Hey! So, this is the last chapter of 'The Battle - Part Two' and my last update for a while.
Part Three is growing but slowly. I have no idea when it'll be ready to share with everyone, but I am working on it steadily. Watch this space!
As always, thank you for sticking with me. I'd love to know what you thought of this latest part of my saga.
Oh, and if anyone speaks German and wants to give me any help with the dialogue at the end, let me know!
Chapter Twelve
Fredrick looked smug as he watched his Aunt Tracy, Uncle Kevin and his cousins, and then Pete, Lila and their children, enter the bookshop with all of their overnight belongings and Christmas paraphernalia. He'd thought of something that would make the holidays better for everyone: more family. The bemused expression on his parents' faces when the knock at the door revealed not one, but two extended family units prepared to bunk down for the night, made him chuckle to himself and after being in half a sulk for the last week, the teen finally began to feel more like his usual self.
He met Sophie and Daniel at the door and led them straight to the back area where he'd set up his own cot, as far away from the adults or younger siblings as he could. He'd seen Cat staking out her sleep-space closer to their parents but had no idea yet where Christina planned to set up her bed. He knew that it'd be closer to Tommy, but whether they'd mix with the rest of the adults or try to find a more secluded space for themselves, he didn't know.
Myka greeted her sister with a hug and reached down to help Mikey with the three bags that he was proudly dragging behind him. Tracy rolled her eyes fondly as her youngest son practically threw the heavy load at his aunt and raced off into the shop.
"Dad would never have let us run around down here like that," the younger Bering noted as she returned the hug and made way for others to enter.
"He wouldn't have let me run around here like that," Myka countered with a hard look, which Tracy answered by sticking her tongue out. Green eyes narrowed, old grievances resurfacing for a fraction of a second before the regent shook them off and chuckled at the light-hearted rivalry that they'd managed to build between them.
As the Bering sisters disappeared upstairs, the children followed Kevin to the service desk where all the presents were being tucked out of sight and hovered suspiciously in the tight space between the cash register and the impressive tree that stood majestically in pride of place. Throwing Pete a universal sign for 'help me with these monsters', Kevin tried his best to engage the eager trio in a game, hoping to entice them back to where he could keep them in sight.
Once Helena had shaken off her shock and greeted the guests with a warm smile and a cordial hello, she began to rearrange the seating and tables to accommodate everyone. Christina, Thomas and Lila jumped in to help and between them they just about managed to create a space that was large enough for ten adults and five adolescents to gather as a group. It was going to be very cosy once the beds were set out but if push came to shove, there were always the extra rooms in the apartment above.
"We would not have managed this feat if we had not extended onto the back of the shop," the inventor told her wife emphatically when she joined the brunette half an hour later.
Myka had been helping her sister to store all of the extra food that the unexpected arrivals had thoughtfully supplied, and was hovering by the base of the apartment's stairs, observing the happy chaos that was now her family. "You'd have found some way to squeeze everyone in," she responded with a teasing edge to her tone, "even if you'd had to knock up some sort of bunkbed system. I can even imagine you suggesting that we hang hammocks from the rafters." As she turned her gaze on the Victorian, her voice softened considerably and she thought about the effort that had gone into this day - pandering to her whim – and she searched warm, brown depths for any sign of regret. There was none. "Thank you, Helena. This is just what I'd hoped for."
"I will always endeavour to make your dreams a reality," HG replied readily and reached out a hand to wrap it around one of Myka's.
"You seem to have a knack for surpassing them," the younger regent noted and squeezed the inventor's digits gently. "Do you think we should join them, or linger in the shadows a little longer?"
An intrigued brow rose. "What intentions do you have that are benefitted by the cover of darkness?" Helena wondered, her dark eyes glinting with mischief.
While part of her wanted to play along and enjoy the flirting, Myka felt the need for more immediate contact and simply stepped closer to slide her arms around the Brit's shoulders. Her forehead fell gently against Helena's and her eyes closed, allowing her to just breath in the tranquil sensation of comfort that flowed between them. When she did eventually lean in for a kiss, it was a soft brushing of lips that lingered past the marking of time.
Around the room, eyes young and old watched on as the couple embraced and stood for several minutes just enjoying the feel of arms wrapped protectively, lovingly around each other. They could all feel the change in the air and knew that their heroes would find a way through their troubles and bounce back stronger than ever.
Anyone might be tempted to call it their own little Christmas miracle but really, there was nothing miraculous about the inevitable. Anyone who knew Myka and Helena also knew that there was no keeping them apart.
Myka and Catherine were the first to rise the next morning, but the adult feigned sleep while her daughter creeped noisily from her jumble of blankets and weaved her way through the bodies that littered the floor, making a beeline for the tree and the presents. The regent allowed a smile to pull at her mouth until she was grinning so wide beneath the covers that it almost hurt. With one ear listening to make sure that no presents were being opened prematurely, she watched the figure of the woman lying in the cot next to her own and tried to make the most of the opportunity to see HG so peaceful and unguarded.
So far as she could remember, she had never seen Helena asleep like this. There had been the few hours spent together on the plane back from Australia, but her head had been so full of battling thoughts that she hadn't taken the time to fully appreciate the phenomenon. Besides, the inventor had found nothing like peace in her slumber then. It was only recently, following their adventure in Montana, that HG had begun to lose the dark circles under her eyes and to fill out around her face again. The softening of her features brought relief to Myka's mind and she felt hope once more.
Suspicions of artefact interference or some hidden agenda no longer lingered in the back of her mind so, although the memory of Helena's betrayal still stung, she appreciated that the woman lying across from her had evolved from that damaged shell of a person into someone who could be counted on to have her back under any circumstance.
She wanted to wake up like this every day; to open her eyes to the features of the woman she loved and to smile to herself because she felt loved in return. She was almost there, in that place in her mind where panic had been replaced by the thrilling bombardment of a dozen butterflies. But until she felt comfortable with the stability of their relationship, she had to walk the steps and not leap over walls with abandon. That was what she'd done the first time round and she didn't want to fall into another unseen pit.
Hearing the shaking of boxes and rustling of paper, Myka peeled back the covers and pulled her socks on before tip-toeing across the wooden floor to where piles of presents were stacked around the tree.
It had taken them over an hour to decorate its bushy branches, the many hands not making for light work. But though there had been a couple of squabbles between siblings (Myka and Tracy's the worst of them), everyone had enjoyed the process, and the result was certainly a sight to behold. The three families had taken a side each and their styles showed in the mix of colours and themes on display. If Catherine's efforts tipped into the Lattimers', Lila's into the Littlewoods' and Daniel's into the Wells-Berings', it only served to bring the entire sculpture together, blending them into one pleasing unit.
Cat's startled and guilty expression fixed on Myka's as her mother appeared suddenly above and caught her in the act of 'investigating' the gifts. Her entire body froze except for the hand that slowly lowered a box back onto the pile and the corner of her mouth, which twitched into a grin.
Myka shook her head, unable to hide the amusement that filled her. Holding out a hand, she pulled the girl to her feet. "Come on. Let's go and make some drinks so that everyone will be a little more amenable when we wake them up so early."
When they returned to the shop floor twenty minutes later, it was with a hot water urn, a selection of tea, coffee and hot chocolate, and the elder Wells couple in tow. HG was awake and stretching on her cot (her body having missed its mate's close proximity), and several more prone figures were stirring in their beds.
"Mmm, smashing – thank you, love," Helena hummed into her cup as she took her first sip of tea and made way for others who were gathering into a disorderly queue behind her.
Once the majority were awake, beds were tucked neatly away and those who still clung to the last vestiges of sleep were forced to accept that it was time to get up. There was little grumbling though as the beverages and the promise of presents brought a smile to most faces. The exceptions lay in the back of the shop, where the three teenagers had sequestered themselves.
After the teens morphed from their zombified state into something near human, everyone gathered round to open the presents. In one big circle, they passed brightly wrapped packages to each other until everyone had at least one and then the youngsters were finally given the go ahead to begin opening.
A frantic, exciting ripping of paper filled the room and Helena watched on from her perch beside the tree, her own hand resting motionless as she absorbed the happy atmosphere. A small cough and a nudge against her shoulder shook her from her thoughts and she looked up to find her grandmother's penetrating gaze boring into her. She read the pride and joy behind eyes that looked so much like her own and felt her chest swell at the motherly approval, but behind the smile something darker lingered – a deep sadness that the inventor could not pin down. Before she could dwell on it for too long though, it was gone and the thick, festive atmosphere chased the fleeting thought from her mind.
"You've really grown into your potential, Helena. We cannot begin to express how proud we are of the woman you've become," Eleanor praised her granddaughter and squeezed her husband's hand as he smiled warmly and nodded along.
"While I miss the scraped knees, torn skirts and dismantled clocks," Rupert added with a quirk of his brow, eliciting a chuckle from the inventor, "I wholeheartedly agree with your grandmother – we could not ask for more for you today than that which you've already made for yourself." He looked over at his granddaughter-in-law and waved when she glanced in their direction for the dozenth time that morning. "Strength to strength, Helena. Some axioms hold true: your trials have knocked you down but you are stronger in spite of them. I have no doubt that your marriage will stand the test of time also."
HG was saved the difficulty of answering when a blur of hair and arms crashed into her. It was probably for the best as the lump in her throat was so big that no sound would have made it past her voice box anyway. Pretending that her youngest had knocked the wind out of her, Helena coughed and found small shoulders with her fingers. "You like it then?" she asked as the many thank you's tapered off.
"I love it, Mummy!" Catherine exclaimed, her childish enthusiasm making a brief reappearance. She turned in her mother's arms and plonked herself in the adult's lap. "When can I cash it in?" she asked, holding her 'Keeper for a Day' experience ticket.
"Not for a couple of months, my love," HG explained regretfully. "But I thought we could make a project out of it in the meantime, so you will be prepared for what you might have to do."
"Is Mama going to help?" Cat wondered after a pause, her tone becoming more cautious with those words.
"We discussed it last week and she's very interested in being involved. I assume that's acceptable to you?"
A smile lifted the girl's features again and she tilted her head back so she could plant a kiss on her mother's chin. "I wish Mama would live with us again but this is still the best Christmas ever," she declared before scrambling back to her feet and returning to open more presents.
The day ended with one giant game of charades before the adults insisted that it was past bedtime and began to orchestrate a procession of youngsters towards the bathrooms and into pyjamas. Despite protests, almost as soon as heads hit their respective pillows, they were out like lights and the room breathed a collective sigh of relief. The teens fought their heavy eyes the longest but once their parents began to retire for the evening and threatened another early start the following day, they retreated to their own mini territory.
Myka crawled into her cot and pummelled her pillow into submission before pulling her covers snug against her neck. She watched as Helena turned out most of the lights and made her way back to the adjacent cot, making almost no noise as she too began to settle down to sleep. The brunette thought back to her early morning musings and blushed when dark eyes centred on her in the dark. It was only in that moment that she realised how close their beds were and a frown fell over her expression until she remembered her sister's enthusiasm in wanting to set up the sleeping arrangements.
As if reading her wife's thoughts, Helena hovered over her pillow, prepared to get up again. "I can move…?"
"No!" Myka whispered a little more forcefully than intended and looked around quickly to find one or two curious gazes looking their way. HG raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she made herself comfortable. "This is fine," Myka reiterated and almost without conscious thought, she scooted closer.
As green and brown held one another, a hand crept out of each sleeping bag and reached across the short divide. Myka felt a pleasant tingle, or possibly a buzz, in the back of her mind and wondered if it was usual for them. She'd been very sceptical about Helena's claim that they'd held a somewhat telepathic link, but each day that passed since they first kissed again brought with it an intangible sixth sense. It was terrifying and comforting all at the same time; she wanted to run away while having a fierce urge to push forward.
Falling in love was like the love/hate relationship she'd always had with fairground rides – she fought against the experience at every step until something persuaded her to get on, and then she wouldn't ever want to get off.
A small squeeze of her hand and a reassuring smile told her that her turmoil must be written all over her face. With a few steadying breaths, she brought her racing thoughts back under control. "Merry Christmas, Helena." Feeling a rush of courage, she rolled closer, hovering for a few, all-too-brief seconds as she brushed a chaste kiss over welcoming lips.
Fighting the voice that wanted her to pull Myka down so that they were intimately sharing the same cot, HG made extra effort to commit the sweet moment to memory and remained grateful for every morsel of affection that was being offered to her aching heart.
One Month Later
Shortly after a quiet New Year's Eve gathering at the Wells-Bering residence, Myka and Helena went on their first official date since their return from Australia. Determined to make new memories, HG arranged for her grandparents to keep an eye on Freddy and Cat while she allowed her wife to drag her to the local ice-rink. Having always avoided the precarious activity in favour of 'dry land', she had never imagined an occasion where she would be pulling skates on and wobbling onto the ice, but as Myka's body had not forgotten how to move, she gladly sacrificed her dignity for an opportunity to hold the American close. Abigail had suggested choosing something that gave Myka control over their interactions while simultaneously forcing them into close contact and it had worked a treat. Not only had they expended a lot of nervous energy, but they'd spent the evening locked in a semi-embrace and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
After a couple of family dinners in the week, the following weekend they'd driven into the city to visit a little-known bookshop as a scouting trip for their own store, taken in a show at the theatre and eaten at a small, back-alley Thai restaurant that HG said they'd been meaning to try for a while.
Tonight, they'd chosen to stay in Boulder – watching a movie at the local cinema, walking arm in arm through the snow-covered park and ordering Chinese to take back to the house.
That was where they found themselves now, several hours later.
Helena trembled beneath her lover, her head tilted back into the mattress as her fingers sought purchase on anything that might keep her grounded. The tremors of her climax seemed to go on forever, reaching from the tips of her toes right to the top of her head. With every nerve ending alight, she felt Myka's ragged breaths against her neck and slowing fingers inside of her like they were melded into one being. It was a sensation that she had sorely missed.
A small puff of laughter brushed her cheek and she turned blindly to find kiss-swollen lips with her own. The leg that she'd thrown over Myka's hips slid, boneless, to rest against the sheets while one hand found its way into wild hair. This is heaven, she thought and lost herself in the taste of the tongue that danced with her own.
Before long, skilful fingers started to move away and she couldn't help the motion of her hips as they followed retreating digits. She felt a thumb against her bottom lip, smelled her own excitement on her lover's hand and moved to pull coated fingers into her mouth. A restrained moan fell from the woman above and HG smirked at the response. Capturing Myka's mouth again, Helena asserted some pressure and rolled them over.
For several minutes, they indulged their need to reconnect through lazy kisses and even lazier caresses. Though, when the inventor tried to heat things up again, she felt resistance against her sternum and pulled back to stare down into green eyes with a questioning look.
Myka glanced sideways at the clock. She hadn't anticipated ending up in bed with Helena, but the evening had been so inviting and the tension in the air so thick that she hadn't been able to resist. A sudden panic filled her mind though; she hadn't planned on staying the night and the idea of waking up alone filled her with dread. "It's getting late," she began apologetically. Pushing a little firmer against HG's chest, Myka began to sit up. She deliberately didn't look back at her companion's expression, knowing the hurt and disappointment she would find.
"You're leaving?" Helena forced from her suddenly dry throat. As the brunette made her way to the edge of the bed and began to collect items of clothing, the answer became obvious.
Myka pulled her underwear on and reached for her shirt. "I'm opening the shop in the morning," she stumbled over her excuse.
HG nodded but she was becoming more and more aware that their physical re-coupling apparently wasn't going to be accompanied by big gestures of commitment just yet. "You could leave early in the morning," she suggested in an effort to persuade her partner to stay. "There's always the guest room."
It had been suggested before but it suddenly felt very wrong. The only place she could stay was their room, but in her increasing moment of fear, she needed to run. A pained smile settled over her expression. "The guest room? Don't you think that would be a bit too much like the bed and breakfast?" she asked as she buttoned her trousers and turned to a mirror to see if there was anything she could do to tame her hair. She didn't mean to be so off-hand with the comment but was aware of how quickly the atmosphere in the room was shifting and needed to squash down her natural compulsion to please other people. She was in full flight mode and logical thought had no place in her head.
Helena pulled the top sheet over her chest to cover her nakedness. Not ten minutes before, she'd been comfortable, even blissfully happy with her state of undress but now, she just felt exposed. "Is that not your intention?" she began bitterly. "To make me feel now, that which you felt then?"
Pausing in the process of trying to flatten wild locks, the younger regent processed the question and briefly wondered whether that actually was her goal, before she rejected the thought and pushed it away. She took a seat halfway up the bed and found the shape of a knee with her hand. The pain on her lover's face was enough to give her pause but not quite enough to change her mind. Still, it touched the part of her that couldn't deliberately hurt anyone, let alone the people she loved.
"No, Helena," she answered soothingly before taking a long breath. "I won't say it didn't cross my mind a couple of months ago, but it was a fleeting thought. I wouldn't do that to you on purpose." She met dark, slightly glassy eyes and squeezed the limb under her hand. "Tonight was wonderful. I enjoy spending time with you and I love being with the kids, but I'm just not ready to put all of that together yet. I'm sorry," she added belatedly, recalling the rejection that she had felt every time she'd woken up alone after one of their evenings together. Knowing that she was inflicting those same feelings on Helena now, she began to wonder whether their impulsive night of passion had been a mistake.
HG took note of the change in her wife's demeanour and visibly pulled herself back together. She shook her head. "You don't need to apologise, love. I was getting ahead of myself. I shouldn't expect so much from you so soon." They shared a small, understanding smile and she gathered enough resolve to slip out of the bed and pull a night-shirt from a chest of drawers. She felt eyes on her back as she lifted her arms to pull the garment over her head and allowed a genuine smile to creep back onto her face. Baby steps.
"Faint heart never won fair lady?" Myka teased softly, an apology lacing every word.
"But absence makes the heart grow fonder, I hope," Helena replied and moved into her partner's space, laying her arms casually over the American's shoulders and bringing them in kissing range again. "I should think of this as another opportunity to date and woo you," she added, hoping to make light of the situation.
Myka brought her hands to the inventor's waist and leant in to kiss her gently. Why are you leaving, stupid? "I would like that. I know that I was actually living this for many years but I don't know what that felt like. You know that I want to be here eventually though, don't you, Helena?" You could be here right now! You just have to stay!
"I do now," HG replied as a weight lifted from her mind. "You will always have a home with us, Myka. And when you're ready, we will make it work, no matter what you need."
You're not listening at all, are you? "When I'm ready, all I'll need is you and the kids," the brunette insisted and stole one last kiss before pulling out of the embrace and promising to return in a couple of days.
Alone again, Helena crawled back under the sheets and let a myriad of emotions settle over her in the aftermath of the day's events: blissful satisfaction, guilt, hope, disappointment, to name a few. The lingering scent of passion should have been comforting enough to lull Helena into slumber, but the rapidly cooling sheets beside her were quietly tormenting and kept her hanging on the precipice between the waking world and the reprieve of sleep. As she willed her world to go dark, Myka's words replayed in her head – I want to be here eventually… all I'll need is you and the kids… I wouldn't do that to you on purpose…
Those last words sounded louder in her head than the others. Her wife didn't want to hurt her, emotionally or otherwise, but the thought had crossed the American's mind, and that alone pained HG. She deserved to feel the same kind of uncertainty and confusion that she'd subjected Myka to so long ago. She wished that she knew when it would end though. This is temporary. She is coming home, she told herself repeatedly as the euphoria of the evening's activities began to fade and tears pricked behind closed lids. Needing an anchor, she grabbed the pillow that she wasn't lying on and clutched it to her chest, curling her body around it as she buried her face into the heavy cotton that still held traces of Myka's scent.
Christina stood behind the cash register, a wistful smile playing on her lips as she went through the motions of preparing for a busy day at the store. She'd stayed up later than usual, reading in the living room upstairs while she waited for her Mama to return from her date. When the hour had passed midnight and there was still no sign of her, the young woman had closed her novel with a satisfying snap and crawled into bed under the assumption that her parents were finally back where they belonged – together.
It was a shock then, as she finished preparing the register, to hear the sound of feet on the stairs, leading down from the apartment. Not wanting to take anything for granted, she slid her hands under the desk, wrapped the fingers of one hand around something solid and heavy, while the other hovered over the panic button. As daunting as the idea of an intruder was, she found herself almost wishing for one; the alternative would mean that last night hadn't gone so well and she wasn't sure how much longer she could watch her Mum suffer the absence of her Ma at home.
A head of curly, mixed grey and brown hair came into sight, followed by a tired smile, and Christina felt an irrational surge of anger hit her. "What are you doing here!?"
"What?" Myka came to an abrupt halt at the irate tone in her daughter's voice and looked around her in confusion. Resuming her movement cautiously, at Christina's unchanged expression, she raised a brow. "Why do I suddenly feel like you're the parent and I'm sneaking in after being out all night?"
"Why weren't you out all night?" the young woman replied, her arms folding over her chest.
The regent processed the words and, realising that Christina had wanted her to spend the night in Boulder with Helena, she felt shame and embarrassment, quickly followed by annoyance and indignation. "I don't think it's any of your business what your Mum and I do on our dates." Breaking eye-contact, Myka breathed slowly through her nose and wondered where her sudden anger was coming from. It absolutely couldn't have anything to do with the guilt she felt the moment she left Helena's room and practically ran from their house last night, could it? She had every right to dictate how fast or slow she wanted to take their renewed relationship without having to feel like the bad guy because she wanted some space to process the intense things she was feeling.
Christina followed her mother into the storage area, all her frustrations of the last few months twisting her thoughts. "It is my business when I'm the one who has to pick up the pieces."
Myka felt her heart drop into her stomach and turned back to face her daughter, her arms wrapping tenderly around her middle. "What do you mean?"
Now that she had the regent's attention, the young woman sighed, releasing a lungful of frustration. She averted her gaze and pushed her fingers through her hair in a move that was all too familiar to her companion. "She knows what she did and how she hurt you. So, she's being the martyr and giving you everything you think you need, regardless of how much it hurts her. And you're wilfully ignoring her pain." She watched her mother's mouth open to offer some form of protest but cut her off, "No – don't tell me whatever you tell yourself to justify what you're doing. You're lying to yourself because you're scared."
Myka stared for the longest time, her thoughts whirring before she felt all the strength leave her legs and sat down heavily on a nearby crate. Her head sank into her hands and regret – that she'd felt on seeing the disappointment on Helena's flushed features – returned. She sensed a body settling beside her and looked up into dark, compassionate eyes. "I barely know how to be a mother," she began solemnly. "I have no idea how to be a wife."
To the regent's surprise, Christina smiled and huffed in amusement. "That's the beauty of it; you don't need to. All you need to do is be in love and enjoy it."
"That's it?" the regent asked sceptically.
"Why not? You wake up and smile awkwardly at each other in the morning. You dance around who gets to use the bathroom first and somehow end up in the shower together. You have arguments over stupid and random things, cry, make up and fall asleep in each other's arms before doing it all over again the next day." The young woman held her mother's gaze and reached over to take her hand. "Love hurts, Ma. It's scary, I know. But look at Mum – she's been hurt by love more than any of us, yet she keeps trying. You know why?"
"Because she's incredible?" Myka asked, almost enviously.
"Because of you," Christina replied simply, drawing an unbelieving gaze to her own.
"Me?"
The young woman laughed at her mother's stubborn ignorance. "You taught her how to love again after she lost me. She spent a century trapped in the darkest recesses of her own mind, but a few short months with you showed her a sliver of light… a sliver of hope. She had to learn how to not be afraid of you. Now it's your turn to find the courage to not be afraid of her."
Myka licked her lips nervously, her stomach gripped in the tight pinch of someone who was about to take a giant leap of faith. She had hoped to put this off for a bit longer. To enjoy having a lover from the relative safety of her childhood sanctuary. It was cowardly, she knew that, but she had just wanted a couple of weeks to settle into her new reality. Not at the cost of causing Helena more pain though. She was being honest when she admitted to HG that she had every intention of moving in with her, so perhaps there was a compromise that could be made.
She nodded slowly. "I love your mother," she whispered. "It was easy to forget that when I was so angry with her. Now… I don't know. I guess I am just afraid of being hurt again."
"She's probably told you to take your time, right? So that you're sure about what you want?" At the regent's nod, she rolled her eyes. "Can you seriously see yourself with anyone else, ever?"
"No," Myka answered readily.
"So how can you not be sure about what you want?"
Wow, Myka's brain exclaimed as she absorbed the obvious answer in those words. "Are children supposed to make their parents feel so foolish?"
"I'll take that as confirmation that I'm right and you're accepting my superior logic." Christina stood abruptly and set her hands on her hips. "What are you going to do about it?"
Taking a longer time to stand, the regent sucked in a breath and slowly smiled. "I'm going to call your Mum today and arrange our next date," she declared and then marched back into the shop.
"What!? That's it?" Christina cried and stood, stunned for a second before she followed her mother.
Myka leaned against the front desk and stared the young woman down. "You've made your point, sweetheart. I appreciate that this past few months have been extraordinarily difficult for all of you, and I don't want Helena to suffer more than she has to, but this is my choice, ok? Just trust that I have listened to what you said and can take the appropriate steps."
"You definitely sound like the parent again now," Christina grumbled beneath a relieved smile.
Myka felt unusually satisfied as she and Christina closed up shop several hours later. She had taken a break mid-morning when Hayley had arrived for her shift and retreated to the apartment to call Helena. Holding the phone in her hand for several minutes, she'd rehearsed what she planned to say while fighting the butterflies that were beating frantically around her insides. She'd dialled before she could chicken out and stood by a bookshelf, playing idly with the spines while she waited for the inventor to pick up.
What if she's upset about last night? What if she doesn't want to talk to me? These thoughts played havoc with her for what felt like an eternity before the line connected and the ringing stopped.
"Hello, darling," HG answered, her tone cautious but warm.
Myka's nerves abandoned her in one big rush of relief the moment she heard Helena's voice, convincing her even more that she'd been too hasty in her escape the night before. "Hey," she replied softly.
"How are you?" the inventor asked in a nervous attempt to start a conversation.
The younger regent ignored the question; her own thoughts were just too loud and she blurted them out before she could hide them again. "I shouldn't have left."
There was a short silence on the other end before HG found her voice. "What do you…"
"I panicked… Last night. I wanted to stay but I had this image of waking up alone and… I panicked," Myka confessed. She took an audible breath and kept on going before HG could get a word in. Before she could panic again, because what she was about to say could have no going back. "We need to talk about when I'll move back in. Do you want to have dinner here tomorrow night? I can ask Christina to spend the night over there?" she asked in one big rush.
Helena was stunned into another silence for several seconds until a sceptical tone rose from her. After crying herself to sleep and then tossing and turning through disjointed dreams, she dared not hope too much. "Myka, what happened this morning?"
The brunette smiled to herself, understanding that her sudden enthusiasm had to be confusing. She was so full of adrenaline after a morning of psyching herself up for this call that she'd forgotten to explain herself clearly. "Christina and I had chat, that's all. I told you last night – I do want to move in. I haven't suddenly had a big change of heart. She just made me realise that I need to be more open with when that's going to happen. So, we should talk about it, don't you think?"
Helena breathed hard into the phone and Myka had to wonder if she was fighting tears. "Yes, I would like that… very much so."
She felt calmer after confirming their next date and agreeing to make actual plans instead of just waiting until she felt the urge to live in Boulder again. Contrary to how she thought she would feel, taking this step had freed her of a burden that she hadn't known she was carrying. While she'd assumed that reserving her right to hesitate gave her freedom, what she'd actually been experiencing was the weight of responsibility over everyone's happiness. She'd known that by waiting she was prolonging her family's pain, but she'd been so focussed on her own fears that she'd missed the bigger picture. Love was messy and so were families, but the only way that they would get through this situation was by being together.
And now that she and HG were intimately involved again, there was no logical reason for her not to be at home in Boulder while they learned how to function as a unit once more. Her anxieties remained with her, but there was a definite overtone of excitement to their fluttering and instead of fighting the feeling, she was trying hard to enjoy it.
Was it the start of a new year and the promise of fresh beginnings that buoyed her hopes, or something ingrained in their timeless bond? Myka had no idea, but as she added up the day's takings from the till, she decided that it didn't matter so long as she was happy.
In the world of the Warehouse though, moments of calm clarity could never last for long and a sudden, frantic knocking on the shop door jolted the regent out of her thoughts. She saw her daughter's head appear from around a set of shelves and they exchanged a look of confusion before the young adult began to walk cautiously toward the sound. Myka slipped from behind the desk and jogged to catch up, her haste putting her just ahead of her child as they reached the door. She glanced apologetically at Christina, who rolled her eyes and gestured for the regent to proceed.
Through the glass partition, Myka found the harried, wide-eyed face of a largish woman who stood suspiciously close to the closed door. The regent hesitated before unlocking the deadbolt and pulling the door open to the length of the chain. "Can I help you?" she asked through the gap.
"Helena Wells?" the stranger enquired, her voice laden with a heavy accent.
Myka's eyebrows rose. Now that she could see the full length of the woman, she spotted the small boy whom she held before her in an iron grip. "She's not here right now. What do you need?"
With a vigorous shake of her head, the stranger glanced nervously up and down the street before fixing her desperate gaze on the regent. "Dieser Junge," she began, appearing to stumble over her choice of words. "Er ist sehr wichtig. Important - you understand? Wir brauchen Helena Wells. Wo ist sie?"
After another shared look with her daughter, Myka caught a nod and turned back to the stranger and her young ward, gesturing for them to wait. "Bitte, warten." She closed the door to remove the chain and pulled it open wide enough to allow the visitors inside. "Kommen Sie herein. Helena ist meine Frau, aber sie ist nicht hier," she explained her wife's absence before introducing herself. "Ich heiße Myka Wells-Bering. Wer sind Sie?"
The stranger threw a worried glance towards the windows before shuffling herself and her charge into the shadow of a large bookshelf. "Ich heiße Mathild und er heißt Ansgar." She lowered her voice and leant closer to Myka as she found more words in broken English. "He has bad father."
Myka couldn't help but wonder at the pair's origins. While she was confident in her own abilities to communicate with this woman in German, she was honestly surprised by the stranger's limited English. She must have been very isolated for a long time, she thought to herself as the most plausible explanation. Not that she assumed that everyone should speak her mother tongue, but it was unusual in the developed world not to have a passing grasp of the language.
At the woman's mention of the boy's father, Myka's eyes widened and a name sprang to mind. "Lloyd Spenser-Chapman?"
The woman nodded vigorously. "Ja. Herr Spenser-Chapman ist seiner Vater. Er ist… schlecht. Bad."
Myka nodded and showed the woman to a nearby chair as she watched the colour drain from her already pale features. "Christina, would you mind staying with our young guest while I talk to Mathild?"
Christina nodded, knelt down to the boy's level and smiled kindly. "Hallo, Ansgar," she waved. "Magst du Bücher?" she asked, pointing to a shelf of kids books a few feet away, and then reached into her pocket to pull out the banana that she'd saved from lunch. "Habt ihr Hunger?" The kids' section in the front of the shop was fairly small but there was a miniature desk and chairs all set for young customers who might feel impatient while waiting for their parents. The young woman pulled out a chair and set a book on the table before gesturing for the boy to follow. "Komm. Setzt euch."
The boy paused to look up at his protector, waiting for her go ahead. Mathild brushed fingers through his hair and smiled through her fear before reassuring him and telling him to go and have fun. It had been many gruelling hours since they'd left the black forest and she'd been able to do nothing but tell him to stay close and obey her every instruction. He was too young to shoulder such burdens without reprieve. "Alles gut, mein suß. Geh. Habt spaß."
Recognising the seriousness of Mathild's declaration regarding the boy's origins, Myka imagined the journey that the pair must have endured to get to Colorado. She placed a comforting hand over the woman's forearm and gestured to the chair again before returning to the windows to pull the shutters down. As she turned back, she paused and glanced over at her daughter, who was happily flicking through a book of wild animals and entertaining their young guest with sound effects and funny faces. Knowing the fate that was to befall the child, she was relieved to see him in a safe place, but the ex-Secret Service/Warehouse Agent in her couldn't help but wonder what devastation these unexpected refugees might have on her family.
She thought about her lover and worried that their newly rediscovered happiness was already under threat. As her heart tugged her thoughts towards Helena, she was reminded that their time together was precious. All the more reason for you not to waste it.
"Sag mir alles," the regent implored as she settled next to the stranger and waited to hear the story of how the two foreigners had come to end up in her shop.
I chose not to include translation because I tried to include Myka and Mathild's thoughts/intentions in the narration. Let me know if you like this or would prefer clearer dialogue.
Happy Holidays to everyone. Hope it's not too long before I have something new to share with you all!