I don't own Warehouse 13 and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Myka still hadn't processed the news when she walked into the bed and breakfast. She wanted to hide this news from her friends even though she logically knew she couldn't and shouldn't. She sighed in relief when she realized no one was there and waiting for her. That was good then. Myka headed towards her room and then just lay down on the bed before dissolving into sobs. She had been feeling off for weeks now, but she certainly hadn't expected the doctor to tell her she had ovarian cancer. Her mind raced and she couldn't get it to shut off.
When Myka woke up the next morning, everyone was gathered around the table and eating breakfast. Artie was the first to notice her and after he saw the look on her face, he stopped dead in his tracks. "I'm guessing I need to sit down?" At Myka's nod, he did.
Pete did not want to hear whatever it was she was about to tell them. "This is going to be bad."
She closed her eyes to gather up her strength and then took another deep breath before opening them. "The doctor told me I have ovarian cancer."
Claudia gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth before she burst into sobs. "Oh God. I'm so sorry, Myka." She wanted to be strong for her friend, but she was still in shock.
"Fuck." Pete stood up and then pulled in for a hug. "We're all here for you, Mykes. Whatever happens, we'll be there."
"He's right. We're not going to leave you alone." Steve nervously smiled at her.
"If you ever need to talk to someone, I'll be there." Abigail didn't know Myka that well, but she would offer the agent a shoulder to lean on.
"Alright, I can't take this anymore." Claudia bit her lip and then joined in on the Myka and Pete hug, the others following a few seconds after that.
"So what exactly did the doctor say?" Steve was the first to break the hug and the silence.
Myka reluctantly pulled away from them all and sniffled. "He made me an appointment with an oncologist and we'll see where we go from there."
"When is it? I'm going to be there." Right now, Pete didn't give a fuck about any Artifacts – Myka was his number one priority for however long she was sick. He wasn't about to let his best friend deal with this by herself.
"I think it's in two days. Not sure because I have to check. But I can do this by myself. I don't want you there."
"Too bad for you because you're not going to be alone. You don't have to be. And I know I just had a meltdown there, but now that that's out of the way, I'll be there for you every step of the way. You're not getting rid of us."
"She's right. You need me, you call me." Steve was going to make sure she did it, too. He wasn't about to let her fall apart on her own like he suspected she wanted to do.
She shot them all a grateful look. "Thanks you guys."
"Would you like me to get you something to eat?" Artie handed Myka a cereal box and she laughed at his effort. It lessened the tension a little, something she was extremely grateful for. She just wanted to go back to a few days prior when her life didn't revolve around the word cancer.
"Thanks, Artie. But I'm not hungry."
"You should eat. It's not good for you to skip breakfast." They skipped breakfast all the time, but Pete wanted her healthy. God, Myka had cancer. He didn't know how to come to terms with that and he couldn't even begin to imagine she was feeling.
Myka wasn't hungry, but she'd eat just to get the looks off their faces. So she sat down and tried to pretend like everything was normal, that she wasn't sick. It was hard to ignore, however.
Two days later, Pete and Claudia were by her side as she visited the oncologist. "Good, I'm glad you have support with you," Jennifer Majors said as she sat down to talk with her new patient.
"Wish we could say we're good to see you, Doc." Pete was just glad that he hadn't been caught playing with the plastic uterus (in his defense, he had only done it to Myka laugh and had succeeded) so he wouldn't have to explain himself.
"Alright, what do we need to do?" Myka had spent the previous day researching (until Pete shut her down because she kept going to the worst case scenario) but she wanted to hear it from the doctor.
Jennifer just smiled at her. "We need to schedule surgery to see how advanced it is. And once we figure that out, we'll decide what to do from there – Remove both ovaries and fallopian tubes and a hysterectomy or just one ovary and fallopian tube. And depending on that, you may need chemo. This is important – Do you want to have children or not?"
Myka shrugged. "Maybe someday. I'm not ready yet, but I'd like to have the option. But I also don't want to die from this, so if I can't have any kids, then I'll think about adopting". In their line of work, however, that wasn't a possibility. Claudia and Pete knew it too. She'd have to come to terms with never being able to have kids.
After talking for over an hour with the doctor, Myka scheduled her surgery. It wouldn't happen for another three weeks so she'd have to live with the fear until then. Pete and Claudia tried everything to distract her. Steve, Abigail, and Artie chipped in when the three got home.
"I want to talk to you before your surgery," Abigail informed her before they went to bed that night.
Talking to Abigail was the last thing Myka wanted to do, but she nodded her head anyway. "Sure, I'll get on that soon."
Artie started sending Claudia and Steve out on more jobs, letting Pete and Myka stayed back. She tried to find something, but Artie stopped her (with Claudia's help) and took Abigail with him. So now Myka had nothing to do except to wait and think about her situation. That was the exact opposite of what she wanted to happen.
"Mykes, I don't want you to get lost in yourself. But if you do, I'll only pull you back out." Pete grabbed her hand and squeezed it in support.
"Thanks." She appreciated the effort, but she just wanted to be left alone. It wasn't happening, however, since if Pete wasn't by her side, someone else was. They weren't letting her drown in this, something Myka wasn't sure she appreciated yet.
Two days before Myka's surgery, Abigail cornered her (with Pete's help, that bastard) and forced her to sit down and talk with her. "I want to know how you're feeling."
Myka just glared at her, pissed she had been trapped into talking with her. She didn't want to talk with anyone – She just wanted to deal with it, beat the cancer, and move on. That was it. And the sooner she got back to work, the better. "I'm great," she lied.
"You're not and that's okay. You can be afraid. Be angry. But stop shutting your friends out. Pete is exhausting himself just to get you to smile. That man most likely will not leave the hospital."
Myka had some theories about why that was, but she didn't want to think about it. "I didn't ask for anyone's help. I don't need it. I am a strong, independent federal agent."
"Who is suffering from cancer. You may be strong and independent, but it's okay to lean on someone right now. No one will think anything bad about you."
"You know what? I'm not listening to this. I'm tired and going to bed." Myka stood up, but Abigail wouldn't let her leave.
"You have to face the truth that you may never be able to have kids. You may go through menopause after this. Just talk."
Myka refused to break, though, and left to go find Pete. Luckily, he distracted her and kept her away from Abigail.
The day of the surgery, a terrified Myka finally broke. "I'm not sure I'm ready for this." She wanted to be cancer free, but this was the most terrifying event of her life.
Pete wiped the tears off her face. "I know you aren't – How could you be? – But you don't have to worry. Best or worst case scenario, you'll still have us." He hugged her.
Myka went in for surgery just a few hours later. Luckily, the cancer was only in one ovary and hadn't spread anywhere further. She wouldn't need any chemotherapy, but would still need to visit her doctor to get tested. Her chances of conceiving had been lowered, but at least she wouldn't have to face the worst case scenario – She would survive this.
When she woke up in the recovery room, Pete was holding her hand. "Hey you."
She yawned. "Hi. Am I okay?"
He beamed at her. "You're going to be just fine, Mykes. They caught it in time."
Myka nearly cried in relief, but she fell asleep before she could. She was discharged from the hospital a day later and Pete appointed himself (well, he already had the "job" but it became official) her caretaker.
Recovery was going to take a while, something which she normally would have complained about. However, she was too relieved (even in pain) to even think about getting mad. Pete was getting on her nerves, though.
When Myka woke up crying in pain because she refused to take painkillers (a stupid decision on her part), Pete was right there by her side. "I'm right here, Baby," he assured her. "Why don't I get you a glass of water and a pill? You need to sleep."
She shook her head. "I don't want it. I'm strong."
"Yeah, I know you are. You're very resilient, but you just had major surgery. You don't have to be."
"Will you just lay here with me, please?" Myka didn't want to think about why she requested it (or why he accepted), but it made her feel warm.
Pete pulled her into his arms after making her take something for the pain. "It's okay to let it all out, Mykes. No one will judge you for it. Remember when I broke down and confessed my rock bottom to you?"
She nodded. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Break. That's it."
And fall apart she did. Weeks of terror and anger came pouring out. Pete held her and rocked her back and forth as she cried.
Something shifted between them that night although it had been building up for a long time. A week after Myka's surgery, Pete made the first move. He was helping her into bed, pulling Myka into his arms again (it comforted her for some reason) and then just kissed her.
She pulled back (wishing she hadn't done so immediately), surprised. "What was that?"
Pete sighed. "I love you."
Myka grinned at him. "I love you, too, Pete."
"No, you don't understand. I love you."
Her mouth dropped open even though she should have been expecting it after that kiss. "Oh."
"Yeah. Did I just misread the situation and make it extremely awkward for us now?" He hoped he hadn't ruined their friendship.
She shook her head. Even through all of her jumbled feelings, something had changed for her. "Well, then, I love you too."
He beamed at her before kissing her again. "I'm so happy to hear that."
Helena stopped by for a visit the next day to check on Myka and was happy for her and Pete. She was glad they could find happiness in the midst of this. She went back to her boyfriend a few days later, after convincing Myka to finally speak to Abigail. Pete thanked her profusely for that one.
Myka's cancer had changed the relationship for good between her and Pete. It had been an unintended consequence, but one they both liked. And Myka's cancer never returned.
