A/N: KNOCK KNOCK.
I'll try to sum up this explanation as good as I can.
Claudia was 10 years old when they met Olivia, 11 when they moved to Geneva, 14 when they moved to Eureka, and 18 when Joshua and Olivia got married. So far, so good. Not unlike the previous chapter, this one includes a few looks backwards. (This time around, at the years in between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.) But at the time this is actually set, Claudia's 24 years old. I kept a lot of original storylines from the show, only shoving them a few years. Canonically, Claudia was about 18/19-19/20 during the first two seasons. Here, she was 22-23/24.
Steve's 5, Olivia's 8 and Joshua's 11 years older than Claudia. Claire, who'll likely become a topic later on, was born in the same year as Olivia. I set the birth years as 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1992. Meaning the first chapter/the wedding was in 2010 and this chapter plays in 2016.
Joshua and Claudia met Olivia in 2002, which would've been the year he got himself trapped in the interdimensional vortex in the canon storyline.
And for Eureka fans: They moved to Oregon in 2006, so in the same year as Sheriff Carter and Zoe.
There are things I pretty much erased from the story here. Within others, the thing with Claudia and Fargo (as frakking adorable as it was) didn't happen here. Why? Well, as I already mentioned Claudia moved to town around the same time Zoe did, and she's a year younger than Miss Carter too. Claude lived in Eureka from age 14 to 18 (and only a few months when she was 22). From my POV, it would make things kind of awkward.
I hope that's understandable, since I'm aware that I suck at explaining stuff. Usually, I only confuse people. But please, if you've got any questions, feel free to ask.
One last side note? This is the fourth weekend in a row I'm posting something here. Yay!
KTF CLM
Claudia walked into her room at Leena's B&B, letting the bag that was previously slung over her slender shoulder fall to the floor with a thud. She aimed directly for the bed, dropping face first onto the mattress.
She loved her job, she honestly did. But recently, it simply exhausted and confused her.
Once she had graduated from MIT more than two years ago, she'd gone back to Eureka to be with her family. College had been an experience, but Massachusetts altogether wasn't the same to her without Joshua by her side. She'd missed Olivia too, as well as her friends in Oregon and her much adored niece.
Claudia had been nineteen years old when her sister in law called to deliver the news, and eight months later she found herself visiting Eureka to meet the most beautiful little girl she'd ever seen. Cadence Emira Donovanwas merely a few days old back then, and she stole her aunt's heart the second she firstly looked at the young woman with those big blue eyes. Her skin was so incredibly soft, her hands and feet so artfully tiny, and altogether she looked so breathtaking but also terribly fragile. Claudia had held the infant in her arms, and she never wanted to give her back. She'd wanted to protect that innocent young soul from the rest of the world, too painfully aware of its dark sides.
But the redhead hadn't gotten much of a choice then. She hadn't been done with studying. So really, nobody was surprised when she had eventually returned and wanted to finally grow roots in Eureka.
One might call what happened merely a few months later a coincidence, irony, serendipity or fate.
Claudia never really cared about her degree an awful lot, but she had her fun teasing Zane because both, she and her brother, had successfully graduated from the same reputable college he had gotten his ass kicked out of. Of course, she knew that he could've easily done it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up there at age thirteen in the first place. And sure, he also knew that she wasn't serious about what she said. Just as well as she knew that he didn't mean it when he asked her where she had hit her head before she decided to start college that late. They knew and respected one another well enough, it was simply a fun game. The two of them tested each other's limits again and again, driving the town's sheriff and GD's head of security absolutely nuts. (As if it wasn't enough for Jo to be Zane's wife.) Pretty much everything in Eureka was connected and hackable, although it wasn't meant to be easy. With Zane and Claudia Donovan around, everyone in town desperately tried and failed to tenfold their firewalls and protect their technology of the next generation. They got through anything.
And when Claudia found out about the one system her cousin had been unable to break into, she quickly accepted that as the ultimate challenge. If she could do it, she could officially rub it under his nose that she had skills beyond what he could teach her when she was younger.
It took more time and effort than she was used to, but eventually she did it.
Claudia had hacked and found the address of the unknown: Warehouse 13. K39ZZZ on the North American Grid, her ticket to victory and one of the most intriguing things she'd ever heard of.
The young hacker had been beyond curious, proud and completely oblivious to the fact that there was someone else who simultaneously smiled at her own screen, where she'd watched the redhead's progress.
It was the night after Claudia had finally cracked the digital walls surrounding the mysterious Warehouse 13, and the redhead was in a glorious mood. She just returned from Global Dynamics, where she helped Zane with an experiment and just by the way informed him of her achievement. It was clear that his ego caught a scratch or two, which made the success so much sweeter, but mostly he was amazed and asked questions. She hadn't been willing to share a lot though, knowing that she could dangle that treat above his head now.
That, along with the thrill she naturally got when she explored something seemingly unexplained, her grand enthusiasm at work and a lunch break at Café Diem including her beloved niece, made her altogether cheerful.
The redhead approached the front door of her apartment with bouncing steps, habitually placing her hand on the door. It recognized her, and started the retina scan. Once it also accepted the pair of sparkling brown eyes as Claudia's, glowing letters and numbers showed up on the door. That was the keyboard, where she had to type in her password, which consisted of a series of numbers that would seem random to anyone else. Truthfully, though, it was a mixture of little geeky references and parts of important dates, for example including the day her parents died, the month she came to Eureka and the year her niece was born.
The door swung open, and Claudia walked through the doorway with a beaming smile on her lips. She dropped the messenger bag slung over her shoulder on the floor against the wall, and made her way to the kitchen.
"Hey, SARAH."
When she moved in, she'd given Fargo permission to open a way for the AI residing in the walls of Sheriff Carter's home to her apartment. SARAH quickly grew lonely, and repeatedly complained that she couldn't leave her position since Carter refused to drive any car where she was 'installed'. So she kept hacking her way wherever she wanted to be heard, until Claudia asked if she'd like to be her 'part time roommate'. SARAH was very enthusiastic about it, Fargo agreed the second it reached his ears and Jack was simply grateful to get some peace. He already had a human family to take care of, and his AI 'housewife' could be rather exhausting.
With that, Claudia couldn't argue. But still, when her greeting didn't receive a reply in the form of Fargo's pitched voice, she missed it. SARAH could easily watch both of her homes simultaneously, and she knew that the redhead would be coming home now. Usually, SARAH welcomed her before she could close the front door behind herself.
The young woman turned her head into the direction of the closest camera, confusion and worry written across her expression.
"SARAH, are you around?"
One, two, three, four, five...
... fifty six, fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty.
No response.
The AI was probably busy lecturing the sheriff about his cholesterol levels. Yeah, that was most likely why she wasn't answering.
But wasn't Carter out with Allison and the kids tonight?
Despite her best attempts to remain completely level-headed, the redhead could hear her heartbeat speeding up. She swallowed silently, slowly walking towards the living room. Although she loved her heavy combat boots, she was now too painfully aware of the sound they made on the wooden floor with every step she took. In comparison, her voice sounded even quieter.
"SARAH?"
"She'll be back once I'm done here."
Startled, Claudia jumped and searched the room for the source of that stranger's voice. Her breath caught in her throat when a woman stepped out of the shadows in the corner, just beside the window. In the light now surrounding the uninvited guest, the redhead got a chance to study her appearance. Dark skin; a dark blue business costume almost closing around her neck, with a skirt reaching below her knees; brown hair captured in a beehive-like style; and a pair of sharp brown eyes watching every move Claudia made.
"Who the hell are you? And how did you get past the security system?"
The intruder smirked in amusement, which irritated Claudia endlessly. She knew her systems. Zane had been able to get through, but he actually admitted that he was impressed. And then, the two of them had fixed and shut the one entrance he'd found. She ran regular checks, and it should be damn near impossible to get in unnoticed.
But that woman somehow did it.
"My name is Mrs. Frederic, I'm with the government."
"That doesn't answer my second question."
"I have my ways."
The secretive air this person had about her was equally unnerving and intriguing, and it was slowly but surely driving the hacker up the wall. She was gonna figure this out, but she had a feeling the 'visitor' wouldn't help her. So on to the next question.
"Fine. What do you want, Mrs. Mysterious?"
The redhead crossed her arms in front of her chest, narrowing her eyes at the stranger. Yes, the older woman was somewhat intimidating. Or a lot. But Claudia wouldn't back down that easily.
The problem was that Mrs. Frederic's knowing smirk only seemed to grow, and there was an almost dangerously zealous spark in her watchful eyes.
"I have an offer for you, and I am fairly certain you will accept."
"Why would I do that? What could you possibly have to offer that would make me forget that you broke into my apartment?"
Claudia watched the woman cautiously, shifting uncomfortably in her heavy black boots.
"We're here to personally consign an invitation, to a world of endless wonder."
The latter part seemed like a bit of an exaggeration to Claudia, possibly a ridiculously dramatic strategy to capture her interest, so she chose to ignore that for the moment and focus on the very start of that odd sentence.
"'We'?"
Mrs. Frederic nodded into Claudia's direction, causing the confused young woman to turn her head and jump slightly once again when she spotted a very tall and very statuesque man.
"Woah, where'd Colossus here come from?"
She looked up at him, and he stared back. But other than that, he didn't react.
"You know, Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin? Big guy from the Marvel comics? He transforms and then he kinda looks like he's made outta steel, and of course he's super strong and... Actually, I could've gone with the Hulk. Chances are better you know that one. But Bruce Banner's usually only really huge when he's really mad, and you don't seem particularly..."
The redhead paused, noting that the guy she could only guess was Mrs. Frederic's personal bodyguard still merely stared her down.
"Galactus?"
Again, only uncomfortable silence.
"Alright, forget it. I went too far with that one anyway."
With an awkward chuckle, Claudia turned to face the woman again. She'd admitted to herself long ago that she'd been spending a lot of time with comic book collectors and video gamers, but she had her fun so she couldn't bring herself to feel uncomfortable being geeky. However, what did make her a little nervous was being stared at as if she came from another planet. And not one from a Marvel or DC verse. She could deal with that, but not this.
"Is he gonna be wherever your invitation leads?"
The redhead pointed over her shoulder with a thumb, raising an eyebrow. There was a little voice in her head begging her to apologize for being such a rude brat, but it was shut up when Mrs. Frederic smirked again. She actually seemed sort of entertained by the scene.
"No. He's my bodyguard, and not one of our agents."
"I'm not an agent either."
"Not yet, but we could work on that."
While Claudia was adjusting to her guests' presence and slowly relaxed, this conversation was only getting more perplexing. An agent? Not that she minded it, really. The mental image had something. But who the hell thought of her as an agent of any kind? The closest she got to that sorta action were likely the self-defense lessons she'd asked Jo to give her shortly after they moved to Eureka eight years ago.
"Is this some kinda sick joke?" The words were out before she could stop herself. Claudia always had an answer for everything, but this simply didn't make any sense. "Who do you work with? The NSA? I know the FBI isn't very fond of my family, and while Eureka sorta used to be a DOD project I doubt they're the ones who sent you. Does Henry...I mean, does Director Deacon know you're here? What about Doctor Rockwell?"
"Doctor Donovan, there's no need to play this game. I'm just as well aware of the true identity behind 'Doctor Rockwell' as you are. But to answer your question: I did talk to both of them about you. If I remember correctly, Doctor Grant called you a 'rare and hard boiled kitten, who's not afraid to use the incredible brains she's got'. Doctor Deacon didn't have any complaints either, aside from your tendency to cause trouble. Still, he seemed rather impressed with you and repeatedly told me that you were worth the work. You can ask them, if you feel the need to."
The redhead took a moment to take apart the stranger's words. Nobody was supposed to know who Eureka's rightful founder and owner actually was, and they'd covered his tracks well. But somehow, this woman seemed to know a lot she wasn't supposed to. And Grant did usually call Claudia 'red kitten' whenever they met. It annoyed her at times, but at least he'd never called her 'dollface' or something along the lines, which was so modern in his time. And really, he wasn't too shy with compliments, but he was an honest man and meant what he said. So all in all, this could've come from him. As to Henry, he'd adored the girl ever since they first met when she'd moved to Eureka. He always supported her and made sure she worked with her potential. Sometimes, the man showed almost fatherly behavior towards her. It wouldn't surprise her if he recommended her to a project, and if he thought it was good for her, she'd listen.
"I will. But you still haven't told me who you actually want me to work for or with. I'd love an actual answer this time around."
Claudia was visibly growing impatient, and was both relieved and doubtful when Mrs. Frederic sent a nod towards her bodyguard, who held out a manila envelope for the young woman. Curiosity won over caution again, and she quickly grabbed the folder and opened it. She started pulling out the documents, but froze her movements when she spotted a specific set of coordinates in one of the first lines.
"Warehouse 13."
It wasn't a question, but a statement, said at such a low volume that it was barely audible. But the look on her face alone would've been enough to make the older woman proud.
Awestruck, Claudia raised her gaze and looked at her with eyes wide as discs.
"Seriously? I mean, you're not kidding? I hack into the database of your top secret government agency, and instead of... I don't know, trying to get me locked up, you offer me a job?"
The knowing smirk returned to Mrs. Frederic's lips, but other than that she seemed rather unaffected by the comment.
"I'm expecting you to be there on Sunday by noon, and to get to work on Monday. You can start with the firewalls you broke through."
Claudia was only half listening by then, since she started to actually read the file she was given. A way description, instructions, and what she assumed was her employment contract. Her eyes scanned the page, stopping when she spotted a very familiar sounding name. She just couldn't place it on the spot. So she opened her mouth and raised her gaze to ask Mrs. Frederic about it, but found herself alone.
If it wasn't for the open envelope in her hands, she would doubt that anyone had even been there.
"Claudia?"
The redhead smiled at the familiar sound of the AI's modified voice, despite the metaphorical kick in the gut it caused. She could already hear SARAH attempting to convince her to stay in Eureka in her head, and she most likely wouldn't be the only one with that 'suggestion'.
"Hey, SARAH. Are you okay?"
"It appears I am, but I was locked out of your systems for several minutes. I will start protocols to identify the issue now, and to assure that nothing was damaged. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just... got some things to think through."
"Perhaps I can assist you? Would you like anything to eat or drink?"
Claudia's eyes had returned to the papers in her hands, and it only took split seconds for her to decide she couldn't do this in her current slightly sleepy state. Obviously, her family had a traditional way of dealing with this kinda situation.
"Coffee."
"Vanilla Latte with almond milk?"
"You know it. Oh, and SARAH? Remind me to talk to Henry tomorrow. And to call Doctor... Rockwell."
With a sigh, the redhead let herself fall onto the sofa. She'd decided that she could start telling people (and AI's) about her moving after a good night's sleep, once her head stopped spinning.
And the day after that would already be Sunday.
She threw her combat boot covered feet onto the low table by the couch, doing her very best not to look too enthusiastic as she quietly whispered the words to herself.
"Endless wonders."
Claudia turned to rest on her back, throwing her feet up against the wall. A somewhat sad smile crossed her lips as she thought about that Saturday. Nobody had expected her to leave again this soon, least of all herself.
They'd all asked how this offer came out of nowhere, and why she had to go the following day already. All of them, except Joshua, Carter and Henry. She knew the sheriff had been recalling his own transfer, when he left his occupation as a US Marshall behind to watch a town full of crazy scientists. And she'd talked to Henry in the morning, to confirm he'd known about this. The former spaceship engineer had assured her that she'd always have a home in Eureka, even though he strongly believed that she was about to discover her true calling.
Josh had been pretty quiet all along, but the message was clear. As much as he was proud of his little sister, he really didn't want her to leave. It was getting dark outside by the time he made his first comment about the situation.
"Are you sure about this, Di?"
For a moment she'd looked hesitant, but then she nodded firmly.
"Positive."
They'd both been fighting back tears when they hugged, whispering to each other about how they'd be missed and should call and text all the time to stay up to date about their lives.
With most of them, it had been all kinds of sad but hopeful and just so damn emotional. There were hugs and encouraging words, and she almost started missing them before she even left. There hadn't been a lot of tears, which Claudia was personally grateful for. Zane had teased and congratulated her, Allison had brought along the kids to say goodbye, Zoe told her about all the days she had to come back for each year, Grace had chuckled as Claudia reminded her to keep an extra eye on Henry for her, Vincent naturally made a scene and promised to keep on sending food so she wouldn't starve in this "terribly tasteless world", Jo had shown herself surprisingly sentimental and told her that she hoped the redhead would find what she was meant for, and finally Carter kept reminding her not to blow up her new workplace or home.
When she had left, the last ones by her side had been her brother, sister in law and niece.
Olivia hadn't played tough. Instead, she gave Claudia a downright bone crushing hug and let the tears flow. If the redhead was being honest, she admired the older woman for the way she wasn't afraid of being seen as weak. She just seemed to know that she wasn't.
While his wife had babbled on and on and kept reaching for a hand or a shoulder, Joshua settled for a simple hug and few words. And yet, the way it had been said and done almost had his sister crying.
Of course parting ways with her brother again was one of the worst goodbyes she'd had that day, but she'd be lying if she said it had been the one that was most likely to keep her in Eureka.
That special honor unsurprisingly belonged to her two year old niece. One sugary kiss on her cheek, and Claudia was unable to hold back the tears any longer. She'd held the girl tightly in her arms, pressed a kiss onto the top of her head and remained in that position for over a minute before she managed to pull away. It hadn't helped that Cady asked (in her adorable, for her age incredibly advanced babble) why she was so sad, while she'd sounded so utterly happy when she told them about what was about to happen.
"I'm just gonna miss you a lot, Digit."
"You'll visit us!"
Claudia knew that Cady Emhadn't really realized just what all of this meant then. She knew, because she also remembered the calls she'd gotten during the following months when the screen read "Liv" or "Josh" but she already knew that she would spend most of the conversation talking to their daughter. When the fact sunk in that Claudia was actually living somewhere else, for all of them. Including the redhead herself.
MIT had been one thing. Something temporary, with a clear goal in mind. But that day, she had known that she would stay away for more than that. For another life. The one she'd started planning, including working at GD and watching her niece grow up, had been left behind for something new.
Had it been easy? Rarely. But did she regret it? Never.
The Warehouse, the Bed & Breakfast and the team quickly settled down in Claudia's heart. At first as a new challenge, then as her secondary home. And eventually, it was just home. Yes, there were days when she wished she could simply teleport to Eureka and fall back into her old rhythm for a while. When she missed all the other people she still considered her family, or the futuristic way of living there. But then, she'd go down for breakfast or to a mission briefing. She'd get to know her coworkers a little better, step by step, and consider them family too. Artie, Pete, Myka, Leena, (in a way) Mrs. F and (temporarily, although it never quite stopped) HG meant so much to her, that she didn't think about Eureka half as much as she expected.
Once upon a time, she'd called the most futuristic town in the present her favorite place to be. Now, there was nothing that called "Home Sweet Home" louder than what was probably the most historical building around. The steampunk-ish interior, the old-fashioned technology and the sweet smell of apples she just couldn't pinpoint the source of made her feel more at home than Eureka ever had.
Claudia wasn't sure whether she should feel good or bad because of that fact, but she was happy.
Well, all in all anyway. When she wasn't suffering from a near death or loss experience.
The redhead sunk her teeth into her lower lip, silently recalling the latest shocks her mind was still recovering from.
She wasn't sure what to consider the beginning of this mess. Myka had left. That had shaken up the entire team, the whole damn family. And it wouldn't have happened if Helena hadn't betrayed them, which already hit her hard enough. Then again, that wouldn't have happened if MacPherson hadn't released HG from her bronze prison in the first place. If she remembered correctly, he had done all of that crap because he disagreed with the Regents' rules.
Artie almost died more than once, HG was in some sort of prison, Myka quit on them and Pete was now walking around like a kicked puppy.
Was it the Regents' fault? MacPherson's? Helena's? Or should she blame whoever hired those people in first place? Wasn't Mrs. Frederic already in charge of that, when Artie and his former partner started at the Warehouse? If Claudia would be the Caretaker one day, would she make the same mistake? Could she really blame the current one?
In between all that, she'd be lying if she said she completely overcame the 'smaller' emotional tremors. She'd dared to set her hopes in a relationship, and hell broke loose. And as if that alone wasn't enough, within getting dumped for no obvious reason and finding out that Witness Protection was dragging her boyfriend out of the country, she'd had her first near death experience in the field.
Only to get saved by the woman who later on tried to trigger a frakking ice age.
Claudia understood perfectly why all of the above bothered her. She missed Myka, Todd and, as much as she currently hated to admit it, HG. She also missed a slightly less grumpy Artie, and a more sincerely cheerful Pete. Everybody was feeling left behind, confused and wondered what they could've done to prevent this from happening. And with the crushing atmosphere all around, the redhead repeatedly considered returning to Eureka. Not for good, just to cool off. But she couldn't leave her surrogate father, substitute brother and their young mother hen alone. Things between Leena and her were still a little tense, but by far not enough for Claudia to miss how the other woman was suffering. She guessed that it didn't help that their auras probably looked rotten during all this, so she didn't question why the innkeeper suddenly had trouble looking at her friends without cringing silently.
But no, leaving them wasn't an option. Instead, she tried her best to fill in the empty seats. Not literally, of course. Leena had hidden away the chairs in the living room that were no longer needed the night Myka left, and Claudia hadn't been in Myka's room ever since. It didn't feel right. The agent would come back eventually, and she wouldn't like it if anything was out of place.
At least the redhead hoped that she'd return.
Claudia knew that hoping and wishing was dangerous, even without artifacts involved, but Myka was needed at the Warehouse. She saw it, especially whenever she went with Pete and Artie on a case. It wasn't that she didn't want to be a field agent, or that she couldn't handle it. She most definitely did, and she desperately wanted to prove that she could. But not as anyone's replacement. Especially not somebody like Myka Bering. Aside from the fact that it just didn't feel right to even try, she knew that there was absolutely no way she could keep up with the older woman's trained skill set. And obviously, the others agreed with her. Otherwise, Artie wouldn't keep on insisting that he should be there when she was working with Pete. Of course, when he'd sent her with Myka it had been different. Myka could probably do this on her own too. And even with an untrained apprentice attached to her hand.
Although Claudia respected Artie and Pete a lot more than she showed on a daily basis, it was somewhat of a wonder in itself to her how they'd survived without Myka this long already.
And now this.
An incident that surprised her, but really shouldn't matter a whole lot when she considered all the crap she recently went through. Yet, it bothered her immensely.
It had been six years since the first and last time she'd actually talked to Steve Jinks, and yet the memory was burned into her mind. She'd thought they were getting along well, although that might've just been her imagination. And then, she'd taken it too far. Occasionally she still cursed herself for being so impulsive and naive, but she mostly got it (and him) out of her head.
Until this very day, when the brother of her sister in law showed up at a crime scene and pointed a gun at her.
Her brown eyes had grown wide as discs, while the only reaction she got from him was a look that may or may not have been a little surprised. Even if it had been, that still didn't mean he recognized her at all. She'd changed since that one time they saw each other, and people sent her weird looks all the time.
Of course, he'd changed a little too. It had been awhile after all. She remembered that Olivia said Steve was about three years younger than her, so he had to be five years older than Claudia. Back then, they'd been 18 and 23. Now, they were 24 and 29.
Claudia wondered if he'd already been with the ATF six years ago. She really couldn't remember ever hearing about what he did for a living. Had Olivia told her? No, she'd still know that. Wouldn't she? Did that mean that Liv didn't know at all? Did Emma? When was the last time either of them had seen Steve? When had their shared niece? Now that she went through her memories, she realized it had actually been awhile since anyone mentioned him. Or was it her fault? Did she get so out of touch with her family?
The last time she'd talked to them had been the previous week, although not for more than a few minutes. The last time she'd visited them must've been about three months ago. Or had it been four already?
The redhead had instinctively gone to Eureka when she was suspected to have helped MacPherson, hoping that if there was something in her head, they'd get it out. Grace, maybe. The director's wife had always been gentle and kind, yet never backed down. And she was unquestionably a great neuroscientist. But once it turned out that Claudia wasn't the double agent they were looking for, that trip only ended with Joshua in the hospital. Altogether, it wasn't exactly a vacation.
But when had that happened? It was before Todd entered the picture, and around the same time HG had become part of this mess, and they both left again already.
After that incident, she'd only seen Joshua, Olivia and the kid one more time around Christmas.
Now it was April, almost May.
Which meant that a third of this year had already passed by, and she hadn't visited them once without even realizing it.
Well, damn. Maybe she really was the one to blame.
Claudia bit her lower lip, almost disappearing entirely in her thoughts until the first notes of The Runaways' "Secrets" unexpectedly screamed for her attention.
She reached for her phone, blinking at the name on the screen for a few seconds before she picked up.
"Hey, Henry."
"Claudia, I'm glad I reached you... How are you?"
The redhead wasn't exactly an expert in human behavior, but even she could hear the poorly concealed pain in his voice. Regret, concern, compassion. It wasn't the most reassuring combination.
"Well, I'm okay enough now, but something tells me I won't be feeling too amazing by the end of this conversation."
"Claudia..."
"Don't. Just... don't skirt around this. That only costs time. Henry, what's wrong?"
She could hear him sigh on the other end of the line, obviously not thrilled that she'd killed every chance for small talk to ease her into what he had to say. But that only made her more impatient.
"There's... been an accident. Dia, I'm so sorry. I should've kept a closer eye on his experiments. He's always been so confident about his research, but it was still too dangerous to do on his own. I should've never let this happen, but I made that mistake and we... We can't find them."
He'd gone from hesitance to high speed and back again so quickly that Claudia could barely keep up. But the emotions in his trembling voice were speaking rather clearly. The doubts, the guilt, the remorse... Her first instinct had been the right one, and it felt like a proper punch in the gut. Joshua had been in a lab accident. Her brother, the only one left of the family she'd been born into, was... gone? Confusion flooded her mind, and she forcefully pushed everything else aside.
"What do you mean, you can't find... Wait, them?"
Her breath got caught up in her throat again as the idea sunk in, and her own voice had become shaky towards the end. She put up a fight to keep the tears from leaving her eyes, but the battle was lost as soon as Henry spoke again.
"He'd been there on his own for hours, so Olivia went to check up on him. She was there when it happened. Claudia, I..."
The young woman guessed that another apology followed, but everything around her was blurring. His voice had become an incoherentmess of noise in her ears. She still hadn't given up, keeping the tears rolling down her cheeks at a minimum and her head as clear as somehow possible. But she felt so lost and helpless, knowing they were gone. The two people she'd been relying on since she was a kid, in the place of her own parents, were gone. It stung so badly to remember, this wasn't the first time she'd heard something like this. She could still remember a lot of that time, including the headline of the local newspaper.
Donovan Couple and Teen Daughter Killed in Car Crash, it had said. And suddenly, Claudia was gripped by a horrifying possibility.
"Henry, what about Cady?"
"Zoe and Kevin are watching her, Jenna and Jordan. She was with them already. I talked to Zoe. She can stay there until you're here."
Although the situation remained heavy on her heart, she was flooded with relief right then. At least her niece was safe. She was in a similarly crappy position now as Claudia had been in 1999, but she would hopefully be a little more sheltered. For now, she was in good hands. Claudia and Zoe had been friends for about a decade already, so she knew the young doctor would handle things as well as somehow possible. And as Henry already assumed, there was absolutely no question that Claudia would be there for the four year old as soon as humanely possible.
"Okay. Thanks, Henry. I'll book the earliest flight I can to get to you guys."
"No need. Doctor Rockwell's coming to town for the funeral. He said he'd pick you up tomorrow morning, if that's alright for you."
Claudia rolled her lips in, almost managing a small smirk. Of course, it was typical for the chivalrous founder of Eureka to offer something like this.
"I've gotta settle some things here, but that should work. I'll make it work if I have to."
"I don't doubt it. See you tomorrow, kiddo. Oh, and Claudia?"
The young woman could pretty much see where this was going, but maybe it would help her to hear it.
"Yeah?"
"We'll get through this, all of us together."
It didn't, not really. But he didn't have to know that. He was trying to help.
"Thanks, Henry."
She cut off the call just in time. After less than ten seconds, sobs started shaking her body. Everything was suddenly so cold, so she'd wrapped her arms around her shins and curled into a ball of emotions to fight the shivers. Her breathing got more irregular with every second, and the tears just wouldn't stop flowing.
She remembered this. When their parents died, Claudia was only seven and couldn't really process things the way her brother had. It had taken years for the shock to settle in. But people kept asking, and every answer she had to give was hitting her harder than the one before. Realization came like a punch in the face for the girl, and that's when the nightmares and panic attacks had started. The only one who could heal her then had been Joshua. But now, he was part of the cause. He was gone, meaning he couldn't be there to offer comfort. He never could again.
She'd been so caught up in her misery that she hadn't noticed the door opening, or the careful steps approaching. She barely realized how the mattress moved underneath her. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a soft voice that she reacted to his presence at all.
"Claudia? Hey, what's wrong?"
She could hear the concern in Pete's voice, but she didn't raise her gaze. He started running his hand up and down her back, climbing onto the sheets to pull her against his side. She didn't have the power to push him away or put on a brave face. Her whole world was crumbling, and she couldn't stop it.
It took almost half an hour of soothing, repetitive phrases of comfort from her substitute brother before her breathing calmed down enough for her to speak.
"They're gone."
That was all she could get off her lips right then. She remembered saying those words, although not as broken and definite, when her parents and sister died. She'd looked at Joshua with big brown eyes, let the situation sink in and just asked to have her assumptions confirmed.
"They're gone, aren't they?"
She couldn't believe this had happened to her again. And beyond that, she couldn't believe the world was cruel enough to send her niece through it. That beautiful, inquisitive young girl didn't have parents anymore. Unlike Claudia, she didn't have any older siblings to lean on either. Her only known blood relatives now were Emma, Steve and Claudia herself.
The mere thought of the beloved child growing up without Josh and Livi, the mere memory of how much was taken from both of them, brought back the violent sobs and stinging tears. It didn't stop until the redhead was worn out to the bone, and she fell asleep in the embrace of the only brother she had left in the world of the living.