Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: This chapter marks more or less the halfway point in season two. Episode six of season two involved Pete touching an artifact that caused him to hallucinate an entire conspiracy fantasy and nearly kill Mr. Valda, one of the regents. During the episode Claudia also discovered and hacked into the contingency file the regents have on her. This chapter takes place near the end of the episode with some of the end dialogue actually being taken from the show. For those of you who are Artie fans, he features fairly heavily in this chapter and will also be central to the chapter for episode eight. Enjoy!

I'll Drink to That

It was a surprisingly quiet evening at the B&B. Myka and Pete had retreated upstairs to discuss recent events in private. Leena was finishing cleaning up the kitchen while Artie sat at the dining room table doing paperwork. Claudia had taken up a seat in the living room with her new guitar and was carefully practicing one of the new songs she was learning to play. As she played, she began to quietly sing the lines. She got halfway through the song before she paused momentarily to check her fingering.

"That was beautiful," a voice said. Claudia jerked in surprise. She looked up to see Artie standing across the room. The table behind him was free of documents, all of them packed into the bag hanging from his shoulder.

"Geez, Artie," Claudia said accusingly. "You weren't supposed to be listening."

"Well, then you shouldn't be playing in the living room," Artie told her. He went over to the couch across from her and sat down. "You're pretty good."

"Thanks," Claudia said. A small smile crossed her face, washing away her mild irritation.

"What song was that?" Artie asked curiously.

"'Everything' by Lifehouse," Claudia told him. "It's been on Smallville and some other stuff."

"It's a nice song," Artie said.

"Yeah, I like it," Claudia agreed.

"So," Artie said, his expression suddenly awkward. "You and Todd..."

"Yeah," Claudia sighed.

"When did you break up?" Artie asked curiously.

"After Hugo's pushier half tried to take over the Warehouse," Claudia told him.

"What happened?" Artie asked. Realizing that she might not want to talk about it, he hurried added, "If you don't mind my asking."

"Nah, it's cool," Claudia said. She shrugged. "He just said he didn't think it was a good idea for us to see each other anymore."

"That's it?" Artie asked in surprise. "No big explanation?"

"Nope," Claudia said. "I mean, my job consumes most of my life and I can't exactly tell him about it. Maybe that was part of it."

"It's not your fault," Artie told her.

"I know, I know," Claudia said. "It's not me, it's him. Myka already gave me the spiel."

"Actually, what I meant was..." Artie trailed off as his brain caught up with his mouth. "No, that was basically what I meant. Is there anything that I can do?"

"As long as we're still stocked with Rocky Road, I think I'm good," Claudia joked.

"Are you sure?" Artie asked.

"I'm okay, Artie," Claudia assured him with a hint of a smile.

"Well, if you're sure," Artie said. He started to get up, but then he sat back down as an idea suddenly occurred to him. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What a minute. Is that the reason Todd's car vomited glitter all over him?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Claudia said as innocently as possible.

"I'm sure you don't," Artie said drily. He was clearly not convinced.

"So is Pete in big trouble?" Claudia asked, intentionally changing the subject.

"Mrs. Frederic put him on temporary leave," Artie told her. "But there shouldn't be any permanent ramifications."

"What about Mr. Balding?" Claudia asked.

"You mean Mr. Valda?" Artie corrected with a raised eyebrow.

"Same difference," Claudia said, waving him off.

"I think right now he's just glad to be alive," Artie admitted.

"Yeah, Pete almost cooked his bacon," Claudia agreed.

"Maybe this will help convince the Regents exactly why they shouldn't be involved in fieldwork," Artie said. There was a slight hint of rebellion in his tone that only showed when he felt like the higher-ups were meddling more than they needed to.

"I'll drink to that," Claudia said strongly.

"You know," Artie said, "after our completely unnecessary intervention, I think I've had more than enough talk of drinking for the time being."

A sudden devilish gleam entered Claudia's eyes.

"Well, in that case," she said slyly. "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die."

"That's not even funny," Artie told her.

"You can lead the horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

"Do you really have to do this?"

"Man, your lectures are a big drink of water."

"Claudia."

"I am just drinking this up."

"You're going to drive me to drink," Artie told her irritably as he got to his feet. Claudia grinned in triumph.

"You never know," she teased. "It might liven you up a little."

"I'm leaving now," Artie said pointedly. "If anyone needs me, I'll be at the Warehouse."

"Oh, Artie!" Claudia called. She jumped up from her chair, grabbing up the piece of paper she had set by the computer. "Listen, I understand the need for that contingency file. So. If you ever have to take me out..."

She held out the piece of paper with the back up so he could see the extra option she had penciled in. Artie took the list from her, suspicion evident on his face. He quickly read what she had written before looking up at her in mild surprise.

"This is how you want to die?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah," Claudia said emphatically.

"Well, I do know how to reach David Bowie," Artie said. He handed back the sheet of paper to a suddenly ecstatic Claudia.

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she headed for the stairs. "You rock!"

Artie shook his head as he opened the front door and let himself out.

"Sometimes I think I'm being used," he muttered.

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