Anatomy 13, Part 2...

Meanwhile, back in South Dakota…

"Do you ever think about your future?" Helena's sudden question startled Myka. They'd been silently doing inventory, each on their own side of the aisle, for the better part of an hour when Helena had suddenly asked her question.

Myka glanced up, a puzzled expression on her face. "My future?"

Helena nodded. "I've been so focused on my past the past few months that I've not really given thought to my future beyond working here," she explained.

Myka shrugged. "This is my future," she replied matter of factly.

Helena laughed.

"What?" Myka asked.

"Sure, this may be in your future, but it's not going to be your entire future," Helena responded. "Is it?"

Myka shrugged. "It's not like we're able to have much of a life outside of the warehouse."

Helena studied Myka carefully, tilting her head to the side as she did so. "Do you want children?"

Myka was startled by the question, but she didn't let it show. Or, she thought she didn't. Helena, of course, noticed. Myka shrugged. "I've gone back and forth on that my entire life. Sometimes I did, then I didn't, then I did…" She trailed off with another shrug.

"What about right now?" Helena asked seriously.

Myka thought carefully for a moment before answering. "The only reason I can think of to not have a child is that the warehouse takes up so much of my time. I'm not sure it would be fair to bring a child into a world where I couldn't be around all that much because of my job. Well, that and I don't know that I'd ever be able to find someone that I'd want to have a child with."

Helena narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Why not?"

This time, Myka laughed. "Helena, when would I have time to date? If I'm not on a mission, I'm here doing inventory."

"There are other ways to meet the right person, Myka," Helena said, a flirty smile on her face. Much to her disappointment, however, Myka just shook her head.

"I don't see it happening, Helena." She went back to work, effectively dropping the subject, even though all she could think about was if it were possible, if she could find someone to spend the rest of her life with, maybe even have a child with. If that person was Helena.

Myka cleared her throat at that thought, made a note in the ledger she held in her hand, then glanced again at Helena, who stood studying an artifact with interest, a smirk playing across her lips.

Interest piqued, Myka walked over to where Helena stood and glanced at that object holding her attention. "Leonardo da Vinci's journal," she read from the screen. Helena glanced up at her, smile widening in mischief as Myka continued to read the screen. "'Those who read the journal may experience an overwhelming need to succumb to latent-'" she paused, taking a deep breath-"'homoerotic desires.'" She felt her cheeks burn as she cleared her throat. "So, it… makes you gay?"

Helena let out a melodic laugh. "No, darling," she said, shaking her head slightly and looking at Myka with half-hooded eyes. "It doesn't make you gay. It just gives-what's the word they use these days? Closeted?-it gives closeted men and women the confidence to act on their buried desires. It's quite fascinating, really. I was the one who finally acquired it for Warehouse 12. An interesting case, that one."

Myka raised her eyebrows and was about to ask for more detail against her better judgment, but her Farnsworth started blaring. (Pete was normally in possession of it, but she'd managed to "steal" it from him that morning. It had turned into a game between the two of them.) "What's up, Artie?" she said into the metal box.

"Get back to the office. We got a ping." That was all he barked into the Farnsworth before disconnecting. Myka shook her head and closed the communication device. The two women walked back to the office in silence, Myka's mind revolving around da Vinci's journal and the way Helena had looked at her.

She would never admit to anyone, even herself, that the thought of picking up the journal and reading it had crossed her mind. Maybe then she'd have the guts to actually act on her feelings.

Pete met up with them at the bottom of the stairs leading to Artie's office and the three walked into the office together. Claudia had already returned to the office and stood behind Artie as he typed away on the computer. "Hey guys," Pete said. "We have a ping?"

"Pings," Claudia supplied. "One in Seattle and one in Sweden."

"I call Sweden!" Pete interjected loudly. Everyone just stared at him. "What? Swedish girls are hot."

"Fine, whatever," Artie relented, not up to arguing. He handed Pete a file. "You and Claudia take the Swedish ping. Myka, you and her," he pointed to Helena, "will take Seattle." He handed the other file in his hand to Myka.

"Me and Claudia?" Pete said. "Why not me and Myka? No offense, Claud. You're awesome, but Mykes and I always work together."

Artie glared at Pete, as if offended he'd even ask such a question. He pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. "Because, I don't want Claudia and her," he indicated Helena with a jab of his thumb, "working together. You and Myka are better trained to handle yourselves against her if it comes to that."

"Artie!" both Myka and Claudia protested at the same time, each for a different reason-Myka in defense of Helena and Claudia in defense of herself.

"And there's been a temporary snag in HG's new passport, so she can't leave the country until that's fixed in a week or so. So that leaves you with Claudia and Myka with her. Now go."

Pete put an arm around Claudia. "Let's go bag us an artifact, new partner!" he exclaimed. They walked out, Myka and Helena right behind them. They all had flights to catch.

Myka spent the plane ride going over the case. Helena, still weary of flying, focused on her breathing to calm herself. Myka noticed her weary state about 20 minutes into the four hour flight. "Hey, you okay?"

Helena nodded, keeping her gaze trained on the seat in front of her. "Being trapped in a steel death cage several thousand meters in the air still unnerves me, I'm afraid."

Myka reached over and placed a soothing hand on Helena's arm where it rested on the armrest. "You're going to be fine," she said softly. "I've flown hundreds of times without any problems. Flying is statistically much safer than driving a car."

Helena scoffed. "I'm not too fond of those steel death traps, either," she muttered.

Myka chuckled. "Okay, come on. Let's go over the case. Maybe that'll help take your mind off it?"

Helena took a deep breath, but nodded, finally allowing her gaze to drift to Myka's. "Thank you."

Myka smiled. "No problem. Here." She took Helena's hand in hers. "Just squeeze it as hard as you like if you get nervous."

Helena glanced down at their clasped hands and swallowed. Myka sure was making it difficult to focus on her fear of flying. Which was a good thing, right?

She cleared her throat. "Okay. Tell me about the case."

Myka nodded and opened the file. "Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital," she started, then continued to detail the case of the disappearing tumor. Myka was right. It did help Helena take her mind off her fear. But she never let go of Myka's hand.

xoxoxoxox

Back in Seattle…

"I don't understand," Arizona said, squinting at the board. "A tumor disappears from my patient and appears in yours? A tumor that only affects adolescents in your adult patient? It can't be right."

"I've gone over it five times, Arizona," Callie said. "The Chief ordered three new sets of scans for both patients. The tumor is gone from your patient. And my patient now has the exact same tumor. It's… bizarre."

"It's not bizarre, Callie," Arizona said, turning to her wife. "It's impossible. Something isn't right. I just haven't figured out what it is yet."

"Are you still going to operate on Nathan tomorrow?"

"I can't," Arizona said. "He's showing no signs of ever having that tumor. His breathing is back to normal, his O2 levels are excellent, he hasn't had a headache or dizzy spell since he was admitted… There's no indication of a tumor. To operate would be cruel."

Callie nodded. "Good call," she said.

"I'm sending Nathan to Seattle Pres in the morning to get a scan there," the Chief said as he joined them in the room. "I don't think it's our machine, but I'd rather get a second opinion. Just to be safe."

"Good idea," Arizona said. "I'll put in the transfer request."

"Already done," the Chief said. "There's actually someone here that wants to speak to you. Both of you."

"Who?" Callie asked, curious.

"Two Secret Service Agents," the Chief replied. "They're waiting for you in my office." With that, he left the room.

"Secret Service?" Arizona repeated as they walked towards the stairwell. "As in protects the president Secret Service? What do they want with us?"

Callie just shrugged and they continued to the Chief's office. Callie held the door open for her wife before entering the room behind her. The two women sitting on the couch stood as they entered the room.

"You're Drs. Robbins and Torres?" the taller of the two women asked. She wore a dark suit and her gun was barely visible beneath her fitted blazer. But it was still visible. Callie felt her wife shudder slightly at the sight. She was still a bit traumatized by the shooting less than a year prior.

"Yes," Callie replied for them. "I'm Dr. Torres. Callie. This is Dr. Arizona Robbins."

"Agent Myka Bering," the woman responded, holding out her hand to shake. "Secret Service."

"And I'm Agent Helena Wells," the shorter of the two women spoke. Callie was surprised by the English accent, but shook it off. They all exchanged handshakes.

"I'm a bit confused what the Secret Service wants to talk to us for," Callie said.

"Is the president in town or something?" Arizona asked. "Does he need medical treatment?"

Myka smiled. "Nothing like that," she assured. "We're here on more of a local matter."

"It's about the disappearing tumor in your patient, Dr. Robbins," Helena supplied.

"How on Earth do you know about that?" Arizona asked, surprised.

The two women shared a look. "We make it our business to know about things of this nature," Myka replied.

"This nature?" Callie questioned.

"Weird stuff," Myka said. "Stuff that can't really be explained. But there's always an explanation behind it. That's what we do; figure out the explanation. We just have a few questions for the two of you."

Callie nodded and they all sat, the two agents on one couch, the two doctors on the other couch across the table. Helena noted how closely they sat to one another, how comfortable they seemed with one another. Interesting, she thought to herself.

Myka and Helena questioned Callie and Arizona, but they were unable to gain any more information beyond what they already knew from the file. Sighing, Myka closed her notebook and stood. "That's all for now," she said. The other three also stood. "If we have any other questions-"

"Just let us know," Arizona said. "We want to help."

Myka nodded and walked with them to the door, Helena right behind them. "We'll need to talk to the patients, as well," Myka said. "As soon as possible."

"Nathan is in room 1512," Arizona supplied.

"And Mr. Mathers is in room 1147," Callie said. "Be careful. He's a convicted felon. There are police officers present, though."

"Thank you both," Helena said as Myka noted the room numbers. The doctors left the room and Helena studied them as they walked away. "I think they're sleeping together."

Myka whipped her head to look at Helena. "What? Who?"

"The two doctors," Helena explained as they stood in the open doorway. "They're very comfortable with one another."

Myka snapped her notebook closed. "Just because they're comfortable with one another does not mean they're sleeping together. Maybe they're just good friends. You know, like you and I." As soon as the words left her mouth, Myka realized her error.

Helena raised an eyebrow. "Like you and I?" she repeated with a smirk. "Just friends, indeed, then. We'll see. I still say they're sleeping together."

Myka rolled her eyes slightly. "Not everyone is sleeping together, Helena. It's a hospital, not a frat house. I doubt they have time to even think about sex, let alone do it. What are they going to do? Commandeer an on-call room to hook up? They only do that on TV."

Helena chuckled. "They're also wearing matching heart necklaces and rings."

Myka gave her a surprised look.

"What? You're not the only one who can be observant, darling. Now, we should go talk to the patients."

Myka, reminded of their mission, nodded. "Let's talk to Nathan first."

xoxoxoxox

"What do you suppose the Secret Service wants with all this?" Arizona mused as she and Callie left the room.

Callie shrugged. "No idea," she said. "Though, I must say, it's refreshing to see more women in positions of authority."

Arizona chuckled. Callie was a bit of a feminist. Of course, so was Arizona, so it worked out perfectly.

"And, I think they have the hots for one another," Callie continued as they waited alone for the elevator.

Arizona tilted her head in thought. "You think so?" The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Callie waited until they'd closed to answer her wife.

"I do. I'm not positive, but they were sitting awfully close and they kept giving each other these… glances."

Arizona chuckled. "Calliope, you know I'm the first one to jump onto the matchmaking wagon, but a glance or two is hardly proof of feelings for one another beyond friendship."

"Who was it that first spotted Bailey's crush on Ben?" Callie asked in a singsong voice.

Arizona sighed. "You," she grumbled.

"And who was it that set up Mark and Teddy?"

Arizona raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's the proof you're going with?"

Callie pursed her lips in defeat. "Good point," she admitted. She shook her head and took a step towards her wife, pressing her back against the wall of the elevator. "My point is that not everyone is bold enough to make their feelings known by kissing a complete stranger in a dirty bar bathroom."

Arizona grinned and looped her arms around Callie's neck. "I may have had a little help of a few glasses of wine," she said before pressing her lips to Callie's.

"Remind me to send a thank you card to Pinot Grigio," Callie murmured after a lengthy kiss, referring to Arizona's favorite type of white wine.

"I think it was a Chardonnay," Arizona corrected.

"Whatever," Callie said as she leaned in for another kiss. Just then, the elevator had the audacity to reach its destination, and the doors slid open.

"Get a room," was all Cristina Yang said as she boarded the elevator.

"Don't mind if we do," Callie said as she grabbed her wife's hand and pulled her out into the hallway, towards their favorite on-call room. Cristina just rolled her eyes and pressed the button for the floor of the Cardio wing. She had a heart to get to.

xoxoxoxox

Myka and Helena made their way to Nathan's room. As soon as they entered the Peds wing, Myka sensed Helena's hesitance. She glanced at the slightly smaller woman, shocked when she saw the pained expression on her face. You dummy, Myka chided herself. She turned to Helena. "Why don't you go talk to Mr. Mathers while I talk to the kid? It'll be faster that way."

Helena nodded and straightened her jacket. "Thanks," she said softly. "I'll just meet you back in the office later."

Myka nodded and Helena exited the Peds wing in search of the felon.

Taking a deep breath, Myka found Nathan's room and slowly entered. Inside, a young boy lay in a hospital bed playing a handheld videogame while a couple, assumedly his parents, sat in chairs next to the bed. The adults looked up when Myka entered the room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Harper?" Myka asked.

They stood and nodded. "Paul, please," the man said. "And this is my wife, Rachel."

"Agent Myka Bering," Myka introduced herself, reaching out to shake their hands. "Secret Service." She glanced at the boy in the bed who had yet to tear his gaze away from his game. "And you must be Nathan."

"Nathan, pause the game and say hello to Agent Bering," Rachel scolded the boy. He immediately did as he was told, then went right back to playing. Myka couldn't help but smile.

"What does the Secret Service want with us?" Paul questioned.

"I just have a few questions for Nathan," she explained. "It'll only take a moment." At their hesitance, she added, "You don't have to leave the room."

They nodded and Myka moved to stand next to the boy. "Nathan? Can I ask you a few questions?" This time, fearing his mother's retribution, the boy paused his game and looked up at Myka, a timid look on his face.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked in a scared voice.

Myka smiled warmly and shook her head. "No, sweetie, you're not in trouble. I promise. I just want to see if maybe you can help me with a little mystery I'm trying to solve. Does that sound okay?"

The boy tilted his head slightly and smiled. "I like mysteries."

"Me, too," Myka replied. "Nathan, has anyone other than your parents, a nurse, or a doctor been in here to visit you since you were admitted yesterday morning?"

The boy nodded. "My papaw," he replied. "He brought me Pokémon!" he exclaimed, holding up his Gameboy DS.

Myka smiled and made a mental note to find and question the boy's grandfather. "No one else?"

Nathan shook his head. Myka asked a few more questions, but nothing intriguing came of it. She smiled and thanked Nathan, then his parents, before leaving the room. She looked around, searching for the blonde doctor they'd spoken to earlier. Not seeing her, she went to the nurses' station and asked where she could find her.

"I just saw her in the infant daycare," the nurse behind the desk said. "It's down that way," she said, pointing to Myka's left. "Turn right at the end of the hallway and it's on your left. Room 1553."

Myka thanked the woman, then went in search of the woman. She'd opened the door to Room 1553 and immediately found the blonde doctor standing beside a crib, a baby cradled in her arms. She looked up Myka neared, her expression asking a silent question.

Myka shook her head in answer. "Dr. Robbins," Myka started.

"Arizona, please," Arizona corrected, shifting Sofia in her arms into a more comfortable position.

Myka smiled and continued. "Arizona, is there any way to know exactly who has access to Nathan's room?"

Arizona shook her head. "Family members, friends, anyone wearing scrubs…" She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear as she shrugged. Myka made a mental note of her slightly disheveled state, a great difference from her sleek appearance just an hour prior.

"In other words, anyone with access to a Wal-Mart," Myka muttered, remembering seeing the colorful array of nurses' scrubs the last time she'd ventured into a Wal-Mart.

Arizona shrugged again. "I suppose," she said, a slight edge to her voice that Myka noted. "It's difficult to monitor every single inch of a building this large."

Myka nodded. "Of course," she reassured her.

The baby in the woman's arms cooed and reached a tiny hand towards Myka, grinning and showing off her newly developed bottom teeth. Myka, though she'd never admit it to Pete for fear of his teasing, secretly loved babies and children. And they all seemed to love her. She'd babysat for numerous families when she was in high school and college for extra cash. She was good with kids.

Myka also noted how comfortable Arizona seemed with the baby, which she wouldn't expect anything else out of a pediatric surgeon except that this was a daycare, not a medical nursery. It appeared that the children in this room were all perfectly healthy and in no need of medical attention. Myka surmised that these children were the offspring of the hospital staff.

"And who's this beautiful baby girl?" Myka asked, smiling at the child.

Arizona's face lit up at the mention of the baby. "Sofia," she answered. "My daughter." Arizona would never tire of hearing those words coming out of her own mouth. She nuzzled Sofia's soft hair with her nose.

Myka chuckled when Sofia turned towards Arizona's nuzzling nose and bopped her mother with her tiny fist, grinning as she did so. Myka worried her bottom lip, wanting to ask, but not wanting to pry into the woman's personal life. She noted the band on the woman's left ring finger that Helena had mentioned.

"Is it difficult?" she finally asked, voice uncharacteristically timid.

Arizona looked up at Myka, confusion in her expression. "What what difficult?"

"Maintaining a relationship, having a child, while also having to devote so much of your time and effort to your job," Myka explained. "I mean, I assume it's rather time consuming to be a surgeon."

"It is," Arizona said. "And to be honest, before I met my partner, I didn't think I'd ever have children. Now, I can't imagine not having Sofia."

Myka nodded slightly, noting Arizona's use of 'partner.' "You and Dr. Torres make a beautiful couple," she said, no longer doubting that Helena had been right.

Arizona looked at her in surprise.

Myka shrugged. "You're wearing matching rings and necklaces," she pointed out. She failed to mention, however, that it had been Helena, not her, who had noticed the detail.

Arizona softened, sensing that the agent was not only accepting of her relationship with Callie but wanting to be reassured that, even though they both worked a time-consuming job, they still managed to make time for one another and their child. She had a strong suspicion that Callie had been right. The two agents had the hots for one another. But what Callie hadn't picked up on was that it appeared that Myka was the hesitant one.

Arizona shifted Sofia, who was starting to fall asleep, in her arms as she turned to more fully face the taller woman. "Look, anyone can find reasons to not get involved. Work, family, life… It's all hard to manage. But when it's right, you make time. Both Callie and I work long hours, but at the end of the day, we know we have one another. And that's a lot better than having no one, even if we don't get to spend as much time together as we'd like." She smiled and moved to place Sofia back in the crib. She checked her watch. "I'm sorry, but I have to go prep for my next surgery. Is there any other questions I can answer for you?"

Myka shook her head. "Not at the moment," she replied, still taking in what the blonde had just told her. "Thanks for…" She trailed off, not know how to exactly finish that statement.

Arizona smiled, knowing what Myka meant. "No problem," she said, then left the room.

Myka stood there for a moment, staring at the sleeping infant in the crib. It seemed that her once solid reasons for avoiding getting involved with Helena were slowly crumbling. And that scared her more than before.

Wanting, no, needing to avoid thinking about it for the time being. She was in the middle of a case. A case that's going nowhere at the moment, she thought to herself as she left the infant daycare. She'd learned next to nothing from Nathan-except that they needed to talk to the boy's grandfather-and nothing new (with the case) had come to light while chatting with Arizona. She had nothing.

She hoped that Helena was having more luck.

xoxoxoxox

Helena wasn't having any luck. No one had been to see the convicted felon other than the two armed police officers standing by his side. And neither one of them had left the room since he'd been admitted that morning.

Helena thanked the officers, then left the room. She spotted one of the doctors she and Myka had questioned earlier, the taller woman that Helena surmised to be of Hispanic descent, standing at a high countertop, making notes in a patient chart. "Dr. Torres, right?"

Callie looked up from the patient chart at the sound of the English accented voice saying her name. "Callie," she corrected with a polite smile. "Did you figure anything out, Agent Wells?"

Helena shook her head. "Not yet," she replied. "And, please, it's Helena. Do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?"

"Sure," Callie replied. She indicated the open door to a small conference room, which they entered. "Hit me," Callie said as she closed the door behind them.

Helena sat and knit her eyebrows. "Why on earth would I hit you?"

Callie chuckled as she joined Helena at the table. "It's just an expression," she said. "It means go ahead and ask. They don't use that over in England?"

Helena shook her head and decided to quickly change the subject. She was still getting used to the modern day American colloquialisms. "Do you know who has had access to Mr. Mathers' room?"

Callie shrugged. "Anyone wearing scrubs, I suppose," she answered. "Doctors, nurses, orderlies…"

Helena nodded. "But no one who's not hospital personnel?"

"They shouldn't," Callie said. "Especially since there are armed officers in the room with him."

"How possible would it be to pretend to be a doctor or nurse or orderly, here?"

Callie thought a moment. "Pretending to be a doctor would be more difficult, I suppose. We all pretty much know or are at least familiar with one another. But we're always hiring new nurses and orderlies to replace those that have retired or been let go. I see a new face almost every day. I suppose it would be pretty easy to impersonate a nurse or orderly. Though, since the shooting, security is a lot been tighter than before. All personnel are required to display their hospital ID's at all times."

"Shooting?" Helena asked.

"Yeah. The pissed off husband of a patient who died here decided to go on a shooting spree about a year ago. We lost a lot of people."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Helena said sincerely. "So that's why you and Dr. Robbins were weary when you saw Agent Bering's gun?"

Callie gave her a surprised look.

Helena shrugged. "I'm very observant. It comes with the job. The two of you also have matching necklaces and rings."

Callie unconsciously twisted the white gold wedding band on her left ring finger. "I'm not sure why the Secret Service is interested in my relationship with Dr. Robbins," she said coolly and Helena immediately realized her mistake. There were still people out there who were against same-sex relationships. Neanderthals.

Helena gave Callie her best smile. "It's not, of course," she replied. "I was merely attempting to settle a… dispute between Agent Bering and I."

"Dispute?"

"Well, more of a friendly… wager," Helena corrected. She regarded the doctor with a charming smile, trying her best to set her at ease. It appeared to be working, for Callie relaxed her shoulders slightly. It was very slight, but Helena noticed. She continued. "See, Agent Bering is convinced surgeons, especially surgeons as high ranking as Dr. Robbins and yourself, don't have time for a personal life outside the hospital walls. I'm trying to convince her otherwise."

Callie tilted her head slightly, considering Helena's words carefully. She sensed there was something deeper to the Englishwoman's curiosity, but she didn't mention that for the time being. "Arizona and I have managed quite nicely to create a happy relationship outside these walls. It gets busy and insanely hectic at times, of course, and there are times when all I want to do is go home to my wife and child but can't because of some big case, but I know they'll be there when I'm done with whatever it is keeping me here. It's not easy, but it's possible."

Helena couldn't help but smile at Callie's obvious love for her wife-and child, she'd learned.

"Why is this important?" Callie inquired, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Helena's smile faltered only a millisecond, but Callie saw it. "Oh, it isn't really," Helena replied in her cheerful British accent. "I really should go see if Agent Bering was able to gather any new information. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me, Dr. Torres."

Callie took in the woman's quick, if seamless, change of subject back to the ultimate reason she was here. She nodded and stood. "Of course," Callie said. "Please, let me know if you need anything else."

"I shall," Helena said and, still with a smile plastered on her face, she stood and walked out of the room, leaving behind a perplexed Callie.

Callie stood at the conference room table a bit longer, going over in her head what had just transpired. It wasn't that difficult to put two and two together. Callie imagined that being a Secret Service Agent would be a time consuming career. Life consuming, actually. Like being a surgeon could be sometimes. And she'd seen the sparks fly between Helena and the other agent-Myka, was it?-earlier in the Chief's office. So was Helena trying to convince her counterpart that it's possible to have both-a career and a family?

The idea definitely merited more investigation.


Author's Note: Once again, thanks for reading! And thank you so much for the reviews on the first chapter! Reviews are much loved and appreciated (and often times gets my butt into gear on writing/posting new chapters quicker! :p)