Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

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HOME

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The warm, golden-pink rays of dawn were just beginning to tint the eastern horizon as Artie's little red coupe pulled to a stop in the drive at Leena's Bed and Breakfast, and Helena felt her heart begin to speed with anticipation as she reached for her door handle. Inside that house, tucked away on the second floor, was Myka, her Myka, and she found herself growing inexplicably nervous as she thought about seeing her again. She knew that she hadn't left the younger woman under the best circumstances, whether it had been her fault or not, and she offered up a quick, silent prayer that she would, in time, be forgiven for her absence.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends," she muttered under her breath as she steeled her resolve and pushed her car door open.

The early morning air was damp and cool against her skin, rejuvenating in its crispness, and she swallowed thickly as she began to make her way across the gravel drive to the back door of the inn. Artie took off behind her as she stepped onto the porch, his tires crunching loudly on the gravel driveway, no doubt on his way to the Warehouse, and she drew a deep, calming breath as she reached for the doorknob. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and baking pastries greeted her the moment she entered the kitchen and she smiled shyly at Leena who was leaning against the counter beside the sink and nursing her first cup of the day.

"Welcome home," Leena greeted the Englishwoman. She smiled warmly at Helena as she set her coffee cup down on the countertop, and wasted no time crossing the kitchen to pull her into a light embrace.

Slightly surprised by the innkeeper's warm welcome, it took Helena a moment before she tentatively returned the hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

Leena nodded and squeezed the artificer gently. "She's up in her room," she murmured knowingly. She winked at the older woman as she pulled away and glanced indicatively at the back staircase. "Once the breakfast pastries are finished baking, I'll set a few aside for you two so that Pete doesn't eat them all. So, no need to rush – got it?"

"I do," Helena replied softly with a grateful tip of her head. "Well-" she took a deep breath and straightened her posture, throwing her shoulders back to make herself appear more confident that she felt "-wish me luck."

"You won't need it," Leena assured her. She gave the Englishwoman one last warm smile as the timer beside the oven began to chirp, and muttered, "Go on," to her as she turned to silence the timer and pull the scones that were done from the oven.

The rest of the Bed and Breakfast was quiet as Helena slowly made her way up the stairs and she licked her lips nervously as she crept silently down the hallway. She glanced quickly around at the closed doors surrounding her before she lifted her hand to deliver a series of three, light knocks against Myka's door. Her heart once again began to race as she waited for the younger woman to answer, but she thankfully didn't have to wait too long before Myka opened the door.

Time froze in that instant when surprised green eyes locked onto humbled, hopeful brown. They stared at each other in stunned silence, Myka noticing the wrinkles in Helena's clothes and the tired circles under her eyes while Helena made note of the plain yet entirely fetching tank top and sleep pants Myka was wearing and the delicious mess of her hair that made her look completely debauched – and then time became fluid again.

"You're back," Myka whispered as she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Helena's neck as she pulled her into a crushing embrace. "You're back."

Tears of relief stung at Helena's eyes as she wrapped her arms around the younger woman's waist and held her close. "I am, indeed, darling," she murmured. She buried her face in the crook of Myka's neck and breathed in the familiar scent of her lover. "Oh, how I've missed you," she whispered, her lips brushing lightly against Myka's throat as she spoke.

A pleasant shiver rolled down Myka's spine at the feeling of Helena's lips against her skin and she swallowed thickly as she pulled back to look her in the eye. "Where were you? What happened?"

Helena licked her lips and once more glanced around the deserted second floor hallway. "Might we have this conversation in your room? It's not that I'm necessarily opposed to the others hearing it, it's just…"

"No, no, of course." Myka stepped away from the doorway and waved a hand at her room. "Please, come in."

"Thank you," Helena murmured. She stepped into the room and stopped a few feet from Myka's unmade bed, her hands folded in front of her as she listened to the younger woman close and lock the bedroom door behind her. A light hand trailing across her shoulders and down her arm drew her eyes up and she bit her lip as she once again met Myka's questioning gaze. "I'm sorry for leaving you like I did. You must know that it was not my choice to do so."

"I had hoped it hadn't been," Myka replied. Her lips quirked up in a small, questioning smile as she took Helena's hand in her own and threaded their fingers together. "It's been seven weeks…"

"I know," Helena whispered. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I mean, well, I know that now. Artie told me on the plane how long I'd been gone – before that, I'd honestly had no idea. The days all ran together, you see."

Myka's brow furrowed with confusion. "What do you mean, Artie told you on the plane?"

"He…" Helena's voice trailed off in a sigh and she looked at Myka's bed. "Could we sit down for this? I am quite tired and I'm afraid it is a rather long story."

With no other real options open to them, they settled down on the bed, legs extended in front of themselves as they leaned back against the headboard. Once again, Myka took Helena's hand in her own and pulled their joined hands onto her lap, the fingers of her free hand lightly stroking the back of the Englishwoman's as she waited for her to speak.

"That feels lovely," Helena murmured softly, smiling down at her hand that Myka was caressing. She stared at their joined hands for almost a full minute before she took a deep breath and began her tale.

She started at the beginning, making sure to tell Myka how she had pressed a tender kiss to her temple before stealing across the hall to put out the candle she'd foolishly left burning. In a quiet voice, she recounted the fear she'd felt when she'd realized that she wasn't alone and then the sharp blow to the head that she felt before the world went black. It would have been impossibly tedious to recount each moment of her confinement by the Regents, but she made sure to tell Myka about the tests and the therapy she had been subjected to. She told her how she had even allowed herself to be voluntarily hypnotized to try and prove to the Regents that she was past her all-encompassing anger and how they never did tell her what she revealed during that session; and she told her about the artifacts the Regents had used to make sure that she was, indeed, telling the truth.

Myka was the perfect audience for the story, squeezing her hand when the memories became too tense or emotional and even gasping in surprise or chuckling with amusement at others, and Helena found herself feeling lighter with each experience shared. That being said, however, when she spoke about having overheard Artie on several occasions petitioning for her release and reinstatement, she had to tighten her hold on Myka's hand so that the younger woman didn't go storming after the agent-in-charge for withholding Helena's location from her. It had taken her more than a few minutes to talk the woman back down, and she smiled with relief when she felt Myka sink back into her embrace.

The story from that point moved quickly, through the final days of her interment and her exit interview with Pete's mother, and she sighed as she turned her head to press a tender, lingering kiss to Myka's forehead.

"And then Artie dropped me off here, Leena sent me on up, and with butterflies swarming in my stomach I summoned the courage necessary to knock on your door."

Myka's hand, that had been absently rubbing small circles on Helena's stomach, stalled. "Why were you afraid?"

Helena shrugged. "I had left you in the worst possible way, darling. How was I to know if you would forgive me or not? Of course, even now, I'm afraid I don't know… do you forgive me for leaving you like I did?"

The quiet insecurity in Helena's tone tugged at Myka's heartstrings and the young agent smiled as she pulled back far enough to look her in the eye. "Of course I forgive you, sweetie. You didn't leave – you were stolen away from me."

A small, grateful smile tweaked Helena's lips as she leaned forward to capture Myka's lips in a sweet kiss. "Thank you."

Myka hummed softly and licked her lips. "No, thank you," she murmured as she closed the distance between them once more and claimed Helena's lips with her own.

Much like the last, this kiss began slow and easy, reverent and full of affection, but it didn't take long before it grew into something more. A swipe of a tongue over a full bottom lip pleaded for more, which was granted with a moan and a sigh as lips parted and tongues began to swirl together, stroking and tasting as hands fisted in hair and clothing, pulling and tugging the other closer as the need to be as close as possible overwhelmed them.

Clothes were shed between heated kisses and hands slid eagerly over each millimeter of newly revealed smooth skin. Fingers grasped and massaged as they moved together, bodies rocking in time with the passion of their kisses, and when they finally laid back on the bed with nothing between them, it was as if the world around them disappeared completely as they lost themselves in the other.

Helena couldn't contain the groan that escaped her when, with a deft roll of her hips, Myka pushed her back onto her back, the younger woman's hands wrapped lightly around her wrists, pinning her to the bed, as a hungry mouth latched onto her throbbing pulse point. She bit her lip to try and contain the moan that escaped her as she felt Myka suck hard against her, no doubt leaving a mark that she would wear with great pride later. Her head turned to the side of its own volition, offering more skin to be tasted and consumed as Myka moved lower, kissing, licking, nipping, and sucking, and a low, rich moan spilled from her lips as long, knowing fingers began lightly circling the perimeter of her breast.

"I wanted to wake you up like this, that next morning," Myka shared in a playful whisper as she nipped at Helena's collarbone.

"It would have been…" Helena groaned softly as Myka's thumb brushed over her nipple. "A wonderful way to wake up."

Myka smiled at the need evident in the older woman's tone and she kissed her way slowly back up her throat. She gazed adoringly into Helena's dark eyes as she settled herself at her side, her head propped up on her left hand as she continued to draw lazy patterns across the Englishwoman's chest with her right. Their first night together had been many things: soft, hesitant, needy, frantic, and primal; but she knew that this reunion needed to be slow.

Reverent.

So, even though she desperately wanted nothing more than to bury her mouth and her fingers in the sweet apex of Helena's thighs and bring her crashing over the edge of euphoria, she forced herself to remain where she was, staring into smoldering mahogany eyes as she touched her with deliberate languor. "You are so beautiful," she murmured, her eyes dancing over the Englishwoman's face.

Helena bit her lip and blushed. "As are you, my love." She smiled shyly as she began stroking her left hand up and down Myka's arm, encouraging the younger woman's touch even as she satisfied her own need to feel. She licked her lips as she slid her hand higher, dipping around the back of Myka's arm to trace the line of her triceps as she ran the tips of her fingers across the gentle swell of the younger woman's breast.

As if by an unspoken agreement, their touches remained slow and gentle, just the lightest brush of fingertips over desire-warmed skin as Myka once again claimed Helena's mouth with her own. Sweet kisses were shared as hands began to roam and their bodies arched together, legs scissoring to press against intimate folds as rocking hips painted hot stripes of desire across firm, toned thighs.

Quiet moans filled the air around them as hands roamed unceasingly, touching and feeling, grabbing, holding, massaging, and lightly scratching as they slowly urged the other higher and higher, lovingly guiding their partner to that explosive edge of ecstasy. Emerald eyes held dark captive as they moved, hips rolling, thighs pressing, lips brushing lightly together as panted breaths tumbled together in the finite space between them. Heartbeats sped and hands eventually tangled amongst raven locks and white linens, fingers twining together, squeezing, holding, anchoring themselves to the other as their breaths fell faster and their movements became more desperate. White heat, spread through their bodies, promising euphoric release, and they continued to stare into each other's eyes as that release swept over them in the same instant, their bodies shaking with climax as their hands tightened and their mouths fell open wider to emit hushed, tremulous cries of ecstasy. Eyes fluttered shut as mouths crashed tenderly together and Myka blanketed Helena's smaller frame with her own as they kissed.

Eventually, heartbeats slowed and pleased smiles tweaked still clasped lips, and Myka licked her lips as she pulled back to once again look Helena in the eye. "I missed you."

The weight of the moment made Helena's heart clench and she nodded slowly. "I missed you too." She drew a deep breath and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you," Myka whispered. Unable and unwilling to resist, she dipped her head and pressed another kiss to the Englishwoman's lips. She grinned as she felt Helena tremble beneath her and a low, breathy moan escaped her as she kissed her way across an ageless cheek to capture a deliciously tempting earlobe between her lips and suckle it.

Needing to touch Myka, Helena pulled her hands away from the younger agent and grabbed onto her hips, pulling her in closer as bolts of pleasure ricocheted through her. "Oh, darling…"

Myka chuckled throatily and nipped at the pliant flesh she'd been teasing with her tongue. She moved her mouth higher, so that her lips were brushing against the exquisite shell of Helena's ear, and husked, "I want you."

Helena groaned and shifted needfully beneath Myka as she felt a fresh wave of desire settle wetly between her legs. "Myka…"

"Mmm," Myka hummed, smiling as she flicked her tongue over Helena's ear. "Let me have you?"

"God yes," Helena grunted.

"Good," Myka purred, dropping a quick kiss to the corner of the Englishwoman's jaw. She slowly maneuvered herself between Helena's legs as she kissed her way down Helena's jaw line.

Balancing her weight on her knees, she slid her hands up and down Helena's sides, her fingertips bumping over the too-prominent ridges of the older woman's ribs, and she moaned softly as her hands swooped slowly higher to cover the artificer's breasts. Pebbled nipples raked against her palms as she stroked the mounds and she felt her own nipples contract at the throaty, needy moan that tumbled from Helena's lips when she pinched the buds lightly.

Helena cried out when she felt Myka's lips wrap around her left nipple, an agile tongue sweeping slowly around the nub as the younger woman settled more fully atop her, and she selfishly tangled her fingers in Myka's hair as she arched into her mouth and held her where she wanted her. Desire burned in her veins, setting her body aflame with need as Myka played at her breasts, manipulating one with her hand as she teased the other with her mouth and that wicked, wicked tongue of hers, and even though she was vaguely aware of the fact that she was making far more noise than she should considering their location, she couldn't muster the energy to care.

Though Myka loved how sensitive Helena's nipples were, there was so much more of her that she wanted to taste and so it was with a somewhat regretful sigh that she delivered one last flick of her tongue to each proud point before she began kissing her way down the older woman's toned abdomen. Her lips brushed softly over defined muscles and she smiled at the breathy moans that fell from Helena's lips when she raked her teeth over a protruding hipbone. "So beautiful," she murmured appreciatively as she looked up her lover's body, through the valley between her heaving breasts, and locked onto a gorgeous pair of dark eyes that were almost frightening in their intensity.

The air crackled with electricity as Myka slid lower, ghosting her lips over the sweet curve where Helena's thigh and torso met to brush the softest of kisses against her inner thigh. She moaned at the intoxicating scent of Helena's desire and wrapped her arms around the artificer's thighs, pulling them open wider as she leaned in to deliver that first, intimate kiss.

"Oh, darling," Helena moaned, her voice low and rich as she rolled her hips up into Myka's mouth as the younger woman's tongue drew lazy circles around her clit. She groaned appreciatively when the touch against her changed, to become bolder and firmer as broad, flat swipes were painted over the pulsing bud.

I could do this forever, Myka thought as she pulled herself in closer, covering the entirety of Helena's sex with her mouth as she fluttered her tongue through dripping, swollen folds. She moaned against her as long fingers threaded themselves into her hair once more, tugging lightly in an encouraging gesture even as Helena moved her where she needed her.

She brushed her nose over the Englishwoman's clit as she probed at her entrance with her tongue, and looked up in surprise when the pitch and tenor of Helena's cries changed. She smiled when she saw that Helena had pulled a pillow over her face to muffle her screams, and wasted no time diving back in, laving her tongue through Helena's folds before pushing as far inside her as she could reach.

The feeling of Myka's tongue plunging steadily in and out of her drove Helena absolutely wild with desire and she fisted the pillow she'd grabbed with her left hand as she bucked against Myka's mouth, her hips hovering in the air as she desperately tried to take her deeper. Strong hands wrapped around her backside, holding her in place as that relentless, beautiful, talented tongue drove her higher and higher until, gasping for air, she threw her pillow aside and looked down the length of her body into Myka's smiling, hungry eyes. "Please, Myka," she grunted, licking her lips as her hips bucked against the younger woman's mouth. She was so close, so terribly, terribly close, her body tingling with the collected power of her building orgasm, and she just needed that little bit more to let it loose.

Her eyes rolled back in her head as she felt Myka's mouth slip higher and soft, full lips wrapped around her clit. The first light suck against her had her crying out and reaching blindly for the pillow she'd so carelessly tossed aside, and when she slapped her hand over her mouth to try and muffle her screams. Myka's mouth was relentless, sucking lightly yet rhythmically against her, letting her body build to the stimulating tempo, and then the younger woman's tongue began flicking quickly over her and she lost it.

The hand over her mouth did little to muffle the euphoric cry that her orgasm tore from her throat as her body shook and trembled with her release. She whimpered when she felt Myka's fingers begin rubbing slow, encouraging circles against her as her body continued to ride out its climax.

Strong fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her hand away from her mouth, and she moaned as Myka's lips pressed needfully against her own. A louder, lower, more primal moan rumbled in her throat as she tasted herself on Myka's tongue, and she eagerly welcomed it inside her mouth to dance and tangle with her own.

Myka smiled into the kiss, humming softly as Helena's tongue swept hungrily around her own. She could feel the spasms wracking the artificer's body begin to ease, and just before the older woman's orgasm had completely abated, she dipped her fingers lower.

Helena gasped and tore her mouth away from Myka's as she felt two long fingers push slowly inside her, stretching and filling her in the most deliciously exquisite way. "Oh god," she moaned when Myka started thrusting, slow and steady, fingers curling just so inside her and rubbing against hidden ridges that made stars flash behind her eyelids. "Darling…"

"Hmm?" Myka murmured as she nuzzled Helena's cheek.

Helena had been wanting to tell Myka that if she experienced one more orgasm that there was no way she would have the energy to return the favor, but her voice trailed off into a moan as the heel of Myka's hand brushed over her already over-sensitized clit. "Oh god," she croaked.

Loving the way Helena was responding to her, Myka chuckled softly and repeated the touch, thrusting as deep into Helena as she could and ghosting the heel of her palm over the swollen bundle. "Come for me, Helena," she murmured, squeezing her own thighs together as she felt her own orgasm begin to build. Before making love to Helena, pleasing a lover had never given her so much pleasure, but just listening and watching the Englishwoman come undone, knowing that she was the one making her feel so good, was more than enough to bring her to orgasm as well. She squeezed her legs together again and moaned. "Come with me, Helena."

As if by Myka's command alone, a third, even more powerful orgasm ripped through Helena's body and she screamed her young lover's name to the rafters as blissful white heat swept through her, making her head spin as she once again trembled with climax.

Spurred on by the sound of Helena's cries, Myka tumbled over the edge as well, a pleased moan spilling from her lips as pleasure rolled through her. She pressed her lips against the regal column of Helena's throat as she stilled her touch, leaving her fingers sheathed in velvet as they rode out their releases. She pulled out slowly and carefully when Helena's orgasm waned and, with a racing, full, happy heart laid down beside her spent lover. She drew the sheet up over their sweat-slicked bodies and settled in beside Helena, her fingers leaving a damp, sticky trail across the artificer's stomach as she wrapped a hand around her side and pulled her close.

Helena yawned and smiled sheepishly as she turned to look into dark emerald eyes. "Sorry, darling."

"Nothing to be sorry for," Myka assured her with a smile as she leaned in and kissed her softly. She hummed happily as she pulled away and laid her head down on Helena's shoulder. She sighed contentedly as she felt the Englishwoman's deceptively strong arms wrap around her waist and hold her close. "Tired?" she asked knowingly.

Helena nodded and yawned again. "Exhausted, honestly. But now in the very best way possible," she added with a soft smile. "Would you be terribly offended if I took a quick nap?"

"Not at all," Myka assured her. "Sleep, love. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?" Helena asked.

Though she knew Helena was trying to be playful and teasing, there was an undercurrent of hopeful vulnerability in her tone that made Myka's heart clench. She took a deep breath and pushed herself up onto her elbow so that she could once again look her in the eye. "Always." The single word hung heavy in the air, promising so much more than either of them had yet put voice to though they each secretly longed for it, and rather than hiding from it all, Myka smiled and reached up to tenderly cradle Helena's face in her palm. "I love you," she whispered. "And I know this is fast and I don't expect you to feel the same, but I want you to know that I will always love you. You are it for me, Helena G. Wells, and I wish for nothing more than to spend the rest of my life right here at your side."

Tears stung at Helena's eyes as she smiled a rare, blissful smile. "I cannot think of anything I would like more," she murmured, her voice cracking with emotion as her tears spilled free and rolled slowly over her cheeks. "I love you."

Myka smiled and leaned in to press a soft, chaste kiss to Helena's lips. "Promise?"

A happy laugh bubbled in Helena's throat and she nodded. "Always, my darling. Always."

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Hand-in-hand, Myka and Helena made their way downstairs hours later wearing identical happy smiles to find the other occupants of the Bed and Breakfast clustered around the round table in the dining room eating lunch.

"Hey guys," Myka greeted the group as she and Helena stopped beside the table.

"Myka, H.G.," Claudia greeted the couple without looking up from the small electrical device she was tinkering with as she ate what looked to be a BLT.

Pete waggled his brows at the women and grinned. "Good morning, you two?"

Myka blushed and glared at him, but Helena just laughed and wrapped her hand around Myka's waist. "Very enjoyable, thank you," she replied softly.

"I'll bet," Leena said, chuckling as she entered the dining room with another plate of sandwiches for Pete. "I was just getting ready to prepare a tray and bring it up to you two."

"Yeah, it sounded like you were really working up an appetite," Pete chimed in as he dropped a handful of cookies onto his plate and reached for another sandwich.

"Slow down, man, geez," Claudia muttered, looking up at Pete who had left exactly half a cookie on the plate. "Leave some for everybody else."

"But I like cookies," Pete argued. "And, with how much moaning and screaming was coming out of Myka's room earlier, I wanna make sure I get some before they do. I would be starving after something like that."

"Your cookies are safe, Pete," Myka grumbled as she leaned into Helena. "And we weren't that loud."

Pete, Claudia, and Leena all started laughing and shaking their heads. "You two were exactly that loud," Claudia said.

"And I doubt you could last that long, dear," Helena piped up, looking pointedly at Pete.

Pete flashed the artificer a faux-wounded look. "How would you know?"

Helena winked at him as she turned her head to press a sweet kiss to Myka's temple. "Feel free to bring a woman home and prove me wrong, Agent Lattimer," she challenged playfully.

"Please don't!" Myka, Claudia, and Leena yelled.

"We'll be more quiet next time," Myka added quickly.

"Bet your ass you will," Claudia replied with a grin. She patted the device she was tinkering with affectionately. "And this little beauty will help."

Helena perked up at the mention of the device and tilted her head appraisingly as she looked at it. "And what does it do, Claudia?"

"This will effectively soundproof your room," Claudia replied proudly.

"But Helena just got back this morning," Myka said. "How would you have time to build that so quickly?"

"You two weren't exactly quiet before Lady Cuckoo disappeared this last time," Pete muttered.

"I've been working on it for the last seven weeks," Claudia explained. "I didn't know if H.G. would be back or not, but I knew that if she could, she would, so I started working on this to try and keep from going insane trying to figure out where she was."

"You couldn't have hacked the Regent's system again?" Myka asked.

"We didn't put it into the system this time," Mrs. Fredric said as she appeared behind the group.

"Yeah, that sucked, by the way," Claudia muttered.

Mrs. Fredric just smiled and directed her attention to H.G. "Welcome home, Agent Wells."

"Thank you. It's good to be home," Helena said softly.

"Ready to go back to work?"

"Of course," Helena replied dutifully.

"Excellent. I'm sure Artie will be keeping you quite busy."

"Where is Artie?" Pete asked, looking around as if he'd just realized that the Senior Agent was nowhere to be found.

"He and Agent Jinks are at the Warehouse doing inventory."

The other agents all shuddered. Inventory was the most boring part of their job.

"Good for them," Pete quipped.

"And you and Agent Donovan need to go help," Mrs. Fredric told him pointedly.

Pete sighed and nodded. He stood and shoved a handful of cookies into his pocket. "Yes ma'am. Ready Claud?"

"When you are," Claudia said, getting to her feet. She pointed at the bright red button on the top of her invention and said, "This is the on/off switch."

"Got it," Helena murmured with a shy smile and a nod.

Once Pete and Claudia were gone, which Leena took as her cue to disappear to the kitchen, Mrs. Frederic turned the full weight of her gaze to H.G. and Myka. "Artie will be pairing Agent Jinks with Agent Lattimer on missions from now on and you two will be partnered together so long as your recovery rates don't slip."

"They won't," Myka said quickly.

"I'm sure they won't. You two are on administrative leave for the rest of today and tomorrow, and then after that you'll be put back in the field," Mrs. Frederic said, and then, before either H.G. or Myka could respond, she disappeared.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting morning," Helena drawled as she walked over to the table and picked up a sandwich. "Would you like one, dear?" she asked Myka.

"Yes, please," Myka murmured as her stomach growled loudly. She sat down in Claudia's vacated chair and looked closely at the device she'd been tinkering with. "Do you think this will work?"

"I have great faith in Claudia's ingenuity," Helena replied breezily as she dropped into the chair on Myka's right. She reached out and ran an almost proud finger over the edge of the machine. "Would you like to try it out later?" she asked with a cheeky grin.

Myka blushed and nodded.

"Good," Helena murmured, her voice low and sultry. "Because I can't wait to kiss every inch of your beautiful body."

Myka swallowed thickly and glanced at Claudia's invention. "I sure hope that thing works."

"Me too, darling," Helena replied. "Because I have every intention of making you scream," she added in an almost offhand manner as she lifted her sandwich to her mouth and took a big bite.

…