Changed For Good

The Berings may have woken up at their usual time the next day, but there was nothing typical about their morning. Their tour guide was waiting for them as soon as they set foot on the grand entrance floor. Taking a cue from Irene the night before, Bridget gently barked orders at the parents and told them she had a day planned for them. She did let them have breakfast.

"Don't you have one of those high powered jobs?" Warren asked as he scrambled to finish his scrambled eggs and toast that Leena had waiting.

"Do I need walking shoes?" Jeannie asked, grabbing a pair of flats.

"Yes, I have an incredibly high-powered job; thanks for asking. And my driver will be taking us around so don't worry about walking too much," Bridget explained.

"We wanted to see Myka and Helena at work," the mother said, wiping her mouth with a napkin as Bridget got behind them and motioned for them to move, move, move.

"We'll try to squeeze it in," Bridget answered and went into the hallway with the parents who scurried now to get jackets.

Myka and Helena were coming down the stairs when they saw the couple rushing. "I thought it was just a dream. A beautiful dream," Myka said of her friend's offer.

"Oh, hi girls," Jeannie said. "Bridget has offered to take us around the City today. At least, I think that's what she said. I hope we're not being kidnapped," she whispered to her daughter who thought the investment banker was one of those wild girls she always warned Myka to stay away from.

"Remember, I shall pay no ransom," Helena said out of the side of her mouth to Bridget.

"I wish that detective was taking us," Warren whispered in a low roar. "At least she's got a gun."

"You feeling okay there, Brit?" Bridget questioned Helena.

"Oh, good! A new moniker, as if the others weren't offensive enough," Helena moaned of the casual way Bridget spoke.

"Remember what she is doing today," Myka said through tightened lips and Helena forced a smile of pleasantness on her face.

"Dessert agrees with you," the friend said to Myka, teasingly pulling on a long strand of curly hair. She was urging the parents to keep moving to the door when they heard Warren comment to his wife -

"Well, someone was not feeling well last night. Did you hear all that moaning?"

Myka tried to close the door quickly, but not before Bridget pulled down her sunglasses over her nose and looked right at her friend with a Cheshire like grin. "Oh, do tell, Mr. Bering, do tell."

Myka laughed and closed the door, grateful to her friend and only slightly concerned for her parents.

In the meantime, Leena was updating Helena about the HG Wells Museum opening which had been pushed back to accommodate the Sullivan-Donovan wedding. "And right over here," Helena was pointing on a blueprint, "Is where I would like the Amelia Brown exhibit to be." Myka smiled at how excited Gloria would be to see her ancestor's writings on display. "Nurse Brown has graciously offered us whatever materials she has to put on display," Helena was saying when Myka came up beside her and looked at the draft.

"A wedding, a museum opening," Leena noted. "You guys are going to be very busy."

Leena was right. There was a lot to keep the couple occupied, and that was aside from preparing for their baby's arrival!

The Bering's visit, while a new level of aggravating for Helena, also highlighted that her particular circumstance always came with challenges. Myka's parents would naturally want to know who Helena's parents were, and Irene had done an excellent job of filling in a gap, but there was so much more. The reality was – that in spite of the fact that Helena Wells was one of the most written about celebrities of the 21st century, only a handful of people knew who she really was. Helena accepted that, until she met Gloria Brown, a woman with strong feelings for her long passed great-great grandmother. History had robbed Amelia Brown of her fair share of the spotlight and Helena's display at the museum would try to make up for that, but what about Gloria? Was Helena robbing her of an opportunity to know how truly wonderful this woman was?

"I think I will tell her," Helena said to Myka at work that day.

"Tell who what?" Myka said, looking up from her papers. She was having trouble pulling into her desk as closely as she used to.

"I think I will tell Gloria Brown the truth…about me," Helena said and waited to read Myka's expression.

Myka pushed back in her chair and thought about her wife's statement. The only person who knew other than their small band of friends, many of whom had witnessed Helena's rebronzing, was Leena. They had sat her down one day and shared it with her because they agreed she needed to. As was her nature, the intuitive accepted what she was told as fact. She could tell by the couple's auras that everything they said was true. She was the only person they knew who hadn't struggled with the impossibility of it.

"How do you think she'll respond?" was Myka's first question.

"She's a woman of science. She'll question it, no doubt, but I think she'll trust in the probability of it being real," Helena said.

Then Myka's protective legal nature kicked in. "With each person that knows, Helena, there is a greater chance of someone else finding out that we don't want to know."

"I have given though to that, but I believe Gloria will present no threat," Helena said and her assumption was based on how she felt about Amelia.

"What will you gain? What will she gain? " Myka asked, methodically thinking it through.

"God, you're sexy when you're defending me," Helena said, staring at how serious Myka's expression was. Myka blushed, but insisted that Helena answer the questions. "Well, I gain a real connection to someone I knew. Gloria is like a conduit to my past in a way. And I certainly am one to hers. She gains first-hand knowledge of what a wonderful woman Amelia was."

"I think we should ask Irene," Myka said, because there was simply no resource for something like this.

"I expect her to be there," Helena said of the woman whom both relied on.

Myka knew a dozen reasons why this wasn't a good idea and yet, she could sense that this was important to Helena. So, in spite of her legal expertise and cautious nature when it came to her wife, she agreed. Irene was not as easily sold on the idea.

The two went down to her office to pitch the proposal. Sitting in front of Irene's desk, Helena explained her thinking on the matter.

"Of course, I should have no say in the matter," Irene started, but before Helena could agree, she added: "But, you are in my office sharing this before you're actually doing it, so…."

"Must you drag this out?" Helena asked because she was used to acting on something as soon as she thought of it.

Irene wasn't dragging it out on purpose; she was giving it serious thought. She may not have been as trusting as Myka was, but she had grown fond of the nurse. It still didn't mean she was rushing to include her in the very inner circle.

"Let me play Devil's Advocate for a minute…," Irene implored.

"Perfect type casting," Helena retorted. If she was going to be delayed in her actions, she was going to make remarks.

"…..And ask you this," Irene said, ignoring the comment. "…what if she tells someone?"

"We'll threaten her," Helena explained, because in her experience the Wells-threat carried a great deal of weight.

"Oh, well as long as you've thought it all the way through," Irene chastised Helena for her flippant remark.

"Did I mention I want you to be there …in silence?" Helena asked, getting frustrated at the thwarting of her plan.

"Helena, Irene makes a good point," Myka said gently and drew the "Et tu, Brute?" expression on Helena's face.

"Do not agree with the woman; it only encourages her," Helena explained as if they were talking about the class clown.

"Helena has thought this through, as far as why she wants to tell Gloria. Do you really think Gloria's reaction will present a problem?" Myka asked Irene, trying to be on Helena's side and quell her own fears at the same time.

Irene took in a deep breath and gave earnest thought to what was at stake here. She had to admit that the woman possessed a wonderful nature and that she had never felt so comfortable, so quickly, with anyone else she had met. Still, she didn't want Gloria's charisma to blind her to what would always be her first task; protecting Helena. She finally decided what the solution would be.

"Okay, Helena. I trust your reasons for wanting to tell her and I will support them," Irene said and Helena uttered – "Finally!" Myka sensed there was more to that decision.

"You do?" the lawyer questioned.

"Nurse Brown is in our employ now. While we can't guarantee that we can hold her to the promise I'm sure you're going to ask her to commit to, I can at the very least keep an eye on her," the HR Director said.

"Then it's settled," Helena said, rising from her seat.

"When?" Irene asked and Helena looked at Myka.

"Perhaps after your parents leave," the Brit said, thinking they had enough on their plate. "We'll ask her to bring some of Amelia's things to dinner and we'll tell her then."

Myka glanced at Irene and smiled and the woman could see concern in those jade pools. Irene's stern expression never changed, but she did say – "I think it will be alright," - to Myka before they left.

Rehearsing the possibilities, Irene sat at her desk and uttered; "Thanks so much for coming, Gloria. By the way, I'm actually the real HG Wells from 1866 and how are you feeling?" Irene had become increasingly protective of her friend, perhaps because she could see Helena letting her guard down. The Brit had to in order to live a normal life with Myka. While Irene's original Oneness with Helena may have been deactivated by the Warehouse, there was still a residual flame.

The couple returned to Myka's office and were only there a minute when the Berings burst through the door. "They were too quick," Millie apologized as she ran in steps behind the excited couple.

"We are having the best time!" Jeanne all but yelled, as she and her husband plopped themselves on Myka's couch.

"Sorry we couldn't wait for the intros, but we have to be back downstairs in fifteen minutes," Warren said and Jeannie nodded and added – "12:30 on the dot!"

"Or what?" Helena asked, because she detested time schedules.

"Or…..," Jeannie said, but looked at Warren to finish the thought.

"Or….," he said, picking up the cue, "….I don't know. All I know is Bridget said to be done in fifteen."

Myka, Helena, and Millie all raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances at that remark. "Are you having fun?" Myka asked.

"The best!" Warren said. "She took us to Madison Square Garden and I met some of the Knicks," he said astonished.

"Dad, you're not a Knicks fan, are you?" Myka asked.

"No, of course not!" the man responded in all seriousness.

"You know your father is a Nuggets Fan," Jeannie said just as Bridget walked in.

"Fifth time I've heard that and not once did I make a joke, " she whispered to Millie.

"You're a stronger woman than I am," Millie responded back.

"Is it time to go?" Warren asked when he saw his tour guide and jumped up from his seat. Myka furrowed her brow and stared at the man. She had never seen him move so fast. For anyone.

"It's okay, Warren. You have a few more minutes, but then we're off," Bridget said and sounded just like a second grade teacher on a school trip.

"We're going to Times Square!" Jeannie said all excited.

"Mom, we're in Times Square," Myka corrected her. "My office is in Times Square."

"Oh, not this one," Jeannie said as if there were two. "The one with Broadway shows."

"Anyone have to go the bathroom?" Bridget called out and the parents both shot up and went outside to find the restrooms.

"I'll show you," Millie said afraid of letting them loose in the hallways.

Bridget saw the look of amazement on Myka's face. And right underneath it, she saw the hurt. "Now Myka, don't get your khopes up," she said, noticing the death glare coming from Helena. She, too, knew her wife was hurt by how compliant the Berings were being under Bridget's care.

"Put that away, you'll hurt someone," Bridget said to Helena about her glaring gaze.

"Hopes up about what?" Myka asked politely.

"They're just acting like this because I'm a novelty and because, well truthfully, I scare them. Parents are always more polite to our friends than they are to us," Bridget said, hoping that was a plausible explanation. Bridget's home was always filled with friends and her parents were like the neighborhood parents to all of them.

"Thanks, Bridge," Myka said, but the discomfort was palpable and everyone left in the room could feel it.

This meant Bridget hadn't convinced Myka, which meant Helena knew it, which meant Helena would want to see Bridget in the hallway.

Helena conveyed ALL of that with her eyes and the investment banker, who had studied Helena's body language in enough meetings, read it accurately. Helena kissed Myka goodbye and went outside. Then, Bridget said she'd get the Berings back right after dinner and bade her friend farewell. If Bridget walked into that office as the one in charge, she didn't walk out the same way. Now, she was more like the second grader being sent to the Principal's office.

A really scary Principal.

Millie watched Helena pace the floor waiting for Bridget to appear. The banker quietly closed the door behind her on the way out of Myka's office – the way someone does when they really would rather not be noticed. Millie had never seen Bridget slink across a floor, but that's almost what happened when she walked towards Helena who stood there with her arms crossed.

"Helena," Bridget started – not out of fear of the Brit, in spite of how intimidating she looked, but because of how badly she felt for Myka.

Helena didn't understand what was happening – why the Berings seemed so compliant with Bridget, yet couldn't muster an ounce of that with their own daughter, but she understood Myka was hurt.

"Parents are weird, okay and the Berings are no exception," Bridget tried to explain. Helena kept pacing, trying to decide who should take care of this problem.

"I will…..," Helena started, but wasn't sure which of the many ways of handling this situation, she should state next. "I will...," she said again and Millie thought she sounded like a sputtering engine ….just before it backfires and makes a loud noise.

"They couldn't put up with me for more than a day," Bridget said, hoping to soothe the Brit's nerves.

"Who of us could?" Helena snapped and said sorry, but also pointed out – that wasn't the point.

Then Millie – in an attempt to help – actually did something she saw in a movie, or was it a Saturday Night Live skit, or was it ….. ? She coughed Irene's name out loud. Except it was more like a high pitched sneeze, that expelled the HR Director's name instead of 'achoo'. It was so poorly executed that even Bridget looked at her curiously.

Helena was running out of time as the Berings both emerged from the bathrooms, ready to begin their afternoon expedition. In the cheeriest voices Helena had ever heard them speak, they asked if Bridget was ready. Helena's usually way of handling this would have been to accompany the Berings on the elevator ride down where she would have gone up one side of them and then down the other until Bridget could collect their ashes in a baggie.

But, Myka frowned on Helena causing people to spontaneously combust. So, she did the only other thing she could think of. In fact, she was certain a tiny voice in her head gave her the idea. She pointed directly at the couple and crooked her finger for them to follow.

"I believe you're making an unscheduled stop," Bridget smiled at them and bounced on her heels as if she was looking at something on the ceiling. The parents looked at Bridget, whom they had strangely become attached to over the course of the morning, and then looked at their daughter-in-law.

Millie watched as the couple shrugged their shoulders and followed Helena down the hallway. "I hope this won't take long," Jeannie said and Helen threw her head back in total frustration. Millie grabbed the phone and asked Gloria if she could come to her desk.

"It's the southern charm," Bridget said in her natural drawl that rarely got out.

"That will make a nice epitaph," Millie said, as she sat back down.

Helena pointed to the couch outside Irene's office and the two parents sat down without question. Helena walked into Irene's office, snapped her fingers at the poor man in charge of payroll who jumped and left.

"You have a way of rescheduling my schedule," Irene said, unaware of what the visit was about.

"I am going to bring Myka's parents in here in a minute," the CEO said, marching back and forth in front of Irene's desk. "I will sit them down there. Do not, under any circumstances, sit with them doing that personal touchy feeling thing you insist works, which it does not by the way, but that's not the point," Helena ranted.

"Of course," Irene said, as if she understood what her mission was. She did not.

"Then, you will explain to them that they're unnatural affection for Bridget must stop now," Helena said, hoping Irene could fill in the Grand Canyon size gaps in her explanation.

"Their affection …is unnatural?" Irene questioned, her mind racing to translate this into logic. Or English.

Helena drew a deep breath, as if just remembering whom she was dealing with – and what it took to explain things, as if the woman was feeble. "Imagine if I were to suddenly become quite fond of Nurse Brown. When I saw her, I offered her a warm welcome and gracious accommodations," Helena tried.

"Yes…..?" Irene said slowly, hoping to get at least a couple of more pieces of this latest puzzle.

"You would feel out of sorts, jealous even and worse yet, my transfer of affections would hurt you," Helena said, taking the circuitous route as usual.

Irene could tell that was all the pieces she was going to get because Helena was staring at her as if to say – "Okay? You got it now?" Helena flopped in the chair, expressing her total exasperation at how long this was taking the HR Director.

"You want me to speak to them," Irene stated even though she was unsure about the exact topic. "About….what….they're doing to Myka …." The woman had learned to feed Helena the words slowly, thereby, testing her patience and causing her to spill the solution.

It never failed.

"Get them to be as nice to their own daughter as they are mustering up for Ms. Cummings, or so help me, I will strangle them!" Helena demanded.

"This is …a tall order, Helena. You know how we tend to be polite around people who don't know us, but to our own families…," Irene foolishly shared.

"Excuse me?" Helena said, which was Wellsian for – "Do not tell me how it can't be done!"

"Let me get them," Irene said, thinking they were safer in her office anyway.

"No, I'll send them in. You have five minutes to get through to them, or I will handle it," Helena threatened. With that, Helena swung open the door and went outside. "She wants to see you," she said to her in-laws and pointed towards the inner office.

"Mrs. Frederic wants to see us?" Jeannie asked confused as she got up.

"We don't really have time," Warren noted. "Bridget is taking us to lunch and then the matinee of Wicked."

Warren was just about to get a dose of wicked up close and personal, but Irene beckoned them to come into her office and caused him to miss his chance.

Oh, and saved his life.