When Nikola Tesla answered his front door, there were a lot of things he expected.
A person bearing a flyer or a newspaper.
An abnormal trying to tear him up.
A Sanctuary network worker asking him to go to Old City Sanctuary.
A Cabal member trying to capture him.
What he didn't expect was his oldest friend, his only friend, Helen Magnus, standing on his doorstep, crying her eyes out and looking vulnerable, covered in rainwater.
He opened the door and let her in, locking the deadbolt lock after she came in.
XXXXX
An hour later, she was sitting on his sofa staring into her cup of tea. She had a blanket around her frame so that she was at least halfway dry.
He sat down next to her and pulled her into his chest. 'What's happened Helen?'
She looked at him, and he saw the trouble and upset in her eyes, 'He's back.' She mumbled. 'He turned up at the Sanctuary and I didn't know what to do.'
He put her head back on his chest and leant his chin on top of her slightly damp brunette curls. He breathed out erratically, trying to stay calm.
When the phone rang a few minutes later, they both jumped. The vampire left his friends n the sofa and answered the phone.
'Hello?'
'Hey, Tesla.' It was one of Helen's children at her network, he deduces. Probably Dr. Zimmerman, or Mr. Foss.
'And who is this?'
'It's Henry. Umm I was calling to ask if Magnus was there?' The worry was evident in his voice.
Nikola rolled his eyes, and answered. 'Yes, she is.'
'Is she ok? She was acting... a bit weird when she left.'
'Yes, she is ok.' Nikola asked, getting annoying with the werewolf.
'So should I tell her visitor where she is? Because I don't particularly want to, he freaks me out.'
'Listen to your instincts. Don't trust him, and whatever you do, do not leave him alone with Helen when she comes back.' Nikola hissed.
The woman in question looked at him from across the room. She tilted her head.
Nikola slammed the phone back onto the receiver, hanging up his conversation.
'Henry doesn't trust him. From that, neither does Kate.' He told the woman. 'Just need to get back before he gets his claws into Zimmerman. You know what he's like.'
'I know.' She whispered, saying something for the first time since she had entered the house. She stood up, leaving the blanket on the sofa. 'We should go.'
He stood next to her all of a sudden, and grasped her wrists. 'Are you ready for this? Are you sure you can see him again, after what he did?'
'No.' She said quietly. 'But I have to face him eventually.'
Nikola nodded. 'Very well.'
Four hours later they were on the way from Croatia to Old City.
XXXXX
They now stood outside the Sanctuary gates. 'Helen...' the vampire whispered.
She clicked the lock on the gates admission button, ignoring the man next to her.
The gates swung open silently, and she strode forward confidently, belying her feelings.
XXXXX
Helen and Nikola sat on one side of her desk, while the visitor sat on the other side. The Sanctuary team stood scattered around the room.
'Who is this dude?' Henry broke the uncomfortable silence.
The visitor laughed, and said. 'My dear, you've never told them about me?'
'No,' Helen said, 'Ad why would I when you killed my son?'
The room was practically frozen at the revelation.
Will was the first to break out of it from the team. 'You had a son?' he asked Magnus gently.
'Yes,' Helen responded.
'Daniel Gregory Magnus.' Nikola said quietly. 'Such a beautiful baby.'
'Oh he was ill all the time. It was a mercy killing.' The visitor said calmly.
It only took a second for both Helen and Nikola to have the visitor up against the wall, holding his throat.
'Magnus,' Will warned. 'Calm down.'
'No, let her.' The visitor snarled while smirking at the brunette woman. 'She's wanted to do this for so long.' He taunted.
'Don't tempt me Uncle.' She hissed.
Nikola let go of him, leaving him to Helen.
'Thank you Nikola,' she said, letting go of him slightly.
The man on the wall smirked and pushed against her, leaving her on the floor, and sat on top of her, while she blinked.
She pushed up and head butted him, while using her leg to hit his back.
'Is that the best you have?' he leaned down and whispered in her ear.
'No,' she whispered back. 'But this is.' She said while yanking his head down and smashing it into the corner of her desk, while flipping them over and smashing his body down on to the floor.
She stood up, and looked around. Nikola had been holding the rest of her team back, stopping them from helping her. Probably knowing that she had needed to do this on her own.
She walked to him, and hugged him. 'Thank you.' She murmured into his chest.
'Always.' He whispered back.
XXXXX
She was stood on the top of the Sanctuary building, by the towers, staring down over the rest of Old City, and the Sanctuary.
She felt somebody approach behind her, but she didn't say anything.
They stood up next to her, and she finally looked over to see her protégé. 'How are you Will?' she asked gently.
'Shouldn't I be asking you?' He turned on her. 'I mean, you've killed you're uncle and revealed a bit about your past today.'
'What I did to him is way less than what he deserved.' She stated calmly.
They stood in silence for a while. Helen broke it by saying. 'When I was 26, I had a relationship with Nikola. John was with James, and Nikola and I had been very close for a while. I got pregnant from it. I had Daniel. Named after both Nikola and I.'
'How was he names after Tesla? He doesn't have his last name.' Will asked.
'Nikola's older brother, Dane. Daniel. A derivative.' Helen said, still staring out at the horizon.
'What happened?'
She stayed silent.
'Look, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to.' Will told her.
She looked at him, and he sae the grief in her eyes. 'It was an eye for an eye.'
'What?' Will asked confused.
'My father made a mistake when he was younger. He was being hunted for a short while, and my Uncle's wife came to visit with their son, and he accidentally killed him. My Uncle found out and vowed to either kill me or in his words "his offspring's spawn". By the time I had Daniel, I had totally forgotten about him.' Helen fell silent for a moment in mourning before continuing. 'When Daniel was four years old, the same age as George, my Uncle's child, he snuck into the house I was living in and stabbed him. Once in the chest, once in the heart and once in the brain.'
Her eyes filled with tears that Will knew she would never shed.
That's... indescribable.' Will said after a minute. 'It must have hurt you so much.'
She took off the necklace that Will had seen around her neck every so often, and opened it before passing it to him.
In the left hand window he saw a picture of The Five in college, somebody had taken it without them knowing, and they had all been laughing and pushing each other genially. Helen was half sitting, half tumbling off of a bench with Nikola sat with his knees up in front of the bench and Helen was using his hair as a pillow while she laughed. Shortly behind them, John was stood, smiling at James and Nigel as they air tumbled. From the looks of it, the member of the Five that he hadn't met was winning, seeing as Nigel was on top of James. They all looked happy, and Will thought that it must have been before they took the Source Blood.
On the right hand side he saw a picture of Helen and Nikola, sitting down with a four year old child sitting cross legged in front of them. Nikola was whispering in Helen's ear and she was smiling widely, and the child was staring up at them in wonder. The child looked like them, with Nikola's dark hair and meticulous clothes, and Helen's eyes, and facial structure.
'The picture on the right was taken four days before he died.' Helen stated.
'Tesla was right.' Will said, looking at her. 'He was a beautiful baby.'
Helen looked at him, before looking back at the horizon. 'Yes. Yes, he was.'
Will gave her the necklace back. 'I'll leave you to it.' When he saw Nikola standing behind them.
'Thank you Will.' She said, as Nikola stood up to her.
He fastened the necklace back around her neck before pulling her into a hug.
That was all she needed, as she cried into his shoulder, overlooking the world.
