Hi there! I'm not gonna say much more beside – Helena's here. Enjoy!
I don't own Warehouse 13, etc.
Chapter Five
It's three days later, when Myka thinks of Helena Wells again. She tried not to since that conversation with Pete, and succeeded, but now it's really not her fault. How can you not think about someone when you see them?
It's a chill morning. On her way to grocery store to buy some food for breakfast, Myka stops at Artie's to say hello and when she exits, her sight falls straight across the street, where Helena stands with… Jeannie? They communicate nonverbally, but Myka doesn't need words to know it's a polite conversation. Both of them smile and Pete's sister squeezes Helena's hand before walking away. The other girl holds still for a moment, clearly lost in thought, and Myka fights the urge to come up to her. What would I say?"Hi, I'm intrigued by you, tell me about yourself"? Stalking much? Helena finally walks away and Myka crosses the street, heading for the store. Well done, Myka.
She wonders if Pete knows that his sister knows Helena Wells. Or maybe they only just met today? He wouldn't let his sister near Helena, if he warned me about her, would he? She enters the store, checking her pockets for her shopping list, even though she already knows it by heart. Did he meet Helena, anyway? He mentioned rumors and MacPherson, but no actual interaction with her. Myka doesn't like to make assumptions, form an opinion on a person she hasn't even met herself. The jury's still out.
# # #
Mrs. Bering and Tracy are preparing breakfast, while Mr. Bering and Myka are sitting at the table, reading a paper and a book respectively.
The day before, Joshua managed to find a library in town, hidden somewhere behind a church, between DVD rental and a fishing shop. He let Myka know, so she could find something new to read. As for himself, Joshua spend all afternoon doing his research, and decided to continue it this day. Which resulted in disgruntled Tracy.
"… But we had a great time before, and yesterday evening, when we went dancing," she tells her mom. "So we'll go out again tomorrow, and today I'll just hang out with my friends. Are you guys going to the beach?"
"Yes," comes the answer. "Your father took a liking to sunbaths." She sends her husband a smile, when he looks at her over his paper.
"You could say that," he speaks up. "But I'm not sure I can lie flat on my back for two more weeks."
He puts the paper away when the breakfast is served. Myka follows suit.
"Eat girl, you're so skinny," he tells her.
"What about you, sis?" asks Tracy before she bites into her sandwich.
"Are you going out with Pete or Claudia today?" wants to know her mom. "I like that girl, she's adorable."
"And she has a cute brother," Tracy singsongs.
Myka laughs.
"Pete's staying in. Food poisoning," she adds. "We were at Leena's and at Artie's yesterday, so I think I'm gonna take Claudia swimming."
"It's so nice of you to look after her, honey," her mom says, smile growing.
"It's nothing." Myka shrugs. "She doesn't cause trouble, and she's smart for her age, so I enjoy her company."
"Well, I'm really happy to see you making friends, Myka."
Mr. Bering nods his head and Tracy casts her sister a glace. Myka squirms uncomfortable. Thanks mom, she thinks, way to make things awkward.
# # #
Even though they all are heading to the beach, they split up. Myka's parents go to the main area, where they can lie down in beach chairs and have a chat with other couples their age; Tracy goes to the jetty, where she's supposed to meet her friends; Myka and Claudia decide to find less busy part of the beach, so they could enjoy the quiet.
They seem to be similar in many ways; curious and smart, craving company but in a form of a friend or two rather than a crowd, and sometimes – just needing to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.
They ensconce themselves and chat for a while, but Claudia, who can never stay still in one place for too long, unless it's with her computer, starts to wander around. She tries to climb medium-sized pile of rocks and Myka tells her to be careful.
"Ok, mom," she says, voice sarcastic, but stops anyway. She comes up to the shore and squats. She starts to write zeros and ones in wet sand, and watches as the water swallows them up. She gets bored after a few minutes.
"I'm going swimming. Wanna join?"
"Nah, I'm good," Myka answers, not being a fan of sea water. She stretches out on a blanket with a book. It's one of Agatha Christie's crime novels that Myka hasn't read yet.
Time passes lazily. The sun and breeze lay kisses down on her skin. She's just about to find out who the killer is when she hears a yell. She's up in no time. "Claudia?!" The girl is nowhere in sight. But there is another person, running to the sea and throwing themselves into the water. Myka follows, but before she can dive, that person resurfaces, holding Claudia. They swim up to her, and Myka exhales. A "Thank God" escapes her.
"It's Helena," comes the response and Myka only now notices that the person who came to Claudia's rescue is Helena Wells.
Myka is too overwhelmed to respond. She takes a deep breath and helps them get out of the water and to their blanket. She examines Claudia and comes to conclusion the girl got-
"A cramp," Helena says. "You can massage her leg, but there's no need to worry. Your friend will be fine."
Despite knowing all that, she feels reassured. She nods her head and looks Helena in the eye, finally speaking up, "Thank you."
"At your service, Myka," the older girl responds, taking her aback.
She quickly recovers.
"So you did your research."
Although she wants to, she doesn't ask how Helena knows her name, and the girl herself doesn't offer an answer either. Instead she smiles with a corner of her mouth. She pats Claudia's leg and gets up. Myka watches her collecting things she must have dropped while crossing the beach. Helena starts to walk away, wet cloths clinging to her body, and Myka catches a moment when something falls out of her half opened bag.
"Hey!" calls Myka as she goes to lift it up. "You dropped a book." She brushes off the sand, fingering the cover almost with deliberation.
Helena looks over her shoulder just in time to see Myka's gentleness.
"Keep it," she says in a low voice, "you can owe me."
# # #
Later that day Myka visits the B&B only to learn that Pete went out.
"He said he was bored and wanted to see if Artie needed help with anything," Leena's mom says.
Jane and her daughter also went out, taking Leena with them.
"But Jane said he just wanted cookies after whole day of starvation diet." She adds, "He feels fine now."
Myka thanks her, and makes her way to Artie's.
# # #
When she enters the shop Artie lets his breath out in relief.
"Myka, good. Take this 5 year old and keep him busy, preferably not talking."
"What's going on?" she asks, smile forming on her face when she sees Pete's innocent look changing into an impish one.
"Grandpa's got a date!"
"I'm not that old, you know."
"No, you're not. You're in your prime, man." Pete's grinning from ear to ear. Myka is amused that the boy so easily treats the man twice (or more) his age like a peer, but Artie doesn't seem to mind that. Rather than that, he minds Pete's prying. "You still got it, and you use it, and boom – a date!"
Myka laughs watching Artie's expressions.
"With whom?" she asks.
The man murmurs something under his breath.
"Doctor Sommers," Pete offers.
"Calder. Her name is Calder," Artie automatically corrects Pete, who then smiles as to encourage him. "Vanessa and I have known each other for some time now. And we meet for coffee once in a while, that's all."
"That's called dating." Pete's grin barely fits his face. "Vanessa and Artieee sitting in a treee-" he sings cheerfully.
"Ok, ok. Enough."
Seeing Artie's discomfort Myka decides to change the subject.
"Well, I also had an interesting day. I crossed paths with Helena Wells." Both Artie and Pete turn to look at her. "She saved Claudia's life when the kid was swimming and started drowning."
"She was drowning?!"
"Where is she now, is she ok?"
Myka calms them down, telling them it was only a cramp and that Claudia is with her parents now, resting. They don't ask about Helena at all and Myka gives up trying to extract any information about the British girl from them. She's going to sniff it out herself.