Welcome to the sixth episode of the She's... series. Hope you're enjoying it so far. Let me know what you think.
oxoxoxo
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"Um, are you seeing anyone else?" Claudia chirped to the irritated and obviously very nervous Artie.
"No."
"Do you want to?"
"No."
"She's your girlfriend!" Look who's talking, Claudia's inner voice chided and she quickly disguised her faltering with a girly 'oooooh!' (to which Steve, of course, joined in enthusiastically).
After Myka and Pete entered with the mysterious bell gift, Claudia took the time to ponder on Artie and Vanessa's relationship.
It was special; how in spite of the distance, two people could still be brought together. She didn't have to worry about that – Leena was there, always. Living in the same space, eating in the same space… sleeping in the same space.
Soon she was thrown back into the conversation with the unavoidable question as Artie proudly raised his hand; "And, furthermore, show of hands? Who here in this room is not single?"
She could see Steve shift uncomfortably next to her from the corner of her eye and felt bad that he had to live with her secret. Whatever that secret meant. She threw an answer back to Artie to distract her mind from its taunting.
Girlfriend. The very word sent shivers down her own spine, so she couldn't imagine how Artie must have felt. Refusing to think about it, she continued watching the anxious man babble and gush about how good things were going and truthfully? That made her all the more hopeful.
An hour after their impromptu meeting in Claudia's room discussing the black diamonds, once Alice was long gone, Myka had once again vanished to the confines of her own room. She'd been doing it a lot lately; hiding away and most probably reading H.G Wells' books from front to back. Pete had gone out to get ice cream and Claudia and Steve had decided on a movie.
"What's up with her?" Steve whispered to Claudia who was snuggled into his good side. The two of them were watching the ending of Wizard of Oz (Steve had a craving).
Claudia sat up slowly and looked over towards the kitchen where it sounded as if pots and pans were being used to perform a symphony. Claudia shrugged and shook her head, "Dude, I have no idea."
Steve shifted away uncomfortably; a firm frown on his face. "She still pissed at me?"
Claudia mirrored the expression and turned slowly. "Pissed at you? Why would she be—" she paused and smiled bitterly. "She knew didn't she?" she sneered, shaking her head. "She knew about the pain thing." The second utterance came out as a mere whisper and Steve was quick to shake his head.
"No, Claudia… no. She asked me what was going on, something about our auras swapping, I dunno… I snapped at her, none of this is her fault, okay? It's mine." He scratched the back of his head. "She's kinda scary when she's mad."
"Kind of?" Claudia wrinkled her nose fondly. "Did she give you 'the glare'?"
"And then some," Steve smiled back.
At that, Claudia let out a long sigh and cautiously stood up. "It's not your fault, Jinksy. Don't move," she warned. "Painkillers do not work with artifact pain, and I do not want to be crying on her shoulder."
"Duly noted." Steve replied dejectedly. Claudia could tell he was still having a hard time with this, but she'd deal, right? She pressed her hand to his good shoulder.
They'd deal.
She shuffled over to the kitchen where Leena was scrubbing furiously at her now red hands in the sink. Looking around the kitchen briefly, Claudia felt her lips tugging into a smile as she pressed her body against Leena's back, her good arm wrapping around the innkeeper's stomach. "What's the matter?" she asked, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck after each word.
"I… it's nothing," Leena sighed, unable to stop herself from leaning back. She needed a hug… she really, really needed one, and sometimes Leena pondered whether Claudia could sense these things. After all, the techno geek was starting to sense artifacts, and Leena was connected to the Warehouse so it was possible, right?
"Of course it's something." The redhead soothed, "How many plates did you smash?" Claudia grinned at the giggle.
"None," Leena smiled.
"Okay, so we're getting somewhere." She pressed another kiss to the older woman's neck. "So…? Why are you banging around the kitchen like you're performing the 1812 Overture?"
At that, Leena reached up to brush tears away from her cheeks. "I'm… worried."
"About me?" Claudia couldn't get rid of that damn smile. She hid it by burying her face into Leena's back.
Leena let out a sniffle and sadly gasped for air, "For you. For Artie. Something's not right, Claud."
Claudia took hold of Leena's hips and turned her around. "Hey, shhh…" She sighed at the tears rolling down Leena's face and used the back of her hand to brush them away. "Leena, I'm okay." Usually that would help, but Leena's lip continued to shake. "Leena?" Claudia stepped back slightly, frowning. "What is it?"
"I'm worried," came the murmur.
"I know… About what?"
Leena sighed and closed her eyes. "Artie. I just…" She wouldn't tell her. She couldn't tell Claudia what she'd seen. "He's hiding something and I don't know what it is."
"I know," Claudia smiled knowingly.
Leena's eyes popped open. "You do?"
"Mm," Claudia continued to grin and gently pulled the woman closer. "What do you think we've been doing for the past three hours? We're researching about the black diamonds… we got this, Leena."
Leena exhaled slowly and pressed her forehead to the agent's, hands reaching up to grip her hips. "Be careful."
Claudia chuckled and kissed her on the lips. "I hear you've been saying that a lot today." She pulled back to see Leena's cheeks color.
"I was scared for you." The innkeeper admitted meekly.
Claudia winced as she felt a jolt to her stabby shoulder. "Yeah…" she reached up and pressed her finger to Leena's nose. "I'm scared too."
"So you are…"
"Yeah…" Claudia admitted with a nod, her head still pressed against Leena's and her finger tracing the innkeeper's full lips.
"Oh."
The women jumped and turned to where the squeak had been heard. They saw Myka hanging around in the doorway shifting on foot to foot and her mouth ajar. "Oh." She repeated, the empty mug in her shaky hand looking as if it were about to fall any second. "I'm sorry, I'll go… You two just… Um."
"Myka," Leena sighed, rubbing at her face. "It's okay…" she broke away and headed towards the sink. "Want me to put the kettle on for you?"
Myka nodded, her oversized shirt making her look very small despite her height. "I didn't know you guys were together." She said with a shy smile.
"We're not." They said in unison, and paused to grin at each other.
Myka merely rolled her eyes. "Sure, okay." She pursed her lips and bounced on her feet slightly.
They all stood awkwardly for a moment or two, the crescendo of the boiling water from the kettle filling the silence until Leena piped up and put her hands in her pockets. "I'm gonna go run a bath."
"Okay," Claudia bit her lip and nodded, watching her go. When the kettle popped, she gestured over to Myka who immediately walked over to brew her tea.
With her back turned, Myka watched as the tea infused and braced her hands on the counter. "I'm glad you've found someone to make you happy, Claud."
The sentence was said so dolefully, Claudia couldn't help but take a step forward towards her friend. "She does."
A sniffle was heard and Myka quickly wiped at her face. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Claudia and Leena could have each other during such a dark time. It felt like nothing was getting easier, it was as if each day, Myka could feel her heart breaking over and over again.
"Myka…"
"I miss her." Myka sniffed again, rubbing at her nose. "I really, really miss her, Claud. And I'm so happy for you, and I wish you all the best, truly… I do."
"Hey—"
"But I just want her back." Myka's voice rose an octave as she got more and more distressed. "I don't know where she is, and she won't come back."
And for once, as Claudia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her back, holding her close, Myka truly knew what it felt to have someone listen. She knew what it meant to have someone understand. "It's okay," Claudia hushed. "She'll come back."
"You don't know that," Myka croaked, embarrassed for making such a scene.
"No, I don't. But hey, if I'm gonna be the Caretaker in the faraway future… I need to learn to sense these things," Claudia chirped, "And dude, believe me when I say this… I think she'll be back."
Myka clutched at the young woman's back and smiled. "Thank you, Claudia."
Claudia pulled away and gave a crooked smile. "Don't sweat it."
"You're really growing up, huh…" She shook her head with a curious gaze.
The younger woman crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously, "Yeah well… things happen." Her eyes were cast downwards at the floor, her bottom lip held by her teeth.
"Love?" Myka's voice cracked. "Do you mean love happened?"
Claudia shrugged and threw up her hands. "I don't know. Love, maybe. I don't really know yet. But Steve dying, Steve coming back… Mrs. Frederic's lunch dates… she's training me up. Leena," she took a big breath, "Leena's teaching me how to meditate. Me, meditating… I mean, really?" She laughed out loud. "Everything's just kinda loco right now."
"I'll say." Myka smiled back and chucked her on the shoulder. "You deserve to be happy, Claud."
Claudia scrunched up her nose and tried not to burst into tears. "You do too."
Myka's lips thinned. "I don't know about that…" she took a shuddering breath. "Go… That bath's big enough for two."
The younger agent's eyes closed and the color of her cheeks matched her hair. She reached out and pressed her hand to Myka's shoulder, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "She'll be back."
Myka looked over at the cooling cup of tea and sighed. "I may just have to listen to you. Just this once." She smirked at Claudia's mini victory dance. "Go. Rest up. I don't know much about artifact injuries but a bit of hot water would surely help, right?"
"Right." Claudia nodded. She felt a jolt to her shoulder and yelled out, cursing the day Steve was born in the process. "WILL YOU BE CAREFUL!"
"Sorry!" The voice sounded from the other room which then caused both Myka and Claudia to laugh.
"Right." Claudia nodded with a wince and rolled her shoulder. "Bathtime." She wiggled her finger in a circle and disappeared out of the room, tiptoeing upstairs and finally reaching the room where she could here splashing water behind the door.
"Hey, you." She smiled, only having managed a half-knock at the door as she entered the bathroom.
Leena was lying in the bath with her eyes closed, bubbles circling her breasts and her thighs. She looked peaceful, but Claudia could tell something was up. "Hey…" she said again, standing in the middle of the room to pull off her vest and tank top. The rustling got Leena's attention and an eye opened quickly to watch the stripping. Claudia smiled, her hands on her hips. "You okay?"
"You think Artie will be okay?"
Claudia's arms hung low as she shrugged. "It'll take a bit of time. Honestly, I don't know why he ended it," she said as she took her pants off, followed by her briefs. "But… he's kinda twisted right now, huh?"
"Just a little," Leena chuckled, watching avidly as Claudia put her toe in the water and hissed.
"My god, woman! Are you trying to kill me?" she howled.
Leena merely chuckled, "What? Is combusting in a vat of liquid just a once in a lifetime thing?"
"Yes," Claudia grumbled and finally braved it, sitting down and tangling her legs with Leena's as they sat at opposite ends of the tub. "He'll be okay. We just need to get him to tell the truth. He's still hiding stuff."
Leena nodded and went quiet. "Claud…" she sighed. "I saw him in the dark vault. Acting really weird."
"Weird?" Claudia frowned. "How weird?"
"Shouting at the air? Just… weirder than usual Artie." she admitted.
"You told Mrs. F?" Claudia asked, moving forward to lie in her lover's arms and began to attack Leena's chin and lips with hers.
"Mm," Leena pulled away from the kisses. "She knows. She's concerned."
"Looks like we're all kinda wigged, huh?" Claudia whispered, threading her fingers through Leena's damp hair and stroking her ear with her thumb.
The innkeeper nodded. "But I uh… I'm glad I have someone to be scared with, Claud."
Claudia smiled back and kissed her again. "Ditto." She grinned as Leena began to trickle water over her back and felt herself nearly say those three words. What scared her most was the look in Leena's eyes - the look that mirrored the sentiment. And that mutual respect and love scared the crap out of her… so she answered the look with a kiss, lay her head down on Leena's chest and hoped to god Steve would behave himself with that damn shoulder.