The Temptations of Your Touch

Pairing: HG Wells/Myka Bering
Rating: PG
Spoiler: season 2
Disclaimer: If I did own the rights to these lovely ladies they would have a lot more fun – trust me.
Summary: The beginning of Myka's relationship with HG Wells. Starting with Myka's feelings after learning that HG Wells is in fact a woman we see the two interact and become more involved as their secret relationship progresses.

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Chapter 1

London, England

Myka was sitting on the bed in her hotel room in London. Outside the steady noise from cars and busses filtered through, occasionally interrupted by sirens from a passing police car. Myka paid no attention to it, or to the fact that the sun was rapidly falling beneath the horizon. She was lost in thought as she tried to make sense of all the new information she had absorbed today. Myka stared down at her hand for a long moment before running her fingers over the spot where HG Wells had touched her. It tickled, but the feeling was not the same.

"HG Wells is a woman," she whispered.

Myka leaned back against the headboard. She was still in her work clothes, barely remembering kicking off her shoes and hanging her coat before sinking down on the bed. HG Wells, a woman, their villain. Myka chuckled. As much as she knew that HG Wells was a villain, she was also an intriguing person.

"I wish I could just talk to you," Myka whispered again, only feeling slightly silly for voicing her wish.

The unfamiliar sound of the British hotel phone startled her and she jumped. Taking a deep breath trying to calm down her pounding heart, Myka grabbed the phone.

"Hello?"

"I am so pleased that you were in," a teasing voice said on the other end.

"HG Wells," Myka whispered. "Where are you?"

"I hope that the release from my ceiling did not cause you too much discomfort, darling," HG said, ignoring the question.

"Turn yourself in, there's still time for that," Myka pressed on.

HG Wells laughed. "Darling, darling, you are so young and innocent in your trust in the Warehouse."

"Of course I trust the Warehouse," Myka snapped. "More than I trust you anyway."

"That is unfortunate," HG said sadly. "You do not even know why I was bronzed. Perhaps it was just for being a woman. An intelligent woman who challenged society, and made discoveries that should rightfully have belonged to a man," HG said sarcastically.

"I don't believe that. Not even back then would they've bronzed you just for being a woman, even if you were dabbling in things women were not supposed to."

"Do you have any idea of how painful it is to watch someone take credit for your work? Year after year, just standing by, being treated as the imbecile sister of the great HG Wells."

Myka closed her eyes. She could feel the pain in HG's voice. It was real, raw, and achingly hard to hear.

"Perhaps if you come in, there is still a chance for you to have what you seek."

"I need more time, Agent Bering. I cannot yet tell whether this world is good or bad, or the Warehouse is more trustworthy these days, or not," HG said seriously. Then she laughed. "I must say that I was most pleasantly surprised to meet you, Agent Bering. You are the perfect agent, an Amazon of a woman, not afraid of challenging society or authority."

Myka laughed a little nervously. "Thank you, I guess," she mumbled. "I'm just doing my job."

"Which you by all means seem to be very good at. Not quite good enough to catch me, but then who is?"

Myka smiled. For some reason getting praised by HG Wells felt really good. She looked at her hand again and she could almost feel the tingle where HG had touched her.

"Thanks."

"If I said that I wanted to meet you again, would you pull your gun on me?" HG teased.

"Probably."

"I thought so," HG said and laughed. "Delightful," she mumbled. "Absolutely delightful."

Myka chuckled and shook her head. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I want a great deal of things, darling," HG purred. "Unfortunately, as long as you feel the need to point your gun at me, I fear that most of my desires will not be met."

Myka's eyebrows shot up at HG's word choice. "And what if I didn't?"

"Oh, Agent Bering, I am almost starting to believe that you are thinking impure thoughts about me," HG purred.

"Miss Wells!" Myka gasped. "Of course I wasn't."

HG laughed and it was a wonderful sound. Myka sighed and sank down a bit further on the bed. She knew that she should not trust this woman, since HG was most likely just playing a cat and mouse game with her, but right now she just did not care. She was talking to HG Wells, and that was all that mattered.

"Darling, some day you and I will be sitting across the table from each other, talking like two friends, or perhaps even… well, I will leave that to the future. All I know is that there will be a time for gentle conversations, Agent Bering."

"Myka," she mumbled.

"Myka." Helena said her name slowly, as if drawing it out, tasting how it felt on her tongue. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

Myka blushed and was grateful for the privacy of her room. "Thank you. You are not too shabby yourself."

HG laughed again. "Now you are flirting with me, Myka," she purred.

Myka sighed and closed her eyes. Was she flirting with HG Wells? She bit her lip and held her breath when she came to the conclusion that she was.

"Your silence concludes that my assumption is correct," HG said in a gentle voice. "Perhaps then you should call me Helena?"

"Helena," Myka whispered. "Helena G. Wells."

HG laughed, and it sounded almost girlish to Myka. She smiled at the sweetness of it.

"Myka, how I wish that we had met under different circumstances. Perhaps I would have been allowed to escort you to dinner tonight, and by chance even take you for a walk. It's a full moon tonight. Wasted on anything but lovers," HG said.

Myka swallowed. "We're not lovers," she mumbled embarrassed.

"Not yet," HG teased.

"HG, Helena, I can't think of you like that," Myka said, now serious. "At least not as long as you're a fugitive, wanted by the Warehouse."

"There is a fountain in the hotel's garden," HG said as if Myka's words had not registered. "I remember turning on the water the very first time. My brother had been invited to make a dedication. He and the current owner were members of the same gentlemen's club," she muttered, and sighed. "It seems like it was only yesterday, though in fact it was well over a hundred years ago. If anything, the fountain is even more beautiful now, with the lights."

Myka opened her mouth to say something when she realized that HG was trying to tell her something. She knew the fountain HG was talking about. As a matter of fact she could see it from her window. Myka moved over to the window and gazed down into the garden and the fountain. She saw nothing but the cascading water, lit up in the dark, surrounded by looming trees and bushes. She tensed when something moved to the left of the fountain. A dark figure stepped out of the shadows. Myka could tell from the shape that it was a woman. As she stepped closer to the fountain Myka could make out her coat and dark hair. Then the woman turned her face up and Myka found herself again gazing at HG Wells' flawless face. She gasped.

"I almost feel myself compelled to write in moments like this," HG said, her dark eyes fixated on Myka's window.

"Helena," Myka whispered.

"Can we step outside of time? Let go of the heavy burden society has placed on our shoulders, and just create our own Utopia, if only for a precious moment?"

"I don't know," Myka whispered. "I don't know if we should even try."

"I closed my eyes in another century, only to find that another one had passed me by before I was awakened in this new world. Time can be manipulated, Myka, and not just through bronzing. I learned how."

"Your Time Machine," Myka gasped. "It was real?"

"It absolutely was," HG said proudly.

Myka leaned her forehead against the cold window pane as her mind again was overwhelmed.

"You built a Time Machine," she whispered. "It's not possible, yet you did."

"I guess that it has been kept a secret, and surprisingly not misused by someone," HG huffed.

"It must be at the Warehouse."

"You are most likely correct."

Myka glanced down at HG Wells by the fountain. She watched as she put her hand in the water letting it cascade over her fingers, each bead of water reflecting the light like a thousand little stars.

"Helena?"

"Yes darling?" Helena's face was again turned up to find Myka standing by the window.

"If I leave my gun and come down, will you hurt me?"

HG sighed. "No, love. I would be forever in your debt if you would grant me but a few precious moments of being in your presence."

Myka swallowed and felt tears in her eyes. HG sounded so sad and Myka realized that the woman must be feeling utterly alone and scared, even though she did a masterful job disguising it with humor and bravado, sprinkled with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

"Then perhaps we can have our little moment outside of time," Myka whispered.

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Myka hung up and slipped on her coat and shoes. She opened the door and entered the hallway soundlessly. She walked slowly without making a sound. Once inside the elevator she let out a sigh. She had worried about bumping into Pete and what to say to him should he ask why she was going out. Myka glanced at the time and chuckled. Pete was most likely watching porn on the pay-per-view channel in his room by now.

The elevator finally came to a stop on the lobby level. Myka exited and walked through the almost empty lobby towards the back entrance. She slipped outside and the door closed behind her. Not bothering hiding her approach, she walked briskly along the graveled path to the fountain. She stopped in the spot where she had last seen HG Wells and looked around with a frown. The woman was gone. Myka sighed and hung her head. HG Wells had played her cat and mouse game brilliantly, as the master of deception she was.

"Waiting for someone, Agent Bering?"

HG Wells' teasing voice behind her made Myka laugh and she turned around. She tilted her head and smiled at her.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I am. I thought for a moment she had stood me up. After all she is a wanted fugitive and a woman of deception."

HG Wells linked her arm with Myka's and steered her over to a bench Myka had not spotted before. It was facing the fountain, but was at this late hour, hidden in the shadows of darkness.

"A woman of deception? How absolutely deliciously naughty," HG purred.

Myka laughed again and looked at HG. The woman was stunning. Her dark eyes held none of the anger and frustration Myka had detected in them earlier, only a playful spark of something totally different. It made Myka tingle inside.

"You are so different from how I imagined you."

"Of course I am," HG huffed. "You imagined my brother."

"True, but the essence of the person who created all those stories…" Myka struggled to find the words. Finally she looked at HG again. "That you're a woman actually makes it even better. You gave the world such a gift Helena. You probably don't even know it yet. You could've just decided that it wasn't worth it, that you would not let your brother have the glory and fame. Perhaps you would've burned all your writings, never let the world experience them. It would've been a tragedy. But you didn't. Instead you sacrificed your own vanity and need for recognition in order to get your writings published. That takes a lot of courage."

HG just stared at her. "You are a remarkable woman."

Myka smiled and shook her head. "Compared to you? Not even a little."

"Oh but you are," HG said and gently touched Myka's cheek. Her hand fell when Myka froze at the touch. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. Please forgive me."

Myka looked down at the slender hand resting in HG's lap. She gently put her hand on top, almost surprised at the warmth of HG's fingers.

"Of course you didn't make me uncomfortable. You just surprised me. I'm not used to being touched," Myka explained.

HG smiled and ran her fingers over Myka's. "You are the first person that I've wanted to touch, since I found myself awakened."

Myka smiled and nodded. "Is that why you touched me earlier? In your house."

HG chuckled. "I apologize. That was purely selfish I am afraid. I wanted to experience the feel of you."

"Then it was not a coincidence."

"Certainly not," HG purred.

Myka relaxed back against the bench and to her surprise HG leaned her head against her shoulder.

"I'm sitting in a dark garden in London with HG Wells leaning against my shoulder," Myka mused and chuckled at the absurdity of it all.

"Dearest, if you do not mind, I would much prefer to be Helena Wells tonight."

Myka nodded. She caressed HG's fingers. "Helena."

"I like the sound of my name when you say it."

Myka had no sense of time as she sat with HG Wells by the fountain. They talked about all sorts of things as minutes turned to hours without them noticing. Myka found that Helena's mind truly was brilliant. It surprised her when she at times had trouble following Helena's explanations. The only things they did not talk about were the Warehouse, and why Helena was wanted. Instead they talked about literature and science, about Myka's choice of becoming a Secret Service Agent, a topic HG found intriguing. Myka told her about going to college. HG in turn shared how she had attended Oxford, but never was granted a degree, even though she completed all her courses with the highest grades.

As the darkness started to change to a gray haziness of dawn, HG spoke about being a woman in Victorian London. Myka listened intently, watching HG's beautiful face.

"I'm sure men chased after you all the time," she said with a chuckle.

"It happened," HG said and grinned mischievously. "Sometimes I even let them have me."

"Helena Wells, were you a promiscuous woman?" Myka teased.

HG laughed and squeezed Myka's hand. Neither of the two women had been willing to be the first to let go, so instead they had been holding hands, acting as if it was something they normally did.

"Quite scandalous, I'm afraid," she said and bit her lip as she made an impish face.

Myka laughed. She tilted her head. "I wish…"

HG shook her head. "Don't," she whispered. "Please do not ruin this moment by voicing impossible wishes."

Myka blinked and forced back the tears. She nodded. Looking up at the sky she sighed.

"I should go. It's almost morning."

"There will be other mornings, Myka. Perhaps even mornings we can share together."

Myka slowly got up. She looked down at their clasped hands before looking at HG's face, seeking out her dark eyes. "What will you do? Where will you go?"

HG just smiled. "You know I cannot tell you that."

"Next time we meet, I might be pointing a gun at you again," Myka joked, but it fell flat as she realized that she no longer had any desire to bring HG Wells in.

"I'm sure you will," HG said.

HG stepped closer until they were almost touching. Myka waited for her to say something, but instead HG very softly caressed her cheek. Myka could see so many things in HG's eyes in that moment. She leaned closer, but HG shook her head.

"Be well, Myka," she whispered and kissed Myka's cheek. "Until we meet again."

Myka nodded. "You too Helena."

Myka watched her go and bit her lip not to cry as HG's fingers slipped out of her hand. HG turned and quickly walked down the graveled path. Had Myka not been hurting so much at the loss she would have laughed at the teasing swagger that she had already come to associate with HG Wells.

Myka turned her face up at the pale morning sky and sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening, to keep this amazing woman safe. She knew that she just had to meet HG Wells again.

Hands in her pockets, Myka started to walk in the opposite direction. Feeling something in her pocket she pulled out a folded note.

The past is the beginning of the beginning and all that is

and has been is but the twilight of the dawn.*

Myka, be certain that I will always think of you fondly.

Helena

At the bottom was a phone number. Myka's fingers trembled as she turned the note over.

I left something for you with the clerk at the front desk.

Perhaps we can discuss it some time?

Myka folded the note and put it away as she hurried inside. She waited impatiently while the front desk agent spoke to another guest, settling the man's bill. Finally he turned and smiled at her.

"Good morning ma'am. How can I be of assistance?"

"I'm in room 357, Myka Bering. A friend of mine left something for me here last night."

He smiled at her. "I remember. A very beautiful woman stopped by leaving a package for you."

Myka chuckled and nodded. "That's right."

Myka watched him step behind the wall separating the front desk from the office in the back. A moment later he returned with a large envelope, perhaps an inch or so thick.

"Here we are. If you will please sign here Ms. Bering?"

Myka thanked him and grabbed the sealed package. It had her name on it in Helena's handwriting. Eager to find out what HG had left her, she almost ran to the elevator and impatiently waited for it to reach her floor. She rushed out and down the hall to her room. Finally safely inside she was just about to open the envelope when something occurred to her. She carefully put the envelope down and put on a pair of purple gloves. Better to be safe than sorry.

Peeling back the sealed flap Myka opened the enveloped and peeked inside. Papers. She grabbed the stack and pulled it out. They were old, she could tell by the slight yellowing and the odd size. Turning the pile over, she stared down at the cover page and gaped.

The New Colony

a novel by

H.G. Wells

A small note was paper-clipped to the top. Myka touched it with gentle fingers as she read the short message written for her eyes only.

Myka,

I was working on this novel at the time of my departure. This is the second draft. It is still quite horrid I'm afraid, and it will need many changes, but I wanted to share it with you none the less. Perhaps next time we meet we can discuss it?

Helena

Myka carefully returned the manuscript to the envelope. She knew what a priceless gift HG Wells had given her. HG might think it to be below par, but Myka knew that if the world would learn of this script they would embrace it and it would be published in a heartbeat.

Myka stretched out on the bed and closed her eyes. Perhaps she could at least catch an hour or two before she and Pete were again off to search for the villainous HG Wells. She smiled and the beauty of HG's teasing eyes was her last conscious thought before she fell asleep.

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* Real H.G. Wells quote.