Title: Trembing on the Brink
Author: Carly Carter
Fandom: Warehouse 13
Pairing: Myka/HG Wells
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Set vaguley in mid season 2
Disclaimer: Don't own anything!
Dedication: For Tonya Buchanan , who is my dear dear friend whom I cherish more than words can say. I wrote this for her birthday, and I hope she enjoys it. It's because of her encouragement and inspiration that I found my way to writing in this fandom again.
AN: I wrote this short piece quite quickly for a birthday fic, and as such it's a bit clumsy, the punctuation and grammar probably leaves a lot to be desired, and it's not my usual style. It's predominantly from HG's POV which is something I don't do often because i'm not very good at it. Sill procrastinating with the ending of "Time Will Tell" and so I wanted to write something shorter that I actually completed! Also I mostly favor using HG as opposed to Helena for a whole bunch of reasons I wont go into. In any case, hope you enjoy, can't wait for the new season! PS don't worry it has a happy ending, but it is a bit angsty in the middle :)

Chapter 1

Myka sits in silence at the dinner table, conversation drifting over the top of her. Pete and Claudia bantering about something in important, Artie bellowing at them to behave. Surreptitiously she lets her hand drift to her pocket, clenching the item inside. She grasps her fingers around it tightly, waiting for some untold magic to come forth. She waits. She feels nothing. Positively nothing. But she does not let go.

Myka had seen HG wells, clutching that object. Trying to hid it, but not trying hard enough. Almost as if she was unable to let it go. Myka had been convinced it was an aritfact. It must have some sort of power, why else would HG Wells tote it around everywhere? Why else touch it so many times. What did this thing do?

Myka had skilfully lifted the object, right from HG Wells pocket, without being noticed. She had been careful not to handle it until she had opportunity to immerse in neutralising solution. She waited for the flashing lights, the loud bang. Nothing. It left her bewildered. And slightly irritated that her hypothesis had been wrong. And extremely annoyed at the amount of cleaning to get that insidious purpley goo removed from the mysterious object. Like its owner, HG Wells, this object only raised more questions.

Myka deeply resented the way HG Wells would just show up, now and then, out of nowhere. The way the other woman would do things, such as help Myka with an artifact, save Claudia's life, and then vanish, leaving her with cryptic words of wisdom. Sometimes she left things behind, like the grappling hook, with small notes for Myka, meaningless short jottings. And yet Myka kept every single one. It was always when Myka was alone that HG would appear out of nowhere. Never to Pete, or Claudia, and certainly not to Artie.

After the reaction from Artie when he found out she and Claudia had seen HG Wells, Myka had learned something. If she wanted to keep HG around, which she did (She didn't spend too much time dwelling on why or just how much she wanted the other woman to be part of her life), but if she wanted it to continue, it must be her secret.

While it sat uneasily with Myka, having a secret kept from Artie, somehow the way HG would come and go, almost like a ghost, made it unreal. Made it something that Artie just didn't need to know. If she told him everything, the 7 times in total HG had shown up out of the blue, each time more strikingly beautiful than the last. How HG helped with the case, how the bond between them deepened with each passing moment, how much she liked HG, understood HG. How much she felt understood. If she let Artie know any of those things, there would be consequences. Punishment for her. Losing respect in Artie's eyes. And for HG, being hunted down. And, maybe, an impossible choice.

It was better this way, hidden, secret, just between her and HG. And after all, it was hurting no one. Artie was wrong bout HG. Not entirely wrong, Myka thinks. She is not fool enough to believe HG is the poor innocent victim, some sort of persecuted saint. No.

But HG is a human being, a woman, who has struggled, and overcome. A woman who is brilliant, funny, creative, resourceful. Perfect? Maybe not. Maybe she has done some things that she regrets. Who hasn't?

Myka knows HG isn't all she appears, knows better than to get swept away by HG's charisma, that lilting accent, sparkiling eyes, warmth of her touch. Myka knows sometimes that HG is playing her. Knows HG is trying to cast some kind of spell on her. She tells herself that because she knows it, she is safe. HG can't fool her. Cant trick her or manipulate her, because Myka is on to her. But somewhere, in a deeper part of herself, Myka doesn't really care what HG is trying to do. She is still so captivated with her. And perhaps, in some way, she is under the spell already. But this thought doesn't alarm Myka as it should. It feels somehow like being under HG's spell is safest place she has ever been.

Myka missed HG when she wasn't around. Yearned for her. It was always unexpected, these appearances. Myka never knew when HG would turn up. The times she waited, she watched, those times- HG never came. But the times when the situation took over, when Myka was forced to focus on case, to forget, for just a second, all about HG Wells. That's when HG Wells would appear.

Always silent, always immaculate. Strikingly beautiful.

Undoubtedly HG had the upper hand. She was the one watching, waiting, choosing her moment carefully. It seemed so wrong. The woman was 150 years out of her time. Is's Myka who had the upper hand. Who should have. But no. HG Wells has an uncanny way of turning the tables.

A loud clap of thunder and the sudden plunge into darkness jolts Myka from her musings. They all jump a little around the dinner table, though no one would admit to being spooked. There is a mad rush for candles, Pete swearing as he bumps into something, Claudia shrieking that something is touching her leg. Myka drowns it all out. She is swept away by atmosphere, the storm, the darkness. She grasps the object a little tighter, if that were possible, and is utterly convinced- this tiny object does something. Somethingdark, dangerous, delicious.

Later that night Myka sleeps with it clasped tightly between her fingers. She feels something, she feels connected.

She knows this- the object is of value to HG Wells. She knows also this, HG will come and find it. It's her guarantee of seeing the other woman. It's her safety net, her peace of mind.

Myka does not yet realise that she herself is important to HG. That she is the very thing HG keeps coming back for. She doesn't quite allow herself to believe that. But having this object, that makes her feel in control. She relishes the sudden power shift, having something HG wants.

As she falls asleep, Myka decides that tomorrow, she will stick close to Pete- something she had deliberately fallen out of the habit of doing. It was always when she was alone that HG would come to her. But this time, she wants to be in control. She wants HG, she wants to make HG come to her. But not yet. She wants to tease the other woman, just a little.

With thoughts of HG Wells in mind, Myka falls asleep with a smile on her face.