Mea culpas - I know Broadway matinees are on Wednesday's but I had to move that around to make this work.
I thought Pete Lattimer was from Ohio - and so that's what I said here. If I'm wrong, please tell me.
I don't think I named Eileen's parents before, but I did here. If it's in error - I'll fix it.

Could she take any more liberties?

The Offer

Jane Lattimer was a sensible woman. Her clothes said it, her shoes said it, and her hairstyle said it. And yet her actions of late made no sense – even to her. She jumped at the chance of going to New York to get the crystal back. When it was discovered missing, the Regents discussed their options. The one thing they could agree on was that Helena Wells was not the most stable person they knew. Yes, she might be content now, but what would happen if Helena decided she wanted to change things to suit her needs. It wasn't too farfetched to think she would use the Time Machine for her own good.

The Regents all agreed that they had put Helena through a lot. Yes, it was all in an effort to test her One and in order to do that, they had to bring them together in the Warehouse. It was the only way to confirm which of Helena's choices –was the right one. After the display of courage and determination by Myka, the Warehouse knew -and the entity confirmed it by disconnecting Irene and allowing that energy to connect to Myka.

Jane Lattimer seemed to be the staunchest opponent to Helena. Secretly, she admired her for being able to make the choice - twice. Jane had hesitated and allowed too many opportunities to pass. Maybe that's why she volunteered so quickly – she needed to see that connectedness in action.

It was like the moth attracted to a flame – she wanted to see it even though it hurt like hell.

Pete was still feeling all kinds of weird at work that morning. He tried to concentrate on the Yankees, but nothing seemed to work. Maybe talking to Myka would help, he thought. She had this really calming effect for him. Myka was still smiling over Helena being afraid of Irene when Pete knocked on her door. He told her he wanted to check on what time to pick her up for the Mayor's gala, but he already knew.

"So 7:30? And then we can get Ms. Wells?" he said a little too enthusiastically. Myka knew something was up.

"Sure, if that will get here there on time to be fashionably late," Myka smiled at how Helena enjoyed making an entrance.

"Yeah, okay that works," Pete said worried the visit would come to an end.

"Pete, are you ok?" Myka asked and Pete was so grateful.

"Myka, I don't know. Ever since we went to South Dakota, my vibes have been really weird," Pete said grateful he could tell someone. "They were haywire last night and again this morning. Hey, maybe it's just from having my mom here, ya think?" he laughed.

Myka felt terrible that in part, his vibes were right when Helena was being abducted again. "Pete, there's something I should tell you….," Myka was saying as Pete took out a picture to show her.

"Here's a picture of me and her from last night," he said showing Myka the picture he took of them in the hotel restaurant. Myka looked quickly and smiled – she was going to tell him about Helena – when something in the picture caught her attention. The woman was wearing an emerald green suit – the same color that the Regent had on. Myka uncharacteristically grabbed Pete's phone out of his hand to look at the picture again.

"Who is this?" she said pointing to the woman who she knew she saw in South Dakota and this morning.

"My mother. She's a school teacher," Pete said proudly.

"A school teacher?" Where?" Myka asked, staring at the woman.

"Ohio," Pete said taking a candy from Myka's desk.

"Let me see," Myka said getting closer to the window, "You look like her," she said as she secretly forwarded the picture to her own email and then deleted the text. If it weren't for the candy, Pete might have noticed.

"She got here earlier than I thought so I'm trying to find some things for her to do, " Pete said munching on another candy. "Let me know if you think of anything I can do with her."

"What? Oh yes, I will, I really will," Myka said smiling and handing Pete back his phone.

She waited for Pete to leave and then paced her office, biting her fingernail – the telltale sign of Myka being frazzled. 'What do I do?' she repeated over and over in her head. She was pretty sure that the woman in the picture was the Regent – her eidetic memory told her that. Pete seemed clueless that his mother was a Regent. And if she went upstairs and told Helena, she was afraid what she might do.

"You must be …," Kathleen Sullivan was saying when her daughter interrupted with, "Mom, this is my boss – Ms. Wells. Ms. Wells," she said without looking at Helena, "this is my mother, my only mother, Kathleen Sullivan," Eileen clarified in case Helena wanted to chew her up and spit her out. "And my Aunt Rose," she added quickly.

Eileen didn't have to look. She could feel the weight of Helena's stare filling the room. "Hail Mary, full of grace…," Eileen said silently.

"The pictures in the papers don't do you justice, Ms. Wells," Eileen's Aunt finally said, struck by the beauty of the tall woman in the doorway even if she was glaring at them.

"Compliments are good," Eileen thought.

"You're very kind," Helena said and Eileen let out her first breath.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kathleen said extending her hand so she could look into the eyes that seemed to be harshly staring.

"And mine as well," Helena said trying to decide if she liked these people. One look on Eileen's face told her she was worried about the mixing of the women in this room. Helena's expression softened into a smile. Myka would like her to be nice.

"Your daughter is one of the most valued members of our team here at Wells Corp. Her tea alone is the reason my mornings run as smoothly as they do," Helena said to them. Eileen's head shot up to see who was saying those words…in spite of the fact they were decidedly British.

"That's very nice of you to say," Kathleen said softening her tone as well. "She really enjoys working for you." 'Although her father and I can't figure out why', she thought and Eileen was certain she heard.

"I foresee a day that I shall be working for her," Helena said sincerely. "You've done a wonderful job," she said to the girl's mother and started to win her over.

"And I understand that you are responsible for showing Eileen the skills to make a proper cup of tea," Helena said to her Aunt. The woman beamed her confirmation. "Well, I am forever in your debt Madam. If there's one thing we Brits need, it is our tea," Helena smiled.

Eileen watched the woman she had once feared, now adored; charm her overly protective mother and Aunt into giggling admirers. "She really is very nice," Kathleen said to her sister-in-law who couldn't have agreed more.

"They just stopped in," Eileen whispered to Helena.

"Why don't you take them to lunch," Helena suggested. "I believe we owe you at least that for your efforts this week."

Eileen beamed at the recognition. "I won't be long," Eileen promised.

"Take all the time you need. I will do my best to hold down the fort whilst you are gone," Helena winked.

"She really is a very nice boss," her Aunt said when Eileen joined them for lunch. "I thought she was going to be like Meryl Streep in that Devil Wore Products movie."

"Prada," Kathleen clarified.

"Yes, I really like her," Eileen said.

Myka stopped pacing when she decided it really wasn't helping and she was getting dizzy. She had to go to Helena, so she went upstairs to talk to her.

Helena's face lit up when Myka entered her office. She was on the phone, closing a multimillion dollar deal with a well-known company who would distribute the latest invention to come out of Wells Corp's laboratories – a bionic contact lens that superimposes images into a person line of sight, thereby putting the computer image in front of them without the computer. Helena put the finishing touches on the deal and quickly got off the call.

"Where is Eileen?" Myka asked c concerned about there being no one out there as Helena's line of defense. "Maybe you should have a second assistant?"

"Oh bloody hell no!" Helena laughed. "I don't think I could take it if the girl thought I was replacing her again."

"Oh I see," Myka said, still concerned that anyone could waltz in if they found their way up there. "Helena, I have to talk to you about something," Myka said and Helena didn't like that tone – she sounded worried.

"Pete's mother is in town," Myka said.

"Oh yes, he mentioned that. It seems we're overrun with mothers today," the Brit said amused.

"Not like this one," Myka let slip out.

"Sorry darling?" Helena asked.

Myka took her phone out and opened it to the picture. "This is Pete's mother," she said handing the phone over.

"That woman has a striking resemblance to the Regent who visited me this morning," Helena said.

"Helena, I think she's one and the same," Myka said and saw the black cloud from in Helena's dark eyes. "He has no idea," Myka said reading Helena's expression on her face.

"You mean to tell me he was right there at the Warehouse and she was there? And now she's in New York? Well, I think I will give her a piece of my mind," Helena said bolting from her chair. Myka stepped out in front of her and plastered herself across the door to prevent Helena from leaving.

"What are you doing?" Helena asked, her instincts kicking in. No one got in her way.

"Helena, think about this. This is Pete we're talking about. He'll be devastated," Myka said and Helena didn't like the distraction even if she was right.

"But that woman…," Helena said.

"Oh yes, I know. I could strangle her myself when I think about it, but we have to think for Pete's sake," Myka said.

"God, this being reasonable all the time is exhausting," Helena complained going to the couch and falling back into it. Myka smiled at how sincere Helena was in her angst.

"Let's think about how we should handle this," Myka said sitting next to Helena.

"Look at us, Wells and Bering – solving puzzles and saving the day," Helena said inching closer to Myka who was deep in thought.

"Bering and Wells," Myka said without thinking. It made sense to list them alphabetically to the dominant left brain lawyer. Helena wanted to help, but she was really too distracted looking at Myka as she tried to figure out the solution.

"You have a beautiful mind," Helena said touching Myka's hair and sending shivers down her spine. "I could watch you think all day."

"We have to think what would be best for Pete," Myka said gently taking Helena's hand in an effort to concentrate.

"I could …make her an offer she can't refuse…," Helena said in the worst imitation of Brando ever uttered.

Myka erupted into laughter and Helena's lower lip burst into a pout. "I'm sorry, Helena, but do you even know what that means?" Myka asked.

"I do!" declared the woman who had never seen the movie. "It means you get your way." Now Myka chewed her lip to suppress the laugh.

"Don't you always?" Myka asked, kissing the sulking lips next to her. Helena leaned into the kiss, more than Myka wanted her to – she knew Helena needed very little enticement. She let Helena linger for a moment, but then gently broke away. They had to decide what to do.

"Apparently not always," Helena said – giving in to Myka's resistance. Helena was really beginning to detest being reasonable. There was always tonight.

Jane Lattimer sat in her hotel room after receiving and in room massage – a gift from Pete. He couldn't think of anything to do while he was at work and Eileen suggested this. She sat back and sipped on a cool glass of iced tea. Pete had called before very excited that he had plans for dinner that night, but warned her she would have to dress up for it. "It's very fancy, Mom," he said. He sounded excited like he used to get about the Blue and Gold dinners the Boys Scouts held once a year, before he was kicked out.

"Perhaps tonight," Jane said of her impending decision to talk to her son.

She was hoping to make better progress with her second assignment in New York. The recruiting process for the Warehouse was a delicate and tedious process. Once a target was selected, they had to be observed over the course of days, even weeks. She had spent the afternoon watching the young woman they were interested in having lunch.

Jane reached down and opened the file marked 'Sullivan, Eileen' and wrote;

Subject enjoys being with family. Mentioned being fired, but rehired. Might be wise to make our offer soon.

Time for Helena to ... ok fill in the blank if you want to.
I hope you write what I have planned ;-)