Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: This was one of my very favorite episodes. It showed Warehouse teams from three different eras (HG and her partner, Jack and Rebecca, and Artie and co.) interacting with the same artifact: Joshua's trumpet. The modern day team uses the hologram sphere to bring HG along as a consultant. By the end, she and Myka appear to have mended their relationship. HG seems to have a particular soft spot for Claudia, which seems to me to imply that the two of them probably developed a close friendship/mentorship while HG was living at the Warehouse. With that in mind, I wanted Claudia to also get a chance to sort of make peace with HG. This chapter came out of that, plus a tad bit more closure on Myka's side of thing. It also touches once again on my own weird headcanon that Claudia and Myka read HG Wells novels together. Don't ask where that came from because I'm not completely sure myself. Enjoy!

In Search of Closure

"Alright," Pete said as he and Myka back into the office. "The horn is on the shelf and the Warehouse walls have not come tumbling down. I say we call it a day."

Myka walked over to Artie with the sphere held reverently in her hands.

"Here," she said, holding it out to him. Artie looked at her carefully as he took it. Myka gave him a nod and a small reassuring smile. Everything was okay.

"I don't know about you guys," Pete said, heading for the door, "but Elvis is leaving the building."

"I'm coming with you," Myka said as she picked up her bag.

"We'll be there as soon as we clean up all... this," Artie said, motioning at the mess of files and papers covering the workstation.

"Later," Pete said. He waved over his shoulder as the umbilicus door swung open. Myka followed him out and then the door swung shut.

"I'm going to go call Mrs. Frederic," Artie said, getting to his feet, "and tell her we're finished with the sphere."

Claudia eyed the sphere sitting on his desk as Artie picked up his Farnsworth.

"Artie?" she asked suddenly. He looked over at her questioningly. "Before she gets here, can... can I talk to HG? Just for a minute."

Artie looked over at the sphere and then back at Claudia who was holding her breath. During HG's short stay at the Warehouse, she and Claudia had become remarkably close. Her betrayal had hit the younger girl hard. It seemed the sphere had allowed Myka to finally get the closure she needed. Maybe it was time to let Claudia have some as well.

"Okay," he agreed. "But when Mrs. Frederic gets here-"

"Lights out," Claudia finished. "I got it."

She picked up the sphere and headed toward the balcony outside the office.

"Where are you going?" Artie asked curiously.

"Chill, Artimus," Claudia called. "I'll bring her back."

The office door closed behind her. Now alone on the landing, Claudia flicked the sphere open. A beam of light came out and the hologram of HG appeared. She seemed a bit surprised, but she smiled when she saw Claudia.

"Hello, darling," she said warmly.

"Your ride's on its way," Claudia explained. "I thought maybe we could... hang out until it got here."

"Righty ho, then," HG said. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good," Claudia said honestly. "I'm a field agent now."

"Congratulations!" HG said excitedly. "That's wonderful!"

"It's pretty cool," Claudia agreed. "I'm partnered with Steve, the new guy. He used to be ATF, but I'm the senior agent because I've been here longer."

"I'm sure you don't let him forget it, either," HG teased.

"Nope," Claudia said with a smug smile. "Oh! You know those Tesla grenades we talked about? I actually made one. Zapped three guys in one go."

"Brilliant!" HG said with a grin. "I knew you could do it."

"And I made a mini Tesla too. It's small enough to fit in a pocket so we could us it if we ever did any serious undercover stuff. I'm working on a Tesla rifle now. Something with a little more range."

"My dear, you are a truly talented young woman," HG told her with a shake of her head. She sobered a little, a sad smile on her face. "I wish I could see you in action."

"Me too," Claudia said softly.

"Claudia-" HG began. Claudia shook her head.

"Don't," she interrupted. "I get it, okay? You lost your daughter and you were trying to make sense of that. I mean, yeah, I was pissed as hell that you tried to cause the apocalypse. But I've had some time to think about it and... I get it. When Josh was trapped, I would have happily sent the whole world to hell to get him back. I'm not saying that you betraying us didn't hurt, because it did. It hurt a lot. It still does. But this thing is... I forgive you."

HG's eyes were glistening with tears by the time Claudia finished.

"Thank-you," she whispered. A single tear slipped free. She reached up and quickly wiped it away. "I truly am sorry for what happened. My greatest regret in all of this is that I hurt you and Myka. I never wanted that."

"I know," Claudia said softly.

"If I could go back," HG lamented, "if I could change what I did..."

"But you can't," Claudia finished.

"I'm afraid not," HG said quietly.

"I wish there was something we could do," Claudia said. She reached up and ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

"About what?" HG asked in confusion.

"You," Claudia said, gesturing at the hologram. "I wish we could get you out of there. You were hurting and you did something stupid and you've learned from it. That doesn't mean you deserve to spend the rest of your life in a pokéball."

If anything, HG teared up even more.

"Oh, my dear Claudia," she said, a watery smile on her face. "I have missed you."

"I miss you too," Claudia said sincerely. "It's not the same without you." A small smile tugged at her mouth. "I still haven't beaten your Mario Kart time, by the way. Can't believe I lost to a Victorian lady."

"I am a woman of many talents," HG teased.

"Apparently," Claudia agreed.

The office door opened then and Artie leaned out onto the landing.

"Mrs. Frederic is here," he told Claudia.

"Already?" Claudia said in surprise. Artie nodded.

"You should wrap things up," he told her. He headed back into the office, closing the door behind him. Claudia shook her head.

"I swear that woman has superpowers," she muttered.

"It's entirely possible," HG agreed.

An awkward silence fell as they tried to figure out how to say good-bye.

"I know I've no right to say this," HG said seriously, "but I want you to know that you mean a great deal to me. And no matter what I have done, you will always hold a special place in my heart. I only wish I could be here to see the wonderful woman you will become."

Now it was Claudia whose eyes were wet.

"I wish I could hug you," she choked as she wiped her eyes. HG chuckled.

"As do I," she said.

"Well, um..." Claudia looked away briefly, unsure of what to say. "Maybe... maybe I'll see you around?"

"I certainly hope so," HG told her. Claudia smiled a little. Then she looked down at the sphere in her hands and swallowed. She took a deep breath before looking up again.

"Bye, HG," she said quietly. HG gave her the fondest smile she could manage.

"Good-bye, darling."

Claudia twisted the top of the sphere. The hologram of HG shimmered and then disappeared into the sphere. Suddenly Claudia was alone on the landing.

"See you around," she whispered.

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

It was a quiet night at the B&B. Myka had decided to take advantage of the nice weather by sitting out on the porch. The peace and stillness were quite relaxing.

She heard footsteps behind her and looked up to see Claudia coming outside.

"You've been out here a while," Claudia said, sitting down in the wicker chair beside Myka's. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Myka told her. "Just thinking."

"About HG?" Claudia asked carefully.

"A little bit," Myka admitted.

"It was kinda nice to have her back," Claudia said quietly. Myka nodded.

"It was," she agreed.

"I, um, I talked to her a little after you guys left," Claudia admitted.

"How did that go?" Myka asked. Claudia hesitated, looking down at the porch.

"I told her I forgave her," she said finally. She looked over at Myka to see how the older agent would react.

"Really?" Myka asked in interest.

"After the whole trident thing," Claudia explained, "I thought that maybe she had just been using us the whole time. But I know now that it wasn't like that. She does care about us. And if she could change things, she'd do it. But she made a mistake and now she has to pay for it. I think her own guilt is heavy enough without us hating her too."

A fond smile crossed Myka's face.

"When did you get so smart?" she asked. Claudia shrugged.

"I also have a great sense of humor," she said. Myka grinned. Claudia smiled back at her before sobering a little. "So... are you two okay?"

"Yeah," Myka said slowly. "I think we are now."

"You know," Claudia said, trying to sound nonchalant, "I had to finish reading my Wells collection by myself."

Myka smiled.

"Is that supposed to be a guilt trip?" she asked.

"Depends. Is it working?"

"A little," Myka said. "My mother did always say there's no such thing as being too old to be read to."

"Good," Claudia said. She lifted her right hand above the tabletop to reveal that she was holding the thick book. "Because I just so happen to have it with me."

"What a coincidence," Myka teased. She took a look around the porch. "I think it's a little dark to be reading out here though."

"Well, what do we have here?" Claudia asked, holding up her left hand. There was a gooseneck book light in it. She looked over at Myka with a grin. "Imagine that."

Myka chuckled and held out her hand. Claudia passed her the book and light before scooting her chair closer to Myka's.

"Alright," Myka said, attaching the book light. "What are you in the mood for?"

"I vote Modern Utopia," Claudia said. Myka flipped through the book until she found the right page.

"Righty-ho then," she said, looking over at Claudia. Claudia nodded.

"Righty-ho."

For those of us still in school, Christmas break is almost here. :) Best of luck to everyone finishing up projects, classes, finals, etc!