Chapter Text
Myka leaned back into the car as the power window rolled up beside of her. Slowly she lifts a hand to her shoulder to soak up the last bit of warmth she could find from the embrace before the cold reality stole it from her. She wanted Helena to be happy; she knew deep down that she had always longed for the family she had once lost. Myka could never forget what Helena faced when Christina's life had been taken from her body or sand-longing in Helena’s eyes as she reached for the locket around her neck. Helena wanted a family and now Nate was offering her his entire world. It was a perfect match, a woman longing for her child and a single father searching for someone to love his daughter like her mother would have. Myka knew it made sense; she had come to terms with Helena's search for happiness and truly meant it when she had told Helena to fight for him, that she was meant to care for someone and that this should be her home. After all, Myka could think of no one who deserved or needed a happy ending more than Helena G. Wells.
For a moment she thought to look back, she could imagine Helena standing there alone in the driveway of Nate's home wrapping her arms around herself. Myka inhaled sharply at the thought of seeing her fair features once more, her dark hair framing her thin face and sharp jaw. As the SUV took a left turn out of the sight of the suburban house, Myka knew her chance had passed. The muscles in her stomached tightened; she had saved herself from seeing Helena standing there as Nate came gather her into their home. She didn’t have to witness the way he slipped his strong arm around her dainty waist or the way Helena would smile at him in return. She imagined Helena snuggling into his broad chest after the taillights had disappeared and would allow herself to be lead back into the house and to the little girl that waited inside.
No, Myka wouldn't have to see Helena stand there with everything she had ever wanted as she sat there loosing the one person who knew her better than anyone else. Instead, she looked to Pete who had been uncharacteristically silent as he drove out of the neighborhood and onto a country road. His eyes were concerned but he stared straight ahead as if uncertain as what to say or do. Myka let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, sank back into the comfort of the passenger seat, and wiped at the tears that had collected on her cheeks. She leaned her head against the window and looked out at the vast amount of fields that now surrounded them. The lightning bugs were slowing growing in number and could be seen dancing between the stalks of wheat.
She remembered her parents taking night drives through the country when she was younger. Myka would rest her head against the window frame of the car and listen to the crickets chirp. As if Pete had known what she was thinking, the windows of the SUV rolled down and the cool breeze blew through Myka's wild curls and onto her cheeks drying the trails of tears. At first it was cold and pained Myka's face but she soon lost herself in the crickets’ song. She use to pretend to know what the crickets were saying to one another, some nights they would be singing, others they would be reciting love poems, but tonight, Myka thought to herself, they were just as sad as she was.
Pete had left the windows down most of the trip until they had reached the interstate; the wind had become too strong and Myka's hair was whipping about the car in hysterical protest. Pete looked over at Myka and reluctantly rolled the windows up sealing the two back into a bubble of intense silence. Noticing Pete's discomfort Myka leaned forward and turned on the radio. It was the least she could do seeing as how she hadn't made a single effort to acknowledge Pete since they left the driveway. As her finger left the button, Kansas came blaring through the speakers and Pete began drumming along on the steering wheel. It didn’t take long before he was screaming along with the chorus of Carry On My Wayward Son; Myka stifled a laugh as she noticed the veins in Pete's neck strain against his vocal chords.
"Carry on my wayward on, there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more…"
The music fade into the background as Myka's eyelids became heavy and she laid her head against the cool window as the vibrations of the rotating tires lull her to sleep.
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They arrived at the B&B early the next morning, the drive to the airport consisted of Pete whispering the lyrics to the songs on the radio as Myka slept against the car door. The plane ride wasn't much different. Myka was silent going through security and stared out the plane window with a look of defeat painted across her usually furrowed brow. Her head tilted towards the plane window and once again Pete was left alone with not knowing what to do. The car ride back to the inn was seemingly normal, Pete was rambling about what he would want for breakfast and even took a moment to remember Lena and the amazing breakfast spreads she prepared for the team.
"As if she wasn't easy enough on the eyes, she sure was easy for the stomach. You know Mykes?" Pete asked as he had come to an end reminiscing about Lena’s scones.
Myka smiled at Pete's simple desires and agreed, "Yeah, they were pretty good if you didn't eat them all first. I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Abigail isn't Lena, you may just have to learn how to cereal and milk yourself” she said with a smirk.
Pete smiled in response. Myka was slowly but surely coming back.
Abigail, Claudia, and Jinks were already sitting at the dinning room table when the pair walked in. Artie had been working late cataloging artifacts for the past couple of weeks and had become prone to showing up after breakfast had been devoured. Pete headed straight to the kitchen when he spotted Claudia' scones.
"How'd it go with HG?! What's she doing in Wisconsin? Is she coming back to rejoin the team?" Claudia asked excitedly.
"Good to see you too, Claudia... it was a good ol’ snag and bag” Myka offered working almost too hard to sound casual.
“Helena is seeing a man named Nate. He has a daughter about Christina’s age and she is…. happy there” Myka forced herself to finish the sentence. Maybe if she said it enough times, she would actually accept it.
Claudia raised her eyebrows in response at Myka’s hesitance. She could smell a story.
Noticing her reaction Myka added, "I think it's great to know that a normal life it still possible. After all she's been through, she deserves to have be happy."
Jinks was too busy finishing off his orange juice and guarding his last scone from Pete to hear Myka's less than truthful reply. Pete had managed to sneak one of the baked goods off of his plate and was now dodging around the table, stuffing as much of the pastry into his mouth as possible.
Seeing her opportunity Myka made her way towards the stairs, "Well I'm going to take a shower and I'll see you guys later…"
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Back in Wisconsin, the sun was beginning to break through the shades, a stream of light found its way on Helena's eyelids and she was forced out of her slumber and into the new day. Sliding out from under Nate's arm, Helena tiptoed to the end of the bed where her silk robe and slippers were waiting for her. It had grown habitual that she would get up before Nate and Adelaide to enjoy a cup of tea and the new paper before the day “officially” began.
Last night's conversation had taken a long time to explain and at this point, Helena wasn't entirely certain Nate understood it at all. How could she blame him though, it's not everyday you find out your girlfriend is the 147 year old father of science fiction. Luckily, the exposure to an actual artifact had made Nate more susceptible to nontraditional ways of thinking. After Myka and Pete had left, Helena had taken a deep breath and walked back into the house expecting an argument to ensue. Instead, Nate was calmly sitting on the couch waiting for her return.
"Nate…" Helena began, not sure how to start.
"Emily… Helena?" Nate looked at her curiously.
"Yes darling, my name is Helena. Helena George Wells." She replied, her voice a tad more shaky than she would prefer.
"….H.G. Wells…. the science fiction author?" Nate tried to put the pieces together, his face still managed to contort in what appeared to be disbelief.
"Yes Nate, H. G. Wells. Mother, Author, Inventor, and Warehouse Agent."
Nate looked at her blankly. This was not going to be easy, she knew that. Helena spun into a rant filling in Nate on everything that had happened, how she lost Christina, when she was brought to the warehouse, how she was bronzed, when she was unbronzed, how she became a part of warehouse 13, and Myka but none of Helena's words seemed to do it all justice.
Nate's eyes were fixed on the coffee table before him and he waited for a moment before interrupting. It was all becoming too much at once.
"Stop, Helena. Just stop." Nate looked confused and hurt. Helena braced herself.
"Do you love Adelaide?"
"Yes, most dearly. I love her as if she were my own." Helena replied, reaching out for Nate's hands and holding them tightly. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes.
"And you would protect her from everything and anything you could, yes?”
"I would never let anything happen to Adelaide, Nate. You must believe me. I called Pete and Myka so that I could stay out of it. I'm done with that part of my life." Helena squeezed his hands tightly as she began to regret making the call in the first place.
Her mind spiraled into a world of possibilities that would have kept Adelaide out of danger's way.
Seeing her eyes searching for answers, Nate asked, "Do you love me?".
"Nate darling, how could I not love you? You are a solid, honest, kind, and wonderful man. You have welcomed me into your home and into your life. I need this, I need you and Adelaide." Helena replied as tears fell onto her cheeks. Nate wiped the tear tracks them away as he pulled the small brunette into his arms.
That night Helena fell asleep tucked into Nate’s chest holding him tightly as if he would escape if her grasp dared loosen.
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Helena turned on the kettle and quietly opened the front door to collect the daily news. As she stood a large yawn escaped her, the night had been long but it had also been beneficial. The pair decided that drudging up the past was not the key to their future together. Anything he needed to know, he would learn in time. All that mattered to Nate was that the feelings they shared all along were real. Helena had created a game for herself whilst reading the paper, she would read through the international news to find articles headlines that matched a warehouses curiosity or two. She most enjoyed the reporter’s work to explain the odd phenomena.
Ignorance is bliss. Helena thought to herself as she laughed.
Truth be told, she was already beginning to miss the adventures before the most recent event. She was almost pleased to be able to hear Myka's voice on the other end of the line. She hadn't wanted to bring the warehouse back into her life but bringing parts of it wouldn't cause too much harm, she assured herself at the time.
Helena's mind drifted from the paper to her last encounter with the agents. Myka was different, distant. Her demeanor was much more stiff and uncertain than in the past; her tone was quizzical and sounded almost hurt when she found out that Helena had not contacted the warehouse by choice. The fallen face of Myka Bering was burned in her mind, she hadn't meant to hurt her.
Just then the kettle began its harsh, loud squeal and Helena was jolted from the memories. The petite brunette sprung from her seat at the table and lunged to hush its squealing, hoping not to wake Adelaide nor Nate for a bit longer. She fixed her cup of tea and once again took her place in front of the large bay window in the kitchen.
This feels right, Helena thought, a roof over my head, a cup of tea in my hand, a darling girl who loves me, and a man that I adore.
Helena sighed with relief and picked up her paper and began her reading. Not long after, small footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and Helena's heart warmed at the sight of the groggy little girl in her nightgown. Adelaide's hair was matted to one side of her head and one of her socks had gone missing but Helena thought she was the most darling sight.
Greeting the little girl half way across the kitchen, Helena kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I believe your father is still being visited by the sandman, how about we go and interrupt?" Helena said with a wink.
She and Adelaide quickly ran into the master bedroom and onto the large king size bed, waking Nate and starting a large tickle fight for all.
This, this is home, Helena thought as the three slumped back into the bed exhausted from their valiant efforts.
For the first time in nearly a decade, she felt like she belonged.