Time Frame: After 401 – 24 hour rewind. But before 402. I've kind of taken my own interpretation as to where HG is/was. And like with all my stories…no idea where this is going. The characters drive it.

It was still a few hours before the sun would peak over the horizon but Myka was awake and had been all night. Her mind had been on overdrive for days. And why wouldn't it be? H.G. Wells sacrificed herself to save them and Myka, this time, couldn't stepped between the Brit and her mission.

She'd never felt so vulnerable and exposed since that cold, hard gun barrel was pressed to her forehead. Helena could have easily pulled the trigger that day but she didn't and since they had formed a relationship that went beyond definition.

But when Myka saw Helena standing outside of the protective field, the time bomb quickly ticking to zero she realized what was happening and her heart shattered into a million pieces.

And in that moment her life didn't pass before her eyes like people always described. It wasn't her past that haunted her in those minutes…seconds. It was her future. The unknown.

In those final seconds everything went black. And when the field was broken and they observed the destroyed warehouse, the only thing Myka could think about was Helena. The sacrifice she made. The look on her face. The complete emptiness Myka felt was unlike anything she'd experienced before. Nothing seemed real anymore until Artie used Barbosa's pocket watch and they were able to go back and change the events of the prior 24 hours including the destruction of the warehouse and H.G. perishing in its wake.

Last time, the regents had whisked Helena away before she could find out why she wanted to end the world. But truth be told, Myka knew why. She wasn't a mother but she could feel the pain H.G. was in from losing her daughter. A pain that lasted over a century. It had to be pure torture having her body bronzed while her brain and memories continued to churn.

This time, despite Helena saving their lives, the Regents again sent Helena away before Myka had a chance to talk with her. She desperately needed that connection. So much had happened and Myka was having a truly tough time wrapping her head around it all. She needed a friend and Pete's playfulness wouldn't cut it this time. She needed someone who would understand what it was like to have your world ripped out from under you. Helena certainly understood that.

Just in the last 12 hours had Myka been absorbed with overflowing thoughts. She wondered what Helena must be feeling after the explosion. How alone she must have felt. She could only imagine suffering through such for over 100 years. So many times she wanted to reach out to Helena. To comfort her. To be a friend. But how could she bring any solace to the great H.G. Wells? She'd be nothing by a hypocrite if she tried to give advice to Helena when her own inner being was in such turmoil.

In those hours she'd determined that it would be best for her and her colleagues if she left. She'd tried escaping before but this time it was deeper. Now it was about her future. Things around the warehouse were starting to get to her and she didn't want to put the lives of her friends in jeopardy due to her ineptness or insecurities.

So with a canvas satchel over her shoulder and a black duffle gripped in hand, she silently left Leena's and the warehouse behind. It wasn't as heartbreaking as it was before. She didn't speed away with tears in her eyes. This time she was ready for a change and a new beginning. She'd traveled the world looking for artifacts but Myka wanted now to search out herself.

It wasn't the sunlight streaming through the windows that woke Pete up that morning. No, it was the dozens of little feather ends prickling the sides of his face through the case of the goose-down pillow Myka had bought him. He hated that pillow but he didn't want to hurt her feelings so he slept on it each night. And each morning he woke to the sharp needles sticking him in the head or face or neck.

He rubbed the side of his face with his bare hand. He desperately needed to shave but first breakfast. Pete couldn't do anything before nourishing his body. And really it wasn't about nourishment. He truly loved food. And it loved him.

Pete hurriedly brushed his teeth and pulled on a worn pair of blue jeans and a blue Captain America t-shirt from his closet. He practically danced out of his room to the smell of glorious bacon and pancakes. His stomach growled as he stepped down the hall to Myka's door.

He rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. "Hey, Mykes. Wake up. Breakfast is served!" He waited a moment for her to answer, grumble or throw a shoe at the door. But there was no response or noise. Maybe she was already downstairs, he thought. So he continued on his merry way to the dining room to dive into the hot meal.

Everyone, Leena, Claudia, and Artie, was seated around the table happily filling their plates and carrying on mindless conversation.

Without a word of greeting, Pete started piling the crispy bacon goodness on his plate with a stack of fluffy pancakes and drowning both in warm maple syrup.

"Good morning to you too, Mr. Sunshine." Claudia deadpanned his way.

Pete muttered a good morning through chews of bacon.

"Is Myka joining us this morning?" Leena asked.

No one had seen or heard from her that morning and after a losing game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with Claudia, Pete trudged back upstairs to Myka's room.

He knocked again this time louder. "Myka! Are you okay? Everyone wants to know if you're coming down to breakfast." He knocked again and waited but no response. "I'm coming in. I hope you're decent. We wouldn't want any awkward nakedness before pancakes." Pete snickered.

He pushed the door open and walked into the empty room. He noted the bed that hadn't been slept in. "Myka?" But she was nowhere to be found. Finally he saw the piece of paper on top of the desk.

Dear Pete,

I write this to you because 1) I know you're probably the one who drew the short straw to look for me and 2) you're my best friend. And as you know those are hard to come by for me.

Now he was truly perplexed. Myka had never gotten sappy with him before. Well not for more than a few minutes. But he usually made a stupid joke and moved on.

I don't know how else to say it but I had to leave.

Again?, he thought.

Yes, again. But this time I have to find out who I am. Who Myka Bering is. I've been living an adventure that almost seems to be make-believe. Now I need to see what I'm really worth…without you holding my hand. If I don't see you again know that you're the best man I've ever known.

Thank you, Pete, for being my friend and my protector even though you know I can kick your butt. :)

"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly" -MacBeth

XO, Myka.

A strained smiled pulled across his mouth as the knot in his stomach grew large and heavy. He sat down on the edge of the bed and just held the note in his hands. In his heart, he knew this time it was different. Myka had always been the serious, by-the-book one and he often wondered when she would let her hair down. But he never thought she'd leave again.

After a few minutes he stood, crumbled the note in his hand and shoved it in his front jeans pocket. Looking around the room again he noticed her stack of books gone from the bedside table. It was then when the magnitude of the situation hit him.

She was gone. His Myka was gone. Again.

The conversation downstairs was still going strong. Claudia and Artie, bickering about warehouse inventory, stopped midsentence when Pete appeared in the doorway. They could tell right away that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Artie asked as he stood from the table.

"Myka. She's gone." Pete blinked rapidly.

Claudia's mouth fell open.

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Artie asked another question.

Pete cleared his throat. "She left a note, Artie. She took off…again." He paused and lowered his voice. "And she's not coming back."

He didn't wait for a response or any more questions. The pain was burning his chest from the inside out. Pete grabbed his coat from the hook by the door and got out of the B&B as quickly as he could. The air was starting to suffocate him.

Change was not always a good thing for Pete. Upsetting the balance of things easily caused his life to teeter totter. The past few days wrecked havoc on him and now this.

He heard them calling after him as he sprinted to his car. His destination was unclear. At the end of the driveway he slammed on the brakes. Right into town. Left to the warehouse to bury himself in work and let Myka go.

Knuckles white-gripped to the steering wheel, he considered both routes. What he needed to do and what he had to do. His relationship with Myka was unlike any other he'd ever had and it wasn't something he wanted to lose…again. She'd come back on her own the last time. But could he be so lucky now?

Pete took a deep breath and turned the wheel to the right. He sped through town hoping Office Peevy wasn't at his usual post behind the billboard to give him another speeding ticket. Fortunately for Pete, Peevy must have been at the Univille Diner having his eggs and burnt toast breakfast because he made it through town with no problems.

Normally when he was on the road to Rapid City Regional Airport, he was on a mission to find a dangerous artifact. But this mission was the most dangerous he'd ever been on.

The first and only place he knew to look for Myka was in Colorado Springs. If she was looking for herself she'd have to start at the beginning. Right? He hoped he was right. He may not be able to convince her to return but at least, if he finds her, he can be sure she's alright.

The pain that formed in the pit of his stomach that morning was still there with no sighs of it going away. The hour and a half flight from Rapid City to Denver wasn't nearly full but Pete didn't pay any attention to the other passengers. Normally he would people watch and make up stories for them all. Not this time. He just wanted to get to Denver and drive the short distance to Colorado Springs and find his friend.

He didn't call before showing up to "Bering & Sons". He didn't think that far ahead. If Myka was going to run away she'd come here first…she did before.

Pulling open the front door he heard the familiar bell jingle above his head to alert Jeannie and Warren of entering guests. Myka's mom greeted him at the counter with a warm, familiar smile.

"She's not here, Pete." Jeannie knew why he was there. There would be only one reason. When his broad shoulders slumped and he hung his head she continued. "She was here but she left not too long ago. She picked up a few books," She pointed towards Myka's upstairs nook. "And then she left. She didn't say to where. I'm sorry."

Pete nodded his head slowly in appreciation for the information. As he turned to head back out the door it hit him. He spun around on his heels. "Can I?" He looked up to where she had just pointed.

"Of course."

He took the stairs two at a time as he pulled the rumpled paper from his pocket. He read the quote at the bottom of Myka's note again. MacBeth. It took only a few seconds for him to scan the stack of books by the chair he knew Myka loved to read in.

Not knowing if his hunch would pay off but he had to try. Pete would try anything to find Myka.

Flipping to the passage that she quoted, he smiled when a slip of paper appeared between the worn pages. Oh Mykes!

Before he could read what was on the paper, his Farnsworth went off in his coat pocket. He opened the device to see Claudia staring back at him.

You gotta get back, Pete. Some serious stuff is going down here with Artie. I can't do this on my own. Well I mean I probably could but I don't want to take all the credit.

Pete laughed and shook his head. "But Myka…"

Myka's a big girl, Pete. If she wants to come back she will. She did before. Maybe she just needs to reboot her system.

"Maybe. I'll be back as soon as I can." He closed the communication device before she could respond. He knew he had to get back to the warehouse. But he needed to know if Myka was okay.

He pulled his personal cell phone from his back pocket, dialed a number from memory and waited for an answer. While waiting, Pete finally read the slip of paper he pulled from the Shakespeare book but he was completely lost. It made no sense to him whatsoever. And this quote didn't have anything to help him.

"I need your help." He declared to the person who finally answered. "Meet me at Leena's in the morning." He listened intently. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important!" He snapped before thinking.