(More detailed A/N at the end. Just to repeat - no copyright infringement intended. I do not have any affiliation with Syfy, Warehouse 13 or any of the characters)
Also because y'all are so amazing, here's 2 chapters back-to-back! :D
Claudia was mulling over a muffin on how to approach Myka about everything when Artie came bustling in through the front door, "Pete, Myka, pack your bags," he said briskly, "We've got a ping!"
"NO!" Claudia all but shouted, jumping up from the table. Pete nearly choked on his croissant as everyone turned to her with shocked faces.
"I mean -" Claudia looked down and set her half eaten blueberry muffin back on its plate, "it's been a while since Pete and Jinksy have taken a ping together". Steve looked at her with a confused look plastered on his face, "It might be good for them to have some good dude, masculine, man-to-man bonding time" she lightheartedly finished with a pointed look back at her best friend.
Myka looked up from her picked apart chocolate scone at the rest of the group. Pete wore an equally confused face, while Artie just seemed to be getting more frustrated at the fact no one was moving. Claudia and Steve seemed to be having some sort of telepathic face-off. Myka started to get up from her chair, "Alright Pete, lets -"
"No, it's fine, Myka," Steve interrupted her, still staring at Claudia. He finally broke his gaze away and smiled at the curly brunette, "Claud's right. It's been awhile since Pete and I teamed up." He snatched the file from Artie and started to guide a still confused Pete from the room, "it'll be fun. Where are we headed, Artie?"
Artie glanced at the women still at the table before bustling after Steve and a (now protesting) Pete. "Barcelona," the women heard him say, "It's a 15th century artifact that... " His voice faded as he followed the men upstairs.
Claudia sighed as she looked back down at her muffin. She glanced over to see a half standing Myka staring at her.
"What?" the redhead asked. A wave of nervousness swept over her. She hadn't been this nervous since receiving those luncheon summons from Mrs. F. That seemed like an eternity ago now.
Myka's green eyes scanned Claudia, finally settling on her brown ones. Claudia shifted her weight, but maintained eye contact.
"You've never pushed for the guys to take a case before" Myka said softly, her eyes holding a touch of suspicion in them.
"So?" Claudia tried shrugging it off, "I thought it might be good for them." She tore off a piece of the muffin and popped it in her mouth, "You know, testosterone, sausage fest, gladiators". She gave a small grin, "Besides, they're going to Barcelona. Pete's gonna be dying to go to a bullfight. I just saved you the pain of keeping him on track." She made a mental note to apologise to Jinksy later for giving him such a hard time when he was so overprotective of her. It's not easy trying to protect someone without letting them know of your intentions.
Myka searched Claudia's gaze, "Claud, is there something you're not telling me?"
It hadn't worked. Damn it. Claudia took a deep breath and looked down at her plate. "Myka, I -"
"Aaaallllrighty senoritas!" Pete came bustling in with bags on tow, "Say hasta luego before we vamanos." He mimed waving a matadors cape, "Ándale, Ándale!"
Myka and Claudia collectively groaned as Pete made a show of dancing around an imaginary sombrero. "Try not to get yourself killed or kicked out of the country, Pete" Myka said half seriously, a mixed look of worry and amusement on her face. It was the closest look to happiness Claudia had seen on the older agents face in almost a week.
"Not to worry Mykes" he spun on his heels to face his partner, "Jinksy and I will snag and bag this pesky artifact, have a few siestas, have more than a few fiestas," he rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he headed back to the fridge, reminding Claudia of a kid at Christmas. She couldn't help but smile.
"Just make sure to brush up on your Spanish, Lattimer" she said smiling, "contrary to popular belief, 'embarsado' does not mean 'embarrassed'."
Pete poked his head out of the fridge, "What does it mean?" he mumbled through a full mouth
"Pregnant" Claudia winced the second the word left her mouth, remembering Myka was still at the table. Should've picked a different joke to make, Donovan, she chastised herself.
Pete choked on his food for the second time that morning, "Now that would be embarrassing" he sputtered out after gulping down orange juice straight from the jug.
Claudia glanced back over at Myka, only to see an empty chair. She whirled around in time to see a foot disappear up the stairs. She huffed and smacked her forehead, "Stupid, stupid, stupid…"
"Why you hittin' yourself?" Pete half teased as he joined her, "Hey, where'd Myka go?"
Steve's voice came down the stairs, "She went back to her room." Footsteps followed as he materialised before them, "Said something about not feeling well."
"Oh" a worried look crossed Pete's face as he craned his neck towards the stairs, "Maybe I should go check on her…"
"Don't worry about it, Pete" Claudia tried to reassure him, "I'll check on her. You two need to get out of here before Artie drop-kicks you to Barcelona himself." She gave his suitcase a fancy whirl and tilted the handle towards Pete, "Bring us back some chocolaty goodness, yeah?"
A grin broke out on Pete's face, "Deal, sister!" He grabbed the suitcase and headed for the front door, "Bye, Mykes!" he hollered. Satisfied with the muffled "Bye, Pete" that came from upstairs, he walked out the door hollering "C'mon Jinksy!" behind him.
Steve chuckled before turning to Claudia. She crossed her arms and looked at him, "You're gonna be late, Jinksy."
He folded his arms and stared at Claudia, "You're in an awful big hurry to be rid of us, Claud." Claudia started to protest and he raised a hand to silence her, "I know, don't ask. And I'm not." He paused and locked eyes with her, concern boring from his blue into her brown, "But I'm about to go half way across the world, Claudia, so if there's something I need to know about -"
Claudia visibly relaxed, "Oh god, no, no, Steve, it's not like that," she smiled at her best friend before giving him a hug. "I'm not in any danger" she said, choosing her words carefully while pointedly maintaining eye contact. It was Steve's turn to visibly relax seeing the truth in his adopted sisters' eyes. He was returning the hug when a thought hit him. He pulled away from her, "Wait, so if it's not you you're trying to keep off the field, then -"
Claudia gave him a stern look and stepped back, crossing her arms again. Jinksy sighed, "Right. Don't ask. Okay." He picked up his bags as Pete started honking the car horn. He flashed Claudia a genuine smile, "Hasta luego, Claud."
The young genius smiled back, "Go catch yourselves an artifact!" she skipped behind him and opened the door with a flourish, "Fare thee well, señor." He was chuckling as she shut the door behind him. Once she was sure he was off the front steps and headed to the car, she crumpled against the door, resting her head on her knees.
The B&B was quiet. She frowned slightly. Artie must have left in the midst of the commotion with Pete. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen or heard Abigail in the last few days. Not that it really bothered her. She was starting to warm up to the woman, but she wasn't exactly waltzing through daisies at the thought of the therapist. And she certainly didn't want her brain being picked, right now more than ever. But, Claudia had been avoiding everyone lately, so for all she knew, Abigail was kickin' it in the library or with Artie. But the B&B was quiet almost to the point of creepy.
Claudia pursed her lips as her thoughts went back to the guys. Truth be told, she had been dying to ask Pete if he had been getting any vibes about Myka. She even considered asking Steve if Pete had mentioned anything, but that could put Myka in a tight spot before she was ready to go public, while putting her in the spot light of 4 well intentioned-but-potentially-smothering agents. Claudia knew if it were her; that would be the last thing she would want, and she felt confident enough in her knowledge of Myka to know they shared this preference. She also knew if it was her up in that room, however, she also wouldn't want to feel alone.
Claudia glanced up at the stairwell and sighed. There were no signs or sounds of movement. She shivered involuntarily. Creepily quiet. Like the calm before the storm. She stood and wiped her suddenly clammy hands on her pants. Ignoring the pit in her stomach, the young redhead started up the steps. Here goes nothin'
A/N -
In response to the last couple of reviews -
supernena25 - that is one of several different timelines going through my head atm :) Part of me doesn't want to chalk it up to an artifact; but the other part of me doesn't know how much angst and pain I can bear to put Claudia, Myka and the Warehouse gang as a whole through. I'm waiting to see how they feel/react after Claudia's confession to decide completely. HG will definitely be making an appearance though! Thank you so much for your thoughts and kind words :)
razmataz13drums - I feel the same way. There are even a lot of Pete/Claudia scenes/interaction in the series. I'm hoping in light of Myka's condition and Claudia's ordeals they'll start spending more canon time on screen as well *fingers crossed* Thank you so much :)
All y'all are the best!
