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Pete says it's not a big deal because they can kiss anytime now--"day, night, January 3rd, next Monday, whenever...because we're together"--but she knows he is just trying to be cool about it. She had told him more than once how she thinks it is all so silly and arbitrary. Of course, that was before their relationship awkwardly stumbled from casual hangouts to dating.
And it is expected; there are kinks to work out. They were friends a long time and to transition from not being able to make eye contact while delivering a sincere compliment to intimate, candle-lit dinner dates is…it's an adjustment. Truth be told, she can't wait to get past all the awkwardness. She wants to be able to sit in a room alone with him without feeling like they should be spilling their guts to each other. That or making out. It puts so much pressure on how they should be when they are together. So, she makes them spend as much time together as they can in the hopes that it would fast track their relationship to a cozier territory.
(It hasn't made her miss him less.)
She wanted to do something sweet for him and a new year's kiss seemed like the best idea. She had it all planned; a nice dinner followed by a visit to his favourite dessert place--she even set up the fireworks that would be the backdrop of their romantic kiss. But then an artifact had to turn up in the middle of fucking New York and she knew right away that the plan and the bribes she gave were going to waste. Some part of her had hoped that they would be able to wrap up the case before the last day of the year and they could return to Univille to enjoy at least some of her planned new year's eve, but now 2015 is only minutes away and they are squeezing through people trying to get to the source of that fudge--
"Pete, I see it!"
On the stage, there was the blinking thing. Literally, the artifact blinks rainbow-colored lights. She would have to get past security and douse the artifact with purple goo. It will be messy and there will be sparks but the artifact is too big and if she doesn't neutralize it before the clock strikes twelve, there will be a much bigger mess to clean up--one that will require a bigger number of people than she and Pete.
She pushes through the crowd of people intent on not giving her way.
"Oh, shit."
Taylor Swift has noticed the commotion she is causing. From the stage, the pop star waves to security and points at Myka but Myka keeps pushing forward, elbowing the more stubborn members of the crowd. The security guards are too far away to stop her from jumping the barricade. She can make it.
She leaps over the barricade and onto the stage, one hand unscrewing the purple goo container hanging on her shoulder.
Taylor Swift gasps, thinking that Myka is aiming for her.
"Duck!" Myka yells.
The singer, too shocked by the mad woman who has stormed her stage, follows Myka's instruction. Not wasting any time, Myka throws the neutralizing liquid at the artifact. Then she tackles Taylor Swift onto the floor to cover her from any wild sparks. Mostly, sparks from an artifact neutralization is harmless like the igniting spark of a lighter, but sometimes, it can get a little hot--not enough to cause burns but hot enough to sting the skin.
But the usual sparks don't come. Instead, a single purple fireball shoots out of the artifact and up into the sky. Myka panics, thinking that she had underestimated the artifact's volatility, but when the fireball explodes etching firework-like designs in the sky, she lets out the breath she was holding. Every eye in Time Square that was intently watching her shifts upwards.
Myka looks down at her watch.
Eleven seconds to midnight.
While everyone else is distracted by the resulting beauty of what could have been a catastrophic disaster, she decides to execute the very special mission that she almost abandoned. She jumps off the stage and runs towards Pete, easily slipping through dumbfounded security personnel.
Pete's eyes are also up in the sky.
She grabs the back of his head with both hands. He looks at her, eyes wide with surprise.
"Three," she whispers. "Two--"
"Wow," he exhales as she pulls away from him.
One corner of her lips quirks up and he grins his boyish grin at her.
"Happy new year."
***
They break up on Valentine's Day. Claudia and Steve had so kindly offered to cover for them and Myka couldn't think of a reason to reject their offer. So, on the night of February 14, she and Pete go to Univille's nicest restaurant. They are talking about the thing that they usually talk about, which is work, over chicken parm and creole salmon when suddenly, Pete tells her,
"I can't do this anymore."
"I told you that you'll end up wanting to eat red meat," Myka replies.
Pete shakes his head. "The fish is fine."
"Oh, you want to go home?" Myka asks.
"Yeah, but it's not that either," Pete says.
Rarely does Pete have that serious a look on him so Myka puts down her fork and knife and leans forward. Pete shakes his head so Myka refrains from getting closer to him.
"I can't do this relationship anymore."
Myka frowns. "Are you saying you want to break up?"
Pete swallows. "Uh-huh."
"Where did this come from?" Myka asks. "What did I do?"
"Nothing," Pete answers. "I just don't think that we work as a couple."
"Why?"
Pete shrugs. "I don't know. Since we got together, it's like everything is different--"
"Isn't that a point?"
"But it's bad different."
"So you want to be just friends?"
"I think that would be the best thing for us right now."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
Then he resumes eating his salmon like they didn't just break up. Myka stands up from her chair.
"Where are you going?" Pete asks.
"We just broke up," she tells him. "I need to process…or shoot something."
"Okay," is all Pete says in response.
As she is about to leave, he calls her. She turns around, hoping that he had come to his senses. Instead, what comes out of his mouth is,
"Can I have your chicken?"
***
They talk because they're roommates and partners, but they don't talk for almost a month after they broke up. Then one day everything goes back to normal and Myka is too relieved to ask why.
At the same time, HG has decided to visit the Warehouse more often, which is kind of awkward for Myka after that teary goodbye in Boone. That goodbye was intense. It felt like the kind of goodbye that would last many years. Instead, it barely lasted a year.
That first morning when she and Pete found HG in a car outside of the Warehouse, she was elated but concerned.
"Why didn't you go to Leena's?" she had asked HG.
"I arrived quite late and I didn't want to disturb anyone's sleep," was HG's reply.
"Thanks for that," Pete said in response. "Slept like a baby last night."
HG rolled her eyes but didn't care to retort, turning towards Myka instead with one of those sealable aluminium bags that is supposed to be good at insulating heat.
"I ran out of the standard issue ones," HG had explained.
Sure enough, there was an artifact in it; a light bulb which draws power from nearby humans. The artifact resulted from Thomas Edison's dabbling into the occult when he grew frustrated with his many failed attempts at creating mass produceable light bulbs. Luckily, he was found out by other Warehouse 12 agents who managed to halt production of the light bulbs. Edison, being a well-known figure at the time who has the backing of many world leaders, was let off with barely a slap on the wrist. His colleagues thought that they had confiscated and destroyed every protype and notes made of the light bulb but unbeknownst to them, Edison had managed to hide one prototype from them.
"Always was a self-absorbed prick," HG said as she submerged the light bulb into a container of neutralizer under a purple light. She claimed that she followed the specifications of the static bags to a T but just in case she made a mistake--which she doubted. "Even a tiny exposure could adversely affect one's health," she added as the light bulb hissed in the container.
"Then why did you wait this long?" Myka asked.
HG shrugged with a sheepish grin. "Hubris I suppose."
Pete nodded. "Makes sense."
Despite Myka's stern warning, she found HG sleeping outside the Warehouse four times after that. After that fourth time, Leena forced HG to take a key to the inn and another to her old room so she won't be disturbing anyone for her next late night/early morning arrival to Univille. Artie was still cagey about letting HG in and out of the Warehouse as she pleased but at least if she could get into the inn, she can leave whatever artifact she would be bringing in in the 24-hour artifact storage room.
Myka tries hard to not let it show but every time she sees a strange car outside the inn, it significantly brightens up her morning and when Leena comes into the kitchen, she would ask, as casually as possible, if it is HG or one of the B&B's rare guests.
More often than not, it's HG, and Myka could easily tell from the knowing smile Leena wears when she answers--a smile Myka pretends not to understand. Then she would proceed to the storage room to pick up HG's bagged artifact and deliver it to the Warehouse.
***
For the first time since she became a Warehouse agent, Myka has New Year's eve off which means Pete has it off too. He and Kate Logan had reconnected a few months ago and he is taking her to a three-day getaway someplace warm "to get to know each other again." Myka had plans too--which is what she told everyone.
There is nothing wrong with going on vacation alone. She had done it many times in the past and enjoyed herself each time, but when Pete delivered the 'good news' to her, she almost groaned aloud. Maybe it's the break up, which she doubts because she is over it, but the prospect of spending three days by herself no matter how scenic the view might be filled her with dread.
Maybe it's her biology telling her that she is running out of time, as Mrs Frederick once hinted to her. Of what? She's not sure. She tries to squeeze out some semblance of motherly instinct whenever she visits her sister. Her niece is cute and charming, but when she leaves, she is always relieved. She likes kids, sure, but she doesn't want one being a constant in her life. You can't take a time out from a child when it's your child. She thinks that is why Pete broke up with her. He wants to have a whole football team if he can.
So, on the day when she is supposed to leave, she tells her friends that the hotel lost her reservation and she can't make a new one because the hotel and other nearby ones are already fully booked. Then she tells them not to worry too much about her lost vacation because she bought insurance for the trip so she's going to get all her money back.
"Hmm, remind me to buy travel insurance next time I go on a trip," Pete says, not appearing too concerned by Myka's bad luck.
Claudia sidles up next to Myka with a sheepish smile. "So," she exhales. "This guy Joshua's been seeing…"
"Uh-huh," Myka replies.
"He's like sooo normal," Claudia continues.
"Is that good or bad?" Myka asks.
"Oh, definitely great. I love him," Claudia says. "But you know how I have Christmas off because I'm going to spend it with my brother who I haven't seen in awhile?"
"And because we agreed that you and Steve get Christmas off and Pete and I get New Year's off."
"I was wondering…"
"Mmmhmm," Myka hums. She will say yes because what else is she going to do? But seeing Claudia squirm and trying her best to draw sympathy out of Myka is kind of entertaining.
"Josh and his new beau have this whole fun week planned and they actually invited me, but I couldn't because--"
"You're supposed to come back on the 28th, which is three more days off than Pete and I get."
"Sure, but since you're going to be here anyway," Claudia says. "What if--"
"Okay," Myka says.
"Okay?" Claudia squeals.
"But when you come back, you can't go on any field missions until you finish all your reports."
Claudia gives Myka a two-finger salute. "Yes, boss."
***
Obviously, she didn't expect company. Even Artie and Dr Vanessa are off to their very own escapade, and she and Steve agreed that the both of them don't have to be in the Warehouse at the same time. When the visitor alert goes off, Myka thinks that it might be a mistake. People don't just stumble upon the Warehouse; there are security measures in place that are designed to deviate stragglers closer to the nearest populated area.
Myka extracts her Farnsworth to summon Steve but when she sees the face of the visitor, she puts it away. It's HG, staring up at the camera at the Warehouse's entrance.
"Claudia?" she calls out. "I am usually careful but it seems I have triggered the security alert. Could you turn it off before it alarms Arthur? And perhaps, let me in."
There is a speaker at the camera but Myka doesn't reply. She just opens the door for HG. It is a little bit of a walk between the entrance and the office, giving Myka just enough time to straighten her outfit and redo her hair tie. She stares at the mirror in the bathroom for a while, trying to wrestle her anxiety into deciding between effortless presentability and purposeful elegance. Once Myka finally accepts that the latter is not achievable at the moment (not with the clothes she's wearing), HG has already made herself comfortable at Pete's desk.
"The speaker outside is broken," Myka offers as an explanation, hoping HG won't care to verify her lie.
"Aren't you supposed to be on vacation?" HG asks, concern etched on her features.
"There was a reservation mishap," Myka says. "So I decided to stay here rather than stress myself out trying to fix it."
"That is unfortunate," HG replies.
"Not really," Myka shrugs. "I just wanted time to myself and I got it."
"Is Claudia at the inn?" HG asks. "I promised her that I would help her figure out the anomaly at sector 7."
"She didn't tell you?"
"What didn't she tell me?"
"The kid figured that since I'm not using my vacation--"
"She isn't even in town, is she?"
Myka shakes her head.
HG sighs. "Well, I suppose I should find out if I can amend my flight ticket to London."
"Why?" Myka asks.
"There is nothing for me here," HG answers and Myka clenches her teeth, trying to hide the disappointment she feels.
"Do you need Claudia to do whatever it is you're supposed to be repairing with her?"
"No, but with Claudia absent, I must refrain. Arthur might not approve. He still insists that the family of ferrets living in the haunted portrait aisle is my fault."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Myka tells HG. "We're pretty sure it's Steve since the kettle only produces adult ferrets. The age of the younger ferrets seems to coincide with the length of his time here."
"It must be some wish."
"Still," Myka says. "Stick around. It'll save you the amendment fees. When is your flight anyway?"
"In three days," HG answers.
Myka whistles. "I know you're rich and all but they're going to charge you a lot if you change your flight. And it's so close to the new year. The difference between the ticket price when you bought it and now is going to be astronomical."
"That may be true," HG says. "But I don't want to disturb your alone time."
"I said that because I didn't want you to feel sorry for me. It turns out that quiet mornings are overrated," Myka replies, maybe a little too eagerly. She laughs, trying to cover up the excitement she is feeling. "Pete and Claudia have ruined me. I miss the noise."
HG chuckles. "Are you sure?"
"Please stay," Myka tells her.
"Agent Jinks won't mind?"
"He loves having you around."
"I can count on one hand the number of words he has spoken to me."
"It's out of admiration," Myka assures HG. "He just hasn't gotten used to the fact you're, well, you."
"As I recall, you were a fan too," HG says, "but somehow, we have exchanged many words between the two of us."
"It's hard not to when you've both saved my life and tried to kill me." HG's grin falters so Myka quickly adds, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." "No, I am the one who is supposed to apologize."
"You have, many times," Myka replies. "We're good."
HG tries to cover up her guilt with a smile and Myka smiles back, pretending she doesn't notice the look of sadness that stubbornly remained on HG's face.
"Let's get you settled at the inn then."
***
"I need to tell you something."
"What's up?" Pete says, looking up from his phone.
His eyes have been glued to his phone since he returned from his vacation. He and Logan apparently spent three earth-shatteringly intimate days together and now they can't go five straight minutes without a text.
"I don't know if I should tell you," Myka adds. "Because we haven't really talked much about romance since--"
"Since our own romance died?" Pete offers with a grin, albeit a restrained one.
Myka chuckles because she knows he doesn't mean anything malicious by it.
"I guess," Pete mutters. "But I feel like I've talked about Kate a lot. Like maybe too much. Just not one to one with you. Is it weird?"
Myka shakes her head. "No, but is it weird for you?"
Pete's forehead creases and he considers it for a moment. "I don't think so."
"Good," Myka replies.
"So, what is it?" Pete asks.
"What is what?" Myka returns the question, momentarily confused before remembering her initial purpose of bringing up romance to Pete. "Right," she exhales when Pete raises an eyebrow at her.
"Found a guy, didn't you?" Pete says. "Is he more handsome than me?"
"I didn't really find them," Myka replies. "It's more like I noticed them one day--noticed my feelings for them and couldn't shove them back where they should be."
Pete gasps. "Do you want to get back together with me?"
"No," Myka snaps.
Pete clutches his chest. "Wow."
"You have a girlfriend, Pete," Myka reminds him.
He squints at her. "Is it Jinks? Dude, he's gay."
"I know that," Myka tells him. "It's not him."
Pete's face contorts into disgust. "No," he shakes his head, gagging, "do you have a crush on Artie? He's like our dad, Mykes. Or like a very stern uncle."
"No!" Myka cries out. "No, of course it's not Artie!"
"Then who?"
"HG," Myka says. "It's HG."
Pete's lower jaw drops but it doesn't take long for him to pick it up again. He hums, "It makes sense, I guess."
"How?"
Pete shrugs. "You guys sometimes stare at each other very intensely. When we were dating and HG kept coming around, it made me a little insecure."
"Is that why you broke up with me?" Myka asks.
"No."
"Then why?"
"Hey, don't change the subject. We're talking about your giant love for HG right now."
"I don't…" Myka mumbles. "I don't love her."
"But you have love like feelings for her," Pete says.
"Is that love-hyphen-like or love-slash-like?"
"Does it matter?"
Myka shrugs. "Okay, sure. There are feelings involved."
"Are you going to do anything about it?" Pete asks. "Or do you even want to?"
"That's the thing," Myka replies. "Something already happened."
Pete's eyes widen. "What, how, and when?"
"I kissed her at like two in the morning on the first. I don't know how it happened. Like I have a hard time believing it happened right now. I don't do that. I don't randomly kiss people at two in the morning."
"But it happened?" Pete asks.
"Uh-huh," Myka nods, "but you know what the wildest thing is? She kissed me back."
"That's not wild at all," Pete tells her. "You're a kissable gal."
"Then why did she leave without even a goodbye?"
***
The next time HG drops by, Pete can't help but be angry on Myka's behalf. It's sweet and maybe a little fun to watch but she doesn't let it to go on for too long and tells him to rein it in to his usual level of hostility. Yes, HG is regretful of her past actions and she doesn't just sit back and revel in her guilt; she channels her regrets into real actions that, in Myka's view, has largely redeemed her. But the thing about betrayal is: there is no checklist for the betrayer to go through in order to definitively obtain the betrayed's forgiveness.
Pete's anger is his and Myka told him the same about hers.
On HG's part, she doesn't let the confusion and frustration borne out of their previous meeting linger between them for too long. She asks to speak with Myka and when Myka hears uncertainty and fear in her voice, she too readily wants to forgive and forget the anxiety and insecurity that she has had to murk through in the past month. It's an impulse that she isn't too fond of and so she extinguishes it. She knows that it isn't as permanent as she would like to believe and it will eventually ignite without even a spark, but at least, she doesn't give in to the temptation before she hears what HG has to say.
HG has stared at the patterns of the new tablecloth that Leena bought a week ago for far too long that Myka is compelled to speak first even though HG is the one who has to explain herself.
"Why?" Myka asks.
She doesn't append the question with details, not specifying whether she was referring to HG's sudden interest towards tablecloth design or the kiss they shared on the first morning of the year or HG's abrupt departure while Myka caught up with the sleep she lacked because her brain wouldn't switch off until it had tired itself out thinking about HG's lips.
HG looks up, finally, wearing the same uncertainty that Myka had seen in her own reflection while she brushed her teeth in the morning.
"I needed some time to think," HG tells Myka.
"About?"
"Whether or not I should reciprocate your--the feelings you expressed to me during my last visit."
"Didn't you already?"
HG chuckles in that awkward way one does when confronted too directly. Rationally, Myka knows that the laugh doesn't carry any ill intent, but it also reminds her of the angst that she had to suffer because HG left without a word and refused to pick up a phone or at least email afterwards.
"And then you took it back," she adds.
"Can't say I didn't deserve that," HG replies. "I apologize for that and for the distress that it has caused you."
Myka does not respond, neither verbally nor with a gesture. She wants to look into HG's eyes as if it's that simple to judge HG's sincerity but then she recalls Pete's comment about how their eyes tend to lock often. It was easier, perhaps, for them to only communicate through silent gazes rather than verbal affirmations. That way, there is no need for difficult promises, only sweet potential.
"With all that time, what have you decided?" Myka asks. She has already made her feelings clear. It's all up to Helena now.
"There was always something between us," Helena begins. "And once upon a time, I would have made the choice to explore it in a heartbeat but…"
Part of Myka wants to rush her--wants to skip the exposition and stomp the climax flat. All she wants is to get to the end where she curls up in her bed or takes Helena's breath away with a kiss or a really tight hug. But she wants nothing to be left unsaid between them so she waits patiently for Helena to gather her nerve. Whichever way this conversation goes, their relationship is going to change and Myka doesn't mind living in the in between for just two seconds longer.
"I fucked up," Helena continues. "There is no other way to say it. The damage I did is irreversible and I am grateful every day that you still trust me to be in your life."
Myka sighs. "How many times do I have to tell you that I forgive you? You've made up for it many times since then."
"And accepting your forgiveness is one of the things I am working on," Helena replies. "I thought that I would need to ready myself for you--to be worthy of you--but when you kissed me, I realized that I can't wait anymore. I have used up all my patience. I want to explore this thing between us and not because I would regret it if I didn't. I want to because I believe it is inevitable and delaying it is only going to cause myself and perhaps, you unnecessary pain."
"So," Myka says, "what I'm hearing is if I said I want to take you out to a nice dinner tonight, you would say yes?"
Helena laughs. "Yes," she exhales, her voice trembling slightly. "I would love that."
***
HG says that it is not a big deal but Myka disagrees. Of course it is a huge fucking deal. Myka flinches and takes a whole step back every time her girlfriend walks into a room that she is in, and despite it being noticeable enough that Pete didn't so much as bat an eyelash when she asked him about it, she never once noticed it. Not until she and Helena had their very first fight.
"It's not easy to get over something like trying to destroy the world," Pete says.
"But she's done so much to redeem herself since then," Myka argues. "She saved the world like twice in the last five years."
"So did we," Pete replies. He isn't making this easy on her but she didn't come to him to get the easy answers. If she wanted someone to validate her, she would have gone to Leena. Leena is better at seeing the silver linings than her partner.
"How many times does someone have to save the world to make up for a single failed attempt to destroy it?" Myka exhales. She had the answer before she even finished uttering the question but she waits to hear Pete's. Someone has to tell it to her.
"I don't know, Mykes," Pete mutters. "Maybe never. If an artifact wasn't involved, right now, she would be in prison with zero chance of getting out in her lifetime."
"But I forgave her," Myka says. "I should be able to trust her."
"It's easy to overlook a traumatic event in our line of work," Pete replies. "Inanimate objects try to kill us almost every day but it doesn't mean that it hasn't left a mark on us. What happens when you're around HG--that's the mark she left on you."
"Will it," Myka exhales sharply, "will it ever go away?"
Pete shrugs. "Maybe…maybe not."
"That's not a good thing to have hanging over a relationship."
"Nope."
Myka lays her forehead on Pete's shoulder. "Maybe I shouldn't have pushed too hard," she mumbles. "Probably should have waited a little longer--waited until I trusted her better."
"Is this the part where I spout that bullshit about how love conquers all?" Pete says.
Myka chuckles wearily. "If it is, you shouldn't have led with that."
“You know what? I’m going to say it anyway,” Pete says. “This whole thing you have with HG is rare, and maybe it won’t conquer all but I don’t think you should throw it away after one fight.”
“Do you really think that?” Myka asks, head still bowed down.
“I do,” Pete answers.
“Why?”
“Can’t you just trust me on this?”
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you if you promise never to repeat it to anyone, especially HG.”
“I promise,” Myka tells him, lifting up her head from his shoulder.
Pete takes a deep breath. “And you can’t look at me while I say it.”
Myka turns her back on him.
"To be honest, watching you and HG makes me want to hurl--"
"If you're just going to insult me, I'll turn back around."
"Let me finish," Pete says, holding her shoulders in place. "You guys make me nauseous in the way that people do when they look at a couple being adorable with each other. Like 'yuck, I'd tell you to get a room but you're just there being your most content self.' It's not a feeling I want to have and not because I don't want you to be happy--there is nothing I want more--but because you know, I love you. And not entirely in a platonic sense but that's on me."
"You're the one who broke up with me, Pete."
"Why do you think?"
"You still haven't told me."
"The same reason you never really asked."
"I did ask!"
"Yeah, but you never cared if you got an answer."
"Because I didn't want to push you."
"No, because the reason is just too simple. We are so much better as friends than anything else."
"Still, you know, we should have talked about it."
"Do you want to talk about it now?"
Myka considers it for a moment. Then she shakes her head. He's right. It didn't need a long discussion because she has her back turned towards him while he is trying to tell her--hopefully, something nice--in a sincere fashion. That's the thing about them; they can understand each other perfectly without extended eye contact.
"But you're okay?" she asks anyway.
"I have a girlfriend, Mykes," Pete tells her. When she glances back, he has that goofy grin of him on. "Wait, what are we talking about again?"
"You were about to tell me to get my girl, I believe," Myka says, grinning back.
Pete rolls his eyes, motioning at her to turn back around.
"I want to look at someone like HG looks at you and it won't feel weird or wrong, and instead, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. I know I'd hold really tight to something like that if it ever falls into my lap."
"I think I would to," Myka replies.
***
Pete and Kate broke up because they are both too tethered to their jobs to ever consider changing their lives for the other. He doesn't seem all that heartbroken about it. If anything, it has caused him to be more decisive about his desire to have kids.
"I'm done waiting," he said to Myka while catalogue shopping for the biological mother of his future child. "I'm doing this myself."
Myka is fine with it as long as he doesn't ask her to babysit (unless there is an emergency). She likes kids but only when she isn't in charge of them and if, at some point, her participation in the kid's life becomes unavoidable, she'll do so by buying them indulgent gifts that their father would have to make usage schedules for. She was never the fun anything. Maybe with Pete's kid(s), she can be the cool aunt.
"I'll think about it," Leena tells Pete.
"So, that's like a 'soft yes'?"
"That's like an 'I'll think about it' and if you keep pushing it, it'll be a hard no."
Pete raises his arms in surrender. Since he decided that he will be a father, he has been trying to map out every detail of his child-to-be's first eighteen years. He has gotten more angry crosses in his checklist than positive ticks which has made him readjust his expectations just a tiny bit. One of the things in his edited list is to turn the inn into a daycare. That way, the kid--who isn't even conceived yet--won't have to be put in a strange environment after Pete's paternity leave ends.
The first time he pitched it to Leena, he got a straight 'no' because, well, artifacts pass through the B&B all the time and that's not great for kids who have buckets of curiousity and very little impulse control. But he came to her again later, saying that they wouldn't need to use the whole inn and if they keep certain doors closed during the day, no one's kid would get whammied. Leena retorted that with, "Who is going to run the daycare?"
Pete kept his mouth shut for a while after that because he is smart enough to know that any response that he would come up with will be deeply sexist. Then, by pure coincidence, Univille's only daycare center was closed down because the owner was moving to another state. So, it became not only a matter of convenience but a necessity for the town, and unlike the rest of them, Leena has a great relationship with the people of Univille. She knows them on a personal level. She would want to help out which gave Pete an opening to ask her again. This time, he came to her prepared. He brought resumes of the staff from the closed daycare.
"How is the child making progressing?" HG asks Pete.
She seems fascinated--maybe too fascinated--by Pete's journey into making a child by himself. Myka's feelings on it are mixed. On one hand, her best friend and her girlfriend are finally getting along, but on the other, she had to wonder if HG wanted a child of her own too. She asked HG about it a few weeks ago because if HG wants children, then they should have a serious talk about how Myka didn't want any.
Helena had assured her that being a mother is not a role that she would want to take on for a second time. The first time was heartbreaking enough. "I am just enchanted by this procedure," she told Myka. "In my day, it would easily qualify as a miracle."
It's not that she doesn't have a nagging feeling that HG might change her mind in the future but compared to the other stuff they are working through, this issue doesn't seem as urgent.
"It's time, people!" Claudia announces as she bursts into the office.
Pete jumps on his feet and rushes towards Claudia. Helena, in turn, gets up and approaches Myka. Myka holds up her arm at Helena and Helena links their arms together.
"How did the Queen take it when you told her that you can't do the the annual Crown Jewels' cleanse?"
"She will live," Helena answers. "Besides, anyone can do it. Even Pete. I don't know why it has to be a British person."
"Did they manage to find a replacement?" Myka asks.
"I believe so," Helena replies. "Apparently, we have a Scottish regent."
"We do?"
Helena nods in affirmation.
"You guys coming or what?" Pete calls out to them.
***
"Here's hoping that we don't end the world today," Claudia mutters just before the countdown starts.
"What's that?" Artie huffs.
"TEN!" Pete shouts and Claudia echoes Pete, pretending that she didn't hear Artie.
Myka looks at Helena and Helena shakes her head, squeezing Myka's shoulder reassuringly.
Claudia has tried to convince Artie to take out the 'Fireball'--not an actual fireball but a portmanteau of 'fireworks' and 'ball'--on the Warehouse's roof for years now. Artie has rejected her request each time for obvious reasons. This year, however, she and Helena teamed up to make adjustments to the Fireball which would ensure that it won't cause a zombie apocalypse like it almost did when it was taken out last time. Of course, the tweaks were entirely credited to Claudia. Artie is taking baby steps towards trusting Helena but he still has a solid line drawn between her and apocalyse-causing artifacts.
"One!" Myka exclaims along with her family.
The Fireball flashes before emitting sparks that explodes in the air into colorful patterns and Myka laughs, amazed by the pretty lights decorating the sky. A pleasant warmth touches her cheek and her smile widens.
There is just something about fireworks that make everything seem better, but this time, she thinks it is more than that.
This, she thinks, is what it feels like to be complete.