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Author's Note: I finally got to write a chapter with HG! This episode involved Pete and Myka using HG's temporal consciousness transfer engine to go back in time and try to track down an artifact. It was also HG's first episode as an official member of the team, although Artie clearly does not trust her. While Claudia is extremely nervous around HG at the beginning, she seems to have come around by the end. The two of them have a lot in common and I think they would have developed a really cool friendship during HG's stay. Their brief interaction in later episodes implies that they got to be pretty close. This is how I think that friendship might have started up. Enjoy!

Birds of a Feather

"There," Helena said, putting the last nail in the panel on the giant crate. "Good as new. Or rather, old."

"Wow," Claudia said appreciatively. "Artie would have never even noticed if he hadn't come back early."

"Well, some things can't be helped," Helena said. She looked down at the nail gun in her hand. "This is quite a handy device. No more smashing thumbs with hammers."

"You'd be surprised," Claudia said drily. "And if you think that's cool, you should see the stuff Artie won't let me touch."

"I'm guessing that doesn't stop you," Helena said with a smile.

"Only when he's in the room," Claudia admitted with a grin. Helena chuckled.

"You know, you remind me of myself at your age," she said.

"Thanks," Claudia said. "I think."

"It was meant as a compliment," HG assured her.

"If you say so," Claudia said. She paused with her hand resting on top of the crate. "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened to your daughter."

"It's in the past now," HG said quietly.

"That doesn't make it any easier," Claudia pointed out. She hesitated, not sure if she could bare this much of her soul to a woman she barely knew. "I, uh... When I was little, my parents and my sister died in a car crash."

"I'm sorry," HG said sympathetically.

"They've been gone a long time, but some days it still hurts," Claudia admitted. "I feel like I got cheated out of something, you know? Like there's this whole life I should have had. And now I can barely even remember them."

"Loss is a difficult thing," HG said.

"Yeah," Claudia agreed. "But I got lucky in a way. My big brother Joshua was still around. He basically raised me. Well, until he messed with an artifact and got sucked into an inter-dimensional space. I actually thought he was dead. It took me about ten years to finally realize that he was alive. And trapped. Once I figured that out, I got kinda obsessed with trying to save him. That's actually how I ended up here. I tracked down Artie and made him help me save Josh."

"You brought him back," HG concluded. Claudia nodded.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "It was a little weird too, 'cause he hadn't aged at all in twelve years so now we're basically the same age. Anyway." She shook her head to help herself refocus. "After we got him back, I started to think that maybe I could save Claire and my parents too. Maybe I could use something in the Warehouse to go back in time and fix what happened. But I can't."

"You can't change the past," HG said wistfully.

"Right," Claudia agreed. "But it's more than that. I spent almost two years trying to get Josh back. And yeah, it worked. But not everybody can be saved. I don't want to spend the rest of my life trying to change something that I can't."

"You're talking about Christina," HG said quietly.

"I'm just saying maybe it's time to let the past go," Claudia explained. "Not let her go. Hold on to her memory. But let the rest of it go. Stop living in the past."

HG nodded in understanding.

"If my parents had survived, I might never have found the Warehouse," Claudia continued. "And I'm not saying that I'm okay with them dying because I'm not. I would do anything to have them back. Endless wonder is not a fair trade for growing up with two parents who loved me. But I think it's one that I can live with. And you know, maybe... maybe the present isn't such a bad place to be."

"You, my dear, are wise beyond your years," HG said seriously.

"Yeah, well," Claudia said, ducking her head in embarrassment. "Tell that to Artie."

"He already knows," HG assured her. She took a deep breath to gather herself. "Speaking of Artie. I should probably go be sure he hasn't strangled Myka." Her tone made it clear that she was only half joking.

"Hey, wait a sec," Claudia said awkwardly. "Um... You were right. This morning. You do- did make me nervous. But it wasn't you fault. It's just that Artie's done a lot for me and he's usually a pretty good judge of character, so when he didn't trust you-"

"It's alright," Helena interrupted. "I understand."

"The thing is," Claudia said slowly, "Artie was wrong. You're not a bad person. In fact, you're pretty awesome. And you've saved me, and Artie, and Pete and Myka. Well, at this point, I guess you've pretty much saved everybody. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is..." She held out her hand. "Welcome to Warehouse 13."

Helena smiled and took her hand.

"Thank-you," she said sincerely. Claudia nodded.

"By the way," she said, motioning at the crate with her thumb, "this thing is pretty awesome. Did you do a lot of inventing?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," HG told her. "I actually helped design your Tesla guns."

"No way!" Claudia cried.

"Nikola Tesla and I met in 1893," HG explained. "We actually worked on several projects together. He taught me mechanics and I taught him that women could be just as brilliant as men."

"That is so cool," Claudia said. "I actually did some work on the Teslas so you don't have to charge them anymore."

"That's quite brilliant," HG praised. "You shall have to show me how you did it."

"Okay," Claudia said with a wide grin. "I've got some other projects that I'm working on right now. Maybe you could take a look at 'em and help a sister out?"

"I'd like that very much," HG said. There was a bright smile on her face.

"Awesome!" Claudia said. She could barely contain her excitement. "I'm gonna be working with HG Wells!"

"I was not aware you were such a fan," HG teased.

"You have no idea," Claudia assured her. "Myka and I are actually reading through a bunch of your work. We're on The Island of Dr. Moreau right now. And since I'm already being a total fangirl, I might as well ask now. I have a book with a bunch of your work and I was wondering if you would sign it?"

"I would be delighted," HG said.

"Sick!" Claudia cried. This time she couldn't contain an excited jump. HG laughed.

"I assume that's a good thing?" she asked.

"Oh, definitely," Claudia assured her. "We're gonna have to get you caught up on modern lingo. And movies. And fast food." Claudia inhaled sharply as her eyes suddenly widened. "You've never had a cheeseburger, have you? We definitely need to fix that."

"Let's make a deal, shall we?" HG offered. "I shall assist you on your projects and you can 'catch me up' on everything I need to know."

"Deal," Claudia said gamely. She held out her hand and HG took it with a firm shake. "You know, Artie said he'd give me the day off tomorrow. We could go hit up Univille. Get lunch at McDonalds, have some ice-cream, maybe go to the videogame arcade?"

"I'll clear my schedule," HG said. She sounded excited. "I have a feeling you and I are going to be very good friends."

"Me too," Claudia agreed. "Oh! And today is Friday, which means takeout dinner, probably pizza, and team movie night in Pete's room. And as an official part of the Warehouse team, I think it's only fair that you join us."

"I'd like that," Helena said. Her smile was even bigger than before.

"Great," Claudia said with a grin. "'Cause Pete and I were talking about maybe watching Iron Man."

"What's that?" Helena asked curiously.

"Oh, it's this awesome movie," Claudia said as they began to walk down the aisle back toward the front of the warehouse. "You'll love it. It's about this guy who's an inventor, right? And he makes this sick armored suit..."

This is the part where you leave a review. :) Thanks again to everyone who has been kind enough to give feedback thus far!