As it's been over a week since my last update, I'm getting this last chapter out before I can obsess over it too much. Your wonderful words of encouragement have given me the confidence to update without a million reads and edits and right now, I feel pretty good about this epilogue. I'm hoping the only criticism I'll get is that there's not enough, but that's kinda the point because I want to leave you begging for more!
I know that I've thanked you all a thousand times but I can never thank you all enough for your continued support. Your words always bring a rainbow to any cloudy day.
Chapter Nineteen: Epilogue
Early, on the last Saturday in March, having driven across two states, following one of the removal vans, the Bering/Wells family arrived at their new home. Hungry, travel weary but mostly excited, the sound of unbuckling filled the car as they began to pile out.
Christina slipped a hand into her Mama's and glanced up at the American's thoughtful expression. At two months shy of her tenth birthday, the young girl was fast catching up with her parents in height. The top of her head now peeked above Myka's chin, giving evidence to a growth spurt that apparently accompanied a sudden interest in lazy mornings, half an hour longer in the bathroom and an aversion to any movie or television show that involved the lead characters sharing their first kiss.
Myka threw an arm around the girl's shoulder and kissed the top of her head. As much as possible, she tried to appreciate all of the little moments they had together. She wasn't going to grow old regretting that she hadn't spent enough time with her family but even so, her children were growing up so quickly that she often wondered where the time was going.
Helena joined the pair on the driveway; her left arm wrapped securely around her son as she pressed the lock button on her key-fob and watched the indicators blink in response. Some technology still had the ability to make her smile at its simple elegance. She opened her mouth to ask if Myka and Christina were ready to venture inside and found her words muffled by the weight of a curious hand. Trying not to wonder why her son's hands were sticky again, Helena blew a raspberry against his palm and chuckled as she ducked his renewed attempts to pull at her teeth. She heard the sound of a truck door opening and knew that the people they'd hired to move their furniture were impatient to get started.
"Shall we?" HG nodded towards their new home.
Christina grinned and reached out to take the inventor's free hand. "Let's," she answered with exaggerated poise before beginning to drag both adults towards the door.
By Sunday evening, the chaos of boxes and half-deconstructed furniture had been dealt with and a semblance of hominess began to settle over the house.
"I found it, darling," Helena declared with a satisfied whisper as she sat next to her fiancée in their new living room and smiled down at her son, who was fighting his post-feed nap.
Myka's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Where? I looked all around the outside of the house yesterday."
"It's in the basement. I noticed it while I was measuring the space for more shelving. It's almost under the stairs. I would not have taken note if I was not already familiar with its appearance." She leant in to meet the brunette's lips with her own, needing to reassure Myka that they were safe in their home. "As Jane mentioned, we have our own brand of protection. Our home is still our stronghold."
Regent Bering nodded slowly and gazed down at their son. "It's one more thing off my mind. I'm glad Claudia could make time to visit. It was strange not being able to just visit the Warehouse this last couple of months and check in."
"Yes, I am rather grateful for her insistence that she keep us well informed. Her reports are the motivation I need sometimes not to buy a plane ticket and just make the journey to check for myself that all is well," HG confessed. One glance at her fiancée's expression told her that she wasn't the only one who had felt this compulsion. "She is in good hands, love," she added, knowing that she didn't need to elaborate to explain who she was talking about.
"I know," Myka sighed, forcing herself to let go of some of her built up anxieties. "And I trust Claudia to deal with any problems. I know she has it covered, I just don't like giving up control, you know?"
"Yes, dear," Helena shot her partner an amused look. "I am well aware of your propensity to hold onto the reins, even while the horse is at rest." Her expression softened as she added, "We are very much alike in that respect."
"Hmm," Myka rolled her eyes slightly and nudged Helena's shoulder as carefully as she could without disturbing a nodding Fredrick. "You know whose reins I like holding most?"
Helena's eyes widened and then narrowed in amusement. "I do enjoy the manner in which you command my attention," she whispered into an attentive ear. Spying an opportunity for a little adult distraction with her wife-to-be, she glanced at the clock on the wall and then down at the now slumbering baby. "What time are we expecting your parents to bring our princess home?"
The weight of lethargy pulling at the brunette's body abruptly lifted and green eyes locked onto brown. "Not for at least an hour," she answered, her body already shifting towards the edge of the couch.
"Not enough time to christen the entire house," the Brit teased. "But enough for two or three rooms." She watched her lover's eyes crinkle in amusement and pulled them both from the couch, taking extra care not to wake Freddy.
It was imperative that he remain asleep.
Claudia Donovan, caretaker of Warehouse 14, smirked as she pushed her sunglasses further up the bridge of her nose and slid into the back of the car that awaited her need. She nodded to her driver's reflection and waited until they were out of sight of the crowded apartment block before breaking out into a mini victory dance.
"I take it you managed to procure his good faith," a serious tone interrupted the private celebration.
"Come on, Mrs F," the red head responded, her arms stilling in a gesture that said, 'are you kidding me?' "Did you really doubt me?"
A sardonic brow rose and a smile tugged at dark lips. "An hour ago, I believe your precise words were, 'frack, I don't know if I'm cut out for this shovimotion'."
"Well, just call me Don Donovan, 'cause I nailed it." Claudia relaxed further into her seat, her smile unrepentant.
"I applaud your efforts, Claudia." Irene allowed some of the fondness for her replacement to shine through. "And to answer your question, I didn't doubt you for a second."
The techie's self-important grin faded into a smile that was very reminiscent of her early days at the Warehouse. "Thanks," she choked and then cleared her throat. "So, how many more of these little visits do we need to make? Will two agents be enough?"
"We have another on our radar but you will find that, as demand grows, suitable agents will reveal themselves to you."
"I get it," Claudia nodded to herself as she turned to gaze at the foreign scenery. "Gotta catch 'em all, Mrs F... Gotta catch 'em all."
A frown descended over the ex-caretaker's face, highlighting one or two new wrinkles. "I am not going to pretend to know what that means," she finally dismissed the girl's latest pop-culture reference. "After today's training session, do you believe you will be up to the task on your own in the future?"
A hint of apprehension lingered in the young woman's eyes for a moment before she nodded firmly and turned a determined look on her older friend. "You bet. You know, when HG was being her crazy-ass self and you were babbling demotic phrases, I was terrified of this happening to me." She shook her head and grinned at the stark difference in the situation today. "Who would've seen us getting here? Who could've seen the little love nest our favourite OTP are in?" She chuckled to herself until she glanced at Mrs Fredrick again and caught a glimpse of knowledge behind those all-seeing eyes. "Are you kidding me?" she gasped aloud this time. "You knew!?"
Irene's expression gave very little away but it was clear that she took offence at the young red head's tone. "I did not know the particulars of Miss Wells' fate, nor did I know the lengths to which she would go to relieve herself of her grief. I did however; know that her appearance was no coincidence."
"You knew she was going to be released from the bronze?" Claudia persisted, her body turned to focus all of her attention on her mentor. Though they were all aware of the cosmic interference that tied Myka and Helena together, they were resigned to the fact that no one knew for certain what would happen in the future. To think that Mrs Fredrick had knowledge that could help and hadn't shared it, the thought shook the new caretaker harder than she'd like to admit. "And you knew that she was going to hook up with Myka?"
"Your tone, Claudia, suggests that you are judging my reticence over the matter," Irene responded in her usual no-nonsense tone. She breathed in slowly and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Many years ago, before the Warehouse came to this country, I met two regents who had travelled from England to seek the new site. They sought my sister, whom you might remember was supposed to be the caretaker of Warehouse 13, and told her, in secret, that their granddaughter, an agent of Warehouse 12, would suffer a terrible bereavement and end up bronzed. They explained that she was to wake in a little over a century to meet her soul mate and complete a cycle of events that would ensure the protection of the Warehouse against a future threat.
"I was not supposed to be privy to that meeting; I had snuck in before they could erect a barrier around the room and hid in a small cupboard. My behaviour that day was a-typical. I did not sneak around, eavesdropping on other people's conversations. I had been raised better than that. I simply could not shake the impulse to be a party to that conversation. Fate, Claudia, is a delicate thing." She paused and eyed her protégé closely. "Tell me, what would you have done with that information?"
"I don't know," Claudia tilted her head in thoughts and played with her hair. "Maybe told Myka that they were destined to be together so she could spend more time with HG. That might have mellowed the mad-scientist enough to give her second thoughts about her master-plan."
"Suppose the idea of destiny having a hand in her future gave Agent Bering pause rather than encouragement. Suppose she had avoided Agent Wells entirely and unknowingly allowed the creation of the next ice-age," Mrs Fredrick hypothesised calmly. "Or suppose the opposite had happened and she put her heart and soul into pursuing Agent Wells and ended up more heart-broken than she became in our reality. Suppose that pain prevented her from ever allowing her soul-mate another chance at love." Satisfied that her words had made their point, Irene slowly smiled, though retained her serious tone. "Claudia, it is imperative that you remain open to the evolution of events in your agents' lives, but it is equally important that you try to retain an objective view."
"I get it," the red head huffed to herself. "Meddling is bad."
"I am pleased that you are willing to acknowledge that fact. Having said that..." She brushed an invisible speck of dust off her skirt as she waited for the young woman to look at her again. "A little nudge here and there can be helpful. Myka is stubborn enough to have never returned to the Warehouse without Miss Wells' encouragement. Arthur would not have learned to trust Agent Wells again without her reinstatement following Christina's revival. Who do you suppose orchestrated those events?"
Claudia's expression morphed gradually from shocked to impressed and finally delighted. "Why you sneaky imp, you. You still have much to teach me, master," she teased with a mock-bow, drawing an amused eye-roll from her friend.
Steve Jinks hesitated as he approached the door to his childhood home and raised his hand to knock. He was nervous but every time he stopped to think about the reason for his visit, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. The reason for his jumpy feelings stood about a foot to his right, a similar expression of anxiety and hope painted across his youthful features.
Jason.
His boyfriend. Officially.
"We don't have to do this today, Steve," the former agent observed, his voice gentle with understanding. "Meeting the parents is rarely an easy thing. I don't want you to feel pressured. Particularly since I refused to take you to meet mine," he allowed a small self-depreciating smile to play about his lips and suddenly found his shoes very interesting.
The ex-ATF agent lowered his hand and turned to face the young man. They had been seeing each other for a few months now and he was beginning to recognise when Jason was avoiding issues. They had discussed their families enough for him to be wary of the Wickes clan but he knew that he would support his boyfriend if it came down to facing them. He couldn't help but wonder whether today's mission was not the only thing weighing down those handsome features.
"I'm afraid I'm not getting out of talking to my mom today. She was quite clear on the phone last night that I have to be here." He reached out to entwine their hands together, feeling a pleasant tingle at the touch and reminding him why he was enduring this torture to begin with. "If you're having second thoughts though, I can make an excuse for you." Blue eyes fixed on his and he held his breath as he waited for an answer.
Jason chuckled and squeezed the hand in his. He knew how important this meeting was and he wasn't about to chicken out but he was glad that they had a moment to themselves first; rarely had he experienced this kind of support from a companion and he wanted nothing more in that moment to pull Steve into a passionate kiss. Reeling in this urge, he settled for a gentle peck on the mouth and pulled back to smile and nod.
"Let's do this thing," he declared, puffing up with false bravado.
Agent Jinks didn't ask if the man was sure, he simply took a breath, lifted his free hand once more and rapped on the glass with his knuckles. When the door opened to reveal the face of the woman who raised him, he felt most of his nervousness drain away and released his boyfriend briefly to fall into her arms. Must remember to thank Claudia again, he thought absently as he remembered the years he'd actively avoided this closeness.
"Steven," Mrs Jinks greeted her son, her thoughts unconsciously mirroring his as she basked in the feel of her baby in her arms. "You came."
Steve kissed her cheek and pulled back. "Like I had a choice," he teased. Reaching once more for his companion's hand, he pulled the man into the house behind him. "Mom, this is my boyfriend, Jason. Jason, my mom."
He watched the awkward friendliness of a first meeting and couldn't help grinning. His thoughts briefly flitted to Liam and he wondered whether things would have been different between them if he'd had his mother to support him. Despite their very enjoyable parting after the last time they crossed paths though, he knew deep down that he'd been a different person entirely back then. Liam's lies had driven him mad and he'd been incapable of consoling himself with the fact that he was a person like everyone else and that lies were a constant feature of human interaction. He had expected his boyfriend to be above all of that and that really hadn't been fair to the young man.
Jason had his moments of dishonesty but overall, he opted to sugar-coat the truth. It was a reasonable compromise in Agent Jinks' eyes and he was content to live with it. He also rarely hid the fact that he 'pinged' when his boyfriend fibbed. They were slowly coming to an understanding that honesty was a feature in the relationship that could be likened to a live grenade. They were careful when they handled it.
Once the introductions were out of the way and Mrs Jinks had reigned in her fussing over Mr Wickes, the woman turned back to her son. "I'm so glad the two of you could make it. I hope you're still staying for lunch. I have a surprise for you, Steven. An unexpected guest..." she trailed off as she made her way passed the kitchen to the living room, expecting the two men to follow.
Frowning and shaking his head at the curious expression on his boyfriend's face, Steve followed his mother through the house to the living room. Barely had they set foot in the room when his eyes widened in surprise and his mouth fell open. He attempted to form words but before he could organise a cohesive thought, Jason's voice rang out from behind him, a tinge of horror painting his tone.
"Meghan!? What are you doing here?"
Equal shock froze the face of the other ex-agent and she lowered her bottle of beer slowly to the table as she paused to consider her response. Seeing the confusion on Mrs Jinks' face, she forced a friendly response. "Steve, Jason... Isn't this a nice surprise. What a small world."
Finally finding his voice, Steve turned to his mother. "Mom?"
"Do you three know each other?" she asked, her wonder still evident.
"We worked together until recently," Agent Jinks explained and then turned his attention to his former colleague, wanting information directly from her so that he could assess her answers carefully. "How do you know my mother?"
Meghan shifted awkwardly in her seat. She could feel Steve's 'power' scanning her and it made her twitchy as usual. "Being out of a job, I thought I should make an effort to talk to my mother and discovered that I had an aunt and a cousin nearby. I don't normally do this sort of thing – doing the rounds with the relatives," she added with a sprinkling of distaste. "But mommy-dearest wanted me to pass along something of her brother's to his ex-wife. I wasn't going to stay but Auntie Em' insisted." Beginning to recover from the jolting revelation that she was related to her former colleague, she forced a cocky smile onto her face, knowing that she needed to save face in front of the human lie detector. "So, cous'... What have you been up to?"
I am drip feeding you these peeks into deeper plot in this story, I know. More often than not, it's because the details are still revealing themselves to me, bit by bit.
I know plenty of you have said that The Birth was far from disappointing. I will try my best to maintain this standard but it's time for me to have a break from writing for a while before I start on the next part, The Brides. Still miles to go, people. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a marathon, not a sprint!
Send me your thoughts if you want to put a stupid grin on my face. To anyone who has ever reviewed as a guest; I wish I could reply to thank you one by one. You're all wonderful.
Ok, I'll stop gushing now.