Chapter Sixteen: Becoming One

AN: I cannot apologize enough for the delay in posting this chapter. I had it all ready to go when my laptop decided to die. I've only just accessed the hard drive and retrieved the file today, so here it is, finally.

The end proceedings of the court moved with surprising speed. After Claudia had crushed them in an ecstatic bear hug, Myka and Helena discussed the details of the parole conditions with Dr. Calder, who would visit the Warehouse the next day to implant the trackers. After Helena took a few minutes to speak with Abigail about the prescribed therapy sessions, the Warehouse team trekked wearily to their cars, more than ready to go home. Pete and Artie would be driving Leena's car back in what was sure to be a tense silence while Leena, Claudia, Helena, and Myka all piled into Myka's car. Claudia immediately called shotgun while Leena took the wheel so that the finally-reunited couple could have the backseat together. But instead of tender murmurs and whispered love, the two exhausted women fell asleep in each other's arms, taking advantage of the two-hour journey. This time, Claudia didn't bother holding back her "Awwww!" which made Leena roll her eyes with a smile.

Claudia continued to watch Myka and Helena as Leena drove on, unable to tear her gaze away. They were curled up face to face, legs entwined, hands clutching each other's shoulders with ferocity, even in sleep. Forehead to forehead, noses brushing, they breathed in perfect sync, their expressions those of contentment, even in their weariness. Just observing them tugged Claudia's heartstrings every which way, the sight of their long-awaited embrace nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

"They deserve this. This peace, I mean," the redhead amended, realizing what her first statement sounded like. "Not all the badness and horror but the sleep and contentedness and –"

Leena cut her off with a chuckle. "I know what you meant, Claudia. And you're right." She glanced in the rearview mirror at the blissfully slumbering couple. "They do deserve peace after all they've been through. You know more about Myka's journey than I do," she added with a nod to the hacker, "but I can imagine just from what little she said at the trial that her very soul was put to the test, just as Helena's was when the Crown was placed on her head. Those two walked through fire to get where they are now, and they're going to need each other more than ever."

Claudia pondered her words for a minute, then asked with quiet caution, "Do they…is that what you see in their auras? What do they look like?" She had never really asked the innkeeper about her abilities before, but after putting her on the spot at the trial, she genuinely wanted to know more.

Leena smiled. "Their auras are tangled together so thoroughly that I don't think it's possible for them to ever be separated. And the closer they are to each other, the brighter they burn. And they've embraced it – they've caused it. But even if they hadn't brought themselves together, this whole ordeal would have." She met Claudia's curious gaze for a moment and her smile widened. "Just as I said that they'll need each other more than ever, I don't doubt for a second that they'll hold each other together."

The redhead nodded slowly, Leena's words relieving her of her worry for the woman she saw as an older sister and the woman she was learning to trust again. She looked back at the women in question with a wistful sigh. "I wish I could have someone like that."

"Someday, Claud. Someday."

...

When they reached the Warehouse, Leena carefully extracted Myka's messenger bag from the backseat and passed it to Claudia. "If anyone can be trusted with this, it's you," Leena assured the redhead, who was staring at the bag in wide-eyed disbelief. "You helped Myka find it, and it spoke through you at the trial. It knows you, Claudia." Gulping, Claudia finally nodded, clutching the bag to her chest.

The redhead stood and watched with the artifact in her arms as Leena drove away, waiting until only dust was left in her wake before turning to enter the Warehouse. Passing through the umbilicus into Artie's office, Claudia gently placed the bag on the desk before dropping into the swivel chair, nearly toppling over. For a moment, she just stared at the bag, and though it could have been a figment of her imagination, she could have sworn she felt the artifact within stare expectantly back.

After another moment of deliberation, Claudia unzipped the bag and gently pulled out the static pouch containing the Crown, handling it as if it were glass. Taking a deep breath, she opened the bag and stared inside. The same presence she had felt in the courtroom reemerged, warm and comforting. The redhead swallowed, slightly intimidated even as she was soothed. "Hi," she whispered, her voice cracking. The presence sent her an equally casual, almost amused greeting, and Claudia knew that she wasn't imagining things this time. "Listen, I…I just wanted to say…thanks. I don't really know what Myka had to do to bring you back here, but…I just…thanks for being there. Thanks for going with her, and thank you for forgiving Helena. I mean, it might not be my place to say, but…I think…I forgive her, and I know Myka does, and maybe now that people have seen your forgiveness, they'll learn forgiveness themselves. So…thank you. Just…thank you."

The response from the Crown was an unmistakable "you're welcome," and Claudia felt it smiling at her, enveloping her in unconditional love. Eyes blurring with tears, Claudia smiled back.

...

Leena waited a minute or so after parking at the B&B before softly shaking Myka's shoulder. "We're here," she murmured as the brunette groggily became aware of her surroundings. Feeling around for her bag, she panicked.

"Leena, the Crown!"

"Claudia has it," the innkeeper reassured her. "It's with her at the Warehouse. She'll take good care of it."

Myka bit her lip and nodded, knowing that she would have to relinquish the artifact eventually but wanting to keep it close to her at the same time. She had gone through so much just to hold it and it had given Helena back to her. Looking down at the still-sleeping woman in her arms, Myka fell in love all over again, lost in her very visage. She pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, cherishing the feel of Helena's skin against her lips. "Wake up, love," she whispered.

The artificer's eyes fluttered open, drawn to the sound of Myka's voice. "Hmm?"

"We're back at the B&B." Myka couldn't seem to stop running her hands through raven hair, and Helena leaned into her touch.

"I'm going to let you two get settled in while I get some groceries for dinner," Leena gently interrupted, still keeping her voice quiet. Myka and Helena nodded their thanks, knowing what the innkeeper was giving them and unspeakably grateful for it.

Never taking her hand off Helena, Myka gently guided her from the car and to the door of the B&B neither woman had seen in so long. Leena pulled away as Myka unlocked the door, having kept her key in the hope that this day would come: the day she would bring Helena home. They ascended the stairs and walked the hall to Myka's room in silence, and when Myka opened the door, she found everything just as she had left it when she began her journey. Still clinging to Helena, she locked her door behind her, the sound echoing in the anticipatory silence.

Finally, finally, finally together, standing before each other, gripping each other's hands to reassure themselves that they were really here, Myka and Helena's gazes met with hope and desire and yearning and need and love. The moment was perfect and the spell was broken and they fell into each other's arms as their lips found each other's like they'd been kissing all their lives, two halves of a soul finally becoming one.