Happy Valentines Day, everyone! I hope you're alright.
Thanks to Aimofdestiny for the beta.
Artie's office had changed over the last couple of hours. Sarah had given Claudia a summary of the situation, although with Paul's help: Warehouse family frozen in stone; emotion element stones; Fear and Grief already in the Warehouse; Wrath would be found by Myka and HG sometime soon in New York. Together, the caretaker and the time traveller had spread files over the desk, had pored over maps and reports by Warehouse agents who had snagged those stones that were in the Warehouse already. And they hadn't found anything like a ping or actual evidence for the Euphoria stone's existence.
Sarah was drawing a picture of the Wrath stone on the blackboard in the office. There were sketches of the Fear and the Grief stone already, with short bullet point descriptions.
'Wrath.' Paul read out loud in Sarah's head. His sister knew he had opened the digital file on his computer. 'Gem, colour: black. Contact unleashes only a small amount of actual anger until victim gets triggered by an irate emotion.' Oh, and here starts momma's report about mom's behaviour when she was under its influence. I hope they left out that part about them... oh thank goodness.
Sarah scrunched her nose, because she exactly knew what he meant. Quickly, she wrote the location down next to her notes: New York.
"Oh wait!" Claudia had watched the girl's actions from behind her. "Where have the other stones been found?"
Sarah looked to the upper left. "Paul?" She asked like it was his turn to find that out.
Give me a few seconds.
The writer turned around to Claudia. "He's working on it."
The caretaker nodded profusely and then surveyed the girl in Steve's body. "So, I'm not that good with the body language as Myka is, but you're doing her lip-chewing and HG's hair-reaching."
"Sometimes I also do Pete's celebratory jig." The time traveller turned to the board again and surveyed the empty space under the head line 'Euphoria'.
So! Paul seemed to be ready with his research. Fear was found in London by the agents Jack Secord and Rebecca St. Clair... former-
"Ah, I remember them." Sarah murmured and wrote down the information on the black board, so Claudia could get it, too.
"It's always them when we have this weird over-time research, right?" The caretaker shrugged.
The Grief stone was found by their replacements a few years later in Berlin, Germany. Paul stated in his monotonous artifact research tone of voice.
When Sarah wrote the name of the city on the board, Claudia froze and stared at it. Questioningly, the writer looked at her. "So, are we having a revelation, a vibe or comparable? Because you're now getting this look, Claudia, and actually, I know that look quite well."
The caretaker took a deep breath. "Oh, Mrs. Frederic, you sly fox." She whispered, more to herself than to Sarah.
The girl narrowed Steve's eyes at her, clearly at a loss. "What are we now talking about?"
Don't you understand it? Claudia has told you that Mrs. Frederic gave her a puzzle to solve about artifacts and now... Claudia has some sort of relevation about the locations, right? Paul explained the redhead's behaviour to her.
"Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious, I understood that myself. The question I am asking is: What kind of revelation does Claudia have about the locations?"
"Don't you understand?" Claudia slightly jumped up and down in front of the blackboard. "Berlin, London! It's a puzzle." She quickly spun on her heels and rushed over to the world's map on the wall of the office.
"Oh, it's a puzzle?" The sarcasm in Sarah's voice was sharp as a blade. "I didn't get that, I'm sorry. Thank you for your help, Claud."
"She's still personified mystery. And can't say anything out loud. No, she has to set puzzles for me instead." Claudia mumbled while taking a red sharpie and drawing a circle around Berlin in Germany. "That's where we met the last time." The caretaker explained.
Met? Paul asked, simply confused.
"Oh, when Claudia became caretaker, Mrs. F occassionally met her in different towns around the world to give her a puzzle or something." Sarah updated him.
"Before that, we met in London." Claudia started circling the capital city of the UK excessively with her sharpie. "And before that: New York."
"Ah, I understand." Sarah nodded profusely. "The cities are the puzzle. You met where the artifacts were found."
After drawing a circle around New York, Claudia moved over to the West. "Sioux Falls, dammit!" She exclaimed loudly. "I thought she just wanted to increase my Claudia-ing distance, starting in the biggest town which is nearest to the Warehouse and then moving to New York, London and Berlin. No, of course it's a frakking puzzle."
"Yeah, she did do such things." Sarah smiled softly at the caretaker.
"Did?" Claudia craned her neck to look at the other woman's face. "Does this mean she's dead thirty years into the future?"
The girl pursed Steve's lips in reaction. "No, she isn't dead. She's old. Oh god, is she old. She... she forgot a lot of things. But she's alive and not dead. Well, she isn't." Quickly, the time traveller reached her hand through Steve's short hair and then turned around to sit down on the couch next to the still deeply slumbering Pete.
"Wait, is Pete dead?" The redhead's eyes widened at the thought.
"What? Oh god, no!" Softly, Sarah patted Pete's lower leg. "He plans to outlive us all, which will be impossible since we all know that there's the caretaking thing and-" The time traveller paused and looked shyly up to Claudia.
Oh, now that again. Paul sighed. I'm quickly off to the kitchen, making myself some food while you have your teacher and student moment, okay?
"Caretaking thing?" The caretaker tilted her head questioningly.
"Ah, nothing important in particular. Let's just say you're not the only one with a great destiny." Softly, Sarah tugged at a loose thread on the couch.
"Aaaand you have problems accepting it?" Claudia quickly asked. "Because I know that feeling. Is this why you've become a writer instead of a Warehouse agent?"
The girl looked up at the redhead, her teacher, her aunt, her friend. "No." She replied carefully. "I've accepted this destiny - which ever it might be in particular - from day one. There was no alternative. We always knew there was more about it. I mean... I was made by the Warehouse. It has given me to my parents. And at first we thought it was something to grow them closer, or something. But then they found out more about my connection to it. This is something completely different." She tilted her head from the right to the left and then waved her hand around the room. "I consider the Warehouse my third parent. And it's okay. It has always made clear that this is important and not dangerous. So I grew up with this knowledge, even though I still don't know how far it actually reaches. The Warehouse is so interested in me, I believe there's more to it."
"Oh." Claudia replied. Just that, nothing more.
"I've become a writer, because I can write. That's my job. I'm good at it. Paul's the one who wants to become a Warehouse agent, even though he still struggles with talking to his parents about it."
"He's currently not listening, right?" The readhead grinned mischievously.
"Yeah, he isn't. The only thing that bugs me about this destiny and whatever is that I don't want to be alone, Claudia. You will be caretaker for a very long time. And in the end, I'm afraid people will leave before it's my turn." Sarah lowered her gaze to the ground, avoiding Claudia's. "Artie died three years ago."
The caretaker's sharp intake of breath made the girl's eyes snap upwards. "Of old age." She assured her. "He was well until the end. Everything is alright. But people get old."
"That's some spoiler I'd prefer not to have gotten." The other woman admitted, her eyes a little teary. "That's just... I don't know what to say."
Sara nodded. "I'm sorry. It's... it was hard for everyone. For you, of course. But for me, too. I've been barely home the last three years. It's not the same anymore, you know? And when I look at the Warehouse, I'm just afraid to see it fall apart... And... I've done awful things, Claudia. There is..." Sarah's voice broke, her lower lip quivered. Then she closed her eyes, swallowed and looked at the other woman. She had successfully fought her tears.
The caretaker looked sadly at her. "Are you alright? I'm kind of a little overwhelmed by you opening yourself so much to me. That's not anything like I know HG and Myka."
"Oh, I'm not them, Claud." The writer smiled weakly at her. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little bit used to you being my teacher and somebody I can talk to. I mean, I also have my parents, Paul and Adelaide to talk, but you're more-"
Claudia shook her head, interrupting Sarah. "Can you maybe... not spoil me? I would prefer to explore everything by myself. The Artie thing was already enough."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. But... actually, I don't think you'll remember this one." Sarah scrunched her nose.
"Huh?" The caretaker asked, taken a bit by surprise.
The time traveller narrowed her eyes at her. "Do you really think if you'd remember everything that happens today, you would have sent me into the past? I guess, Claudia, we will find that stone. But then we'll lose it. And something happens so you don't remember at all. And considering what my brother said, I think we cannot change anything about it. The important thing is that I remember where the artifact is so I can get it in the future."
Intensely rolling her eyes, Claudia raised her hands towards the ceiling. "Damn time travel shitfuckery."
Sarah snorted. "Welcome to a world of endless wonder, Claudia."
HG slowly strolled through the darkened hotel lobby, looking around searchingly. She had pondered Myka's strange behaviour, her sudden aggressiveness for a while in her own hotel room. Due to the fact that the younger woman's room was right next to hers, Helena had been able to her the noises Myka had produced. This wasn't normal, she had concluded. HG hoped that the younger agent had come into contact with the artifact they've been searching for. That the noises of anger she had been hearing, the objects hitting the wall, were caused by the same artifact that had made Pete fight Claudia and Steve.
That the words she had spoken in the hotel's hall, weren't meant as they'd sounded.
Even though she could clearly understand the American's behaviour.
Yes, Helena had been avoiding Myka, and yes, this was not right. It was not fair. And it was not healthy for either of them. Especially because Abigail had flat-out told HG that she needed the woman she loved in her life so she would be able to heal. And now that Myka had said things - under the effect of an artifact - that Helena hadn't been glad to hear, the Victorian knew that they had to talk. They had to sort this out. But first, HG had to help her, to save her.
Having witnessed Myka this hurt had caused Helena's heart to ache painfully, like it was about to burst. She was sure she would hear more of this anytime soon. Talking to Myka woud be painful whatever she did, HG was sure. But Helena had to stop pretending that she could ever have gotten out of this without hurting both of them. Myka was more important than her own hurt feelings, Myka was good, she deserved to be handled carefully. She deserved that Helena swallowed down her cowardice and reached out a hand for her.
And so HG walked through the lobby, searching for the cause of Myka's outburst of emotions, hoping that there was one. She was sure that it must have happened here, because they had both been briefly distracted, trying to ignore the receptionist's comments. The writer quickly walked over to the reception counter, she flashed the person behind it her badge and demanded to get shown the forms and pens Myka had come into contact with while checking them into the hotel. It could be that Pete had come into contact with the artifact here as well. Perhaps he had made the paperwork, too.
With her hands gloved, Helena looked carefully at everything the receptionist showed her. She turned pens in her hands, read through forms, and then finally, her view fell on the clipboard that lay on the counter in a short distance to her. She sighed.
The petition for the mayor, Myka had signed it, HG hadn't. Quickly, Helena browsed through the pages and searched for a well-known handwriting. There it was: Myka O. Bering and a few sheets of paper downwards: Peter Lattimer.
Carefully, the agent slid her gloved fingertips over the clipboard, it was as ordinary as the pens and forms from the receptionist. But the pen on it looked special. It was a black one, old and engraved. HG wouldn't be surprised at all if the engravement would have said 'Artifact'. Of course it didn't; it was the name of the children's hospital on the other side of the street. Quickly, the Victorian turned the pen around and found a smaller black stone embedded in the shaft. If somebody would hold the pen sloppy, like if one was writing in a hurry or being Pete, then they could make skin contact with it easily.
Again, Helena sighed and then looked at the receptionist.
"I'm going to need to confiscate this." She told her in an official tone of voice. The other woman shrugged in reaction. It was clear she couldn't explain to herself what a secret service agent wanted with a pen, no matter how fancy it looked. But then she bowed her head.
HG held the pen clutched tightly in her hand as she turned around and headed for the elevator. She had to get to Myka, because the younger agent had stored the static bags inside her room, due to the fact that Helena still was a restricted agent. Those silly rules made the Victorian walk in anxious anticipation of what would await her behind Myka's hotel door. She hoped fervently that the woman she loved would let her inside.