Disclaimer: None of this is mine.

Author's Note: And finally we have reached Claudia's actual appearance in the show. From here on out these chapters will be add-ons to the actual episodes. This chapter consists of two small scenes: one at the very beginning of the episode and one at the very end. It's not one of my favorite pieces, but I just didn't feel like this episode was really missing anything. It still centers just on Claudia. Next chapter we'll finally start seeing her interact with the rest of the Warehouse team. Enjoy!

Down the Rabbit Hole

Warehouse 13 was bigger than Claudia had imagined. She had known it was big, but seeing it in person... It was truly enormous. And it was also in the dead center of nowhere.

"No wonder Indy never found the Ark again," she muttered as she looked up at the giant metal building. If the place went as far back into the mountain as she thought it did, it would be terribly easy to get lost inside and never find a way back out. But she only needed to go in long enough to grab Artie. There was only one car sitting outside of Warehouse 13, and a quick hack into the DMV database had confirmed that it was indeed Artie Neilsen's. He was home alone. Perfect.

Claudia's fresh knowledge of Warehouse 13's system, combined with her hacking skills, made it ridiculously easy to get the front door open. Beyond that was a white tunnel that curved out of sight. Claudia stepped inside and gave the support beams an appreciative nod.

"Nice bombs," she said. She used her finger to flick the plastic casing of one. She already knew they were detonated by signal, not touch. They could sit through an earthquake and not go off. Not that she was particularly eager to test it.

The walk through the tunnel was a short one. A moment later she was at the inner door. This one was almost as easy to open as the front door. Claudia hesitated for a moment, trying to see if she could hear anything inside. Then she carefully pushed the door open and peered into the room.

Someone was slumped over the desk across from the door. Artie. He was clearly asleep, but for a second Claudia worried that the door might have woken him. A loud snore assured her that it hadn't. Claudia couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face.

"Too easy," she muttered.

She stepped over to the desk, handcuffs at the ready. It was time to bring Josh home.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Josh was safe. They had done it. And Claudia wasn't going to jail for kidnapping, either. Artie's coworkers had actually been quite nice once they realized she wasn't trying to hurt him. They had even offered to let her and Joshua stay at the B&B for a time while they regained their footing. Dinner had been the best meal Claudia had eaten in a long time. Her new bed was comfortable and the room was spacious, but it was a new place full of people she didn't know and that always made Claudia a little nervous. In spite of her severe exhaustion, she just couldn't seem to fall asleep.

Finally she gave up. She swung her feet off the bed and stumbled over to the door. The landing outside was dim, but there was some moonlight coming in through the window. It took Claudia a moment to remember which room was Joshua's. She walked over to it and quietly opened the door. There was just enough light in the room for her to make out Josh sound asleep on his bed.

It had taken months for Claudia to realize that she wasn't just hallucinating, that she was actually seeing Joshua. She had spent every waking moment since then trying to find a way to get him back. But through it all, there had always been a voice in the back of her head asking "What if?" What if it really was just a hallucination? What if Doctor Creepy Pants was right? What if she really was crazy? But today she had finally proved to herself and the world that she wasn't. Josh really was alive. They had been wrong and she had been right. And now he was sleeping right there in front of her.

For a moment Claudia just stood there and stared at him. He was really there. He wasn't in her head or trapped in some inter-dimensional space. They had saved him. She had her brother back. So maybe she hadn't given the plan as much thought as she should have. Using Artie's car hadn't been the brightest move ever. Neither was going to the lab in daylight. But she had figured she was already in hot water for kidnapping a federal employee (even though most of the government didn't even know his job existed), so why not add a few more felonies to the list? Besides, at the time she hadn't really cared. The only thing that had mattered was rescuing Joshua. And they had succeeded. Her plan had worked, albeit in a roundabout way. After two years of working and agonizing, Josh was finally free.

He hadn't aged a day in the twelve years he had been gone. He looked just like he had the day he vanished. It was strange to think about. By age he was fourteen years older than she was, but his physical body was only twenty-one. That made them practically the same age. But he still was, and always would be, her big brother.

On an impulse, Claudia stepped into the room. She quietly shut the door behind her before tiptoeing over to Joshua's bed. Then she pulled back the covers and climbed in next to her brother. It was true that she was probably getting a little old to be doing this. But she had missed out on twelve years with Josh and she didn't want to miss a single moment more.

Joshua shifted in his sleep and draped his arm around her. For the first time in years, Claudia suddenly knew that she was going to be okay. She let her eyes drift shut as Joshua's breathing slowly lulled her to sleep.

She slept soundly for the rest of the night.

So this concludes the section of chapters on Claudia's pre-Warehouse employment. How were they? Leave a quick review to let me know. Also, I have these one-shots mapped out pretty far ahead in my mind, but if there's something in particular you would like to see, let me know and I'll see what I can do.