Thanks to Steampunk Archer and Moxy! You two are solid! )
Ok- so this bit isn't really a chapter- but was still just there and, I think, needed to wrap it all up and set the story back in line with the episodes. So- here it is.
The hospital held both Claudia and Artie for two days, for recovery and monitoring. After such stressful days and weeks, when he was finally, literally forced to rest, Artie slept so much that he suspected his nurse of sedating him. The battle-ax nurse was so forceful at pressing back against the testy supervisor, that he actually thought it might be true.
On the morning of the second day, Artie rang Leena on the Farnsworth. He scratched the side of his recently shaven face while the Farnsworth buzzed somewhere in the Warehouse. Leena's black and white image came over the screen.
"Hello Artie." She smiled in her calming way. "You're looking better."
Artie grunted. He never knew how to respond to that from the woman, mostly because he didn't know if she was referring to his physical appearance, or his aura. "We should be getting back sometime this afternoon. That's IF Nurse Hilda gives me my walking papers."
"'Nurse Hilda'?" Leena asked, although she knew that she didn't really want the answer.
Artie shook his head slightly, indicating that she should forget it. "We're going to need two extra rooms at the B&B."
At first, Leena smiled, "Artie, it's only been a few days. I haven't gotten rid of Pete and Myka's rooms." But she saw his expression and slight shake of his head and grew suspicious. "Wait. Artie… Who is 'we'?"
Artie sighed a tiny breath, wondering why the woman had to ask for details. "Joshua and Claudia are going to stay with us for a while."
"What's a while?"
"Until that little… hacker fixes everything that she broke at the Warehouse!" Artie heatedly said. "Without her, I'll be fixing her mess until Passover." He mumbled.
"Artie are you sure?"
Artie looked back at Leena's face in the Farnsworth. Her tone was asking him more than her words were. This wasn't Leena, the proprietor, asking. This was Leena, Warehouse helper, agent assistant and Artie's friend for many years, prodding him to make sure that he had fully thought through the implications of his actions. Artie heard her and understood her concerns. He had spent the time at the hospital not only recovering, but thinking through every angle of possibility that taking in Joshua and Claudia entailed. He knew that nothing was certain, but they, Joshua in particular, were worth the risk. Also, his conscious was saying that taking them in was the right move. After she fixed the Warehouse, his obligation would be fulfilled and they could go on their way, and he could finally end this whole chapter of Rheticus's Compass.
The old man nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. They'll stay as long as she needs to fix the mess that she made."
Leena eyed him a bit sideways. "All right. I'll add two rooms to the B&B."
She smirked at him, seeing the change in his aura, even through the Farnsworth, when he spoke of the two trouble makers. She saw a bit of warm emotional color rise out of his chest, low and close, meaning that it was still a very internal feeling. Leena could see that Artie had an emotional connection to Joshua and Claudia, but she also knew that he didn't realize that yet, so she tried to suppress the grin of admiration that she felt spreading over her face for Artie's ability to care after all that he'd been through. But Artie didn't notice anything unusual from the clairvoyant. He grunted his goodbye as he quickly flipped the Valdo device closed.