"Artie!" Claudia bellowed, shoving open the umbilicus, "Pete and I brought doughnuts!"

"Hey Claud, come on, I just wanna eat, let the old man be." Pete stole the donuts from Claudia, and set them on the desk, "Man, I am starving." He grumbled, chowing down on a maple bar.

"Wow Pete, pig much? You would make Pumba proud."

Pete laughed, and started humming Hakuna Matata. Claudia rolls her eyes, and climbed up the spiral stairs to Artie's loft. "Yo Pooh Bear, we'll find her, are you still sulking about-? Artie!" This time Claudia's exclamation of the grumpy man's name brought Pete running.

"What is it Claud?" He stared at Artie slumped over on the desk, Rheticus' Compass clutched in one hand.

I woke up to the sound of pages ruffling as Helena read over on one of the chairs. "What time is it?" I croaked.

"Darling, you're up." Helena's face lit up, and she patted her pockets, "I do believe it is," She finds her watch, and checks it, "Yes, it's six in the evening. It appears to be a trend for you." Her teasing voice brought a happy grin to my face. This woman, she is mine; And I am hers.

"So I slept all day.. Oh." Duh, vampire. I stretched luxuriously, reveling in the huge bed, "I certainly feel like it. The guys would all taunt me if they knew about this." I mumbled.

"Who are the guys?" Helena's eyes were trailing over my naked curves revealed by my usual tangling of the sheets at my feet.

I grinned, and sat next to Helena with only the sheet wrapped around me for a cover. "They're our partners, fellow agents at the warehouse, Claudia, Leena, Pete, Artie, Steve.." My voice trailed off as I thought about them. I left them the same way Helena left me.

"Myka?" Helena's fingers caressed my cheek, "You miss them."

"I do." I admitted, "And they will be missing me." Or that's how it seemed with them contacting me... I wonder how they're doing it.

"Darling... You should try to find a way back." I could see the pain in her eyes that saying those words meant.

"No." I growled, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll see them later. Vampire, remember?"

Claudia flickered into being over by the wall of books, she looked around curiously, and gasped when she saw me, "Myka!" Then she disappeared.

"Darling?" Helena cupped my cheek. I ripped my gaze away from the spot with difficulty. "Dearest your face is as pale as a sheet, please, talk to me."

"No, no, no, time loops are impossible, the constant replay would destroy time. Are we running at the same time? How are they talking to me? Why can't Helena see or hear them? This doesn't make sense." I had been mumbling to myself for a good half hour now, my mind racing through the possibilities. "It can't be the drugs, I'm just fine. Everything works. Artifacts.. The Kettle, how does it work.. wish fulfillment... but changing the past is supposed to be impossible. Did Helena know me before we met? Did she just never tell me? Waiting for the right time? Is that it? Have I been whammied?"

"Darling!" Helena held me fast, "You are wearing a hole in the carpet. Tell me what is happening so I can help."

"I don't know!" I lashed out. Helena blinked once, her face shocked, and instantly the anger, the problems fled my mind, "Oh no, Helena, I'm sorry." I rested my head on her shoulder, rubbing her back, "I just, I don't know."

Helena's breathing was shaky, I could feel her trembling, and hear her jerky pulse. "I am so sorry Helena." I whispered, closing my eyes and wishing briefly that I had never been born. The world shifted, I felt like I had been sent through one of those crazy insane roller coasters Pete liked so much. I couldn't even tell if I had a stomach anymore except that it protested, even after everything settled.

I staggered, holding a hand to my head, "Please tell me this is another vampire thing." I muttered aloud, searching for equilibrium. Stop changing on me! I just want to spend a little time with Helena, is that too much to ask? Give me a chance to figure things out, and then you and karma and dogma and whoever the hell else is in on this joke can go back to fucking with my life.

Helena steadied me, as always. So constant. "Darling, perhaps you should retire for the evening."

"No, I need to figure out what's going on. Everytime I start talking about the warehouse, someone shows up from my time. This should not be happening."

Helena pushed me to sit on the comforter snarled up at the foot of the bed, "Go through the events love, one by one, tell me what happened."

"We turned back time, saved you from exploding, or so I thought. Then you went missing, I found the teapot in my hand, I made a wish. I showed up here. Mr. Caine used the artifact. That's it."

"Wait, you used one artifact to turn back time? And then immediately used another artifact? One that does not rely on anything other than the subconscious to activate?"

"Yeah.. I mean.." I thought about it, fiddling with the necklace that I borrowed from the future Helena.

At that moment, Charles interrupted our musings with a quiet knock on the door, "Helena, your friend mr. Stoker is back, he seems to be in urgent need of your advice." The amusement in his voice was evident, and I heard him stride back away from the door.

"I must go see what he wants darling. I will be back in a short while."

"No, I'll go with you. He's probably here about me anyway." I pulled on a pair of trousers, and the same blouse from yesterday, It's still clean, and I doubt he will notice. I was pleased to find it carried some of Helena's scent, the comfort it provided was kind of embarrassing actually.

"Very well. He'll be in the library if I have any guesses." Helena decided, taking my arm, and pacing towards the library.

"Ahh Miss Wells what a-" He gulped when I stepped in after H.G. I would have laughed in any other situation, his expression was just silly, but I was too involved in my own thoughts to give him more than a passing glance. "And your friend is here too, how nice." His voice shook, fear rising off his skin in thick waves. I would have thought nothing of it, if the room hadn't reeked of it before I came in.

"Bram, it's always a pleasure to see you." Helena started.

"What happened?" I asked sharply, interrupting the customary chatter before a serious conversation could be started. I had too many things to consider, and I wanted Helena's input.

"I-. How did you-?" Bram gaped, then shut his mouth with some effort, "I went to speak to a Mr. Hall Caine about my story, he seemed to think it a fine idea, until I mentioned the premise."

"I assume he did not enjoy being staged as a vampire?" Helena smiled, seemingly unaware of the tension in the room.

"That's just it. I don't remember."

"You don't remember.." I was back in business, Helena, Charles, the books, the sights and smells all faded from my mind, my focus narrowing to Mr. Brams. "Tell me what you do remember."

"I went to Mr. Caine's residence in town, and quite a few other places before I found him, secluded in his mansion in the countryside. He'd only recently moved to England so there were a lot of places to look."

"Alright, you went to his mansion, looking to talk about your book idea?"

Brams was getting more confused by the moment, and I was leaning as far forward as the seat would allow. I'm sure if he had been composed enough to notice the amount of cleavage revealed by my shirt would have caught his attention. Of course, the only person who even considered looking down my shirt was Helena, and her angle was bad for inconspicuous peeking.

"Yeah, his butler let me in, Jarvis.. Jenkins, something or other. I was let into Mr. Caine's office.. and then blank." Brams shook his head, "Next thing I know, I'm on my way home."

"You're sure you don't remember anything?" I asked, staring him down. Once more I felt the internal shift, my pupils dilated until it felt like my eyes were a pit of black, my teeth became even more prominent.

"He.. He spoke to me, about something. Told me to forget. I- uh, what's happening? What are you doing to me?" His fresh fear enervated the lingering scent of books.

"Do calm down, you are in no danger from me." I growled unable to use the same rassuring tone that Mr. Caine had such mastery over.

"I can't, I'm not allowed, it's not.. He said not to." Brams shook his head, standing up to pace.

I caught him by the shoulder, and stared into his eyes, watching in the little flashes of light reflecting from his iris what had happened to scare him so horribly. I felt unsettled to realize I was watching a silent movie on Bram Stoker's encounter with the one and only Hall Caine.

He entered the mansion, following the butler eagerly, he seemed excited to get the chance to talk to the master of the house. He met a redolent host in a sheltered study. The drapes drawn to hide the sun sinking past the horizon. Caine set aside his book, and lazily replied to Bram's eager questions, picking at his nails, looking bored to tears with the whole conversation, until Bram asked yet another question.

Caine sat up sharply, his eyes blackening slowly, he leaned forward and barked something out. The situation reversed, Bram was now the one sitting as far back in his chair as possible as he answered each urgent question hesitantly. Caine however, was hovering on the edge of his seat, a pleased smirk growing slowly on his face.

Finally, he leaned back, told Bram something carelessly, and waved him away. The butler escorted him out, shutting the door sharply behind a bewildered looking Mr. Stoker.

I finally released his coat, and threw him back into the couch, too preoccupied with what I had learned to care where it came from. My fists clenched, and my shoulders bowed as I attempted to get that self-satisfied smirk out of my head. I had seen it before, on Helena's face, on Sykes', and on James Macpherson. It was the smirk of cat who had cornered the mouse, and now had nothing left but to play with their food.

I towered over Mr. Stoker, glaring at him, feeling utterly helpless to fight something I did not know. "What did you tell him? I saw it, you said something that changed all of this. What did you say?" I asked sharply.

"I-I-I don't know! We were just talking, and I asked him about v-" His hand clamped over his mouth, just like it had with mine.

"You do know." I crouched in front of him, "Tell me what interested him so much."

Brams was utterly terrified, his reek flooding my nose, waking up the predator sleeping inside of me. I wanted to break his every bone until he told me what I needed, and it was a terrifying idea. "You! We were talking about you."

I bared my teeth at him, hissing angrily. He totally violated my life, my territory. Helena wrapped her arms around my chest, and hauled me back swiftly, "Myka, that is enough." She murmured, "You shall go back upstairs, and I shall ask any further questions. Do you understand me?"

I ripped out of her arms, trembling with rage. You're losing it Myka. Get out before Helena gets hurt. I stalked up the stairs, only to be interrupted by Charles. "Good Lord, are you alright?" He took my arm, "You are very pale, do you need something? I can get you tea, or-"

I ripped my arm out of his grasp, and felt my teeth sharpen. Myka... "I don't want any of your damn tea Charles. Now I suggest you get the hell out of my way." I didn't even wait for him to move, I simply shoved by him.

The door closed behind me, and I waited for the guilt, the shame, the embarrassment, or even regret to come, but none of them did. All I wanted to do was mark Helena as mine, take her away from Charles, the damn fool, and forget about everything else. Get ahold of yourself. This is not an artifact to take you over with mystical means. This is your own body, and you will control yourself right now.

I pressed my head against the cool wooden paneling, and groaned, "How do I fix this?"