesn't want to do this. She doesn't, but she has to. A pulse makes itself known in her palm and though it itches terribly, she presses her hand to Claudia's chest. She hasn't done this in decades. Last time she did it… A sob wracks her body and she hunches over the limp woman protectively. She knows the sparks of energy are flying passed her head, so all she can do is press her forehead to Claudia's and ignore them as her hand hovers over Claudia's left breast. She presses tightly, and finally the connection is made. Her head swims, a sense of floating threatening to make her pass out. And there it is… Leena smiles tiredly when she feels their auras merge, life force swimming between the two bodies aimlessly. It's almost umbilical, Leena muses, as Claudia's waning energy causes her to feel sluggish and drugged.
"F-491." Claudia mumbles suddenly, her eyes closed and her body still.
"What?" Leena whispers, confused.
"Farnsworth, K-89D." Claudia states. It's like she's a computer, simply announcing commands at the drop of a hat.
"Shhh, focus passed it," Leena hushes, pressing her trembling lips to Claudia's forehead. She knows the last thing Claudia needs to worry about is remembering Warehouse aisles. "Ignore all of that for now." It's still working. She can feel the copper colors coming back. The bronze. Everything that is Claudia.
But soon Claudia's mumbles die down and the innkeeper is finding herself losing a serious amount of energy. Her head droops and she forces herself to stay awake. Her hand is now stuck to Claudia's chest, over her heart. She couldn't move it if she tried, so when Pete, Myka and Artie storm into the inn guns a blazing, she can't do much to comfort them.
Claudia is now hardly breathing, and the only thing keeping her alive is the life force shared between them. But it'll run out soon, and Leena isn't going to lose without putting up a fight.
"Oh god… no." Artie's voice cracks through the volatile atmosphere of the room. "No…"
Pete takes one look at Mrs. Frederic and has to turn his back. When his eye catches Claudia lying in Leena's arms, his knees buckle and he drops to the floor. "Is she…"
"No," Leena grunts. Paying attention to conversation and trying to give all your life energy to one person is getting a little too tricky. "Nearly, but no." She's firmer than Pete expects of her and he frowns.
Myka's small voice pipes from behind Artie. "Can we do anything?" Leena takes a breath to turn and look at the woman. She can feel Myka's mourning from the door. Her eyes drop in sympathy as she shakes her head, no. Then, the innkeeper thinks of something. "Food and drink." She nods, "I need to conserve energy."
Myka rushes off and Leena wonders if it's an excuse to stop seeing Mrs. Frederic's body on the floor. Pete hovers and it's starting to get really irritating. She focuses passed it and cuddles Claudia closer, closing her eyes and just letting herself feel released. The best thing about it is her eyes don't sting. Leena finds that though her energy decreases, her eyes don't feel like they're due a rest. But she closes her eyes anyway, and puts every amount of care and love and every good emotion she can in Claudia's body. The pain in her hand is getting unreal, and it starts to feel like somebody has actually sliced her palm open, letting Claudia drink every bit of life she can from her chest. Her heart.
"Shouldn't we move her?" Pete ponders. "I mean… why is this… what happened?" He reaches out to hold Claudia's hand but stops when Leena turns to him suddenly.
"Back off, Pete." she warns. "Don't you touch her."
Pete actually scowls. "Why do you get any say in this?" he huffs. "She needs to heal. Maybe we should bring her to the remains, you know? To the Warehouse… so she's closer?" He tries again, his fingers nearly brushing Claudia's. What he doesn't expect is to be flung to the other end of the room, his neck smashing against a lamp as he slides down the wall.
Leena pants. Her free arm is pointing at the wall which means… she just did that. She looks at Artie who shrugs as if to say she did the right thing. Because she did. One touch from an alien body would break the current and probably kill them both. So she did okay. But her power scares the fucking crap out of her and she hates hurting people.
Myka comes back soon after and lays a tray down onto the floor, full of bread, butter, strawberries, some cereal. A glass of milk and some water. Leena nods her thanks and turns back to the woman lying in her arms. She can still feel Claudia's heart, thumping away under her hand. It's a little stronger now and Leena smiles briefly before her head goes cloudy and she feels like she's going to be sick. That's good… it means Claudia's taking. Take it all, Leena thinks to herself.
If she dies, so be it. The team needs Claudia, they need her to help get the Warehouse back. They don't need an innkeeper… Marcus's damn words ring around her head again and she shakes them from her mind. If this is the way she helps to get it back, yes. Of course, yes. If this is the way she has to take her own life in order to save Claudia's, then so fucking be it.
"What the actual fuck?" Pete asks once he comes back to consciousness. He grabs at the back of his ear, which to give him some credit is bleeding rather profusely after the glass lampshade smashed. "What…" he grunts and stands up. "You just gonna let her sit there? Woman's gone psycho." he growls. "Claudia is dying, Artie!"
Leena channels out the insults and presses her head to Claudia's again. It's her little comfort zone. The closer she can get, the better she feels. A poignant smile graces her lips as she realizes why. All this fucking time, she should have realized it… but she didn't.
Artie is dragging Pete by his non-bleeding ear and pulls him out to the lobby. He's glad to see Myka's placed a sheet over Mrs. Frederic's body because no matter how many times he looks at it, it simply doesn't sink in.
"Listen to me, and you listen damn good because I am only saying this once." He hisses and Pete straightens up at the tone, standing tall. "I am well aware Claudia is dying. I am so aware you have no idea." he gasps. "But what I know is that that woman in there? She's saving Claudia's life. And you know how? She's killing herself for Claudia. Do you understand? She's killing herself. That 'woman' as you put it, is an Alpha. Do you know what that means, Pete?"
The man remains silent and merely shakes his head. Artie is glad because it means he can continue to rant. He needs to get things out and this is helping. "It means that 'woman' in there has super-human abilities capable of more than you could ever believe. You think you've seen endless wonder? You haven't seen anything." He snarls. It really is starting to get to him. His heart had practically broken in two when he saw Claudia lying on the floor. Leena's hand to her heart. It could only mean one thing.
It meant the connection between Mrs. Frederic and the young woman had already happened when Pete, Myka and HG were in Egypt and he was catching up to them. Claudia was connected, and because of Irene's choices, because of Vanessa… because of everything, Artie let it happen.
"Oh…" Pete's chest feels like it's being crunched and the seriousness of the situation finally kicks in. His lip trembles and right there, in the lobby of the B&B, Pete Lattimer cries. Artie isn't sure how to react so he gives him a quick pat on the back until a howl of agony is sounded and both men run into the living room.
Leena is curled up in the fetal position, her body quivering as she lies next to the healing agent. "It hurts." She whimpers, her hand still attached to Claudia's chest. "Make it stop."
Artie looks on in horror as she yells out again, banging her clenched fist against the dark wooden floor. Claudia is leeching now, taking every single bit of goodness that she can get from the innkeeper and Leena is letting her. In exchange, Leena gets to feel the anxiety within Claudia's heart, the nightmares of the institution, the torture. Actual fucking torture. How is Claudia so sane? She lets out a sobbing breath and the emotions change. Now she feels violent and god help Pete if he tries to intervene again because she thinks she could actually kill him. Hoisting herself up, she takes a long glug of water and closes her eyes tightly.
Two more hours and she's weak. Myka has put a blanket over her in the hopes that it will stop the innkeeper from shivering so violently. Finally she can't take any more pain. Every muscle in her body feels like she's just run seven marathons. Her energy is fully sapped and she calmly removes her hand from Claudia's chest. The seal is broken. Claudia must have been strong enough or her hand would still be attached and it is only then when Leena lays her head down on the pillow provided and passes out.
The three of them have been watching both Claudia and Leena for an hour now. At first, Pete had had a mild panic attack and insisted he felt their pulses. Myka had remained silent. Vacant and emotionless. She was thoroughly numb, and if she lost Claudia and Leena as well as Helena and Steve, she'd run as far away from South Dakota as she possibly could.
Artie's eyes dart up when, at 8pm, Claudia groans. She groans and she shifts, pulling Leena's blanket until it covers her body. Artie smiles wryly and shakes both Pete and Myka who had fallen asleep next to him on the sofa. He bites his lip and waits. Weak fingers reach up but finally, after two attempts of moving her arms, Leena pulls her blanket back and snuggles under it, curling up her legs. She smacks her lips, deep in sleep, lets out a mewl and grows silent once more. She's not dead. She's asleep. Artie jumps up and is about to scream jubilantly until he remembers the two sleeping beauties in the middle of the floor as well as the other two on the couch and how they probably would hate him forever if he woke them up.
Artie grabs hold of Pete and Myka's knees, squeezing until they blink blearily and focus on the bodies in the middle of the room. "They're sleeping," Artie whispers so loud, there's really no use for it. He could be screeching and it would make no difference. Pete holds his hand up, a grin so wide Artie has no choice but to follow. Pete points at his hand, waiting. The older man finally realizes what he's hinting at and high-fives him gently, finally cautious of the noise. Myka smiles reluctantly, but just as quickly it fades and she zones out. She doesn't want to be here. She wants to be wrapped up in the rope from the Mary Celeste and if Helena has to die, she wants it to be there, in that moment before Artie saved them. She wants to have her breath strangled out of her because at least she knows when Helena's close too, their hot exhalations against each others lips, weakening with each pull of the rope.
She doesn't want to be alone.
Suddenly she's up, and Artie and Pete have no excuse but to let her go as she stomps up the stairs. She doesn't even know she's stomping, and when she reaches her bed and lies down she doesn't cry. She curls up, hugs the pillow next to her and stares into space.
Claudia awakes with the worst hangover she's ever had and she doesn't even drink. She knows this, because she hasn't even opened her eyes yet and usually if your head pounds the way it does without the irritating addition of sunlight, you're basically screwed.
But she risks it, and her eyes flutter open to see Leena clutching a blanket in her fist. She's sound asleep, her chest rising and falling steadily. What in the hell… Claudia cranes her neck to look over her feet and sees Artie on the couch, also asleep. A flash of light in her mind and it all comes back. Claudia scrambles up onto her feet and though she's a little woozy, she grabs hold of one of the dining tables and looks at that space on the floor and sees…nothing. She's probably been taken by the regents, Claudia ponders, but she can still see it in her mind. Mrs. Frederic's body. Her stomach betrays her and she dashes to the kitchen, only just managing to puke in the sink. She vomits until she can only dry heave and is thankful for the fridge always being full of whatever the hell she wants. She grabs some orange juice and sips it slowly and after about twenty minutes of simply regrouping, she then wanders into the living room. Leena is sitting up now, rubbing her eyes and grabbing at her hair to work out some kinks.
"So…" Claudia says suddenly, making her jump. "I think you have some explaining to do."
Leena has the decency to blush and crosses her legs, patting the space opposite her to join her.
Though Claudia's voice is still laced with grief, she manages a joke. "We gonna do some crazy yoga stuff now too?"
The innkeeper lets out a cautious smile and rolls her eyes. She's yet to speak, and Claudia worries for a second that maybe she can't. Maybe it's because of what she did. There is silence for a long while, until Claudia breaks it with a self-conscious murmur. "You saved my life."
Leena nods and Claudia is seriously beginning to freak. "I did." She whispers, her voice hoarse. It's still a voice, though, and Claudia is dancing inside. So she hasn't lost her ability to speak. This is good.
Leena shifts a bit, and rubs the back of her neck with a wince. "Headache?" Claudia asks sympathetically.
"Yeah," Leena croaks. She sounds weird with a gruff voice and Claudia wrinkles her nose at it. She hands over the glass of water and frowns slightly.
"You uhh…" Claudia doesn't know how this conversation should start. "You wanna tell me why?"
"Why what?" Leena asks, eyeing her anxiously as she takes a sip of water.
"Why you chose my life over yours?"
There it is. Leena moves her mouth a couple of times and finally manages a half hearted grumble. "How do you know that's what I was doing?" She takes another sip, trying to look unfazed.
"Because," Claudia feels tears trickling down the side of her nose because this means something scary. Something she's not quite ready for. "Because I felt it all. I was taking and taking and you did jack shit." Leena's head hangs low. "Why?" Claudia asks again, more desperate this time.
"Because you're more important than I am," the innkeeper says adamantly, clenching her jaw.
"I don't believe that," Claudia huffs and Leena scrambles to stand up, swaying dizzily on her feet.
She holds her head and closes her eyes, one lid peeking open to look at Claudia. "Well you should. You may not want to accept your destiny but damn it, Claudia…that's just what you're gonna have to do." She sighs sadly. "I did."
Claudia hugs her arms around herself as that bit of news sinks in. "So wait… don't tell me you've turned me into one of the Q now and I'm all immortal." She snorts. Then her face drops when Leena gazes at the floor apologetically. "What. The. Frak."
"It wasn't me," Leena clears her throat. "That happened before… with the ribbon, I suspect."
"The ribbon." Claudia's knees buckle and she sits heavily on the cushion on the floor, once used as Leena's pillow. "No…"
"It's not all bad," Leena muses.
"Wh… you too?"
Leena looks around the room, her bottom lip jutting out in contentment. "Just as long as this place doesn't die on me, I'm here for a while."
"And that means…" Claudia looks down at her chest where it's like she can still feel Leena's handprint. "No, Leena please… I'm not ready," she whimpers desperately and pulls away to stand and pace. Leena simply crosses her arms. "Please." She stomps over and grabs Leena's hands but the woman merely wriggles out of her grasp. "I can't be the caretaker, I'm twenty-one frakking years old, I can't do this!" Her voice raises and she doesn't even care about waking anybody up. This is too big. Luckily, though, everybody's so drained it's like they're lying in comas, no matter which room they're in.
"You can." Leena nods confidently.
"I am not the fucking caretaker!" Claudia growls, swearing and not giving a damn about it. She grabs the pillow from the floor, throwing it to the other end of the room. Something smashes but right now, Claudia doesn't give a shit about that either. She's being played. Myka was right. She's a fucking pawn on a chessboard and Leena is acting like the queen. "I can't, and I'm not going to." She shrugs on her jacket and pulls on the lapels for emphasis. "I'm bringing that fucking Warehouse back, and Mrs. Frederic, and Helena and…" her voice breaks. "And Steve and you'll see." She stands close to the innkeeper, breathing harshly. "I am no fucking caretaker."
"And that," Leena reaches up shakily, still weak but equally determined, chucking Claudia's chin with a sad smile. "That is why I had to bring you back." She says, and walks away with that same smile she used all those years ago. Instead of a disgusted snort like last time, she now hears a cackle and the innkeeper feels a lightness in her heart because this is going to work. Whatever they figure out is going to work. Sure, she'll deal with the after-effects of Claudia being linked to her for the rest of their never-ending lives afterwards… But first, she has tea to brew, people to wake up, and a plan to make.