A/N: All the follows and favs and reviews and PMs totally humbled me. Thank you! So i'm marking as in progress and continuing. Not sure how many more chapters since this is all I have done so far, but I'll do my best to continue and not disappoint! Reminder - I own nothing. Mistakes are all sorts of mine.
Chapter 3 - Awakening
Her body slowly returned to consciousness, completely aware of the warmth that engulfed her. This was so different than how she remembered waking up recently. The last few months had left her cold. Chilled to the bone. Tired. That was the exact opposite of her current state. She was warm and relaxed. She even felt rested. Her brain tried to play catch up with the feelings in her body, wondering why everything was suddenly different.
She felt slow lazy circles being traced on her lower back, and then it all clicked into place. Helena was here. Helena was holding her, and protecting her, and keeping her warm. And as messed up as her life seemed to be these days, waking up like this was perfect.
She willed her eyes to open and started to raise her head, when she felt a gentle kiss to her forehead. Forget opening her eyes. She burrowed back down into the warmth.
Helena let out a small chuckle at the squirming woman in her arms. God she was adorable. "Good morning, darling."
"Hmff... warm" was all she could make out from the body now occupying her entire right side.
She chuckled again before leaning down slightly and whispering into Myka's ear. "I agree completely my dear. But as wonderful as this is, if I don't get up soon I do believe my bladder is going to burst."
Myka let the words register before ever so slowly rolling away. Now more fully awake, she propped herself up on her elbow and gazed at the woman before her. "Sorry." Myka smiled a little sheepishly. "You're pretty damn comfortable."
"As are you my dear" Helena responded with a smile.
Myka gazed around the room as Helena stretched and started to rise. She noticed what appeared to be full daylight shining through the window, but that couldn't be right. The most she'd slept in weeks had been 5 hours at a time. "What time is it?" she inquired.
"A little after 10:30. Claudia stopped by to check in about 9 but I told her there was no waking you until you wanted to get up. I hope that's ok?" Helena seemed hesitant in her response to let Myka know someone had come and gone. But she hadn't had the heart to wake her then, and had been silently revelling at the feeling of the woman lying in her arms. God help her she wasn't going to let go until she absolutely had to.
"10:30? Seriously? I slept for 12 hours?" Myka was in disbelief. The combination of her brain and body hadn't allowed her that kind of rest in a very long time."I'm so sorry. You hate sleeping in. You must be going stir crazy." Myka's nerves came blaring through as she tried to apologize for trapping the other woman under her for so long.
For her part Helena simply leaned over and pecked Myka on the lips. "Nonsense darling. There is no place I'd rather have been."
Helena placed another kiss on the soft lips in front of her before fully sliding out of bed and heading to the bathroom.
Left to herself, Myka's brain went into full over drive. Helena had stayed. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Helena came home, and didn't ask questions or pressure her for information, and let her sleep. And she stayed.
Hearing the faucet turn on in the bathroom, Myka pulled herself up into a full sitting position, running a hand through her mangled curls in an attempt to appear at least remotely presentable before Helena returned.
The bedroom door creaked open and Helena slipped back in. Before she could make her way all the way back to the bed, the women heard a soft knock on the door behind her.
"Hey guys, I heard some movement up here so I came bearing gifts."
Myka smiled, gently tugging Helena back to the spot next to her on the bed. "Come on in Claud."
"Wow, you sound good this morning." Opening the door, 3 steaming mugs held in two hands, Claudia couldn't help but smile at the sight before her. After pulling Helena back down onto the bed, Myka kept their hands laced between them and dropped her head to the older woman's shoulder.
"Here, I brought you your beverages of choice. Tea for our favorite Brit, and coffee just the way you like it for you Myka." Claudia extended her two mugged hand out to the woman in front of her, and then settled herself cross legged on the end of the bed when the drinks were taken and "thank you's" expressed.
"So... how you feeling? How'd you sleep?" Even if she had tried, the young agent couldn't keep the smirk off her face or the sing song out of her voice when posing the questions. Myka looked better then she had in weeks, and Claudia could only hope having Helena with her was at least partially the cause of that.
Myka grinned. No point in holding anything back now. "I slept perfect. Thanks."
"Good." Claudia took a slow sip of her coffee before posing her next question. "So, you're not mad at me, are you?"
Myka sat up so she could reach Claudia, releasing her grip from Helena's and gently placing her hand on Claudia's knee. "No, I'm not mad. You were right. And you are an amazing friend. Thank you for having my back."
Claudia blushed a little at the compliment but covered it up quickly by pumping her fist into the air and exclaiming "Excellent. Score one for the meddlesome little sister!"
Helena had remained quiet through their exchange, but laughed at the outburst and then felt the need to also express her gratitude to the young woman before her. "I think I owe you a thank you as well my dear. For, how do you say it? 'Kicking my ass in the right direction?' We are all very fortunate to have you in our lives. You do an excellent job protecting those you love."
Now Claudia was full on blushing at the attention. She idolized the two woman before her, and to have them understand that she only text HG because she cared about them both was a huge relief for the young woman.
"Well, you know I love you both. So, seriously, glad I could help."
Claudia turned her full attention back to Myka before changing the subject away from her. "So Myka, I was talking to Pete this morning and he said for today if you want..."
"Wait. Stop." Claudia was cut off by Myka's outburst and a little taken aback.
"Claud, Helena and I haven't actually talked much yet. I need to fill her in. Will you give us some time and we'll head downstairs in a while?"
"Oh, right, sure... I just figured... you know... um... Wait. Then last night, what were... ew... no... I mean I know obviously you too are... you know... and you would... but I don't need to..." Claudia could not stop the mental images rolling through her head.
Helena couldn't stop the laugh that escaped at the girls discomfort. "Claudia, darling, relax. I can promise you that Myka and I simply slept last night." With a quick glance over to Myka she couldn't help but continue. "Not that either of us would have been against anything more... and I'm sure eventually you'll want some really good noise cancelling headphones... and..."
"HG! Stop!" Claudia yelled and bolted off the bed. "I get the picture. And... I'm out of here." Calming herself before exiting, she turned back to the women on the bed "I'll see you guys downstairs whenever. Take your time. And Myka? It's great to see you smiling." And with that she gently shut the door behind her.
Myka picked up Helena's hand off the bed and they both shifted their bodies towards each other. "Well, that was one way to clear a room." She smiled down at their laced fingers before raising her head to meet the eyes of the woman in front of her. "So I guess no time like the present, huh?"
Helena squeezed the hand in hers and used her other hand to pull Myka forward into a slow kiss. When the need for air became too much, they broke apart, resting their heads together. Lifting Myka's chin until they were eye to eye again, Helena quietly spoke. "Myka you know I'm here to stay. You know how much I love you. I hope you know that whatever is going on right now, you can trust me."
"I do trust you. And I love you too. But Helena, it's not that simple."
Helena pushed on "Life is not simple darling. But we're Bering and Wells, we can solve the puzzle. Save the day..."
"Helena, I have cancer."
Time seemed to stand still around Helena. She hadn't felt this frozen in body and mind since the initial seconds of her bronzing took place. That was terrifying. This was worse.
Cancer. That was not what she expected to hear. As agents, they faced death every day. The idea of dying at the mercy of an artifact was never far from their thoughts. And that is what Helena had expected. A mad hunt for an artifact that was currently causing Myka pain, even illness. A reassurance to her loved one that they would find it, and neutralize it, and everything would be fine. Because that's what she did. She was HG freakin Wells. She understands artifacts. She finds artifacts. She builds amazing machines. She fixes things.
But this? How does one fix this? Of course her mind immediately went to what artifacts were in their possession that could cure Myka. They had a Warehouse full of endless wonder. There obviously had to be something. She then flashed to Christina. She turned to the Warehouse then to bring her daughter back, and it failed her. She failed. How was this going to be any different? How was she going to not completely shatter if she lost the one woman who brought her back from the brink of destruction and made her whole again?
A thousand more thoughts ran through Helena's head, but all Myka could observe was that Helena had inhaled sharply when she revealed the news, and had yet to exhale. Gently cupping her face, she stroked down the older woman's cheek. "Helena, breathe sweetie."
Brought back to reality, Helena could think of nothing to say, so simply pulled the other woman into a fierce hug. "Oh Myka, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say." she whispered into the other woman's hair. "I love you. We'll figure this out."
Helena wanted beyond all doubt to be strong for Myka. Myka needed a rock right now and damn if she was going to let her own fear get in the way. But Myka knew her too well. She could hear the anxiety in Helena's voice through the whispered words of reassurance.
"It's ok to be scared. God knows I'm terrified." Myka whispered back. "But I'm so thankful you're here." Then pulling back slowly she addressed the other woman in front of her.
"I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner. I just felt like it would be selfish on my part. You had your new life and I wanted you to be happy. I don't know how this is going to turn out, and after everything you've been through, especially with Christina, I couldn't see adding any more heartache to your life. I never wanted to be the cause of you hurting. But I know you, and as hard as the last year has been, I knew if I called you, you would be here. And this?" she gestured to her own body, it's betrayal of her evident in her voice. "This is going to be hard. This is going to hurt." Myka broke down then. Not the silent tears she had shed the night before. A full on gut wrenching sob, full of anguish and despair and fear, escaped her as she collapsed into the woman in front of her.
As Myka's sobs wracked her body, Helena pulled her in close and held her with all the strength she could muster, her own tears mixing with those of the woman she loves. Minutes passed with neither saying a word, just letting their emotions overtake them and desperately clinging to each other. Helena started to slide their bodies backwards so they could lie on the bed when she felt Myka start to roll away. She doesn't get far before Helena quickly follows, spooning Myka from behind as the woman's crying starts to subside.
Myka pulls the arm around her even tighter, pinning it with her own hand to her chest. "I'm so sorry to drag you into this."
Helena plants a kiss into the head of curls in front of her and pulls Myka even closer, marvelling at how well they fit together. "You have nothing to apologize for my love. You are not dragging me into anything. We will face this together. We will figure this out. I promise."
"You can't know that. What if -"
Helena slid back and rolled Myka onto her back, bringing her own body half on top of Myka's. "No what if's." she mumbled before meeting Myka's lips with her own. Myka's arms wrapped around her instinctively.
"Helena we have to be realistic."
"I am being realistic." Helena countered. "Science and medicine have come so far..."
"What if it's not far enough?" Myka interrupted. She couldn't get her hopes up.
But Helena would not back down. "Then we will figure something else out. The Warehouse..."
"Helena, stop. You can't..." Myka almost pleaded. It was too dangerous for Helena's thoughts to go there. She knew that.
"I know the limits of the Warehouse dear. And I know how much I love you. And if it comes down to it, it doesn't hurt to explore all options." It took all of Helena's will power to keep her voice calm. Stay rational. But in the back of her mind she knew she'd do anything to help this woman.
Myka sighed, trying to be the voice of reason. Obviously she wanted to get better, but the risks would be too high. "Even if there is something, we can't just use it. There is always a down side. Don't you think if there was a cancer curing artifact with no down side, it would be out there, you know, curing cancer?"
"If there is a cancer curing artifact, we will damn well handle any possible down side it could have."
"Helena." Myka tried again but was quickly interrupted.
"Kiss me."
"What?" Taken aback by the sudden change in topic.
"Please Myka, just kiss me." Who was Myka to deny her? Gentle at first, both women did not hesitate to let the kiss deepen. And Myka realized why Helena made the simple request. This was exactly what they needed. They did not need to talk through how they were going to get through this. They definitely did not need to debate or argue about how they would get through it. They just needed to be there, with each other, knowing in their hearts that they would.
When they slowly broke apart, Helena was the first to speak. "You are going to be ok. We are going to be ok. Trust me?"
There was no hesitation this time. "I do."
"Believe me?"
"I do."
"Love me?"
"Yes."
"Be with me?"
And Myka took the opportunity to once again answer without words.