Myka and Helena spend a night at Myka's, and Tracy returns after her first night as a half-were. Slightly NSFW
They spent a quiet but pleasant night with David, watching age-appropriate television. He eventually snuggled into Myka's arms, his feet on Helena's lap, and at that point it was decided that he should go to bed. Myka smiled as Helena lifted him effortlessly, and they tucked him in together, the sweet domesticity of the scene making Myka smile widely.
"You're an enigma, Helena Wells," she murmured when they were downstairs, Myka's head in Helena's lap, the vampire's cool fingers soothing her scalp.
"What do you mean?" Helena asked, tilting her head in puzzlement.
"You claim to be this terrifying monster but a cute little boy melts your heart. You're a fraud," she said, and Helena's eyes narrowed.
"A fraud, am I?" she said, her voice low and dangerous. "Would you like me to prove how dangerous I can be, Myka Bering?" she growled. Myka shivered, her eyes widening and Helena's hand tightened in her hair, pulling at the roots a lot harder than was comfortable. She swallowed as Helena's eyes grew black and her fangs extended. Helena lifted Myka easily to her feet, pushing her against a convenient section of wall and pulling her arms up above her head.
"Are you frightened, yet?" Helena asked, her fangs brushing Myka's earlobe. Myka shook her head, but her heart was hammering, and while it wasn't exactly through fear, she wasn't exactly comfortable, either. She was, however, entirely thrilled, her whole body thrumming with excitement. Helena's fangs penetrated her earlobe a little, a needle-like nip, and the vampire sucked lightly at the resultant beads of blood.
"Are you quite sure about that, Sheriff?" she asked, her body pushing against Myka's. With one hand she had Myka's hands quite trapped above her head, and she was pulling Myka slightly off her feet. Which didn't entirely make sense, since Myka was the taller woman. She looked down and noted with a gulp that Helena's feet weren't on the ground.
"I told you I could fly," she said smugly, her free hand roaming Myka's body, nails digging in to Myka's flesh in a way that was just this close to pain. It was thrilling, and Myka wanted to beg Helena to take her, to tear her clothes away and finish what she was threatening to do, to make good on her teasing, but her pride wouldn't let her. She swallowed again and Helena grasped the collar of her t-shirt, ripping it away with one hand – and Myka's bra with it.
"You owe me a new shirt," Myka said, her heart thumping, and Helena laughed richly. Her fangs were trailing across Myka's chest, perilously close to nipples and other sensitive parts, and Myka took in a sharp breath as the tip of a fang stung her breast.
Myka hadn't thought it possible for anyone or anything to rip a pair of denim jeans into pieces with only one hand, but Helena, it appeared, did not share her view. Myka's jeans disappeared almost as quickly as her t-shirt as Helena kissed her, nipping at her lips with those fangs she employed so well in teasing Myka. With no jeans in the way, Helena ripped off Myka's underwear with her teeth, and from there Myka had to grab a cushion from the couch, which she used to bite on to avoid waking her nephew and educating him rather graphically on the ways in which vampires could pleasure humans. She hoped the boy wouldn't accidentally tune into her thoughts, because she was quite incapable of shielding her thoughts just then, or indeed for some time afterwards. She was, however, quite thoroughly embarrassed and praying to whatever gods existed that David's shields were working as he slept.
As usual, when she awoke, she was alone – in her own bed, with a short note beside the bed stating simply that Helena slept in her home, should Myka need to find her. It was past dawn, and David would be awake soon. Not to mention that his mother was out there somewhere with her fellow weres, waking up from her first night of the full moon.
Myka got up, a little bleary-eyed from her adventures of the night before. She hoped fervently that Artie had shielded David sufficiently. She felt a slight burn of shame that she'd given in to what she wanted with Helena the night before despite the boy being in the house. She showered, turning the heat down so it was almost icy cold. The morning was blazing hot already, and she felt a little like she was suffocating from the humidity. She dreaded what it would be like by midday. She made a mental note to ask Helena about the air conditioning unit at the station. Helena had studied engineering in a city somewhere in the late 90s; she wouldn't say where. Said it wasn't important. But she'd been inventing small devices since, and she had repaired some of the electrical circuitry in her new house herself, rather than call an electrician. She might have the knowledge needed to repair the unit.
When she got out of the shower, she reluctantly turned on the air conditioning in the house. It was old and noisy but it worked. She didn't like to use it because it was expensive, but today felt like it was going to be a real scorcher and she didn't want David or Tracy to get ill from heatstroke.
She went downstairs and made some coffee, and wasn't surprised to find that David came downstairs shortly after. The smell of coffee had some sort of magic to it; she thought it might even wake Helena from her daytime sleep.
She sat in the living room with a drowsy David, watching cartoons, and realised that this was the quietest that this little house had been for days. It had been full of people for the last few days; either Amanda or Pete was nearly always here, and Tracy and David were here almost the whole time too, bar their visit to see Artie. It was nice to think that this might become a home for her family. Hell, it was nice to think about a family at all. It had been such a long time since she'd felt that sense of instant belonging that family gave. Of course she didn't include her father, there. He'd only ever made her feel like an outsider.
David gave a particularly loud slurp at his cereal and Myka looked at him fondly. He was cute, with his Spider-Man pyjamas and his tiny feet. She'd never really thought a lot about kids in the past, but he was making her think about it again. Not that she would be likely to get pregnant with her undead girlfriend, she thought ruefully.
She and David spent a pleasant morning half-drowsing on the sofa watching cartoons in their pyjamas. It was almost midday when Tracy, Amanda and Pete returned, with the short woman Myka had noticed the night before in tow. They had stopped at Ted's diner and had huge packages of food and coffee in their arms. Myka directed them to the table, with a slightly raised eyebrow for Tracy, who tapped her head, once, while meeting Myka's eyes meaningfully. Myka's eyes widened. Tracy wanted Myka to read her mind? Tracy nodded, and Myka took a deep breath, dropping her shields and taking a good look in Tracy's mind while her hands were busy unwrapping parcels of food.
She's called Sameen. She's another panther. She's here because… well. I woke up with her this morning, in the woods way South of here. We all hunted together last night…
Myka had sudden mental images of the woods nearby and a tall, strong buck running away from the pack. There was a taste of metal in her mouth, and she was loping along beside a small-ish panther who was eyeing her appreciatively. The rest of Tracy's thoughts were more like impressions – blood in her mouth, the taste of warm liver, gifted to her by the packleader, a great sign of respect. The hunt, and then the rut.
I woke up with her in my arms, and we were both covered in bruises and cuts. Apparently it got a little… rough.
Tracy's mental voice was tinged with amusement. Myka smiled. It seemed like some things ran in the family. This would make for an awkward family reunion, if their dad ever decided to show his face.
I like her. We haven't spoken much, not in speech anyway. It's… different, when you're out there, on the hunt. You can talk to each other without words. She's amazing. Please be nice to her?
Myka frowned in disbelief at that last. Why wouldn't she be nice? Tracy had been amazing, given the level of unconventional Myka's relationship represented. She looked at Tracy and smiled reassuringly. There was no way she would have been rude to Sameen even if, for some reason, she didn't approve. Unless Sameen was some sort of psychopath.
After introductions, they had a quiet lunch, with all of the weres eating impressive amounts of food – Sameen, in particular, seemed to have an extremely full mouth every time Myka looked at her. She didn't do eye contact particularly well, something which Myka took note of, because it could be a sign of dishonesty. She wondered about the ethics of reading her sister's sort-of girlfriend's mind. It probably wasn't okay, she reasoned. Not unless she had a reason to test the woman's veracity. David was fascinated by Sameen, and kept looking at her, wide-eyed. Myka decided to take him out to the porch for a moment, just to check he wasn't reading the were's mind.
"David, honey. Have you been reading Sameen's mind?" she asked. He blushed a little. She found it hard to keep a straight face.
"You know you shouldn't do that, unless you know that people are okay with it, right? That's what Artie has been teaching you?" she said gently. He nodded.
"I couldn't help it, Aunt Myka. She was thinking about fighting, and she was loud and I tried not to look but it was so cool! She kicked this guy in the knee and it like bent to the side, and it was like in an action movie! She's like…" he lowered his voice, "a badass!"
Myka smothered a laugh, coughing instead.
"Okay, David. I know you didn't do it on purpose. But try not to look again, okay? People should be able to have their private thoughts, and we should only listen if we have permission or if we have to."
"Okay, Aunt Myka," he said gravely, his little face looking so cute that she had the sudden urge to smoosh his cheeks. She wasn't aware that she had ever had the urge to smoosh anything in her life before, so it made her smile, both at him and at herself. Being an aunt was interesting, that was for sure.
When they went back in, the four weres were silent, not looking at each other, and Myka, with a sudden burst of insight, realised that whatever had happened between Sameen and Tracy last night had also happened between Amanda and Pete. She thought vaguely that she hoped they'd used protection, and then immediately had to smother a nervous, hysterical giggle. Did they… while they were in animal form? Was that some form of bestiality? And Pete was a dog, last night, while Amanda was a panther. How would they even…? She shut down that line of enquiry before her brain exploded. They were all adults; they would work it out themselves. People in glass houses, and all that.
Sameen stayed around for the remainder of the day, close to Tracy but barely speaking. Amanda stayed, too, in her self-imposed role as protector of Tracy and David. She, too, was quiet and almost sullen. When Tracy went to put David to bed later, Sameen trailing in her wake, Myka asked Amanda what had happened.
"Pete and I… we – you know. When we were… Anyway. He hasn't spoken to me since, and I feel like he just used me, you know?" Amanda burst out, her almond eyes wide and sad.
"Oh my god, Amanda. No. That is so not Pete," Myka said, smiling. "He wouldn't use you. He's not that kind of guy. He probably just doesn't know what to say."
"Do you really think that?" Amanda asked.
"Yes, absolutely. I don't know him that well – we only really got to know each other recently, when I found out about the were thing and all that, but he's such a good guy, Amanda. And I know he cares about you. I assume, without going into any detail that I really don't want, that this sort of thing is not entirely voluntary, when you're changed?" Myka asked, and Amanda nodded.
"Well, in that case, my guess is that he is embarrassed or worried about what happened, thinking that he took advantage of you. If you just talk to him, I think you'll feel better. Do you want me to call him?" Myka asked, and Amanda nodded mutely.
Myka went to the kitchen and made the call, asking Pete to come back to the house as soon as he could. He wasn't on duty but he did tend to stop in at the station on Saturdays to keep an eye on Steve, in case he needed any help. He agreed to come over, as long as he got dinner, so Myka ordered in some takeout, tripling her usual order given the size of the weres' appetites. When Pete arrived, she shoved him and Amanda out onto the porch, with the stern order to talk before they came back in, otherwise they would get no food. They both nodded solemnly, so she left them to it. When she went back inside, Tracy and Sameen were sitting next to each other on the couch, not quite touching.
"So, Sameen, what do you do for a living?" Myka asked, deciding it was time to try and have a conversation with the taciturn were.
"Security for Mr Valda," Sameen said shortly.
"You have a military background?" Myka asked, indicating Sameen's tattoos, which she didn't recognise, exactly, but they were similar enough to Pete's to make the connection.
"Yeah," Sameen said, and Myka nodded. Clearly, she wasn't going to get anything out of her sister's new friend. Girlfriend? She was spared the burden of further small talk by the arrival of Helena, fresh from her day's rest.
"Hello, my love," Helena said, bowing slightly and kissing Myka's hand, before turning to say hello to Tracy and introduce herself to Sameen, who looked at her wide-eyed.
"You killed Marcus," she blurted, and Helena nodded gravely.
"He was hurting Myka. I could not allow that," she said, and Sameen nodded, still wide-eyed.
"He was one of the most powerful wolves in the pack. And you just…?" She made a throat-cutting gesture, and Helena nodded.
"I drained him of blood. It was not difficult. I have lived for a long time. The older the vampire, the more powerful we become. He may have proved a match for a younger vampire, but not for me," Helena said, and Sameen nodded, clearly impressed. Myka smiled to herself. Her vampire was making more friends than enemies, these days. She loved it when others appreciated Helena.
They left shortly afterwards to spend the evening at Helena's home. Myka figured that David and Tracy were safe with three weres looking out for them – all ex-military, too. She and Helena spent an energetic night together that started in the kitchen and ended in the bedroom (via the bathtub). Helena held her as she fell asleep, her cool lips on Myka's brow, and as sleep pulled her under she could only think how content she was in that moment, with her new family near and the woman she loved holding her.