Hello again, this was done very quickly, but I hope you enjoy it. All the mistakes are mine and thank you for all the wonderful comments :)

Myka Bering sat on her bed, her eyes traversing the page in front of her as a tear splashed onto the well-worn paper. It had been a while since she had seen Helena in Boone. She knew she shouldn't have just let her go, but what else could she do. If Helena had the chance to be happy, then Myka would be the last person to stand in the way. But she's not happy, and you know it, said the little voice in the back of her head, that same voice that she fought constantly otherwise she'd call Helena and she couldn't. She couldn't ruin Helena's happiness. Even if it hindered her own. In her mind, she sometimes thought that their relationship was, at its most basic level, the two women constantly sacrificing themselves and their own emotional stability for the good of the other. Helena had planned everything; she could have destroyed the world with one more blow from the trident. But Myka stood in the way. She told herself at the time that Helena couldn't do it because Myka was her friend. She couldn't dare believe it was anything more. Then Helena coming back as a hologram. Helena was constantly doing everything to keep her and the team alive. She knew something had happened with the astrolabe – she didn't know what, but she had this… feeling. She convinced herself that Helena had stayed away to protect them, and she would be able to return eventually. Now, she was furious that the Victorian had been playing happy families in the suburbs with a pseudo-daughter and some 'normal, kind' man. But then Myka knew she was only angry because Helena didn't seem to be able to be happy with her. Nate and Adelaide were probably lovely, but Myka didn't care to find out. So she dug deep and buried her feelings while Helena harped on and on about how Nate was perfect, how she wanted a new life, a normal life. Bullshit, was Myka's silent response, and she hoped it hadn't shown on her face. If so, Helena didn't mention it. When Myka had returned home after their promises of coffee and saving the world, she bid Pete goodnight without eating. She had a feeling that Pete knew exactly what was up with her – he had probably known about her feelings before even she did – but he left her to it, knowing she'd need time to process. As soon as she had shut the door to her bedroom, she collapsed to the floor, back against the uncomfortable wooden door and buried her head in her knees, sobbing her heart out. She didn't' really know exactly how or when she ended up on her bed, but she remembered a voice that sounded a lot like Claudia's and another, Abigail's, around her after an hour or so, speaking softly and arms wrapping around hers and guiding her towards the bed.

Sighing heavily, Myka wrenched her thoughts from the past and tried again to focus on her book.

"I went to a box room at the top of the house and locked myself in, in order to be alone with my aching miseries."

Myka literally rolled her eyes at the irony of this line she had reread over and over as she thought about the memory. Sighing, she closed the book, lightly tracing the name "HG Wells" on the cover, then rolled over, placing the book on the table and switching off her lamp, settling down to try and sleep.

Myka jolted awake to a foreign sound, eyes snapping open as her body tensed, ready to fight. She felt a little dizzy as she squinted in the darkness, but it passed quickly. Her head cleared and she realised that it was her phone. Scrabbling at the lamp, she flicked it on as she crawled across her bed less than gracefully, cursing softly as her foot tangled in her sheets. Finally, she lumbered across the room, hoping she hadn't missed the call. Snagging the phone from her jeans pocket, she accepted the call without looking at the caller ID, her mind still clouded by sleep.

"Hello?" she said croakily.

"Myka?" came the reply.

With every ring, Helena grew more nervous. She was used to being completely in control of herself and the situation. Never before had she felt so lost, so dependent on somebody else. She needed Myka. And this scared her to no end. Eventually, after a minute of ringing she lost her nerve and hung up. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was ten past three in the morning. Sighing, she returned to the living room, where she picked up the copy of The Time Machine and settled down to read, finding some comfort in the memories the book held for her. She was quite prepared to read herself to sleep, much as she had done the last time, except she knew she would wake up alone.

"Oh, hey, Mum, what're you calling at this time for?" she asked, glancing at the clock on her phone. It read seven minutes past five in the morning. She also noticed she had a missed call. "Are you okay? Is Dad alright?" she asked hurriedly.

"Yes, yes, we're fine. It's just…" her mother paused. Myka waited patiently. "Well, Pete called earlier. He was worried about you."

"Mum, I'm alright. I was just exhausted last night. It was a long day."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You'll tell me if something's up, you know you can talk to me."

"I know, Mum."

"So how's work?" she asked. It had been ages since they had spoken, and Myka felt reluctant to hang up.

"It's good. Busy. I have a physical coming up, but it should be fine."

"Next time you're in Colorado, you come see us, okay?" her mother said. Myka smiled, and her mother could hear it in her voice.

"Of course I will."

"And be careful, honey."

"I will," she said, rolling her eyes, but grinning.

"Good. Or I'll have to call Artie and have a word."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll call you soon, okay?"

"Okay, honey. Love you."

"Love you too. Tell Dad I said hi."

"I will. Sorry for waking you."

"Its fine," laughed Myka as her mother hung up the phone. She sat back on her bed and smiled. Talking with her mother, even about such simple things made her feel so much better. Glancing across the room, she considered getting back in bed but she was wide awake now. She may as well go downstairs and make a start on breakfast so that Abigail could have a day off. The therapist had been coerced into making breakfast by Pete and Claudia after she lost the thumb war to decide. Initially, she grumbled about it, but she didn't mind too much. She and Myka were usually the first up so they helped each other. Sometimes they chatted; sometimes they delved a little deeper into each other's pasts and secrets, but they were the 'adults' of the group, along with Artie, so they looked after their 'children'. Choosing to dress later, she clambered over the bed, grabbing a fleece to cover her bare arms and silently slipped down the stairs, phone still in hand. Upon entering the kitchen, she could see the first light of morning through the curtains. Settling on a stool and leaning on the kitchen counter, she glanced at the number of the missed call on her phone. It wasn't one she recognised. Contemplating whether or not to call it, she decided it was probably important if they called in the middle of the night. Taking a breath, she pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear. It rang. And rang. And continued to ring for over a minute. Just as she was about to hang up, she heard a voice answer it.

"Hello?" It was a child's voice, a girl's by the sound of it.

"Hello?" replied Myka, confused. "Who is this?"

"You called, you should know," came the reply. Myka had a feeling she knew this voice, but couldn't quite place it.

"I was called in the middle of the night, I missed it. Who is this?" she reiterated. She had a feeling it was a prank.

"Hang on. Are you Myka Bering?" the girl asked.

"Yes," she replied after a moment, recognising the lilt and rhythm of the voice at last. "You're Adelaide."

"Yes. Are you looking for Helena?" asked the girl.

"I was wondering who called me so early, and why – Wait. You called her Helena?"

"Yes. She told me all about her adventures in the Warehouse. 12 and 13. She mentioned you a lot. She didn't tell Dad though, and she made me promise to tell no-one else anything about it."

Myka couldn't suppress the smile at one particular piece of information.

"Do you have any idea why she would call me at two in the morning?" she asked, beating her fingers off of the edge of the counter.

"I would hazard a guess that she missed you. If it were work, she would have called you during the day. I would assume she was awake at that time and thinking about you, so she called," said Adelaide calmly and patiently, as if explaining a simple mathematical problem. Myka was slightly taken aback.

"Listen, Adelaide, I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologise, please. I can tell Helena isn't happy here. And I want her to be happy, she deserves it."

"You're a very special child," smiled Myka.

"So I've been told," replied the girl, and Myka could hear the smile in her voice. Myka suddenly heard another voice in the background. It sounded hauntingly British.

On the other end of the call, Helena had woken up on the couch; a blanket covering her, the book lying on the floor and the sound of Adelaide's soft voice from the other side of the room.

"Adelaide?" she said huskily, rubbing her head. She didn't remember the blanket being over her when she fell asleep, so she deduced that Adelaide had covered her, and fairly recently, as the temperature of the blanket was still rather cool. Adelaide turned at Helena's call and gave her a small smile. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"The phone was ringing. I came down for a glass of water and I didn't want it to wake you."

"The phone?" repeated Helena, sitting up straight and throwing the blanket off of her.

"Yes," replied Adelaide, holding up the device. Helena could hear a person one the other end.

"Who is it?" she asked, sounding terrified. But she also felt joy and hope blossom through the fear. Myka. The main source of conflict for Helena. She tried not to get her hopes up. It might not be her. She couldn't think who else it would be though. Adelaide mouthed the word "Myka" and Helena felt her heart begin to race. There must have been a visible change on her face, as Adelaide mouthed at her not to worry.

"Would you like to talk to her?" asked Adelaide. Helena sat on the edge of the sofa, wringing her hands absent-mindedly. A moment later, Adelaide held out the phone.

"Only if you want to," she said quietly. Helena nodded and took the phone. Adelaide smiled and gave Helena's arm a squeeze before picking up her glass and leaving the room, waiting in the kitchen. She was also a nosy child, so she stayed within hearing distance.

Myka sat stock still as Adelaide handed over the phone. After a moment, she heard breathing on the other end of the line. Neither woman spoke for a moment.

"Hi."

"Hello." Both words were uttered at the same time, and led to a little awkward laughter, then yet more silence.

"Myka –"

"Why did you call?" asked Myka, not caring that she cut Helena off. She could feel anger cutting through her joy at hearing Helena's voice again.

"I…" Helena found that words had deserted her. The great HG Wells, wordsmith and author, could not think of words to say. Myka waited, her nails tapping against the counter, biting her lip. The silence stretched on and on. Myka still said nothing.

"I was wondering… if… perhaps you'd like to get that coffee we talked about?" said Helena, internally cursing herself. She simply couldn't say what she had to over the phone. She didn't even know if she could say it to her face.

"Uhm…" Myka wasn't sure exactly what she was expecting. "Sure," she replied slowly.

"Excellent," said Helena, after several of what Claudia would call 'facepalms' of frustration at her lack of skill in this area.

"You want me to go there… or are you coming here, or what?" asked Myka, still slightly confused and feeling out of her depth.

"Whatever is better for you," replied Helena. She had put this woman through too much to allow her to go through any more trouble for her convenience.

"I'm easy either way," shrugged Myka.

"I'll come there?"

"If that's not too much trouble," replied Myka, somewhat flatly. She had wanted more than just some awkward conversation about coffee. And she was tired of Helena playing with her, toying with her. So she shut down a little bit.

"Alright. Are you free today?" asked Helena. As soon as she said it, she wondered if she was asking too much too soon.

"Yes," said Myka. Claudia and Pete were on for the next ping, and Pete could go with Artie if there was another. It was her week to man the Warehouse anyway.

Helena sensed the tone, and knew that Myka was not happy.

"I'll… I'll see you later today at the B&B, then?" she asked, ashamed of herself for sounding so lost and pitiful.

"Sounds good. See you then," Myka replied, almost coldly. They both listened to the other breathing for a moment, before Myka hung up. This was going to be a fantastic day, she thought sarcastically.