Disclaimer: I don't own Warehouse 13

Part Two:

The first thing she noticed, before even the rhythmic sounds of the monitors and the overpowering scent of antiseptic, was the sense that something was missing. The hollow pang of loss reverberating through her, becoming more intense, amplifying each sound, each breath until it felt like she was suffocating. Myka looked around the empty hospital room frantically as the memories caught up with her. The locket had been an artifact. She'd known, but hadn't wanted to let it go, even knowing the danger… and Helena! Helena had realized something was wrong.

The door creaked softly as Helena walked in, a cup of coffee in hand, and Myka couldn't look away. Even with her rumpled clothing and the dark circles beneath her eyes, Helena was beautiful - especially, when her eyes lit up and the smile stretched across her face, making the previous exhaustion seem like a mere trick of the light.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" Helena was moving before Myka could even finish the first parched syllable. The cup of coffee, no longer necessary, was exchanged for the water on the bedside table. Helena helped her take a couple sips before setting it back on the table. "Better?"

Myka nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"And overall?" Helena inquired gently.

"It's kind of… odd. I feel better, physically, and I don't feel the overwhelming need for the artifact anymore, but I still feel…"

"The loss."

"Yeah." It had felt a little foolish, feeling sad about the loss of the thing that had been slowly killing her, but Helena's look of understanding, without seeming to judge her for it, made that vanish.

"Understandable. The feeling of loss lingers. It grips us, holding fast, never wanting to let go. And that is my fault as well."

Myka narrowed her eyes at that. "Don't start. You had no way of knowing the locket had become an artifact. It never affected you, so why would you think it would be dangerous?"

"When- How long ago did you start wearing it?"

"Since Wisconsin." Myka reached for Helena's hand when she looked away guiltily. "I brought it with to return it, but with everything that happened, I forgot about it until the ride home. Then, I just started carrying it around more and more often. By the time I realized it might be an artifact and suspected what it was doing to me...I just- I couldn't give it up. It was like having a part of you with me, the only part of you I had left."

"But I came back?" The question was posed with some hesitance, as if Helena was bracing for what she feared would be the answer, and Myka wanted to hold back to not put words to that fear. But Helena would know. She had always been able to see past the words Myka said, the words she didn't say, and just see her: her strengths, her flaws, her quirks, fears and doubts.

Myka took a deep breath, pulling together any shred of courage she could find in herself. "Be brave. I need your strength." Helena's words echoed in her mind, and Myka repeated them to herself, her silent mantra.

"I didn't believe you'd stay." She gave Helena's hand a reassuring squeeze when she felt her flinch. "You came back because I was sick-"

"Myka," Helena cut in firmly, "I did not come back because you were ill."

Her denial seemed to be the spark, catching the insecurities that littered Myka's mind like the dozens of crumpled notes that had littered her room since Boone- notes that said too much, or not enough, or said everything wrong. "Oh, don't give me that!" Myka glared at her. "It's what you do," she added bitterly.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Helena's affronted look did little to put Myka off. "You don't show up unless something's going wrong, and then the moment the crisis is averted, you're gone. With a note, or without a word, you're just gone… until something else requires your attention." Helena tried to object, but Myka wouldn't be dissuaded. "It's been like that since the first time we worked together, and to be honest, Helena, I've given up on hoping that maybe, just maybe, one day you'll be there once the dust clears.

"So, yeah, I know I wasn't fully in my right mind, and who knows how much of my condition was the locket, but I knew that the moment I was in the clear, there'd be nothing keeping you here." Myka pulled her hand away to pick at a loose string on her blanket. "You'd be gone again, and I wouldn't even have the locket left."

"You're wrong." Helena sighed and settled her hand over Myka's, stilling the anxious fidgeting. "I have everything keeping me here."

Myka's eyes flickered up to Helena for the briefest of moments before she averted her gaze and stared at their hands, not daring to look over at Helena until Helena reached her other hand up to settle under Myka's jaw.

"Myka, look at me," she waited patiently, impatiently, until Myka turned her attention back to her. "I did not come back because you were ill. No one informed me until I contacted Arthur and Mrs. Frederic about returning. I admit, once I was aware, I expedited my departure, but that was because I want to be here for you, to be here with you. It was not because you are a crisis that must be resolved so I can move on. Understand?"

Myka nodded slowly, hesitantly.

"Good. I know it might take some time for you to accept, but I want you to know I came back because-"

The door behind them creaked open, breaking their moment of seclusion. Dr. Vanessa Calder walked in, heels clacking against the floor with each step. She glanced up from her clipboard and smiled when she noticed Myka was awake. "It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" She asked as she came alongside the bed, opposite Helena, and checked Myka's vitals.

"Better than before. I still feel pretty drained, definitely not up to full strength, but still… better. I feel like I have more energy, and I don't feel as weak as I did before."

Dr. Calder nodded. "That makes sense. That artifact did a number on your system, your body will likely take some time to fully recover." She sent a mild glare at Helena. "You were supposed to let me know as soon as Myka was awake. It was why you were allowed to stay outside of visitor hours."

Helena shrugged unrepentantly, and Myka had the strongest impression that Helena would have found a way past the hospital staff even if she hadn't been "allowed".

Dr. Calder shook her head, but there was a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth. While Myka had been unconscious, she'd had a number of brushes with Helena's lack of concern for rules deemed to be unimportant, and although it had been exasperating at first, she'd quickly learned just how "in tune" Helena was when it came to Myka. The slightest irregularity in Myka's condition had Helena rabidly paging the nurses' desk, but they were otherwise altogether ignored at best. "The good news," she told Myka, "is that it seems as though the cancer started to reverse once the artifact was neutralized. The last few tests we ran show that it shrank to a small grouping of abnormal cells, so it's possible this mass was there before the artifact. We would have to do a biopsy to determine if it's benign or malignant, but I'd like to remove it regardless, just to be safe."

Myka nodded. "All right."

"Good. I'll schedule the procedure. In the meantime, there's a few people outside who would like to see you, if you're up for it?"

Myka nodded, not noticing the disgruntled look that momentarily crossed Helena's features.

"I'll send them in."

Dr. Calder had barely opened the door before Pete and Claudia bounded into the room like a pair of overly excitable puppies. "You can visit for a while, but Myka still needs to rest. I don't want you staying too long, and don't do anything to get her worked up." She turned back to Helena. "And that goes doubly for you," she added with a pointed look and a hint of a smirk.

Helena just raised an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing. Myka blushed when she caught onto the doctor's meaning, and Helena grinned fondly at her. Neither Pete nor Claudia noticed the exchange in their excitement at seeing Myka awake and okay. They hopped up onto her bed, each taking a side, and began chattering away about the latest misadventures in inventory - Pete's fault, honestly!

Their charge to keep the visit calm, went entirely unheeded until the commotion reached the nurses station down the hall, and one of the nurses made them leave - not before tight, heartfelt hugs were exchanged with looks of relief that Myka would be okay. When the door closed on the last rapidly waving hand, Myka smiled wryly at Helena. "Are you going to keep me company until Vanessa comes back in to make sure you left too?"

Helena smirked. "Myka, they gave up on trying to kick me out quite some time ago."

Myka frowned thoughtfully. "How long have I been in here?"

"Three days. It's the evening of the third now."

"And you haven't left at all?"

"Just to the cafeteria, and Vanessa let me use one of the showers."

"You've been sleeping in here?" Helena nodded. Myka shifted over to one side of the bed and patted the empty space beside her. "Come on."

Helena raised a brow. "I'm fairly certain that's against the rules," she teased.

Myka narrowed her eyes. "So is staying past visitor hours." She patted the space beside her again. "It's got to be a lot more comfortable than that chair."

Helena smiled softly as she rose from the chair. She stopped, her hand gripping the top blanket, and looked at Myka. "Are you certain?" She voiced her concern. "I know you're still quite upset with me, and that's not something that I expect to immediately dissipate. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. I can manage well enough in the chair."

"I-" Myka started to say it was fine, she wasn't angry, but her thoughts returned to the furious words she'd spoken earlier. "I don't know. I feel like I'm all over the place right now, and my thoughts and my emotions can't seem to agree on anything. Except, I want you to stay. Here. With me." She met Helena's gaze steadily. "Please?"

Helena nodded and pulled the covers back. She settled in beside Myka, pulling her close. "I'll stay. For forever, if you'll have me."

Myka moved a little further down the bed, carefully, to avoid jostling the iv tube still attached to her and settled against Helena. With her head against Helena's chest, she could hear each beat of her heart, feel her chest rise and fall with each breath. The warmth of Helena's body surrounded her, and Myka had never felt so safe and content. And she wanted to cry, because nothing had ever felt more right. "For forever," she murmured her agreement.

AN: This got a bit longer than expected, so I decided to cut it off here. The third (and hopefully final) part should be up within the next week. As always, thank you to all who have reviewed, followed, favorited, etc.