Sorry this took so long, I suck I know. I had planned on there being a longer period of awkwardness between them, but I haven't had much luck with fanfiction lately. I wanted to give this some sort of finality rather than wait forever to finish it. I hope it's not a total disappointment. Thank you to everyone who kept hounding me to finish this piece. I'm sorry it took so long.

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"Out, now," Myka said, glaring at Artie. If only he hadn't forced his way in, maybe she and Helena could have talked. They might have had just a few more moments. This was not what she had expected at all.

"Myka, I just wanted-" Artie tried to explain.

Myka shook her head no, sucking her lips into her mouth and pulling to the right. "It doesn't matter. I need to be by myself. Please, I can't talk about this yet," she said, eyes brimming with emotion.

The truth was that it wasn't talking about it at all she couldn't face. She wasn't ready to face Helena's rejection, especially with a roomful of onlookers. She needed to process everything that had happened and she needed to catch her breath.

Artie nodded silently and left right away. Pete followed next with a worried, but understanding glance. "We're here for you Mykes," he said, "No one's judging."

"You might not be Pete, but we all know how Artie feels," she said, sadly. She felt her pulse starting to slow, but she was still too worked up to really calm down. She was still throbbing, as her body hummed through the aftershocks of one of the most powerful orgasms she'd ever had.

"Claudia," she called to the younger woman before she could leave.

Claudia turned to look at her, worry and fear in her eyes. She had tried to stay out of the way and she didn't think Myka would have picked any other scenario to take care of things, but a small part of her still worried that she'd get blamed for not standing up.

Myka shook her head no. "Stop it, you did the right thing. Thank you," she made sure the other woman really believed her before she nodded towards the door. It was good to see the relief wash over Claudia's features, calming in its own way. If only she and Helena, could find similar relief.

Myka sat on her bed hugging a pillow to her stomach. Finally having caught her breath, the throbbing of body began to settle to a dull ache between her legs. She let her mind wander over the situation at hand. Helena, was all she could think of.

She knew the other woman had left and locked herself in her room. It was just her way. She would avoid the others and maybe even Myka until the discomfort passed or they were forced back to work.

Myka winced as she truly accepted that Helena would be ignoring her as well. There had always been some unspoken comfort between them, Myka being allowed to slip into Helena's walls when no one else was. That would change now.

Myka knew what Helena had said was true, but it didn't take the sting of her departure away. She couldn't help it. Approval was something she sought, especially from those who were important to her.

Thinking over her own emotions, she considered how things could play out. She was embarrassed, but she didn't feel any resent towards the other woman. As far as she was concerned, she was not violated by anyone. If she were to blame anything, it would be that damn artifact. All she knew was she didn't want to lose Helena as a friend.

The best thing to do to prevent any discomfort or misunderstandings was to go right over there and talk to her. They needed to clear the air and she didn't need any more time to process what she already knew. Helena was important and she was not going to give up their friendship over something so uncontrollable.

Looking at her own door with longing her resolve solidified. They would talk- just them, not the whole household with opinions and judgments. She knew she was being too hard on the others, but none of them understood. Well, maybe Claudia did.

Myka quickly made her way next door and knocked on the door. There was no answer. She knew Helena was in there and probably avoiding her, but she had managed to gather the courage to face this and she needed to do it while that courage lasted. "Please, Helena," she asked, loud enough that the other woman could not possibly claim she hadn't heard.

She heard the lock turn and there was a moment's hesitation, but finally the door opened. Myka's heart went out to Helena the moment she saw her. The other woman had obviously been crying and she refused to meet Myka's gaze. "I need to talk to you," she said, motioning towards the inside of the room.

Helena sniffed and nodded, shuffling back a few steps to let Myka enter. "How are you feeling?" she asked, honestly concerned. Her voice cracked slightly and she swallowed hard trying to erase the scratchiness the tears had left her with.

"Emotionally or physically?" Myka asked, her tone voicing her confusion with the whole thing. She moved towards the chairs Helena had set up by the bookcase, but changed her mind. Myka curled up on the edge of the bed and drew her knees up under her chin.

"Either? Both? I just want to know you're okay," Helena said, not voicing that she also wanted to know they were okay. "May I?" she asked, pointing towards the spot next to Myka.

"Really?" Myka said, sarcasm easing the tension, "You're going to ask me if you can set next to me in your own room after today?" She laughed gently, but somewhat embarrassed and looked away.

Helena sat down next to her, leaving a fair amount of space in between them. "Myka," she said, desperation in her tone, "I would never, never, willingly put you in a position that I wasn't sure you were comfortable with."

She began to fidget with the hem of her shirt, trying to find the words to apologize for all that had happened. "I'm truly sorry if you feel violated or manipulated in any way," she said, looking up into Myka's eyes, willing the younger woman to understand.

"You-" Myka hesitated, suddenly feeling incredibly foolish about the whole thing, "You think I'm upset about what happened? You saved me, Helena. More than that, you showed me what I have been denying myself. I couldn't have asked for anything better."

Helena stood up and began to pace the room agitated. "Don't you see? You didn't get to ask for anything at all. You didn't have a choice Myka. I took that away from you."

Myka stood up and grabbed the other woman by the arms. "Helena stop. You listen to me, because this is the only thing you know. The only thing that scared me about that situation was the idea of losing you over this. The artifacts influence didn't release just because you got into my head."

Helena looked up at Myka's confession with confusion and a small amount of hope. "It didn't?" She bit her nip nervously as Myka smiled warmly at her.

"The other reason, the reason I was so worried about you hating me, it's because it was you. I wanted it to be you. I wanted to know what it was like to feel you against me, to hear your breath in my ear, to understand what it would be like to be loved by you." She wanted to drop her gaze, but knew Helena needed to see the determination in her eyes.

She could tell Helena was processing what she said, but the quiet was making her nervous so she continued her tirade. "I know you care about me. I know you wanted what was best. There was no one I would have trusted more with that situation. You want to forget it? Fine, but I am not going to lose our friendship over this. I care too much about you."

"Myka," Helena said, shaking her head smiling, "My beautiful, sweet, loving, stupid girl." She ran her fingers against the other woman's cheek, catching her jaw in her palm. "What we shared in your bed, was something truly special. I don't care if an artifact was involved, that is not a memory I would ever want to forget. You are so special to me and really darling, I'm starting to fear I'm losing my touch."

Myka crinkled her brow in confusion. Surely her reaction to Helena's touch had been more than clear. "What do you mean?" She was becoming self-conscious again, it always happened when she felt like she wasn't catching on to something those around her already knew.

Helena sighed, realizing what had been going on between them that afternoon. "I'm afraid that our need to worry about each other's comfort has led to some complete errors in communication. So, let me put things rather forwardly: I have been flirting with you for months. I have been enthralled by you since the moment we met and there is no one left on this earth that I care about more than you. Darling, how do you not know that I've been in love with you for a very long time now?"

"With me?" Myka squeaked out, sure she was imagining what the other woman was saying. It didn't help that she was exhausted, both physically and mentally, beyond what she was used to. She really should have rested before trying to take all this on.

Helena smiled and reached for Myka's hand. "Yes darling with you." She leaned forward and kissed Myka's slightly parted lips until the younger woman finally seemed to catch up. "Now, I do believe we were robbed of some very important post-coital cuddling." She tugged Myka towards her bed, delighted by the blush her friend showed.

Helena slid into the bed first, opening her arms and the covers for Myka to slide into. "Come here darling," she coaxed, wanting nothing more than to hold Myka close until she was fully rested. "You look like you could use this very much."

Myka let out a small whimper as she felt her eyes fill with tears. She nodded at Helena and curled up against the older woman, hanging on to her tightly. She knew it was irrational, but a part of her felt like there was no way this moment could last. That there was no way it was even real.

"You're safe Myka," Helena promised, gently stroking her fingers through the other woman's hair. She felt Myka hug her a little tighter and realized that wasn't the only worry. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Helena?" Myka questioned, looking up at the older woman with a tired blissful look.

Helena gave her a warning look, not wanting Myka to worry about anything right now. "What is it?"

Myka grinned and closed her eyes nuzzling into the crook of the inventor's shoulder. "Love you," she murmured, allowing herself to finally relax. Truly exhausted she was asleep before Helena even murmured that she loved Myka as well.

Smiling at the sleeping woman, Helena arranged the covers over them, kissed her partner on the forehead, and drifted to sleep as well.