So here's chapter 2. I never imagined that my story would get the response that it has. Thank you all for reading and following. I've tried to take your reviews into consideration. Hopefully I wil not disappoint you.


Chapter 2: Bellowing and confessions

"How could this happen?" Artie grumbled. They had escaped the dessert and was on the highway to the B&B.

The gnawing feeling in Pete's stomach grew into an ache. He happened. His stupidity. His wish to heal Myka.

"Pete, how did he free himself?" Mrs Frederick asked.

Pete took a few deep breaths, trying to regain control over his voice. "He didn't free himself. I did."

"WHAT?!" Artie shouted, he was so close to Pete that the exclamation actually hurt.

"It wasn't on purpose."

"What in earth's name could possibly make you free him? He is the biggest threat this Warehouse has ever seen, perhaps the biggest in Warehouse history! And you freed him?" Artie shook with rage as he bellowed. Mrs Frederick ended the phone call and turned to gaze patiently at the rest of them.

"I did it for Myka." Pete whispered.

"How could this in any way heal Myka's cancer?"

Steve stifled a sob as Artie spoke. He had been crying silently since they entered the car. Everything had happened too fast from them to really process the news of Myka's cancer. Losing the Warehouse and hearing of Myka's illness had left Artie dumbfounded. He couldn't think straight and right now all he managed to do was direct his anger towards Pete.

"He told me he could heal her. He had me get some artefacts, and then he started talking all sciency and I don't know." Pete couldn't look at Artie or Mrs Frederick; he was too ashamed. "I figured that if I turned him mortal again and released him, he could do all the science stuff and Myka would be healthy again."

"How could you believe him? Did you think that he would just help Myka out of the goodness of his heart?"

"No! No, in return he wanted me to convince the regents to use the Janus coin on him like they did with H.G." Pete clenched his fists.

"How bad is it? The cancer?" Steve asked in a shaky voice.

"I don't know. Myka was too vague, but my vibes are really strong and really bad… and Paracelsus said that he could see that she was dying, that he could see it in her eyes or something."

"We could have found a cure!" Artie shouted.

"How? Paracelsus has healed people before! He knows what to do, he knows exactly what artefacts to use… it could've taken us years to figure out the same!"

"So you released the most dangerous man on the planet! Fantastic! And now Claudia is in danger and Myka is still sick, I hope you are-"

"Arthur! Enough." Mrs Frederick cut him off. "I am sure Agent Lattimer is fully aware of his mistake. Now if we could please focus on the situation at hand." Artie huffed and puffed, but at least he stopped yelling. Mrs Frederick continued: "We must assess what resources we have available at the Bed & Breakfast. The regents will give us whatever help they can. We need to focus on finding a way to stop Paracelsus fast. Agent Wells is perfectly capable of taking care of Myka. When we defeat Paracelsus we will find a way to heal Myka, I promise. But right now we have to focus."

They continued the drive in silence. Pete cursed himself over and over. How could he have been so stupid? Why did he listen to that bastard? And since Paracelsus lied about his wish to help Myka, could he be believed when he said that Myka was dying?


Helena looked from Myka's face to the clock on the wall. She should wake up any minute now. The nurse had left a cup of water and a small sponge, as well as the orders that the patient was not allowed to drink directly from the cup, she could moist her lips and drip a few small drops into her mouth. The word 'patient' made Helena cringe, along with a thousand other things that made her cringe.

The minutes passed slowly, every second felt like torture. Helena couldn't wait until Myka woke up so that she could talk to her, and tell her how she been such an idiot. But at the same time the knowledge that she would have to be the one to tell Myka about what they had discovered during her procedure weighed her down and left her stomach feeling like a black, empty void. She waited and waited, using her thumb to stroke the beautiful agent's hand. As if the slow movements could coax Myka out from her slumber. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket and disturbed her silent coaxing. Helena manoeuvred it out, and read the text. It was from Pete:

Take care of her.

I will. Helena replied.

Her phone vibrated again: Has she woken up yet?

No. Not yet. She should wake any time now. I will update you later.

OK. Thank you, for everything. And Helena… I trust you. The three word stared back at her. Tears started to form in her eyes. She placed the cell phone in her lap to wipe them as they started to run down her chin. Those three words eased some of the pain she felt in her heart. She never thought that those words would be uttered, or written, by Agent Peter Lattimer. But there, on the screen in front of her, the words shone out. I trust you. He trusted her with Myka's life and wellbeing, and she'd be damned if she let him down now.

Her gaze fixed in on Myka's sleeping form. What she would not give to trade places with her. Myka… Myka mattered to people. She was an important part of the Warehouse. Myka was… Myka was everything. To a lot of people, including herself. Helena leaned forward and kissed the other woman's ear.

"What I would not do for you." She whispered her confession. "I am sorry it took me so long to realize it."

Helena was deep in thought, or rather planning an apology speech, when Myka began to stir. Jumping up from the chair and then gathering herself enough to carefully sit down on the side of the bed, she used her free hand to caress Myka's face.

"Wake up, love." Helena coaxed. Hoping, praying that her voice would help the agent find the strength to wake. Finally Myka opened her eyes; the breath taking green eyes that had haunted Helena for so many years. It took her some time to recognize the woman sitting on her bed. Helena feared that she would rage, that Myka would unleash her anger and disappointment. Right now she didn't know if she could take that.

"Helena." Myka smiled groggily, obviously still drugged from the narcotics. "You're here."

Helena kissed Myka's hand and fought back tears of joy, tears of relief and tears of sadness. "Of course I am here."

"Where's Nate and Adelaide?" Myka looked around the room in confusion.

Helena caressed her chin again. The fact that Myka thought of Helena's normal family, her flailing attempt of happiness, before her own health and safety both warmed and broke her heart. "Shh… this is not the time to think about that. You need to rest, love. Do you need anything?"

"Can I have some water..?" Myka looked so innocent, so pure, as if asking for water was like asking Helena to do her a grand favour.

Helena nodded. "You can't drink it, I'm afraid. I can moist your lips, and drip a few drops into your mouth." She removed her hand from Myka's chin and used it to wet the small sponge. Myka groaned as the cold water hit her chapped lips. She closed her eyes as Helena wet the sponge again and let a few drops drip into her mouth, she was rather impressed with her own accuracy. "Better?" she whispered.

The lovely agent Bering looked at her and nodded slowly. "Helena?"

"Yes, love?"

"Will you stay here?" Myka looked to be at the verge of tears as she bit her lower lip.

Helena, who had just stopped crying moments ago, felt warm tears stream down her face again.

"Yes, darling." The brit answered and leaned forward to kiss Myka's forehead. "I will stay as long as you desire, forever if need be."

Myka smile and scoffed, that tiny scoff that was reserved for Helena when she had been extra cheesy or embarrassingly flirty. Was it going to be this simple? Was all forgiven and forgotten? Helena didn't want to think about that now. She wanted to enjoy this moment with Myka. They sat there together in complete and comfortable silence. Helena absentmindedly continued to draw circles with her thumb on the back of Myka's hand. As the minutes flew by Helena noticed the agent's growing discomfort. Her face contorted into a painful grimace and the grip she had on Helena's hand grew tighter.

"Are you in pain..?" Helena asked. She didn't realize how fragile her voice sounded before she had already spoken. Why didn't she pay closer attention? It was bad enough for Myka to lie there, chained to a bed, but what would she do if she thought that Helena wasn't strong enough for the both of them? Speaking quickly to change Myka's attention from the fragile momentums of her voice Helena added in a much more calculated and steady tone: "Do you want me to call the nurse?"

Myka only nodded. It seemed the narcotics was wearing off; Myka's face contracted in pain. Helena stood up, without letting go of Myka's hand, and pressed the call button. She pressed it two times for good measure. The wait felt like ages. Myka's distress seemed to grow by the minute.

"Squeeze my hand, love. Whenever you are in pain just squeeze as hard as you can." Helena murmured, unable to conceal the worry in her voice.

Even through gritted teeth, Myka managed to throw of a small laugh. "I'm going to break it."

Helena arched an eyebrow at the Agent. "You can try."

Despite her pain Myka gazed at Helena. The only time she didn't was when the pain grew too much to bear and she squeezed her eyes shut in pain. Helena placed her free hand back on Myka's cheek, hoping it would do something to dull pain. The nurse finally arrived and was greeted with a small scolding form Helena for being slow. Myka kept watching Helena between the fits of agony. The nurse had noticed Myka's absentmindedness, so she gave every message to Helena, who listened intently and nodded from time to time. Out of the corner of Helena eye she could see those beautiful green eyes, watching her. When Myka placed her other hand on their already intertwined finger Helena had to close her eyes for a second and take a deep breath.

The nurse told Helena that they only needed to wait a few minutes for the drug to take full effect, then she excused herself and told Helena that she would check-up on them in a few hours. Helena, who'd been staring intently at their intertwined fingers, finally directed her attention back to a very drugged Myka.

The agent was too tired to keep her eyes open. Her breathing started to even out. Just as Helena was convinced that she was asleep, Myka's eyes flung open.

"You'll be here tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, I told you I would."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Now go to sleep, beautiful girl." Helena planted one last kiss on Myka's head, before she settled back down in the chair. Myka nodded and relaxed again. Helena wondered if Myka would even remember any of this in the morning. What could she expect of tomorrow?

When Myka was fast asleep Helena sent an update to Pete. She has just fallen back asleep. I think you should visit her in the hospital in the morning. We need to talk.

She spent the next hours watching over the sleeping, beauty in front of her. And when her eyelids turned heavy as concrete she leaned forward and rested her head on the bedside, revelling in the faint scent of Myka that could be found underneath the sterile smell of hospitals.


Claudia ran as fast as she could. She damned herself for having such a fab style. Combat boots were definitely not good running shoes. Sure, sure, they worked fine with snag, bag and tag… but this? No, she definitely should have thought this through more. After Claudia had successfully stolen, and hidden, several artefact the concluded would be vital to Paracelsus' plans he had started to play dirty… ermh… dirtier

She was currently trying to outrun giant, scalding hot balls of flying goo. She had been resting behind some crates when the flying goo came crashing down around her, that was how she got burned, she wasn't quick enough. The hot-killer-goo wasn't especially dangerous; it was easy enough to evade since it moved slowly, but when it hit the ground hot-burning-goo splashed in all directions. Her body was covered in small burns from where the goo had hit her.

Claudia had worked out a tactic: run like a maniac. Using this elaborate technique she had managed to put a good distance between herself and the killer-goo. Keeping control over where she was proved to be a harder job. She could find her way around easily enough, but have you ever tried doing it while being chased by a mad caretaker and his killer-goo? Didn't think so.

She turned left, then right and left again and continued her escape through the Warehouse. "It should be here somewhere…" she muttered through her ragged breathing. She slowed down, loosing precious ground as she scanned the shelves around herself. Where was that fraking artefact? She slowed down even more, a chill went down her spine as the thought of perhaps she'd run past it entered her mind. Just as she was about to give up she saw it. Running over and skidding to a stop in front of the shelf she quickly scrolled her way through the list of artefact until she found the right one.

Native American Buck skin coat.

She skipped the side effects. She didn't have time anyway. Grabbing the coat and jumping out of the way just in time to evade some splatter from a killer-goo explosion she continued to run. And run.

Finally, after what her lungs deemed to be an eternity, she found a place where she'd be relatively safe for a little while. She decided to try to contact Artie. Perhaps her Farnsworth would still be working, since she had applied some… upgrades to it. And because Paracelsus probably didn't know what a Farnsworth was and how to block its signal.

The Farnsworth ringed once before Artie answered and his bushy eyebrows covered her little round screen.

"Claudia!" he shouted.

"Shh!" Claudia hissed. "I'm hiding right now. Be quiet."

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Claudia cocked her head and looked around herself. "Pretty good… all things considered. Mr Carefaker has started to throw scalding, hot killer-goo after me. Got whammied by some artefacts as well." She made a point of not showing the amount of whamming she had received; she was bleeding from several cuts and her arms were covered in burn marks.

"Is that Claudia?" someone shouted; Jinksy.

"Be quiet!" Artie hissed. Claudia stretched her neck to see if anything nasty was headed her way, it looked clear…

Jinksy tore the Farnsworth from Artie's hands: "This was a bad idea, Claud. Really bad idea!"

Claudia smiled. "Nah, it isn't so bad. I get to spend quality time with mah old girl here, and run for my life from the biggest threat the Warehouse has ever known. It really isn't all too bad."

Steve looked dead serious. "How are you going to stay hidden? How are you going to stay safe, Claudia? How will you eat?"

"Relax, mom." She said nonchalantly while she checked out where the source of a new mysterious sound originated from; using her hand to push herself further up she scanned her surroundings. There didn't seem to be any immediate threat around so she settled back down.

"How, Claudia?" Steve demanded.

"With this." Claudia showed them the Buckskin coat. Now it was Artie's turn to react:

"You're using artefacts?!"

"Relax, mom, dad! I'll be fine." Claudia put on her brave, nonchalant face. "Didn't you hear me? I got whammied, without getting whammied, it hurt but I didn't get whammied. Things that should have badly affected me hasn't. I think the Warehouse is protecting me from the negative side effects of the artefacts."

Artie's bushy eyebrows covered her screen again. "How can you be sure of that? They might just be out of balance from all the turmoil! You could kill yourself!" he grumbled.

"What else can I do? I can't keep running like this, man. I plan on collecting an arsenal of the coolest protective artefacts and weaponry this Warehouse have to offer. Then I'm taking the fight to Mr Carefaker! Besides what are you doing to help?"

"We are working on it." A pang of guilt flushed through her. Claudia didn't mean to put even more pressure on them.

Artie's voice boomed through the speaker: "And by the way! I am going to give you a proper scolding if we all get out of this alive."

Claudia frowned: "Why? I am being as close to a martyr as I can get without dying."

"I specifically told you NOT to link your computer to the Warehouse Mainframe. And you did it anyway."

Claudia's mind was racing. "Artie!" she hissed as she tried to stop him from grumbling and give her some attention. "ARTIE."

"What?"

"Don't you see? If you can get control over the Warehouse mainframe…"

"Then I could try gain control over shields and doors." Artie scratched his beard. "It might work."

Claudia nodded. "Try that. I'll contact you whenever I can. Give you all the information I can. Don't try to contact me, no matter what. You might blow my cover!"

Steve grabbed the Farnsworth again: "We are doing everything we can. From now on I will be more appreciative of you OCD-organizing skills. With the files on your computer we are a lot better off than we expected."

Claudia frowned: "How did you know my password?"

For the first time since the call started, Steve managed to produce a weak smile: "Please, you can't keep stuff like that from me."

Claudia was about to formulate a comeback as the sound, now a lot closer, startled her. "I got to go. Freddy Krueger is about to catch up with me." She joked, trying not to show her fear.

"Wait, Claudia. There is something we must tell you." He cleared his throat, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Guys? What's going on?"

"Claud, I really need you not to freak out. We just thing you should hear it from us instead of Paracelsus. That way he can't use it against you later." Steve rubbed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

Claudia grew impatient: "What is it?!" she hissed.

Steve looked into the camera again. "It's about Myka."