Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author Notes: Set after episode 4x10 'We All Fall Down', spoilers for major canonical character death.
THE HONEY OF MEMORIES
The B&B was too quiet. Mrs Frederic looked around with the barest hint of a sigh. The Warehouse agents still called it home and so still filled it with their friendship and problems and no doubt incredibly messy auras. But they also knew, as Mrs Frederic did, that something was missing and that that something would not be easily replaced. Truth be told, it was strange to be there and not feel Leena's soft but steady presence. She had been an integral part of Warehouse 13's team, and it would take time to adjust to her absence, time that they were always so remarkably short of.
Mrs Frederic took a firm step into the B&B, truly present now, and glanced thoroughly around the lounge area. There was one of Myka's books and a tangle of cables and diodes that spoke of another Claudia project. All of Warehouse 13's agents had left their mark here somewhere. Leena's hadn't been wiped away, the kitchen was full of her recipes and there was half a homemade pie in the fridge that nobody had touched yet, not to mention a couple of bags of treats on ice in the freezer. Even Pete and Arthur had left the food exactly where it was.
There was the stirring of a breeze through the property and Mrs Frederic's hand fell to the beautifully-cut opaque gems of her bracelet. That accounted for the 'hinky feeling' that both Claudia and Steve had noticed in the B&B. Mrs Frederick took several more purposeful steps forward, stopping smartly in the center of the room.
She remembered the Leena that had first arrived at the Warehouse, brimming with ability and an equally strong enthusiasm to use it well. She'd claimed that no one had ever thought her talents were useful before and that she hadn't wanted to talk about her family. She hadn't needed to of course – the Regents did very thorough background checks and everything that needed to be known was uncovered. All that had mattered was that Leena had been uncommonly talented. MacPherson taking such devastating control of her had been a variable that nobody had foreseen, to the Warehouse's detriment. The Regents knew better now. Sometimes the only way to learn was through disaster.
There had been too many disasters, and yet the Warehouses continued to survive.
Mrs. Frederic hadn't always gone to the B&B for business purposes; she'd sometimes been there for a slice of coffee cake thickly studded with walnuts or for the bite of bitter-lemon in a glass. Leena had always ensured that the glass contained the exactly amount of sugar and ice that Mrs. Frederic preferred. Leena's abilities hadn't been restricted to just divining where the artifacts should be safely placed within the Warehouse; she'd also possessed the ever-welcome gift of hospitality. Many issues could be solved with the aid of the correct cup of tea; Leena had known that and had always acted accordingly. Mrs. Frederic, and by extension the Regents, had been grateful for Leena's gift on more than one occasion.
This time, Mrs Frederic's sigh was more audible. Her bracelet clinked gently around her wrist. Pete had mentioned how Leena's spirit had seemed to help him in the aftermath of Arthur's rampage. Highly likely, but most ghosts eventually caused further heartache and great depths of trouble, especially in the Warehouse and its satellite properties, and Abigail needed to make this particular place her own. Leena's fingerprints would always remain, but...
"Yes," Mrs. Frederic spoke aloud at last. "It's time to go."
There was that stirring breeze again and Mrs Frederic felt a breath by her right ear. She didn't look, but her mouth softened a little as she nodded. The breeze skirted through her fingers before quietening down again, almost as if it'd never been there at all. When Mrs. Frederic did turn, it was possible that she caught sight of a scattering of brown curls and that she smelled a hint of Arthur's favorite cookies.
Her mouth curled up again and she adjusted her bracelet. Warehouse 13 wasn't the only place full of ghosts and she remembered them all. Just as Claudia would, one day.
Mrs Frederic headed towards the kitchen. There was time for a bitter-lemon before she left.
-the end
