When Ethan and Melody returned to the Warehouse a few hours later, their elation at successfully completing their first solo snag and bag quickly dissipated when they found Steve tearing frantically through books and files, while Claudia slept on behind him. The office looked like an explosion had gone off, with piles of papers and books strewn on every available surface, and the computers had been set to scan through the electronic files. Steve was borderline hysterical, and as soon as Ethan managed to get his attention for more than a second, and the situation was explained, the Warehouse agents immediately joined in the search for answers. Melody headed out to the Warehouse floor, and Ethan started to put his hacker skills to their best work, while Steve continued hitting the books, all the while keeping a panicked eye on the sleeping form of the girl he loved. Despite their best efforts, and a complete lack of sleep on Steve's part, two days later they were no closer to finding the artifact that had put Claudia into her comatose state, and Steve's resolve was unravelling at a rapid pace. He'd never felt more out of his depth, and it was twisting his stomach in knots. Calling Myka and Pete for help was clearly out of the question, and as bad as the situation was, Steve knew that Claudia would kill him if he got Artie involved. Steve wondered if the Regents had an inkling that something was amiss; their Caretaker was down, after all, and the Warehouse had its odd little way of communicating to those linked to it. They were clearly keeping out of the situation if they did know, so Steve stopped himself short of picking up the Farnsworth. He settled for pacing around the office, tripping over books and muttering in frustration. Ethan looked up from the computer screen as Melody emerged from the Warehouse floor, her hair wild and her eyes glassy from exhaustion.
"I've tried everything I could think of," she choked out, her voice getting shrill towards the end of the sentence. "There's nothing."
"I wish I could say it wasn't possible, but artifacts disappear all of the time," Steve growled. "There really is nothing here."
Ethan squinted as he glanced between Steve, who stood behind the table where Claudia had been unpacking artifacts, and Melody, who stood in the doorway that led to the Warehouse floor. He rose slowly to his feet, the computer chair creaking beneath him.
"What if," Ethan asked hesitantly, studying the table before him, "what if the artifact didn't disappear at all?"
"Ethan, we've looked everywhere!" Melody protested, stepping further into the office, but Ethan held up a hand to quiet her as he stepped forward.
"Ethan," Steve rumbled warningly as the younger agent picked up the filigree-decorated box and cracked it open.
"Barely a dent," Ethan murmured, holding up the box to display the lining to his senior. "It's small. I just can't help but think..." He trailed off as he put down the box and then gripped the edge of the table. Without warning, he pushed the table a couple of inches to the left, sending piles of books toppling to the floor. Steve jumped back in surprise.
"What the hell?" he yelped, but Ethan seemingly ignored him, disappearing from Steve's view for a moment as he hunkered down under the table. When he emerged, he was wearing a purple glove, and there was a thin object no more than a few inches long gripped between his finger and thumb.
"Stuck between the floorboards," he said softly, holding his hand up. Steve practically dove across the table as Melody hurried to Ethan's side.
"Is that a needle?" Melody whispered. Ethan glanced at her.
"I'd wager that you're probably better-versed on fairytales than me, princess," he quipped, "but if I'm not mistaken, I'd guess that this is probably Sleeping Beauty's spinning wheel spindle. And I'd probably say that Claudia had a bit of a finger-pricking incident."
Melody's wide-eyed gaze landed directly on Steve.
"Fairytales are real?" she gasped out.
"Most fairytales are steeped in some kind of reality," Steve murmured distractedly, keeping his eyes on the needle in Ethan's hand as he reached around his agents to retrieve a neutraliser bag from a desk drawer. He shook it open and glanced over at where Claudia slept.
"We can have a lesson on the topic later," he murmured, and Melody nodded. Without saying a word, Ethan dropped the spindle into the open bag, and then ducked along with his co-workers when a shower of sparks erupted as a result of the neutralisation. The group reacted as one as they turned towards their Caretaker, and their immediate disappointment also registered in unison.
"It didn't work," Ethan stated, dumbstruck. Melody hesitantly rested a hand on his shoulder, and the pair watched as their boss hurried across the room to Claudia's side. Dropping to his knees beside the couch, Steve gently cupped Claudia's cheek with his palm.
"Wake up, Claud," he murmured encouragingly, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb. "Come back to me." He let out a shuddering breath as he watched for any sign that Claudia had heard him, but her breathing remained steady and her eyelids didn't even flutter. Steve cast a crestfallen look over his shoulder at his agents.
"Either of you have any other brilliant ideas?" he croaked out. Melody glanced at Ethan for a moment, before she took a tiny step forward and raised her hand tentatively, as if she was still in a classroom.
"Sleeping Beauty didn't wake up because they found the spindle," she stated hesitantly. Steve furrowed his brow at her.
"What are you saying?" he asked, and Melody blew out a hesitant breath.
"Sleeping Beauty could only be woken one way," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she avoided Steve's gaze. "She had to receive true love's kiss."
"Ok, now you've gone mad," Steve shot back, blinking at her. Ethan threw up his hands as he rolled his eyes.
"Steve, man, I know that you're the boss and all, but if you think for a minute that the kid and I haven't seen the way you and Claudia make Bambi eyes at each other, you're the mad one," he said flatly. Steve winced at the accusation, and glanced towards Melody, whose cheeks flushed.
"Myka and Pete used to talk," she mumbled uncomfortably. "I know enough of the story. If anyone is going to kiss her, it has to be you."
"I can't kiss her!" Steve protested weakly. "She'll kill me."
"You'd rather she stays like that forever?" Ethan asked bluntly, swiping at the warning punch that Melody aimed at his kidney. Steve chewed on his lower lip as he turned back towards Claudia, unhappily flicking his gaze over her features. His stomach twisted in knots, he leaned forward to brush a loose strand of hair off of her forehead.
"You know if I thought there was another way, I'd do it," he murmured apologetically. Claudia made no indication that she'd heard him, much as Steve expected. Swallowing hard, and trying to ignore the pounding of his heartbeat in his ears, Steve cautiously took Claudia's chin in his fingers, and very gently placed his lips on hers. He could taste the lingering remains of her cinnamon spice lip gloss, and he suddenly worried that his four-day growth was scratching against her soft skin. Reluctantly, he pulled his face away from hers. His face was only inches from Claudia's when she suddenly drew in a sharp intake of breath, and her eyelids fluttered open.
"Jinksy," she rasped, her eyes registering surprise. "You're very close to me right now."
Steve couldn't stop the grin that formed on his face.
"Hey," he breathed out. "You're OK."
Claudia's brow furrowed, and she lifted a hand so that she could press a thumb to Steve's lips.
"Why are you wearing my lip gloss?" she murmured, and then turned her head in confusion. "Wait, why am I on the couch? Why are you all standing here watching me?" She put her hand to her lips, and her eyes widened in panic as she scrambled into a sitting position.
"Did you just kiss me?" she squeaked out. Steve suddenly looked very uncomfortable, and Claudia's eyes widened further.
"You kissed me?" she shrieked, shoving past Steve as she pushed to her feet and practically flew across the office in an attempt to distance herself from the situation.
"What the hell, Steve?" she howled, wrapping her arms around herself.
"You've been asleep for two days!" Steve protested. "It was a fairytale artifact!"
"So you decided to damsel in distress me?" Claudia yelped back.
"They suggested it!" Steve said defensively, pointing at Ethan and Melody. The pair had backed themselves right up against a desk, but at the accusation, Ethan curled his upper lip in disgust.
"Like you were coming up with any other ideas," he sneered. He was too slow to avoid the smack in the chest that Melody delivered as Claudia and Steve both glared at him. Claudia only took a moment before she directed her glare back at Steve.
"You should have found another way," she growled. Steve stared back at her for a moment, at all of the anger and hurt on her face, and it was like he suddenly felt the last of his patience fray away.
"You know what, Claudia, this is getting ridiculous," he snapped. Claudia's mouth dropped open.
"Excuse me?" she gasped out in shock. "What did you just say to me?"
"Ethan and I are going to spend some time in the Ovid Quarter," Melody announced loudly, grabbing Ethan by the shirtsleeve and yanking him towards the door. Neither Claudia nor Steve responded, instead intensely staring each other down.
"You heard me, Claud," Steve said evenly. "It's gone on long enough."
Claudia folded her arms across her chest.
"You wanna say that to my face?" she challenged.
"You know, I would, but every time I get close to you, you run away from me!" Steve shot back, and Claudia gave him her dirtiest look.
"You have no idea what I'm going through," Claudia growled.
"Because you won't tell me!" Steve exploded. "You said you needed me here! You practically begged me to come back to the Warehouse, but all you've done since I got here is push me away!"
Claudia's face had gone scarlet, and she tugged angrily on the sleeve of her shirt.
"We're all sick of walking on eggshells around you," Steve continued. "You're supposed to be in charge, but we have to continually handle you with kid gloves."
"I don't have to put up with this," Claudia muttered, making a beeline for the door. Steve threw his hands up in the air.
"Go ahead, Claudia, walk away," he snapped. "You've proven how good you are at it, again and again."
Claudia whirled around with her hand still on the doorknob.
"You know, I had you pegged for a lot of things, Steve, but insensitive jerk wasn't one of them," she bit out angrily. Before Steve had a chance to respond, she flung the door open and stormed off, leaving the senior agent staring at the space she'd once occupied. Frustration pulsing through him, Steve slammed an angry fist down on the desk, and then swore under his breath as he headed out onto the Warehouse floor to find where his agents had gone to hide.
After their confrontation, Steve sent himself to Dubai to collect some artifacts that had been misdirected in the mail. He knew that he could have easily have sent one of his agents, but the tension in the Warehouse was so thick Mary Mallon's butcher knife would have struggled to cut it, and Steve honestly needed the time to clear his head. As it turned out, a damaged box led to the need for Steve to fully engage as an agent, and for a short while his concerns for Claudia were pushed to the back of his mind. He returned to the B&B in the early morning after a few days away, his thoughts finally in some sense of order, but he was slightly surprised to find Claudia dragging a suitcase across the front lawn, the wheels of her bag making tracks in the morning dew. Pulling on the handbrake of his car, Steve scratched absently at his nose for a moment before he exhaled loudly and exited the vehicle. Claudia looked up hesitantly from where she was stashing her suitcase in the trunk of her own car, squinting against the rising sun as she watched Steve amble slowly towards her.
"Where are you off to?" Steve asked softly by way of greeting, sticking his hands in his pockets. Claudia reached up to close her trunk.
"London," she told him, stifling a yawn. "Regent's retreat. They want to talk." She winced at her last words, and Steve made a soft noise in reply. They both stood there, swaying awkwardly while they stared at the ground, and then Claudia kicked at a loose stone with her Converse-clad toe.
"I should probably go," she murmured, waving a hand around absently. "Flight to catch and all."
"Claudia, wait," Steve spoke up, causing the redhead to stop in midstride. She turned slowly, uncertainty evident in her eyes, but when Steve didn't speak straight away, she raised an eyebrow.
"I wasn't kidding about the flight, Steve," she quipped, swinging her car key around on her finger. Steve huffed out a breath.
"Claudia, I hope you know that I will always be your friend," he stated, watching as Claudia's face softened at his words. "I'll always be around when you need me."
"Steve, I appreciate that," Claudia murmured, but Steve cut her off with a jerk of his head.
"What I can't do anymore, is stand around and wait for you to figure out what it is you want from me," Steve told her. "I know you're hurting, but the hot and cold attitude... it's hurting me. My heart can only take so much, Claud. So while you're away, I need you to really think about where your head is at, and then you can come back, and let me know, ok? Whatever it is you want, I can do. I really just need to know what it is."
He bit his lip as he paused to stare at her.
"And one last thing. Whatever it is you decide, for your own sake, Claud, you need to leave him behind," Steve said softly. "Colton might be gone, but you're still letting the memory of him run your life. Leave him, and you'll find yourself again."
Claudia's face was a black canvas, and she never blinked as his eyes met hers.
"OK?" Steve finally asked, and Claudia mustered up a half-smile.
"OK," she nodded, and then pointed a thumb over her shoulder at her car.
"I have to go," she murmured, and Steve nodded as he backed up a few paces, wandering back towards his own vehicle as he heard Claudia start the engine of her Prius. He didn't watch her go, but when he caught her taillights disappearing out of the driveway, he finally let out the breath he'd been holding in. His heartbeat was echoing in his ears, and while he was relieved to finally get his feelings out in the open, he wondered if the result would be what his heart still desperately hoped for.