Author's note: It's just something that came to me after watching last episode (and reading some conspiracy theories about Myka's illness on tumblr). I'm sure about one thing – you'll be cursing me after reading this.

I own nothing but my mistakes. I'll appreciate any suggestions and reflection.

She's done running away from her truth, and her truth is here, with these people – her warehouse family. Then why is it still difficult to walk through that door? Helena thinks, stopping a few meters from the entrance to Leena's B&B. She takes a deep breath, trying to slow down the rhythm of her heart. Then, she takes a steady step, and opens the door. She enters the house quietly; despite the nervousness, she knows she's doing the right thing.

Ever since seeing Myka again in Wisconsin, Helena couldn't stop thinking about her friend's words. The words that filled her mind - not like sneaky poison, but like blissful awareness. And though she knew very soon that her place, her heart were here – with the Warehouse, with its agents, with Myka – and she would eventually come back at some point; she needed time to summon what was left of the courage and self-confidence she possessed once upon a time, so she could face any greeting she would get.

It took her several months to show up here. And it seems she picked the wrong time, because it appears nobody's home.

"Hello?" casts Helena again, in slightly raised voice.

"Oh, hi, hello. How can I help you?" A stranger greets her, exiting the kitchen.

She's a beautiful woman, very elegant in her black blouse and well fitted dark trousers. Her warm smile is inviting, though Helena can't help but feel out of place. It's nothing she was expecting.

"I'm, uh…" looking for any other resident of this building? "I'm Helena Wells." She decides for introducing herself first, then asking about people she came to see.

"H.G. Wells" says the Asian woman, her voice holding just right amount of excitement. She smiles more broadly, extending her hand, but Helena is certain she saw worry in her eyes. "Abigail Cho, I'm the new owner of the B&B. I heard about your… true identity, but I must admit I didn't expect to have the chance to meet you in person."

Helena shakes her hand, wondering what exactly Ms. Cho might have heard about her, that caused this particular reaction.

"The pleasure is mine. Ms. Cho…"

"Abigail, I insist."

"Abigail," Helena reminds herself to smile, "I've been away for some time, and yes, I believe the team might be unsure about my return, but," she sighs, "I'm here. I'm back. Where is everybody?"

The Asian woman seems to consider something for a moment, never breaking eye contact. Helena feels exposed; she believes the other woman is not reflecting on her question.

Abigail's voice is gentle, when she speaks again, "I think I should warn you…"

Helena starts to feel worried at once, and the feeling only increases when the front door opens and three people, noticing her, come to a stop. The heavy silence hangs in the air for an endless second. Where is Myka? And Artie?

"Hello," says Helena in weak voice. She doesn't get vibes, like Pete, but what she is experiencing now can only be described as a very bad vibe.

"No." Pete shakes his head slowly. His voice is cold. "You don't get to casually show up here, like everything's fine."

"Pete," The handsome blonde man, Steve, says carefully. He stands, uncertain what to do with himself, between Pete, who glares at her, and Claudia, who looks anywhere but at her.

Helena notices, in one frightening moment, that all of them wear plain black clothes.

"Where is Myka?" she hears herself saying, not quite able to acknowledge just yet, what it might mean.

"She's gone," answers Pete emptily.

The woman's hand reaches to her locket, and tightens around it. She glances at Claudia, who now has her eyes closed. Helena's knees go weak, and she leans back against the wall. She barely registers next words spoken.

"Pete," Steve tries once more, "you should exp…"

"No! She doesn't deserve an explanation, Steve."

Pete passes them and goes upstairs. Helena breaths in and out, and blinks several times, feeling the incoming tears.

"Helena," Abigail tries to catch her attention; she says loud and clear, "Myka is not dead."

She looks at the woman, understanding nothing. "What are you…? Pete just…"

"No," Claudia speaks for the first time, "she is not."

"What do you…? What does that mean?" Helena almost whines, but she couldn't care less about that right now. "Where is…?" her voice fades out, when she looks Claudia in the eye, and understands. Artie. "What happened?" she asks quietly.

Claudia walks up to the living room and sits down at the table. The three of them follow suit. Helena still worries about Myka, but she needs to know about Artie first. She waits. It's Steve, who comes to her aid.

"It all started a few months ago, when the Sweating Sickness was released… or maybe even before that, I don't know exactly." He looks at her softly before continuing, "Myka got ill."

Helena stirs in her seat, but doesn't interrupt.

"We didn't see it at first; we were dealing with Leena's death, Artie's astrolabe-problem, the Sickness…" he sighs. "Then everything started to settle, just a bit, and everyone was getting better – except for Myka."

She can't wait anymore. "When I saw her, four months ago, she seemed…" Not 'fine', nothing about that meeting was fine. "healthy. Tired, but…" her voice trails off. Helena feels guilty about missing any sign of Myka's illness.

Abigail turns to her. "She didn't take well that trip to Wisconsin."

"She was a mess," Claudia chimes in, meeting Helena's gaze. The elder woman looks away, taking a deep breath. "And we thought, 'Of course she's in a bad shape, she's been through a lot lately, and now H.G. had to add fuel to the flames. She'll get over it soon', we thought, 'and we'll forget about it.' But she only got worse."

"Day after day, she was weaker," Steve speaks up again, "and it became clear that she was really, physically sick." Helena unwittingly grips her locket once more. "Dr. Calder couldn't help her, neither could others. We looked for any artifact that could cause this, or any that could heal her, but she didn't want us to use anything and have to deal with a downside."

"She gave up," Helena's words are something between a statement and a question. She shakes her head unbelievingly, Not Myka. She is a fighter.

"She was making goodbyes," Claudia's voice breaks. Abigail puts a hand on her shoulder. The girl continues a moment later, "But one day she woke up, no longer sick. She looked better, not so pale and lifeless. A miracle, I thought," she adds bitterly.

"It was Artie," explains Steve. "He used Mary Mallon's Butcher Knife to transfer the disease from Myka to himself. He did this at night and hid the artifact afterwards, so we could not find it. We still haven't."

Helena gasps. "He sacrificed his life for Myka?"

"He said no one else would die at his watch."

Abigail's words are followed by silence.

Tears come to Helena's eyes and she sees the same goes for Claudia, who sits in her seat, pitched. Steve looks stock-still at one point on the table, and Abigail meets Helena's eyes, nodding slightly.

"He passed away two weeks ago," she answers unasked question.

Helena wraps her arms around herself. "I'm very sorry," she whispers. Her thoughts drift to every moment she shared with Artie, and even though more of them were unpleasant, even though she used to strongly dislike this man for a long time, now she's just truly sad. She's also unspeakably grateful to him for to his act toward Myka. Myka.

There will probably be a second part, because – I know, right!? – where the hell is Myka?