Chapter 7

Putting down the list he was holding, Steve looked up at Artie's office. He had been trying to work up the courage for the past few days to have a conversation with Artie, but he had always managed to talk himself out of it. But there was no getting around that this was a perfect time. Pete and Myka were out covering a Ping, and Claudia was continuing her Caretaker training with Mrs. Frederic and meeting with the Regents. He was here with Artie because he had recently been informed by the Regents that Claudia had been right - he had been chosen to become the next Supervisory Agent. Even though Claudia had insisted he would be chosen, to have it confirmed by the Regents had been a shock. No one on the team besides Artie and Claudia knew, so he had to admit he was worried how Pete and Myka were going to react.

Getting his thoughts back to the matter he wanted to discuss with Artie, Steve made his way up the stairs to Artie's office. Standing at the door, he saw the man he was seeking sitting at a table with books and papers strewn all over it. Seeing that Artie was busy, he decided to come back later that day, but just as he was going to turn around, Artie chose that moment to look up. "What?"

Hearing Artie's tone, Steve hesitated a bit, but then said, "If you're not too busy, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Of course, I'm busy. I'm always busy," Artie replied bitingly. "And aren't you supposed to be busy cataloging? It's not going to take care of itself."

"Yeah. Sorry to have bothered you."

As he started to walk back toward the door, Steve heard Artie sigh, "Come back here, Steve."

Turning back around, Steve made his way over and patiently waited as Artie ran a hand over his face, and then said, "I'm sorry. I'm not upset with you. The Regents just informed me we are due to get yet another shipment of inventory. This time from Warehouse 5. We're already backlogged as it is. Not to mention that I have to determine what artifacts need to be kept apart from the things already down in Ovoid. But that's not your problem . . . yet." Pushing back from the table, he gestured to the seat beside him. "Sit and tell me what you wanted to talk about."

Sitting down, Steve tried to calm his nerves. In the past, he never thought he would ever care enough about anyone to be taking this step, but here he was. "Uh, as you know, Claudia and I have been dating for about six months now. Well, I want to ask her to marry me."

The look of surprise Steve expected to cross Artie's face never came, but a look of confusion did. "And you are coming to me why? For suggestions about how to propose? Because if that's the case, then you are asking the last person on Earth you should be."

"No, I want to ask for your blessing."

"Despite my grumbling, there's no actual policy against inter-agent relationships, you know," Artie pointed out.

Nodding, Steve replied, "I know. I read that in the manual, but this has nothing to do with Warehouse policy. This is a personal request. Despite the fact you aren't Claudia's actual father, you are the closest things she has to one. I know how much she wants your approval though she would be loathed to admit that. Plus, I know some people were . . . concerned when Claudia and I started dating. I guess, deep down, I wanted to make sure you didn't share those concerns," he finished, looking down at the table.

Artie was quiet for a moment, and then he reached out, laying his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Steve, much like I have had the privilege of watching Claudia grow from a troubled, angry girl into a remarkable young woman, I've also had the honor of watching you grow as well. You came to the Warehouse a good man, but now you have developed into a strong leader and someone I am proud to not only have on our team but to know."

Steve was taken aback by Artie's words. He was not used to the frequently annoyed, older agent talking so much from the heart. "Thank you."

"And, I have to admit that, in the past, I never really cared for any of the guys Claudia dated. None of them were worthy of her . . . until you. And since you seemed to have caught me in a sharing mood, I know I'm hard on you, but it's just because you have the potential to become an excellent Supervisory Agent. In fact, when the Regents came to me with their decision, I didn't fight them once. I can see you and Claudia becoming the strongest team of leaders in Warehouse history."

Blushing, Steve replied softly, "I am not sure what to say to that."

Artie moved his hand from Steve's shoulder to briefly touch his face. "You don't have to say anything. And, of course, you have my blessing. As I said, I cannot imagine anyone else more perfect for Claudia than you are."

"Thank you, Artie," Steve replied, sincerely.

"Now go before we start braiding each other's hair or something." As Steve stood and began to walk away, he heard Artie call out, "Oh, and you tell ANYONE I said any of this and I will have you doing inventory until Warehouse 15 takes over."

XXXXXXX

Walking in the front the door of the B&B, Claudia was hit with the delicious smell of tomato sauce. On her way home from her meeting with the Regents, she had received a text from Steve saying he was making dinner and to meet him on the patio when she got home. She had come to realize in the time she had been dating Steve that he was a closet romantic. He liked to surprise her randomly with homemade dinners, moonlit picnics in the Badlands or movie nights spent watching her favorite films. Frankly, he spoiled her most of the time. It caused her to feel incredibly special, but also a bit guilty because, though she tried to reciprocate, she was nowhere near as creative as he was. She couldn't cook, so she had to settle for trying to make sure Steve had a cup of his favorite tea waiting for him after he was done meditating. She also made good on her promise to make him a smaller, more compact Farnsworth. To personalize it even further, she had carved the Buddhist symbol for protection on the front. After having had to experience what it felt like to lose him, she was going to do whatever she could to ensure that never happened again and if that meant giving Steve a talisman, then so be it. But these things had always felt more practical than romantic. She had admitted as much to Steve once. He had just reassured her that making him tea and building him a Farnsworth or a Tesla showed him that she cared and that her way was just different than his but no less meaningful.

Walking out to the patio, Claudia saw it was set up much like it had been the night Steve was going to reveal his feelings to her. One difference she noticed, though, was that her guitar was sitting off to one side. However, her curiosity about it was interrupted by Steve walking out of the door with a serving dish in his hand. Suddenly her attention was on a much more engaging, and handsome, subject. A few weeks prior Steve had decided to start letting his hair grow out from the cropped, almost military cut he had worn since coming to the Warehouse. When she mentioned liking the added length, he had admitted that his decision was based on the fact he had realized she tended to run her hands through it whenever it was longer and that he, in turn, enjoyed it when she did. The slightly longer length tended to spike up, which she loved, and it also made Steve look a bit younger than he already did. Plus, being able to see more of the blond made his eyes seem even bluer. Claudia also noticed that Steve was wearing one her favorite shirts. It was a greyish-blue Henley that was a bit more form-fitted than his usual ones and showed off his great body. She made the comment once about how if anyone else saw him in that shirt, she would have to slap them for ogling her man. Steve had rolled his eyes at her, but she noticed that he only seemed to wear the shirt when it was just her around.

Steve walked over to where Claudia stood by the table. He sat the dish he was carrying on the table and leaned over to place a kiss on her forehead. "Hi."

Claudia smiled, delighting in the fact that Steve still tended to kiss her forehead, even after almost six months of dating. "Hi back."

"Go ahead and sit down. The food the last thing I needed to bring out," Steve replied.

As Claudia sat down, Steve uncovered the dish and she saw he had made one of her favorite meals - vegetarian meatballs with spaghetti squash in a homemade tomato sauce. "How did you manage this since Artie had you scheduled cataloging all day today?"

Smirking, Steve said, "That is for me to know." As he began dishing out dinner, he inquired, "Speaking of work, how was your day with Mrs. Frederic and the Regents?"

"You know, that sounds like some 1960's Motown group," Claudia responded. As Steve merely shook his head at her comment, she laid her head on her hand, elbow resting on the table. "But seriously. Do you think the Regents ever agree on anything? They spent nearly six hours arguing about who was more important. I felt like I was like watching one of those Real Housewives shows. On the plus side, I was able to use the time to design that new addition to the security system."

"The one you've been stressing over?" Steve asked, putting a plate down in front of Claudia.

"Yeah."

"So, it turns out that all you needed for a breakthrough was being stuck in a meeting with a bunch of arguing Regents," joked Steve as he sat down next to Claudia with his plate. At the horrified look on her face, he started chuckling. "Eat. It will take your mind off The Real Regents of Warehouse 13."

Picking up her fork, Claudia began to eat, thanking her lucky stars, as she always did whenever Steve cooked, that she managed to have snagged a guy who knew his way around a kitchen. As they ate, she further regaled Steve about her day in Regent Land. Though she could tell he was listening, she also noticed he seemed a little fidgety, which was not a word she would typically use to describe him. It seemed to get worse as the meal progressed and, for a brief moment, the thought crossed her mind that maybe he asked her out here to break up with her. But as quickly as the thought crossed her mind, it was just as soon dismissed due to the fact she could not imagine Steve going to all the trouble to cook her favorite meal and wear her favorite shirt if he was just going to turn around and break up with her. Unless he was trying to let her down easy.

Claudia was still thinking about all this as she watched Steve clean up after dinner. She had offered to help, but he insisted she stay seated and finish her glass of the wine he had paired with their meal. After taking the dirty dishes inside, he came back out onto the patio, grabbing her guitar as he walked back over to her. Thinking he was going to hand to her, Claudia was surprised when Steve sat back down across from her. She was, even more, shocked when he pulled a pick out of his pocket and balanced the instrument in his arms as if he was going to be the one playing it.

Clearing his throat, Steve looked up at Claudia and said with a bit of hesitation in his voice, "I've been keeping something from you. I promise it's nothing bad, just something I've never been ready or able to share with anyone, not even you. But I wanted another way to express the depth of how I feel about you, so I decided that now was finally the time."

As Steve started playing her guitar, Claudia had to stop her mouth from dropping open. She could not believe he had never told her he could play, and quite well. Then her astonishment increased when he began singing. His singing voice was a little bit deeper than his normal speaking one, a bit gravely, and incredibly sexy. She was so captivated by the sound of it that she almost missed what he was singing. When she realized he had chosen "All of Me" by John Legend, she teared up, not believing that was how he felt about her. She just sat there completely mesmerized until Steve finished singing. After he had put the guitar down, he looked over at her with an almost self-conscious look on his face.

"I should be extremely upset that you never told me you could sing and play the guitar, but I admit I am a bit overwhelmed right now," Claudia said in a bit of a choked up voice. "Remind me to yell at you later, though."

Steve gave Claudia a small, lopsided smile, and then replied, "There is another reason I wanted to bring you out here tonight." He took a deep breath before handing her the guitar pick he had just been using.

Curious as to why Steve would give her a guitar pick, Claudia turned it over in her hand. Realizing there was writing on it, she held it up to read it. As she did, her heart started beating super fast, and she nearly dropped the pick because there was no way she had just read the words Marry Me? Quickly glancing up, she noticed Steve had moved and was now kneeling in front of her.

"Claudia, you are my partner, my best friend, and my love. Please add one more and give me the pleasure of becoming my wife," Steve inquired softly.

Practically leaping from her chair, Claudia fell to her knees in front of Steve and threw her arms around him, pulling him into a kiss as she did. The two kissed for a few minutes, and then Steve pulled back, a look of supreme happiness on his face.

"So, is that a yes?" teased Steve.

"No, that is a hell yes!," Claudia shot back.

Laughing with obvious delight, Steve pulled out a ring box from his pocket. "I'll take it you'll want this, then."

Claudia shook slightly as Steve opened the box. Inside was the most amazing ring she had ever seen. It setting was a large, round, black diamond with a row of smaller, white diamonds channel set on either side of the stone. The band was an antiqued silver. But the most interesting part of the ring were the tiny gears that created a bezel surrounding the black diamond. "It's gorgeous," she said, almost in a whisper.

"Just like the woman it was meant for," Steve replied, just as quietly.

Blushing, Claudia watched as Steve took the ring from the box. She held out her left hand, and he slid the ring on. Once he did, he leaned down and placed a kiss over the ring. Claudia reached out and ran her hand down Steve's face, leaning in to give him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, deepening the kiss. As the kiss continued, Steve pulled Claudia into his lap, and she slid her hands under his shirt, running her hands up his back. Suddenly, Steve stood up and set Claudia on top of the table. They continued kissing, only stopping to allow Claudia to push Steve's top up and for him to pull it off the rest of the way. He dropped it on the ground as Claudia reached out and undid his pants. After he stepped out of them, the two then reversed and Claudia pulled off her top as Steve undid her pants and pulled them off. He then slowly lowered Claudia back onto the table and pulling her closer to the edge, he slowly slid into her. Claudia wrapped her legs around Steve's waist and, as she always did when they made love, lost herself in the feelings only he was able to bring about in her. The table rocked with the force of their movement, but they were too wrapped up in each other to worry about it. Then, just as Claudia felt herself go over the edge, she tossed her head back and practically screamed Steve's name. He followed closely behind, with a shout of his own.

As the two were getting their breathing under control, Claudia suddenly realized where she and Steve were. They had gotten so caught up in the moment that they had entirely forgotten that not only had they broken their personal rule of no sex at the B&B, they had just made love totally out in the open. That thought caused her to start giggling. Steve raised an eyebrow at her, and when Claudia gestured around to remind him that they were standing completely naked out on the patio, he chuckled as well.

"Well, so much for our vow of no sex at the B&B," Claudia said, still laughing.

Nodding, Steve handed Claudia her clothes and then started to put his own on. "At least, we broke it in a memorable way." He paused for a moment. "Plus, we were celebrating, so that should be factored into things and allowed."

Pulling Steve to her, Claudia replied, in a sultry tone, "well then, I say we take full advantage of having the B&B all to ourselves and go 'celebrate' some more."

Steve swung Claudia up into his arms and practically ran up to their room. Once inside, the couple locked the door and took their time reveling in both the progression of their relationship and each other. Afterward, as they lay just enjoying each other's company, Claudia looked her her left hand, which was resting on Steve's chest. Watching the ring catch the light, she said, in an awed tone, "I'm engaged."

A look of fake shock crossed Steve's face. "What a coincidence. So am I."

"Smart ass," Claudia replied as she lightly smacked Steve's arm. "Oh, and don't think for one minute that the beautiful ring and the hot sex has distracted me from remembering the fact that I am just now finding out you can play the guitar . . . and sing."

"Uh, to tell the truth, I've played the guitar since high school. I thought it was going to be a way to help me get dates, but I never thought I was good enough actually to test it out and play in front of anyone. Olivia used to try and get me to play for her. I always told her I would, but she was killed before I ever got the chance. You are the first person I have ever played for, which Olivia would have totally teased me about, but would have also been in support of," Steve admitted softly.

Claudia laid her hand on Steve's cheek. She knew how Olivia's death still affected him, so to hear that she would have been all for him playing as part of his proposal was moving. "I'm extremely touched."

"I wanted to do something to make asking you to marry me memorable."

Leaning in to give Steve a kiss, Claudia replied, "You asking me to marry you was enough to accomplish that, but you singing to me made it something I will treasure. Plus, your singing voice is as wonderful as you are." She was quiet for a moment and then continued, "And I love my ring. I know I said that earlier, but it truly is stunning. I totally love that it's not a typical diamond solitaire."

Steve smiled. "I'm glad you like it. I looked at traditional rings for about a second before bypassing them all together as none of them seemed like something you would like. My goal was to find something as unique and extraordinary as you are."

Hearing Steve say he had put so much thought into her ring choice made Claudia wonder for about the millionth time how she had managed to get someone as awesome as he was to fall in love with her. Tearing up, she said, "There you go again, making me cry."

"I'm sorry. I . . .,"

"Steve, you have nothing to apologize for," Claudia interrupted. "These are happy tears. And I know this will sound strange, but you should feel honored that I get emotional around you. You are the only one I feel secure enough with to let my guard down and be vulnerable around. You are my safe place and my shelter. You have been since shortly after I met you."

"I am honored that you feel that way," Steve admitted, running his hand down Claudia's face as he teared up a bit himself. "I feel the same way about you."

"Guess that is why you are my best friend, whether you like it or not," Claudia teased lightly.

Steve laughed softly. "Obviously, I do."

Claudia sobered up and responded with a touch of wonder in her voice. "We are going to be saying that to each other in front a group of people one day."

Breaking out into his dimpled smile, Steve replied, "Hopefully one day soon."

Reaching out, Claudia ran her hand down Steve's chest. "Trying to make an honest woman out of me?"

"I love you just how you are, but I can't wait until I get to call you my wife," Steve said as he moved so he was positioned above Claudia. He then leaned down and kissed her. Like before, the kiss escalated, and the couple spent the rest of the night taking full advantage of being alone at the B&B.

XXXXXXX

A few days later, Myka was sitting at breakfast with Pete, Steve, and Claudia. As the other agents ate their meal, she sat there trying to figure out what was going on with Claudia and Steve. She could tell by the subtle change in their body language something had changed between the two younger agents. They were sitting a bit closer together than normal, so she could tell that they hadn't had a fight or anything of that nature. Then, as Claudia made a gestured point in the story she was telling, Myka noticed a new addition to her jewelry collection, one she wore on an all-important finger. Suddenly, it all become clear. Reaching out, she grabbed Claudia's hand. "Oh my God. Is this what I think it is?"

Claudia stopped in the middle of her sentence and looked over at Steve, who was smiling softly. "Yep," she said, with a smile of her own.

"Is what, what?" Pete inquired, glancing up from his cereal.

Still holding Claudia's hand, Myka pulled it closer so Pete could see the engagement ring now gracing Claudia's finger. "This." At the continued look of bewilderment on Pete's face, she continued, "Really, Pete? You of all people should know what an engagement ring looks like."

Pete's eyebrows shot up. "Engagement ring?!"

"Can I have my hand back now?" Claudia joked. Once Myka released it, she shook out her hand. "Thank you, my arm was starting to cramp. And yes, I'm engaged."

A smirk crossed Steve's face. "What? No way. So am I."

As she watched Claudia shake her head a Steve's comment, Myka realized that she was conflicted over Claudia and Steve's announcement. Part of her was happy that they had somehow managed to find love despite the craziness of their lives. But the other part of her, she had to admit, was also jealous of that fact. Steve and Claudia were only in their 20's, Claudia only being 22, and for them to have found their "one" so young made her feel a tiny bit of resentment. But then she saw Claudia reach out to smack Steve's arm, laughing as she did, and suddenly all her jealousy faded away. The younger woman practically radiated happiness and, dare she say, contentment. Knowing Claudia's past, how could she possibly begrudge her any bit of happiness she had managed to find. "So, when did this all happen?" she asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"A few days ago," Claudia responded, playing with her ring.

Pete socked Steve in the arm. "Well, it's about time you stepped up and asked her. But, truly, congrats, you two. One question, though. How are you going to break this news to Artie?"

"Uh, he already knows I was planning on asking. I talked to him the other day," Steve said.

"You did?" Claudia replied, the surprise evident in her voice.

Blushing slightly, Steve answered, "Yes, I asked him for his blessing."

"Why would you think you needed to do that? You know there aren't actually any rules about that, right?" Claudia pointed out.

I know, but Artie is the closest thing you have to a father figure, and I know how much you desire his approval, as much as you say you don't. Plus, I wanted to make sure he thought I was good enough for you," Steve admitted, softly.

Myka watched as Claudia just sat there looking at Steve for a few moments. Claudia then stood up and moved to Steve's lap, leaning in to kiss him as she did. Myka noticed after she did, Claudia whispered "I love you" in his ear, to which Steve replied in kind.

Giving the couple a few moments of "privacy", Myka then stood and embraced the couple from behind. "I am so happy for you both."

The moment, however, was broken by Pete suddenly clapping his hands together and cheering. As the three agents looked over at him, Pete replied, with a broad grin on his face. "You know this is going to call for one epic bachelor party, right?"

The look of absolute horror that crossed Steve's face caused both Myka and Claudia to burst out laughing.

Author's Note:

Okay, I know this is getting old, but I once again have to apologize for how long this chapter took. Hopefully, the next one will not take so long.

Steve playing the guitar was inspired by Aaron's appearance on "Lost Girl".

The next chapter will bring back some familiar faces, some good and some not so good. I wanted to explore the repercussions of Claudia's time in the institution a little further. So, drama warning ahead. After that, though, the fluff will return.