I don't own Warehouse 13, the delightful Artie Nielsen, or anything associated with any of them, but I wouldn't reject them if offered.
Please review! I don't know how I am doing if no one tells me.
The investigation went on for several days, but they never did discover how Dinah got out of the room without being seen, or who killed the two guards that had been in the room. Artie had sent Claudia out to get a few things for the baby. She had seemed surprised when he handed her a list of things to get and his credit card, he even gave her permission to get something for herself if she wanted anything. The last part seemed to scare her the most. She returned after a few hours with several bags, and to let him know that everything was ready. She handed him back his credit card and the bag with the formula. Claudia pulled several toys and a stuffed bear out of the other bag and tucked the bear in with the sleeping infant.
Artie hadn't set Daniel down since he had picked him up after finding Dinah gone. He had let Pete, Myka and Claudia hold him for just a moment before taking him back. It was as if Artie thought that MacPherson would come after the little boy if Artie let go of him for more than a minute.
The doctor was doing one last check on little Daniel before his release. He poked and prodded the child. The way the doctor was going about it, Artie thought he was going to make the baby cry.
"Well," the doctor said finally, "it looks like he is ready to go home."
Artie mournfully picked his son off the exam table and moved to head out, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the doctor. He handed Artie a pamphlet. It was about depression, the warning signs, and how to go about finding someone to talk to. Artie was startled. He didn't think Dinah was dead, but with MacPherson you never knew. A surprised look must have shown on Artie's face because then the doctor spoke.
"Even if she is not dead, you could still face depression because you don't know what happened, or if she is still alive. It is the not knowing that can get you, the uncertainty ."
Artie smiled and promised that he would find someone to talk to. He hurried out to the car with Pete, Myka and Claudia in tow. They jumped in and roared away from the hospital. Artie held Daniel close all the way to the Warehouse.
When they arrived, Pete stopped the car, jumped out and looked around quickly before opening the outer door. The moment the door was open, he waved the others inside. They flung the car doors open, and jumped out, Myka following close behind. The moment they were all through the door, Artie took a deep breath and headed down the stairs. By the time they got down the steps and into Artie's office, Daniel was wailing.
"Ok, ok, just give me a minute to fix a bottle."
But Daniel wasn't willing to give him that minute, and started crying harder. Artie noticed that his sons face was turning red and gave him the half-heated bottle. He stopped crying immediately. He sucked happily for several minutes before Daniel decided that he didn't like the lukewarm liquid in the bottle and began to cry again. Artie set him in his crib that had been set up in his office and set the bottle back in the warmer. Daniel was turning a deep purple when the bottle was finally done. Artie scooped Daniel up and stuck the nipple in his mouth. Again, the crying stopped and, fortunately for Artie's frayed nerves, the child continued to suck on the bottle. In no time the bottle was empty; Daniel was burped and was quickly falling asleep.
Artie set Daniel in his crib and settled down with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. He turned his computer on and started the search for Dinah. He was tired and uncertain where to even begin looking for Dinah, but he knew that he wouldn't stop until he found her.
The room was dark and Dinah didn't even know where she was, or how she got there. The only thing she knew for certain was that this was not good. She sat in the pitch-blackness that was her prison and listened. At first she heard nothing, but she quickly realized that she wasn't alone. Someone was sitting in the corner, watching her, and she knew who it was. She stood quickly.
"What do you want…father?" She knew that would make him angry. Dinah knew it was a bad idea to make him mad, but she couldn't help herself. He had taken her from her child and the man she loved because he couldn't control his temper, because he had an outdated sense of revenge. Someday, Dinah told herself, his desire for revenge would be his down fall. She just hoped that she would live long enough to see it.
Dinah had been so deep in thought that she hadn't realized her father was moving closer to her. She realized it when he hit her, hard. She fell down, striking her head on the cold stone floor. He pulled her to her feet and shoved her against the wall. He quickly tied her hands over her head, her face pressed into the cold stone that made her prison. He left her in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't until the first time the whip hit her that she knew what he was going to do. She screamed in pain.
"That wasn't loud enough my dear." And the whip struck her back again. She fought the scream this time. He kept it up for what felt like hours until Dinah's back was shredded and she was barely conscious. He released the chains that kept her hands over her head, and let her fall to the floor. She landed on her back and passed out.
Artie sat back. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He has been staring at the computer screen for days now, and his only real breaks had been to take care of Daniel. He hadn't slept well since Dinah had been taken. He looked down at Daniel, who was now sitting up. Someone had given him a pancake and he was leaving little bits everywhere. While Artie didn't care if Daniel had a pancake, he wished that they hadn't drenched the thing in maple syrup first. He debated on whether to take it or to just let him finish it; he ended up deciding on the latter. The child was already sticky and the pancake made him happy. He smiled at his son, who smiled back and offered his father some of his sticky treat. Artie shook his head no, and turned back to work.
Dinah was slowly regaining consciousness and she was in a great deal of pain. It took her a moment to realize that the chains were gone. She slowly rose to her knees, and instantly regretted it. Pain shot through her body and she wished that she was still unconscious. Just as the pain decreased enough for her to stand, she heard a voice.
"Ah, yes. You are finally awake my dear. I have a friend here who would like to get to know you better, so I will leave the two of you alone."
Dinah could hear someone walking, and then a door opening and closing. She wondered what was going to happen now and how long she would have to wait to find out. She realized that she wouldn't have to wait long when she heard the sounds of someone unzipping their pants. Dinah froze as someone walked towards her and then pulled her off her feet.
Daniel was now walking, or at least that is what Artie told himself it was, but Claudia insisted that he skipped walking and went straight for running. Daniel hurried everywhere he went, and always with a smile. He also seemed to love trying to scare people and didn't like it when people faked being scared. He got an angry look on his face and refused to be in the same room as the faker.
His favorite person to scare was his father. When Artie came back from inventory to check on Daniel, whom he left sleeping, and found him lying at the bottom of the stairs, Artie nearly had a heart attack. Daniel was punished for that, and after he was sent to bed early without a story, he came out and kissed his father goodnight.
Artie had narrowed where Dinah was to a corner of the state of New Jersey in a place known as the Pine Barrens. He shuddered at the idea of her being there. She was tough, but the place gave Artie the shivers. Artie knew that the Jersey Devil were just animals that had been affected by an artifact, but as they weren't dangerous (well, they sort of were) and were watching over something even worse, he was happy to leave them alone.
Artie was pottering around his office. He had made a leash for Daniel, who was screaming about it, as he wanted to run. He sat at his desk and opened a drawer. He knew what would make Daniel be very quiet. He pulled a bag of cookies out and Daniel stopped immediately. Artie knew that his son's eyes were focused on the bag as he pulled one out.
"Pwease!"
He looked at Daniel and saw him reaching for the cookie. Since Daniel had actually asked for the cookie, Artie stood and very slowly walked over to him, and gave him the cookie. Daniel took the cookie and began to suck on it. Artie wondered why he ever gave Daniel a cookie, since the child never actually ate the cookie, but sucked it into a pile of inedible mush. He would have continued to think about it when he heard footsteps on the stairs. The door opened after a few second and Pete came in the room.
"Hey, what's up?"
Pete took a moment to ruffle Daniel's hair. The toddler gave a glare that Mrs. Frederic would have been proud of. Artie spoke to Pete without looking up.
"You do realize that he hates it when you do that?"
Pete looked at Artie with a surprised look. "What do you mean?"
Artie still hadn't looked at Pete. "Do it again, but watch his face."
Pete rubbed Daniel's head again, and shuddered at the look Daniel gave him. "He must be looking to take over for Mrs. Frederic when he gets older."
Artie smiled. "I know."
The two men talked for several minutes until Artie noticed that Daniel was staring at the wall. Artie looked at the area the little boy was staring at, and saw nothing.
"What are you staring at?"
The little boy pointed at the wall, and said, "Mama." He then dropped his hand and continued staring at the wall. At that moment, a proximity alarm went off indicating that someone was close to the Warehouse. Artie scooped up Daniel and set him in the crib, then followed Pete, gun in hand, up the stairs. After they got outside, they saw a lone figure slumped on the ground, leaning against the outer wall of the Warehouse.
Who could that be? I wonder… Well, if you want to know for certain, you will have to come back and read the next chapter! Read and review please. If you made it this far, this story can't be all bad.