Claudia tossed and turned in bed for an hour as she fought the sun that was peaking from her window; she wasn't ready to get up for the day yet, especially since what had happened last night.
She finally gave in, stretching in her bed before she finally got out from under her sheets and walked downstairs where she found Harper laying on the couch, looking up at a book and slowly pronouncing the words to herself.
"Harper?" Claudia asked as she walked into the living room "What are you doing?"
"Leena is teaching me to read." Harper said, not looking away from the giant novel.
Claudia stood up straight "Leena?" she asked.
"Yes." Harper said.
Claudia sighed as she walked towards Harper "Can we talk, Jelly Bean?" she asked, gently taking the book away from Harper.
Harper sat up on the couch as Claudia saved the place on the novel as she sat down on the coffee table "Look, um, what I said last night…I didn't mean it. Your dad and I love you so much, and we would be very sad if anything happened to you." She said.
"Then why did you say it?" Harper asked.
Claudia sighed, looking down at her lap before looking back up at Harper "Because sometimes mommies and daddies say mean things to hurt each other." She explained.
"Why?"
Claudia began to choke up "Because I was mad at Ste—your dad." She said.
Harper was silent for a moment "…I don't want to be a Caretaker."
Claudia smiled "And you don't have to if you don't want to." She said.
"Are you sure?" Harper asked.
Claudia nodded "Yes." She said, moving from the coffee table to the couch as she sat next to Harper.
Harper hugged Claudia as she held her daughter close "Now lets talk about Leena for a second." Claudia said.
Harper nodded as Claudia readjusted on the couch "Where did you meet Leena?" she asked.
"I met her at the Warehouse." Harper told her.
Claudia nodded "Okay. Is she here with you now?" she asked.
Harper nodded "Yeah. But she's 'giving us a minute'."
Claudia chuckled "Okay." She said before containing herself "And what do you and Leena do?" she asked.
"She plays with me…and when I go into the Warehouse she tells me about the artifacts." Harper told her mother.
Claudia hummed "Does she let you play with them?" she asked.
Harper shook her head "Only the 'safe' ones…which is not a lot." She said.
Claudia smiled "Yeah. It is."
Harper was quiet for a moment "Can we go to the playscape today?" she asked.
Claudia shook her head "I don't think so. Your still in trouble for running away." She said.
"But mommy…"
"AH—no buts! Besides, your dad and I have a lot to do today." She said.
Harper nodded "Can I read my book?" she asked.
Claudia leaned towards the coffee table and pulled the book towards her "The Da Vinci Code?" she nearly hissed "Harper, this is not something a little girl should be reading." She said.
"But it's interesting." Harper protested.
Claudia chuckled "Uh, yeah. But seriously, sweet pea, this is a grown-up book."
"Please, mommy?" Harper nearly begged.
Claudia shook her head "No—please don't to this! It's way too early!" she whined.
Harper and Claudia stared at each other for a moment "You want pancakes?" she asked after a minute of silence.
"Okay, but I still want to read my book!"
Claudia got up off the couch "Highly unlikely." She said, walking into the kitchen with the giant copy of the book in her hands.
Claudia was making a nearly leaning tower of pancakes, expecting Pete to take the majority of the pancakes; she had given the book back to Harper if just to keep her quite for the while as she made breakfast for the entire team.
Steve climbed down the stairs, following the smell of buttermilk pancakes into the dining room where he saw Harper with the giant book in her hands.
He rubbed her head as he approached the table, listening to Harper pronounce a word to herself when he realized what she was doing.
"What are you reading?" he asked, crouching near Harper.
"The Da Vinci Code." Harper remarked.
Steve was taken aback as he turned to Claudia who was still making pancakes "Don't bother! She insists on reading it." Claudia remarked, feeling her friends' eyes on her.
He turned back to the book and Harper as she began to struggle with a word, he turned to the book "Which word?" he asked.
Harper pointed to the rather simple word: tumble.
"Tumble." Steve said.
Harper turned to her father "Tumble." She said.
Steve smiled "That's great!" he said before standing up; he gently took the book out of her hands "Lets finish this later, breakfast is almost ready." He said, marking Harpers' place and walking towards Claudia.
"She's reading?" he asked.
Claudia nodded "Yeah, apparently Leena is teaching her."
"Leena? As in our, dead Leena?" Steve asked in a whisper.
Claudia nodded "Yeah. We need to talk to Mrs. Frederic about this…or Artie." She responded in a whisper.
Steve crossed his arms, about to say something when a loud booming voice entered the dining room/kitchen.
"Do I smell pancakes?" Pete asked, yawning and stretching.
"UNCLE PETE!" Harper yelled.
Claudia and Steve turned to the scene before going back to their conversation "Look, lets talk about this when we have a moment alone, alright?" Claudia asked, taking the large plate to the table.
"Are those all for me?" Pete asked.
"Most of them." Claudia said.
Steve walked to the table and sat next to Harper, who was trying to grab a pancake but was losing her grasp.
"Hold on." Steve said, taking his fork and stabbing the pancake before putting it on her plate.
Harper thanks her father before she began to tear her pancake apart without any syrup; surprising Pete as he watched her nearly shove the entire thing into her mouth.
"Woah, woah! Take it easy there, pine nut! It's not going to grow legs and walk off." Pete said, scooting closer to Harper and assisting in cutting her pancake into pieces.