Having a baby wasn't anything like the fantasies first time unsuspecting mothers had while they waited for their little bundles of joy to arrive. Having a baby around was a lot smeller and nosier and sleepless than Myka had expected, but it was still worth every smelly, noisy, sleepless moment. She had once been so career driven that this kind of thing had never crossed Myka's mind, she couldn't have foreseen just how satisfying having a family would be for her. She was content in a way she had never been before, in a way she had never known was possible. Having a child, sharing her life with the woman she loved, it had brought Myka to a whole new level of happy. Even in those moments when she was begging for just a few minutes to close her eyes, when her clothes reeked of sour breast milk, and she longed for a moment of silence just to hear her own thoughts there was a smile on her soul and a bright glow in her heart. She was joyful and blessed, and there was a sense of peace about Helena that made it all even more amazing.
They had worried about Helena, about how she would handle having a child, and it was hard she wouldn't lie about that. Having another child in her life, being a mother once more, forced Helena to once again work through the loss of Christina and the life they'd shared together, as well as the life they had missed out on. But Charlie had brought a sense of renewal and peace to Helena's heart. Holding her baby daughter in her arms close to her heart was a soothing balm to her soul that had allowed Helena to let go in ways she hadn't before. Though Christina would always be with her, she would always be in her heart, her soul, her memory, it felt as if the specter of her lost little girl had finally gone to rest in peace because Charlie was there to look after their mother now.
"This is never going to come out." Myka said with a pout as she looked at the yellowing spit up stain on her button down white blouse.
"I warned you." Helena said from where she sat on the sofa with Charlie in her arms, a small smile on her face as she watched Charlie closely as the bright eyed infant carefully studied the phenomenon of her own wiggly fingers. "She had the hiccups and she'd just nursed." Charlie's eyes had changed into a lovely dark shade of mossy green, and under her little pink and tan stripped cap her hair was a raven black and wavy. "Sometimes Mommy just doesn't listen, Charlie."
Myka continued to pout. "I just wanted to wear something adult for a change. A girl can only wear sweats and tees for so long before she starts feeling inhuman."
Helena smiled sweetly at her wife. "I know darling but for the sake of our clothes I think it's best we continue to dress down for a little longer."
Myka crinkled her nose. "You mean dress like Pete."
"Pete doesn't fill out a t-shirt quite so nicely." Helena replied.
The last couple of weeks had been wonderfully chaotic as they learned to share their lives with their daughter. It had been surprising to Myka just how quickly their newborn began to develop a personality, and it was fascinating to Helena to see just how different Charlie was to Christina. Christina had been a content infant who was happy to simply snuggle, or to be wrapped securely in her blanket in her cot, she'd been patient with her new mother as Helena figured things out. Charlie was always alert, those dark green eyes always seeking out something to look at, and she was kind of demanding. Pete called it bossy and said she got it from Myka. Helena tended to agree. Charlie wailed and everyone in the house jumped to her command, and it hadn't taken the bright girl long to figure that out. They were all convinced the baby's favorite game was to see how long it took to get someone's attention by crying when nothing was wrong and then instantly settle the moment she saw them. They didn't even have to pick her up to calm her; they simply had to be there for her to see.
There was a gentle knock on the apartment door and then a moment later Claudia stuck her head in and smiled. "Good everyone's up form their afternoon nap."
Instantly Charlie's attention was drawn from her mother to the new voice in the room. Helena smiled, though her smile turned into more of an inquisitive grin as she watched Claudia begin to gather baby supplies. "What are you up to, darling?"
"It's been seven weeks," Claudia began as she gathered diapers, wipes, change of cloths, bottled breast milk, and put them into the bag she'd made for Charlie. "It's time the two of you got out of your comfy clothes, took your hair out of ponytails, and remembered who you were before the little chickpea arrived."
A nauseating rush of fear, uncertainty, desire and relief swirled around in both of the new mothers as they caught on to where Claudia was going with this. Since Charlie's birth they'd been primarily focused on her, or sleeping, and every once in awhile squeaking out a moment for each other. They weren't sure they were ready to leave Charlie for more than an hour, and yet they were nearly salivating at the thought of an evening alone together.
"So, I'm taking the little jellybean for the evening." Claudia said as she took the baby from Helena's arms. "She and I are going to hang out in my room, listen to a little Stevie Nicks, pop the caps off a couple of bottles, cherry soda for me and Mum's milk for her, and then we're going to have a long meaningful conversation about why the Ninth Doctor is highly misunderstood." Claudia's face lit up the moment her eyes met Charlie's. She, like everyone in the house, was completely smitten and totally in love with this teeny tiny little human being. "So, you two, shower, get dressed up in something sexy and fun, and then you can stop by on your way out for kisses and cuddles. There's a table waiting for you at Nikko's and they're doing a monologue night at the café."
Claudia smiled, gently waved Charlie's tiny hand bye-bye, and then walked out with her. It took a moment for Charlie's mothers and their sleep deprived brains to catch up but when they did they looked at each other and Myka blinked. "Did Claudia just steal our baby?"
"Yes," Helena said with a nod. "Yes she did."
Myka watched as Helena stood and was about to ask if they should go take their baby back but Helena didn't give her a chance. Helena gently pulled her to her feet and led her towards their bedroom. "What are we doing?"
"Taking a shower." Helena replied. She didn't let go of Myka's hand until they were in their bathroom. "Charlie is in good hands, my love. Claudia's right, we need a few moments to ourselves."
"But Helena," Myka began.
Helena cut her off. "I'm terrified of the idea of leaving her." She admitted softly. "It is in no way going to be easy for me to walk out the front door without her. I've been dreading this moment since I first held her in my arms."
Myka could see the fear in her wife's eyes and moved closer, wrapping her arms around Helena. Her wife was trembling and that made Myka hold her a little tighter, a little closer. "But we need to get past the fear because we can't be so closely tethered to her 24/7."
"Yes." Helena said softly. "Our maternity leave will end soon and we'll have to go back to work. At some point that will even mean one of us must travel away from home. Tonight is a small step towards adjusting to yet another new reality."
Myka still wasn't sure about this but she'd at least try and go along. The fact that her wife was now standing naked in their shower waiting for her to join her was a pretty good sign the night was off to a good start.
It had been the first time in a long time that they did more then just kiss or gently caress or hold, and even though it was still chaste, at least for them, it was another sign that they really needed the night to themselves. After they were dressed, both choosing their favorite cocktail dresses, they went down to Claudia's room to check in on her and Charlie. Stevie Nicks' Belladonna album played softly while Claudia lay beside Charlie on the bed. She had her head propped up on one hand while the other held one of Charlie's favorite toys. Helena and Myka both smiled not only at the sight of their little sister and their daughter but because Claudia was softly singing along to the song that was playing as she dangled a softly tinkling purple octopus over Charlie.
After taking it all in for another moment Myka tapped lightly on the open door to announce their presence before softly asking, "Are you sure about this Claudia?"
"We're going to be fine." Claudia replied as she sat up and gently picked Charlie up so her mothers could coo over her before they left. "Wow, I'd forgotten you two were hot under the sweats and tees."
Myka rolled her eyes as she took her daughter into her arms and smiled down at her. She placed a careful kiss on Charlie's forehead before looking up at her wife. "I shouldn't have picked her up. I'm not sure I can give her back now."
"Be brave." Helena said as she took Charlie from Myka to give the infant a kiss herself. "I need your strength or I won't be able to walk out the front door."
When Helena handed the baby back to her Claudia chuckled and rolled her eyes. "You two can be so corny."
They managed to keep their phone and Farnsworth calls to a minimum but they still happened frequently enough for Claudia to tell them to knock it off. How could they possibly enjoy their evening together if they kept calling to check on the baby? The young woman had a point so they made a greater effort and in the end they did indeed have an enjoyable evening. An evening they wished to extend once they returned home so they decided to leave Charlie in the capable hands of her godmother for a little while longer. When they got home from their evening out they stopped to check on Charlie, and Myka instantly pulled out her phone to take pictures. Claudia was lying on her back; Charlie also laid on her back on top of Claudia's chest. Claudia had built a pillow blockade around herself, and had a blanket over Charlie that tucked under her to keep the baby from rolling, just in case she fell asleep while getting Charlie to sleep, which of course she had. It was just to adorable not to take pictures of before Myka gently freed Charlie and put her in her little travel cot while Helena made Claudia more comfortable. With their girls tucked in for the next several hours Myka and Helena headed upstairs to spend those next several hours in bed as well, only not sleeping.
Charlie's christening had to be held off until her passports came through. With Helena being a legal British citizen and Myka being an American they made sure Charlie had dual citizenship. Once that was taken care of and they had her passports in hand they made plans to fly to London. Artie was less than thrilled to be short handed for several days but it was quickly becoming known that he would do anything for his "granddaughter" so he allowed Helena, Myka, Pete and Claudia the time off. Shortly after arriving they were scheduled to have tea with the vicar of the church Helena had attended as a child. While she and Myka spoke with him in private Claudia worked out how to set up a live feed so their family could watch the christening while Pete walked around showing Charlie all the pretty old stuff and asking the infant if she thought any of it could be artifacty.
"I wouldn't let them catch you doing that." Claudia said with a chuckle.
"Doing what?" Pete asked.
"Training her to be an agent." Claudia answered.
Pete huffed. "That isn't what I'm doing, but if she wants to be an agent, she'll be the best." He smiled down at the baby in his arms. "Won't you Agent LBW?"
Helena looked over the old leather bound registry book while letting her hand caress its worn cover. Inside was the linage of her family going back to her great grandfather's great grandfather. She closed her eyes and for a moment she could recall the day they'd added Christina's name, and she couldn't help but smile at the memory. Opening her eyes she opened the book and turned to the page where her and brothers' names were. Her slender finger ran down the page, pausing to caress each of her brother's names. Frances, Joseph, and her beloved Charles. Then her gaze fell onto her own name, Helena George Wells, her date of birth 21st September 1866, and her supposed date of death 13th August 1902. Wait, that wasn't right, she was brazened in 1900.
"Well, now here's a curiosity." Helena said out loud.
Myka stiffened as she looked around the small room, her hand going to her pockets were she normally kept purple gloves. "Where?"
Helena looked up at her wife with an odd look before it clicked and she laughed. "No darling, not that kind of a curiosity."
"Oh. Good." Myka relaxed and sighed softly in relief. "What did you find?"
"Apparently I am my own great grandmother." Helena replied.
"Say what now?" Myka asked as she stepped over to look down at the old ledger book.
"According to this I, or rather Helena G. Wells I, bore a son, George in 1901." Helena trailed her finger along the page. "Helena G. Wells II, born 21st September 1977, is the daughter of his grandson Joseph."
Myka looked confused. "Um, ok, you didn't did you?"
Helena shook her head. "No, I did not." She gave it a little thought and then said, "It must have been the Regents. They had to create an identity for me."
The look on Myka's face said she was trying to work this out in her head. "The Regents weren't ever going to debronse you, and yet there was a plan in place that allowed you to pick up almost where you left off."
"Caturanga." Helena said with a loving smile. "He must have somehow convinced Charles to set up a secondary estate to the one I used to make sure Christina was taken care of after I was bronzed." She spent a long moment looking at the names once more while she thought about the lengths her beloved teacher went through to make sure she was cared for upon awakening from her bronzed state, which meant he never once doubted a day would come where she would be free once more.
Myka saw the tears forming in her wife's dark eyes and wiped them away as the fell. "He loved you very much, Helena. He would be happiest of all knowing things had finally gone right for you."
When they walked out into the church proper they found Pete and Claudia, Charlie contently sitting on her uncle's lap, talking with a very elderly man. As they approached Claudia smiled at them as she introduced the retried Vicar as Alistair Kent. When the old man, who was clearly in his late 90s if not pushing the full on century mark, looked up at them, when he saw Helena he gasped. The old man struggled to his feet to get a closer look at her and said, "Remarkable. You favor her so much you're nearly identical."
Helena stiffened a little. It was impossible that this man had known her before her bronzing, but the look in his eyes was one of recognition nonetheless. "Pardon?"
"The old man's sister." Alistair said in awe. "Your name sake. You look so very much like her."
"The old man?" Myka questioned while taking Charlie from Pete.
"Charles Wells." Alistair clarified.
Helena nearly asked how the old man knew her brother but caught herself. Her mind flicked back to the book they'd just been looking over and she edited her words, "You knew my great uncle?"
"Aye." The old man said as he struggled to sit once more. "I worked for him as a lad. My uncle had grown up with them, with Charles and Helena. My Mother had been struggling following my Father's death in India and Charles paid me to be his errand boy to make things a little easier for her. I fetched his tea, collected his post, ran to the market, shined his shoes, things like that."
Helena sat beside him and tried to remember growing up with anyone named Kent. She couldn't, but then Alistair said his uncle's name was Ashley and she knew right away. One of Charles' dearest and oldest friends had been Ashley Braddock, which meant this man could be the son of one of Ashley's sisters.
"He kept one of her pictures on the mantel and another in his pocket watch." Alistair was saying. "He never stopped mourning her."
"What happened to her?" Helena asked out of a morbid sense of curiosity. "I've never heard the story."
"A very close friend of hers died. She went to America for a bit of a rest following." He began. "She'd been there for a good long while before sending word to the old man that she'd found herself in yet another scandalous position, and that she felt it best to remain in America to save the family from further embarrassment. A year after news of the boy's birth she was killed in some kind of accident. Apparently she'd scarified herself to keep others from harm. Her manservant, the odd foreign fellow with the odd name, with the old man's blessing, raised the boy. The old man even set aside some of his wealth in an estate meant for her heirs."
And there was his touch again, Caturanga had once again foreseen her return to the world and had convinced Charles to establish a trust for the family of Helena's imaginary son and his descendants. He was still taking care of her long after his own death.
Helena wondered just how much of the creative back-story had been written by Charles himself. Though he never knew of her true fate because he would have surely come looking for her had he known, he would have known her absence from his life was due to the Warehouse. Had he believed there was a son or had part of him believed as Caturanga had, that somehow in someway his sister would get a second chance? Her heart ached for her beloved brother and the pain she had caused him. Her brother did not have a grave to visit; Charles had died eerily enough on the 13th of August 1946, his body cremated and his ashes scattered from a plane, so Helena found herself breaking into Atlas House late that night with Charlie strapped to her chest in a baby bjorn.
"It may be many years before you truly understand all of this, Charlotte." Helena told the sleeping infant. Her dark eyes took in all the old photographs of her parents, her brothers, her Christina, herself. "But this is your true linage my girl, and one day I will tell you all the stories of how the two youngest children of a shop keeper and a former downstairs maid changed the world." Moving to the very spot where she had first seen Myka Bering, Helena smiled. "And then I will tell you all about how a curly haired American changed my world."