Disclaimer: No matter how hard I try, NBC Universal simply will not relinquish to me the rights of Warehouse 13, c'est la vie
AN: (I'm like 87% sure there was a super smash brother's for the 64)
Final Chapter of AMDARS. It's been a blasty blast you guys, I love you all. I have more author's notes, but I'll put them at the bottom, see ya there.
Chapter Twenty-One: Say Something (I'm Giving Up on You)
"Do you have a key to our apartment?" Steve called without looking away from the television screen when he heard Claudia's boots stop across the linoleum floor and the door click shut.
"No, I don't need one." Claudia laughed as she moved through the kitchen, looking for popcorn, "If I had a key it wouldn't be a challenge, and my lock picking skills would go to waste."
"Hello, Steven." Helena greeted fondly as she leaned over the back of the couch. Just looking around she could tell Myka had been hard at work cleaning the apartment, something she thought the other girl had stopped doing whenever she and Claudia visited. Something must've triggered it once more.
"Well, well, well," Pete's voice said from the hall, "If it isn't HG Wells." He smirked.
"You're a riot, Pete, really," HG rolled her eyes, "I'm laughing so hard right now, can you not tell?"
"Snark will not help you beat me at Mario Kart," He warned as he moved around the couch to set up the controllers.
"As if I need help to beat you!" Helena barked as she took her normal spot on the love seat.
Helena played with the blue remote while Pete had the yellow, Claudia the purple and Steve the grey. Myka never played, she was more than happy watching them and listening to their banter.
They were already engaged into their first game when Myka emerged from her room. She smiled at how competitive they were getting already. Pete was leaning so far forward, Steve and Claudia were shoving each other and HG had her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth as she tilted her whole body to the left as her character took a sharp turn.
She crawled over the back of the love seat to sit in her usual spot beside Helena, "Twenty bucks on the Brit." She declared, and HG shot her a smile.
Helena won by a slim margin the first round, even though she had been far behind before Myka joined them, "It seems you are my good luck charm, darling."
"I guess I'm stuck sitting next to you for the rest of the night then, huh?" Myka blushed as their eyes met and found they were closer than she thought.
Helena couldn't resist a wink and Myka's cheeks darkened. The next round started and Helena released the American from her entrancing gaze. Myka let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and tried to focus on the game and not on the excitement building in her chest.
Helena won the next three rounds, each time by a larger and larger degree, until Myka got up to pay the pizza guy who they knew on a first name bases now that they ordered in so much.
"Thanks, Todd," she smiled, "Want to come in for a bit?"
She knew that the pizza delivery boy had a bit of a crush on Claudia, and thought he was nice enough. Claudia was sort of seeing Dwayne, but that didn't stop her from blushing and usually rushing to pay for the pizza when it was delivered.
Todd shook his head, "Not tonight, Myka, but thanks. Tell Claudia I said hey." He smiled and waved good bye.
"Bloody hell!" Helena cursed loudly, "You and those damn banana peels, Lattimer, I swear!"
Pete was laughing maniacally as he pulled into first at the last minute. Perhaps HG had been on to something when she called Myka her lucky charm. But when the smell of pizza reached Pete, the game was abandoned so he could stuff his face. They laughed as they ate and spoke of switching to Super Smash Brothers, that's when Helena's phone rang.
She appeared confused as she looked around before reaching into her pocket, everyone she normally talked to on a regular basis was standing around her now. But when she looked down at the screen she sighed and asked we give her a moment to answer it.
"Hello?" she asked as she walked into Myka's room and closed the door softly behind her.
She was hardly listening to Charles, her older brother, speak as she walked around Myka's room. But he quickly grabbed her attention and she found herself sitting heavily on the bed.
This is it, Myka told herself as the other three turned back to the Nintendo, It's now or never. She's in your room, alone, make your move. It took about five minutes of pep talk for Myka to work up the courage to walk into her own room.
Helena was standing at her desk, hand gripping her own hair in a ponytail, a nervous habit Myka had noticed in the girl. She was staring at a picture Myka had added to the desk. It was one Claudia had taken of Myka and HG laughing on the beach in Santa Barbara. It was her favorite because of how happy Helena looked in it.
"Can I talk to you?" Myka's voice betrayed her edginess, and she closed the door behind her, not wanting an audience.
Helena turned to look at Myka, an unreadable look in her eye.
The brunette slowly moved to stand in front of Helena, always feeling the need to be closer to her. But she lost her words.
"I need to speak with you as well." Helena said to the silence, her voice even, betraying none of her inner turmoil.
"Oh, okay." Myka nodded, watching the other woman's lips move.
There was an extended moment of silence as each woman fought the urge to close the gap between their lips. This was it. This was the moment it had all been leading up to, Myka was sure.
"I like you." Myka blurted out, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest, "I more than like you, I-,"
"I have to return home," Helena said suddenly, cutting her off and closing her eyes against Myka's reaction. She had to keep her from saying the words she so desperately wanted to hear. She could already feel the ache in her chest and she wouldn't be able to hold on if she let Myka tell her what she was surely about to.
"What?" Myka pulled back, "Now? Why? I thought you and Claudia were just going to stay over here tonight…?"
Myka trailed off as the look of despair and pity grew in HG's eyes. That's when it clicked. Helena wasn't talking about the dormitories, and she wasn't talking about tonight. She was talking about home, as in London.
"My family has called for me to return for the summer," Helena explained once she read the realization dawning across her friend's face, "I have prior… commitments that must be attended to."
"Prior commitments?" Myka asked, though she really didn't want to know the answer.
What was Helena to do? How could she explain so much of her past with so little time left to spend here? If she took into account what her brother told her, she needed to be on a plane by tomorrow afternoon. This was going to be painful all around, and she loathed herself for what must be done, because she really couldn't be the cause of Myka's pain, but she had no choice. She could hurt her once, this one time and be done with it. Or she could drag it out for months.
Helena took a breath, her decision having been made. She could only hope Myka would forgive her one day. That she would move on and forget her. That HG's presence in her life hadn't stopped her from achieving all the happiness she deserved.
"I had a fiancé in London before I left," she kept her face neutral as she gauged Myka's reaction. The shock and hurt were evident for a split second before her face shut down, "There are some things he and I must work out, as well as with our families. Our engagement had been put on hold, but now it is something that requires addressing."
Myka felt like she was going to throw up. She had never felt so stupid in her life. Of course. Of course someone as beautiful and intelligent as Helena was spoken for. Myka had never stood a chance, and the realization of that fact made her heart feel as if it were being crushed under the weight of every insecurity she thought she had shed over the last month with Helena.
She felt stupid and angry. She wanted to scream and cry. She wanted to demand that Helena explain herself. Why hadn't she told Myka she was engaged to be married? Why had she gone on flirting with Myka? How dare she make Myka feel all those things for her and just when she had grown comfortable to let her walls down, to finally let someone in, rip the rug right out from beneath her feet?
But Myka's rationalistic side kicked in as she built the wall back up around her heart brick by brick. Helena owed her nothing, least of all an explanation. Another brick. She never gave Myka reason to believe they were anything other than friends. Another brick. They'd only known each other for eight weeks. Another brick. Helena deserved more than Myka had to offer. Another brick.
This all happened over the span of three seconds, and HG watched it happen. The look in Myka's eyes as they went from warm summer green to hard, cold jade in a matter of two heart beats twisted the knife further into her chest.
"When do you leave?" Myka's voice did not betray her, it came across as polite and interested and was as fake sounding in Helena's ears as the laugh track of the bad sitcoms Claudia enjoyed.
"I need to book a flight for tomorrow." Helena worked to keep her tone even, regretful but not ever so. Coming across as asking for Myka's understanding without actually requiring it, "I need to be back in London as soon as possible."
"Then you and Claudia should head back to your dorm," Myka said as she walked backwards away from HG, "So you can pack up and leave, wouldn't want your fiancé to be kept waiting."
"Myka," Helena reached out, but the other woman was already gone. She heard low talking in the living room, but couldn't quite make out the words.
She heard a door open, then shut quickly, somebody, Pete it sounded like, calling after Myka who had already left.
Claudia poked her head around the corner of the threshold, looking to her roommate, eyes swimming in unshed tears, "Myka said you needed to go home? Something about going back to London?"
"Don't worry," HG finally moved, wrapping her arm around Claudia's shoulder, "I'll be back in the autumn. You can't get rid of me this easily, and besides, I've not finished my degree. I'm not one to give up on something I've worked for that easily."
Claudia's smile was tinged with sadness as she allowed HG to lead them to the car.
They spoke little as Helena moved around their room, packing things away while purposely leaving things for Claudia to have. It all made HG feel sick to her stomach, because she was leaving behind the thing she most wished she could take with her.
She was ready to leave at ten the next morning, though her flight wasn't until four, she knew better to be late arriving at the airport. She had taken a Taxi while the redhead was still asleep, keys to her car left with a post it note for Claudia reading take care of it until I return. She knew the younger girl coveted her the car, and it wasn't like HG would have much use of it for the next three months. She also left her with instructions to lock up the lab.
It was all a very lonely affair, and she wished more than once that a certain curly haired book worm was there. But she was resigned to the fact that she had successfully pushed her away for the time being.
What she didn't know was her roommate had called Myka.
Myka had spent the night brooding and wallowing in self-pity. But she also felt panic when the new day began and she realized what was happening. So when Claudia called and told her HG would be on a plane at 4, she yelled at Pete until he agreed to drive her to the airport.
He was weary. He loved Myka and could see how much she cared for Helena. He could also see how much her leaving was hurting his best friend, and he wasn't sure if taking her to the airport to say good bye would hurt or help.
Pete barely had time to stop the car before Myka rushed out and started running, pushing past people until she got to the proper gate and saw a familiar head of raven black hair.
"Helena!" she called, her feet hitting the linoleum floor of the airport too rapidly for some of the employees to care for, but it was a small local airport so no one bothered to stop her, "Helena!"
"Myka?" HG turned to see her frazzled looking friend quickly approaching.
"I wanted to see you off." Myka tried to catch her breath as HG pulled her in to a tight embrace.
Each had been so worried that the previous night would be the last they saw of each other, and neither could stand it. They wanted one last good memory, a smile, a hug, which they could hold on to and look back on.
"How do you say good bye to the one person who knows you best?" Helena asked as she buried her face into the other woman's unruly curls, trying to memorize the scent of her shampoo.
"I wish I knew." Myka swallowed tears.
She obviously didn't know Helena as well as she thought she did. But HG had seen parts of Myka's heart she guarded from everyone else. And now it was strange for Myka to think that there was this person who was going to be out there, no longer in her life, but who held all these facts about Myka. It felt almost like a betrayal.
Helena was leaving. What could Myka do to stop her? Fall on her knees and beg her to stay? Try and explain to her the confusing tidal wave of feelings the other woman caused in her? What good would it do to tell her that thoughts of her smile, memories of her laugh, the ghost of her touch kept Myka feeling warm inside long after they were apart?
"I am going to miss you so much," she heard herself saying, "And I really hope you'll miss me, too."
"I will be back you know." Helena insisted, as she held the taller woman tighter, "It's only for the summer."
Myka wanted to believe that, but the hurt she was feeling swallowed the hope, leaving no trace of it left behind. Surely Helena had much better things she could do with her time that didn't include a nerd she solved puzzles with over spring break. Myka always knew Helena Wells was too good to be true.
Helena pulled back and reached into her shirt. At the end of a long silver chain dangled a purple key. Myka recognized it instantly. It was the key from the library, Benjamin Franklin's key, their first case, the one that brought them together. It was coated in the purple rubber stuff that Helena had invented to keep it from working. She had told them she hid it away, but really had kept it around her neck this whole time.
HG put the chain around Myka's neck, brushing her brown curls behind her ear after it settled on her chest.
"You kept it." Myka pointed out, not taking her eyes off the dark abyss that Helena's normal sparking eyes had transformed into.
"Of course," Helena shrugged, biting her lip and wondering how much she should say, "Though that blasted thing brought so much insanity into my life, it also brought one of the things I care most about in my life."
Myka was stunned, unable to respond, so Helena just pulled her in for another tight hug, enjoying the warmth that the other woman's arms brought that had nothing to do with body heat.
Unshed tears rested on the brim of her eyes as they pulled away, her flight being called to board, neither woman speaking a word. It wouldn't be until later that Myka realized they never actually said goodbye.
Myka watched Helena walk away. She continued to stay standing there long after she could no longer be seen. She didn't move again until the plane had departed. Pete was there suddenly, wrapping an arm around his shaking friend. He let the tears stain his shirt as he pulled her into the falling night, "Come on, Mykes. Let's go home."
But memories of Helena tainted the walls of the apartment, and it was only two days before they left it behind. Pete taking Myka back to Colorado Springs while Steve decided his family could adopt Claudia for one summer. They all felt the absence of one another, none more so than Helena, though, who sat sobbing by herself on the long plane ride back to London, and the hollow days that followed.
The only thing that made it all worth it was being able to hold her daughter in her arms once more.
James MacPherson sat at a computer in his office at the warehouse, typing in to the search field Bering and Sons Book Store. A slow smile creeping across his face as he got a hit. A photo of the store based in Colorado had a gangly awkward looking teenager, a younger version of the woman in the sketch.
"Found you," he smirked, "Myka Bering, are you stealing artifacts to sell them or use them?" He then proceeded to weigh his options. The young woman was dangerous to his operation, unless he recruited her…
"What do you think about recruiting them?" Mrs. Fredric's voice startled Artie from where he sat at his computer, staring at the transcripts to the five students on the screen.
He knew about their trip up and down California collecting artifacts, Claudia Donavan was good, but she never tried hiding something from someone like Arthur Neilson. He didn't know what artifacts the little team had collected, he couldn't seem to find where they were keeping them. But they didn't seem to be using or selling them, so he wasn't overly worried yet. That didn't stop him from contacting his old boss and friend, though.
They were so young, their lives barely starting, but it was clear to Artie they didn't really have a choice. They had discovered the world full of artifacts most people never noticed. They had collected four artifacts together after they'd known each other little over a week. They worked amazingly as a team.
Steven Jinks, the human lie detector and the cool head of the group.
Claudia Donavan, tech savvy genius who had developed a system to track possible artifact cases in one week… it took Artie months to create something similar.
Peter Lattimer, son of a regent, scary accurate intuition willing to take that leap of faith.
Myka Bering, could connect the dots faster than Artie had seen any agent do before, her memory set her apart from people who would have been at her caliber, she could see the big picture.
Helena Wells, inventor extraordinaire, Myka and Claudia wrapped into one, but she was a wild card. Unpredictable. The only one who seemed able to control her was Myka. And now…
"I don't know what I think of them yet." Artie admitted, "Together, they could be the best team the Warehouse has ever had. But they are so young…"
"We'll keep an eye on them." Mrs. Fredric said, omnipotently.
"They've scattered, though," Artie turned to her, "Lattimer and Bering went back to Colorado Springs, Jinks and Donavan went to New Jersey, and Wells has returned to London."
"I wouldn't worry too much, Arthur," Mrs. Fredric's turned away from the retired agent, "They'll be back. The Warehouse hardly ever lets go of what it wants."
END OF PART ONE
AN: On a scale of one to ten how much do you hate me? The whole airport scene was written as I listened to Say Something by A Great Big World on repeat, which is what I named the chapter for. It made me have OTP feels, so blame that song not me. Helena had to leave, for character and story development, I knew that, I didn't know this was where I was going to take a break though…
I really do love you guys and all your input and kind words and constructive criticism, but I must take a hiatus. My significant other is jealous of the amount of time I put into this fic with all the research and actual writing. I will be back in a few weeks with the first chapter of part two, though I don't know what it'll be called yet, but the summary will have it labeled as AMDARS pt2. I already have notes and stuff drawn up for it, so it won't be too long, I promise.
Feel free to bug me on my tumblr if you think I'm taking too long, or you just want to stalk me. Whatever floats your boat. Writing-Myself (personal) Its all about murder (fandomania)
Keep the faith
-W