Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: This episode sent Pete and Claudia after an artifact that buries people alive while Myka and Steve stayed at the Warehouse to help Artie. In a Farnsworth call to Myka, Pete comments that bringing Claudia into the field was a good idea. But I have a feeling that after Artie's trial with the regents, she was in no mood to go anywhere. So the first part of this chapter is Pete trying to convince a slightly depressed Claudia to come on the snag with him. Throughout the episode Claudia gradually comes to terms with the fact that she really did stab Artie to save him and that she needs to be there for him now instead of staying away. Artie also comes to terms with the fact that he has to let the rest of the team help him deal with his own emotional struggle. The second half of this chapter comes on the heels of that and shows the team beginning to let Leena go because I didn't feel like we really got to see that in the show. I actually really like this chapter, so hopefully you guys do too. Enjoy!

Memory Loves Company

Claudia had been staring at the same piece of paper for the last twenty minutes. She had sat down at her desk telling herself she was going to make some progress on her stack of unfiled mission reports, but about five lines into it her brain had given up trying to form coherent sentences. Instead it had fallen back into a loop of reliving the last few days over and over again. No matter how she tried, she couldn't seem to stop seeing it.

She was pulled back to the present by her door swinging open dramatically.

"Guess what?" Pete's cheery voice called. "We got us a ping!"

He dropped himself down on the end of Claudia's bed with a loud thud.

"Great," Claudia said without looking up. "Have fun."

"I will," Pete informed her. "And so will you, because you are coming with me."

Claudia gave him a raised eyebrow over her shoulder.

"Don't you have a partner?" she asked him.

"Well, yeah," Pete said. "But Mykes wants to stay here and keep an eye on Artie, so she said to take you instead."

Claudia turned her chair around and crossed her arms as she gave Pete a long look.

"You and Myka just want to get me out of the B&B," she informed him flatly.

"Maybe," Pete admitted.

"Well, as you can see," Claudia said, motioning at her desk, "I have work to do."

"Come on, Claude," Pete practically begged. "This is a cool one! A guy got sucked into the ground and suffocated to death."

"Quicksand," Claudia threw over her shoulder as she turned back to the desk. Pete got up and walked over to stand behind her.

"The hikers that found him said they felt a tremor first," he said enticingly.

"Earthquake," Claudia said, still completely unconcerned. She picked up her pen and placed her hand back on the page.

"They also saw a weird blue light," Pete added.

"Aliens," Claudia said calmly. "Or the hikers are on drugs."

"Fine," Pete said in surrender. He reached down and took hold of Claudia's chair, spinning it around so she had to face him. "The truth is that you've been kinda closed off after everything, and Myka and I are worried about you. She thinks taking you into the field might be a good way to take your mind off of everything."

"Pete, I'm fine," Claudia told him.

"I know," Pete assured her. He knelt down in front of her chair so he was looking up at her. "I just haven't seen you much the past few days. I miss my little techno geek."

He reached up and lightly socked her arm. Claudia smiled a little at the brotherly display of affection.

"I really don't have a choice here, do I?" she asked.

"Nope," Pete said. He smiled widely up at her. "So. Are you gonna come willingly, or do I have to call Myka?"

Claudia narrowed her eyes.

"If I come, I get to drive," she told him.

"Done," Pete said immediately.

"And I get to pick the rental car at the airport," she added.

"Agreed," Pete said. He held out his hand and Claudia shook it.

"Give me a sec to get my stuff together," Claudia told him.

"Five minutes," Pete said with a grin. He put his hands on his knees and pushed himself to his feet. "I'll be outside."

"Be there in a sec," Claudia said.

Pete headed out of her room, closing the door behind him. He stopped at the top of the stairs to shoot Myka a quick text. It consisted of two words: Mission accomplished.

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

The high-pitched ringing of the doorbell echoed loudly through the B&B.

"I got it!" Pete yelled. He dashed out of the dining room where the team was gathered and made a beeline for the front door.

"I'll get napkins," Claudia said, getting out of her chair.

"What about drinks?" Myka asked as she entered the dining room with a stack of plates.

"Already on the table," Steve told her from his seat.

"Good," Myka said. She set down the plates, passing two to Steve so he could set half the table. Claudia came back in with the napkins which were quickly distributed as well.

"I come bearing pizza!" Pete's voice called from across the B&B. A moment later he danced into the dining room holding two flat cardboard boxes.

"That smells so good," Claudia said, taking her seat.

"It smells like grease," Myka corrected as she pulled back her chair and sat down.

"But tasty grease," Steve told her with a smile.

"You know you secretly love it," Pete teased Myka. She responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

Pete opened up both the pizza boxes before taking his own seat at the table. Almost immediately four sets of hands reached into the boxes as each of the team pulled out slices to heap on their plates. Between the four of them, the two boxes were almost empty before anyone had even started eating.

"Mmm," Claudia moaned as she took a bite. "This is amazing."

"Much better than the Thai place," Steve agreed.

"I like the Thai place," Myka said defensively.

"You also like vegetables," Pete pointed out around a mouthful of Meat Lover's.

"Remember when we tried to make our own pizza?" Steve asked Claudia.

"Don't remind me," Claudia groaned. "Leena was so mad."

"Because you guys made a huge mess," Myka reminded her. "And you were both covered in flour."

"It took me forever to get it all out of my hair," Claudia said darkly. She shot a glare over at Steve, who held up his hands.

"Don't look at me," he said. "You started it."

"But Leena sure finished it," Pete said with a grin. "You guys had to clean up the kitchen for three months."

"Do you remember when you decided to organize the pantry for her?" Myka asked Pete. She chuckled a little at the memory. "And then you found the chocolate in the back and you ate all of it instead."

"It's the thought that counts," Pete said defensively.

"Yeah, well, your thought cost us all a batch of chocolate chip cookies," Claudia said. She rolled up her napkin and threw it at Pete's head.

"She did make really good cookies," Steve said quietly. Everyone else sobered a bit as they suddenly realized once again that Leena was really gone. Suddenly her absence, and Artie's, from the table was glaringly obvious.

"My favorite thing about Leena," Myka said slowly, deciding to take charge of the situation, "was that she was always there to listen without judgment."

"And she always knew exactly what to say," Claudia added.

"She put everyone else before herself," Steve said with a hint of a smile. "She always made sure we had everything we needed."

"She made really good food," Pete said seriously.

The rest of them looked at him for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he was serious. Then Myka snorted. Claudia immediately burst out laughing. Steve and Myka were right behind her.

"What?" Pete asked in confusion. "She did!"

"It's always food with you, isn't it?" Claudia asked with a laugh.

"Was that the best you could come up with?" Myka teased.

"You guys had already taken all the good stuff," Pete said defensively. Myka laughed again, and this time Pete couldn't help a grin.

"What's so funny?" a voice asked.

The four of them looked up to see Artie standing in the doorway of the dining room. The laughter and grins immediately dissolved as they all stared at him. No one knew what to say. Artie had been eating alone since waking up, and that, combined with the current topic of conversation, left everyone at a loss.

"We were talking about Leena," Myka said quietly. She glanced down at the pizza on her plate and then up at Artie, trying to gauge his reaction. "What we'll miss about her."

"Oh," Artie said softly.

Suddenly the silence in the room was infinitely more awkward. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they waited for his reaction. Artie swallowed hard.

"She believed," he said softly. He swallowed again, and then his voice seemed to slowly gain strength as he continued. "She believed in the work we do. She believed in hope, even when there wasn't any left. And she believed in people. She always saw the best in them. Even when they didn't deserve it."

The room was silent as he finished, but this time it was a reflective silence. It was true. Leena had always found something to believe in. That was what had made her such a bright light to the rest of them.

"Do you... want to sit down?" Claudia asked carefully.

"There's an awful lot of pizza here," Steve added.

"Well..." Artie hesitated for a moment before seeming to give in. "I suppose I could... eat a piece or two."

"I'll get another plate!" Claudia said eagerly.

She jumped up from her chair and dashed into the kitchen as if she were afraid Artie would leave if she didn't move fast enough. Steve pulled out the empty chair beside him so Artie could sit down. Claudia came running back and quickly deposited a plate and glass in front of Artie. Pete passed him the large bottle of Coke so he could pour himself a drink.

"Thank-you," Artie said sincerely. He looked around the table, briefly making contact with each member of his team. "All of you."

"No problem," Claudia said with an understanding smile.

"We got your back," Steve assured him. Artie smiled a little in response.

"You better get some pizza before Pete eats it all," Myka warned, breaking the moment.

"I suppose I should," Artie said. He reached into the pizza box and pulled out a slice to deposit on his plate.

"Remember at Thanksgiving when he ate all the rolls?" Steve asked with a grin.

"I thought Leena was going to murder him," Myka said as she shook her head.

"It was her fault," Pete said, pointing at Claudia. "She dared me to."

"You can't prove that," Claudia told him smugly.

"Oh, that was nothing," Artie said, swallowing a bite of pizza. "Last summer Leena and I were doing inventory in the Ovoid Quarantine while you four were out snagging, and we were trying to place some really mischievous artifacts. But then that hideous beetle showed up and Trailer started chasing him all through the Ovoid..."

Artie's animated telling of Leena chasing after the dog left them all in stitches. That inevitably led to more stories, which led to more laughter. The cycle continued on into the evening long after all the pizza was gone. For the first time since Leena's death, it didn't hurt to talk about her. Just the opposite, in fact. It was almost as if somehow a part of her was in the room laughing right along with them. And for the first time in days, they suddenly knew without a doubt that they really were going to be okay.

I've been on a serious writing kick the last few weeks, and at this point I've almost finished all the chapters for this story. Craziness. So I can either continue with this pattern of updating every three days, which would have me posting the final chapter in about a month and a half, or I can start updating it every other day, in which case it would take a month to reach the end. I'm good either way. It just depends on how long you guys want this to last. Let me know if you have a preference one way or the other. You can also take the opportunity to let me know what you thought of this chapter. :)