Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: Episode two of season three showed Claudia and Steve going on their first mission together. The first half of this chapter is when they get back to the Warehouse and includes a nice Artie and Claudia moment. The episode also showed Myka's first mission back at the Warehouse. She and Pete get a good moment at the end to deal with her return. But we never really see how Claudia deals with it, so the second half of this chapter deals with that. Enjoy!

Moving Up and Moving On

Artie was sitting at the Warehouse computer when the door to the umbilicus opened.

"The mighty hunters return!" Claudia said, holding up the bag containing the knife.

"Nice work," Leena said as she came into the office from the landing.

"How'd it go?" Artie asked them.

"It got a little crazy there for a minute," Steve admitted. He reached up and rubbed his eye at the memory.

"I thought you said a FedEx run would be too easy," Artie teased as Claudia handed him the bag.

"Next time I stick my foot in my mouth, feel free to ignore me," Steve told him.

"We will," Claudia assured him. Steve made a face at her.

"I'll get this shelved," Leena said, taking the bag from Artie. She looked over at Steve. "You want to come? You haven't seen this sector yet."

"Sure," Steve said. He followed Leena out onto the balcony as she began to fill him in on the sector they were headed to.

"So?" Artie asked once Steve and Leena were out of earshot. "How was he?"

"He'll do," Claudia said approvingly.

"Good," Artie said, turning his chair back to the computer. "Because from now on he's going to be your partner."

"Wait, my partner?" Claudia asked. "Does that mean I'm a real agent?"

"You're too young to be an official Special Agent," Artie informed her. Claudia's face fell a little. "But yes, it has been decided that you are capable of being a Warehouse field agent."

"I'm an agent?!" Claudia cried. "Yes! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!"

She launched herself at Artie, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Can't breathe," Artie choked. Claudia immediately let go and stepped away.

"Sorry," she said seriously. "Does this mean I get a raise?"

"No," Artie said drily. He turned back to his computer, clearly finished with the conversation. When he realized Claudia hadn't moved, he turned back around. "What?"

"Aren't you gonna ask me how I did today?" Claudia asked expectantly.

"I don't need to," Artie told her. "I saw you in action, remember? Besides, you retrieved the artifact and you and Steve came back in one piece. That's all I need to know."

"Seriously?" Claudia asked skeptically.

"I told you that I trust you," Artie said seriously. "I meant it. And I also meant it when I said that I'm proud of you."

A slow smile formed on Claudia's face, making it clear just how much those words meant to her.

"You did good, kiddo," Artie told her.

"Thanks," Claudia said sincerely.

"You're welcome," Artie said. There was a fond smile on his face.

"Well, I, uh... I'm gonna go," Claudia said, motioning awkwardly at the door. She turned and clicked the opener. The door to the umbilicus swung open with its customary beep.

"Oh, before I forget," Artie called. Claudia turned in the doorway. "I want your report by tomorrow morning."

"Report?" Claudia asked.

"Yes, report," Artie told her. "You're a field agent now. Agents write mission reports."

"Great," Claudia groaned. "I already hate this promotion."

She turned and started off down the umbilicus, still grumbling. The heavy door swung shut behind her. Artie shook his head before turning back to the computer.

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

Myka had finished unpacking most of her stuff. Her return wasn't exactly official yet. She still had to meet with the regents in the morning to discuss her probationary status. But after the events of the day, she had a feeling it was going to be okay.

A knock on the door caused her to look up. Claudia was standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Claude," Myka said warmly. She picked up the last small stack of books from the bottom of her footlocker and carried them over to her shelf.

"How was your first day back?" Claudia asked, entering the room.

"Pretty good," Myka said. "I was a little worried at one point, but we got the artifact and everybody's okay. And it gave Pete and I a chance to talk."

"So you guys are good to go?"

"Yeah," Myka said with a nod. "How was Boston?"

"Not bad," Claudia said. "All in all, I'd say it was a successful first mission."

"So you're officially a field agent now?" Myka asked with a smile. She knew how much it meant to Claudia.

"Yup," Claudia said proudly. "I'm all grown up."

"Congratulations," Myka said. "You deserve it."

"You almost unpacked?" Claudia asked. Myka nodded.

"Yep," she said, closing the now-empty foot locker. "My dad's sending the rest of my stuff later this week."

Claudia took a look around the room and nodded approvingly.

"It's almost like you never left," she said. As soon as she said it, she snapped her mouth shut. Suddenly the room felt much smaller and infinitely more awkward.

"Almost," Myka agreed quietly. There it was. The massive elephant in the room. She had talked things over with Leena the night before and now she had apologized to Pete. Artie seemed to have let it all go the moment she came back. But while Claudia had been pleasant enough since her return, the younger girl seemed far more closed off than usual.

"Well, I got some paperwork to do," Claudia said quickly. "Apparently real agents have to write reports."

"Okay," Myka said. She had hoped that maybe they could talk, but Claudia obviously had other plans. "I'll... see you at dinner."

"Yeah," Claudia said. She turned and headed for the door. Myka watched her go, holding her breath in the hope that Claudia would turn around. The younger girl paused in the doorway with her hand on the wooden frame. She hesitated for a long moment before finally turning back around.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked awkwardly.

"Sure," Myka said, sitting down on her bed. "What's up?"

Claudia hesitated a moment before answering. She had her hands jammed into her pockets to keep herself from fidgeting.

"Why'd you leave?" she finally asked.

It was a hard question, but Myka knew it was one she needed to answer.

"I felt like I had betrayed all of you," she explained slowly, thinking it through as she went. "I trusted HG and she nearly destroyed the world. This job requires me to trust my instincts, and after what happened I couldn't do that. I didn't want to risk making another mistake. I thought that the best way to protect all of you was to leave."

"Right," Claudia said sarcastically. "Because you running away helped us out so much."

"Claudia-" Myka began. The younger girl quickly cut her off.

"You're not the only one who trusted HG," Claudia informed her angrily. "You're not the only one that got hurt when she betrayed us. And you leaving didn't make that better. It made it worse. We needed you and you left. And you didn't even say good-bye. So you wrote us some letter. So what? We're your family, Myka. We deserved better than that."

"You're right," Myka said quietly. It was hard not to jump to her own defense, but she needed to do this. Pete had needed her to apologize. Now Claudia needed her to listen. After three months of no contact, she owed her at least that much.

"I get that you were upset, okay?" Claudia told her. "I get that you wanted a timeout. But you didn't have to just disappear. Three months, Myka. We didn't hear a word from you for three months. You could have emailed or called or written us a letter. But you didn't. It was like you just stopped caring. Like we didn't even matter anymore."

"You do matter," Myka said firmly. "I thought about you, about all of you, every day. But I was running away and I couldn't come back. Because if I did, I would have had to face what had happened. And I was too scared."

"You don't know what it was like while you were gone," Claudia said quietly. "Things sucked. Pete was depressed. Like all the time. Artie was actually grumpier than usual. Even Leena got kinda moody for a while."

"I'm sorry," Myka told her. She didn't know what else to say. "I know that doesn't cover it, but I am. And I'm back now. So please let me try to fix this."

"Are you?" Claudia asked. There was an intensity in her eyes that told Myka this was the real root of the problem. "Are you really back?"

"Yes," Myka said firmly.

"Because you told me you weren't going anywhere," Claudia reminded her. "And I believed you. But you left. And now you're back again. And maybe I'm being childish, but I need to know that you're really here to stay because I have lost too many people. So if you're just gonna freak out and leave again, then-"

"I'm not," Myka interrupted firmly. She got to her feet and moved to stand in front of Claudia, trying to drive the point home. "I'm here and I am not leaving."

"You promise?" Claudia asked guardedly.

"I promise," Myka assured her. She meant it with all her heart. Claudia looked up at her for a moment, visibly weighing her words.

"Okay," she said softly. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

"I would expect nothing less," Myka said.

Claudia stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Myka's neck. A giant wave of relief washed over Myka as she returned the embrace. She let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding. She had another chance.

"I'm really glad you came back," Claudia told her.

"Me too," Myka whispered.

After a final squeeze, Claudia pulled away. She reached up to wipe her misty eyes.

"Sorry for going off on you like that," she said awkwardly. "Guess I sounded kinda like a brat, huh?"

"It's okay," Myka assured her. "I think we both needed it." She hesitated a moment. "Are we okay?"

"Yeah," Claudia said with a nod. A slow smile formed on her face. "We're okay."

The moment was broken by Pete suddenly leaning around the doorframe.

"Leena says dinner's ready," he said.

"Okay," Myka said with a grin. "We're coming."

"Well hurry up," Pete said. "There's an unsupervised basket of rolls on the table."

"If you lick them all again, I swear will murder you," Claudia warned him.

"You and what army?" Pete asked. He ducked back around the doorframe.

"Pete!" Claudia yelled. She sprang into action, tearing out of the room after him. "Don't you dare! Pete!"

Myka could hear them both pounding down the stairs. They were still arguing when they skidded into the dining room. Leena's voice came into the mix then, followed a moment later by Steve and Artie. Myka shook her head as she listened to the familiar banter.

"Myka!" Leena called. "Dinner!"

"Coming!" Myka answered.

She paused in the doorway, surveying her room. A smile crossed her face at the sight of everything back where it belonged. It was definitely good to be home.

She turned out the light and headed downstairs.

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