Hey guys, so sorry I haven't updated this in forever! I had lost my muse for awhile, but then I was reading through the previous chapters again and was able to continue with it

Disclaimer: I do not own Warehouse 13 or it's characters, only Amber, my original character. I am not making money from this story and no money has exchanged hands in the process of writing or posting this story.


After Claudia and Amber sat for a few hours in silence, an orderly came back with a few of Claudia's things: toiletries, some clothes, and a leather-bound notebook Claudia had never seen before.

"Where's Vanessa?"

"You're at level 0 right now in our recovery program, Claudia. That means no visitors. Your doctor will determine your level status related to how well you're doing in the program. Things like going to all of your therapy sessions, eating your meals, and following the rules will help you advance in the program."

"Oh," Claudia mumbled dejectedly. After sorting through the things, she opened up the notebook and found Artie's scrawling, barely legible cursive on the first page.

Claudia, I didn't really know what to do to help, so I decided to make something you would be able to use.

-Artie

Claudia flipped through the pages and found a number of difficult differential equations, and handwritten notes with small sketches for invention designs, along with a few pictures of the Warehouse team. She swiped at the tears in her eyes.

"What's that?" Amber was sitting up in bed, drawing something in a sketchbook, her black-framed hipster glasses slowly descending the bridge her nose.

"Um, a notebook. From my boss-er, father figure type… person." She reached up and scrubbed her tears away.

"Ah.. okay…" Amber pushed her glasses up her nose, waiting for Claudia to say more.

"It's just, uh… He knows me really well." She held up a page with a complicated equation on it. "This, here… this is the kind of thing that will keep me sane And this?" She flipped the pages and held up one with a sketch for a machine which would travel around and neutralize artifacts using a remote control. "This is the kind of project that keeps me grounded and remember who I am."

"That's really cool." The dark-haired girl gave her a smile.

"Yeah. So, whatcha drawing?" Claudia didn't want to talk about herself anymore or she knew she'd break down.

"Oh, uh…" The brunette's thin, pale face flushed bright red, then she slowly held up the sketchbook. Sketched on the page with a skilled hand was a picture of Claudia, sprawled out on her bed.

"Hey, that's good."

"Thanks. Can I... ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why did you try to kill your friends?"

"Oh, uh, I have PTSD. I was having flashbacks."

"Oh, okay. So it wasn't like you really hated them or anything?"

"No. I love them 're the closest thing I have to family, well, except my brother." She bit her lip, realizing she had let herself share too much information with the near-stranger next to her.

"Oh?"

"Uh, Yah. My parents and sister died when I was little."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Not your fault. So what about you? Got a family?"

"Yeah. I've got a mom in Featherhead. My dad split before I was born."

"Sorry."

"To repeat what has been previously said, 'it's not your fault.'"

Just then, an orderly knocked on the door. "Girls, it's time for DBT."

"Claudia, we haven't heard a peep from you all session. What do you think about Square Breathing?" The exceedingly peppy DBT group therapist was smiling and staring at her intently.

"Huh? Oh, it's… it's good….. Um, practical. Definitely practical." Claudia had zoned out about 20 minutes earlier, and hadn't heard a thing the chipper, over-caffeinated woman had said.

"Absolutely! Great input." As she gave her an overly enthusiastic smile and continued leading the group, Claudia recessed back into her own mind.

She was remembering. It wasn't a flashback, just a memory.

A day in the park with her family. Her parents, Joshua, and Claire were all there. They were smiling, laughing, pushing each other on the swings. Even her parents were running around like kids.

That was the day before they died.

She remembered the next day too, though she had tried time and time again to push it down.

So it might have, maybe, possibly been turning into a flashback. Maybe. Things were shifting focus, and suddenly she was right there, and it was happening all over again.

The phone was ringing. She and Joshua were at home while their parents and Claire had gone to an orchestra concert for the girl's birthday. It was several hours later, when they should have been home, that Josh got the phone call. He stared into space, then dropped the phone, and it landed on the carpet with a dull thud. He put his head in his hands and didn't say anything for a long, long time, though she kept asking him what had happened. She was crying. She knew something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Finally, her brother spoke.

"Claude, I need you to be a brave girl, okay?" The boy had just barely turned 18. "I'm going to tell you something, but I need you to promise me you'll be brave, okay?"

"Okay. What is it?" She tried her best to be brave.

"Mom, Dad, and Clairesy were in a car accident."

"What?"

"Claude, just listen. They were in a car accident and were taken to the hospital. We need to go there."

"Okay." There were tears streaming down her face, but she was trying her best. Trying to be brave.

All of a sudden, they were in the hospital waiting room.

"Son, can I talk to you alone?" The doctor lead Joshua outside, and Claudia watched his face through the window. Somehow, despite her smallness, she knew what had happened by the way his face contorted. He was out there for a few long minutes, then slowly stumbled into the room.

"They're all dead aren't they?"

He nodded and pulled her into a tight hug.

Claudia had a vague idea of what dead was. Her bunny rabbit, Fluffles, had died last year. He had lain so still, and wouldn't open his eyes. Then her mother had taken him and put him in a shoebox, and placed it in a hole in the back yard.

She buried her face in the stomach of his sweatshirt and cried. She didn't really know what being dead should mean to her.

"Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we gonna put them in shoeboxes in our back yard?"

He looked at her for a moment, then bent so he was at eye level with her.

"No we're not. And it's all going to be okay, Claudia. Alright? I'm never going to leave you. I'll always be here for you, even though Mom and Dad and Clairesy are gone."

"We're never going to see them again, are we?"

"No, we're not."

Claudia realized in that moment what death really meant. It meant she would never see them again.

The siblings sat in the room for hours, holding onto each other tightly. Only Joshua could flesh out the details of what this meant. It meant they were alone in the world. Utterly alone.


Claudia was crying quietly, knees drawn up to her chin, caught up in her flashback.

"Claudia, what's the matter?" The perky DBT counselor was getting in her face. "Claudia?"

"Leave me alone," she said in a low, dangerous voice.

"Claudia, we're having DBT therapy right now. I need you to be in the now.

"Stop it!" The redhead was growing increasingly agitated, and the other group members shifted in their seats and whispered.

"Claudia, I'm going to need you to calm down."

"But they're gone. They're gone!" Sobs were racking the girl's body. She wasn't holding back or acting tough. She was devastated.

"Clau-"

"No!" She was howling like a hurt puppy, and two burly orderlies were quickly approaching.

"Hey, leave her alone," Amber spoke. Her voice was soft, but firm. "She'll be fine if you just leave her alone. Won't you, Claudia?"

The redhead heard Amber's voice through her shifting flashbacks. She sounded so much like Claire. Suddenly, she threw her arms around the tiny girl. "Claire, Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Okay. It's okay. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Claudia's sobs didn't relent, and she was sinking to the ground, pulling Amber with her. Clawing at the ground, she tried to find purchase.

"Shh, it's okay," the fragile brunette said soothingly as she stroked Claudia's sweaty back.

"No, it's not okay. They're dead! They're all dead. You're..." She looked at Amber, eyes wide, "you're dead... You can't be here. You're not Claire!"

"No, I'm not."

"You're not Claire, cause Claire's dead! Claire's dead!"

Suddenly, Claudia got up and started running down the hallway, when two orderlies finally caught up with the girl. One held the teenager, who was writhing and screaming, while the other pulled out a syringe and sank it into the girl's arm. She struggled for a second more before falling limp and they lowered her gently to the ground.


Thank you for reading and I would love it if you would review and let me know what you thought!