First of all, my apologies that this has taken me so long to write. This is the final chapter of this fic. Well, the first final chapter. The second final chapter will be along soon. (This is a very long chapter, btw - around 16k words. Just so you know!)


Final Chapter #1

When they arrived at the Warehouse, Myka was hungry again even though she'd just had breakfast, so she raided Pete's secret stash of goodies from the drawer in the corner. When Helena lifted an eyebrow at her, she shrugged, her mouth full of candy.

"I'm pregnant. I'm eating for two."

"Eating for two future diabetes patients, you mean?" Helena said scathingly, and Myka shot her a filthy look.

Artie turned in his chair and gestured brusquely for them all to sit down. Helena sat as far from Myka as she could manage, and so Pete sat next to Myka, holding her hand and giving her a sympathetic look. She smiled at him, trying to stop tears welling up in her eyes. It really was no wonder that the other Myka didn't want to stay here, in this reality, when Helena was being this way.

Artie held out his hand, and Myka remembered the locket, and handed it over. He dropped it carefully in a neutraliser bag, where it sparked intensely, but when Artie looked at Myka, she just shrugged.

"Still me," she said, apologetically. There were a few sighs around the room, the loudest of which came from Helena. Artie cleared his throat.

"We believe that the locket has become some sort of a wishing artefact, imbued with our Agent Bering's feelings of loss and grief when Helena died in the alternate timeline, and her feelings when she went to… ah… well, you know what happened, you were there," he said, harrumphing loudly to cover how uncomfortable he was. "In any case, we believe it to be a wishing artefact, and it's possible that if this Agent Bering makes a similar wish on the locket, it might reverse matters. So, I would ask, Agent Bering, that you go to the HG Wells section and make a wish to return to your own universe, and for our Myka to return here, to this one. It may not work, but it's worth a try, since neutralising it had no effect."

Myka nodded and started to make her way to the HG Wells section. Pete made as if to come with her, but Helena pushed past him to join her. Pete lifted an eyebrow as if to ask "Are you okay?" and Myka just shrugged.

"Goodbye, you guys – if this works. If not, I'll see you soon."

She blew them a kiss and followed Helena into the Warehouse.

"Why did you come with me?" she asked Helena curiously.

"Well, it appears that this situation is at least partly my fault, since the locket was mine, and the circumstances that made it an artefact were of my making. So, I thought it was only fair that I accompany you to return to your world," Helena said stiffly.

Myka sighed.

"No-one is making you come with me, Helena. If you want to be here, fine. But I'd rather be alone if you're just here out of some sort of sense of guilt or whatever."

Helena stopped.

"I'm not here out of guilt. I just wanted to be here, to say goodbye and to welcome my Myka – that is, our Myka – back to her world."

"Okay," Myka said, nodding. They continued on and when they reached the HG Wells section, Myka held up the locket.

"Here goes nothing," she said, and Helena reached out, taking her hand.

"Wait."

Myka lifted an eyebrow curiously.

"I just wanted to say – I'm sorry, that you've been brought here, that you've been away from your wife like this, because of something I did. I… regret some of the things I said to Myka, and I wish I could apologise to her. I hope that you are able to go home safely. And I'm sorry for the way I've been with you. I just didn't want to come back here," she said, gesturing around at the Warehouse. "I have spent the last century here, incarcerated, trapped in my own mind, and then when I woke up, utterly mad, they didn't help me. The Janus coin, what they did – it hurt me profoundly, damaged me more. It's only now that I've been away that I've recovered even a little from all of it. And I think that I have unfairly lumped Myka in with all of that, when in fact she was probably the only positive thing in all of it. She's a wonderful woman, and I've been awful to her. She doesn't deserve what I've said, what I've done.

"And yet she still loves you enough that her pain from losing you created an artefact, Helena," Myka murmured, looking at the locket, the chain woven around her fingers as she spoke. "She still loves you, and you still love her. I can't force you to do a damn thing, but your happiness, that place where you belong – it's all here, at the Warehouse. Even after everything that has happened to you, this is your home. Just… just think about it, okay?"

Helena nodded, and held out her arms. Myka stepped in to them and they hugged for a long moment, then she stepped back.

"Okay, here we go," she said, and she stared at the locket, wishing fervently to return to her world, to go back to where she belonged. The locket… pulsed, somehow, but nothing changed. She was still standing with an expectant Helena in the other Warehouse, the one that wasn't hers.

"Damn," she said, staring at the now inert locket in her hand.

"Ah. I did wonder whether it would work," Helena said, frowning. "I think it's possible that both lockets have to be touched at the same time, for the exchange to work. Since it seems that's how this happened in the first place."

Myka stared at her.

"Well, how the hell are we supposed to know when they're going to do it? It might not even be the same time in my universe. It could be another time-stream altogether. My Helena might be dead and gone by now. What the hell am I going to do?" she said, rather predictably bursting into tears straight away.

Helena pulled her close and she cried on her shoulder for a long time, eventually calming herself enough to wipe her face with Helena's ever-ready handkerchief. She did not move away from Helena's embrace, however, needing the comfort and support. After a short while, Helena murmured that they should go back to the others, tell them that it didn't work.

Myka turned her head, looked at Helena, and that was all it took. She wasn't sure who moved first, how it happened, but they were kissing and it was amazing, a little different from how it was with her Helena but also exactly the same; beautiful and wanton and hot and somehow just right in so many ways. She came to her senses when her hands made their way under Helena's shirt, of their own volition, it seemed, and she suddenly stepped back.

"I'm sorry, Helena. I didn't mean…"

Helena put her hands in her pockets, avoiding Myka's gaze.

"I'm sorry, Myka. I… I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't just you. You're a married woman; I should respect that."

"Of course," Myka said. Her body, however, was saying that this was the body it wanted, and it didn't care what universe they were in. She loved Helena and she wanted to make love to her. She was pregnant, for Christ's sake, and her libido was at an all-time high. They walked back together in silence, both with flushed cheeks. Their expressions told the others everything they needed to know – clearly, they were back to the drawing board.


Myka and Helena explained briefly that nothing had changed, and Artie sighed.

"Back to the drawing board, then. You two," he said, gesturing at them vaguely, "go and do whatever it is you do; no point in you wasting your time here too. Helena, keep an eye on her. She's too thin."

Myka was astonished. It wasn't like Artie to notice things like that, never mind for him to actually say anything about it. She was too astonished to even say anything, and Helena simply nodded, pulling Myka along in her wake and back in the car to the B&B.

When they arrived there Helena had a quiet word with Leena in the kitchen. Leena was plainly reading Helena's aura, and said something to her in a murmur, looking concerned, and Helena said something back and then they hugged. Myka, watching from the doorway, was surprised once again by how different this Helena was. Her Helena had never got on with Leena – clearly that was because she had been hiding her plans and the twisted state of her psyche back then. It was a wonder, Myka thought, that her Helena was anywhere near as sane as she was, given everything she'd been through. It would have broken most people irreparably, and yet Helena was still standing, albeit in a relationship that Myka didn't believe was healthy, with a child who was clearly a surrogate for her lost daughter. But still, she was standing, she was a productive member of society, so far as these things could be judged. Myka felt faintly ashamed, for a moment, that she had judged Helena so harshly for hiding away in Boone. She had no earthly idea what she would have done in Helena's position. It wasn't that surprising that the woman had hidden herself away from the Warehouse. Maybe it was kinder to leave her where she was. Myka hadn't considered that, not really. Sure, she'd told Helena to make that place her home, she'd supported her, outwardly at least. But they both knew that she was heartbroken, and Helena probably even now was feeling guilty about that. She didn't deserve to feel guilty about anything else. She'd paid for her crimes, even given up her own life to save Myka. Maybe the kindest thing would be to let her break her bonds with the Warehouse and let their relationship lapse into a Christmas and birthday card sort of thing. Helena clearly had people around her who cared about her. Maybe it was time for Myka to move on.

"Are you okay, darling?" Helena asked, tilting her head in concern. "You look like you lost something precious."

Myka forced herself to smile, trying to make it look real.

"I'm fine, Helena. Thank you for worrying, though."

Helena's eyes lingered on her as they sat in the library, Myka apparently absorbed in a Dickens novel that didn't exist in her universe. Leena brought in some tea and cakes that were Myka's favourites in this reality. Myka smiled at her thoughtfulness but didn't take any of the cakes; her appetite had disappeared entirely. She drank tea in silence, smiling at Helena occasionally.

She did become absorbed in the novel eventually, and Helena finally stopped watching her, finding a book of her own to read. They sat in companionable silence until Leena called them in for lunch.

It was just the three of them. The rest of the gang were still at the Warehouse, presumably trying to work out how to send Myka back home. Myka wasn't sure they were going to be successful; she wasn't sure that there was any chance of them being successful if she didn't actually want to return to her own world. She was lost in thought, eating whatever was in front of her without comment, not noticing Leena and Helena sharing worried looks. After a while, Leena touched her arm gently to get her attention.

"Hey, Myka. What's going on up there?" she asked, pointing at Myka's head and smiling. "Your aura is all over the place. Do you want to talk about it?"

Myka looked up to see Helena and Leena both watching her carefully.

"Ah… no, not really. I mean, it's nothing new. I just… I've been thinking about my Helena, and then I was thinking about this world, and how different it is here. And how nice it is to see you again, Leena," she said, her eyes filling. If she did end up going back to her own world, she thought Leena would be the thing she missed most. Or she'd be second on the list, at least, behind this version of Helena, who was now watching her with soft eyes and a gentle smile.

"I know you miss her. But if I know her, and I do, she died knowing she was doing the right thing, Myka. And she'll still be there, in the Warehouse, looking after you guys. But that's not what's bothering you," Leena said, smiling softly.

Myka looked at her uncertainly. She'd never really been able to get a handle on Leena's gift, on how it worked. Could she see what Myka was hiding? That she didn't really want to go back home?

"I've been thinking about my Helena. I think I've been unfair to her. When I saw her in Boone, she was okay – more okay than I've ever seen her, since Yellowstone. I mean, I only saw her a handful of times, and most of the time she was in that damn Janus coin. God knows where she was when she was in that coin, what she was going through. And I never even tried to help. I thought she was in prison somewhere, and that's all I wanted to know. And then I met Emily Lake. And I realised that she – Helena – was separated from her body, and Emily Lake, this counterfeit person, was walking around in her body. Can you imagine what that's like? Someone else walking around in your body, and doing whatever they want with it? I mean, she seemed pretty normal, she was a schoolteacher, but she could have been into anything. And Helena will never know what happened to her body during that time."

She put her head in her hands, and Helena rubbed her back softly, murmuring comforting words.

"I feel like I should let her go. I love her, I love her so much, but she deserves to be happy. And who am I to decide for her what she should do? The Warehouse – the Regents – they've treated her like they own her, so why wouldn't she want to be away from that? I haven't defended her the way I should, and I think… I think she deserves better."

"If that's how you feel, you should tell her, Myka. If nothing else, she deserves the chance to know how you feel and to make her own decision. She can't make a decision if you don't tell her how you feel," Leena said.

Helena nodded in agreement.

"I don't know her, Myka. I think it's plainly obvious that she and I are different in many ways. But assuming that she and I were brought up similarly, and shared many experiences, and that we share the same personality traits – well, I know that I would prefer to know, no matter how difficult it made my life. I would prefer to know that someone I loved was in love with me."

Myka shook her head.

"I don't think that's true, Helena. I think that if she was in love with me – if she wanted me the way I want her – she wouldn't have been able to stay away."

"And yet, you have stayed away from her. We talked, if you remember, and you said that you hadn't asked Claudia to find her. And it would have been relatively easy, wouldn't it? If she was still living under her assumed name?" Helena asked, one eyebrow up. Her voice was still gentle, and her forgiving nature made Myka feel even worse.

"I guess," Myka said, hanging her head a little in shame.

"Well then, don't judge prematurely, Myka. You don't know, is the simple truth. She could love you, she could be indifferent, she could be so many things. But you lied to her, you told her to stay there, to make it her home, I believe were your words. So how was she to know how you felt?"

Helena's tone was reasonable, but all it did was make Myka feel ashamed. Ashamed that she hadn't helped her Helena more, that she hadn't interceded on Helena's behalf with the Regents, that she hadn't pushed for Helena to get some sort of psychiatric treatment at the beginning. Helena had been held inside a prison of her own mind for over a century. That was enough to send anyone crazy, never mind someone who had already been driven past reason by the death of her daughter.

"You did your best, Myka," Leena said. "She was sick, and what she did was evil. She hurt you, badly, and she killed people. You weren't responsible for her wellbeing. I agree that maybe you could have done more, but it isn't your fault, Myka. She did this stuff, and the Regents in your world, Artie, Mrs Frederic – they all bear responsibility for what happened to her. And to you."

"She's right, Myka," Helena said softly, still rubbing her back gently. Myka smiled at them both.

"Thanks, guys. You… thank you. I guess I should think about things a little," she said, getting up from the table. "You okay if I go and lie down for a while?" she asked Helena.

"Of course," Helena said. "Whatever you need, darling."

Myka smiled again and made her way upstairs to her room – or rather, her and Helena's room – and lay down on the bed for a while, cuddling her teddy bear which was still in the room. At least she and her counterpart weren't that different – they'd both kept the teddy, despite being adults. Some things just made you feel better.

It was an hour or two later when Helena came up and lay next to her, lacing their fingers together.

"How are you feeling, darling?" she asked quietly.

"I'm okay, I think," Myka said. She'd been thinking about everything, turning it over and over in her head, and she was pretty sure about what she was going to do when she got home. Because she was going home. It was unfair and selfish and wrong of her to stay here, where the other Myka belonged. And this Helena – the love and care that she so sweetly offered – it didn't belong to her. She had to go. So they had to work out how to do that, and when.

"You're ready to go home, aren't you?" Helena asked, but it wasn't really a question.

"Yes," Myka said, with a gentle smile.

Helena lifted Myka's fingers to her mouth and kissed them gently.

"You deserve better, Myka," she said quietly.

"Maybe you're right, Helena. But if I deserve better, then maybe I should demand better. And if Helena isn't the one to give it to me, then so be it. I'll keep looking. Being here, with you – you've shown me what I could have, Helena, and for that, I will be eternally grateful. Your wife is the luckiest woman. I hope she knows that."

There were tears in Helena's eyes, and she leaned forward and kissed Myka gently. Myka tried not to respond, tried to keep the kiss chaste and dry, but Helena's lips were soft and yielding and Helena wound her fingers into Myka's curls and when Helena whimpered, Myka lost all sense of what was right and wrong and where she was. There was only her, and Helena, and a bed.

Luckily she came to her senses before the bed part of matters could come into play. She pulled back suddenly, despite not wanting to in the least, and took a deep breath, setting her forehead against Helena's.

"I think it would probably be best if we tried the locket again," she said, breathlessly. "Because if I stay here much longer I'm not going to be able to stop myself."

Helena nodded, her hand still in Myka's hair.

"I think you're right, darling. I love my wife, but I'm starting not to care that you're not her," Helena said, carefully removing her hand from Myka's hair and running it through her own with a sigh.

"Thank you," Myka said, her eyes closed. "Thank you for showing me this; showing me how amazing things could be. And please, apologise to your wife for me. I could have stopped this, any time. I didn't want to. I'm selfish; I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Myka. How does anyone even begin to process something like this, honestly?"

"I don't know," Myka mumbled. She took a deep breath and moved away from Helena, sitting up. "I think we should try again tonight, see whether it works this time."

"Maybe this time you will really want to go home," Helena said gently. Myka turned to look at her.

"You knew?"

"It seemed… more than a possibility. Since she caused you such a lot of pain, and I'm – well, assuming that your wish was to have a Helena who loves you unreservedly – I would be that Helena. I know in my head that you're not my Myka, but my heart – it doesn't know the difference. So it would make sense, if that was what you wanted, then your wish to return home might not necessarily be sincere."

"I'm sorry," Myka said, in a small voice.

"You don't need to be. In your situation I think I would have held on to you, darling, and never let go, and damn the other Helena."

"No you wouldn't," Myka said softly.

"Perhaps. But we'll never know, love. In any case, I don't blame you. And I admit I don't want to let you go. I want my Myka back, but I hate the thought of you being hurt again."

"Thank you for caring so much, Helena."

They lay on the bed in silence for a while, and Myka let her mind wander, not thinking about anything in particular. It was peaceful and she knew that this was one of the things she would miss most, if Helena decided to go back to Boone. The way they could just be with one another and be content, without speaking. She'd never experienced that with anyone else.

They had dinner with the whole gang – even Dr Calder came along to eat with them, and Myka looked around the table feeling that sense of belonging. Steve, Claudia, Pete and Kelly, Artie and Vanessa, Leena, Abigail, Helena – they were all her family, and she wished that they could all be together in her reality. She decided, however, to take this as a gift, this last dinner with Leena, with Helena, and she would hold it in her heart and use this joy to get through the difficult times.

All too soon it was time to go to the Warehouse, and Myka gave hugs all round. She had a feeling that it was going to work this time, for some reason, and she held them all for too long before letting go and following Helena to the car. It was time for her to go home, no matter how reluctant she was. She would speak to Helena in Wisconsin or wherever she was, and she would make her peace with whatever happened next.


They ate a quiet dinner with the rest of the team. Myka noticed that the B&B felt totally different without Leena. Abigail did her best but she just didn't have that… well, aura that Leena had, that welcoming, loving something that she exuded from her skin. And Kelly wasn't there. That was strange, seeing Pete without his wife. And Pete – he looked at her a little differently, here. Like he had back when they were first partners, like he had expectations. She hoped that the Myka from this reality headed that one off quickly. Unless she didn't want to, of course. Who knew what she would want, if Helena made good on her threats and went back to Boone. Helena was currently avoiding her gaze, but the tension of their earlier kiss was still lingering, and Myka felt guilty, but also she felt excited, like there was something burning between them. She wasn't sure how to feel, really. Sure, this wasn't her Helena, but she was still Helena Wells, and she was in love with Myka, no matter how much she denied it. It was a tricky situation all round. In some ways, she just wanted to throw caution to the wind and take Helena to bed. She didn't think that Helena would resist, and Myka's libido demanded to be satisfied. In more than a few ways, it made sense. If she made love to Helena, the woman wouldn't be able to deny what was plainly between them. But it was technically cheating, as was all of their other contact. But how does a heart, a mind, a body tell the difference? She was willing to bet that her Helena would be faring little better, faced with a heart-weary, sad version of her wife. She would want to comfort her, to make her feel better, and if she wasn't careful… well, Myka didn't want to think about that too much. She didn't really want to think about any of it; she just wanted to get home. She had no idea, however, how she was going to achieve that.

After dinner Myka went to her room, saying goodnight to everyone and selecting a book from the library first. She was exhausted; the early stages of pregnancy were taking it out of her, and her vomiting jag of the morning had hurt her abdominal muscles. She lay down with a groan, and had no sooner opened her book than Pete knocked on her door.

"Hey Mykes," he said, bounding over to her bed and sitting on the edge. She looked at him expectantly.

"What's up, Pete?"

"Well, I was just wondering how you're holding up, with everything," he said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of her uterus, she guessed.

"I'm okay, Pete. Just a little nausea and tiredness," she said, smiling.

"So, you're really married to HG?" he asked, plainly settling himself in for a long chat. She sighed internally, but smiled at him. He was like a big puppy, just bounding around enthusiastically, and then there was his unfortunate habit of licking everything…

She told him how she and Helena got together, and he made appropriate noises at the appropriate places. She sensed he had a question to ask, however, so eventually she pierced him with a sharp look.

"What is it, Pete?" she asked.

"Uh. Well, do you think – do you even think this Helena is any good for her? Because my Mykes, she's been so sad, so lost this last while. I didn't get why, because I didn't realise that she was like, in love with Helena or whatever. But I hate seeing her that way. And when we came back from Wisconsin, she was destroyed. I just… I don't know if bringing her here was the best idea," he said, gesturing in the general direction of Helena's room.

"Honestly, Pete, I don't know. Helena is different from my wife. Seriously different. But she's been through a lot. Imagine someone doing that Janus coin thing to you, after you'd already been trapped for over a century in the Bronze sector? My Helena still can't sleep with the light off, and she went in their voluntarily, without being crazy first. She wanted to see what the future would be like, and she was so hopeful about it, but by the time she came out? She was lost, Pete, and it took a long time for her to get better. The Regents here didn't even help your Helena, right? So just try and put yourself in her place. I can't tell you if she's good or bad for Myka. I only know that I love Helena Wells, and it seems like your Myka does too." She shrugged, and Pete looked at her searchingly.

"I guess, maybe, I've been a little hard on her. I mean, she saved our lives. She died…"

"Yeah. And I can guarantee, Pete, that she died to save Myka. The rest of you – she would have done it for you, even if Myka hadn't been there, but it still would have been for her, you know? She talks a good game, like she doesn't care, Pete, but she loves her. The way she kisses – I can tell, she loves me – I mean, Myka."

Pete's mouth dropped open.

"Dude! You… she kissed you?"

Myka flushed. She hadn't meant to share that… she wasn't proud, exactly, of her behaviour.

"I… well, yeah. I mean, when we were in Boone, she told me she didn't love Myka, and I… well, let's just say I used underhanded tactics to prove that wasn't true. I know I shouldn't have, but I was mad, Pete. I had just driven all that way, and I'm in a freaking parallel universe, and I was hungry and tired, and, well. I just kind of lost my head a little. Anyway, let's just put it this way. She loves Myka. She might still decide not to stay here, I don't know. But she definitely loves her."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"Thanks, Mykes. I'll let you get some sleep," he said, slapping her leg gently.

She lay there for a while thinking, then picked up her book for a while. She couldn't concentrate, so she went to change and went to bed early, turning her light off, leaving a small night light on out of habit. Her Helena couldn't sleep without a night light.

She woke up a little while later, reaching out automatically to wrap herself around Helena sleepily, but Helena wasn't there. It was a bitter realisation, and thinking about the Helena from this world, the lengths she'd gone to in order to hide from this world's Myka – it was all too much for her – or rather, for her pregnancy hormones. She started to cry, and after a minute or two the silent tears turned into sobs. She missed her wife, she missed Leena, she missed her world where things made sense. She didn't hear the door open, but she felt Helena get into bed behind her and pull her close, kissing the back of her neck.

"It'll be okay, Myka. We'll get you home, I promise."

She turned into Helena's body, burying her face in her neck, and cried herself out, aware that this was the second time in 24 hours that she'd cried in Helena's arms. Hardly a way to make her want to stay, she thought wryly. But it was a good sign that Helena was willing to comfort her at all.

She calmed down eventually and said thank you, wiping her face with a tissue from her nightstand.

"It's okay, darling," Helena said. They were face to face and it was just natural to lean forward, to take comfort, and she knew that her Helena would understand. She leaned in and they kissed gently, carefully, sweet and searching, until it wasn't gentle any more. Myka was a raging ball of need, and Helena kissed like she felt the same way, like she couldn't hold back. It wasn't long before hands were straying and without underwear to provide a barrier to searching hands, it was too easy for those hands to go where they shouldn't. Myka pulled away, took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she said, grabbing Helena's hands, stopping them where they were. "I… my hormones are crazy, and I know Helena would understand, but it's still… it's wrong. But would you – would you stay, Helena? Just hold me? I don't want to be alone tonight. This world of yours, it's so strange to me. Just… stay?"

Helena nodded solemnly, her breath coming in short gasps. Myka pulled her a little closer. Helena's head was tucked under her chin and her arm was slung across her Myka's body, hand grasping her hip. Helena kissed her hair.

"Goodnight, darling."

Goodnight, Helena."

The next morning, things were still, quiet. Neither of them spoke, they just smiled gently and got ready separately. They went down for breakfast and Pete was his usual bouncy self, while Steve was quiet and contemplative, though he did give them a sly smile as he took in their closeness. Myka smiled back. It seemed that no matter the universe, she and Helena gravitated towards one another. Claudia had her head buried in a cup of coffee, her eyes still partly closed, and when anyone tried to speak to her she just muttered unintelligibly.

Artie was there, surprisingly, despite there being no pings that morning.

"Myka, we think that you and the other Myka need to activate the locket at the same time. I don't know how we can achieve it, but Mrs Frederic just said, "she'll know when," and disappeared, which was spectacularly unhelpful. In any case, I thought perhaps you all might like to take the day, and you can try again this evening, to see if the locket works this time."

With that, he was gone, and they all looked around at one another in astonishment.

"Did he just give us the day off?" Pete asked, his face lighting up.

"It would appear so," Helena said, looking astonished.

"Mario Kart tournament!" Pete shouted, and Claudia suddenly came alive, dragging Steve into the living room to set up whatever gadgets she needed for the tournament. Helena and Myka stared at each other and then shrugged.

"As long as there's food, I'm happy," Myka said, and Abigail and Helena laughed.

"I hope we get to see our Myka pregnant one day," Abigail said, chuckling. "She never eats – seeing you like this, it's so strange…"

Myka laughed, but Helena looked both pained and thoughtful at the idea. Myka smiled slyly. She hoped that Helena's thoughts were going in what she considered the right direction; the direction of her and Myka having a future and a family together.

They played Mario Kart, which, as it turned out, Myka sucked at. Helena beat all of them soundly, leading to Claudia and Pete both bowing at her feet. Myka enjoyed the spectacle thoroughly. Helena was in her element, laughing, her head thrown back.

Pete had told Myka some of what Helena said to her counterpart in Boone, and it made her smile to think that Helena had ever believed that she didn't belong here. She was part of this family, as much as she denied it, and as she watched Helena play stupid games and argue about popcorn toppings and arm wrestle with Pete, Myka's heart swelled. Helena caught her eye just then, and mouthed "Are you okay?" Myka just smiled. Helena was the one who was okay, and she just needed to realise that. She was safe here, she was at home here – this was where she belonged.

They ate lunch and then spent a pleasant afternoon having a Harry Potter marathon, since Helena had only recently started reading the books with Adelaide and she wanted to see the movies. Myka had seen them, of course, but she was fascinated by the slight differences in this universe. In her world, Sirius Black had adopted Harry after the events of the Prisoner of Azkaban, and he'd lived through the final battle, becoming Hogwarts' longest serving Defence against the Dark Arts professor. Remus Lupin had a brother called Romulus, also a werewolf, and Lavender Brown had married Cho Chang, something that was revealed in the "19 years later" section. But the basic plot was the same, from what she could tell, before she fell asleep. She woke with her head in Helena's lap, and Helena's hand stroking through her hair. She didn't move, not wanting to disturb Helena from her unconscious touching.

"You can stop pretending to be asleep, I heard your breathing change," Helena whispered.

"Fine. Just as long as you don't stop that," Myka said, smiling brightly as Helena mock-glared at her. But she didn't stop, and Myka counted that as another tick in the win column.

They all ate together, even Artie and Dr Calder, who he was apparently courting. In her world, they had married many years ago, but she didn't mention that to them. She was fine trying to influence Helena – after all, she knew that Helena was hiding from what she really wanted. But Dr Calder and Artie would find their own way, or they wouldn't.

They toasted to absent friends, and Myka choked back tears. Leena was really gone, here, but she was alive and well where she was from. It was so unfair. Helena saw her get upset, and wordlessly took her hand and squeezed it. Myka smiled at her gratefully. All too soon, however, it was time for her to go to the Warehouse to try again. She kissed and hugged them all, feeling somewhere in her gut that this was going to work. She could, as Mrs Frederic had predicted, just feel it.

She and Helena drove to the Warehouse in silence, and Helena courteously fetched the electric stagecoach so she didn't have to make the long walk to the HG Wells section. When they got there, Myka stood there nervously, turning the locket over and over in her hands.

"So, I guess this is goodbye," she said, taking a deep breath.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Helena said. "You're sure it's going to work this time?"

"I guess you could say I have a vibe," Myka said with a smile. "So, are you gonna think about things, about everything we talked about? Because I really think you could be happy, Helena."

"I promise. I will think. I will talk to Myka. But I don't appreciate the way you railroaded me into coming here."

"Oh, please," Myka said dismissively. "If you weren't attracted to her, if you didn't love her, you wouldn't have come. So maybe I gave you a bit of encouragement, but if you didn't want her, you wouldn't be here at all."

Helena looked at her sternly for a moment, before her expression softened.

"I suppose you're right," she said reluctantly, looking at her folded hands.

Myka felt the locket pulse, somehow, in her hands, and she knew it was time.

"It's time, Helena. Good luck," she said, leaning forward to kiss her gently. Helena kissed back, her lips soft, and she sighed as Myka moved away.

"Goodbye, Myka. I hope you get home to your wife," she said, and Myka nodded. She closed her eyes and held the locket tightly, picturing her life, her wife, Leena, her friends. The world started to fade around her, narrowing to a pinpoint, and then all she saw was darkness.


Myka said her goodbyes, hugging everyone, holding on extra tight to Leena, who whispered in her ear again that her counterpart would be watching over Myka. Myka let the tears come as Helena drove them quickly to the Warehouse.

All too soon they were standing in the spot where this had all started, Helena's locket around her neck, and Myka's hands wound around the chain.

"It's going to work this time," she murmured, and Helena nodded.

"I know, darling."

"I'm going to miss you so much," Myka said, her eyes brimming once again.

"And I, you," Helena said simply. "I hope that she comes to her senses, Myka. Because you are wonderful. I've never met anyone else who is your equal, Myka Bering. Your Helena is a fool if she does not choose you."

"Thank you, Helena."

They both felt it – the pulse of the locket against their skin. They stared at one another for a long moment, Myka drinking Helena in, her eyes so bright and carefree, her heart open and sincere, love written all over her face. It had never been clearer to her that this was not her Helena, but a Helena who was unbroken by life, by tragedy. How she wished her Helena could be this open, this happy, this uncomplicated.

"Goodbye, Helena," she said, before leaning forward to kiss her once more, fervently and insistently, tasting every inch of her mouth in case it was the last time. She broke away, leaning her forehead against Helena's, and then concentrated on her own world, her own life, her family, broken though they were. The edges of her vision began to dance and whirl, and the world danced on the end of a pin. She let blackness swallow her.


Helena had done many things during her lifetime that others would characterise as evil. Some, she too would characterise that way. Allowing those boys, the students, to die finding Warehouse 2. Turning on Myka, trying to end the world. Those were evil things. But of all the evils she had perpetrated during her time on this earth, it was the petty, small cruelties she had wrought that stung her conscience the most. Disappearing after the Astrolabe was safe, hiding from Myka. Her relationship with Nate - a relationship built entirely on the fact that he had a daughter who reminded her of Christina. Nate, of course, still had no idea who she truly was. He knew that her name was really Helena, but he continued to call her Emily. And Adelaide – well, the child was intelligent, truly, and she had seen straight through Helena's attempt to be brisk and business-like when saying goodbye.

"Helena," she said, seriously, stilling Helena's fingers which were busy adjusting the collar of her pyjamas. "You aren't coming back, are you?"

"Of course I am, darling," Helena said, with an attempt at a scoff, but the girl's dark eyes held hers solemnly.

"I don't know," Helena finally whispered.

"Okay," Adelaide said. "It's okay." She patted Helena's hand while Helena cried. Small cruelties, petty and tired and unworthy of her. Like telling Myka that she belonged there in Wisconsin; like telling Myka that she didn't want anything to do with the Warehouse, and by extension, Myka.

Last night Pete Lattimer had knocked on her door. She'd been hiding from Myka; hiding from them all, truth be told. She didn't like how easily she had slotted back into her old place in this world, this world that she had rejected. She didn't like how much like home it felt.

Pete had smiled at her in his easy, boyish way, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Good evening, Pete. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm okay," he said, coming to sit down on the edge of her bed. She was leaning against the headboard with her legs stretched out as she tried to read. She had been unsuccessful, her mind drifting to Myka – both the alternate Myka in the other room, and her Myka.

"I wanted to ask you something," Pete said hesitantly. That was unusual. Pete was anything but hesitant, generally.

"I wanted to know – do you really love her? Our Myka, I mean? Because before this Myka turned up, I had no idea. I didn't realise that there was anything between you, like that. I mean, you did that whole 'many of my lovers were men,' thing back in the day, but I just didn't realise."

She nodded, an indication for him to continue.

"I didn't realise that she felt that way about you. I mean, I knew you were close, after she left and everything. But I didn't realise she had those kinds of feelings for you."

It seemed it was her turn to speak.

"I didn't realise either, Pete. For a long time. I have always been attracted to Myka; I can't lie about that. I didn't know, myself, that it was anything more than attraction, I don't think; not until Yellowstone. When she put her gun in my hand. I knew I could never hurt her, and I was so mad then that I would have killed everyone in the world. But not her. I suppose that's a rather telling sign, isn't it?" she said, laughing self-consciously.

"So why are you doing this?" he asked, curiously. Not judgementally. He genuinely didn't understand.

"I am not entirely sure I can articulate it, Pete. I can only tell you that the Regents gave me my freedom and I ran. As hard as I could, until I couldn't anymore. And I met Adelaide, and then Nate, and it was all so easy. And I hadn't seen Myka for months. It was much easier to ignore all of this, to ignore my own feelings, without seeing her. When that bloody artefact turned up, I was… well, I was shaken."

"That's why you were so weird when we came to get it, huh?" he asked, fingers plucking idly at the material of her duvet cover.

"Yes. And then she told me to stay, to make my home there, with Nate. You understand that Myka and I have never actually talked about any of this, Pete? So I assumed that either her feelings had changed, or that I had imagined their existence in the first place. Until you arrived again. The other Myka was able to demonstrate quite conclusively that those feelings exist – certainly for her, at least."

"Yeah, so she told me!" he said, grinning slyly. She couldn't help it; she grinned back. He offered her his hand for a high five and she returned it, chuckling.

"Anyhow, I suppose my answer is that yes, I am in love with her. I didn't want to be. I wanted to hide away with my small, boring life in Wisconsin but it appears that my fate is in Myka's hands. When she comes home, I suppose we shall have to talk matters through and make a decision in a more adult way than we have done so far."

At Pete's waggling eyebrows, she rolled her eyes.

"By adult, I mean actually talking about things, rather than running away from them, Pete. Not by shagging like bunnies."

His eyebrows waggled even more, and she shook her head in mock disgust. After a moment, she sobered.

"I promise, Pete, that I will do my utmost not to hurt her any more than I already have. If I go back to Boone, I… I think it will be because she wants it that way. Is that enough for you?"

He nodded solemnly, and she nodded back. It held significance, that promise, and it hung heavy on her now as the other Myka passed out in her arms. Only time would tell which Myka awoke in this body.

She dragged Myka back to the Electric Stagecoach, positioning her in such a way that her body leaned against Helena's but her hands were in contact with the bars. She drove them slowly through the Warehouse until they reached the office. Myka remained unconscious, however, so she called Pete for assistance.

Some twenty minutes or so later, Pete and Steve arrived with a stretcher. They carried Myka to Pete's SUV and they drove home, carrying Myka to her bed once they were home.

"Will you stay with her, Helena? Or do you want me to?" Pete asked.

"I can manage, Pete," Helena said, nodding. He nodded back, clearly placing his trust in her. She decided she would not abuse it again.

Myka showed no sign of stirring, so Helena wrapped herself in a spare blanket, lying on the bed next to Myka, but on top of the covers. She managed to stay awake for another hour or so but eventually gave in to sleep, despite her racing mind.


Myka woke slowly, stretching her body languorously. She could sense that Helena was nearby, and that felt both right and wrong. The events of the last few days returned to her and she wondered which world she was in and whether the locket had returned her or not. She still couldn't say for sure that she'd really wanted to leave the other world. Being with a Helena who was so plainly in love with her had been a wonderful experience, and she'd been able to speak to Leena, to spend time with her. It wouldn't have been overly surprising if she had wanted to stay there subconsciously.

She opened one eye experimentally, and could see nothing but the bedcovers. She opened the other and pushed the covers away from her face enough that she could look around the room. She breathed a small sigh of relief. It was her room – no bathroom, no extra closets and drawers. But still, Helena was here. She was lying on top of the bedcovers, wrapped up in a blanket that had once belonged to Myka's grandmother. She looked peaceful and beautiful, as ever. Myka reached out a hand tentatively to touch the dimple in Helena's cheek. She wanted to touch Helena before she wasn't allowed to any more. She traced Helena's lips gently, and then ran her fingers gently up to her temple and into her midnight-black hair.

Inevitably, gentle though she was, her touch woke Helena.

"Hey," she said, softly, as Helena opened her eyes.

"Hey, yourself," Helena said, as she took in Myka's soft smile. "Are you… which Myka?"

"It's me, Helena. Your Myka. From this world, I mean. I'm home."

"Oh thank God," Helena said in a rush, throwing herself forward to wrap her arms around Myka, squeezing her tightly.

"Wow," Myka said, squeezing back. "I didn't expect this kind of welcome," she said, drawing back and smiling.

"You didn't expect it from me, you mean?" Helena asked, but her face was open and smiling.

"Well, yes," Myka said hesitantly, pushing her hair away from her face.

"Well, the other Myka asked me to come here, to help get you home. I found that I couldn't resist."

Myka looked at her quizzically.

"How did she convince you?" she asked.

"Ah… well, let's just say she was rather hands on…" Helena said, ducking her head slightly. Myka chuckled.

"Well, her wife is much the same, if that makes you feel any better," Myka said, flushing a little.

"Well, then, it sounds like we both have interesting stories to share. Firstly, though, we should go and tell the others that you're home," Helena said.

"Of course," Myka said, smiling. She got out of bed, noting that she was fully dressed, still – presumably her counterpart had been dressed in this yesterday. It felt strange to know that someone else had been in her body. But then, she'd been in her counterpart's body too. Or had she? How had it worked? Since she hadn't been pregnant. She shook her head a little and decided not to think about it too much. These things inevitably made little sense.

She went downstairs, Helena hovering in her wake, close but not touching. When they went into the dining area, everyone looked at them expectantly.

"It's me, guys. I'm home," Myka said, and there were a chorus of cheers from everyone, even Dr Calder who apparently had stayed the night at the B&B, for the first time that Myka was aware of. She didn't have time to think for a long time, however, because she was swallowed up in embraces from Pete, Claudia and Steve, a limp handshake from Artie, who nonetheless looked extremely pleased to see her, and a side-hug from Abigail, who she still didn't really feel like she knew.

They ate breakfast, trading stories of the other Myka and the other universe. The differences were stark, now that she was here, and this world seemed a little darker. Leena wasn't here, and Myka's future with Helena remained uncertain. She remembered Leena's words to her, however, and tried to take comfort in that.

After breakfast she and Helena went back to her room, by tacit agreement. Myka sat down on her bed, watching Helena carefully. She knew it was stupid – Helena had been here the whole time she'd been away, but she still expected her to bolt. Helena was standing near the door, however, which was not a particularly reassuring picture.

"So," Helena began, and then stopped. She didn't appear to know what to say.

"I don't know where to start, either," Myka said softly. Helena came to sit on her bed, close but not too close.

"How did you fare, over in the other world? Was it nicer, there? With Leena alive?" Helena asked, apparently idly.

"It… it was surprisingly okay, Helena. I guess by now you know what happened, why I ended up there?" she asked. She tried not to blush, knowing that her longing for Helena had actually created an artefact that had caused so many problems for her friends and for a whole other group of people in another universe.

"Yes," Helena said, looking at her directly for a moment, and then looking away. Myka did blush, then, and she took a moment to quash her embarrassment.

"Well. I got my wish, in a way, because – man, the other Helena - she loves her Myka. She really loves her, and she has love to spare. It was… it was amazing," Myka said, and her eyes focused on nothing, clearly far away. She didn't see the look of jealousy that passed over Helena's face.

"I see," Helena said, her face tight. "And… did you come to any conclusions, while you were there?"

"I did," Myka said, her gaze returning to meet Helena's. "I made some decisions, about the future, about what I want."

"And?" Helena said delicately.

"And." Myka leaned forward and took Helena's hands in hers, leaning back to pull her a little closer. She didn't let go. She looked directly at Helena, and her gaze was open and sincere.

"I decided that I want to be loved like that. I want someone to love me with their whole heart, to love me no matter what. I want that, Helena, and more than that – I deserve it."

Helena stared at her.

"And what does that mean?" she asked, finally.

"It means – the next step is up to you, Helena Wells. You looked at me when the Regents were taking you away, and you mouthed something to me. You said you loved me. Is that true?" Myka asked, finally being brutally honest. She was tired of pretending, of dancing round this. It was time to make or break.

Helena swallowed thickly.

"I do," she said, and her voice was hoarse, but clear. "I love you. I have loved you since not long after we met."

Myka looked at her, her expression not changing for a long moment.

"You know that I love you. I mean, you must, right?"

Helena nodded solemnly.

"So what now?" Myka asked. This was the part she was nervous about. She knew what she wanted. But if Helena didn't want this – what then?

"I don't know," Helena admitted. "I think… I believe that I would like to take some time to myself, to consider. Away from Nate and Adelaide, and…"

"Away from me." Myka finished for her.

"Yes," Helena said, flushing slightly. "It's not that I don't love you, Myka. I do." She squeezed Myka's hands tightly. "I do love you. But I need some time to work out what I want. I thought, when I was with Nate and Adelaide, that I was content. Perhaps I was. But these last few days – yes, it wasn't you. But the other Myka showed me what I could have, here with you, and here at the Warehouse. It's… it's very enticing. The idea of being here, being with you and with Pete and Claudia and Steve and even Artie… I believe it is what I want. But I want to be sure, and I think a little distance will allow me to make a decision based on what I need, rather than on simple emotion. Will you allow me that?" she asked sincerely, but Myka's stomach still dropped. She didn't believe Helena would come back; it was as simple as that. However, she remembered what she had said to the other Helena. If Helena didn't want her, she deserved someone who did, and she would continue to look for that. She deserved it.

"Of course, Helena. You know, when I was there, talking to the other Helena, I thought a lot about how we left things in Boone. I thought about how maybe I was being selfish. Because you've been through so much, and I think you deserved a lot better from everyone here. You should have had help, right from the beginning, and the Warehouse let you down. And later, I let you down. I left you to the Regents, to the Janus coin, and I was so lost in how I felt that I didn't see what they were doing to you. So I want you to know… if it makes you happy, staying with Nate and Adelaide, then I'll support you. I'll be your friend, even if it's from afar. You deserve that."

Helena stared at her for a moment, before throwing herself forward and holding Myka to her.

"I'm sorry, Myka, to do this. I know it will hurt you, but I want to be sure. I would rather do this now than realise at a later date that I made the wrong choice and hurt you even more. Thank you for being so understanding," she whispered, squeezing Myka tightly. "I love you."

And then she was gone. She got up and left the room, and Myka let her leave. She lay back, taking deep breaths, pulling herself back from the brink of tears. It was better this way, truly. If they were ever going to be anything to one another, Helena needed to be sure, and Myka needed to be sure of her. No matter how much it hurt to hear Helena say that she was uncertain, when love really should be enough… it was hard to hear. She held the memory of the other Helena to her like a security blanket. If Helena never came back, or if she went back to Boone – Myka would use that memory, that feeling, and she would carry on looking for the right person. Because Helena in the other world had taught her that she was worthy, that she deserved to be loved for who she was. She grabbed her teddy and squeezed him tightly. Time would tell, she supposed. She settled in to wait.

Helena went downstairs and after a whispered conversation, Pete agreed to give her a ride to the airport.

"You sure about this, Helena?" he asked, and she smiled.

"I'm not sure of very much right now, Pete, but I am sure that this is the right thing to do," she said, her mind already on her destination.

After a number of delays, she touched down at Charles De Gaulle around 24 hours later. She was exhausted, physically and mentally, and she needed rest. But first she needed to do what she'd come here to do.

She gave the cab driver the address, her accent probably archaic, but he nodded and took her to Christina. She stood in front of her daughter's coffin and noted the repairs that had been done to the handle that used to house the Minoan Trident. She thought, for a moment, about who she had been then, when she took those insane measures to reset the world, to begin a new civilization. Not only had she been hopefully arrogant, deciding that she had the right to decide for everyone on earth, but she had defiled her daughter's grave. She had used it to hide the Trident from the Warehouse, so that she could destroy the world – all because of Christina's death. It was a distant memory to her, now, that state of mind. The madness was all but gone. HG Wells had no more grand plans to enact. HG Wells had made herself small, now. A woman who wouldn't be noticed by anyone, hiding as she was in the suburbs.

She reached out and touched the wood on her daughter's coffin. She traced the grain with a finger, taking a deep breath.

"Hello, my beautiful girl," she began, in a thick voice. In some ways, she knew she would always live in that moment, the moment the telegram arrived and destroyed the world as she knew it.

"I have missed you so very much, my darling girl. When I look at this world, I see the opportunities that you should have had. I see the life that you could have lived. And I mourn again. What sent me mad, I think, was not only my own arrogance in believing that time was mine to toy with, but the possibilities that I had seen for you, all of the potential that you had and those men destroyed. I love you so much, my sweet girl. I do not believe in a god who takes little girls from their mothers, but if there is a deity, I hope that it has seen what you could have been. I hope that you are out there, somewhere, in the world, living a new life where you have been given every opportunity to thrive."

She kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them to the coffin, leaning her forehead against her hands.

"I am somewhat lost, my dear child. I find myself at a crossroads. On one side lies a woman I love very much, and she has opened her heart to me, offering herself in a way that I do not deserve. And on the other lies obscurity, but a family. A child that I love, and a man that I don't. I was content there, but in these past few days, despite pretending otherwise, I have been happy. Happy is something I had never hoped for, not after I lost you. I felt I didn't deserve it after I let you die. But that is part of my own arrogance, I suppose. To assume that I had both the responsibility and the ability to keep you safe from anything. The responsibility, certainly. But not the ability, not really."

She stopped to take another deep breath.

"I love Myka. There is no question of that. I believe that we could be partners for life, even raising a family together. I believe that it's possible. But I ran away from her, and I don't trust myself, now. Because I was content in Boone, and I let myself forget Myka. I let myself forget HG Wells."

She pushed her hair back from her face, frustrated.

"I must go, for now, my darling, but I will return. I miss you," she said, kissing her fingers and pressing them to the wood again.

She went to check in at a nearby hotel, sleeping for nearly 18 hours, and by 9am the following morning she was walking in the park opposite the hotel.

Something she had said without thinking when talking to Christina the day before kept coming back to her. "I let myself forget HG Wells." She hadn't thought about it, not that way. But in Boone she had assumed more than Emily Lake's name. She had assumed a whole new identity. Some of it was familiar – mother, scientist. But she had also lost who she was, obscured herself in the roles of Nate's partner, a role she had never wanted. She hadn't invented anything since leaving the Warehouse. Even when she was planning the end of the world, she had still invented. Small things, usually. A new type of transistor that she thought might help the Farnsworths work better, or an attachment for Claudia's belt to allow her to carry her Tesla and Farnsworth together, while still hiding them tidily under her jacket. Tinkering had always been a part of Helena Wells, before HG Wells had come into existence. And then there was her writing. She had stopped writing down ideas, sentences, paragraphs about this world or that, about how technology or knowledge changed the path of human history. She hadn't even thought about any of that. She had buried herself in the PTA, in Adelaide's life, in being a soccer mom. And she hadn't realised, not until now, how much she was itching to be herself again. If Myka wasn't a part of the equation, Helena rather thought, now, that she might have awoken one day by Nate's side and realised that being there wasn't what she wanted. Myka's words came back to her.

"You are denying who you are to chase a ghost."

Those words felt true. Myka was right. She had become someone else; Emily Lake was a fake name, of course, but Helena had let Emily become who she was, and had left HG Wells, Helena Wells, behind.

She found a bench by the small offshoot of the Seine that ran through this park. She loved moving water. It reminded her so much of time. Time had been her lifelong adversary. She had fought against the constraints of society in London so very hard, but when she stepped out of the Bronze so much of her fight had already been won by time that she had relaxed. She had relaxed so much that she had become the thing she had most despised. A woman lost in a man's shadow. She huffed out a breath of surprise and amusement.

Well, that settled part of all of this, at least. She didn't love Nate, so leaving him wouldn't be a hardship. Adelaide, though. That would be the painful part. She loved the girl to distraction. She was so much like Christina that she had grown into the space behind Helena's ribs, had put out roots and had taken up residence there. But it was no more fair on Adelaide than it was on Nate, really, for Helena to stay. Because it was a lie, all of it. She would try to make it right, somehow, but she would have to rely on her old adversary, time, to mend the rest of the pain she had caused.

So part of her quandary was resolved, and with it, a sigh of relief made its way up from what felt like her toes and out into the damp air. Watching the steam from her breath disappear in the wind, she wondered if there were worlds out there where her daughter had lived and died a normal, happy life, and she, Helena George Wells, had too. She wondered idly what that would have looked like. She didn't think she would recognise a happy, uncomplicated Helena Wells if she saw her in the mirror. She wondered why Myka wanted her and not the other version of Helena, since her counterpart was unburdened by the rage and madness that had almost ended the world. Surely, if she had the choice, Myka would have chosen the joyous, loving version of Helena, and not this sick, ageing soul with nothing but loss and death following her? She didn't understand why Myka had even tried to come back. She didn't think she would have, in Myka's place. But then she was awfully selfish.

She returned to the hotel to eat a light lunch in her room, and wandered for a while afterwards buying macarons and various other sweet delights. Myka would love those; especially in her pregnant state. It took a moment for reality to set back in and remind her that pregnant Myka was back in her own universe with a version of Helena who deserved her. Helena surprised herself by feeling a sting of loss at the idea of Myka pregnant with a baby that was to be theirs; their daughter or son. A daughter or son with Myka's eyes, with Myka's intelligence and passion. It was a compelling picture, and while she couldn't imagine herself being lucky enough to be part of that, she let it settle into her, the idea. What would she have done, she wondered, if the other Myka had been forced to stay here, in this universe? Because that Myka loved her, in an uncomplicated and intense way, and she hadn't lived through the Trident, Yellowstone, betrayal and Boone. Helena didn't know, truly, if she would have been able to turn her back on that.

And yet, here she was, contemplating turning her back on her Myka, on the woman who had stood by her, the woman who had forgiven her even after Yellowstone. The woman who had, only a day or two ago, told Helena with complete sincerity that they would still be friends, that she would let her go back to Nate and Adelaide and that she would truly support her if that's what made her happy. Myka was incredible in any universe, but Helena couldn't quite believe how incredible she was in this one. It occurred to Helena that, in an alternate timeline, she'd already died for Myka. Perhaps it was time to think about living for Myka, instead.

She thought little for the rest of the day, immersing herself in books and television, letting her mind work in the background, worrying at the problem. She had resolved some of the most knotty problems she'd faced that way; letting her mind relax, think about something else, and eventually something would click and she would just know the solution. And this problem was perhaps the most simple and the most complex of all those she'd faced in her lifetime. It was more about who she was, really, than who she wanted. She knew that if love were the only consideration, then Myka would be the only contender for her heart. But there was the Warehouse to consider, the good and the bad that it brought with it. Because Myka and the Warehouse – they could not be separated at this juncture.

She watched several episodes of a television programme called "Orphan Black" in French. She was a little rusty so she was proud when she managed to understand about 2/3 of the dialogue. The show was wonderful, too. Imaginative and fascinating, bringing up ethical issues about the science it imagined. And the lead actress was incredible. Helena let her mind drift and enjoyed it thoroughly. She fell asleep an hour or so later, drifting imperceptibly into dreams of infinite clones of herself and Myka; of them coming together, marrying, having children, dying, losing one another, loving one another, and everything in between.

The following morning she woke to find she had made her decision, somewhere in the confusing flurry of images her brain had provided in her dreams. She was going to return to Univille and she was going to offer herself to Myka, mind, body and soul. The Warehouse – that part of the equation could be worked out later. For now, she was returning as Myka's partner, assuming that Myka hadn't changed her mind. She would find somewhere in the town to rent, and they would take matters from there.

She showered and dressed, returning to Christina's grave. Now that she had made her decision, she felt a sudden need for haste. She had to go to Wisconsin, of course, to say goodbye and pack her things. And then she would return to Univille, to the B&B – to Myka.

This time she said nothing, just traced the wood of the coffin with her fingertips, her eyes closed. She didn't know where Christina was. She had no true beliefs as to the nature of life after death, of souls being reborn, or any of it. But she knew that her little girl had loved her, and that meant something to her. She had loved her daughter so much that it had changed the world. She had travelled through time because of her love for Christina. But now it was time to let go. Christina was gone, and no matter what she had tried, Christina had stayed dead, and she had become mad and evil. That time was over, and it was time for her to accept that and truly move on. Boone had been a regression, an attempt to grasp at what she had lost. Univille and Myka were her future, and she would make it a future worth living in, in whatever small way she could.

"Goodbye, my darling daughter," she whispered, and kissed her fingers, pressing them to the coffin for one last time.

Today was the day. Helena had called, two days ago, and told Myka shyly that she wanted to come back. Myka's heart, bruised and fragile, had beat so hard in her chest that she'd thought words like "palpitations" and "acute MI" before realising that it was just… hope.

Helena had called, and told Myka that she wanted to come back. That she was renting a place in Univille for now, until she decided what to do as far as the Warehouse was concerned. Claudia was looking for somewhere appropriate. Helena was 'loaded', as Claudia put it, from bank accounts left to her by Charles, just in case. He had never believed the official story given to him by the Regents of Helena's death in the line of duty, and had set aside some of his earnings for her. After 115 years, the interest was considerable.

"I'm coming back, love, and of course we need to talk, and urgently, about everything. But I also owe an apology to Nate and Adelaide, and I need to collect my belongings. I will be back the day after tomorrow."

"Okay," Myka had replied, breathlessly, feeling shocked and hopeful and so many other things that she didn't have words for the emotions racing through her.

So today was the day, and Helena would be coming through that door, and she wanted Myka. As it turned out, the days they'd spent apart had been a good thing for Myka too. Artie had refused to let her work, taking one look at her wan face and barking at Pete to take her back to the B&B. She'd had plenty of time to think, and she had used the time wisely. This thing with Helena – it had its hooks in her, that much was certain. It was love, and she would bow to it, but she would not break. She was still Myka Bering. She wasn't a mouse to be cowed and broken if Helena chose someone else. She would be sad, yes, but she would move on. She'd done her moping and dwelling. Helena in the other universe had showed her what it felt like to be happy, and she would continue looking for that if Helena insisted on hiding away, on making herself small so that fate wouldn't notice her.

She sat cross-legged on her bed, reading a new case file that Pete had sneaked to her. She couldn't go out to the snag, but she could look at the details and help. After a while, her absorption paid off, and she contacted Pete using her Farnsworth. She picked out the victim's son as the holder of the artefact based on lines he'd quoted during his interview with Pete; lines of a poem that related specifically to the person who'd created the artefact. Her eidetic memory was a bonus sometimes.

The knock at her door made her jump, and then she remembered. It was today.

She pulled open the door and smiled. Helena was there, dressed almost exactly as she had been that day in the cemetery at Dickinson's funeral. Bustle and all. She looked beautiful, and Myka drank her in, like a cool draught.

"You look… calm. Content," she said, after looking at Helena's soft smile for a long moment.

"I am," Helena said simply, and she stepped forward and pulled Myka to her. Myka pressed her nose to Helena's hair and breathed in. Something about the scent of her had always made Myka feel at home.

"I missed you," Helena admitted, and Myka smiled into her hair.

"I missed you too," she said, and she pulled Helena into her room and locked the door.

"Where are your bags?" she asked, noting that Helena wasn't burdened by any luggage.

"Downstairs," Helena said, and Myka breathed a silent sigh of relief. She'd half thought that Helena had changed her mind again, that she was just coming her in person to let her down easy.

"So," Myka said, pulling Helena to the bed. They sat side by side, and Helena smiled broadly at Myka.

"So, here I am," she said, and Myka smiled back after a moment.

"Yeah, here you are. You came back."

"I did." Her face turned a little more serious. "I know that it must have been hard, to wait, once again, while I went off and left you. But I thought it better to be sure, love. The other Myka showed me a vision of an intoxicating future, and I wasn't sure that I could be objective with you nearby. And I also needed to see Christina."

"You were in Paris?" Myka asked softly.

"Yes. I think, in large measure, my decision to go out with Nate, to move in with him and Adelaide, was because I hadn't let her go. I still… I would still have brought her back, had the opportunity presented itself. And I needed to address that," Helena said, taking a deep breath.

"And? Have you?"

"I have. My daughter is at rest, and much as it pains me to say it, I have accepted that. She is at rest and I am alive, and I believe that she would have wished me to be happy. And while I was content in Boone, I was not truly happy. And more to the point, I was not me. I was Emily Lake, soccer mom and lab technician. I haven't written anything, researched anything, invented anything, since I left the Warehouse. Even when I was planning to end the world I was making trinkets and doodads," she said thoughtfully.

"I remember," Myka murmured, and Helena smiled at her, reaching out to take her hand.

"I have missed you, Myka Bering," she said, and they both knew she was not just referring to the time she had just spent in Paris.

After a moment of silence, Myka asked her the question that was running through her mind over and over.

"So, you went back to Boone. What made you decide not to stay? You said you felt like you belonged," Myka asked, blandly.

"I did say that. It was true, and not, at the same time. But I love you, and while part of me wants to run back to Boone and hide with Nate and Adelaide, I know that it is a lie. A lie that has hurt you and me both, not to mention Nate and Adelaide themselves. So I suppose the question is, what do you want from me? I love you, and if you'll allow me, I will stay by your side for the rest of my life. I will love you with everything I have. But only if it's what you want," Helena said, her face hopeful but also frightened.

"You still want to go back there, to live with him and his kid?" Myka asked, her tone level and her face set.

"In some ways it would be easier, yes. It would be a way for me to hide from everything, to pretend to be someone else. To deny who I am, as you so aptly put it, darling. But as I believe I said to you once, one mustn't run away from one's truth. You are my truth – you, and this group of strange but wonderful people; even the Warehouse itself. Yes, the other Myka had to drag me here, but it's only my foolishness that made that necessary, love. I know that this life; here, with you – it's where I truly belong. You knew that as soon as you saw me in Boone, Myka."

"I did. I knew. But you told me that you felt like you belonged there, Helena. I mean, I don't see you for nearly a year, and that's what you say to me? I didn't know where you were, and Artie told me that you'd – that you died, Helena, for me, in the alternate timeline. He told us all, after Leena… he told us that you'd died to save all of us, but later he told me that you'd died for me. You told me you loved me, Helena, then you disappeared, and the next time I saw you, you were playing house with Nate, the most boring man in the world, and you told me that you wanted nothing to do with me. So how do I know you won't run off again, Helena?" Myka asked, one eyebrow raised. She didn't bother to hide her pain and her disgust at finding Helena with someone else.

Helena winced several times as Myka hit her mark, but when Myka finished speaking, she took a deep breath and looked at Myka sincerely.

"I suppose you'll just have to trust me. Trust that I love you enough to be brave."

Myka looked at her searchingly for a long time, and Helena just looked back, letting Myka see into her depths, through all the lies and the pretence and everything she'd done to bring them here.

"You know, I spoke to the other Helena, and I told her that maybe I should just let you go. Because you seemed like you were happy there. I know how much you've had to deal with here, in this century, and I know that I haven't exactly helped," Myka said, and she looked at her fingernails, playing with them to avoid looking at Helena.

"Are you out of your mind?" Helena asked, sounding astonished.

"What?" Myka asked huffily, looking offended.

"You think that you haven't helped me?" Helena asked, incredulous.

"I let the Regents take you after Yellowstone," Myka pointed out. "I didn't try to find you, to talk to you, to help. The Janus coin – no-one should have to deal with that. It wasn't justice; it was fucking horrible, Helena. They should never have been able to do that to anyone. And I should have realised even before Yellowstone that you would need help. You were trapped inside your own mind for a century. It doesn't take a genius to realise that you might have some issues to talk through. I also could have tried to find you after you disappeared, after the Sykes thing, and I didn't. I thought about all of that when I was in the other world, and I came to the realisation that maybe it was kinder to just fall out of touch, to let you live your own life away from all of this chaos. But Helena – the other one – she said that I should still talk to you, that I should give you the choice. That you would want to know how I felt about you." she finished almost in a whisper, and Helena leaned forward a little to catch her gaze.

"Myka, I think that you are taking responsibility for things that are not yours to bear. You did not Bronze me. I went into the Bronzer knowing what I was doing, and I brought all of that on myself. What happened afterwards was not your fault, either. If it was anyone's fault other than mine, it was the Regents'. Because they are responsible, are they not, for the physical and mental well-being of their agents? And they did not look after mine. And after Yellowstone, you were perhaps more damaged than I, Myka. I did that to you. I betrayed you and made you think you couldn't trust your own judgement. That I was punished harshly – that, again, falls on the Regents. I will not be too quick to agree to their judgement in future, I can tell you. But that wasn't your fault, love. It was mine, and theirs. And I left, I ran. You blame yourself for not finding me? Why not blame me for running? It was my cowardice that created that particular situation. After the astrolabe was safe I could have come back, but I chose to run. Don't blame yourself for things that I brought about, or brought upon myself. I will aim to act in a more measured fashion in future, and perhaps I will manage to stay in the Regents' good graces. With you as my guide, I will be perfectly well-behaved, I'm sure," Helena finished, smiling, and Myka's answering smile was shy, suddenly.

"Are we really going to do this?" she asked, and Helena smiled more brightly.

"I hope so, Myka," she said, her voice husky and low.

"I'm giving you a lot here," Myka said, finally. "My heart, my trust. Don't hurt me. Not again, Helena."

"I won't," Helena promised. Myka pulled at her arms, and she shifted, moving to sit a little closer to Myka on the bed.

"May I kiss you, Myka?" Helena asked, gently. Myka nodded, swallowing, and Helena leaned forward slightly to touch Myka's lips gently with hers. It was tentative, as first kisses are wont to be, but it wasn't long before it grew, and Myka slid her arm around Helena, pulling her a little closer. They began to touch each other reverently, fingers touching hands, arms, necks, shoulders, ghosting along knuckles and tangling in hair. There were small gasps of 'I love you,' moans and teeth in fists, breaths coming in short puffs as hands and mouths found new places to write love poems on skin and bone.

Later, as they rested together, Helena murmured in Myka's ear.

"I don't know what I was so frightened of."

"I'm so glad you're here," Myka whispered, tangling their fingers together, turning Helena's fingers over in her hand, kissing her palm. "I'm just pissed that I had to go to another universe before you would admit you love me!"

Helena looked at her, slightly outraged, but then her face relaxed into a smile.

"Underhanded though her tactics might have been, I'm grateful to your counterpart for bringing me here. Without her, I might have missed out on the greatest joy this century has offered me," she said softly.

"How underhanded are we talking here, Helena? Do I need to get that locket and go over there, leave her a stern note?"

Helena laughed.

"I'd rather you stayed right here, darling, if that's okay. But let's just say that pregnancy appeared to have a side effect for her, other than the morning sickness, and I woke one morning to find myself in a rather compromising position. Which was a surprise given that we'd gone to sleep in separate beds. Unfortunately, the vagaries of a pregnant woman's bladder meant that she had to get up in the middle of the night, and in her sleepy state she got back into the nearest bed, which was mine. And so that morning I woke having a rather intimate massage," she finished, with a chuckle.

"Are you serious?" Myka asked, her mouth open.

"I'm afraid so. I was half asleep and wasn't quite sure what was happening, and I turned over to find my hands rather full with a pair of breasts that I didn't remember Nate possessing, which was when I remembered where I was. And then I fell out of bed and onto my bottom, and that is where the story ends, because the shock of all of that led to the poor woman throwing up for the next twenty minutes or so, and then crying for the next thirty minutes after that. Which put rather a dampener on things, I'm afraid," she said, with a mock sigh.

Myka threw her head back and laughed, a real, true belly laugh. Helena joined in, and her throat, bared, was irresistible, so Myka didn't try to resist it. She kissed Helena's neck delicately, sucking at the place where her neck and jaw met, and Helena made a soft groaning sound that did unspeakable things to Myka.

"She did that, you know," Helena mused, quietly, and Myka stopped what she was doing for a second, leaning up on her elbow.

"She did what?" Myka asked, a half-smile on her face.

"In Boone, she asked me what I was doing there, with Nate, when I was in love with you. I said I wasn't, and she pulled me to my feet," Helena said, and she pulled Myka out of bed with her to demonstrate. "She pulled me to my feet, and she did this," she said, standing next to Myka, her lips just next to Myka's. "She said 'tell me again that you don't love me. Tell me that you don't want me,' and then she turned her head a little, started sucking on my earlobe," Helena said, before demonstrating, and Myka took in a shaky breath, because even after making love to Helena, she was still powerless to fight this feeling when they were in close proximity, let alone when Helena was sucking on her goddamn earlobe. "She did that, and then she moved her lips here, and carried on like this, and on the way past, she kissed me, just a brush of lips. All the while she was saying things to me about how I was lying to myself, lying to her, to you, to everyone, and that I wanted this, I wanted you," she continued, kissing her way up the other side of Myka's jaw before grasping her earlobe. She tugged on Myka's hair, pulling it gently but firmly, and Myka could swear that every single hair on her body was standing on end. "She said she'd been thinking, on the journey to Boone, about why I would be hiding there, and she'd come to the conclusion that I was feeling guilty about Yellowstone, about the Trident, and I wanted a family. And she told me that I could have that, with her – or rather, with you, if I came to my senses. And then she kept doing things like this," Helena continued, moving her lips to Myka's collarbone and sucking, and then biting. "And then, I was trying to protest, to tell her that I didn't want her, that I wasn't in love with you, and she did this," she said, sucking at the juncture of Myka's neck and jaw. Myka moaned, much more loudly than she would have wanted or expected to, because she was painfully, painfully turned on and Helena was still sucking, still pulling her hair, still stroking the back of her neck gently…

"I said 'Please,' which I think by then I'd said five or ten times, and I honestly couldn't have said what I was asking for, but that last time I was lost, Myka. I was so incredibly turned on that I could barely stand, and she knew I was asking her to kiss me. And she did, she kissed me, and I couldn't hold back, Myka, because she was you and she was kissing me with this incredible passion and I knew, right then, that I was coming back here, and that I was coming back to you, even if you didn't want me."

Myka stared at her for a moment, and then she threw herself at Helena, kissing her so incredibly passionately and clumsily that they were both gasping for breath and then moving back towards the bed and then they were tangled together, crying out, lost in each other again and again.

A few hours later, they woke up and after a protracted period when they couldn't stop kissing each other, they decided to join the others for dinner. After showering, they went downstairs, unsure of how to share their news with the others. As they entered the dining room, however, Claudia led the rest of the team in a round of applause. There was a banner on the wall saying "Congratulations," and a cake which had a message that verged on pornographic, making Helena chuckle. Myka blushed prettily at the sight but Claudia and Pete grabbed her up in a three-way embrace that went on for a long time, with the two of them murmuring their congratulations. Myka surprised herself by crying, and in the end Claudia and Pete joined in.

"Thank you," Helena said, after the crying had abated. "You have looked after Myka in my absence, you've supported her through the pain that I put her through. I can't thank you all enough," she said, tears in her eyes as she looked at her Warehouse family.

The others rushed forward and they enfolded Helena in their hug. She was startled for a moment, but when Claudia whispered in her ear that they loved her just as much as they loved Myka, she too started to cry, and it took her a while to get control of herself. Claudia and Myka held her between them until she relaxed. Afterwards they all went to sit down, and Abigail brought in a tray with tea and coffee and the slightly pornographic cake.

They shared the cake and Pete lightened the mood by sharing a story of a recent snag where he'd been turned into a female version of himself. His tale of being chased by a horny trucker had them all in gales of laughter.

Claudia cleared her throat and they all gave her their attention.

"You guys know I don't really do speeches, but I just wanted to say – I miss Leena, and I am kind of jealous that Myka met her again. But right now, it feels like we're a family again, now that HG is here, and Myka is herself again, and Steve's alive and well. I love you guys," she said, and they all laughed when she added, "even you Artie, and Abigail. You guys rock."

Myka looked around the room, basking in the presence of the people she loved, and in the warmth of Helena against her, and she wondered, briefly, how many other Mykas there were out there, and how many of those were as happy as she was in that moment. She toasted the Myka from the other universe silently with her tea, hoping that she and her Helena were as happy as she was right then. She would always owe them so much, for showing her and Helena what they could be if they only took the chance.

Infinite possibility was a strange thing to contemplate. Somewhere out there there was a Myka who was married to Pete, and somewhere out there Sam was alive and she was married to him. Somewhere out there, she was the one who had died that day, not Sam. Somewhere she was a pregnant mother of six, living in Colorado Springs on welfare. All things were truly possible. It was simultaneously terrifying and heartening. It made her feel like she could do anything at all. And having Helena next to her made her feel like, together, they could do anything they wanted. The woman next to her was almost 150, had survived being encased in Bronze for over a century, had died to save Myka, and had invented the genre of science fiction in a time when women were seen and not heard. Miracles were possible; this was the Warehouse, after all. Myka sighed happily and kissed Helena's temple, snuggling in as they listened to Claudia and Steve bicker over who got to drive the Prius on their next mission. Endless wonder, and endless possibility. Myka Bering smiled.

In another universe, Myka Bering woke up in her bed, noting with relief and satisfaction that she was in her own room, with her wife asleep next to her. She knew she would have to get up soon, to have a checkup with Dr Calder and make sure the baby was okay. But for now, she wanted to kiss her wife, to make love to her. She woke Helena with soft touches, and when her wife woke, her eyes widened as she realised that her Myka had returned.

"I love you, Myka," she whispered, and Myka kissed her. "I missed you so much, love."

"God, I missed you too, honey," Myka said, in between kisses.

"I thought you were never going to come back," Helena said, gasping slightly as Myka bit her neck.

"I'm sure you wouldn't have minded keeping the other Myka," Myka teased. Helena reddened and drew back.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I shouldn't…"

"Helena, stop," Myka said, holding up a hand. "I am joking. I was thinking how hard it would be for you, if you met the other me and she was as heartbroken as I would have been if you'd turned me away. And I have to tell you – I didn't exactly hold back, when it came to persuading the other Helena that she was wrong."

"What did you do?" Helena said, in a mock-chastising tone, grinning at her wife.

"She told me she didn't love Myka. So I showed her, in no uncertain terms, that I knew she was lying," Myka said, unabashed. She knew Helena would understand and agree with her tactics; had things been the other way round, Helena wouldn't have hesitated to persuade Myka in the same fashion.

"I was just so… pissed off, you know? It was like she was trying to tell me that what you and I have isn't real. And yeah, I know she was talking about her and the other Myka, but I saw red, and once I was done kissing her, she could barely walk straight," Myka said, her mouth twisted a little smugly. Helena laughed richly, and pulled Myka down to her, kissing her soundly.

"I love it when you get all… domineering," Helena said, running a finger gently down Myka's neck.

"I know you do," Myka said, and she leaned forward, grabbed Helena's finger in her mouth, and sucked on the fingertip, biting gently. "Now, are we going to get down to business, Mrs Bering-Wells? Because it's been a few days and I am a pregnant woman with needs…"

They didn't speak again for some time, but the rest of the B&B were made aware very quickly that Myka was home, and of how happy both spouses were about that development. Leena was in the kitchen and sighed, smiling slightly, as she activated the top floor sound-suppression system from the kitchen controls. (It had been installed not long after Helena arrived.)

When Myka came down a little from her amazing afterglow, she watched her sleeping wife in wonder. Meeting Helena had been a miracle. They should never have met at all – Helena George Wells should have been long dead before Myka was born. She didn't know how things had gone for her counterpart when she returned home, but she hoped that Helena had realised what she was missing and had grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Myka idly wondered how many other universes there were out there. She knew there were theories of infinite universes, of infinite possibilities. She didn't know whether to find the idea comforting or frightening. She hoped that no other Myka stumbled across a wishing artefact that ended up with her life being stolen again, for however short a time. The woman next to her was hers; her miracle, her possibility. She wanted to stay here forever, to raise a family with her wife. She unconsciously snuggled a bit closer to Helena and put her arm around her waist. There might be infinite possibilities, but she was keeping this one. She moved a little closer to Helena, kissing the back of her neck, and went back to sleep.

END

(Ok, so technically it's not the end. Because infinite universes, and all that. All will be revealed in the fullness of time. Thanks for reading!)