Disclaimer: I own nothing but the boxes.

Author's Note: Episode seven is the only episode after her character's introduction in which Claudia doesn't actually make an appearance. So I made up a story about where I think she was during that time. Enjoy!

A Leap of Faith

Claudia stared at the Warehouse monitor, her fingers idly tapping the desk beside the keyboard. It was the next to last day of the month. In two days it would be the first. That meant rent was almost due on her small apartment at Mrs. Richmond's place. In two days the program Claudia was staring at would carefully siphon money out of selected bank accounts and transfer it over to pay the bill. Unless she chose to terminate it.

Her humor and wit meant that Claudia often came across as fun and spontaneous. But she had been around long enough to know the value of a good back-up plan. She had been at the Warehouse just over a month now. Her last payment had occurred before Josh left, back when Warehouse 13 had been little more than a temporary way station. Even after she chose to stay, she had decided to keep the apartment open just in case things went south. She had even left most of her things there. She kept telling Leena she would go get them, but in truth she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Only it hadn't. In fact, just the opposite. Things had been going remarkably well. Leena offered Claudia whatever advice she wanted whether it be about Warehouse 13 or just life in general. Pete had automatically adopted Claudia as a sort of little sister and treated her as such. It was comforting to finally have an older brother again. Myka and Claudia had started up a sort of fledgling friendship despite the fact that they seemed to have little in common. And while Artie was still his usual grumpy self, Claudia felt certain that she was growing on him. For the first time in years, she finally felt like she had found somewhere she belonged.

The Warehouse door opened and Claudia looked up to see Leena coming in.

"Hey," Leena said with a smile.

"Did you get Artie to the airport in one piece?" Claudia asked, draping her arm over the back of the chair.

"Barely," Leena said, making a face. "Flying turns him into a big baby."

"Well, the invention of the airplane did occur during his mid-life crisis," Claudia explained with mock seriousness. Leena laughed.

"What are you working on?" she asked as she came over to the computer.

"Nothing," Claudia said vaguely. She minimized the program, hoping it looked casual. "Have you heard anything from Pete and Myka?"

"Not since they left Dickinson's office," Leena said, deciding to ignore the obvious subject change. "Artie said he'll call when he meets up with them."

"So what do we do until then?" Claudia asked. Leena shrugged.

"I'm sure there's inventory you could be doing," she offered.

"Leena," Claudia said with an incredulous look, "in case you haven't noticed, Artie is gone. Why in the world would I be working?"

"Or we could always play Monopoly again," Leena said with a gleam in her eye. Claudia groaned and leaned forward to put her face in her hands.

"Oh, please no," she moaned. "I think my brain will explode if I have to sit through another four hours of that."

Leena laughed.

"I'm sure you can find something to do," she said. She headed over to the door that led out onto the balcony overlooking the Warehouse.

"Do not pass Go, do not collect the Monopoly board," Claudia warned as she turned back to her computer. Once the innkeeper was out of the office, Claudia pulled the program back up and stared at the script. It was time to make a decision.

"Hey Leena?" she called.

"Yes?" Leena said, leaning back into the room.

"Would it... be okay if I... took tomorrow off?" Claudia asked awkwardly.

"Why?" Leena asked as she stepped back into the office."

"I just figured that, you know, I've been here like a month now and, you know, maybe it's time to... go get the rest of my stuff."

"I agree," Leena said with a warm smile. "Do you want me to come?"

"I've got it," Claudia assured her. "It'll take a couple of days and Artie might have a stroke if we were both out."

"That he might," Leena agreed. "I can book you a flight if you want. That way it won't take so long to get there."

"I think I'd rather drive," Claudia said. This was something she needed to do for herself. She grinned. "Besides, maybe I can stop off in Vegas and refill my pockets."

Leena rolled her eyes.

"If you get caught cheating, I'm not coming after you," she warned.

"Yes, Mom," Claudia said, rolling her eyes as she turned back to her computer. "And on that note, I am heading to bed. You wouldn't want me falling asleep at the wheel."

"No, I wouldn't," Leena agreed. "It's too much insurance paperwork if you crash."

"You sound like Artie," Claudia told her. Leena grinned.

"Good night," she said, heading back out onto the landing. "Drive safe tomorrow."

"Will do," Claudia assured her. Once Leena had gone, Claudia turned back to the computer and took one last look at the siphoning program on the screen.

"Sayonara, baby," she said quietly.

She typed in the command to terminate the program.

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

Claudia's trip took a total of two days. Most of the first day was spent driving back to the apartment and boxing things up. Taking down what she had dubbed the Search for Artie took some time. Then she had to decide which books she wanted to keep and which ones she could settle for using the Warehouse copies of. By the time she finished, it was late into the night. It only took her a few minutes to fall asleep.

The second day she loaded her things into the car and cleaned the apartment before talking to Mrs. Richardson. The woman didn't seem to mind that Claudia hadn't given any notice as long as the place was clean. After heading over to the Thai place for one last meal, Claudia began the drive back to the Warehouse. It was official now. She no longer had a back-up. All her eggs were in one basket. Hopefully no one decided to drop it.

It was late when she got back to the B&B. There were a few lights on inside. Pete and Myka's cars were both parked in the driveway. Claudia parked the car and grabbed one of the three large boxes out of the back before heading in.

"Marco?" she called, pushing the front door open.

"Polo!" Pete and Myka both called. Claudia stepped inside to see the two older agents in the living room. Myka was sitting on the couch and Pete was in the large chair across from her. They seemed to have been discussing something, but they both smiled at Claudia.

"Hey guys," Claudia said, balancing the box against the wall.

"Hey, you got your stuff!" Pete said, seeing the box.

"You want some help?" Myka offered.

"Sure," Claudia said. "There's not that much."

"Allow us to be of service," Pete said, standing up and giving a bow.

Claudia laughed. She held the door with her foot while Pete and Myka went out to the car. Myka came back first, carrying the lighter of the two boxes. When Pete reached the door a moment later, he was puffing.

"Geez, Claudia," he complained. "What's in this thing?"

"The remnants of my rather extensive book collection," Claudia admitted guiltily.

"A girl after my own heart," Myka said with approval as they started up the stairs.

Claudia and Myka reached the top with ease. Pete seemed to be having a bit more trouble with the heavy box.

"You okay back there, G.I. Joe?" Claudia called teasingly from the top.

"Fine," Pete huffed. "I'll get there... eventually."

Claudia shrugged and headed for her bedroom door. Myka followed suit.

"So how was your trip?" Myka asked as Claudia kicked open the door to her room.

"Long," Claudia admitted. "Did I miss anything exciting?"

"Not really," Myka told her. She glanced at the room (which, aside from a few clothes, barely even looked lived in) and then back at Claudia. "Where do you want this?"

"Anywhere is fine," Claudia said, setting the box she was carrying on her bed. Myka set the one she was carrying beside the bed. "How was D.C.?"

"It's a long story," Myka said vaguely. A frown had appeared on her face.

"Meaning what?" Claudia asked carefully. Myka paused for a moment.

"Ask Artie," she said finally. With that she turned and headed back toward the stairs.

"Okay," Claudia said, slightly confused. Pete finally stumbled into her room just then. He set the heavy box down with a thud.

"Whew," he wheezed. "We really need to talk to Leena about getting an elevator."

"Is Myka mad at Artie?" Claudia asked. Pete hesitated before answering.

"Yeah," he breathed.

"Why?" Claudia asked. "What happened?"

"Short version?" Pete asked. Claudia nodded. "Artie withheld some important info during the D.C. mission that might have been helpful for us to know."

"What information?" Claudia asked.

"Well, first off, he forgot to mention what the sword actually did," Pete said. Then he added, "It makes people invisible."

"I knew that was possible!" Claudia exclaimed.

"I know, right?" Pete said with a grin. "Anyway. Somebody was trying to get to the sword before us, so Artie used us as bait and then he wanted us to use Dickinson as bait and now Myka thinks that Artie thinks that we're just red shirts."

"That's kind of intense," Claudia said sympathetically.

"Yeah," Pete agreed. "Did you know that Artie was accused of treason?"

"What?" Claudia asked in confusion.

"During the Cold War he worked as a code-breaker for the NSA," Pete explained. "Then he was accused of trading secrets to the Russians. Mrs. Frederic scrubbed his record, but he had to change his name. His real name is Arthur Weisfelt."

"Dude," Claudia said in amazement. "I didn't even know that."

"It gets worse," Pete told her. "The other person who wanted the sword? He was working for a guy named James Macpherson who happens to be Artie's former partner."

"This guy's Warehouse?" Claudia asked incredulously. Pete nodded. "That's seriously messed up. But you did get the sword, right?"

"Only because Artie let MacPherson stab him in the shoulder with it," Pete said.

"What?!" Claudia gasped. "Is he okay?!"

"Yeah, he's fine," Pete quickly assured her. "It's the sharpest sword in the world. He barely even needed stitches. But he did get a lecture from Mrs. Frederic."

"Ooh," Claudia winced. Pete nodded with a grimace.

"Yeah," he said sympathetically. "And now Myka's pretty pissed at him."

"I bet," Claudia said.

"You know what might cheer her up?" Pete said suddenly. "Scotchies."

"Oh, no," Claudia said, knowing where he was headed. "I am so not falling for that."

"Come on," Pete whined. "I know you know where Leena keeps her stash."

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna tell you," Claudia said, inching towards the door.

"Pleeease," Pete begged.

"Nope," Claudia said. She shook her head and backed out the door towards the stairs.

"Claudia!" Pete called in mock anger. Claudia jumped back and raced down the stairs two at a time. Pete pounded after her. He caught up with her as she entered the living room, grabbing her up and spinning her around. Myka came in from the kitchen just then with a book in her hand. She started laughing at the sight of them.

"Myka!" Claudia called. "Help!"

"Oh, no," Myka said firmly. "I am not getting involved in that."

Pete set Claudia down and the two of them looked at each other and then at Myka.

"You know what sounds really good?" Pete asked mischievously. "A Myka sandwich."

"No," Myka said, quickly shaking her head.

"I agree," Claudia said.

"Pete," Myka warned as he and Claudia both converged on her. She tried to back up, but they were too fast. "No. No, don't you dare! Pete!"

Pete and Claudia both caught hold of her in a giant crushing hug. Myka tried to wriggle free, but only succeeded in tripping all three of them. They crashed onto the couch in a tangle of limbs that actually pushed the piece of furniture back a few inches. It took a moment for them all to disentangle themselves and a bit longer for the laughter to subside. When it finally did, the three of them were slumped on the couch in exhaustion.

"It's good to be back," Pete said wearily. He didn't particularly care for hotels.

"Yeah," Myka agreed quietly. "It is."

A comfortable silence fell as the three of them soaked up the rare moment of relaxation together at the B&B.

"So Claudia," Pete said, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "About those Scotchies..."

Claudia groaned. But as Pete's protests and Myka's laughter washed over her and as the front door opening signaled Leena's return to the B&B, Claudia couldn't help but smile. She had made the right call in letting the apartment go. She already had everything she needed.

Back-up plans were overrated anyway.

I've been slightly disappointed with the almost total lack of feedback on the last two chapters. So I'm switching tactics. If you don't leave a review, I'll send ninjas after you with the Honjo Masamune. You won't even be able to see them until it's too late. For all you know, they could be standing behind you right now... In other words, please leave a review. Thanks.