Oh the irony, of being tortured to death in a warehouse. What he hoped to be a warehouse. Of course, this warehouse just happened to be abandoned, Artie thought darkly to himself. With every breathe he exhaled, more pain would ache through his body. Not good pain for that matter. He could hear the small droplets of water fall, meters away from his position. The awkward positioning of his hands being handcuffed made them twist in awkward angles, and he could smell the stench of rats hiding away in the shadows and corners. An abandoned building of sorts would be the perfect place for no one to hear. And logic suggested some kind of warehouse or factory. But because he could not see, he could not confirm anything, the itchy bag blinding him giving him a sense of fear.
But agents were trained for this kind of situation, though it rarely happens. Using a meditative breathing technique, Artie tried listening even harder for the sound of his kidnapper. He knew who it was that had kidnapped him: Alexander.
And suddenly the footsteps were coming. Slowly sneaking behind him. He noticed the way they sounded, light yet strong. They neared closer and closer, and suddenly Artie's heart began to run. It begin to beat so loud it could be heard throughout the entire room. A fear raced down his spine, and Artie held his breath as the footsteps began walking around him and stopped right in front of his face. A hand slowly reached out and Artie could see again. But he regretted it, as the dim lighting was bright enough to momentarily blind him. But not before he could see his kidnapper.
It wasn't Alex.
Bright red hair fluttered into his vision, as eyes that betrayed the mistrust and misery they had seen and dealt with stared right into his soul. Claudia Donovan simply scoffed.
"Knock knock Professor." She said, and immediately the scene swirled away with regretful fear-filled memories: Pete nearly choking to death mere seconds after the ordeal with the Phoenix, Joshua motioning Artie away from Rheticus' Compass, Myka slowly reaching out to touch his hand through Alice's mirror, James slowly and painfully dying in his arms. More memories reached out from his mind to punch him in the gut, and even though it felt longer than a millennium the pain began to end.
He returned to the conscious world with a loud yelp. Immediately, worried eyes scanned the room he was in and his hands quickly and mercilessly poked his numerous bruises just to make sure that he was back at Leena's, and that he was safe from Russia. In milliseconds he controlled his breathing, eyebrows furrowing as the neutral scowl formed on his face once more. He looked over at the digital alarm clock next to his bed and sighed.
2:03 AM the annoyingly neon red numbers red. 2:07 AM on July 2nd. Of course, this was the first time it happened.
Nor would it be the last.
Ever since his return from Russia, having opened old wounds that widened due to guilt and terrible pain, he had been angrier at the world. Well not really at the world, he knew from a very young age that the world was a cruel dark place at times. Artie let out a small sigh at this reminder. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't anger that fueled him: it was regret. A deep regret that he carried with him, that started when he first started trading artifacts for lives. A feeling that merely grew with time, that grew stronger each time an agent died, went insane, or worse. Artie could only feel regret now, but it was disguised as anger or irritation. Suddenly, he heard the door creak open.
Knowing he'd regret it later, he quickly tried sink back into the bed –he had been sitting up when he woke up- but he his head whacked the wall and placing a hand to rub the sore spot he turned on the lamp's light. It was no surprise to him, that intruder immediately rushed into the room to help and for once he let them help.
"What happened?" Claudia asked and he shook his head.
"Woke up. I can't remember why, simply that I did." But that was a lie. No matter what Artie tried to do, he couldn't ever escape it. This nightmare had occurred for the past week. And it was slowly eating him alive.
"That's a lie Artie and you know it. And before Russia, none of this really happened. Nobody's told me anything of what went down, so please Artie!" Her plead for information broke his heart. And the shields were down, having been ripped away the second she rushed in.
"Claudia, I'm not truly a traitor to the US but rather the Russians." And so he began his story. He sugar coated the rough parts- which artifacts he traded for who, the amount of all-nighters he pulled living through his guilt—but gave her the bones of the story. And she quietly listened, holding in her emotions till he got to Russia.
"You see, the man who I had put in jail for my actions had a son. A son who barely got to know his own father." And she noticed how his eyes seem to be lost in fear momentarily, before he regained his track. "He had a vendetta. A vendetta to kill the man behind this, that man being me." With a shudder Artie trailed on, remembering the fear that clutched him in Russia. He ploughed on, almost done.
"You have to understand Claudia, it's painful yes… But I've deserved it. All the pain I've caused people in my life. Russia was my penance." But she shut him by hugging him, and only then did he notice the tears that had been forming in her eyes. And she finally let them fall, the tears staining his night shirt as she just hugged him. He realized the pain he had been causing her and hugged her in return.
"Shush Kiddo, it's alright." It was far from it really. But with Claudia in his life, it could get alright. They simply hugged each other in silence, as he whispered words of comfort trying to erase the pain and regret that filled the two of them. Neither noticed the woman creeping into the shadows, having eavesdropped on the whole conversation. Helena silently walked away, now knowing why Artie could never fully trust her. And for two seconds, blowing up the world wasn't just to spare all those innocent children who would have to deal with its cruelty. It was to spare those like Artie and Claudia, having been maimed by the world in spirit and emotions.
"It's not deserved." Claudia responded, but the shield was back in place. Artie slowly let go of the hugging, and sat up straighter. He glanced at the clock, and shook his head.
"It's nearly 4 O'clock Claudia. Get some rest." He turned to turn off the light, knowing he would only toss and turn and get no sleep. But she stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You too Artie." She whispered, and in the back of her mind, a plan was beginning to form. A brilliant plan, but then again all of Claudia's plans were brilliant. He half-heartedly grunted, and flicked off the light as she left his room. There would be no sleep for the rest of the morning for daughter or father.
"Morning." Pete cheerfully greeted Artie as the older agent slumped into the dining room. He simply nodded, the ever growing lack of sleep showing. Leena walked in, and handed Artie a plate that while contained healthy food looked unappetizing at the current moment. And then she really looked at his aura, and sighed.
"You need to take better care of yourself Artie." She said to him, giving a good stare. He simply shrugged it off, accepted the plate and sat down to eat. But eating really meant just pushing around the food on the plate with a fork. Helena walked into the room, and everyone noticed the temperature suddenly drop. She passed the living room to ask Leena something, and just as quickly walked out of the area.
"So how is everyone this fine morning?" Ask Claudia as she walked in. Artie turned his head to stare in amazement as she snagged some of Artie's breakfast, eating it and giving a sigh of satisfaction.
"Delicious. Now come on." She said, motioning him to follow her. "The Warehouse isn't going to wait for us to start it." His head was spinning with questions of where all this energy came from. It was like the emotional girl who listened to him that morning disappeared and was replaced with this woman filled with all this energy.
"Come on." She said, smiling as she grabbed him to lead him away. Her hands felt slightly sweaty, but that was probably because the air conditioning broke down recently. The weather had been feeling slightly hotter than normal. "I have a feeling we have a ping." So he let himself get pulled away by Claudia.
"I'm positive we didn't get anything." He had a feeling this would be a boring and slow day at the warehouse, a nice change for once." But she simply shook her head and simply smiled. But once they arrived, Artie's prediction became correct: it was going to be a boring day. No pings, no Mrs. Frederic coming out of nowhere, no Regents waiting to cause more chaos, and no artifact mischief. Simply inventory all day long, which was a blessing and a curse.
"Now I want to go over the Noel aisle again, pass the canned food row, give a glance over in the nuclear section, and stay clear of the Dark Vault!" He said, as she nodded, giving a fake salute. He wondered if she knew what today was, but logic told him it was impossible. However, Claudia has defied logic before.
It happened during inventory. He was walking along some section in the middle of the warehouse when it struck. The silence, except for the occasional beep from the equipment, made him drowsy from exhaustion. And all it takes was one moment. Artie stumbled into the ground, arms flailing wildly for balance but he fell. And in doing so, he knocked one of the artifacts down. It just happened to be a bright red dodgeball.
He muttered something in Hebrew, as the ball touched his shoulder bouncing off and immediately multiplying. He leapt off the ground, struggling to stay balance as the dodgeballs whacked him again. It was time for sprinting.
His heart hammered as he could feel his legs race away from the dodgeballs. He gasped for breathe, feeling the cells in his legs start the process of fermentation from a lack of oxygen. This fact, or this process of scientific thinking, gave him more adrenaline. Because if he could explain a simple process like glycolysis then he could formulate a plan to rid himself of the Baylor Dodgeball.
He dodged another ball that slapped his back, which successfully knocked the wind out of him. He fell down again, this time laying on his back, and with trained speed snatched a dodgeball out of the air and gripped it tightly. The dodgeballs stopped attacking, and he let go the lone ball while exhaling sharply. He could hear footsteps arriving and sighed.
"Artie!" Claudia's voice rang in his ears. He struggled but managed to shakily get off the ground before she could help him. Recognizing the artifact, she carefully stepped over the ball.
"But what's that doing so far from…" It took her a moment, but Artie was pleased to see she connected dots. Now if only he could actually catch his breath.
"You ran that far?" She asked in disbelief but he was too tired to answer so he simply nodded. And soon, they were slowly making their way back to his office.
"Now Claudia," He began and she recognized the tone sadly. "What were you doing that far away from the sections I told you to inventory?" She smirked.
"Well I had heard noises, and I really wanted to make sure you were alright." She admittedly sheepishly. He shook his head in disbelief.
"Just another boring day at the Warehouse. One of the rare days actually"
"But it's your bir-" She started and immediately shut up.
"My what?" His tone had taken irritation. How in the world had she found out?" They began walking up the stairs to his office, and she blushed.
"Well I figured the one on your file was fake, so I found out your real one from Leena." She muttered under her breath.
"You what?" It was just suppose to be another day at the warehouse. It truly didn't matter to him what day it was, the world was just a little too busy needing to be saved all the time. But deep down, he knew he was touched by her consideration.
"Surprise!" She said, opening the door and he hadn't realized what she meant at first. And then he actually took a look in his office. It was decorated, to say the least.
The fairies filled the room again, and this time miniature fireworks harmlessly exploded. The room was swept and a paper crown –the one you'd find in a dollar store—with the words 'Happy Birthday!' was sitting in Artie's seat. A banner flung from one side of the room to the other with the worlds "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTIE!" written in Hebrew. The time and effort –in such little amount of time- showed, and Artie's eyes glowed with pride and happiness for the merest of moments. He turned to Claudia, completely filled with wonder. And she grinned in response.
"Immediately after you told me your story, I knew I had to do something in return. So I set this up, and yeah…" She explained, blushing slightly and waiting to hear his opinion. He picked up the inventory gear, and she winced at the punishment she was about to receive.
"I think we really don't need to do inventory for the rest of the day." She breathed out a sigh of relief, and hugged him. He awkwardly returned it. Because, while Claudia didn't know, this was the first time his birthday had really been celebrated. And he really enjoyed it.
So I'm screwing around with the timeline a bit (for all the nitpicky people out there like me XD). One might even venture to say it's a little AU with the timeline and story. But if you try to argue this point with me in a review, I shall have to simply point to the Author's Note you missed.
Now for those who have a slight problem with OOCness, I'm simply going to save this: When you go through a traumatic deal, something that brings out wounds that you thought you had healed you don't exactly act normal. I did try to incorporate some of Artie's normal behavior into this .
I don't own Warehouse 13.
Happy Birthday Saul Rubinek