Chapter eight

Myka, Pete, and Helena stood in an empty parking lot. Their guns were ready in case any zombies approached, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. Their GPS signal was turned on, and they waited patiently for the helicopter to come pick them up. Myka was still a little bitter with Helena because of the events of the previous day, but she was starting to get over it. And ever-reliable Pete was always there to ease the tension.

"So HG, you excited to see the Warehouse?" Pete asked. "And you get to meet Claude and Jinksy!"

"Jinksy?" Helena asked. "That's a name?"

"His name is Steve, but we call him Jinksy," Pete answered.

"No," Myka butted in, "You call him Jinksy. Everyone else just calls him Steve."

"Well, to answer your question Pete, yes I'm very excited to see this Warehouse and meet your fellow agents." And Helena was excited, truly. She hadn't had a day off in over a year. Every single minute of her life had been life or death for the longest time that she had forgotten what it would feel like to relax. Helena wasn't sure she would know what to do with herself, but she was definitely looking forward to the week.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an approaching helicopter. "Here we go!" Pete exclaimed. He was always the most excited about their time off. The helicopter landed just long enough for the three agents to pile in before it took off again. It was a small chopper, and there was just enough room for the three of them to fit. Pete sat by himself in the first row, leaving Myka and Helena to sit next to each other in the second row.

It was an excruciatingly long and unbelievably boring helicopter ride. They couldn't talk because they couldn't hear each other over the propellers (and Pete tried to get Myka and Helena to hear him as hard as he could), and they were in the air for almost five hours.

Myka and Pete had made trips like this before, and some had been even longer; they were used to the ride. Helena, however, was a little antsy and the noise was putting her on edge. She hadn't sat around doing nothing for so long in a while. Around hour three, though, Helena began to tune out the roaring of the helicopter blades. She fell asleep.

Helena didn't have nightmares, but her dreams weren't necessarily pleasant either. She saw the people she cared about, the people she lost. She tried to apologize for not being able to save them, but they couldn't hear her. She felt herself falling and was startled awake. There were tears in her eyes, which she kept tightly shut.

It was a moment before Helena realized she was no longer sitting upright, but had fallen to the side. It appeared that she was on Myka's lap. From the sound of her steady breathing, it seemed Myka had also fallen asleep. And was that one of her hands threaded in Helena's hair? Another arm was resting over her side. Helena couldn't move, for fear of waking the other woman, so she remained in the somewhat uncomfortable position for some time until she noticed that the helicopter was beginning its descent.

Helena slowly scooted herself to an upright position and poked Myka to wake her up. "Myka, I believe we've arrived." Myka scrunched her face, annoyed at the disturbance to her slumber and turned her face away. Helena suppressed a giggle. "Myka, darling, wake up!"

Pete turned around in his seat. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty! We're home!" Myka groaned and kept her eyes tightly shut but raised a hand to flip him off. The helicopter landed.

"Sleeping beauty?" Helena commented. "Maybe you need a kiss to wake up!"

Myka hesitantly opened her eyes. "I'm awake."

"That's too bad," said Helena with a wink. Myka's eyes grew wide and she quickly jumped out of the helicopter.

"Let's get inside!" Myka said, trying to hide the blush creeping onto her cheeks. "It's about dinnertime and Leena's probably cooked up something great." She headed over to the large, sturdy building in front of them.

"Oh my god I've missed Leena's food!" Pete exclaimed and bounded after Myka. Helena grinned and followed the two of them inside.

They entered through a large metal door and Myka closed it behind them. What Helena saw amazed her. This place was like part government office, part science lab, part home. Literally. They were in a sort of waiting room. Through the door to her left were lots of computer screens and desks and paperwork. Past the door to her right was a small lab with a few scientists, assumingly developing new technologies with which to fight the zombies. And in front of her, through yet another doorway was a living room, which looked like it led to other hallways and a kitchen, and past that, she couldn't see.

"HG, welcome to the Warehouse!" Pete said and clapped her on the shoulder.

Helena looked around. "I must say, from what I can see, I'm impressed."

"Wait til you see the rest of it! Mykes and I can give you the full tour." His stomach growled. "After dinner. I'm starving!"

"Is that Pete I hear?" a voice called. Leena appeared in front of them wearing an apron.

"Leena!" Pete ran up and gave her a hug. "What's for dinner? It smells delicious."

"I made chicken parm, your favorite," she said.

"That's not my favorite, that's—" Pete froze as realization crossed his face. "You asked Claude what I'd want for dinner, didn't you?" Leena nodded. "Well at least she didn't say something I hate. CLAUDIA!" he called, and ran into the living room.

"Leena, I've missed you," Myka said, and gave the other girl a hug.

"I've missed you too! My favorite time of the month is always when you guys are home."

"Me too, but I suppose that's not saying much considering the conditions we're in out there." They both laughed.

"Helena, it's great to see you again too," Leena said, and pulled Helena in for a hug, surprising her. Helena smiled. "Dinner will be ready in five minutes so just make yourselves comfortable."

"Thank you," both women replied. Helena and Myka followed Leena into the living room but sat down next to each other on the couch as she went to the kitchen.

They sat in silence for a while. Neither women spoke. It wasn't awkward, but there seemed to be a bit of tension. Finally Helena had to ask, "Are you still angry with me?"

Myka thought about it for a moment. "No," she said. "I'm not sure I even was to begin with."

Helena frowned. "Why not? You had every right to be."

"I guess I was more worried," she said. "The moment you went inside that building, I was scared. You could've died. I couldn't…" Myka trailed off and shook her head, forcing a smile on her face.

"I really am sorry, you know," Helena said. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Myka was going to say it was fine and it didn't matter, but when she saw the way Helena was looking at her, it took her breath away. The dark brown eyes shone with concern and regret and…something else. Something good. Myka smiled; it was small, but it was real.

It wasn't until Leena came to get them for dinner that Myka realized how close she and Helena actually were.

A/N: This chapter was slightly filler, so sorry if it's not quite up to par with the last few chapters. Good stuff is coming, I promise! And feedback is always appreciated. Thanks for reading :)