Some of the reviews lately have made me melt into a puddle of writer feels. THANKS GUYS. Your responses are one of the best parts of writing. That and playing with shiny ideas. But you know. Feedback is beautiful. So read, enjoy, and review if inclined.


Myka jerked awake to the sound of her alarm. She blinked a few times, confused at her surroundings. She wasn't back in the B&B. She shook her head. Of course she wasn't; she was in Pasadena. They were still searching for the pen to send her home. Right.

She looked around the room. Claudia's bed was rumpled but empty, the shower in the bathroom going full blast. She ran a hand through her curls, even more unruly than normal. Myka didn't feel rested in the slightest. It was never good to go on a Warehouse mission at anything less than your best, but it would have to do for now. She had to get home as soon as possible. She had to get to Helena. It hurt to be apart from her.

But she was going to be apart from her for longer than it took to find the pen. Their agreement to save their respective worlds' Warehouses would keep her from Helena even longer. She didn't even know how long it was going to take to find a solution, if there even was one. Myka sighed. She really wished that the pocket watch had worked. Everything would have been so much simpler.

She levered herself out of bed and set about getting ready. She wanted to get to Caltech as soon as possible. Sooner the pen was found, sooner she could work on saving the Warehouse, sooner she could get home and pretend that none of this ever happened. This was a new level of weird even for the Warehouse and she didn't really want to think how much weirder it could get. Giant electrocuting scorpion war machines she could handle. Traveling universes it seemed was her limit.

The shower stopped and Claudia popped out a few minutes later. Myka was still working on getting her curls to behave in a more orderly fashion, a frustrated frown on her face.

"H.G. didn't cheer you up?" Claudia asked, coming up behind her in the bedroom mirror.

Myka thought of the kisses they had shared last night. In a way she had, but then again she had dropped the wanting to stay bomb. She was so afraid that if she didn't get back home right then that somehow this was going to be like Colorado all over again and she was going to show up too late, that she was going to lose another person she loved.

"She did, it's just that…" Myka trailed off wondering just how much to say. She wanted to save these people, she really did, but she also didn't want to give them some sort of false hope. But she supposed she should tell Claudia why she wasn't going to use the pen immediately to go home.

"Helena and I decided that we're going to stay until we've saved the Warehouses in both the universes we're in. We don't want to leave you in the lurch. It was all Helena's idea, really."

"And as much as you want to help us, you really just want to get back to H.G."

Myka nodded. "Yeah."

Claudia patted her on the shoulder. "It's ok dude. You miss H.G. and you guys didn't really establish anything relationship-y before this, did you?"

"Nothing substantial. I was too afraid to do anything. Helena was more than ready. She was waiting for me, really."

Claudia nodded. "Don't worry, Mykes. We'll get you back to her. And the other versions of us will get her back to you. We're a pretty dependable bunch, you know?"

A small smile cracked on Myka's face. "Yeah, I do know. You guys are all great. It's just hard."

Claudia hugged her. "I know." She pulled back after a second. "But let's go get that pen so you do have a way home when the time comes."

Myka nodded, hands falling from her hair. It didn't matter how her hair looked today anyway. She grabbed a pony tail holder from her wrist and quickly tied her hair back into a bun. They would find the pen today. They had to find the pen today. They just had to.

Claudia grabbed her stuff quickly and shoved it into her bag. She was completely ready to go in a few minutes. Myka paced in front of her already packed bag.

Claudia turned to her once her bag was zipped up. "Ready to go?"

Myka nodded and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and walking to the rental car on autopilot. Claudia followed behind her silently. Myka was lost in her own head, so very lost. Sam kept popping up in her mind superimposing over images of Helena. Why staying to help save the Warehouse set off memories of Colorado she wasn't sure, but it scared her nonetheless. She didn't want to be late this time. She would break if she lost another person she loved. She had already broken when she had thought Helena was dead the first time. She couldn't image what it would be like a second time around. Would she even manage to function this time? She wasn't sure.

She followed the GPS, not registering anything between the hotel and when she pulled into the parking lot at Caltech. Claudia whistled looking around the campus with wide eyes. Myka glanced over and Claudia with a questioning look.

"This was my dream school of dream schools before Joshua disappeared. I always imagined coming here and studying physics just like him. With a double major in computer science of course."

"You could still do it, if you wanted," Myka said.

Claudia shook her head. "I'm happy at the Warehouse now, even if it isn't the best place to be at this exact moment. You guys are my family, you know? Some fancy degree from some fancy school isn't worth giving up that."

"But it was your dream."

"Dreams change." Claudia shrugged. "Going in and out of mental wards sort of stripped me of any dream of college early on. Family became more important. Family is what I have now."

Myka smiled lightly at Claudia. "Some dreams do come true."

Claudia tore her eyes away from the school to look at Myka seriously. "Your dream will come true, Mykes. I don't care how hard I have to work to get you back, I will. That's what family does."

A little bit of the memories of Colorado faded to the back of her mind once again. "Thanks, Claud."

Claudia nodded. "What do you say we go rip this place apart?"

Myka popped her door open. "Yeah, let's."


Claudia did all the talking once they got into the main offices. Myka and her usually controlling tendencies allowed her this once. It seemed that ehilr doing field work with Agent Jinks she had learned a few things, because with minimal questions asked they were on their way to the research labs where Edward Witten had worked. Claudia twirled their new ID badges that would get them where they needed to go and smiled widely at Myka. The corners of Myka's mouth pulled up as she grabbed her own badge from Claudia.

"Not bad," she said, clipping the little piece of plastic to her lapel.

"Not bad? Psh, I'd like to have seen you get us in faster. You still can't lie too well, Mykes."

"I've gotten better!"

Claudia snorted. "While that's true, Pete's definitely the lying mastermind of the two of you. You're still a wee bit too tight laced to really get the hang of it."

"Change the rules," Myka muttered to herself.

"What?" Claudia looked over at her.

"Nothing."

"And by nothing, you mean H.G. Yup, I got it."

Myka sighed and decided just to tell Claudia. "When we were in China playing chess to unlock the second entrance into the Warehouse Helena told me to change the rules right before we won the game. She saved me. Lying is sort of like changing the rules."

"Yeah, I guess it is." Claudia reached out and squeezed her hand once.

Myka squeezed back once before dropping Claudia's hand. "Anyway, which way are we going?"

"We're almost there, don't worry. I've been paying attention. I got your back."

"I know Claud, but it is nice to know."

Claudia pointed to the building just on the edge of their vision. "That one right there. One of the many 'state of the art laboratories on campus,' or at least so says the guide that they gave me." Claudia waved the glossy piece of paper around.

"Considering its reputation, it should probably live up to its manual. Unlike my alma mater." Myka shivered at the remembrance at the state of the chem labs at her old university. They were straight out of the forties at best and an absolute nightmare to work in.

"I dunno. Checking out Joshua's new digs at CERN kinda ruined everything else for me." Claudia shrugged.

"I'm sure they'll still have a few pieces of tech for you to geek out over after we've finished searching for the pen."

The red head smiled. "Oh, I'm counting on it."

They quickly reached the lab, walking in behind someone Myka would've guessed was a professor. Both of them wandered the halls looking for the exact lab that the secretary back at the office had given them. For being a state of the art university, the numbering system in the halls was a little bit confusing and out of order. Both letters and numbers went with each room, and letters weren't always in alphabetical order. They eventually found what they were looking for on the third floor even though they were looking for a room with an E number. Myka had to shake her head, sometimes colleges were colleges no matter how prestigious.

Myka walked in first, badge at the ready to flash if need be. No one was in the lab, however. She sighed in relief and flicked on the lights. Everything looked like it had been a few months since it was used last. It was a good sign at least that the pen might actually still be in the room. The second Claudia started to scurry about the room looking through drawers for the pen, though it set Myka to sneezing.

When the sneezing fit was done, she grabbed Claudia's arm. "Wait Claud." Myka wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand. "The pen originally got Helena and I through a pair of purple gloves. Be careful, try not to touch it at all."

Claudia bit her lip. "But how are we supposed to bag it if we can't touch it?"

Myka looked around the room for something to help her. "Here." She reached out and grabbed a pair of tongs and handed them to Claudia. "Hopefully that'll be enough to protect you. We don't exactly want you showing up in another universe. Two Warehouse agents in different universes are enough."

"Ya think?" Claudia took the tongs from her and set to work again.

Myka grabbed her own pair of tongs and set to work on the other side of the room. They worked for a long while, a light sheen of sweat built up on Myka's neck. The AC had been turned down in the room and since the outside air was warm, the room they were in wasn't exactly cool. Claudia finished her half of the drawers first, scowling.

"If it isn't here that's going to majorly tank." She leaned back into the counter and looked around. There were a few instruments covered in sheets, but other than that there wasn't much.

Myka kept working on her drawers until she met Claudia in the middle. She shut the last drawer with a frustrated bang. Majorly suck wasn't even going to cover it.

"Maybe under the sheets?" Myka said a little hopelessly.

Claudia shrugged and went about lifting the sheets and looking under them, but there were just scientific instruments, not artifacts.

"Alright, let's try his old office maybe?" Myka levered herself off the counter and walked to the door.

"'Kay. That's way across campus, though."

"Always is."

Claudia walked out into the hallway and Myka moved to follow but stopped. She just had a feeling. Was this what Pete was always talking about when he said he got vibes? If it was she should definitely listen to them. The vibes always helped Pete. Maybe this time they would help her too.

She spun around in the middle of the room slowly one final time. Something caught her eye in the corner of the room, wedged under one of the counters. Myka walked over and squatted down closer to get a better look. A gasp left her lips at what she saw.

"Claudia!" She called out.

The red head popped her head back in the room. "Yeah, Mykes?"

"It's here." Myka gestured under the counter.

"The pen?"

Myka nodded.

Claudia was by her side in an instant, tongs at the ready and a static bag clutched in her other hand. The younger woman handed Myka the bag and set to wriggling the pen free of its hiding space. Slowly but surely the red head managed to work the pen free. When it was almost loose it suddenly popped out at the last second and flew towards both of them. They both jumped back, Claudia letting out a high pitched squeak in the process.

Myka landed on her backside with an audible 'oomph.' The pen clattered to a stop near her. She ripped open the static bag and crawled towards it, wincing slightly as her back muscles protested from the fall. Claudia managed to recover and meet her there, tongs at the ready. She picked up the pen carefully and plopped it in the waiting static bag, drawing back quickly to avoid the sparks.

Except it didn't spark. It didn't even let off an iota of extra energy.

Claudia looked up at Myka, eyebrow cocked. "You sure this is the right pen?"

"Absolutely certain," Myka replied still looking at the bag with a frown.

"Shouldn't it have sparked and, I don't know, maybe have sent you home since it was neutralized?"

"I have no idea. Maybe it's still active? Like a bifurcated artifact won't spark until both pieces are together."

"But does this thing have two pieces?"

Myka shook her head. "No, all of it is there. At least everything that sent me here." Myka bit the inside of her lip. "But maybe…there are technically two pens right now. Well, there are technically at least eleven, but I mean the pen that sent Helena and I here should be split in half almost."

"So you think Helena might have to find her own pen and neutralize it before it actually sends you both home?"

Myka thought it over for another few seconds. "Maybe. I mean, it would make sense."

Claudia snorted. "When does anything to do with the Warehouse ever really make sense."

Myka laughed once. "Yeah."

Claudia hopped up from the floor. "Right, well, I think there are probably some tests that Artie and I can run on the pen when we're back at the B&B to see if it really is an active artifact. So, why don't we skidoo?"

Myka sighed and stood up, not missing the slight allusion to Claudia's new disbelief. She had to admit that this had been a little bit of a goose chase, but she had thought that Claudia really and truly believed her. Maybe she still did. Maybe it was the pen she doubted. After all pens could look the same. She really hoped it was the second option. She didn't want yet another person thinking that she was insane. She was having a hard enough time with Artie.

Both of them walked out of the building quickly. They had permission to be there, but best not to push it and have anyone asking questions, even if Claudia was practically drooling over the lab equipment they did manage to see. Myka clutched onto the static bag tightly, never letting go even the slightest when her hand started to hurt. The pen was her way home, her way back to Helena. She wasn't about to let it out of her sight for a second.

They ended up in another café close to campus for Claudia to work her magic and get them on the soonest plane flight back to South Dakota. Myka for her part spaced out again while Claudia's fingers flew over the keys. She wondered just how they were going to save the Warehouse this time. Artifacts could do many, many things, but how could they save something that had already been destroyed? Helena had proved that physical time travel wasn't possible, so how exactly were they going to do it? Was there an artifact somewhere that could bring atoms back together into whatever they once were? What was the downside if there was an artifact like that? There was always a downside, wasn't there? Was the downside too much to live with even if it could bring back the Warehouse? And if it was, and that turned out to be the only way, was she ever going to go home? Would Helena's sense of honor let them return to a world where everything was perfectly fine?

The questions swirled around in her mind, but there wasn't enough information for her to answer any of them. Not that the darkest regions of her imagination weren't trying to answer for her. Sometimes an imagination developed by all sorts of fantastical books was a curse. Her mind knew no creative limits. Everything she could come up with was worse than the last.

"—kes? Mykes? Are you in there?" Claudia waved a hand in front of her face.

"What?" Myka asked in a barely audible voice. She shook her head and cleared her throat. "What?"

"I said I got us a flight, it flies us back to South Dakota nonstop and just in time to hop a charter plane back to Rapid City. We'll be home before midnight. But we have to book it in order to get there on time."

Myka nodded and stood up. "Let's go then."

Claudia quickly stowed her laptop in her bag and jumped up. "Lead the way, captain." She gestured towards the door in an overdramatic fashion.

Myka cracked a small smile and walked out to their car. She got them to the airport as fast as she could, but still they barely made it to the plane on time, even with Myka flashing her badge and claiming she needed to get through as soon as possible. A badge could get her a lot of things, but fast airport security checks weren't one of them.

They did manage to pull into the B&B's lot before midnight, but barely. Myka saw the clock roll over just as she shut off the car. She yawned loudly before stepping out of her SUV and grabbing her stuff. Claudia shot into the B&B, leaving Myka in the dust.

When she did manage to wander into the B&B Claudia was wrapped around Jinks practically screaming how glad she was that he was back. She made a mental note to tell them about the metronomes side effects, but for now she would let Claudia have her reunion. Leena hovered at the edge of the room smiling at all three of them before she disappeared back into the kitchen.

Myka stepped forward. "It's good to have you back," she said sincerely. After all it wasn't so long ago that her own Jinks had been in a similar situation.

"Thanks, Myka."

She nodded and stepped back again, wandering up to her room. Better to let Claudia have her moment with her best friend without any intruders. She threw down her stuff in her room and collapsed face down on her bed. All she wanted was to see Helena again. Today had been draining mentally and physically. The whole ordeal had really.

Myka felt a little grimy laying in her bed in the clothes that she had worn for eighteen hours straight, but her eyelids soon drooped anyway. Thoughts of getting up to get to take a quick shower fell by the wayside as she blinked one last final time and finally didn't open her eyes anymore.