Warehouse 13, South Dakota, Sunday
Claudia hadn't headed back to Fandom with Jake. For one thing, she and her brother hadn't worked out the "what comes next?" question, yet. Claudia's plans had all kind of stopped at the point when she had her brother back. Turned out "happily ever after" didn't just magically happen. Especially since, apparently, Joshua's version of "what comes next" involved him running off to Switzerland. Okay, so, yeah, it was kind of a huge opportunity for him, and he was lucky to get it, considering he was missing five years of scientific progress, but still. Switzerland.
She also hadn't finished putting the Warehouse's electrical system back the way it was, yet. It turned out the system was temperamental and kind of bitchy. Just like Artie. Claudia had to keep taking breaks just to keep from taking out what she would insist were non-existent frustrations on the central circuit board. Or on Leena, who insisted in poking at all those frustrations when Claudia was just managing to convince herself they really were non-existent.
So she was sitting along the catwalk that ran along side Artie's office, staring at a chess game and wondering what ways it had of killing anyone when Myka came to find her. She and Pete had ended up kind of adopting Claudia over the course of the week, despite their initial misgivings of having the girl who broke through all that security hanging around. Myka sat down across the chess set from Claudia and folded her hands in her lap.
"Hey, Claudia."
"Hey." Claudia tilted her head. "How was the mission."
"It wasn't in a zoo." Myka smiled. Claudia didn't really get it, but she didn't press. "You, uh. You might want to put that down."
"Put what down?"
"The kettle."
Claudia looked down. She was holding an old tea kettle. She had absolutely no memory of picking it up. "What the hell?!"
"Yeah, it does that. It also grants wishes, apparently, but I haven't actually seen any evidence of that."
"Wishes?" Claudia considered that. She knew wishes could be dangerous. Hell, her best friend was her best friend because a wish to a djinn had totally turned her life upside down. So she immediately discarded any of the immediate wishes -- that Joshua had never done the Rheticus experiment, that she had a million dollars, that she could make it rain cream soda -- that sprang to mind, but couldn't stop the one she finally made: wishing Scully back to her old, pre-djinn self. If anything would work, it'd be another wish, right?
Something squeaked, and a white and black banded head peeked up out of the kettle. The ferret looked up at Claudia, chittered, and started climbing up her arm.
Myka sighed. "Yeah. If it can't grant the wish, it grants you a ferret."
Claudia shook her head. "This place is so weird."
"Home, sweet home." Myka pulled a purple glove from her pocket and gently took the kettle from Claudia. She left the ferret, which was now trying to take Claudia's silver necklace off. "So what'd you wish for?"
"Huh?" Claudia tried to pull the ferret off her shoulder. It was like trying to wrangle a fuzzy, wriggling tube sock with tiny pointy claws. The ferret fled her hands and ended up curling up like a shawl along the back of her neck. "Oh, uh. Something for a friend of mine. It's kind of a long story."
Myka looked at her thoughtfully. "You've got some really good friends," she said. "Coming all the way out here to help you out, sticking around for awhile to make sure it all goes okay. . . . I don't think any of my high school friends would have done that."
Claudia shrugged. "Our school's kind of . . . unique. People end up bonding."
"Is that why you're avoiding going back?" Myka asked. "Because it's so 'unique'?"
Claudia flinched. "I'm not --"
"I'm guessing you could have finished up fixing the electrical system about three days ago."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because you're smart. And capable." Myka leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "And you love your family but have no idea how to relate to them, any more." Claudia opened her mouth to protest, but stopped at Myka's rueful smirk. "We can recognize our own." She sat up. "You got used to not having Joshua around, didn't you. To not having someone else right there trying to run your life. And now he's back and neither of you know if he should go back to being the big brother who raised you."
Claudia looked down, poking idly at the ferret on her shoulders. The ferret licked her finger, then started trying to chew on her hair. "Did Leena put you up to this?"
"No. But if Leena was saying it, then it's definitely true." Myka tilted her head and looked at Claudia studyingly. "It's okay, you know. You're allowed to go your own way. And at least now you'll know how and where to find him. Switzerland might be a passport-and-plane-ride away, but that's at least way easier than five years, breaking and entering, and almost dying away."
Even easier than a passport and plane ride, Claudia thought, what with Portalocity. She didn't say it, though. As far as she could tell, Artie and his agents had no idea there was an interdimensional teleportation network, and, well, Claudia liked knowing things that other people didn't. "I know all that," she said. "Of course I know that. And I'm happy for Joshua."
Myka nodded slowly, her eyes all big and sympathetic. "Then why aren't you going back to school?"
Claudia swallowed. "Maybe I wanna stay here. Maybe I like hanging out in a giant warehouse full of stuff that can kill you creatively."
Myka sighed. "You have to finish high school, Claudia."
Claudia sunk down in her seat. "Do not."
"Do too, Ms. Donovan."
Claudia bolted upright again. "Holy crap!" She spun in her seat to face the voice that'd just spoken, her mouth wide. "Mrs. Frederick?!"
Her social worker stood a few feet away, by the door to Artie's office, her hands neatly folded in front of her, peering down her nose through her glasses at Claudia. "I may no longer be your legally appointed guardian, Ms. Donovan," she said, "but that doesn't stop me from being concerned about your continued well being. Your teachers are expecting you back in class, tomorrow."
Myka, looking between Claudia and Mrs. Frederick and deciding that now was not the time to start asking questions about just how the two already knew each other, bit her lip and slipped off, taking the wishing kettle back to its proper place in the warehouse.
"Right," Claudia was saying. "The sex class with Sherlock Holmes. That's vital to my development."
Mrs. Frederick seemed to be immune to sarcasm. "Indeed." She held out a slim, narrow folder with the Portalocity logo across the front. Claudia took it slowly, noting the reservation for a portal back to Fandom tonight. She did a double take when she saw the rest.
"An open reservation for a portal direct to Univille any weekend?"
Mrs. Frederick smiled faintly. "You're aware of the Warehouse, Mrs. Donovan, and unlike your friends, you come from this universe. You must realize we cannot simply let you back into the world without ensuring your continued interest in the safety and security of this institution."
"You're giving me a job?"
"Agent Nielson has gotten rather behind on his inventory duties."
"You're giving me a crappy job."
"You are still a minor, Mrs. Donovan. Either you take this offer and return to Fandom, or you can complete your education in Geneva. The choice is yours."
Claudia looked back down at the Portalocity folder. When she glanced up, Mrs. Frederick was gone. The ferret skittered down her shirt to sniff at the folder, and Claudia absently scratched it between the ears.
"Some choice," she muttered. "At least she's not banning me from South Dakota."
[ooc: NFB, open to phone calls if people want. Sort of a mish-mash rewrite of canon to try and wrap up the catch-up.]
She also hadn't finished putting the Warehouse's electrical system back the way it was, yet. It turned out the system was temperamental and kind of bitchy. Just like Artie. Claudia had to keep taking breaks just to keep from taking out what she would insist were non-existent frustrations on the central circuit board. Or on Leena, who insisted in poking at all those frustrations when Claudia was just managing to convince herself they really were non-existent.
So she was sitting along the catwalk that ran along side Artie's office, staring at a chess game and wondering what ways it had of killing anyone when Myka came to find her. She and Pete had ended up kind of adopting Claudia over the course of the week, despite their initial misgivings of having the girl who broke through all that security hanging around. Myka sat down across the chess set from Claudia and folded her hands in her lap.
"Hey, Claudia."
"Hey." Claudia tilted her head. "How was the mission."
"It wasn't in a zoo." Myka smiled. Claudia didn't really get it, but she didn't press. "You, uh. You might want to put that down."
"Put what down?"
"The kettle."
Claudia looked down. She was holding an old tea kettle. She had absolutely no memory of picking it up. "What the hell?!"
"Yeah, it does that. It also grants wishes, apparently, but I haven't actually seen any evidence of that."
"Wishes?" Claudia considered that. She knew wishes could be dangerous. Hell, her best friend was her best friend because a wish to a djinn had totally turned her life upside down. So she immediately discarded any of the immediate wishes -- that Joshua had never done the Rheticus experiment, that she had a million dollars, that she could make it rain cream soda -- that sprang to mind, but couldn't stop the one she finally made: wishing Scully back to her old, pre-djinn self. If anything would work, it'd be another wish, right?
Something squeaked, and a white and black banded head peeked up out of the kettle. The ferret looked up at Claudia, chittered, and started climbing up her arm.
Myka sighed. "Yeah. If it can't grant the wish, it grants you a ferret."
Claudia shook her head. "This place is so weird."
"Home, sweet home." Myka pulled a purple glove from her pocket and gently took the kettle from Claudia. She left the ferret, which was now trying to take Claudia's silver necklace off. "So what'd you wish for?"
"Huh?" Claudia tried to pull the ferret off her shoulder. It was like trying to wrangle a fuzzy, wriggling tube sock with tiny pointy claws. The ferret fled her hands and ended up curling up like a shawl along the back of her neck. "Oh, uh. Something for a friend of mine. It's kind of a long story."
Myka looked at her thoughtfully. "You've got some really good friends," she said. "Coming all the way out here to help you out, sticking around for awhile to make sure it all goes okay. . . . I don't think any of my high school friends would have done that."
Claudia shrugged. "Our school's kind of . . . unique. People end up bonding."
"Is that why you're avoiding going back?" Myka asked. "Because it's so 'unique'?"
Claudia flinched. "I'm not --"
"I'm guessing you could have finished up fixing the electrical system about three days ago."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because you're smart. And capable." Myka leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "And you love your family but have no idea how to relate to them, any more." Claudia opened her mouth to protest, but stopped at Myka's rueful smirk. "We can recognize our own." She sat up. "You got used to not having Joshua around, didn't you. To not having someone else right there trying to run your life. And now he's back and neither of you know if he should go back to being the big brother who raised you."
Claudia looked down, poking idly at the ferret on her shoulders. The ferret licked her finger, then started trying to chew on her hair. "Did Leena put you up to this?"
"No. But if Leena was saying it, then it's definitely true." Myka tilted her head and looked at Claudia studyingly. "It's okay, you know. You're allowed to go your own way. And at least now you'll know how and where to find him. Switzerland might be a passport-and-plane-ride away, but that's at least way easier than five years, breaking and entering, and almost dying away."
Even easier than a passport and plane ride, Claudia thought, what with Portalocity. She didn't say it, though. As far as she could tell, Artie and his agents had no idea there was an interdimensional teleportation network, and, well, Claudia liked knowing things that other people didn't. "I know all that," she said. "Of course I know that. And I'm happy for Joshua."
Myka nodded slowly, her eyes all big and sympathetic. "Then why aren't you going back to school?"
Claudia swallowed. "Maybe I wanna stay here. Maybe I like hanging out in a giant warehouse full of stuff that can kill you creatively."
Myka sighed. "You have to finish high school, Claudia."
Claudia sunk down in her seat. "Do not."
"Do too, Ms. Donovan."
Claudia bolted upright again. "Holy crap!" She spun in her seat to face the voice that'd just spoken, her mouth wide. "Mrs. Frederick?!"
Her social worker stood a few feet away, by the door to Artie's office, her hands neatly folded in front of her, peering down her nose through her glasses at Claudia. "I may no longer be your legally appointed guardian, Ms. Donovan," she said, "but that doesn't stop me from being concerned about your continued well being. Your teachers are expecting you back in class, tomorrow."
Myka, looking between Claudia and Mrs. Frederick and deciding that now was not the time to start asking questions about just how the two already knew each other, bit her lip and slipped off, taking the wishing kettle back to its proper place in the warehouse.
"Right," Claudia was saying. "The sex class with Sherlock Holmes. That's vital to my development."
Mrs. Frederick seemed to be immune to sarcasm. "Indeed." She held out a slim, narrow folder with the Portalocity logo across the front. Claudia took it slowly, noting the reservation for a portal back to Fandom tonight. She did a double take when she saw the rest.
"An open reservation for a portal direct to Univille any weekend?"
Mrs. Frederick smiled faintly. "You're aware of the Warehouse, Mrs. Donovan, and unlike your friends, you come from this universe. You must realize we cannot simply let you back into the world without ensuring your continued interest in the safety and security of this institution."
"You're giving me a job?"
"Agent Nielson has gotten rather behind on his inventory duties."
"You're giving me a crappy job."
"You are still a minor, Mrs. Donovan. Either you take this offer and return to Fandom, or you can complete your education in Geneva. The choice is yours."
Claudia looked back down at the Portalocity folder. When she glanced up, Mrs. Frederick was gone. The ferret skittered down her shirt to sniff at the folder, and Claudia absently scratched it between the ears.
"Some choice," she muttered. "At least she's not banning me from South Dakota."
[ooc: NFB, open to phone calls if people want. Sort of a mish-mash rewrite of canon to try and wrap up the catch-up.]