"You don't talk about your mother much."
Around the table, three heads shot up. Steve and Claudia were out on assignment, but Stevie sat with Artie, Pete and Myka at the research table in the Warehouse 13 office. It was Artie that spoke, the comment so nonchalant that it wasn't immediately apparent who he was speaking to. He didn't even look up from the book he was paging through, and it took Stevie a moment to ascertain that he was talking to her. By that point, Myka and Pete were looking towards her curiously.
"I'm sorry?" Stevie asked gently, twirling her pencil between her fingers. Artie raised his bushy eyebrows as he peered at her over the rims of his glasses.
"Your mother," he repeated slowly. "The entire time you've been here, you've barely mentioned her. You talk about Pete and Myka regularly, more than once you've commented on how busy Claudia is, and we know that I'm retired and that Steve is your long lost relative. But your mother seems to be conspicuously absent from your stories."
Stevie blinked at him, her mouth slightly ajar as she tried to find the right answer to what appeared to be some sort of challenge.
"I, I, uh... I'm," she stammered.
"Artie, you were the one who told her not to speak about the future," Myka cut in, her brow slightly wrinkled.
"And yet, every time I turn around, there's another tidbit of information floating around," Artie snarked. Stevie felt her face grow hot.
"I just find it odd that a twenty-one year old girl fails to talk about her mother," Artie continued, setting his book aside and glancing towards Stevie.
"What, like you're so open about you and your father, Artie" Pete commented sarcastically.
"I am not a twenty-one year old girl!" Artie barked, glaring at Pete before looking back at Stevie. Stevie shot a wide-eyed look at Myka, who despite still looking confused, shrugged slightly as she rested her elbows on the table.
"Well, my curiosity is piqued," she murmured apologetically. "And if Artie's the one asking the questions, we can't get in trouble for prying."
"She makes a good point," Pete chipped in, turning his earnest face towards Stevie, who sneered at her future aunt and uncle.
"Some support crew you turned out to be," she commented dryly, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. Stevie huffed out a defeated breath as she realised there was no way that she was getting out of the conversation. She was thankful that Steve wasn't present, so that there was at least the opportunity to twist the truth so that she could at least mask the reality of the future.
"My mom is a Warehouse agent," Stevie bit out reluctantly, tapping her pencil against the table. "Has been so long as I've been alive. She's very good at her job, and the Warehouse has always been protective of her."
Stevie pursed her lips as she met Artie's eyes.
"My mother loved my father more than anyone else in the entire world," she said evenly. "It destroyed her when he left us behind. She's a shell of a person, and has been my entire life, so as you can imagine, my relationship with her is not exactly what people would call close. I would like to be able to say that my mother is kind, or understanding, or loving, but the truth is, I barely know her at all."
Pete let out a low whistle, while Myka looked slightly horrified at the revelation she'd just heard.
"Sorry if I'm not very good at hiding my disappointment," Stevie murmured towards Artie. "Was there a point to your prying?"
"Artie was embracing his inner Gossip Girl," Pete snarked, pushing himself up from his seat so that he could stand behind Stevie. He placed a reassuring hand on Stevie's shoulder as he glared at Artie, who glowered back at him in response.
"Don't forget that you supported the line of questioning," he sneered at Pete, before glancing back at Stevie.
"I apologise if I upset you, Miss McFly," Artie rumbled gently. "I've been working on a theory for a few days, but there were some holes that I needed to fill in. I had an inkling, but I needed your confirmation."
"Did you get it?" Stevie asked, patting Pete's hand reassuringly. Her uncle didn't move despite the gesture. Artie shrugged as he closed his book. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then appeared to reassess his train of thought.
"No," he admitted, shuffling to his feet. "But rest assured, despite this, I honestly believe that we're only a few steps away from sending you home, young lady."
Stevie felt her heart skip a beat just as Pete's grip on her shoulder tightened. Missing the gesture, Artie straightened his glasses and grunted under his breath before wandering out of the office. Still noting Pete's strong hold on her shoulder, Stevie looked over at Myka and found a forlorn expression on the curly-haired agent's face.
"Myka," Stevie started softly.
"I was beginning to think that maybe it wasn't going to happen," Myka murmured with a sigh, her lips forming a soft pout. "We've gotten used to you being here, McFly. We love you. You're one of us."
Stevie drew her lower lip between her teeth as she reached a hand across the table to wrap her fingers around Myka's.
"I love you guys too," she said with a wavering smile. "I know Claudia told you that I had a moment, about going home, but here's the thing... as much as I love you guys here, I love you more in my own time. And there are other people there, who, even if I wanted to think otherwise, I can't live without."
Myka squeezed Stevie's fingers, but her little pout remained. Behind Stevie, Pete huffed out a sigh and then leaned down to kiss Stevie's temple.
"We're just really gonna miss you, kid," he rasped. Letting go of Myka's hand, Stevie rose from her seat and wrapped her arms around Pete's shoulders.
"Just think, sometime in the future you get to love me all over again," she smiled, and Pete's lips twitched in response as he fought a smile of his own. Patting Pete's cheek, Stevie turned and made her way towards the door towards the Warehouse floor. As she wandered away, she heard Pete let out a low whine, and Myka murmuring something soothing in reply, which was enough to keep the fond smirk on Stevie's face as she leaned against the balustrade of the mezzanine level. She stared out over the Warehouse floor; a scene so familiar to her, yet she'd been in the same spot so many times in her life that she could pick out the subtle differences between her time and the one she was in. It would be so easy to stay, but she'd meant what she'd said to Pete and Myka. She belonged where she came from, even if it tore her heart apart just a little. If she was asked, Stevie would be the first to acknowledge that leaving not just Steve, but the Claudia she'd come to adore, would be the hardest goodbyes of her life.