Disclaimer: I still don't own any part of Warehouse 13 and honestly, I really don't want to. It's much more fun to play with the toys and put them back to play with later.
A/N: Thanks to all comments and reviews. Always appreciated and considered. Keep crying, keep laughing. Without one, you can't have the other.
"Mmmm." She wiggled back into the unexpected warmth of the body behind her, an arm draped over her mid-section. She'd spent three cold weeks in the bed alone. Looking at the clock she groaned, dismayed at having to leave the long absent body enclosing her. Carefully, she unwrapped herself and slipped out of bed to get ready for the day. Hesitantly, she reached down to brush the long, dark locks away from the face she'd missed and tenderly kissed the lips parted in sleep. The small form sighed and stretched in its sleep. Myka smiled at the childlike reaction before heading to the shower to start her day.
Coming out of the bathroom wrapped in her towel, Myka restrained from laughing at the sight on the bed. It never ceased to amaze her how much space Helena could take up in the bed when given the opportunity. She sat down on the edge of the bed watching the sleeping form. Unable to resist touching her any longer, she feathered her fingertips across the now bare shoulders, the covers pushed away down to Helena's waist during her time in the shower.
"I can feel you staring," she barely mumbled.
"I know you can," Myka whispered with a smile. "Do you have any idea how much I've missed hearing you say that?" She leaned down brushing a kiss against the soft, parted lips, ghosting a trace of her tongue across the upper lip.
Without opening her eyes, Helena shifted as little as her drained body would allow, placing her head on Myka's lap. "That's not how the rest goes," Helena whined, still heavy with sleep. "I'll answer you anyway; as much as I've missed saying it. I missed you," she murmured into the towel. Myka began to stroke the head of silken hair now in her lap, receiving a moan in return. "You'll put me back to sleep doing that."
"I know. You need it. You're whining. What time did you get back? I never felt you crawl in behind me." Myka frowned at the thought. Though a nice surprise to awaken in warm arms, she was baffled at having not sensed the woman's return.
"I must either be getting more cunning, or you're becoming less observant. I think it was 3:30. It took me some time to locate you. How long have you been here at the house?" Her voice was fading.
"Oh," Myka sighed, "I held out for four days. I didn't know how long you'd be away."
"Hmm. Next time leave a note. One day I may find a stranger in this room and not you. Or I'll need to assume you ran off…is it, 'with the milkman'?"
"Yes, and you have no worries of either."
"Hmm…that's good…I missed you…" Her lips parted as her voice trailed off and her body relaxed into sleep from the continued stroking. Gently, Myka placed her head back on a pillow and smiled as the small frame spread out on the bed even more. Shaking her head, she finished dressing in the bathroom and quietly shut the door behind her.
"Hey, Mykes. When are we…"
"Shhh!" She whipped her head around, her finger against her lips. "Helena got back late this morning."
"Oh, sorry," Pete whispered. "Doesn't she usually tell you she's on her way home?"
"When she's allowed to. Sometimes she can't, and if she got back a few hours ago she probably didn't want to wake me."
"When did she get back?"
"I guess 3:30. It was a short conversation. I tried not to wake her in the first place."
"Come on, Mykes. You guys always know when the other is there. You two are kind of freaky that way."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, she didn't wake me this time." Myka frowned.
"Who's freaky?" Claudia asked pouring coffee for herself and pulled out two more cups.
"Wells & Bering, here." Pete offered, knowing it bugged her.
"Bering & Wells, and we are not freaky," Myka corrected him.
"Uh, yeah, you are. You two have that freaky extra-sensory thing with each other going on. It's freaky." Claudia handed her the coffee. "What's this all about anyway?"
"Oh, nothing. Helena came back early this morning. She's upstairs sleeping."
"Oh, so you'll be going back home tonight? I kind of liked it with you back in your old room, especially since Steve's been visiting his mom." Claudia stared at the floor.
"Me too, but I know you don't really want us back." Myka's smile broadened as she grabbed a muffin. "Especially after she wakes up."
"Oh, definitely not. You just go back to that little love shack of yours." Claudia shook her hand, gesturing her away, and soundly sat down at the table. "I'll be keeping my windows closed tonight…and probably tomorrow night, too. You better eat a big breakfast, 'cause after three weeks, you are definitely going to need it." A muffin hit her in the head. Without blinking Claudia calmly looked up at Myka, crumbs in her hair. "See, you should be eating eggs, not muffins. More protein. Grab a couple of those energy bars too. Always good to have a spare in your, uh, back pocket."
"Ouch!" Pete rubbed his arm. "Why are you hitting me? She's the one commenting on your stud muffin's return, not me. Ouch! Come on. I have a permanent bruise there."
"First one was because you've been a bad influence on Claudia. Second one is for calling Helena my stud muffin. We've talked about that, Pete. And just as an update, she does know what it means and you will end up with a knee in your chest." Myka stood up to grab some eggs.
"Mykes, get over it already. Just admit it. She's hot and you like it."
"Pete, we already know she likes it; repeatedly and loudly." Claudia ducked before the egg hit her, following its trajectory to the floor and smash. "Too slow! And with that folks, I'm off to the warehouse. I'll tell Artie you'll be late 'cause you've got a little mess to clean up there," Claudia pointed to the floor before running out the door before she getting hit with anything else.
"I wonder if he'll let me off this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow. It's been three weeks." She leaned back against the counter with her arms crossed, waiting for the eggs to cook, pouting at the floor.
"Yeah, good luck with that one." Pete stood up, taking the spatula from her hand and handed her the roll of paper towels. "Let me finish your eggs while you clean your mess. It's like one of the few things I can cook and we don't want you to miss out on your protein." He stepped back before she could hit him. "Man, you are cranky today. What's up?"
"Nothing. Just frustrated." She started cleaning the floor, taking out her frustrations on the slimy egg..
"Well, yeah, but that'll get taken care of soon enough..."
She abruptly stood up glaring at him. "Not funny, Pete! That's not what I meant."
"Okay, fine." He put the eggs on a plate, carrying it to the table. "Come on. Eat your eggs and talk to Uncle Pete. What's got you so worked up?"
She flopped down in the chair, scraping it along the floor in the process. Taking a bite of the eggs, she sat staring through the door up the staircase. "These are really good, Pete, thanks."
"Yeah, and you're avoiding me."
"No. It's the whole side job thing." She sighed heavily with frustration, running her hands through her hair and leaning back against the chair with a decisive thud. "She was pulled out of the field after that trip with Steve because of her ankle and then the Regents retracted it to send her away again for an undetermined amount of time. She was still limping for crying out loud. Probably still is, but I don't know because I had like a five minute conversation with her before she fell asleep again, which she probably won't even remember. I'm not actually convinced she was awake."
"And what's she have to say about all of this?"
"Mostly the same thing we all say; it's her job and we all knew this going in. Pete, if that ankle doesn't heal right, she won't be able to do field work. I don't know what she does out there. Half the time she can't even let me know when she's on her way home. And it really bugs me that I never knew she got into bed this morning until I woke up. Maybe we are freaky, but that's the first time that's happened." Embarrassed, she wiped the unexpected tear creeping out of the corner of her eye.
"So, is this about the freaky thing not happening or the Regents using your girlfriend as an uber-pawn?"
"Both!" Hearing movement upstairs she lowered her voice. "Both. Pete, you and I both know they manipulate us at times. It just seems like they've always used her for their own devices more than us. They kept her in limbo land just so they could turn her on and off at will when THEY needed her. Now, it just seems they have some sort of power over her that she can't talk about. When we got back from Tenerife the side jobs were supposed to be minimal. Now they are sending her out on a bad ankle for three weeks!"
"Unless you want to wake up sleeping beauty and she is…uh, what I mean is, keep your voice down or you'll wake her up with those oversensitive ears of hers. And the freaky thing?" He got up clearing the table while Myka stared up the stairs again.
"I don't know. It's just never happened before. At least not in a really long time. Claudia's right. We do have some sort of weird sixth sense or something. But why not this morning?"
"I don't know, Mykes. My vibe can get kind of confused sometimes. Maybe it's like that. Length of separation?"
Myka shrugged. "I don't know. She's been gone longer before and it's never affected by distance." Myka crossed her arms getting more frustrated.
"Really? You two really are freaky." Pete looked at her perplexed by that new bit of information. "Well, let's get going. You can come back at lunch and see if she's awake and maybe we can talk Artie into letting you go for the afternoon. Claud and I can handle it and it has been three weeks. Even he knows what that's like."
"Yeah, grab me a banana will you?" She grabbed another muffin, too.
Artie swiveled in his chair before turning his attention back to the screen in front of him at the sound of the door opening.
"Where the Hell have you been? Speaking of which, you look like it too." He shot a glance over his shoulder.
"Thank you so much, Artie. I can always depend on you to make me feel welcomed. You know very well I can't tell you where I've been." She limped in to sit at the table, placing a large paper bag on the surface. "If it helps any, I've brought you all lunch. Nothing fancy. We all know the extent of my domestic abilities. Which reminds me, you are supposed to give me cooking lessons. I want to make Myka dinner soon without setting off the smoke alarms."
He turned again to look at her while she crossed the room.
"You're still limping." His frown was missed by HG as she sat in the chair.
"Always the observant one, aren't you, Artie? That happens when things are not given sufficient time to heal." She reluctantly grimaced in pain when her foot hit the table leg.
"You should have it looked at. I'll call Vanessa if you'd like," he offered, more softly. He wasn't sure which of the two of them enjoyed the animosity game more.
"Already done. I have an orthopedic consult tomorrow. I'd like Myka to come with me, please. Where will I find her?"
"Sure, of course. Take whatever time you need. I'll call her for you." He started to turn to the desk.
She stood up, limping to the stairs. "That won't be necessary. I've managed quiet well on my own, thank you."
Artie grunted in response. "I don't know where she is, just follow the static balls. She's been cranky. You can take her back with you. I'm surprised she hasn't gotten dumped on yet."
"Well, I'd best go find her then. Do enjoy your lunch."
She wandered the aisles following the increased static until she heard them.
"No, Pete. It doesn't go there. See? Look at the tag." She waved the tag in his face.
"I did look at the tag. You're reading it wrong. That's an 8 not a 6."
"Are you sure?" Myka demanded, hands on her hips.
"Yes. Look." Pete pointed at the disputed number getting exasperated. "Don't get your panties in such a twist or you're going to get us dumped on. Man, what is up with you?"
"I think we already talked about that, now get this thing up there." Pete caught Myka out of the corner of his eye as he placed the artifact. She picked her head up looking down the empty aisle, a smile spreading on her face.
"Anything I can help with?" HG appeared around the corner and leaned against the shelves watching them argue.
"Freaky," he muttered under his breath. He pointed a finger at Myka. "Yeah, get her out of here before she causes a big disturbance. I've already gotten zapped twice." Usually jovial, Pete was distinctly annoyed at his partner. "By the way, welcome home. Have a nice trip?"
"It was…interesting, as always." She frowned at him, somewhat disturbed.
"Ah-ha. The Wells way of saying 'I can't tell you.' We missed you. Claudia is way over-due for a prank, so I hope you have something up your sleeve. Vaseline on the toilet is funny only so many times. Now, please get her out of here." He begged, not missing the frown before it instantly brightened. He wasn't pleased with the frown, but he admired that she had started to let her walls down a little around the rest of the team.
"That's exactly why I'm here. Artie wants you gone. Something about a bit of static. A bit cranky today, are we? I rather expected a warmer welcome than this." She held her hand out to Myka who greedily grasped it, interlacing their fingers.
"Bye, Pete. See you for dinner," Myka called back as Helena pulled her down another aisle.
He snorted. "I don't think so."
"You're still limping." They were passing the library at the time.
"Yes, but I'm not really interested in that at the moment. I would rather get home so I can have a proper welcome home. But for now, this will have to do…"
Helena grasped the door knob pulling Myka in behind her. Slamming the door shut with her knee, she turned Myka into the back of the door, her knee firmly set between the long legs. Pressing in firmly with her hip, she pulled Myka's head towards her eager mouth. Teasing open her lips with her tongue before claiming the warm mouth in an overdue greeting, she tasted the missing ingredient from the past three weeks.
"I hear you're cranky. Perhaps I can fix that." She pulled out Myka's shirt, letting her hands explore the soft skin. Scratching the sides of her torso, Helena dropped to her knees, ignoring the stabbing pain running through her ankle, allowing her mouth to take free rein over the expanse of Myka's abdomen.
Myka let out a lengthy, load groan as nimble fingers began to work on her belt. "Ahem." They froze, hearing the throat loudly cleared from the room behind them. "You guys might want to, oh, maybe, look before you leap next time. There really were reasons that we built that cottage for you. This was one of the big ones. I'll just be leaving now, if I can get by, please. Nice to have you back, HG. Oh, and keep in mind the warehouse echoes. I remember from your previous reunions. Not that it ever kept you quiet before…" Claudia managed to squeeze through the door Myka had been slammed against, leaving the two shocked women staring at each other.
Helena burst out laughing at Myka's expression. "It is slightly amusing, dear, that you're still embarrassed, and she's not so much. Must be those journals." Standing up, she pulled off her shirt, throwing it on one of the chairs, and slowly began to work on Myka's, laying a kiss against the exposed skin after each button was released. "Let's not waste an empty room now. I happen to like echoes."