A/N: hopefully those who are reading the story like it so far. I think this might be a three or four chaptered fic. I'm currently working on chapter three. Please remember reviews=happy writers :)

Chapter Two

It was slow at the warehouse so I went to the only bookstore in town. "Myka, I was about to call you. I tracked down that H.G. Wells first edition you wanted. How are you?" The older gentlemen behind the counter greeted me as I walked in.

"I'm pretty good. That's great. I'll pick it up on my way out. How are you?" I leaned against the counter.

"I'm good. But here it is." I watched as Robert brought a book out from under the counter. "I put it in a dust bag to keep it clean and safe."

"Thanks." I flipped through the book and smiled inwardly. As I read passages, Helena's voice ran through my mind.

"That's pretty rare."

I jumped as I heard a familiar purr. Looking up, I was met with a smile. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"The same as you. I'm book hunting."

"Of course you are. Shall we?" Helena followed as I made my way to the back of the store. "The classics are back here."

"A first edition of The Time Machine? That's a hard find Myka."

"And an expensive one." I couldn't help but chuckle. "I have first editions of all of your books except for that one. Now my collection is complete." Helena grinned. "What?"

"I'm flattered." Her grin grew when she noticed a soft blush cross my cheeks. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about. It shows how dedicated you are."

"Yeah, easy for you to say." I couldn't help but murmur as I picked up a book. "Shouldn't you be hiding out somewhere? If anyone sees you…"

"I'll be fine Myka. But I normally stay around my apartment. I had to get out for a few hours. I've read everything I have."

"So the walls were closing in?" Placing the book back, I leaned against the bookcase.

"Yes, I believe so."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "I forget you don't know all the modern lingo. Catching up on a hundred years of history is a lot to take in."

"Yes, I know."

Before I could respond, my phone rang. "Shit. It's Pete. Hey, what's up? I'm in town. Is there something wrong? Oh…you got a lead on her? Where? Right. Okay I'll meet you at the coffee shop." Guilt washed over me. I was torn on what to do.

"What's wrong?" Helena seemed genuinely worried.

Can I really tell her? What's the right thing to do? Turn her in or give her a head start? "They have a lead on where you are. You need to leave. Now. They will be here in ten minutes."

Helena seemed surprised. "Thank you Myka. I appreciate this."

"You're welcome. Just go. There's a back door that way." What the hell did I just do? Helena gave me a final glance before running towards the back. "That's it. I'm insane."

xxx

Since I gave H.G. a heads up, the lead didn't pan out. Artie was livid. "Damn it. We missed her. She needs to be back in the warehouse and bronzed!"

"I'm just curious, but, what did she do that was so horrible?" Claudia spoke quietly. She wanted to know what happened but didn't want to get scolded by Artie.

"Because of her two great agents were killed." Anger rushed through me when Artie spoke. I wanted to defend her but I knew I couldn't. "How could she have gotten away?" Artie grumbled a little more and then dismissed us.

Since there wasn't a ping, I went to my room to grab a book. "Hey Mykes."

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Pete coming up the stairs. "Hey, what's up?"

"Can we take a walk?"

Shit. He knows. Him and his freaking vibes. "Sure." Neither of us spoke until we were away from the B&B. "What's wrong Pete?"

"I got a vibe when Artie was ripping H.G. Is everything okay?"

"What do you mean?" I tried to stay calm. Knowing Pete, he would call me out on something soon.

"Have you seen H.G. since the warehouse?" When I didn't answer, Pete continued. "Mykes…really? When?"

"The night I went for a drink." Please believe me. Please believe me. "She was there and we talked a lot."

"Do you like her? More than just a childhood hero I mean." Pete had that concerned look on his face.

"Why do you ask these questions when you already know the answer?"

"Myka I was joking when I said the two of you would be hot together." He paused, "Well almost joking."

"Yeah, you know that's bull. You'd love to see us together." I sighed. "Are you going to tell Artie?"

"No. I'm not going to tell him." We walked in silence a few minutes. "What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea. How do I get myself in these situations? I always end up in the messy ones that never end well." As we walked back, I thought about all of my past relationships.

Xxx

A few weeks passed and H.G. and I secretly met up for coffee or dinner. "What is it Myka?"

"Nothing. I just feel like a teenager; sneaking around seeing you." I couldn't help but grin. "I never did that as a teen. I always had my nose in a book."

"Well I had a few secret relationships in my day. Many of my lovers were men." I choked on my drink. "Myka are you alright?" Helena placed a worried hand on mine.

I gave a nod. "Yeah. I'm fine." Clearing my throat, I took a long sip of water. "I wasn't expecting that."

"You weren't expecting me to have slept with a few women? I was quite enlightened for the 1800's."

"I just…." What the hell am I supposed to say to that?

"I just keep shattering your childhood don't I?" Helena smirked as she sipped her water.

"Yes you do actually. Thank you for that. You've scared me for life." We both laughed. "Well, I need to go. Pete is covering for me. He knows that I've seen you a few times behind Artie's back."

"And he's trustworthy?" Helena stood and straightened her blazer.

"Yeah he is." After leaving a tip, we walked towards the parking lot. "Well, I'll see you around?"

"Have a lovely night Myka." Before I could stop myself, I grabbed Helena's wrist and spun her around. I startled the older woman when I placed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. My nerves got the best of me before Helena had the chance to kiss me back.

"I-I-I got-ta go." Without another word, I got in my car and drove off. I felt bad for leaving Helena in the dust but I needed to think. I had to calm down before I got back to the B&B. Lena being able to read oras and all. I'm sure she's picked up on something by now. Once I arrived, I went straight to my room. I needed to process the fact that I just kissed H.G. Wells.

"Mykes?" Pete tapped on my door. "You okay?"

"It's open." Closing my book, I placed it beside me. "Hey."

Stepping in cautiously, Pete held out a cup of tea. "I come with peace offerings."

"Everything's okay." Pete looked at me in that 'you're lying' kind of way. "Okay not everything."

"What happened?" Closing the door behind him, Pete came to sit on the bed. "Did she…?"

"No. I kissed…her."

Pete gasped and covered his mouth. "You didn't…."

Oh my God he's such a girl some times. "I did."

"Well, how was it? You gotta spill Mykes." Pete was way too eager to hear this.

"It was just a kiss. I kissed her before I realized what I was doing. Then freaked and ran." That guilt started coming back. I left Helena without an explanation.

"You just left? Come on Mykes. Why? You kiss one woman and freak out."

"You're not helping this, you know? I feel bad enough." Shrugging back against my pillow, I groaned. "What am I doing? I'm so screwed."

xxx

Days passed and no sight of Helena. I couldn't shake the feeling that I burnt any bridge I had with the inventor. Like always, I buried myself in work. A ping had come up about a wrestling team that has lost seven straight years and are suddenly winning. Artie sent Claudia and I to investigate since Pete was grounded.

When we started talking to the coach and students there was nothing but dead ends. While I was talking to a student in the locker room, Claudia saw a second student spontaneously combust. Of course, the two deaths were covered up but luckily Claudia hacked the medical records.

Claudia shrugged. "What could the artifact be?" Before I could reply, the coach pulled out a gold metal that everyone touched. "Well, I'd score that a nine point eight."

"I'll go talk to the coach about the metal. You follow up with the team."

"W-what? Like talk to them?" Claudia was nervous. This was her first field assignment.

"Yeah. That's what investigating is." I had to be hard on her. Claudia was a smart girl but needed a little shove. Once we separated, I went looking around. "Coach,"

"Oh geez. You again? Look, I don't know what you're doing here but I've done nothing to hurt my guys. And if you scare them, I'll have you kicked off this campus."

Xxx

Claudia and I met back in the hallway near the Coach's office. "The coach was no help. How did you make out?"

"About the same. I guess we'll have to goo the metal and hope for the best."

As we approached the office, there was a woman knelt before the trophy case. "Turn around and put your hands in the air." I kept my Tesla drawn. The blood drained from my face when I saw it was H.G. "Helena?"

"Myka, how many times will we be meeting at gun point?" Helena sported that knowing grin. "I know that this is a bit awkward." She lowered her hands slowly.

"Yeah, it is." I sighed and holstered my Tesla. I tried not to show the mental freak out I was having. But the look in Helena's eyes told me she knew.

"What am I missing? You're not arresting her or anything. She killed MacFearson the last time….You've seen her since then haven't you?"

"Claudia, hush. Wipe that grin off your face. And keep this to yourself, please?"

"Oh yeah. I will. This explains a lot though. I'll just, keep watch for the coach as you two work out your issues." I sighed as Claudia placed the vat of goo down and walked towards the door.

"What are you doing here?" I tried to stay professional. But I wanted to apologize for what I did the last time we were together.

"I'm here for the same artifact as you." Helena reached into her pocket and pulled out the metal. "Here, take it. I just want to help."

I took the metal and kept it wrapped in a glove. "Thank you."

Helena gave a simple nod. "Well, I better go."

"H.G., I'm sorry for what I did." I knew Claudia was listening. "I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late and then I obviously freaked out and acted like a child. I shouldn't have…"

"It's quite alright Myka. If you ever want to talk about it when young ears aren't around, we can do that. No harm to foul."

"Thank you." All of us snapped to attention when we heard the coach coming down the hall. "He can't see us in here."

"He can't see you in here. He's not met me yet." H.G. dashed out the door and towards the Coach. "Are you the wrestling team coach?"

"She's good." Claudia grinned as she watched H.G. lay on her devilish charm.

"Yeah…well…whatever. Let's get out of here." I felt better about how I left things with H.G. but I still wanted to explain or talk things out. I didn't want to lose her over a stupid mistake.

Once we were away from the coach and rest of the students, Claudia gooed the metal. Sadly, it wasn't the artifact. "So, what happened between you and H.G.? And don't say "nothing" because that's a load of crap."

"It's complicated." Did Helena know that the metal wasn't the artifact? Would she play me like that? She wouldn't do that to me. Would she?

"You either kissed her or slept with her and then left awkwardly. Which one is it? If you don't answer, I'll assume you slept with her."

Glaring at the teenager, I answered. "I kissed her. And seriously, keep this to yourself. Only you and Pete know."

"I can keep my mouth shut. But we need to figure out what to do next."

"You have to talk to the students again. You're the same age as these kids. Be yourself and connect with them. You can do this Claud. You shouldn't stay behind a computer your whole life."

"Thanks. And okay, I will. What are you going to do?"

"Not sure yet." Claudia and I went our separate ways. I noticed a crowd of people near the parking lot and when I neared, I saw a body. Apparently, the coach was hit by a car and killed.

"Oh wow. This was no accident." Claudia joined me. "Talking to the guys did help some. But I'll have to track down Garry." When Claudia chuckled I looked in the direction she was. "You're girlfriend's here."

"Claudia!"

"What happened?" Every time H.G. stood near me I got a whiff of her perfume. It was alluring and I couldn't help but fall under its spell. Or maybe it's her spell.

"Someone killed the coach. Claudia, stay here and keep an eye on things. We're going to go check something out." Helena and I walked away from the cops and ambulance.

"To answer your question Myka, we are okay. It can be a shock when your body does something your mind isn't ready for. So stop acting so timid around me."

"That helps a lot. I was afraid I screwed things up with you when I didn't see you for a few weeks."

"I just wanted to give you space to think. But that's a conversation for another time. For now, if the coach didn't cause this, who did?" Suddenly, an SVU came screeching towards us. I drew my gun and tried to shoot out the tires but missed. Before we were hit, H.G. wrapped her arm around me and we went soaring into the air. "I do miss the horse and buggy days. Progress is in many ways over rated." Slowly we descended towards the pavement.

"A grappling hook." My heart was pounding in my chest. "Huh."

"Are you okay?" All I could do was nod. "I designed it myself." Helena paused, "What?"

"Nothing. It's just a bit old fashioned."

H.G.'s brow rose. "And here I thought you liked old fashioned things." I felt my cheeks turn a shade of pink. "And it wasn't when I invented it. It seemed to save your life."

That sass. I love it. "Yes it did. And thank you."

"Mmhmm. Let's go Bering. We need to do more investigating if we want to find this artifact and who wanted you killed."

Xxx

"You know this is called breaking and entering." I stood watch as Helena picked the lock on the director's door.

Glancing towards me Helena grinned, "It always has been." When the door opened we entered quickly.

"You take the desk and I'll take the closet." We searched in silence. "So, you built that gun?"

"You were coveting my grappler." I could hear the triumphant smile she had. "Old fashioned indeed."

"Admiring maybe…not coveting." I glanced towards H.G. who was looking through the mail.

"Ah, like you admire other things I have?" Helena chuckled when she heard me drop a coat.

That was so uncalled for. But true…damn it. I couldn't think of a comeback to top that. When I turned, Helena was looking at a closed laptop like it was a foreign object. Well to her it probably is. "Here, let me help." Taking the laptop from her, I opened it and hit the 'enter' button. As we looked through the files, Helena leaned over my shoulder. Her perfume was making it hard to concentrate. Soon we stumbled on a set of photos. "Wow…That's Philip."

"This artifact is turning the boys into perfect specimens and then killing them."

Before we left the office, Claudia called telling us to get to the gym. "Why is there a padlock on a fridge?" Grabbing a weight, I hit the lock and broke it open. The fridge was full of Boiling Point Energy Drinks.

"Every time I've seen Garry he's been chugging one of these. This must be what's making them sick." Claudia grabbed a bottle. "I'll spread the word to stop drinking them."

"Good idea." I looked up the address to the factory on my phone. "The manager and probably the guy who created the drink should be there."

xxx

After we arrived, the creator of the drink showed us around the factory. He explained what all went into the drink and what it was supposed to do. From what he said, it sounded harmless. "You're testing it on the students… There are laws against that."

"It wasn't his idea. It was mine. Hi, I'm Joseph Rustle, the CEO of Boiling Point. There have been rumors that my drink is what has been killing the kids. I'd like to prove to you that that's a lie. Follow me and I'll show you where we keep all the samples from every batch." Mr. Rustle started to walk away.

H.G. leaned in, "This could be a trap."

"It normally always is." There were large tubs of the drink under where we walked. I tuned to Rustle when I saw an artifact looking ladle. "Is that what your people collect samples with?"

"I'm not sure." The man stopped a few feet away.

"Myka, have you heard of Godfred's spoon? His worriers would drink from it before each battle. It would make them stronger because it was foraged from the armor fallen warriors. We looked for it at Warehouse 12." H.G. picked it up with her gloves. "Where did you get this spoon?"

"I don't know. It's always been here."

"Myka!" Claudia came running up the stairs. She explained that the plant was being sold to another company but for some reason the sale hadn't gone through yet. We realized that the man who invented the drink would stand to lose thousands if he didn't keep the deaths quiet.

"This belongs to me." Doctor Mahony grabbed the ladle from Helena. "You have no right to be here."

"You've been here from the start. You would lose everything if the deal doesn't go through. Jerald give them the ladle. Rustle tried to get the spoon but was shoved aside. Claudia tried to get out of the way but was pushed over the backwards and fell into a vat of the drink.

"Claudia!" I watched in horror as she swam to the side and tried to get out. "Grab him!" Helena caught Jerald by the throat as I helped Claudia. "What's going to happen to her?"

"Since the liquid is seeping into her pours she may last an hour…two tops." H.G. joined us while keeping a tight hold on the doctor's throat. "I'm sorry."

"We need something to cool her off. She's starting to burn up. But what can we….amino acids. They come in contact with the metal and amped up the effects."

"I did a lot of research on amino acids for Dr. Morrow. Let me look maybe I can cobble together an antidote." Helena leaned down to cup Claudia's cheek. "Don't move. We'll get you in an ice bath to help cool you down."

"That was a hundred and fifteen years ago!"

"I doubt amino acids have changed a lot since then!"

The good doctor tried to run but I slammed him against the ground. Grabbing Helena's grappler, I pointed it towards Jerald. "You are going to take Agent Wells to your lab and you are going to assist her."

Soon we were able to get Claudia into an ice bath and pour tubs of ice on her. It wasn't doing much but any little bit helps. "Any change?"

"No. She's burning up. We're fighting a losing battle. Do you have anything?"

"I hope so." H.G. looked into my eyes as she tried to comfort me. "Now Claudia, I'm sorry but this isn't going to taste very good." Helena emptied a dropper into Claudia's mouth and we waited. "I know one mission won't allow me to come back. I'm not expecting a miracle. But please try to keep an open mind." She really does want to save Claudia. The look in her eyes…

"Stop having eye sex when I'm about to die." Claudia coughed and gasped for air.

"Hey, how do you feel?" I leaned down. "Let's sit you up."

"Eeehh that's easy for you to say. Did I combust? Because if that guy made me combust I'm going to be pissed."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "No you didn't. But you really should thank H.G. she…" When I turned around she was gone. All that was left was her grappler and a note. Keep it. You can owe me. "She's gone…"

xxx

"I don't care if I'm having a brain transplant. You yank me out of anesthesia and you fill me in. Is that clear?" Artie lectured Claudia and I for a few more minutes. "But good job on the ladle."

"I'm glad she showed up. She saved my life." Claudia looked beat. "Well, I'm going to bed. Who knew almost drowning in a vat of bubbling poison could really take it out of you?"

"Oh Claud, I grabbed you an admission packet for SDU. There are a lot of online classes. You can't apply for the Secret Service without a college degree."

"Thank you." Claudia wrapped me in a tight hug so she could whisper. "I'm sorry she left." All I did was nod. "Alright, goodnight. See you in the morning."

"I'm heading to bed also." Grabbing my bag, I made my way behind Claudia. "Night." Entering my room, I closed the door. I had a box under one of the floorboards that I kept personal stuff in. Thankfully the grappler would fit perfectly. I thought about Helena as my fingers ran over the metal. "Helena…"