Two chapters today since I couldn't post yesterday. Router issues have been fixed, I think. So I should be able to resume posting everyday.

I know I said that these are stand alone one-shots, but this chapter is part one of two. This story fit two prompts and ended up being kind of long, so I split it in two. Part two will be posted tomorrow.

And of course I couldn't see the prompt 'winter' and not think of Myka in the first Christmas episode 'Secret Santa' (check my profile for a link to a gifset I made from that episode if you want to see some ridiculously adorable Myka.)

The Warehouse team trudged through the front door of Leena's Bed and Breakfast completely exhausted. Pete and Myka had just returned from Florida after retrieving the first Gatorade bucket, which led to Myka spending practically the entire flight home talking Pete out of attempting to smuggle it into the Pete Cave.

("It's an endless supply of Gatorade, Mykes!"

"Which amps up your stomach acids, eating through your insides."

"Right…that would be bad."

"You think?" Myka said shaking her head a slight smile on her lips. "Will you ever learn?"

"Probably not," Pete replied eliciting a laugh from them both.)

Claudia, Helena, and Steve had arrived at the Warehouse shortly after Pete and Myka, their own artifact in tow.

Leena met them all in the living room with a tray of hot chocolate. She took their coats, hanging them up on the coat rack by the door. She smiled looking at the exhausted agents, Claudia sprawled out on one end of the sofa, Myka and Helena cuddled together on the opposite end, Pete and Steve both collapsed in the armchairs on opposite sides of the sofa.

"This should warm you all up," Leena smiled at her little family. "Dinner should be ready in about an hour."

"Marshmallows?" Pete asked.

"In the tin on the tray," Leena answered.

"Sweet." Pete was the first to move from his spot grabbing a handful of the little sweets, dropping them into one of the mugs of hot chocolate, and then laying back in his chair. "Ahhh. That's some good stuff, Leena."

Steve tossed some marshmallows into one of the mugs, slid it over towards Claudia, then took one without marshmallows for himself.

"Thanks Jinksy," Claudia sighed sinking deeper into the sofa.

"Do you want marshmallows in yours?" Myka asked in a whisper to Helena.

"Perhaps just a few," Helena answered. Myka slowly disentangled herself from Helena, sitting up to doctor their drinks. Handing one to Helena, she sat back in her seat, draping an arm over Helena's shoulders as she took a sip of her beverage.

"Hey Leena," Myka started. "Did it snow yet?"

"No, not yet," Leena answered with a smile.

"Good. I didn't miss it," Myka beamed. "The first snow is always the best."

"Is it now?" Helena smiled in question.

"Oh, it is," Myka replied seriously.

"That's right," Pete said delightedly. "This is your first winter here, isn't HG?"

"Yes, it is," she replied warily. She glanced around the room seeing the gleeful expressions on everyone's faces. "That's significant, how?"

"You have yet to see wintertime Myka," Pete answered excitedly.

"And…wintertime Myka is different from Myka the rest of the year?"

"No," Myka replied shaking her head.

"Yes!" Claudia exclaimed. "Wintertime Myka is adorable. Starting snowball fights, building snowmen. Last year, she took me snowmobiling, my first time…It was amazing."

"I am not adorable," Myka said to Helena.

"She totally is," Pete agreed with Claudia, wincing when Myka kicked his shin. "Ow! But that only extends to when it's snowing, obviously." He rubbed his shin exaggeratedly. "Ow."

"I like the snow, okay?" Myka defended.

"We just like seeing you like that, Myka," Steve tried to soothe. "It's nice."

"Well," Helena smirked reaching up to take the hand Myka rested on her shoulder. "I can't wait to see it. You're smile is perhaps one of my favorite things."

Helena entered Artie's office the next morning happy to find Claudia sitting alone at the computers. She placed an extra large coffee on the desk in front of the techie as she took the open chair next to her. "Good morning, Claudia."

"Morning," Claudia mumbled pulling the coffee to her. She took a large gulp of the hot beverage, wincing slightly at the temperature, but taking another gulp anyway. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Helena smiled. "Late night?"

"Pete tried to crown himself 'King of Mario Cart' last night," the young inventor informed the not-quite-as-young inventor. "I had to put him in his place."

"Right," Helena smiled with a shake of her head. Claudia's youthfulness (and Pete's to some extent) is always a joy to Helena.

"Where's Myka?" Claudia asked, just noticing that Helena was alone. "Late night for you, too?" The smirk that accompanied Claudia's inquiry most likely would have caused a blush to rise on Myka's cheeks. Helena, however, raised her eyebrow with a smirk of her own.

"It was quite a late night, reacquainting myself with my love."

"Reacquainting?" Claudia replied. "You guys were only separated for, like, two days."

"Which felt like an eternity without Myka's warmth."

"Ew," Claudia said crinkling her nose is disgust. "You two are gross. Sweet, but gross."

Helena chuckled. "Myka is still at home. She wanted to check on the snowmobiles. Make sure they are still in working order, just in case. Peter and Steven are helping her."

"You're not?" Claudia inquired. "Seems like it would be up your alley. You're good with engines, very mechanically inclined."

"Normally I would," Helena answered. "I promised to help keep them maintained throughout the season. I just had something I needed to do here."

"Can I help?"

"Actually, yes. I was in fact going to ask a favor of you," Helena responded. "There are weather sensors outside, correct?"

"There are."

"Is there anyway that we can set up an alarm on the computers to notify us if it starts to snow?"

"I can."

"I just don't want Myka to miss the first snow because we're stuck in here with no windows," Helena concluded.

"Sickeningly sweet," Claudia laughed quietly.

TBC