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SPOILERS: Season Two.
Dusty Footprints in Time
By Athena
Part 18: The Warehouse 13 Family
Carolyn Bering Wells' First Birthday, Leena's B&B, SD
"No Pete," Claudia argued. "You can't have it."
"It's not as if she's gonna eat 'em all," he muttered. "She's one."
"Can you just leave it?" Claudia rolled her eyes and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him away from the remaining birthday cake and the tempting marzipan roses.
Helen was sitting on the sofa with Carolyn on her lap. She and Helena were in a deep conversation about Helena's latest invention. Carolyn seemed to be more interested in the bow on the present sitting next to her than the actual gift, or the conversation for that matter. Getting bored with the talking adults, the girl squirmed and Helen let her down on the floor. Carolyn quickly crawled over to the three foot tall teddy bear, a gift from Pete, that leaned against one of the chairs. Grabbing the bear, she hauled herself up until she was standing. She squealed with joy, waving her arms in delight over her new cuddly friend.
"Helena!" Myka exclaimed.
Helena looked at Myka and then scanned the room for their daughter. She covered her mouth when she saw her standing, no longer holding onto the large bear.
"Dear God, she's standing on her own," she whispered.
Claudia snapped a couple of pictures just before the little girl's knees buckled and she landed on her bum. She laughed and turned over. Myka walked over to her and picked her up.
"Mama!"
"Hi sweetheart," Myka said and kissed Carolyn's cheek.
"Darling," Helena said behind her. "Are you ready to do this?"
Myka glanced around the room. Her parents had flown in from Colorado for the birthday. Vanessa had arrived two days prior, only to disappear again until this morning. Artie had been nowhere to be found either. A complete coincidence was his muttered explanation when Claudia called him on it.
Claudia met Myka's eyes and smiled at her. She snapped a picture of the little family and Myka smiled gratefully at her. Meanwhile Pete was sneaking another piece of cake before Leena shooed him away from the table.
Helen Magnus met Myka's eyes calmly from where she sat on the sofa. Her presence had become a regular occurrence and Myka had found herself becoming closer with Helen again, something that she appreciated. Even though Helen had originally been Helena's friend, and lover, Myka still felt that those aspects did not have anything to do with her own relationship with Helen. Helen was someone Myka could confide in and she trusted implicitly that Helen would keep her secrets, even from Helena. That Helen also knew Carolyn's secret, and that she kept a watchful eye on the girl, made her only more of an important person in Myka's life. She smiled fondly at Helen who nodded knowingly. Yes, choosing Helen Magnus as Carolyn's godmother had been a very wise choice.
Myka took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Everyone," she said a bit louder than before, "Helena and I would like to thank all of you for being here today to celebrate our daughter's first birthday. It's a big day for us. I know you probably would've picked more exciting weekend events if you'd had a choice, than watching a one year old rub pink frosting all over her face."
A loud round of laughter followed and Myka chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I probably would too if it wasn't for this little one and Helena of course."
Helena and Myka sat down next to each other on the sofa. Helena took Carolyn from Myka and the girl settled in on Helena's lap. Helen moved closer to Helena and gently touched her arm. Helena smiled and nodded.
"There's another reason why we wanted you all here today. We wanted to share something with you that very few people know," Helena continued.
"Did you knock her up again?" Pete joked.
Claudia elbowed him and there was some chuckling around the room.
Helena smiled and shook her head. "Not yet, Pete. But there's still time."
"Perhaps you should share the turkey baster," he mumbled and took another bite of cake.
"Ew," Claudia said and made a face. "TMI dude."
Helena laughed. "As beautiful as that sounds, that would be a terrible idea, but thank you for providing me with the lead in. We want to share the identity of Carolyn's father with you since he is very important to the both of us, me in particular."
Now all the eyes in the room, except for Carolyn's, were glued on Helena.
Myka's mother glanced at Myka. She looked worried. Myka smiled at her.
"Biologically speaking," Helena said seriously. "Carolyn is actually my niece."
"What?" Artie exclaimed. "That's not possible."
"It absolutely is," Vanessa assured him. "Dr. Magnus and I both tested the sample, which has been stored in a safe facility in London for many years. Charles Wells is Carolyn's biological father."
"You mean my granddaughter shares DNA with Helena?" Myka's father asked in a rather stern voice.
"That's exactly what she means," Magnus responded.
Warren looked at his granddaughter. "Well knowing how intelligent my daughter is, I can only conclude that you girls are in for a ride with this little one. Half Bering and half Wells. God help us," he muttered.
Laughter erupted and Helena smiled at him. "Thank you."
Jeannie Bering got up and walked over to her daughter and Helena. She looked down at Carolyn and held out her arms. Carolyn reached up her little arms and Jeannie picked her up. They looked at each other as Carolyn put her little hands on Jeannie's cheeks and smiled.
"Nana," the girl said.
"I have noticed the resemblance," Jeannie said softly and looked at Helena. "I assumed that it was just in my head, or that you two had on purpose picked someone who shared your features, Helena. I never felt it my place to ask about it, so I didn't. Thank you for sharing this with us. I wish I could thank your brother," she sighed. "Well, perhaps he knows."
Helena nodded. "Perhaps he does." She held out her hands for the baby and Jeannie handed her over.
Carolyn leaned against Helena, playing with her necklace. When she tried to put it in her mouth, Helena gently removed the locket from the girl's hand and slipped it under her shirt again.
"Dude, she's gonna beat you in Scrabble by the time she's four," Claudia said with a snicker and elbowed Pete.
"Not funny," he muttered. "Lucky for her, she has me around to prevent her from becoming a creepy nerdy kid."
"She might build her own Tesla by the time she's five and shoot you," Claudia suggested with a raised eyebrow.
"Really?" he said, a bit concerned now. Then he grinned. "Perhaps I can convince her to not embrace the dark side and instead make me a real light saber?"
Claudia patted his back. "Sure man. In the meantime I'll just put up more firewalls and encryptions on my laptop, just in case she figures out how to use a computer before she's two."
Pete laughed and Myka, overhearing the conversation, made a face at Claudia.
"Our daughter is not a superhero or a genius, she's just a kid. A little girl who needs playmates. Kids games, not Warehouse games."
Pete rolled his eyes. "Yes mom."
"Peter, shouldn't you show a bit more respect for your partner?"
Pete made a face and turned his head. Yep. His mom was standing right there.
"Hi mom," he muttered.
"Hello darling," Jane Lattimer said and patted his back. She turned her cheek his way and he placed a dutiful son kiss on it.
"Jane," Myka said and smiled at her. "I'm so glad you could make it."
"Of course I would. I'm sorry I'm late," Jane said and hugged Myka. She lowered her voice for Myka's ears only. "Regents' business unfortunately doesn't acknowledge the importance of our bestest little girl's birthday."
Jane walked over to Helena and the baby and kissed Helena on the cheek. She caressed Carolyn's curly hair and the girl smiled. Jane held out her hands for her and Carolyn eagerly accepted. Jane had become little Carolyn's other grandmother, a role that she had embraced wholeheartedly, and delighted in pointing out to Pete at every opportunity.
"Hi sweetheart," Jane cooed. "How's my bestest little agent doing on her first birthday?"
Myka gaped. "Isn't it a bit early to recruit her?"
Jane laughed and winked at Myka over her shoulder. "Never hurts to start early, Agent Bering."
Myka gave Helena a pained look. "Please tell me that she's joking."
Helena wrapped her arms around Myka and kissed her cheek. "I'm sure she is. I'm thinking that Carolyn might become a Nobel Prize winner in physics."
"I was hoping for something more in the lines of her mother's creative side, like literature, poetry, or perhaps an artistic career of sort."
"Graphic artist," Claudia piped up.
"Yeah! I'm sure she'll come up with awesome superheroes," Pete said enthusiastically.
Helena groaned and closed her eyes. "Please make them go away," she mumbled. "If only for a brief moment."
Myka laughed and pulled Helena closer. "You like them. Admit it."
"I love them dearly. In a sort of pet like way," she said with a teasing smirk.
"Did you just…" Claudia said indignant. "I can't even…" She turned and stomped over to other side of the room.
"Yeah, what she said," Pete muttered.
"Honey," Myka said and rolled her eyes. "That wasn't very nice."
"Just wait and see how happy they will be over their Auntie and Uncle thank you gifts," Helena whispered.
"Myka."
Myka turned and smiled at her mother who was standing there looking a little lost. She gently disentangled herself from Helena and walked closer.
"Are you okay mom?"
Jeannie nodded, but pulled Myka away from the group and over by the window.
"Are you sure that you're all right honey? That the baby is all right?"
Myka stared wild-eyed at her. "Of course we're all right, mom."
"You just told me that my granddaughter's father was born in another century and that he died over sixty years ago. It worries me."
"I know, mom, but trust me, we checked everything. Two of the best doctors in the world made certain that everything was fine before we even considered doing this. Dr. Calder performed the procedure herself and she supervised the transportation every step of the way. She's checking on Carolyn every month, and Dr. Magnus has been doing her own tests on a regular basis. Please don't worry, mom. Everything really is okay. Carolyn is a healthy little girl who is developing absolutely normally, well perhaps a bit faster, but I would blame that on environmental factors." Myka looked over to where Helena was standing talking to Helen Magnus. "Helena has already brought her to her lab, and she's been speaking French to Carolyn since she was born," she said and chuckled.
"What about Helena? How is she doing?"
"Helena's fine too," Myka said and smiled. "Dr. Calder has been checking her more often than she's checked on Carolyn. Helena is getting really tired of doctors."
Jeannie chuckled and nodded. "I can understand that." She touched Myka's hair. "I worry about you, that's all. And this is just so fantastic it seems like it could not be true. I mean after the shock of you girls telling us about Helena's true identity we never expected that you would be able to trump that."
"But we did," Myka said and grinned. "Carolyn really is a miracle baby."
"Can you…" Jeannie stopped and looked away.
"Can we give her a sibling? We can. We're just not sure of what to do. I can certainly have another child, but Helena could too."
"She can?" Jeannie said surprised. "I just assumed… you know."
"That it would be too dangerous because she's actually almost a hundred and fifty years old?"
Jeannie nodded.
"Her body apparently didn't age while in the bronzer. She's biologically only about a year or two older than I am, at least that's what Dr. Calder says."
Helena cleared her voice and smiled. "I would like to share with you the letter that Charles wrote to his son when he passed on his legacy so to speak. He speaks of me and my daughter Christina in his letter and as you can most likely understand, it is very emotionally difficult for me to deal with. Helen most graciously offered to read it to you instead."
Everyone gathered closer and silence fell around the room. Helen smiled at Helena and Myka and started to read Charles' letter. Myka watched their faces and how the emotions changed as Helen kept reading. She held Helena's hand in a tight grip and pulled her close when Helena started to cry. When Helen finally folded the letter many people were wiping their cheeks and the room remained silent until Carolyn made a little sound and laughed.
Jane handed her back to Helena who hugged the girl and kissed her face.
"Mummy kiss," Carolyn said and giggled.
"You have a beautiful family Helena," Jane said and smiled at her. "It took you a while, but you eventually found your way to happiness again."
"Thank you."
"We are family," Jane said and touched Carolyn's cheek. "We look out for each other and will always stand by each other. We might have started out with different families, but this," she gestured around the room. "This is a family of love. You are part of making that happen, Helena."
Helena sniffled and nodded.
Jane looked at Pete who was talking with Claudia. "Now if my son could actually find someone and settle down, then I would be truly happy," she mumbled.
Helena laughed. "I think he's seeing someone."
"Really?" Jane said and looked hopefully at Helena. "Who?"
"I can't tell you that. You're his mother," Helena objected.
"I'm a Regent. I can make you," Jane muttered darkly.
"But he's your son, so you will not," Helena said with a tiny little smile. "He will come to you Jane. Give him a little more time. They really haven't been seeing each other for very long."
Jane sipped her drink and nodded. "I guess I'll try to be patient and let him surprise me."
Epilogue
Myka smiled at her four year old daughter running towards where she and Helena were sitting on a blanket. It was early June and the three of them had the pleasure of enjoying a warm day together.
"Mummy!"
Carolyn almost fell into Helena's arms as she came to a stop and landed on her knees. She grinned at her mother and shoved a couple of slightly bruised and wilting flowers in front of Helena.
"What do you have there, honey bee?" Helena said and pulled the girl onto her lap.
Carolyn leaned against her, enjoying the comfort of being in Helena's arms.
"I picked them for you," she said and grinned at Helena. "And this one's for mama."
Myka chuckled and held out her hand for the yellow flower. "Thank you, sweet pea."
Carolyn smiled at her, pleased that Myka liked the flower. Myka was amazed again at how much Carolyn looked like Helena. As the two sat so close together the resemblance was even more noticeable. Carolyn's hair was as thick and luscious as Helena's, though it was slightly more chestnut than Helena's dark mahogany. It fell in tighter waves over Carolyn's shoulders and a few curls framed the girl's face, clearly a gift from Myka's side. The eyes that met Myka's when she looked at her daughter were as dark as Helena's, and that teasing smile Helena sported when she knew she was on thin ice, Carolyn was starting to master that too, even at the tender age of four.
Helena tilted her head and watched the emotions on Myka's face. "Something wrong, dearest?"
Myka laughed and shook her head. "Absolutely not. Everything is perfect." She smiled at Helena and caressed her cheek. "It's a beautiful day and I get to spend it with my gorgeous wife and my little munchkin," she said and tickled Carolyn who shrieked. "How could anything possibly be wrong?"
Carolyn squirmed out of Helena's arms and Myka grabbed her and hugged her, kissing the laughing girl's face.
"Mama! Too many kisses," Carolyn protested.
Myka placed another couple of kisses on the girl's soft cheeks and laughed. "There's no such thing as too many kisses. You're holding back on your mama young lady. I know you have whole bunch of them hidden somewhere. Behind your ear perhaps? Maybe under your collar."
Carolyn laughed more as Myka gave her a raspberry on the neck. Finally she squirmed free and stood up. With her little hands on her hips she looked down at Myka.
"You're silly mama," she declared.
Myka grinned. Carolyn again reminded her of Helena with her defiant stance. She reached out for the girl, but Carolyn jumped out of the way, laughing.
"Who are you calling silly?" Myka growled, playfully and jumped to her feet.
Carolyn set off across the grass, laughing, as Myka chased her. When Myka finally caught her she swung Carolyn up in the air. The girl's arms flailed and she laughed. Helena watched the two playing, and Myka swinging Carolyn around. As Myka stretched, the small bulge on her stomach became more noticeable and Helena sighed. She touched the locket around her neck.
"Christina, how I wish that you could have been here, love. I so wish that you could have met Myka and your baby sister. You would have loved them, and I know that Myka and Carolyn would have adored you," she whispered.
A soft breeze swept across the lawn and played with Helena's hair. She sighed and returned the locket to its safe place under her shirt. Getting up she walked across the freshly cut grass to join her wife and daughter.
The End