Myka felt happiness surge within her at the feeling of her hand being held snugly in Helena's as she drove along the empty road. Happiness only continued to surge within her as every few seconds, she couldn't help glancing at Helena beside her, feeling Helena squeeze her hand gently, letting her know, she was still there as the distance from the warehouse and the B&B grew larger as they drove along.
She still doesn't know what came over her, but when Myka awoke that morning, the sun filtering in her window, illuminating Helena's face as her eyes fluttered open, Myka found herself taking a deep breath and blurting, "We should go on a picnic today." Blushing at Helena's raised eyebrow and her unusual outburst, she quickly added, "I mean, it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day, maybe the last of autumn…but we don't have to…it's just a thought."
Helena had laughed lightly and moved to capture her lips. "A lovely idea," she agreed long enough to allow Myka a breath before they were kissing again.
Myka squeezed Helena's hand at the remembrance of their heated morning spent together. Helena smiled. "Where exactly are you taking me, darling?"
"You'll see," Myka returned the smile.
An hour later, Myka finally pulled her SUV onto an unpaved road overgrown with foliage and maple trees so large, their branches touched to create a bower. Myka maneuvered the SUV slowly, it shifting over each wayward rock or shrub.
"It appears we are taking the road not taken," Helena quipped.
"Yeah, and this is about as far as I dare go before the road narrows too much for driving," Myka spoke as she brought the vehicle to a stop and turned off the engine. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way," she said as she reached behind the seat for a blanket and the bag of food they prepared.
"It's quite lovely out here, isn't it?" Helena asked taking the blanket from Myka to carry before slipping her hand in Myka's.
"It is," Myka agreed as they began walking the deserted path, colorful leaves fluttering to the ground.
"I've always been fond of this time of year. The vibrant colors, the crispness in the air, cozy nights spent in front of the fireplace reading. It's all so lovely. And when I can spend such a beautiful day with an equally beautiful woman, that makes it even more enticing," she smirked.
Myka blushed under the compliment, still unused to being thought of as beautiful, especially by a woman who was absolutely stunning. She brushed a kiss in Helena's hair in answer as they continued on their walk in companionable silence, listening to the rustle of aspen leaves fluttering on their boughs and large maple leaves falling to the ground in a carpet of flame and gold. The sound of leaves crunching beneath their feet was the only sound in an otherwise silent trek through the woods.
Several minutes passed before Helena heard the sound of water rushing. They came to an expanse of maple trees, the ground covered with leaves as Myka led them to the water's edge of a small river.
Helena looked about her. The woods, the river, the crispness of the air, it was all so peaceful, leaving her feeling completely at ease. With Myka's fingers entwined with hers, she sighed with contentment.
"Ready for lunch?" Myka asked.
"Indeed," Helena assented as Myka led them back several feet from the river's edge to settle under a large Maple tree. Helena spread the blanket over an expanse of leaves that offered a soft, if uneven cushion as the women sat upon it. Myka pulled out a simple meal of sandwiches, fruit and hot apple cider kept warm in a thermos.
Helena took a sip of the warm liquid and looked about her surroundings. "It really is lovely here, Myka. It's so remote, however did you find it?" she asked and was surprised to see a blush creep into Myka's cheeks before she looked away at the question.
"Myka?" she persisted until green eyes finally met hers.
"I did a lot of driving while you were gone," Myka began to explain, grasping her neck and rubbing it distractedly. "Well, not a lot, some. I mean, most of the time I was too busy working to drive aimlessly, but sometimes…"
"When did you come here?" Helena asked.
Myka sighed. "The first time? Not long after I returned to the warehouse after Yellowstone," she admitted. "Pete was still acting weird around me, and I felt guilty, so any time off, rather than hang around the B&B, I'd go for a drive and just think."
"It took us over two hours to get here," Helena spoke gently.
"Yeah, okay, I drove a lot," Myka laughed self-deprecatingly. "I happened to see the road leading here, I knew it wasn't traveled much and it reminded me of that poem by Frost, 'The Road Not Taken.' I guess…metaphorically, you were my road not taken," Myka whispered.
Helena simply slipped her hand into Myka's in answer, feeling Myka grip her hand possessively.
"Anyway, I took the road and drove on it until I couldn't drive anymore, and since I still needed to think, I walked until I stumbled upon this river. That first time, I sat out here for hours, just listening to the sound of the river, the leaves rustling in the trees. It was peaceful."
"And you thought about me then?"
"I thought about you all the time," Myka smiled sadly. "I didn't have to come to this place to think of you, Helena, you were always on my mind."
Myka thought of the other occasions when she found herself driving away from the B&B and the warehouse, when being there was too difficult. She'd come to these woods again after working the case with Helena involving Joshua's horn, when Helena had been so close, and yet impossible to touch. Then when the team had managed to diffuse Sykes' bomb but she still didn't know Helena's fate and seemed unlikely to ever know, Myka had come again.
"But there were times when I felt compelled to just get in my SUV and drive. I always ended up here, thinking of you," Myka admitted. "The last time was just after Wisconsin," she shivered involuntarily.
Helena saw her shiver and moved beside her so their bodies touched. "I'm so sorry, darling. I thought I was being noble, protecting you from me, when really I only caused you more pain. I don't know how you've forgiven me."
"But I have, Helena," Myka spoke adamantly, grasping Helena's hands tighter in hers. "You know I have, we've spoken about this and now it's time to leave the past behind us and move forward."
Helena met Myka's clear green eyes, imploring her to let the past remain fixedly in the past, something they both knew Helena had long struggled with.
"For all the pain you may have caused, you've also brought me immense pleasure and I can't imagine my life without you; I don't want to imagine it. I love you, Helena," Myka spoke as she gently caressed Helena's cheek.
Circumstances were different this time, Helena knew. Myka loved her and was here beside her and would be beside her always, as long as Helena wanted her to be; and Helena did want Myka, desperately and unabashedly.
Helena felt Myka shiver against her again and smiled. "Cold, darling?"
Myka blinked at the question, then relaxed under Helena's soft smile. Whatever defense she thought she would have to argue was no longer needed and Myka laughed and pulled Helena closer to her as she sat back against the trunk of a maple tree.
"Maybe a little."
"Perhaps I can warm you up a bit," Helena spoke with a mischievous glint in her eye as she pushed the coat off Myka's shoulders and began to work at the buttons of her blouse.
"Helena, what are you…oh," Myka breathed as Helena began to kiss her way down the smooth column of her throat, further down to nip at a clavicle then back to suck at Myka's pulse point that was beginning to beat rapidly.
"I suppose…this is one way…to get warm," Myka managed to gasp between Helena's ministrations.
"Mmm. A pleasurable way, to be sure," Helena grinned against soft skin before Myka pulled her into a lingering kiss that left Helena in no doubt that Myka loved her, all of her, including the flaws.
Myka filtered her fingers through Helena's hair, loving how the silky strands slipped through her fingers like water. She brought a hand to cup Helena's cheek, intending to deepen their kiss, but instead pulled away startled when her fingertips brushed against wet skin.
Myka opened her eyes to be met with Helena's tear-filled eyes. "Helena," she breathed concerned, "what is it?"
"I find myself desperately wanting to create a new memory of this place for you, Myka, a better one than those before," she confessed.
"Helena," Myka spoke gently, still cupping her lover's cheek to look into deep brown eyes, "you already have…by being here with me now," she whispered, tears beginning to gather in her own eyes.
"I love you, Myka," Helena spoke reverently. "Allow me to show you just how much?" she smiled softly.
"Yes," Myka breathed and then Helena was gently guiding her down onto the blanket before her lips sought out Myka's skin once more.
The boughs of the tree above them bent and swayed as Helena's fingertips danced along Myka's skin. The leaves rustled and shimmered as Myka's lips and tongue traveled the length of Helena's body. Sunlight filtered through the trees and the water of the river babbled but Myka and Helena were only aware of the sights and sounds of each other.
Finally, as Myka arched her body and a gasp fell from Helena's lips did a gentle wind entwine through the trees, showering the lovers with fallen leaves. Myka opened her eyes wide, watching as leaves cascaded around them on the wind and laughed brightly as she pilfered a leaf from Helena's mussed hair, spinning it between long fingers.
"You look good with leaves in your hair," Myka remarked as she kissed Helena's cheek, "but then, you look good no matter what you wear…or don't wear," she amended with a soft smile.
"I feel the same about you, darling," Helena smirked as she reached to grasp her coat to cover them both, sighing in contentment as Myka curled into her side and pretending not to notice when Myka slipped the leaf inside the coat pocket, no doubt to press it between pages of a beloved book later. "My earlier observation about this place was correct, it is quite lovely here."
"Made even lovelier now," Myka sighed. "Winter has always been my favorite season, but after this afternoon, I think I may love autumn more," she smiled.
Helena returned the smile. "I'd imagine it's beautiful here in the winter too, darling. Snow covered trees, the river gurgling softly, the stillness only a snowfall can bring."
"That sounds like a hypothesis to me, one that must be tested to be proven," Myka smiled before dipping her head to offer a lingering kiss against Helena's throat.
"Then in the pursuit of science, we have no choice to but to come back here after a snowfall," Helena shuddered as Myka nipped at her ear, "to test that theory."
"It's a date," Myka declared and Helena's eyes softened at the promise.
"But for now, it's still autumn, the sun is still shining, and I'm beginning to feel…a slight chill," Helena grinned as she flung her coat from their bodies.
Myka laughed and shook her head, her curls brushing against Helena's cheek. She turned to brace herself over Helena. "Let me see what I can do to warm you up then," she smiled.