Get a Grip

Myka was just so happy to see Helena was ok that she smiled, pushed Helena's hair back and asked – "My what, sweetie?"

"Your baggage. Detective Tierney explained that when we care about someone, we accept their baggage…. the way she accepts you," Helena explained, missing some of the finer points of Jane's talk.

"She accepts me?" Myka asked.

"As Mr. Lattimer's baggage," Helena explained.

"Oh, I'm Pete's baggage, but you're not?" Myka asked because it didn't take a genius to connect these dots.

Helena gave careful thought to that question. "Huh, I guess you're right. I think she was saying I am part of his baggage, too. Well, I don't think I care for that term," Helena said truthfully.

"I think she meant when you are with someone, it might help to accept the members of their family?" Myka asked.

"Oh yes, that was her point. We are like family to Mr. Lattimer," Helena said, liking that better. "So I will do my best to accept Tracy."

"MYKA? Where are you?" came the loud call from upstairs.

"She doesn't know her way around," Myka said, pulling Helena with her to go upstairs. "Do you feel ok?"

"Yes I am okay. I think the good Detective's talking threw my running off a bit though," Helena said.

"Why don't you go inside…," Myka said, kissing Helena when they reached the top of the stairs, "…and get ready for our shower?"

"Don't be too long," Helena said and then caught the pronoun. "Did you say..?"

"Yes, I did," Myka said knowing no matter how much accepting Helena was willing to do, she had to be relaxed to do it. Myka gently kissed Helena again, and went down the hallway to her sister's room. She put her in the guest room farthest away from their own room.

"This house is amazing. Look at this room!" Tracy said of the perfectly decorated guest room. Myka had never really paid attention to the distinct colors of the bedrooms, each very different. This particular bedroom was set in tones of green – including a beautiful chenille satin green comforter on the bed. The sheets were white with green and yellow flowers on them. "Is Helena ok?" Tracy asked.

"Yes, she's fine now," Myka said.

"I thought maybe you were in charge cause you always played sports and were bossy, but I guess she's in charge cause she has the money and she's the boss at work," Tracy say, revealing more biases than Myka could get her head around.

"Tracy, this might come as a shock to you, but we're equal partners. No one is in charge here," Myka said, trying to forgive her sister's ignorance.

"Who was that detective who tried to pick me up?" Tracy asked nonchalantly.

"That woman is Mr. Lattimer's girlfriend, and she wasn't trying to pick you up," Myka said.

"Oh. Who is Mr. Lattimer?" Tracy asked, sitting on the bed now and running her hand along the satin cover.

"He is a friend of ours," Myka said, deciding it was the shortest answer. "Tracy, as much as I want to see you, I just got back from vacation…"

"Yes, I know. I read the papers, Myka," Tracy said. Apparently she felt her visit was that urgent that she didn't need to give Myka time to get past the vacation.

"Oh yes, how could I forget?" Myka said, pulling the comforter back hoping it would signal Tracy it was time for her to go to bed.

"You don't read the same kind of magazines I do. I need to read them because of advertising in them. You have to keep up. Anyway, your girlfriend is, as they say in the 'hood' a real 'play-yah'," she said, using up all of her urban slang in one sentence.

Now it was getting personal. Myka was used to the jabs, but she wouldn't allow them to be flung at Helena.

"Tracy! You and I have not seen eye to eye on a lot of things, but let me make this clear – I won't allow you to speak poorly of Helena. She is a wonderful person, and a good-hearted person and I love her," Myka said sternly.

"Myka," the younger sister said, undeterred by Myka's tone," I just want you to be aware of what you're getting yourself into. You tend to see the good in people."

"And what do you see?" Myka asked quickly.

"Myka, I see the truth," Tracy said, and Myka shook her head because she could tell her sister believed every word of what she said.

"Tracy, I would never presume to tell you the truth about Kevin, so please do not attempt to do it with Helena," Myka said.

"You know she was engaged, right? Has a tattoo of her lover's name?" Tracy asked.

"Tracy, those papers are rags. The people who write them don't care about the truth. Don't you care about the truth?" Myka asked. Myka wanted to assure her she had seen every inch of that body and there were no tattoos.

"I care about you," Tracy said. She felt sorry for Myka and feared that the British woman might be taking advantage of her naiveté.

"Yes, I know," Myka said, exhausted from the day and the exchange. She wanted to get back to Helena. "I'm very happy with Helena. She's my One, Tracy, in more ways than I can explain to you. I think if you were staying, you'd get a chance to see that for yourself….," and Myka was about to say 'but you'll just have to take my word for it' …when her sister grabbed her in a tight hug and thanked her for inviting her to stay.

"What?" Myka said, gently pushing her back and holding onto her sister's arms.

"Thank you, Myka for inviting me to stay. I didn't want to upset you before, but Kevin and I are having some trouble and I took the week off to get away," Tracy said, teary eyed.

"What kind of trouble? No, you can't run away from your problems, Tracy. You need to go back and talk to Kevin," Myka said, jumping up from the bed now and pacing. "Face to face!"

"Myka, I can't. I told him I needed to come here and talk to you. I'll look foolish if I go back now after he made a big deal of it. He'll think he was right and that I shouldn't have interfered, but I told him that you needed me," Tracy said and Myka could hardly take in what she was saying.

"Tracy, you can't stay all week," Myka put it bluntly.

"Oh," Tracy said - her hand on her chest from the sting of those words. Myka knew that look. She had just experienced it at dinner when Tracy was talking. Myka knew how that felt and immediately sat back down on the bed.

"I mean, what about your job?" Myka tried, but Tracy's eyes only filled up more.

"Oh Myka,…. I was let go," her sister said telling the truth now, and dissolved into tears, falling towards Myka, resting her head on her sister's shoulder. Myka put her arms around her, patting her back and saying 'it's okay' all the time expecting Helena to start banging on the door.

"What happened?" Myka asked as Tracy continued to cry.

"They said numbers were down and they had to let someone go. I was the last one hired, so the first to be fired," Tracy said between sobs. "I didn't want to upset you."

Myka sighed and continued to soothe her sister. "OK, we've both had long days. Why don't you sleep on it, and think about calling Kevin tomorrow. We'll figure something out," Myka said, because that is what Myka always said. Tracy's problems suddenly became Myka's problems.

"Okay," Tracy said, sniffling and clearing her throat. "Thanks, Myka."

"Sure," Myka said, as she pulled the covers up over her sister and thought of how to break the news to Helena. "Sleep tight….,"

"Don't let the bedbugs bite…," Tracy finished the old saying from when they were kids.

Myka shut the door behind her and walked back to her bedroom. Well, this was a change of events, Myka thought as she walked towards her bedroom. She practiced what she would start with. 'Helena, my sister was fired and she had a fight with her husband,' was her first try and immediately heard Helena say she should go back to her husband first thing in the morning. So Myka tried, "Tracy needs to figure a few things out', and heard Helena say that she would help the woman get to the answers. She took a deep breath and went inside, closing the door behind her. She could hear Vivaldi's Cello Concertos and knew this was a good sign. Helena played Vivaldi when she was calm. Bach would have been an entirely different story.

"There you are," Helena said, emerging from the bathroom. "I was beginning to think I would shower alone." She pulled Myka by her hand. She gently helped Myka off with her jacket and unzipped her dress and placed both on the chair. The intern would be pleasantly surprised to only have to retrieve Helena's clothes that had been cast around the room in a fit of frustration before.

"I'm sorry it took so long," Myka said, as she removed her jewelry and undergarments.

"Not to worry, Myka. Your sister is here for such a short time that I am sure she wanted to have you to herself. She is hell-bent on saving you," Helena smiled salaciously, as she took Myka by the hand into the shower stall. Violins played in the background as streams of water cascaded down on them from various shower heads, each one bathed in different colored lights.

Myka hated that the news could interfere with their time together so she tried to push it out of her mind. She forgot with whom she was showering. Myka's back was to Helena as the Brit slowly rubbed her soapy hands on Myka's shoulders, massaging her back muscles that would not relax. "What is it, Myka?" Helena said, slipping her lathered hands under Myka's arms around to caress her breasts.

"That feels nice," Myka said, allowing her head to drop back onto Helena's shoulder and ignoring the question.

"Yes, it does, but something is bothering you," Helena said softly, as she continued her ministrations.

Myka tried to concentrate on the feeling of Helena's hands, but she kept seeing Tracy crying and she couldn't manage both things. She grabbed Helena's hands in hers, squeezed her eyes shut, and blurted out, "Tracy is staying. Maybe all week, I don't know. I was going to tell her to leave when she told me she was let go from work and she's fighting with her husband and now I can't make her leave," Myka said all in one breath and held onto Helena's hands tightly.

There was silence except for violins trilling in the background. Myka felt Helena pull her back into her more as she squeezed her and said –

"Then we shall help your sister however we can. We are so fortunate, Myka, that it is incumbent upon us to help."

Helena's voice was more soothing and lovelier than the violins. Myka turned to face her. "Just when I don't think I can love you more, you do something that makes me fall even harder in love with your, Helena. How do you do that?" Myka said, both relieved and touched.

"It's simple," Helena said, "I love you."

Myka grabbed Helena, pulling her face in to meet hers and kissing her. This was not the place to let passions erupt without being very careful. Myka gently applied lathered hands to Helena's skin, as she continued to kiss her throat, collarbone, down to her ample breasts that Myka cupped and teased. Her hands slipped over hips and pulled Helena into her own body.

"God, I want you so bad Helena," Myka said as water relieved them of lather. Myka grabbed a towel and pulled it around her, then gently put one around Helena. "Take me to bed, Myka," Helena implored and Myka pulled her out of the shower. She attempted to dry Helena off, but it kept having the opposite effect on parts of Helena, whose moans were doing the same thing to Myka.

Bed covers were pulled back and bodies fell down in unison on the soft bed. Helena let Myka control the pace as she teased and caressed the warmest part of Helena until she thought she'd scream. Helena begged Myka to pressed harder; invade faster until her body bucked under waves of pleasure.

It was the second time that night Helena's breathing was askew – but this time Helena was fine – she was better than fine.