Artie raised his hand in worry as Claudia's smile fell. He touched her cheek, his thumb ghosting along her bottom lip. "My clever girl," he whispered, a touch of awe in his voice.

Claudia grasped Artie's wrist and held it in place, firmly pressing her cheek into his large, warm hand. She wanted to remember what it was like for him to reach out to her in love; she wasn't sure if he would ever do so again. "Artie, you're not gonna like this…"

His thumb froze in place, mirroring the stillness that had suddenly gripped his heart. He knew that tone; he knew it well from years of her taking apart priceless artifacts and not getting them put back together quite right. "Claudia," he growled, his hand turning her to face him. "What did you do?"

Tears ran down Claudia's reddened cheeks as she began to shake slightly. "Please don't hate me, Artie."

Something was seriously wrong. A feeling of dread pooled in Artie's guts, and he pulled his hand from Claudia's neck in order to grab her shoulders. He leaned forward, his eyes flashing. "What. Did. You. Do," he snarled.

Claudia was becoming hysterical. This was going downhill fast, and everything came out in a jumbled mess when she snapped. "You were dying, Artie, dying! It was a last resort; I had to save you! I couldn't let you die, Artie, when it was my fault and I could save you." She faced him, leaning into the hands still on her shoulders, her voice bleating. "It was me; I was the only one left. Don't you see that I had to do it?" She rose up on her knees, wide-eyed and crazy. "Tell me that you see that, old man, you have to see!"

Artie was now truly frightened. He had no idea what was happening to his Claudia. He switched his voice to the one he used when he soothed her nightmares hoping it would trigger a subconscious reaction and break her rising paranoia. "Claudia, stop." He rubbed the back of her neck softly, his thumbnail grazing the spot behind her ear that always made her shudder. "I see, Claudia, I see that you had to help me." He kept rubbing her neck until she shaking stopped. "That's better, now, isn't it?"

Claudia nodded and sniffed, embarrassed by her tears. "Yeah," she croaked, her head bowed. Artie continued rubbing her neck softly until she relaxed and sat back.

"Now Claudia," Artie began, his voice comforting and smooth. "Tell me how you fixed me." He gave her the crooked smile he knew she loved so dearly.

In a croaked whisper, she said, "I got an apple from the Asherah tree."

"You did what?" he gasped, scarcely believing her words. Dear God. Please, oh please, tell me I misheard her.

Claudia grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and blew her nose loudly in order to compose herself. She had bluffed her way out of worse situation; maybe she could still save her ass now. Yeah right, like he'll believe me after I cried like a damn baby. "I said, I got you an apple from the Asherah tree." She tossed the tissue at the trashcan, missed, and left it there. "Hey, you know, it was really no trouble—"

"BULLSHIT!"

Stunned into silence for a moment, Claudia sat wide-eyed, her mouth slightly open. "Geez, Artie, cuss much?"

Artie quickly stood up, knocking Claudia off-balance and back onto the bed. His eyes flashing and his teeth bared, he pointed a pudgy finger and snarled, "What did you promise the tree?"

"What…how did you..?" Claudia stuttered.

"I'm the top fucking agent of the Warehouse, Claudia!" he yelled, stepping towards her menacingly. "I know everything there is to know about the goddamn monstrosities in that building. I know their effects, and I know how they work, including their drawbacks." He sighed, rubbing his hand down his face and beard. The anger instantly drained out of him; sometimes he was so tired of the Warehouse. He held his hands out. "Please, just tell me, Claudia, what did you promise the tree in exchange for an apple?"

Claudia shrunk into the corner and gulped. "I – I promised the tree that your lifespan would be the same as mine. When you die I will too."

Artie's face fell. He had known the apple would come with a hefty price, but he had never imagined something like this. He stepped backwards and fell into a chair, his weight slumping all at once. After a few silent minutes, he looked towards the corner where the love of his life huddled in fear of him. "Claudia," he croaked, holding out a hand pleadingly, "how could you do this?"

Claudia edged out of the corner, slowly coming forward yet leaving enough room between her and Artie that she could run if she had to. "I love you, Artie," she said softly, "and I didn't want you to die."

Artie shook his head sadly. "Don't you get it, Claudia? It's not about me, it's about the Warehouse." He sighed. "Your first priority should be to protect the Warehouse, not me. How could you do this?"

"It's not her fault, Arthur." Mrs. Frederic stepped into the room, her shoes a hard, somber sound upon the old wooden floor. "This has all been part of my plan."

Artie froze, is eyes glancing back and forth between his employer and his fiancé. "What plan did you two harpies hatch?"

"Careful how you speak, Arthur. For your information, Claudia knew nothing."

"Ha!" Claudia made a nasty face and stuck out her tongue at Artie. He glared her tongue back into her mouth.

"It's time that some of the pieces were revealed, Arthur. The Muses have notified me that it's time you two were apprised of the current situation."

Claudia spoke first, her curiosity piqued. "What situation?"

Mrs. Frederic glanced between the other two in the room. "Two months ago, a new statue appeared in the Shrine of the Muses. They've never had a new statue before; all the Muses were created simultaneously."

Artie gave her a questioning look. "Who does the statue look like?"

Mrs. Frederic fixed Artie with a piercing glare. "You."