A/N: Another chapter! I noticed that no one's been adding any stories lately. We should all write one! We could all do some sort of organized thing where someone posts a story on their day and we could rotate, that way there would be a new one every day. PM me if you're interested, I'd do a day. Anyway, enjoy and please review!


Pete watched Myka carefully. They'd been on the plane for several hours, and she'd barely spoken more than a couple sentences to him. He'd been concerned all day, and her current staring out the window was not helping.

He decided to just ask her what was up. "Myka?" She turned around from the window and glanced at him. "Are you alright?" A nod. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Really? Because you've been staring out of that window the whole flight and it's not like there's even a view of anything," he doubtfully replied.

"Yeah, Pete, I'm fine." She gave him a weak smile and went back to looking out the window.

He didn't believe her, but he could tell she didn't really want to talk. Still, he felt the need to fill the silence.

"Myka? I-," he failed. He hadn't thought of anything to say before he'd started talking. She gave him an odd look, but nevertheless looked intrigued by his tone. "I just… I know we don't… I'm glad you stayed at the warehouse. Even though you could have returned to DC."

"I'm glad, too, Pete." She looked at him for a moment longer, trying to read what he wasn't saying. Apparently satisfied, she turned her gaze away from him and looked at nothing, lost in thought.

Frustrated with his lack of communication skills, Pete leaned his head back against his chair and held in a sigh. The truth was he was glad she had stayed, even if he hadn't really liked her at first. But the incident from the day before had shaken him, and her distance scared him, made him feel like something really had changed. He hoped the feeling would pass. Soon.


Myka kept staring ahead, not really seeing. She was too lost in thought.

Pete didn't know it, but she knew what he wasn't saying. She knew that he was still frightened from yesterday, that he was thrown by what had happened. They found themselves in dangerous situations on a near-daily basis, yet yesterday was different. That was much more serious and much more of a close call than either of them had had in… the months since Pete had nearly been electrocuted in his effort to get the spine off.

Myka glanced at Pete, who was also absorbed in his thoughts and didn't notice. She felt bad that she was worrying him, but she just didn't want to talk about it. She wasn't sure how she felt about it yet.

She reached over to him and put her hand on his in an effort to convey to him what she didn't know how to say. I'm still here. She hoped it would help to lessen his worry.

He glanced at her in surprise, looking at her searchingly. He squeezed her hand and added his other to the top.

He didn't let go.


"Ah, home sweet home," Pete commented, dragging their suitcases behind him as Myka held open the door of the B&B. "It's nice to be back."

"Even though we didn't get the artifact."

"We'll get it eventually. We just don't have to do it today," Pete cheered. He was glad to be back and off of that chase. He needed some time to get his head on straight, and inventory would be the perfect low-stress task to do it with.

"I guess," Myka sighed.

"Hello, guys," Leena came in. "I saved some food for you both in the kitchen if you're hungry."

"Thanks, Leena," Myka told her, "but I think I'm just going to head to bed."

"It's 9 o'clock," Pete observed.

"The flight made me tired," she told him. "Can I have my suitcase?"

"No. I'll bring it up for you," Pete told her. "No, you can't take it yourself. Let me be nice," he added, sensing an argument.

"Okay, thanks," she conceded.

Leena noted the exchange with interest but didn't comment. "Goodnight, Myka," she added, heading back towards the kitchen.

Myka told her goodnight and headed up the stairs, Pete following behind.


"Ooooh meatloaf. Thank you, Leena." Pete pulled the leftover food from the fridge and put it in the microwave.

"You're welcome, Pete." She continued washing the dishes but kept him in her peripheral vision. He looked out of sorts.

He drummed his fingers on the counter and twice looked at her as if about to say something. The microwave beeped and he pulled out his food.

Sitting down at the table, Pete finally gave in to his curiosity. "So, how is she?"

"What do you mean?" Leena asked.

"Oh come on, you have those cool powers. How is she? Does her aura look different? Does it glow differently or something?" Leena noticed just how desperately he wanted to know and felt a surge of sympathy.

"It looks different, but give her time," she told him. "It's not surprising considering what happened."

He slumped over his plate a bit and let out a breath. "Yeah, I guess."

"Yours looks different, too," she told him.

"Yeah, I figured," he replied. "What does it tell you?"

"It'll be fine, Pete. Thing will go back to normal," Leena promised, hoping to put some of his fears to rest.


"They're not doing well," Leena confessed to Artie.

"What do you mean? Pete and Myka? Why not? What's wrong?" Artie asked in a series of distracted questions. He glanced up briefly from his work but quickly returned his gaze to the old-fashioned computer in front of him.

"Their auras look different. Very different."

"So? That's to be expected. They'll be okay in a few days," Artie stated with conviction.

"I don't know. These don't look like the kinds of changes that'll just disappear." Leena sat beside him.

"Why? How are they different?" Artie asked, finally listening.

"They're, well, different. Pete looks more anxious and upset, which I'm not worried about. But Myka?..."

"What's wrong with hers?" Concern filled his tone.

"Well, she looks like she's handling it better than he is, but she's not. Her aura just looks completely depressed. It's just dark."

"Well, we can't do anything about it. They'll have to work it out," Artie decided.

"But what if they don't?" Leena asked.

"Look, give them some time. I'm not getting involved unless it starts to interfere with their work."

Leena frowned but nodded, wondering if they would ever talk to each other. She had a feeling this was going to take longer than Artie thought.