Disclaimer: These characters and the show unfortunately do not belong to me. I'm just playing around with them.
"You know maybe it's not here. Maybe someone already got here before us." Agent Myka Bering whispered into Pete Lattimer's ear, her partner. Artie had sent them out on another ping to snag and bag a potentially dangerous artifact. According to the three victims, they had been attacked by a vicious hedgehog the size of a Hummer. Thus far, the two agents had not been able to find anything that connected the three victims, until they stumbled upon an old antique shop run by the second victim. The first victim, a one Carol Dixon, said she and her boyfriend had been shopping for some new furniture when they stopped at the antique shop and looked around. They left with nothing, and two days later Carol was in the hospital with four large claw marks across her chest, bruises on her eye and arms, and minor burns on her legs. The shop owner said that the third victim had come in the other day to apply for a job there, got turned down, and got attacked the next night. "So here we are," Myka thought," hunting down another dangerous artifact that could possibly kill one of us. For once, can we not have a single weekend without having to hunt down an artifact?"
"What are we looking for again?" Pete struggled to form complete words, with the four cookies shoved in his mouth. Myka looked at him incredulously. "What? I got hungry!" Pete defended, spouting out chocolate cookie crumbs at Myka. He looked down sheepishly. "Sorry." Pete mumbled.
"Yeah, sorry." Myka mocked, rolling her eyes at his childish behavior. She turned and began searching the shelves of the antique store with a small penlight. She abruptly turned around when she heard a sharp squeal, and saw Pete holding a fuzzy ball of something. A goofy grin split his face and he started laughing joyously.
"Oh! I had one of these when I was a kid! I stole it from some kid at school. I remember I used to sleep with it at night; I never let it out of my sight." Pete held up a haggard, stuffed animal squirrel that appeared to have been dropped out of an airplane. It was filthy and falling apart. Myka rolled her eyes again and turned around to keep searching. She got about five feet away when she heard a small gasp from behind her. She spun around to see Pete quickly drop the toy and kick it away. He pushed himself from some invisible force and ran deeper into the shop.
"Pete!" Myka yelled, forgetting to keep her voice down, seeing as they were breaking in. She quickly chased after him and forgot about the small toy he had kicked away, only concerning herself with her partners well-being. Four minutes later, after much chasing and yelling, Myka cornered Pete in the back of the store. His eyes were wild and fierce and Myka could clearly see fear. Pain was etched into his features and his eyes were squinted, hands wrapped protectively around his abdomen.
"Pete?" Myka asked cautiously, slowly approaching him. "Pete, are you alright? What's wrong? Tell me." Abruptly, Pete lashed out, striking Myka across the face. She recoiled and slammed the butt of her pistol she had quickly whipped out into his face. He crumpled and collapsed to his knees, bringing his hands up to his face. He was visibly shaking now and Myka could her him sobbing and babbling incoherently. She caught a few words like "accident", "hurt", "dead", "fluffy", and "blood", but everything else was inaudible. She had expertly trained her gun on him when he looked up, eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying, and asked Myka in a deep, inhuman voice, "Do you want play?" His eyes turned black and he lunged forward. Myka quickly side-stepped his attack and hit him in the back of his head with her gun. However, he barely registered her blunt attack. He, instead, swiveled on unsteady feet, eyes fixed with fear once more, and cried out, "No! Please, don't!" An invisible force gripped his shoulders and lifted Pete off the ground, throwing him into the wall against a mirror. Myka just stood transfixed in horror as she watched her best friend tossed back and forth like a rag-doll. Suddenly, something shimmered in front of her and she briefly saw a large, hairy, bear-like creature standing in front of Pete. She watched as it raised its massive paw, with four large claws on the end, and swung it down Pete's chest. He cried out and collapsed, blood spurting from his new wounds. Myka yelled and rushed forward, only to be held back by and invisible wall.
"Pete!" Myka yelled, pounding her fists against the invisible barrier that kept her from Pete. She watched as the bear-creature approached Pete, and captured Pete's limp form in its large jaws, crushing ribs and puncturing lungs with its sharp teeth.
"No! Pete!" Myka screamed, tears springing from her eyes as she watched the life slowly seep out of her partner, blood dripping from his wounds as the bear held him sideways in his mouth. Suddenly, fire erupted from the bear's mouth and he dropped Pete on the ground, quickly disintegrating into a fine black powder, and was swept away by a breeze from nowhere. The invisible barrier disappeared and Myka rushed forward, collapsing next to Pete's limp form.
"Pete! Wake up!" Myka sobbed, pulling him closer to her, trying to rouse him. His eyelids flickered open and he turned his head to face Myka. His eyes were glassy and he couldn't focus on anything but the pain he felt. It hurt so much!
"Ugh." He moaned, looking up to meet Myka's eyes. "Oh, it hurts, Myka! It really, really hurts!" Pete cried out, blood pooling in his mouth and splattering up onto his chin.
"I know. Everything will be okay. What did you touch Pete?" Myka asked soothingly, in a surprisingly calm voice. Inside, she was freaking out. She was having a full emotional breakdown. She and Pete's past life flashed before her eyes and she thought of everything she had ever said to him, and everything she might never get to tell him. There was one thing she had to be sure he knew. She just didn't know how to tell him. Pete looked down at his chest and saw all the blood and the gory mass of skin and blood that used to be his chest. "Oh man. I worked hard for that six-pack." Pete thought to himself. He smiled at the thought of Myka being impressed with him and looked back up to her. He smiled warmly at her, despite the blood pooling in his throat and in between his teeth, making for a really gruesome sight. He lifted his hand up to stroke her cheek, only to leave a long smear of his own blood on her face. He made to pull his hand away, but Myka grasped it fast and pulled it to her face. She held it to her cheek and smiled warmly back at him, tears threatening to spill again.
"Pete, everything will be okay. Just tell me what you touched." Myka repeated calmly. He looked away and appeared deep in thought. Suddenly, he grinned maniacally and started laughing like a mad man, which then turned into a throaty wheeze.
"The fuzzy toy." He hacked out, spilling blood from his mouth again. He fell back on his back and groaned. Myka's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. She quickly darted up from her position next to Pete and made for the front of the store. Before she could step away, a bloody hand shot out and grabbed her ankle. Myka looked down into pleading blue eyes.
"Please don't leave me." Pete begged, fear obvious in his eyes. He tried to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Myka.
"No. No. Stay down." Myka commanded. "I'll be right back okay. I promise I won't leave you" She looked into his eyes and saw doubt. Myka reached her hand up to cup his cheek. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I promise." She whispered into his ear. He believed her. So he let go of her ankle and watched her slowly walk away. He looked down and took in a wheezy breath. He thought about all the time that she had walked away and how each time he longed for her to be beside him again. He thrived in her company. He would do anything for her, to be with her. He thought about her and his last thought before he let the blackness consume him was, "I think I love her. No. I know I do." Then, he closed his eyes.
"Where are you? Where are you?" Myka mumbled under her breath as she searched the floor of the antique store for the fuzzy toy. She spotted it out of the corner of her eye and lunged for it. He fingers closed around it and she breathed a sigh of relief. Myka reached into her back pocket for a static bag. Only, she didn't have any left. "Crap!" Myka shouted, turning to go back to Pete and get one from him. That was when she saw it. A large shadow to her left was slowly approaching her. Myka knew what it was and sprinted towards the back of the store. She didn't even turn around to see if it was following her. She reached Pete lying on his back with his eyes closed.
"Pete! Quickly give me one of your static bags!"Myka yelled at him as she collapsed beside him. When he didn't stir, she quickly took his pulse. No beat. "Pete!" Myka screamed. She searched him for a static bag and found one in his back pocket. Just as the shadow reached her and Pete, she dropped the toy into the bag and ducked beneath it, as a shower of bright sparks exploded from the bag. The shadow disappeared and Myka breathed a sigh of relief. It was only when she realized that Pete didn't did she turn to look at him. She audibly gasped. His cuts where healing and his rips repairing themselves, but he wasn't breathing. "Pete!" Myka urgently breathed. She began CPR on him. After a minute of this, Pete's eyes fluttered open and he inhaled a shaky breath. He violently coughed and curled into himself as Myka soothed him.
"Myka." Pete whispered. She looked down at her partner. He was her living partner.
"You're ok." She whispered back, and she found great comfort in those words. She closed her eyes, and with a sigh, leaned against the wall behind her.
"Well. Another artifact snagged and bagged, right? Let's get back the B&B. I am so sore!" Pete exclaimed with such energy Myka thought he was in drugs. "But then, that's how he always acts right?" Myka thought to her self. He must be back to normal. She sighed contently again. He's okay. He's always okay. When he's not, she'll be there for him. Their lives may be a complete mess and totally chaotic, but she will always be there for and with him, no matter what. This, Agent Myka Bering, knows for sure.