What Goes Around, Comes Around

Pete pushed the sheet back and looked at the text on his phone from Myka. 'Please pick us up a few minutes earlier' it said. He rubbed his eyes and realized that Myka meant both of them. "YES!" he yelled, leaned over and kissed Jane and jumped up to get ready. "Where's the fire?" the sleepy detective asked, her arm draped across her eyes. "She's back!" Pete said, rushing to get ready. Within minutes, he kissed her goodbye, told her to be safe, and slammed the door. The car was at the Townhouse long before either woman was dressed.

Pete's face lit up as soon as he saw his favorite couple once again walking down the steps to the waiting car. "Great to see you, Boss," he said as he held the door open for Helena.

"Thank you, Pete," Helena smiled warmly and placed her hand on his. He smiled the whole way to work.

Helena greeted the security guards, the staff and Myka smiled that her wife genuinely seemed surprised at the warm buzz that filled the hallways.

"They missed you," Myka said and she laughed as the proverbial lightbulb went on over her wife's head. It never ceased to amaze Myka at the things her Genius missed. She found it utterly endearing. The couple entered the elevator and before the door was closed, Myka turned swiftly, leaning into Helena and kissed her. "It is so good to have you back."

"I hope all the staff doesn't welcome me as warmly as you did," Helena teased.

"They better not," Myka said, as they arrived on her floor. "I'm the jealous type, you know."

"I did….know that," Helena confirmed as Myka's hand traversed up her side, leaving her slightly breathless.

"I will see you later," Myka said in a syrupy, low tone. "I have many things I want to go over….. and most of them… are on you."

The doors opened and Myka smiled devilishly and waved goodbye. Millie strained her neck to get a glimpse of the returning CEO. It was good to have her back. She smiled at how much better Myka looked. The glow that had been missing for days was back in full bloom.

It was a short ride for Helena to arrive on her floor, but long enough for everyone who had gathered outside her office to assemble.

"I've been waiting her since 7 AM," Artie complained to Sui, who told him there were people ahead of him.

"Take a number, Married Guy," Steve said, wanting to go over some security issues with Helena.

"You can keep him company, Oh Truth Slayer," Claudia said, having placed her name first on the list remotely.

"I'm right after the person after her. Unless I'm in six meetings and then I'm after that person," Eileen said, not wanting to be rude.

"Is it always like this?" Morgan Styles asked of the chaos in the waiting room and amid the shouting.

"Only when she's been away," Sui confirmed and promised he'd get back to Morgan about a meeting and checking his screen asked; "How does Thursday work for you?"

Irene Frederic walked into the crowded area and people separated into two groups. "She's like Moses and the Red Sea," Claudia whispered to Pete.

"She's not Jewish," Pete said back.

"Now, please remember everyone," Irene began, "…just because you have your name on a list, does not mean that you will get to see Ms. Wells today. It's her first day back and she's got quite a lot on her plate, so please be patient," the HR Director requested. She had tried to call Helena several times to warn her of the onslaught – not realizing of course that Helena's phone lie in pieces in the basement.

The elevator door opened and out stepped their boss dressed to the nines in an ensemble Sarah designed just for her. She wore a camel colored dress with black geometric design throughout, that hugged Helena at the waist. Over it, she wore a black coat with a camel colored belt, black bow stilettos, black pearl earrings, and black leather handbag. Her appearance caused a hush to fall over the crowd. Helena stood there, smiling, and wondering how she would get to her office door through the crowd. Suddenly, people rushed at Helena to explain why they needed to see her and only stopped when Irene raised her voice. Irene held the office door open and Helena slid through the crowd until she was through the door.

"Wow, they're crazy!" Claudia said, startling Helena who thought they were alone.

"Oh, dear God," Helena said, grabbing her chest.

"Sorry, did I surprise you?" Claudia asked, but was already rehearsing her speech and had little time for anything else.

"Ms. Donovan, I specifically asked everyone to wait until Helena had a chance to get settled.

"I'm number one and I'm not here about some silly nonsense," Claudia explained. "My stuff is super important. And can't wait," she added.

"You have five minutes," Irene said sternly. She would give some of the staff the benefit of the doubt.

The eponymous CEO shook it off and stood tall. She took a deep breath and the smell of her office reminded her how much she missed being here. She threw her pocketbook - which almost made the couch, tossed her coat which nearly made the chair, and marched to her desk. She sat down in her leather chair and caressed its arms slowly as she looked around at her familiar surroundings. She was glad to be back. On her desk were neat piles of papers, one stack so high that Claudia moved it so she could see her boss when she sat in the chair on the other side of the desk.

"Hello?" the first guest of many said, breaking her boss' reverie.

"Haven't you automated all of this?" Helena asked, as she looked at her desk.

"Those are the ones that people insist on getting your signature on," Claudia guessed correctly. "I guess we could try to download contracts for virtual signatures, but Myka insists that you read these."

"Four minutes, Ms. Donovan," Irene said from the couch, where she sat with her legal pad, standing guard as was her job.

"It's okay, Irene. I think we can spare some time for our IT Director," Helena said, wondering what these contracts were for.

"Anyway, I have a huge issue and it can't wait," Claudia said and now she was pacing back and forth in front of Helena's desk.

"Can I at least …," Helena was going to ask for tea, but it was too late.

"NO!" the techie explained. "Your tea barista is next and that's if she doesn't have like a skillion meetings, which by the way, she does." Claudia looked over at Irene who looked up from her pad. "I might have hacked into her computer," she admitted even though Irene never asked. There was something about that woman that made people confess. "Anyway," the techie said, getting back on track. "This is big," she almost whispered. "I'm going to ask ….I think Eileen and I …..we are talking about …..you know, I read your book!"

Helena tried to understand the whirling dervish, but when she couldn't, she looked directly over at Irene. "You're going to need that tea," Irene said, getting Sui on the phone and requesting it.

"Claud…," Helena attempted, but the young woman was on a roll.

"I need some help…," Claudia said and didn't hear Helena mutter – "I'll say," because she was pacing. "I don't know the first thing about proposing. And before that, I need to know if this is a good idea. I mean, look at me," she continued, looking everywhere, but at Helena. "What do I know about being a good wife? I don't know if I can do this. Suppose she says no? Suppose she's not ready? How do I know if we are?"

And then the lack of taking in any oxygen finally caught up with the IT Director and she hyperventilated. Her voice got strange and she was breathing faster than her body could keep up. Irene took a paper bag from the coffee table, opened it, scrunched the top together, placed it on Claudia's mouth, and told her to breath. It took a few minutes, but she finally started to breathe normally. Helena stared in disbelief at what was playing out, but Irene simply patted Claudia's back and told her to relax.

"Are you okay now?" Irene asked after the woman calmed down.

"Yes, but…," the techie started all over again. "I need the perfect setting, the perfect ..."

"Why don't we give Helena some time…," Irene tried to say, having jotted down what the techie said so Helena would remember later.

But Helena waved her off again. "It's okay, Irene. Why don't you give me until this afternoon and I'll come up with a plan," Helena offered.

"Really?" both Claudia and Irene said together.

Helena shrugged her shoulders. "I wrote the book. I should be able to come up with a simple plan for a proposal," she said as is if it were not big deal.

"Oh, I don't want simple. Well, I do and I don't. It has to be special," Claudia said, since her boss was offering.

"Are you ….certain you can do this today? On your first day back? With all of this?" Irene asked, trying to save her boss.

Saving the whales was easier than saving Helena from herself.

"Piece of cake," said the woman who rarely ate the food.

"Okay, thanks, Hel….boss," Claudia said and started to walk quickly toward the door.

Before Irene could open her mouth, Claudia was back at the desk. "She'll want your blessing. I mean, we both will. So …there's that, too," the techie said and continued her quick exit.

"Helena, it's your first day back. Perhaps you shouldn't overextend yourself until you've had a chance to see everything you have to attend to," Irene suggested.

"Pffft," Helena responded, downplaying the warning. "I do run the company, do I not?"

"Of course, you do. But you've been away …and people seem to have been saving some things for your return," Irene said of the list she had accumulated.

"Please, I was slicing DNA last week. I think I can handle some office angst," Helena said again. The words were no sooner out of her mouth when the person in the number two slot banged loudly and walked in.

"Thanks, Boss," Pete said and approached the desk. Irene smiled and stepped back, taking her seat on the couch. Sui brought in Irene's coffee and explained that Helena's tea would be coming soon.

Helena attempted to look at a paper on her desk when Pete caught her attention. "Boss?"

"Yes?" Helena asked, because she had ridden to work with the man.

"We read your book," Pete said, sitting down and then standing. "Well, I read it first. Jane didn't want to read it, but I convinced her it was really good. I mean, I'm more your science fiction kind of reader or sports biographies… Hey, maybe you could write a science fiction book about a boxer…okay, no," Pete said, able to read Helena's blank expression.

Helena went to speak, specifically to ask Pete if there was a point, but he was ahead of her. "I know, I know what you're doing to say," he said, now following in the techie's path and pacing back and forth in front of the desk. "Should I settle down? Can I tie myself to just one woman? " he asked and Helena muttered that she'd like to tie him to the chair, but he never heard. "I mean, she proposed and I said it had to wait, so that's kinda like saying yes already. I mean, I do love her and I do want to be with her," Pete said.

Helena was only surprised that this was the first she was hearing of it. "Well, congratulations, Pete. She's a very lucky…"

"But I told her things weren't good here," Pete continued. "You were all …," and he stuck his arms out and marched with a swaying gait and moaned to imitate the monster.

"I most certainly was not!" Helena said defensively.

"Well, not him, but like …the guy who made him. Anyway, things were not good here, and so I told her we had to wait," Pete clarified.

"Oh, the good Detective must have loved that," Helena said.

"No," Pete said, sitting down for the first time. "She understands totally. She gets me and she, you know, knows you guys are like my family."

Irene smiled at how sweet the man was and waited to hear Helena's response. Even from that distance, she could tell Helena was touched.

"Pete, I appreciate that you postponed your answer, but truly you must do what you think…," Helena tried, but she could not assuage his insistence.

"No, it had to wait. I couldn't do anything – I mean I couldn't think straight until I knew you were okay," came the heartfelt explanation.

A golf ball size lump appeared in Helena's throat and she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Finally, Irene texted Eileen to prepare the tea if she could.

"Pete," Helena said, reaching across the desk and taking his hand. "I'm okay now and I'm sorry that my distractedness caused any disruptions to one of the most important days of your life!" She got up and came around the desk and hugged him.

It was too much for Pete. He had been so worried about Helena that he couldn't possibly have thought about something so important in his own life. "Thanks, Boss," he said, and choked back the tears.

"I'm going to tell her yes," he said, as if there had been any question.

"God speed," Helena said, smiling.

"As soon as you help me rehearse what to say," Pete spit out as Helena was about to turn away.

"Mr. Lattimer, isn't the answer one word? I don't think you can expect Helena to write your proposal acceptance," Irene gently chastised him, but Helena already had the gun aimed at her own foot.

"Don't be silly. Of course I can help you," Helena said, waving Irene off. She was so touched that Pete would ask and after all ….. "I wrote the book," she said to Irene.

"You're going to need more than one cup of tea with the size of the bites you're taking," Irene warned.

"See Mrs. F?" Pete said and whistled as he walked out, holding the door open for Eileen who was coming in with the tea.

"Oh, thank God someone around here knows me," Helena said as a shot to the HR Director who didn't acknowledge it.

"Helena, perhaps if you would let me…," Irene tried one more time to advise the overzealous leader that she had a long day ahead of her.

"You really do worry too much," Helena gently rebuked the woman. "I'm back and I will handle everything."

"O…kay, have it your way," Irene said, sighing her concession and sitting down on the couch again.

Eileen put the tray down on the desk, but didn't slide it over to where Helena could reach it. Irene caught the gesture and was about to say something when Helena shot her a look. Irene threw her hands up to stop.

"We need to talk," Eileen said and finally placed the cup in front of Helena. "I'm glad you're okay. You're okay, aren't you?"

Helena grabbed the tea in a very unladylike fashion, in case someone changed their minds. "I am now," she all but cooed as she imbibed the liquid.

"I know you've been prepping me to take on more things, Helena, but I had no idea you meant that I had to be ready at a moment's notice," the executive who had been thrust into the CEO's seat.

The tea was already taking effect and Helena felt calmer. "I know it was sudden…," she started, but was interrupted.

"Sudden?" the young executive said, looking back at Irene who all but expressed her confirmation. "Sudden… is you have the flu. Sudden is …not good. I know you had your reasons and I'm sure they are good ones. But this was your baptism by fire, Helena!"

Helena already knew what the woman was capable of or she would have put something else in place. She also knew that no one on staff would let the woman drown or blow up the company. "So, how did you do?" Helena asked, sipping the tea.

"How? How did I?" Eileen asked, as if she was a ridiculous question. "I did just fine! Six products are ready to go to market. We have distributors for all of them and at an increase over last year's contracts. I did just fine!" she said, pulling down on her jacket.

"As I knew you would," Helena said, smiling. "We cannot plan for every event, Eileen. I certainly didn't plan on this one happening the way it did, but I had every confidence you would take the reins and do what needed to be done."

"How did you know that? the youth asked.

"Because I have been the one training you," Helena answered sincerely.

"Oh, well, yes you have," Eileen conceded and wondered how the answer evaded her.

"And because if you had been faced with something you didn't know how to handle, I knew you would have gone to the right people," Helena explained.

"I did, I mean – everyone was very supportive," Eileen said - her tone much calmer now.

"As they should be. Things work better when we work together. Or so I've been told," Helena said, casting her eyes over at Irene.

"Morgan's been great," Eileen offered.

"Good! I'd hate to fire him on the first day I'm back," Helena said and meant it. She leaned forward and looked at Irene. "Although I could if I wanted to." Irene rolled her eyes, but didn't say a word as she crossed of Eileen on the long list.

"Well, there's a line…so I'll go. Thanks, Helena," Eileen said, much relieved to have gotten her audience.

"Please ask the next person to wait," Irene asked because she couldn't resist giving it one more try.

"Helena, there are a lot of people who felt something about your absence. I'm not sure you have to address them all today. Why don't you let me talk to them and see if we can handle things while you get through the work that's piled up?" Irene suggested.

"My absence?" Helena asked as if she couldn't make the connection. The truth was, she wasn't seeing the bigger picture just yet.

For as long as Irene knew Helena, the display of steel balls that hung in a case was on her desk. It was an example of Newton's Third Law – for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Mostly, Helena used it to annoy Irene by allowing the steel objects to make a clacking noise.

"Do you see this, Helena?" Irene said, touching the display on the desk.

"Yes," Helena said suspiciously. "You're not going to preach to me about Newton's Law, are you?"

"It will help you to understand what is going to take place all day today," Irene said, taking her seat and playing with an imaginary piece of lint on her skirt.

Helena stared at the object on her desk, aware of what it represented, but unable to make the connection to her day.

"Your sudden disappearance...…pushed them," Irene said, taking the end ball and pulling it back, then letting it go. Suddenly, Helena found the noise very irritating.

"And?" she asked impatiently.

"They're reacting – each in their own way. And if you don't stop it," Irene explained as she put her hand on the clacking balls. "…they'll be in here all day long."

Helena really felt the woman was being overly protective and while she appreciate it, her interference was getting annoying. Helena was back and she didn't want anyone thinking she needed help to address every issue.

"Irene, I'm the CEO. There's nothing coming through that door that I can't handle," Helena said assuredly, pulling the ball back and letting the irritating noise begin.

Just then, Steve who had waited as long as he could, knocked on the door and barged in. "Boss," he said walking directly to Helena's desk.

"We got rats."