Disclaimer: I don't own anything or ever want to own anything related to Warehouse 13 or make any profit as a result of its production. It has provided a platform for the creation and development of my personal world. For that I say thank you.
A/N: Thank you for all comments and reviews. They are always appreciated and considered. Keep crying, keep laughing. Without one, you can't have the other.
Steve,
Surgery was pushed up due to a change in the Dr.'s schedule. I am sorry Claudia cannot make it. It would have been nice to see her in person. It is just as well. We are both adults, after all, even if we may not act as such on many occasions and she can be just a bit too much of the mother hen.
Our travel plans have changed. Myka went back to work and instead we are trying to make arrangements for a trip to Tenerife. Myka claims she would like to spend more time actually exploring the island and not each other. As there has been little exploring going on, that is unlikely to be a problem. Claudia's comment was not appreciated either. We first have to arrive without killing each other first. Myka seems to think the killing part is more of an issue for me and not her. I was far from amused with that comment and believe it may actually be the other way around.
I concede. She was right and I was wrong. Thank you for pointing out in your subtle way what a complete stubborn ass I can be. She is just as stubborn though! It certainly makes life interesting. There's nothing like a good old fashioned row to get the blood flowing. We could do with a bit less flow I think. We seem are excelling in the argument department. I'm sure you are too well acquainted with that, but there has been little reprieve. I fear we are not adjusting to this new life style of ours.
What is going on there and why will no one tell me?
We still plan to be there for Christmas. I miss home.
-HG
"I can't believe it. I just can not believe it. No, I take it back. I can believe it. How many phones does this make now? You know, those things really are not time machine proof and they certainly aren't HG Wells temper proof." Myka threw up her arms and stopped in her tracks, turning around to face a very pissed off Helena before entering the store. She started laughing, much to Helena's annoyance.
"Do you know how many phones you have gone through since I've known you? Since we've been together? Mrs. Frederic was starting to threaten to not replace them. Now I know why you were told to leave them home before going off on those secret trips of yours and it wasn't for security reasons." She sobered at the reminder of those trips and why they were now in the middle of Atlanta to get a new phone and not South Dakota this time.
Helena was scowling. "It's really not that funny, Myka. It's not as if we haven't replaced yours on more than one occasion. And if you are going to comment on one's temper, let me remind you, I was the target of one of those occasions. It's a good thing I have good reflexes and be very thankful your friends didn't explain that one to Artie." Helena crossed her arms indignantly, reminding Myka of yet another precursor to the storage unit. "I just don't think about it. I wasn't born with a cellular phone in my hand like the rest of you, and you know very well it was for security reasons…mostly. Admittedly, there was a certain amount of wear and tear on the phones they did give me. They didn't fare much better than I did. At least they were replaceable!"
Myka smiled feebly. "And I bless every night I go to bed that you are there jamming your cold feet under me to warm them up." She so wanted to kiss the sadness away from the face looking away from her into the distance. She wondered at times what Helena saw, but had determined she probably really didn't want to know. When Helena was ready, if ever, she'd tell her. She grabbed the bottom of Helena's shirt and gave it a tug to bring her back from the dark abyss she had wandered back into. "Come on. Let's go get that 400th phone of yours. I'm going to wander around and meet you out here."
"I think 400 is a great exaggeration on your part," Helena pouted, walking off in the direction of the phones.
Myka found herself enveloped in the overwhelming oppressiveness of the heavy, stagnant air that lingered in the house as soon as Helena opened the door. She headed straight for the kitchen with the few items of groceries they'd stopped to pick up for dinner. Myka turned quickly, stopping what she knew was seconds from emerging from Helena's mouth.
"Don't even say it!" Helena's mouth was already partially open, in the process of uttering the words Myka was tired of hearing. "We live in Atlanta. We live here because of you. It's hot here. The heat will break. I've tried, Helena. I've really tried to accommodate your ridiculous refusal to turn on the AC. Yes, it can be too cold sometimes, especially in public buildings. I work in one. But this is under our control. Turn on the God damned AC! I'm tired of hearing you complain it's too hot when there is a very easy solution to that problem. When you are hot, you are cranky, and honestly, I just can't deal with it anymore."
"But Myka…" Helena began, a pained expression on her face.
"Don't 'but Myka' me. It's the end of the line. I'm hot. I'm tired. And honestly, as intoxicating as your scent can be to me, when you're hot and sweaty you don't smell so great. I'm going for a walk." Myka headed towards the still open door and slammed it behind her, leaving a shocked and confused Helena staring at the door.
"Claudia! Can you at least tell me why it's centered over 'that' section?" Artie gestured with wide open arms towards the disturbance before heading for the warehouse doors.
"Artie! I really wouldn't go down there if I were you…" Claudia managed to grab his arm just in time with a push on her chair. "You've come a long way, but the warehouse sort of has a memory of your feelings for said former agent."
Steve leaned against the far wall, arms crossed. "She's right, Artie. You'll get zapped. Pete already did."
"Then, pray tell, what the Hell is going on?" Artie shouted, veins popping out on is forehead.
"Whoa, Artie, back off. Meridians, remember? Start pushing. Don't you think if I knew I would have fixed it by now?" Claudia stared at the erratic cloud over the one section of the warehouse, shaking her head. She had an idea, but she certainly wasn't telling anyone. It had to fix itself.
A phone on the desk rang. Claudia looked down at it before turning her head to give Steve a sly smile. "Speaking of our Victorian, it's your girlfriend, Steve." She looked at the picture that flashed at her. It was a picture of HG looking over her shoulder at him from the nude beach she and Steve frequented in Tenerife. "Really, dude, do you have any idea how totally wrong it is for a gay guy to have a picture of a naked woman on the beach on his phone?"
"Ha, ha. She reprogrammed it on me before she left." He snatched up the phone before Claudia could grab it.
"But you haven't changed it…" Claudia sing-songed back to him.
"She jammed it somehow. You should see what she used for you." In a moment of maturity he stuck his tongue out at her. "Hello?" He turned his back to the two arguing over the electrical storm in the warehouse.
"Have you even tried it?"… "Then how do you know?"… "You may actually find out it's not so bad."… "Just try it."… "Honestly? Yes, I do."... "HG, you can be so stubborn you become blinded."… "No, you don't need me to tell you that, but obviously you did. Sounds to me like Myka's been really, really patient with you."… "Think about it."… "I don't know why she walked out. I would guess because you really pissed her off."… "That's your job to find out."…"You do it all the time, HG."… "No, nothing going on here that I know about."… "No, Claudia hasn't said a word."… "Everything is fine."… "Huh, really?"…"Well, that's interesting."..."It takes time to adjust. You of anyone should know that. Look what you've had to adjust to in the past few years. I'm sure it'll be fine."… "Yeah, yeah, you too…"
Steve dropped his phone on the desk and leaned over Claudia, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. With a tight smile on his face, he quietly spoke directly into her ear, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Claudia slowly turned her head around to look into his blank face. Her face fell before she tried to smile, teeth showing unnaturally behind her lips. "Irk. Domestic issues?"
"A little bit more than that, and I think you know more than you're saying. What's going on with the freak? Is that why we have a big black cloud over a certain part of the warehouse?"
Myka came home much later to a significantly cooler house and the kitchen light left on for her. She walked into the kitchen, dropping a bag on the table, made a margarita à la Helena style and sucked it down. Emptied, she sighed and made another before heading up the stairs to the bedroom.
She leaned against the door jamb, head resting against the wood. The bathroom light was on and its door half-shut, a small slice of light crossing the bed. Helena was sound asleep, covers pulled tightly to her chin. She still couldn't sleep without a light on. Myka frowned, fighting the tears that still scratched at her eyes since the library incident days earlier. Helena had no idea she was home. That new found emptiness in her stomach seemed to grow as she stood in the silent darkness, gazing upon what seemed like a distant face revealed in the light from the bathroom. Abruptly, she turned and trotted down the stairs and out into the heat of the screened porch throwing herself onto the swing, banging the wall as it swung back with the force.
"Shit!" The margarita spilled over her hand. Shaking the liquid dripping down her arm, she finished the remainder in one gulp before returning to the kitchen to make another.
She returned to the bench, tipping her head back, and pushed the swing more gently, back and forth. She smiled when she looked at the ceiling. Helena had gathered branches and fastened leaves to them over the swing bench in an attempt to emulate the big maple. 'After all, it is our new think spot' she'd said. 'So why shouldn't we have our tree?'
"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be there now," Myka whispered to the cacophony of insects surrounding her. Reluctantly, she picked up her phone and dialed.
"Yeah, Mykes? What's up? You okay?" Pete was breathless.
"Yes, I mean, no, I mean…"
"Hey, Mykes, can I call you back? Kind of in the middle…Ouch! Why you little…a situation here."
"Yeah. Everything's fine." The phone went dead. "Yeah, everything is just peachy."
Myka laughed at the drink in her hand finishing it off. Ignoring the insects she spoke to her empty glass, feeling the effects of its former resident. "So much for self-control, Myka. You never overindulged, right? You overindulged the minute you saw her and haven't been able to stop since." She laughed again, more loudly this time. "Until recently, that is."
She set the empty glass under the bench and pushed back again, letting the momentum carry it on its own until it stopped. Helena was right. It was too hot here. They needed to find someplace to settle. She was bored at her job. They were both restless and it wasn't just the heat that had them on edge. It was always Helena that walked out on arguments. Myka accepted that as Helena's call for a time out. She still came back when she'd calmed down, or rather they both calmed down, and talked it out.
"What happened to the freak?" Myka implored the insects again. They all seemed to have an answer for her, but not one she could understand. All she could understand was that its loss felt as much physical as it did emotional. Without it they were falling apart. With the surgery moved she was spending more time at work. Helena was stuck in her workbook. They ate, Helena had her game with Claudia while she read and they went to bed. Boom…'and they all fall down'. Myka finally gave into the tears. Everything they had fought for was falling apart. Helena was right again. There was never going to be an easy way with them. With that last thought, Myka headed to bed, ignoring the glass she tipped over on the way inside, and fell into bed without bothering to change. As she drifted off to sleep the last thought through her head was Helena never woke up when she landed on the mattress.
She woke up the same way she fell asleep; next to an empty cold space. She jerked the covers aside and threw something on, putting ankle socks on her cold feet. She had to admit to herself, padding down the stairs to the smell of coffee, the temperature was more than comfortable. Helena didn't even bother with tea, pouring her own cup of coffee instead. Not drinking it yet, she stepped out onto the porch and sat on the bench facing Myka, bringing her knees up for a place to rest her cup.
"Nice socks." Myka laughed at the Hello Kitty socks Claudia had given her for her last birthday.
"My feet are cold," she said quietly.
Myka handed her own cup of coffee over to Helena with a small smile, exchanging it for the fresh cup. "Your feet are always cold. Your feet will always be cold. It can be ninety degrees out and your feet are cold." Myka lifted her legs up slightly, and waited. "Well, are you jamming them under me or not?"
Helena quickly placed her feet under the offered warmth. "Thank you."
They sat in an uneasy silence.
"Where were you last night and when did you get back? And why are we out here and not inside in the bloody air conditioning, which I admit you were right about and I was wrong." She sipped her coffee, avoiding Myka's eyes.
"I adjusted it so it's not so cold. I thought we could enjoy the fresh air before it got too hot." She set the untouched coffee in her hands down on the floor, next to the glass she tipped over the night before. "I was just out thinking, okay? I got you a new phone cover too. 'Military grade' just for you. It's on the table. I sat outside for a while before I came to bed. You were already asleep."
"I never heard you come to bed." Helena frowned. "When did you get up?" Confusion settled over her face watching an equally disturbed expression unfold on Myka's tired, drawn face.
"A couple of hours ago. I couldn't sleep." Myka pushed the bench gently with her feet.
"I thought you had to work today?"
"I called out. I'm tired," Myka stated flatly.
Helena jerked her head back in surprise. "Myka, you never miss work."
"Well, I decided since our plans got messed up, maybe we needed some day trips or something else. Maybe even an athletic nap. If you feel like it, that is. Things have gotten a little dry."
"Really, Myka, it hasn't been that long."
"In our universe it has." Myka sighed. "You don't feel it either do you?"
"Feel what, darling?" Helena wiggled her feet deeper under Myka's legs, knowing exactly what she was referring to just as the door bell rang. "Who the Hell is on our doorstep this early in the morning? I'm barely dressed."
Myka stood up, grabbing the items on the floor. "And that's been an issue for you since when? It's probably the grocery boy making an early delivery hoping for a big tip." Myka wandered back in as the door bell rang again.
"Touché," Helena mumbled under her breath turning to watch the birds in the nearby trees. Two squirrels chased each other in the biggest tree between their house and the neighbor's house, knocking more branches to the ground for her to pick up. "Little bastards."
Helena looked up at the commotion coming from the house. It was too early for visitors. Even for her. Myka stood in the doorway, a strained expression on her face, eyes cold.
"Helena, you have a visitor. Apparently, a very good friend I gather." She stepped aside.
Helena's face turned white before quickly standing and stumbling somewhat in the process. "Michael? What are you doing here?" she fumbled, looking from face to face between the two in the doorway.
"I'll get you that cup of coffee to go with these scones you so nicely brought...Michael." Myka looked up to the tall handsome man beside her, smiling, before sending a volley of daggers at Helena with one glance.
The tall man walked out onto the porch, lifting her in his arms before setting her down with a deep kiss.
He laughed and then spoke with an equally smooth, deep British accent. "Helena. I came to see you, of course."
Helena tried to push him away slightly with her hands on his broad, muscular chest. "Uh, Myka, this is…"
"Yes. I know. Michael. I answered the door, remember? You might want to consider some real clothes. I'll go get that coffee. Anything for you, Helena?" Myka asked coldly.
Helena looked down at herself. She was dressed in the merest of clothes; a thin, loose tank top of Myka's, baggy boxers and her Hello Kitty socks.
"Uh, yes. I'll be right back. If you'll just excuse me, Michael." Still blanched and very much unbalanced by their new guest, she looked straight into Myka's eyes, pleading for time to explain. The question was how.
"Oh, Helena. There's no need. It's not like I haven't seen you in less. I do love the socks, though. Feet still get cold?" He laughed heartily.
"Oh, trust me. It is very much necessary." Helena scurried into the house and up the stairs.