D.S.D.D

Summary: When Artie is called for help by Dr. Calder, Claudia and Riley tag along to help him out. Different version of Love Sick.

Sergeant Riley Thomas let out a wolf whistle when he caught sight of Artie. "Artie, all dressed up, I see. Big plans?"

Artie started to sputter which amused Riley to no end. "What…what…what are you talking about?" Artie smoothed down the lapels of his coat. "I always dress like this."

"Lie." Jinks said, butting in.

Riley glanced over his shoulder at Jinks. "You must be rubbing off on me, Jinks. Even I could tell that was a lie."

"What's going on? Ooh. Artie, looking spiffy." Claudia said as she sauntered over to Riley. "Hey," She narrowed her eyes at Artie. "is that the coat I got you for Christmas?"

Artie glanced at his coat. "What? No."

"Yes it is."

Artie brushed past the three younger Warehouse agents. "It is not that coat, I do not look 'spiffy'," He said with air quotes. "And there is nothing going on! What are you doing?" He said with a look to Riley who was sniffing his shirt where Artie brushed against him.

"Artie." Riley sniffed several more times. "Are you?" Sniff. Sniff. "Are you wearing my Old Spice?"

Claudia let out a sharp bark of laughter, Steve grinned like an idiot and Riley was still waiting for an answer.

Artie, expert code breaker for the NSA, veteran Warehouse agent and an accomplished piano player did the only thing his training and his brain could think of. "Good bye." He turned and attempted to quickly leave the Warehouse but was stopped when Riley's hand slammed the door closed, preventing his escape. Artie looked up and noticed how close Riley was now. How dark his eyes got now.

"Where are you going, Artie?" All traces of humor had left his voice now.

Artie looked him dead in the eye. "I am your boss. I do not answer to you." Artie tried to open the door again but Riley held it shut. Artie knew it was a gamble anyway, Riley was bigger and stronger than him. It would be like trying to wrestle a Kodiak bear for a candy bar.

Claudia stepped forward. "Is this about Vanessa?"

Artie turned on her sharply. "No!"

Riley glanced at Claudia. "Who's Vanessa?"

Claudia smiled smugly. "Dr. Vanessa Calder. Warehouse 13 doctor."

Riley removed his hands. "Oh." He said coyly. "La parcelle de terrain s'épaissit."

Claudia giggled. "What's that mean?"

"It's French. It means 'the plot thickens.'"

"You speak French?"

Riley nodded as he took his place next to Claudia. "French, Spanish, Dari and Pashto."

"What and what?" Claudia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the two languages of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan." Artie said from the door.

"Oh."

"And a little bit of Arabic."

Claudia smiled. "You are a man of many talents, aren't you?"

"Excuse me! Children!" Artie butted in. All three sets of eyes turned to him. "May I please go?"

"What's the rush, Artie?"

"Yeah, what's got you bent out of shape?"

"Dr. Calder called me because she fears an artifact has turned up in a Salt Lake City hospital. And it may have severe ramifications."

Claudia stepped forward. "I'm coming with you."

"What? Why?"

"Artie. We're going to a hospital. There will be blood. You're going to faint. You need someone to catch you when you fall and that is Riley. Right?" She said, looking to Riley for his support.

Thankfully she got it. "Count me in, Art."

"What about me?" Steve asked.

"You have target practice with Pete and Myka." With that, Artie opened the door and walked out. Riley and Claudia following close behind.

Salt Lake City

Dr. Vanessa Calder smiled as Artie and Claudia came around a corner towards her followed by a person she didn't know. "Thanks for coming on such short notice, Artie."

"My pleasure."

The two stood there staring at each other until a gentle coughing noise interrupted them. "Cough, cough. Said the uncomfortable couple."

Artie sighed and turned to Claudia and Riley. "Um, Vanessa. You know Claudia."

"Good to see you again, Claudia."

"Likewise, doc."

"And this is our latest addition to the Warehouse, Sergeant Riley Thomas, formerly of the British Special Forces."

Riley gripped the tip of an invisible hat brim and tipped it to her. "Ma'am."

Vanessa nodded politely. "Sergeant."

Claudia latched onto his arm and grinned widely. "He's also my boy toy."

Riley sighed sarcastically. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that in public."

Claudia pecked his cheek. "Okay, Sergeant Snuggles."

"Or that."

Vanessa giggled at Artie's irritability. "Got your hands full with the next generation?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe." He motioned for Vanessa to lead the way. "So, what brings us out to Salt Lake?"

Vanessa shook her head, her professional mask slipping into place. "Some very unusual deaths I'm afraid."

"How unusual?" Claudia asked from behind Artie.

Vanessa gestured to a room ahead of them. "Let me show you."

Claudia and Riley gaped in awe at the heart on the tray in front of them.

"It's so small." Claudia said in wonder.

Riley nodded. "Yeah." He glanced up at Calder. "Any thoughts?"

Vanessa shook her head. "None that make sense. It's definitely artifact related, that much I can tell. But get this, I sent a sample to a friend of mine. He sent a message back saying that he found traces of diatomaceous earth inside and around the heart. That's clay."

Riley shook his head. "I would say that's impossible but given what I've seen so far at the Warehouse, I'd say otherwise."

Vanessa continued. "I sent a sample to be analyzed but that could take days."

"Which we do not have." Artie said while unpacking a small crate.

"Is that her original DNA sequencer?" Dr. Calder sounded amazed.

"Yes, it is."

"What?" Riley and Claudia asked at the same time.

Artie pulled out a machine that looked like a small film projector. He plugged the sample into the machine and flipped a switch. "Rosalind Franklin designed this machine to break down the coding of human DNA." Lines of coding appeared on the wall in front of them. Artie quickly rushed forward. "Do you see it?"

"See what?" Vanessa and Claudia said at the same time.

"I do." Riley said.

Claudia turned towards him. "Care to share with the class?"

Artie pushed a white board in front of the image and drew two long ovals. "Vanessa, turn off the machine."

Vanessa did so and stared at the white board. "My, god."

On the white board were two lines of 101 that spanned at least a foot.

"How'd you see that?" Claudia asked, still addressing Riley.

Riley tapped the side of his head by his eye. "Sniper. Remember?"

Claudia smiled. "Man of many talents." She said to herself. She paused as she looked at both lines. "Wait, that looks like computer code."

"You sure?" Riley asked.

Claudia made a typing motion. "Hacker. Remember?"

Artie shook his head. "We are facing a diabolical nexus of computer science and genetic engineering run amok that could threaten the very idea of life as we know it!"

Riley narrowed his eyes at Artie before speaking out of the corner of his mouth to Claudia. "Could he sound more like the plot of a soap opera?"

Riley watched from a distance as Artie and Claudia greeted another old friend of theirs: Hugo Miller. Thank god for lip reading. Riley thought to himself as he sipped his hot foul tasting coffee. He watched them walk over to him, Hugo clapping Artie on the shoulder as their voices drifted into Riley's hearing range.

"…And of course, I would do anything for the one who put humpty dumpty back together again."

Artie smiled and cleared his throat. "Um, Hugo. This is Sergeant Riley Thomas, our newest addition to the Warehouse."

Riley snapped Hugo a short two fingered salute. "Sir."

Hugo fired off a quick salute in return. "At ease, soldier."

Artie was turning Hugo towards the next person he wanted to introduce to. "Hugo, this is Dr."

"Vee? Vee, is that you?"

Dr. Calder smiled sadly. "Hello, Huey."

Hugo smiled. "Vee." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

Claudia leaned over to Riley. "Uh oh."

Vanessa ushered them out into the hallway and was leading them somewhere, Riley wasn't really listening. He was watching Artie who looked like he was getting sicker by the moment. He only caught bits and pieces of Hugo and Vanessa's conversation.

"…Groovy, isn't it?"

Vanessa smiled. "You always had a way with words, Huey."

Hugo grinned. "You had a way with me, Vee."

Riley turned to Claudia. "Uh oh."

Vanessa turned to the three Warehouse agents. "Huey and I started at the Warehouse at the same time."

Huey butted in. "Hey, remember the Dark Vault? Us hanging out in there? You, me and Mary Jane?"

"Snap." Said Claudia with a laugh.

Artie looked between the two former Warehouse agents. "What, we had an agent Mary Jane? I don't remember…"

Claudia turned to Artie. "Really? Seriously, really?"

At that moment, a young woman was brought into the ER. The nurse at the front of the stretcher addressed Dr. Calder. "Dr. Calder. There's been another one."

Vanessa moved past them, she looked back over her shoulder. "Time to go to work."

Hugo nodded. "I better come too." He quickly followed her without another word.

Artie looked up and down the hallway. "I'm gonna…." He left without another word as well.

Only Claudia and Riley stood in the hallway now. Riley sighed. "I sense a little love triangle between H, V and A."

Claudia nodded. "Oh, yeah." She said with a sigh. She gestured to his coffee. "That any good?"

Riley shrugged. "Tolerable." He sipped the coffee and grimaced. "Want some?"

Claudia patted him on the shoulder. "No, thanks. I'm gonna see if I can find a vending machine that's got Red Bull."

Riley shook his head. "That stuff is horrible, you know?"

"Probably better than that." Claudia gestured to the coffee.

Riley sighed. He knew better than to argue with Claudia. "I'll be in the waiting room."

Claudia came into the waiting room ten minutes later. "Hey, Riley. They didn't have Red Bull but I got a Monster from the…" She trailed off at the sight in front of her. Riley sat in one of the chairs with his head tilted forward against his chest. His coffee sat to the side on a small table, his hands lay in his lap. Claudia set down the large sized energy drink and sat in the chair next to him. Claudia tucked her legs up underneath her, she wrapped her arms around his left arm. Claudia smiled, content with herself as she laid her head on his shoulder. She felt her eyelids get heavy. "I love you, Riley." She whispered. With that, Claudia drifted off to sleep.

Claudia didn't see the smirk on Riley's face as he tipped his head back and fell back to sleep.

"AHEM!"

Both Claudia and Riley started awake. The voice that interrupted their sleep belonged to none other than their boss. Vanessa stood just behind him, a smile in place. Riley rubbed his eyes, still not aware as to what called for the rude awakening. Then it hit him. Sometime during the night, Claudia had fully crawled into his lap and laid her head on his chest. Somehow his arms were wrapped around her, holding her tight to him. Claudia and Riley looked at each other then slowly got untangled from each other.

"What's up?" Claudia asked with a yawn.

"We're going to that young woman's apartment. According to Dr. Calder, the young woman only has six hours before she ends up like the others."

The two younger agents nodded and slowly followed Artie out of the hospital. Vanessa watched as Claudia slumped against Riley as she walked. She laughed. "Kids." She shook her head and walked away.

Claudia watched with a detached interest as Riley successfully picked the lock on the young woman's apartment door. "Trick you learned in SAS?"

Riley shook his head as he stood up, depositing his lock picks into his coat pocket. "Wasn't always a Boy Scout."

Claudia 'oohed'. "Oh, were you a rebel?"

Riley chuckled. "Yeah. But I had a cause. No jacket though."

Artie brushed past the both of them. "Can we please focus?"

Riley turned to Claudia. "I have a bad feeling about this." And he was right as the sound of Artie pulling out the drawers from the woman's dresser was heard rather loudly from her bedroom. "How do you want to handle this?"

"Good cop, bad cop?"

"Let's just talk to him."

Claudia stepped forward. "Artie…"

"Don't want to hear it!" He snapped back. Riley watched as Claudia flinched and stepped back. His turn.

"Artie." Riley said firmly. "I may not have known you or Dr. Calder for a long time but I can tell there's a connection between the two of you." Riley leaned against the young woman's computer desk. "And now, Hugo has come back. Okay, so they were a couple. But that was a long time ago. But it's your turn. You two have quite a thing."

"Thing? We don't have a thing." Artie straightened his glasses. "We had a walk. A nice walk. I limped." Artie sat down on the bed. "I had…always hoped that I would find….companionship at my age. For a while it seemed impossible and then…Vanessa."

Riley smiled. "Well, that's good Artie. Hope is good."

Artie sighed sadly. "But now it's false hope." He sat up. "Let's just focus more on the case and less about my love life. Hmm? Shall we?"

The two younger agents conceded. They weren't going to get any further with Artie. Not now. Claudia sat down at the computer. Artie bolted over to her.

"Excuse me! From where does a computer virus, that rewrites human DNA, come from?"

Claudia held her hands up. "Okay. Okay." Claudia looked under the keyboard and behind the monitor. "Hey…Tiger Direct."

Riley glanced up. "Yeah, we passed one on the way here. Computer store, right?" Claudia went over to her laptop. Riley walked over. "You got something?"

Claudia nodded. "I just cross referenced the victim's recent credit card purchases and found a match in all six. Tiger Direct."

Artie pushed his glasses up his nose. "Let's go. Riley, you drive."

Riley grinned like a wolf as he accepted the keys from Artie. "Thanks, Art."

They got to the store about ten minutes later, Claudia stumbled out of the car with one hand over her mouth. Riley got out of the driver's seat of the rented Chevy Impala. "We got here quicker than I thought."

"That's cause we hopped the curb at that last street." Claudia said from around her hand.

"Oh. Yeah. Did you see the look on that guy's face when I did? I think he shit himself."

Vanessa and Hugo got out of their respective car as well. The five Warehouse agents, past and present, walked into the store. A young man with a scowl on his face pushed in between Claudia and Riley.

"Wanker." Riley muttered before holding the door open for Claudia.

Artie turned to the group. "Dr. Calder, Hugo, Claudia. Wait here. Riley, come with me." Riley nodded and gave Claudia a peck on the cheek before following Artie. Artie approached who he assumed to be the store manager. "Excuse me. Could you tell me who was the service technician for" He snapped his fingers and Riley handed Artie the list of names Claudia had printed out. "these women?"

The manger looked at the list. "Yeah. These are all Tyler's."

Riley rolled his eyes. "Another Tyler." He muttered.

Artie stepped forward. "Where is he? It's very important we talk to him."

The store manager pointed towards the exit. "I just fired him five minutes ago. You might be able to catch him."

Artie spun around towards the doors, Claudia stood the closest to them. "Claudia! He just left! Get him!"

Claudia nodded and left without another word.

Artie was talking to Riley as they walked back to Hugo and Vanessa. "It's him. It's gotta be."

"Alright, boss. How'd you wanna handle it? Want me to beat it out of him?"

Artie shook his head. "No, we'll just talk to him. If he doesn't want to talk, then yes, beat it out of him. We're running out of time."

Just then all the TVs in the store flickered and a young man's face appeared on the monitors. "Attention Tiger shoppers!"

The store manager pointed to one of the screens. "That's him. That's Tyler."

"Artie, that's the guy that shoved past me when we got here."

As Tyler continued speaking the screens shimmered, this caught Artie's eye. He only had seconds to react. "Vanessa, Riley, Hugo! The screens! Don't look!" He pushed Vanessa away from the screen she was watching as yellow light shot of the screen and into the eyes of everyone in the store including Hugo. Artie and Vanessa straightened up. "Vanessa, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Artie."

Riley came over to them. "I'm fine too."

"Wow! That was amazing!"

Artie groaned. "Hugo? Tell me you didn't look?"

"Um, I'm sorry, Artie. I couldn't help it. I guess I've done it again, haven't I?"

Riley watched Vanessa approach a police officer that was in the store and flashed her CDC badge. He couldn't hear what she was saying but it couldn't have been good. She turned back to the assembled crowd. "Attention, everyone. May I have your attention please?" The crowd slowly gathered near the front of the store. "My name is Dr. Vanessa Calder, I'm with the Center for Disease Control. We have a situation." She pulled her cell phone and dialed a number.

It didn't take long for the CDC and the local police to show up, they quickly sealed off the building. Claudia had come back and was now dressed in a Hazmat suit.

"I tracked down Tyler's apartment but no one was there and I didn't find anything artifact wise there either."

Riley and Artie stood near the doors. Artie had turned back to the crowd and asked if anyone knew where Tyler would go. Riley approached the glass. "Nice outfit."

Claudia smiled. "I like to look nice for you." She shifted her weight. "How are you?"

Riley sighed. "I'm good. I didn't get infected so…" He trailed off. "Hugo has already started showing signs. A few of the others as well." Riley leaned in closer. "It's gonna get worse. I don't wanna pressure you but you need to hurry."

Claudia nodded. "Working on it."

Artie came back over. "Claudia, coffee shop. Three blocks over. He should be there."

Claudia gave him a thumbs up. "Got it, Artie!"

Riley smiled at her. "Watch yourself."

She nodded and leaned in closer. She pressed her lips against the plastic of her helmet. "Take care of yourself."

Riley nodded. "Don't worry about me."

Claudia turned and left. Riley turned away from the glass, he glanced over at Artie. "What are her chances that she'll get back in time?"

Artie shook his head, scratching his beard. "I don't know."

Riley sat near Hugo as he worked on an antivirus to help these people. He felt useless. Riley sighed, leaned forward and put his head in his hands.

"So, you and Claudia huh?"

Riley looked up at Hugo. "Sorry?"

Hugo stopped typing and glanced over at Riley. "You and Claudia are, what's the term you kids use these days, an item?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah. We're pretty close."

Hugo smiled warmly. "That's good. That is good. You know, you remind me a lot of what me and Vee had."

Riley leaned back in his chair. "Yeah?"

Hugo nodded as he turned back to the computer. "Yep. We always worked so well together. She is really something. Yeah, if I hadn't tried that hair brained experiment, we'd probably still be together."

"Yeah, Claudia told me what happened to you."

Hugo reached out and patted Riley on the arm. Riley could see that the veins in Hugo's hands were already turning a dark brown like the other victims. "Want some advice from an old romantic? Hold on to her as long as you can."

Riley nodded and locked eyes with Hugo. And he wished that he hadn't. Riley, for all of his skill, couldn't react fast enough when he saw Hugo's eyes change to the yellow that colored the TV screens an hour ago. All he could do was say one word before the yellow went into his eyes. "Shit."

Artie watched the whole thing happen. He had been talking to Vanessa about how everyone was doing and went over to Hugo to ask how he was doing when he saw him talking to Riley. He watched their eyes lock with each other and saw the transference. "Oh, no." He rushed over to the young Warehouse agent who was now rubbing his eyes. "Riley, Riley! Are you alright?"

Riley groaned. "No, it feels like a knife in the eye."

Hugo sprung up from his chair. "I'm so sorry, Riley. I didn't mean for it to happen."

Riley shook his head. "No, no. It's alright. It's not your fault. Just finish the antivirus."

Hugo nodded and went back to work. Artie fished out his Farnsworth. "Claudia, Claudia! Do you have it yet?"

"No, Artie. I just got to the coffee shop. There was a lot of traffic around you guys."

"Well, hurry up. The situation is getting worse."

"Got it. Is Riley there?"

Riley looked at Artie and shook his head. Artie could see dark brown veins spreading out from beneath his eyes. "Riley's helping Vanessa with one of the people here." He flipped the Farnsworth closed. He looked up at Riley and saw that the infection had already spread to his arms. "It's accelerating."

It had been almost an hour since Artie talked to Claudia. People were getting restless. Riley watched as the store manager paced nervously. He had seen that type of behavior before, he knew what would happen next.

"I can't stay here."

Riley watched the manager walk towards the front of the store. Riley got up and drew his service pistol from his IWB holster, a SIG P226R. He rushed forward when the manager grabbed the cop's own SIG from its holster began waving it erratically. "I CAN'T STAY HERE!"

Riley raised his pistol at the manager. He didn't have to chamber it or check to see if there was a round in the chamber, he always carried it in Condition One. He flicked the safety off as he raised it. "Put. It. Down."

The manager saw Riley's gun and swung his gun towards him, finger on the trigger. Riley wasn't sure if it was accident but the manager fired a shot as he swung the gun around. But Riley's gun going off wasn't an accident. Three shots and the manager was down. Riley flicked the safety on and holstered it. He quickly rushed to the manager as did Vanessa and Artie. The manager was alive. One shot went through his left shoulder. One went into his stomach and the last went into his right arm.

"Nice shooting, Sarge." Vanessa said.

"He was gonna kill somebody if he didn't put it down." Riley picked up the officer's gun and handed it back to him. "Here."

"Thank you."

As Riley retracted his hand, he could see that the 'infection' had spread to his hands on both sides. "Artie…"

Artie was by the young man's side in an instant. "I'm here."

Riley slumped against a display, he slid to the floor. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Of course."

Riley reached into his shirt and pulled out his dog tags. He yanked them free from his neck and handed them to Artie. "If Claudia doesn't make it back in time, give her these."

Artie closed Riley's hand. "She'll be here." He said firmly.

Riley started breathing shallowly. Artie knew it was getting into his lungs. "I hope you're right." Riley chuckled. "DSDD."

Artie's brow furrowed. "What's that mean?"

"Different Shit, Different Day. I just thought it up."

For the first time since this case began, Artie chuckled. He patted the young man on the shoulder. "You'll be okay." Artie stood up and crossed over to Vanessa. "He's not going to make it, is he?"

Vanessa shook her head slightly. "I don't think so. Based on some quick calculations, I think he's only got an hour maybe an hour and a half left."

Just then Artie's Farnsworth buzzed. "Claudia? Tell me you found it."

"Miracles happen, Artie. I got it!" She held it up for Artie to see.

"Of course! The necklace! Why didn't I see it earlier?" Artie started to go into an explanation of a Jewish legend when Claudia interrupted.

"History lesson, another time!"

"Right! Sorry, just get it back to the store before Riley gets worse." The words were out of his mouth before he had time to process them.

"WHAT?"

Artie realized he was caught and he couldn't take it back or try to mislead her. "Claudia, Riley has been infected for over an hour. Right before you called earlier. Listen, just hurry!"

"I'm almost there. There's a back entrance the cops aren't watching. Be there in five minutes." Claudia snapped the Farnsworth closed before Artie could say anything else.

Artie went back to Hugo. "Hugo, how's it coming?"

Hugo leaned back in his chair, Artie could see even in the low lighting that the 'infection' now covered Hugo's eyes. "It's finished, Artie. You just have to press 'Enter' and it's done."

Artie patted Hugo on the shoulders. "Good work, Hugo."

Hugo started coughing violently, Artie could see clouds of clay coming out of his mouth. "How's…Riley?" He wheezed.

Artie looked back at Riley who was still slumped against the display. He too was coughing like Hugo. "It's bad." Artie sighed. "But, Claudia is almost here."

Almost if on cue, the back door banged open and Claudia came charging through. She practically threw the artifact at Artie. "Where is he? Where's Riley?" She said frantically.

Artie just pointed.

Claudia looked over, her eyes welling up with tears. She quickly crossed the room and kneeled down next to Riley. "Riley?"

Riley swiveled his head to look at her. That is to say, if he could look. The 'infection' covered Riley's eyes as well. "Claudia?"

She sniffled. "I'm here." She gently raised his head and placed it on her lap, she stroked the hair out of his eyes. "I'm here." She said quietly. "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

Riley chuckled weakly. "I was an innocent bystander. I swear."

"You're going to be okay." She sniffled.

Riley reached up and grasped Claudia's left hand. "Hearing you say that, makes it sound better."

"Everyone! I need you all to look at the screens right now! Everyone please!" Artie's voice boomed across the store.

Vanessa brought over a laptop and put it on Riley's chest. "Here."

"Thanks, doc."

Claudia watched as the screen glowed a bright green and beams of light entered Riley's eyes. She could see the 'infection' was being drained from him until there was nothing left. The green light disappeared and Riley was back. She helped him to his feet. Claudia immediately wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. She felt him return the affection. She felt his lips hover near her ear.

"I love you too." Claudia leaned back and kissed him on the lips. Riley started to pull her closer when Claudia suddenly stepped back and started rubbing a hand across her mouth. "What? What is it?"

"You taste like clay."

Riley rolled his eyes. "Aw, shut up and come here." He pulled her back into his embrace and kissed her again. Riley pulled back from Claudia but still held her in his arms. "Thank you."

Claudia smirked playfully. "I had a feeling that's what that kiss was for."

Riley brushed back a strand of hair that fell in front of her eyes. "How'd you find it?"

"Guy was wearing it. Had to chase him down all action movie style." She nudged Riley with her hip. "You would've been proud. I jumped across a rooftop."

Riley put a hand over his heart. "Don't scare me like that. Then what?"

Claudia shrugged. "I couldn't believe it. He saved me. The guy I was chasing saved me."

"And?"

"I convinced him to give me the necklace. The cops have got him outside."

Riley put his arm around Claudia, hugging her close. "Let's go home."

Claudia smiled and nodded. "Let's."

Outside, Riley had to be checked out by the paramedics to see if he was alright which he was. As Riley walked over to Claudia who was staring at something intently, he opened his mouth. Claudia quickly shushed him. Riley glanced at her then at what she was looking at and he broke into a slow grin. Artie was busy conversing with Dr. Calder.

"Thank you, Artie. For saving Hugo and the others."

Artie smiled. "He would've done the same for me."

Vanessa nodded. "Artie, I just wanted to say earlier"

Artie held up his hand. "Vanessa, you don't have to explain."

Vanessa arched an eyebrow. "I don't?"

Artie nodded. "I understand." He sighed. "I hope you and Hugo will be very happy together."

"Wait, what? Artie, what are you talking about?"

"You and Hugo. Aren't you getting back to…" He trailed off.

Vanessa shook her head, smiling sadly. "No, Artie. We're not. Hugo is still living in the past and when he looks at me, he sees that girl he met all those years ago. But you don't. You see me." She took his hand in hers. "I was hoping we might have another walk together. Soon." She added.

Artie gulped. It was now or never. "I was hoping that we might take the next step?"

"A jog?"

Claudia did her best to hold in a snort.

Artie started sputtering. "Well…if you…I mean…that is to say…"

"Artie. I was kidding. I was actually thinking dinner?"

Artie smiled. "Exactly what I had in mind."

Vanessa smiled. "Great. I'll…um…I'll call you. I have to go home and get some rest. Long day at the office."

Artie nodded. "Yeah, same here."

The two stood there awkwardly until a voice shouted at them from a distance. "JUST KISS HER ALREADY!"

Artie and Vanessa looked over to see Riley with both hands over Claudia's mouth while she struggled for either air or a chance to say more.

Artie growled under his breath. "I'll try to leave the traveling peanut gallery behind when we do go out."

Vanessa smiled. "I don't know. I think it would be fun going on a double date."

"HA!" Came a sharp bark of laughter from the younger female agent. Riley managed to suppress her by giving her a deep kiss and a dip as well. But that would only work for so long.

Vanessa giggled and shook her head. "You really got your hands full with them don't you?"

Artie sighed. "One was bad enough, now I have two."

Vanessa giggled. "Bye, Artie." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before walking off.

Artie looked genuinely happy for the first time in a long time until he heard a high pitched 'EEEE!' from behind him. Artie slowly turned and saw Claudia standing behind him, her arms thrown up into the air like she had just become a referee for a football game. Riley just smiled and gave him a thumbs up."

Artie pushed his glasses up his nose and started stalking towards them.

Claudia's eyes widened. "Eep! Run!" She grabbed a fistful of Riley's jacket and dragged him with her towards the rental car. "Artie is pissed at us!"

"Us? What 'us'? He's pissed at you."

"I don't think he sees it that way."

Thankfully, Artie didn't blow up on Claudia or Riley. In fact, for the ride home, he was smiling. Not a big smile, just a small grin.

Riley smiled to himself as he steered off the main road in Pete's truck that he let them borrow. He glanced in the rearview, he saw Claudia was fast asleep. "I wonder what those three got up to while we were away."

Artie groaned for the first time since they left Salt Lake. "Now that you brought that up, I'm starting to go through all the worse-case scenarios I can think of."

Riley could see the roof of the Warehouse in the distance. "Well, it's still standing. That's a good sign."

Upon entering the main office with Riley carrying a sleeping Claudia, Pete and Myka seemingly burst out of nowhere and gave them a rousing if not suspicious welcome. "HEY! You're back!" They both said at the same time.

Claudia stirred slightly in Riley's arms, she snuggled deeper into his chest. "Hey, Artie. If you don't mind, I'm gonna put her on your bed until we get back to the B and B."

Artie nodded. "Okay."

Everyone watched Riley ascended the stairs, taking great care not to bump Claudia into anything. Artie turned towards Pete and Myka.

"Well, since the Warehouse is still surprisingly standing, I assume things went well here?"

"Of course! We hardly missed you guys."

Artie arched an eyebrow. "Really, Pete? Is that why I got a phone call at three in the morning where you sang the pina colada song to me?"

Pete and Myka exchanged a worried glance before answering. "It was just a joke, Artie."

Artie looked at them suspiciously before walking past them. "In any case, we managed to retrieve the artifact." He held up the necklace. "Myka, can you find a spot for this?"

Myka nodded. "Got it, Artie." She accepted the necklace from him and walked down to the main floor. Myka came back after about ten minutes. Myka and Pete left the warehouse and headed back to Leena's.

Riley came downstairs and stripped off his jacket. He collapsed into an armchair. "Home at last."

Artie turned to him. "How are you feeling? Still doing alright?"

Riley gave him a thumbs up. "Still top notch, boss."

Artie nodded. "Good to hear." Artie turned back to his computer. "I think a day or two of rest is in order. For all of us."

Riley smiled as he tipped his head back. "You mean, so you can plan on where to take Dr. Calder to dinner?"

Artie whipped around. "If you or Claudia interfere"

Riley chuckled. "Relax, Art. We just wanna see you happy. Claudia more than me."

Artie nodded. He chuckled quietly to himself. Who would think it? A Special Forces sniper that is world weary and wise. "Thank you."

Riley nodded and closed his eyes, his intention of resting for a while. "Just one thing: Don't take her to some overly fancy place. She doesn't seem the type and neither do you. Keep it simple."

Artie snorted. "Simple." He said like it was the greatest challenge in the world. Which it was. He looked back to Riley and noticed the young man was fast asleep. Artie walked over and touched him on the shoulder. Riley's eyes opened and focused up on Artie.

"Yeah?"

"You and Claudia should head back. I'll be here for a while."

Riley nodded tiredly as he got up. He went upstairs and a minute later he came walking back down with Claudia in his arms. Artie couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Riley sway a little as he walked towards the door. He turned back to the computer as the door shut behind the two young agents.

Riley bumped the car door shut as he held Claudia in his arms. He walked to the front door of Leena's, he bent down and grasped the door handle. Suddenly the front door opened and Leena herself appeared in the doorway. "Hey, Riley."

"Leena." Riley replied with a smile.

Leena narrowed her eyes at Riley, Pete had told Riley about this. Leena was reading his 'aura'. Of course Pete had called it 'Leena's spooky mind reading power.' She smiled. "Your aura seems content."

Riley shifted his weight and his grip on Claudia. "Does it?"

Leena nodded. "I'm sensing good energy patterns coming off of you and Claudia. Even now."

Riley arched an eyebrow at 'even now.' "What's that mean?"

Leena grinned like she wasn't going to give up the secret. "Find out for yourself."

Riley rolled his eyes. "Fine." He muttered quietly. He squeezed past Leena. "Excuse me." He went upstairs, passing Pete, Myka and Steve in the living room. The former two of the three grinned at him like Cheshire cats. Riley nudged open Claudia's door and carried her to her bed. Using one arm, he swept back the covers and slid Claudia into the sheets.

As he was about to leave, Claudia reached out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. He looked down and noticed her eyes were open. "Stay."

"Bed's a little small."

It was. It was a single bed, they would have to squeeze together just to fit. Claudia slid closer to the wall. "There's room."

Riley opened his mouth to protest but realized it was pointless. Plus he was tired. "Fine." He kicked off his boots and jeans. Claudia got off her sneakers and skinny jeans, she pulled her shirt off revealing a sports bra. Riley felt his breath hitch, this was the closest he had ever seen her naked. She was beautiful. Not a flaw or imperfection he could see. Riley peeled back the covers again and slipped in beside Claudia.

Claudia waited until Riley was in and the covers were back in place when she made her move. Claudia slowly draped her leg over Riley and slid up until she straddled him. She locked her legs together, leaned forward, putting her hands on his stomach. She grasped the hem of his shirt. "I wanna see what kind of guns you got working here."

Riley said nothing as Claudia pushed up his shirt to his neck and stopped. She quietly stared at him, her eyes wide and unblinking. Riley's body was a mess. On the one hand, he was cut. But she had never seen this many wounds on a person's body. Riley watched her in silence as she scanned over every wound. There were bullet wounds, knife wounds, distant signs of surgery, she could see several angry looking scars. "What are these?" She whispered, tracing one of the wounds that was on his stomach.

"Let's call those 'impromptu field surgery wounds'."

Claudia knew what that meant. Riley had gotten hurt in the field and needed to be patched up quickly. Claudia saw the wound he had gotten in New York and traced it with her finger. Claudia saw a hint of a tribal tattoo on his right shoulder. She pushed the shirt up farther. The tattoo had come over his right shoulder and disappeared around his back, the rest of the tattoo curled down his right arm until it stopped near his elbow. On his left bicep she saw the SAS insignia along with the words "Who dares wins" written across the middle.

"I've got another tat on my upper back on my left shoulder. It's a tribal Phoenix."

Claudia nodded dumbly, still in shock over his wounds. "Do you get hurt a lot?"

Riley shrugged. "Not often. A couple of times over the course of a month. Nothing too serious. A few weeks in the hospital and I'm back in the field. You should see my mates, they're almost as bad as me."

Claudia slid forward until she laid across Riley's chest, their noses touching each other. Riley could see tears welling up in her eyes. "How can….you be so..." Claudia struggled to find the right words. "calm about getting hurt?" She tried to blink away the tears but they came regardless. "Don't you care?"

Riley patted her thigh, not that he wanted her to get off but rather because he was thinking. "I used to. I mean, I knew what was in store when I signed up. That's why I signed up to be a sniper when I joined Spec. I thought I could stay out of the action but it keeps finding me. Pretty soon, I just learned to accept it."

Claudia leaned back up, she stared him down. "Well," She sniffled. "you don't have to worry about that anymore. You'll get shot a lot less on this job."

Riley quietly snorted. "Considering I got shot when I met you, I'd say otherwise." Riley could tell that Claudia was being serious. "I'm sorry." He stroked her thigh. "I'm sorry." He said firmly.

Claudia slid off Riley, she rolled over onto her side. Claudia felt Riley put his arm around her and pull her close to him. "Goodnight, Riley."

"Goodnight, Claudia." Riley replied sleepily.

End of Chapter 2.

A/N: Two down, billions of possibilities to go. If anyone likes the idea of Calder, Artie, Claudia and Riley double dating, please say so. The next chapter will be more of an original story. Meaning no artifacty goodness. I'm also toying with the idea of Claudia introducing Riley to her brother as her boyfriend. Let me know.