I've always been curious what happened between when Josh and Claudia were reunited and the beginning of "Elements," so I decided to write a fic about it. I'm not sure how long this will end up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Warehouse 13 or any of its characters, they are the property of Jack Kenney and the Syfy network. No money has or will exchange hands regarding this work of fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

Joshua, Artie, and Claudia had all made it successfully out of the inter-dimensional space. It took a long time for Claudia to stop holding onto her big brother, but when she finally did, Artie cleared his throat.

"Claudia, Joshua, meet Pete and Myka. They're agents that work for me."

"Nice to meet you," Josh said, while Claudia avoided eye contact with them.

"You all look awful. Why don't we go back to the B&B and get some rest?" Myka initiated.

Claudia shifted uncomfortably.

"And you two should come," Artie said, pointing at the siblings.

"Well, I guess I don't exactly have room for two at the... place I'm staying. And I haven't been to my apartment in like 6 months..."

"Come back to the B&B," Myka said again. "You two can ride with Pete and I."

The siblings complied, and soon the redheaded teen was snuggled close to her brother in the backseat of Myka's car. It seemed like she was afraid if she let go, he would disappear. She yawned and shut her eyes, yet she still buzzed with energy. He thought of the seven year old sister he left, and couldn't believe that this was her.

Pete and Myka were chatting up front, and Josh took the opportunity to talk with his baby sister.

"Claudia, how long has it been? You look so different."

"Twelve years and 18 days," she said, her voice crackling with pain.

The man let out a long breath. He had abandoned Claudia for most of her life. And for what? Some stupid experiment. He pulled his sister closer to himself, and fought to control his emotions. Throughout the long car-ride, he noticed Claudia slowly relax, and looked down to find her asleep, still nestled against him. He wanted to ask her a million questions about what he had missed in her life, but he wasn't even sure if she wanted that. Was she angry at him for abandoning her? Did she even want a relationship? He noticed a droplet of blood coming from her nose, and wiped it away with a corner of his shirt. She looked pale and exhausted, her heartbeat throbbing in her neck a bit too quickly. Joshua realized she hadn't had someone to look out for her best interests since he left. This was evident in her too-thin body, wrinkled clothing, and tousled hair. it was all his fault.

"We're here," Myka said, pulling up into the driveway of a quaint bed and breakfast.

Joshua shook Claudia's shoulder gently, trying to rouse her.

"Claudia, wake up. We're here."

She tensed and opened her eyes, pulling away from him. Her eyes darted around quickly before she noticed him.

"We're here."

"Okay," she said quickly. She unfastened her seatbelt and hopped out of the car, still looking tense and guarded. Myka led them inside, where a nice-yet strange-woman greeted them.

"You must be Claudia and Joshua. I'm Leena." She told them about the B&B, showed them around, then lead them up a flight of stairs. Stopping, she turned around and seemed to study Joshua for a long moment.

"Joshua, you'll be in this room," she said, indicating a door. Then she turned to Claudia and squinted at her, tilting her head slightly. She winced almost imperceptibly, as if seeing something in the girl's eyes, then pointed to another door.

"Here's your room. You can stay here as long as you want."

"Uh, thanks."

"Mhm." The woman studied her for another moment, then walked off, and Claudia entered the bedroom. She barely noticed the room's furnishings as she pushed off her converse, ripped off her jacket, and let herself fall onto the bed. After relishing in the comfort for a moment, she crawled toward the pillow, peeling the comforter back and slipping underneath it. She felt gross, and could scarcely remember her last shower or meal, but she was so exhausted that she didn't care. She turned once or twice, then fell deeply into sleep.

She awoke almost 24 hours later. Achy and groggy, she emerged from her room and made her way down the stairs.

"Hello Claudia." greeted Leena from the kitchen. The late afternoon sun was streaming in the windows. The whole place had such a home-y feel to it.

"Uh hi," the teenager replied awkwardly.

"How about some coffee?" Leena offered a cup toward the cautious redhead.

"Thank god," Claudia said, taking the cup and sipping from it. While she had been pushing for answers about Josh, she had allowed herself only a few hours of sleep, and relied heavily on caffeine, often drinking six or more cups of coffee a day.

"Where's Josh?"

"He said he was going to take a nap. How about I whip up something for you to eat? Are you in a breakfast mood? I could make some chocolate chip pancakes. Or maybe a sandwich?"

Claudia blinked a few times. "Uh, chocolate chip pancakes sound amazing."

"Alright, I'll have them ready in half an hour. I put some towels in your room if you want a shower."

"Okay." She went back up the stairs, grabbed the towels and went to the bathroom. Removing her clothes, she turned on the water and stepped under the stream. She couldn't think of the last time she had a long, hot shower, and while the water poured over her, she pondered the woman downstairs was. Claudia was overwhelmed and confused by how nice she was. Why did this woman care? She knew Artie was probably still guilty, but this Leena person didn't owe her anything. When she finally turned off the water and stepped out, she realized that she didn't have any clean clothes.

"Craptastic," she mumbled to herself.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

"Claudia, I have some extra clothes until you have a chance to go back and get your own. I'll just leave them outside the door here, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

The clothes were a pair of black stretchy pants with a drawstring, and peasanty blouse. Claudia almost laughed when she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a hippy, but she was thankful she didn't have to put back on her grimy clothes, which hadn't been washed in far too long.

When she ventured back downstairs, the pancakes were ready, and smelled like heaven. Claudia tried to remember the last time she had real homemade food, much less something that looked even remotely appetizing, but she drew a blank. When she was living on her own, she often forgot to eat altogether because of her weird sleep schedule and intense focus. As she took the first bite, she could have sworn she had died and gone to heaven.

"Oh my gawd. What are you, some sort of master chef?"

"More coffee?" Leena asked, smiling.

She nodded and took the cup from Leena's hand, practically inhaling the food before her.

After 5 ginormous pancakes and another 2 cups of coffee, Claudia trudged back up the stairs. Despite now having eaten a proper meal, she still felt weak and lightheaded, but she made it to Joshua's room. Neglecting to knock, she slipped into the bedroom and found the man asleep. She was careful not to wake him as she lay down on the bed, snuggling up against him like she had when she was a little girl. After a few minutes, her exhaustion caught up with her once more, and she fell asleep.