Myka was feeling a bit melancholy. The fact that Artie had basically said to her that one of her favourite childhood stories toys' affected people negatively had been a bit of a low blow. It just goes to prove that almost anything could be an artifact.

She suddenly realized that she had forgotten to tell Pete what the two artifacts do. She turned around, opening her mouth ready to talk, but he beat her to it.

"Do you reckon I would look good in a purple suit?" he asked, examining his arms.

"What?" she asked back, confused.

"You heard me. Do you reckon I would look good in a purple suit?" he repeated.

She just rolled her eyes and watched him flex his arms.

"Anyway, I just realized I forgot to tell you what the artifacts do," said she.

Pete looked up, suddenly interested. "Yes?"

"Artie told me that they put a person into a kind of hallucination. Makes them see things that aren't there," she explained.

"Well, let's just snag, bag and tag them before they start making other people go coo-coo."

She nodded and walked straight into Leena's, calling out the girls name as she did. Pete soon followed, nearly tripping over the bottom doorframe.

Leena came down the stairs, greeting the two with a wave. Myka waved back, only to quickly walk up the stairs and straight to her room.

She was aware of Pete's eyes following her as she went further and further away, although he didn't follow her, which she thought he might. He was a bit stubborn like that. But this time, he stayed back. Which Myka was fine with. She just needed a little private time.

When she got to her room, she shut the door quietly and pressed her back against it, letting out a huge sigh. She listened out for any footsteps that might be coming her way, but she only got silence. Pete was probably downstairs, eating as many cookies as he could cram into his mouth at once.

Dragging her feet along the ground, she made her way towards her bed. She always kept her suitcase underneath, for quick trips away, which they went on a lot.

Immediately, she grabbed her stuffed toy. No matter how much Pete would tease her about it, she was always going to keep it. She held it for a moment, brushing the material gently between her fingertips. A feeling of nostalgia washed over her, filling her with a warm, familiar feeling of comfort. A small smile crept along her lips. Then she gently placed it into the corner of her suitcase, wedging it into place.

Her mouth set in a hard line, she began to pack, subconsciously folding all the clothes the same way her mother taught her. She was on her third shirt when there was a gentle knock on her door, and she turned around.

"Come in," she said loudly. The door opened, and her partner peaked his head around the corner.

"Just wanted to see how you're doing," he said.

"I'm fine, Pete," she said quickly.

"You don't seem like it." After a pause, he added, "you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Of course."

"Myka."

She froze at his tone. It was too serious. Much too serious to be like how Pete was normally. Turning around, she noticed that he had moved next to her bedside table. He ran his fingertips along the top, and she watched the little patterns that he made; a circle, then a line, then another circle.

"Something's wrong. You're usually all ready for an artefact hunt. Now, you're just…"

Myka narrowed her eyes at him, and he looked down innocently.

"Just what?" she asked.

"I don't know…sad," he finally admitted. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

She crossed her arms and he looked up at her again with the puppy eyes she hated seeing. It always got her.

"I just…it feels strange. Having something that you grew up with part of this," she admitted, "and it's hurting people. Innocent people."

Pete pressed his lips together and nodded. A second passed. Two seconds. A third.

"I'll…leave you to finish packing. I have to start, anyway," he finally said, and he slipped quietly out of the room, letting the door shut with a soft click. Myka sighed heavily. She could tell he wasn't satisfied completely.

Ever since she had started working with him, they had been able to tell certain things about each other. From the way they talked, to the way they carried themselves. Myka could always tell when Pete got one of his 'vibes' now. She still couldn't quite tell the difference between a good or a bad one.

And, as he just demonstrated, he could tell when she's also off. When she's not focusing, or when she's not feeling the best. They had a special connection like that.

Another knock on her door broke through her cloud of thought, and she turned around, thinking Pete was coming in again, but a different face popped up.

"Hey," Agent Steve Jinks greeted, pushing the door open fully and inviting himself in.

"Hey," Myka returned, stuffing a pair of pants into her luggage.

"Not feeling the best, huh?" he said.

She gave him a questioning look. "Did Pete tell you?" she asked.

"Nah. Leena told me…something about your aura being a bit scattered. But Pete walked past, and I asked him about it. He told me it was nothing…but he lied."

She managed a half smile. One of the many handy (and annoying) things was his ability to tell when someone was lying. Of course, this did prove to be very useful in some cases, but personally, it got in the way.

"Oh, it's nothing," she sighed, not meeting his eyes.

"You're lying."

She knew she wasn't going to get away with that.

"I'm just a bit stressed out about this case, that's all," she tried again. That wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the complete truth. He looked at her for a while, then looked down.

"Pete cares about you, Myka," he said softly. She looked up, startled, and met his eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked, closing her suitcase.

"He doesn't want you to get hurt. He wants you to stay safe," he explained.

She paused. What was the point of him telling me that, she thought.

"Of course. We're a team. We stick out for each other, because that's what they do. It's…it's a partner thing," she said, walking towards the door. She gave another small smile to the agent, and he waved back. Steve listened to her walk down the corridor, wheeling the case behind her. Only then did he allow himself to smile.

"Right. Partner thing," he said, chuckling. And he walked out of the room.


Well, there's Chapter 2! Thanks to all of those who are following this story, it's rather nice to know that people like my writing. Anyway, sorry if it took a while, had to deal with some stuff, but hopefully I shall be uploading Chapter 3 some time next week! :)