Woot, just the epilogue left after this.
I have decided to write a sequel for this story, but I have no idea when it will be done. Right now it is just in the idea/planning phase, and is under the working title of "Final Exam" though that is completely subject to change before the end.
The story so far: Christina and William have been accepted into the Warehouse family. Now all that's left is to wait for the Regents to make their choice.
Enjoy!
Chapter 10: The Future is Bright
The next several days were a period of readjustment for everyone. While waiting for the Regents to contact them the team allowed William to come to the Warehouse and help out. He was amazed at the extent of the technology that he didn't think even Helena could have come up with in their day.
He seemed to be settling in well though, thankful to have someone familiar to guide him through this entirely new world. Artie had decided that William and Helena would be partners again when they were required to go out into the field, already acting like William was his agent. He preferred teams of two rather than teams of three, as it was the norm for agents of the Warehouse.
Vanessa had successfully reattached Christina's finger, though the young apprentice hadn't yet been allowed to come to the Warehouse, despite her complaints that she could quite easily do desk work.
Everyone had submitted their reports to the Regents concerning what had happened with Taka, starting with the moment they had realized there was an intruder.
Even William and Christina submitted their own reports that covered what they knew about the situation, after Claudia had shown them how to type up reports on the computer. Christina had made a point to describe in detail how her finger had been removed with a rusty hatchet, hoping that Taka would pay for that.
In the meantime, Helena spent every moment Artie would allow with Christina, finding that she became quite anxious when the apprentice was out of sight for too long. Everyone noticed this potentially dangerous behavior, but hoped that Helena would calm down with time and work.
One evening, Christina lay on the sofa in the living room, looking over her bandaged hand, experimentally moving her finger back and forth, despite the pain that shot through her arm at every twitch.
Being primarily left handed, she was happy that the doctor had been able to save it. After much persuasion, Artie had said she could come to the Warehouse in the morning. She suspected he caved just to get her to be quiet, but she didn't really care. She looked forward to exploring this new iteration of the Warehouse.
She'd adjusted to this new world much easier than William had, mostly because she was younger and more apt at picking up new skills and new technology.
Helena watched her daughter from the doorway for a moment before walking upstairs to find Myka. While everything seemed to be wonderful now, something had been nagging at the back of the inventor's mind that she couldn't quite figure out.
"Myka?" Helena asked quietly when she'd entered their bedroom.
Myka looked over, noticing the look in Helena's eyes, a look of troubled confusion, "Helena, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned. Had something happened to Christina?
"Nothing is wrong, darling. At least, I do not think so." Helena said, frowning as she sat on the bed, "Myka, is something the matter with Claudia?"
Myka blinked, not expecting that. She tilted her head, "I don't think so, why?"
"She seems to have distanced herself from me ever since we found Christina. Have I done something to upset her?" Helena asked.
The author had noticed it every day since they'd brought her daughter home. Claudia seemed to be avoiding her company at any cost, and when she did talk she only gave very short answers and then left again.
Myka tilted her head, thinking back, "Have you talked to her?"
"She will not speak with me properly." Helena frowned, completely bewildered by her apprentice's sudden shift in behavior.
Myka suddenly had an idea, "I think I might know what's wrong with her… You've been spending almost all of your time since then with Christina, do you think Claudia might be feeling a bit… I dunno, left out?" she suggested.
It would make sense with how tightly Claudia latched onto the people in her life, and how the young redhead had always regarded the older woman as both a mentor and an adopted mother, though she'd made Myka promise not to tell that much out of embarrassment.
Helena tilted her head, thinking. She hadn't considered that before, nor had she realized she might mean that much to the future Caretaker.
"I think she might just need reassurance that she won't be pushed aside now that Christina's back in your life. You know how much she fears being abandoned." Myka said, wrapping her arms around the older woman gently, "I don't think she has anything against you or Christina, but rather this could be her way of protecting herself in advance due to her subconscious fears. Why don't you go talk to her?"
Helena hesitated, leaning into Myka for several minutes before standing and walking out of the room. She made her way to Claudia's room, lightly knocking on the door.
"Yeah?" Claudia asked, opening the door. She raised an eyebrow, not expecting to see Helena standing there. She unconsciously tensed and avoided her mentor's dark eyes as she waited for an explanation.
"Might we talk for a moment, Claudia?" Helena asked quietly.
Claudia hesitated; "Maybe later, I'm kinda busy at the minute." she lied, turning away.
Helena gently stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, noticing at how the young redhead tensed and flinched at the contact.
"Please. I assure you it shall not take more than a moment." she said softly. She was beginning to suspect that Myka had been spot on with her guess.
Claudia hesitated a moment longer, then sighed, "Alright."
Meanwhile, Leena walked into the living room, overhearing Christina talking to someone. She'd heard mention that the girl had a unique skill that involved seeing things and talking to things that weren't there. Or rather, things that were there that other people couldn't see.
She watched curiously from the doorframe before walking further into the room, sitting down on the sofa.
"Oh, good evening Leena." Christina said politely.
"Good evening." Leena smiled, "Who were you talking to?"
Christina shifted uncomfortably and said, "No one. I was simply muttering to myself. It is a rather bad habit of mine."
Leena could tell that discussing it was uncomfortable, and reflected back on her own childhood when she'd tried making people understand her ability of seeing auras. She knew how hard it was to make people know that she wasn't crazy and had a real gift, and hoped that she could help the young girl out in that regard.
Leena smiled, "William mentioned before that you have a unique gift. I do as well. I can see and read peoples auras." she said, noticing that Christina seemed interested now, "I know that it's difficult talking about seeing things that others can't. It makes you sound crazy." she continued gently.
Christina nodded, "Indeed it does." she agreed, feeling a bit more at ease with the innkeeper.
Leena smiled, "What do you see?" she asked.
Helena smiled, following as Claudia made her way to her bed where a piece of machinery lay discarded.
Looking at it curiously, the Victorian woman asked, "What are you working on, Claudia?"
Claudia shrugged, sitting in the middle of the bed with her knees against her chest, her arms lightly resting around her knees as she rested her chin on her arm, "It's nothing." she said, "Soooo…. what do ya wanna talk about?"
Helena sat on the edge of the bed, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking, "I am sorry, Claudia."
Claudia blinked, having not expected that, "What're you sorry for?" she asked, looking at her mentor properly now as she shifted to sit cross-legged, raising her eyebrow in confusion.
Helena met her eyes evenly, "I fear that due to the chaotic events of this week I may have seemed as though I have been neglecting you. This was not my intention, though I know you've felt that way, and for that I am sorry, Claudia."
Claudia sighed, rubbing the back of her neck, "Nah, dude. I mean, I guess things have been pretty crazy lately. I-I've been acting stupid, I mean it's your daughter afterall..."
"Nonsense." Helena argued gently, "You do not wish to be cast out or replaced, it is quite understandable. However, I do hope you are aware that no matter whom may be occupying my time, you shall never be forgotten, darling. I often find myself these days thinking of you as a kind of adopted daughter as well as a protégé." she admitted, having never mentioned that before, unaware that the same was true of the young woman sat before her.
"Really?" Claudia asked, surprised at that. The H.G. Wells thought of her as an adopted daughter?
Helena smiled and nodded, "Is this a problem?" she asked.
Claudia shook her head, "Nah, its fine. I kinda like the idea of bein the adopted kid of one of the world's greatest minds." she said with a smirk.
Helena chuckled at that, happy that she was able to put the young girl's mind at ease. Claudia hesitated, and then scooted over to hug the older woman. Helena smiled, returning the gesture. After a moment, they pulled back and Claudia leaned over to grab the discarded piece of what she was working on, offering it to her mentor to look at.
Helena took the device, looking it over curiously, "What does it do?" she asked.
"Supposed to be a new kinda toaster since Leena's is kinda… busted, but its not really working properly yet." Claudia said.
Helena tilted her head, "Leena's toasting device is broken?" she asked, having seen it working just that morning.
Claudia rubbed the back of her head, "Yeeeah lets just say I think Leena's gonna put a sign up to ban all Victorians from messing with her appliances." she said before explaining in detail how her 'Victorian-safe' device was made and what the problem was. Inventing and tinkering with machines was always their unique way of bonding.
Christina hesitated, and then looked at the innkeeper evenly. She hoped that this woman might really understand, at least a bit better than others could.
"…Ever since I was brought back to life, I've been able to see and speak with spirits." she said quietly, "Souls of the dead that haven't yet crossed over to the other side for various reasons. It's because of this that I often can help out with an artifact-related death. It makes life easier when one can simply ask the victim what had transpired." she said, watching Leena's reaction carefully.
Leena was surprised at the gift being described, but nodded, "That sounds quite fascinating." she admitted, curious to hear more about it.
"I suppose." Christina shrugged, "Though most simply deem me crazy when I try to explain how I know things that I should not. William is accepting enough, and I thank him for that, though I know that he cannot truly understand what transpires."
Leena nodded, "I understand." she said, "Who were you speaking to just now?" she asked curiously.
"He said his name was Jack." Christina said quietly, "He was surprised that I could see him, and said he was looking for somebody called Rebecca…"
The next morning, as promised, Artie allowed Christina to accompany the team to the Warehouse. When they got there, the young girl was put on inventory along with William, Pete, Steve, Helena, and Myka, being given a list of stuff that she could handle with just one hand. Now that they had two more people working they were actually starting to catch up on putting things away.
Claudia stayed with Artie and Trailer in the office in case they finally had a ping.
Claudia sighed, "Ok this is frakkin weird… why has there been nothing in almost two weeks? I mean, that's like some kinda Warehouse record!"
"Not quite. Try 3 years for the current record." Artie grunted.
Claudia raised an eyebrow, "Seriously…?"
Artie nodded, not stopping what he was doing.
"Think there might be somethin wrong with the football? I mean, could it have broken after slamming into the Warehouse… frak knows how many times?" Claudia asked.
Artie shook his head, "Doubtful..." he said, though he sounded unconvinced of his own words, "Though I'll check it when it comes back again."
Claudia nodded, looking at Artie.
He noticed and glanced at her, "What?"
"What do you think will happen if the Regents… don't let Christina and William stay here?" she asked quietly, having been concerned about that.
Artie shook his head, not wanting to imagine the uproar that that would cause, "Let's just hope they do." he sighed, "For our sake as well as Helena's."
Down on the Warehouse floor, the agents had separated to complete their required lists of inventory. Christina and William had gone off on their own to work. Helena seemed to not want to put her daughter out of sight again, but William assured her that Christina was more than able to handle herself. She was trained by Caturanga afterall. Christina immediately loved this new Warehouse, as it was vastly larger than Warehouse 12.
She was happy to be back where she felt she belonged. She'd brought along a bottle of water and her medicine in a small bag that Claudia had given her, in case her hand started hurting too badly, though the tender injury had been healing nicely and the pain was dimming every day.
She looked at William, smiling, "What do you think, William?"
"About what exactly, my dear?" William asked, putting a toy ball on a shelf.
"All of this, and everything that has happened. Are you happy you decided to come with me?" Christina asked, handing him a small wooden block next to be put away.
William smiled, "This new world is rather overwhelming, and quite advanced compared to what we are used to, but yes. I am quite happy I came with you to find your mother." he said, nodding.
"I do wonder what became of the old man though." Christina said, moving right along with the inventory as they talked.
"I do not know. I doubt they did anything too terrible, he was very old, but very valuable." William said, taking the next item from her to be put on the shelf.
Christina nodded and looked down the hall, pausing as she saw another spirit.
William noticed her gaze and tilted his head, "What do you see?" he asked.
"An old woman. How odd." she said, making a mental note to speak with her after they were done working.
Mrs. Frederic watched quietly from the other end of the hall, nodding to herself before she vanished again.
When the day drew to a close, the agents made there way to Artie's office.
"Where's Christina?" Helena asked when they'd reached the base of the staircase, noticing that William had returned without her daughter.
"Not to worry, she's quite fine. She will be along in a moment." William said, glancing over his shoulder, "She was simply... er... well, using her unique skill again, shall we say."
Myka raised an eyebrow, "Seeing and talking to… spirits?"
Leena had pulled her and Helena aside earlier that morning and shared what she'd learned. Really it was no stranger than seeing auras or feeling vibes or knowing when people were lying but somehow seeing ghosts was a bit harder to believe to someone who prided herself on logic.
William nodded, rubbing his neck, "Yes. I know how it looks and sounds but she is quite sane, I assure you. The reason she is late is because she mentioned seeing an old woman while doing today's work and wanted to speak with her."
Even Helena was more than a little skeptical at the prospect, being a woman of science. Though she had to admit they'd seen far stranger in their day, and it was quite a challenge to use 'Warehouse' and 'science' in the same sentence.
A few minutes later, Christina walked towards the staircase. The young girl seemed rather pleased with herself.
Seeing William, Helena, and Myka she smiled, "I like this new Warehouse."
Helena smiled, "It's quite different from Warehouse 12, isn't it?" she said.
Christina nodded, "It is." she agreed.
William looked at her, "Did you find out about that old woman?" he asked. Seeing her glance at Myka and Helena awkwardly he added, "They know what you can do."
Christina nodded, still seeming a bit uncomfortable, "I did, and she said that her name was Rebecca. She voluntarily died here in the Warehouse over 2 years ago while using a time machine and was looking for Jack. I saw someone named Jack last night at Leena's, and so told her that, and she left to go find him."
Helena and Myka looked at eachother, both wearing equally surprised expressions. There was no way that the girl would have known all of that, and they didn't think anyone told her. Maybe she really could see ghosts?
Just then Pete and Steve walked in as well, talking about pizzas. The agents all climbed the staircase to Artie's office, eager to get home to eat and rest.
"Settling in well then?"
Everyone jumped to hear Mrs. Frederic. They turned to see her and Mr. Kosan stood near the doorway where they'd just come from.
Mr. Kosan looked at them calmly, "The Regents have come to a decision." he said.
Artie and Claudia stood to join the others as everyone awaited the news.
"William Wolcott, and Christina Wells, are to be fully reinstated as a Warehouse agent, and Warehouse apprentice." he said, stepping forward to hand them both a badge, "From this day forward you will address yourselves as U.S. Federal Agents. Welcome back."
Claudia jumped up and cheered at the news, quickly followed by everyone else as they welcomed their official new teammates.
Mr. Kosan looked at Christina calmly, "Your ability in particular, Ms. Wells, will come in handy. Use it well." he said.
Christina smiled shyly and nodded, "I shall."
Mrs. Frederic looked at Artie, handing him the Long-Distance Football, "I believe you'll find this is back in working order. We seem to have a backlog as of now. This will be rectified starting tomorrow" she said calmly, glancing at the group of agents.
The Caretaker walked up to Helena, "As for your act of insubordination, Agent Wells, you will be grounded and only allowed to do inventory for the following 6 months. No missions. No experiments. No inventions. Only inventory." she said calmly.
Helena blinked, "No experiments or inventions? What the bloody hell would that accomplish?" she asked. While inventory was extremely boring, she'd gladly do that for making Taka suffer, but no experiments or tinkering?
"It would accomplish teaching you a lesson, Agent Wells. I expect complete cooperation or the time limit will be extended." Mrs. Frederic said evenly.
Helena looked like she wanted to argue, but wisely bit back her words and nodded, "Fine."
Mr, Kosan looked back to Christina, "It may be wise to explain the nature of your gift to your teammates." he suggested, causing everyone in the room to turn their attention to her. Many of them had been curious, but hadn't asked out of respect for the fact that the young girl was still recovering and hadn't yet been made an official part of the team.
Christina shifted uncomfortably, but nodded, "Probably, though perhaps later on after dinner?" she suggested. She wasn't sure that this lot would be accepting of her like William and Leena were, and the thought made her a bit anxious about explaining her ability.
"Food is a good plan, I like that plan." Pete said, walking towards the door as most of the others agreed and followed.
Claudia noticed that the other girl seemed nervous and lightly put a hand on her shoulder, smiling, "No worries, we've seen plenty of weird things, I doubt anthin you can do would be that surprising."
Christina smiled politely and nodded, though she still wasn't sure. Though she figured she would have to tell them at some point.
"So wait… you're saying you see ghosts?" Pete asked, raising an eyebrow.
Christina nodded, "For lack of better terminology, yes." she said, explaining it the same way she'd explained it to Leena.
"Ghosts do not exist." Artie said firmly, not buying it. He had seen many things in his long lifetime, but he had never had any proof that ghosts were anything more than a myth.
"Yeeeah I'm gonna hafta side with grandpa on that one. There's no way someone could see ghosts." Pete said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Leena stepped in then, giving Pete an unusually intense stare, "Why not? I see auras and no one else can. Does that mean they don't exist?" she challenged firmly.
Pete put his hands up in defense, not used to Leena challenging him, "Auras don't try to kill people, Leena. Or make lights go all weird or crawl out of TVs to eat people's souls."
Christina had to laugh then, "Dear lord they're not like in folklore." she said calmly, "Spirits can't do anything at all, not even lift things or make lights flicker. That is simply the stuff of old bedtime tales. Spirits can only observe the world around them and speak with one another, and speak with those among the living who can see and hear them until they cross over to the other side."
"And just what's on the 'other side'?" Artie asked dryly, still not believing a word of it.
Christina shrugged, "I don't know really. I'm not there, nor can I see it, nor can I remember it from my own time as a spirit."
Steve looked at Artie, "She's telling the truth." he said, "Every word. Though… I was brought back with the metronome too and I can't see ghosts."
Christina shrugged, "As I have heard, I was dead far longer than you, Mr. Jinks. Perhaps that is why. Or perhaps it is because you already have a gift. Who knows?"
"I believe her." Myka said after a minute.
Claudia nodded, "I do too. I mean we've seen stranger things in this line of work. He gets vibes, he sees lies, she sees auras…" she said, pointing to each in turn, "Mrs. Frederic teleports and reads minds, so why shouldn't it be possible to see ghosts? Especially if they're not really creepy killers like in movies."
"Thank you." Christina said quietly, thankful that not everyone was against her. Looking to Helena she asked, "Mum…?"
Helena hesitated, not really sure weather to believe her daughter or not, though she remembered that even the Regents believed it. Plus what Claudia had said was quite true; she'd seen firsthand abilities that defy every law of science. After a few minutes, she nodded, "I believe you, darling."
One by one everyone except Artie agreed that this ability, though odd due to their movie-based views on ghosts, wasn't the first supernatural ability they'd seen.
Artie just grumbled about there being lots of work in the morning and went upstairs as everyone else decided to accept the young Englishwoman's story. He'd need a lot of convincing and proof before he accepted that there might be such a thing as spirits of the dead.
Only Leena could see that he was secretly afraid of ghosts.
I got the idea for Christina's gift after rewatching Season 4 Episode 10, with that bit where Pete was seeing the ghost and thought that'd be a pretty neat ability minus the awkwardness of looking like your talking to no one XD
Also as I said in chapter...3 i think?... the bit between Helena and Claudia was inspired by I Wear The Crown's comment :) So thanks again for the unintentional help, LOL!
Reviews are love :)
-Akito