A/N: I finally have working air conditioning, and after three weeks in the 90s, can I just say that it is about time? To celebrate, I decided to write about a power outage at the Sanctuary, which is to say, I decided to write about Helen and Nikola taking clothes off, and decided I needed a little bit of a plot for appearances sake. Reviews are love!

Helen was at her desk catching up on paperwork when the power went out. She grabbed her walkie. "Henry?" She called.

"It wasn't me, doc!" He answered. "I'm not sure what happened, but I'm working on it."

"Check with—"

"The vamp? Yup, that's what 'I'm working on it' means." Helen smiled.

"Make sure he's not building anything too dangerous, okay? And get the power back on soon. It's 103 outside. I haven't seen a day this hot in Old City since I moved here. It is going to get warm in here SOON."

"Copy that," Henry said, "Maybe worst case scenario, I can reroute backup power to the A/C."

"I'm headed down to the labs, as well," Helen said as she walked out the door. She very nearly ran straight into Nikola, who was headed into her office as she was leaving.

"Henry, I found Nikola. He's in my office."

"Headed that way," Henry said.

"Nikola, what did you do this time?" Helen asked the troublesome vampire. He looked wounded.

"Why, Helen, I am hurt that you would think that I had—"

"Do I need to make a list of the times that you've knocked our systems offline?"

"Point taken. But it really wasn't me this time. I was reading a book."

Henry joined the two. "Is it possible this isn't isolated to the Sanctuary?" Helen asked him.

"Let me see," Henry pulled out his phone and did some searching. "Yup. It looks like the heat has caused a city-wide power outage. We still have our back-up generators keeping the SHU and EM shield running, but they say it could take hours to fix, so we had better leave all the power for emergency systems. Sorry about the A/C, Doc," he added at the end.

"Well, I survived for decades before it was even invented. I can manage for a few hours," Helen said matter-of-factly. "I think I am going to relocate to the library, however. It is cooler in there, and I am clearly getting no more paperwork done this afternoon." She was secretly looking forward to an afternoon to catch up on reading.

"I'm going to go keep an eye on backup systems. I'll let you know if there are any problems," Helen thanked him and Henry headed back to his lab.

Nikola looked at her expectantly.

"What?" She asked. "Weren't you doing something?"

"I told you, I was reading. In the library. It looks like we are headed the same direction." He smiled, and Helen sighed.

"All right, but behave yourself," she admonished.

"Who, me?" He smiled widely as they walked down the hall.

A few hours later…

"I miss electricity," Helen sighed, wiping sweat off her forehead. "I can't believe how quickly it warmed up in here."

"Well, it is 103 and sunny. And the insulation-or lack thereof-in this building is far from energy efficient."

"Such a practical answer," Helen whined. She was cranky, and it was entirely too hot for tea, which only exacerbated the problem.

Nikola looked at Helen's wardrobe. "Helen, darling, it is 90 degrees and stuffy in here and you are wearing pantyhose and a suit jacket. You are absolutely ridiculous."

She returned the look. "Says the man in a three-piece suit."

"Are you telling me I should strip?" He grinned suggestively.

"I'm suggesting that, given the circumstances, it would be perfectly appropriate to at least limit yourself to the dress shirt and vest. I think two layers are still perfectly modest," she teased at his antiquated sense of dress.

"I don't see you shedding your suit jacket," he observed. Helen swallowed. All she had under her jacket was a white shell that was rather sweat soaked by this point.

"I'd rather not. I could just go change into something cooler." She stood up to leave.

"Helen…." Nikola challenged. "What are you wearing under that jacket?" She sat down, defeated.

"Jacket and vest," She insisted, pointedly.

"But Helen, all I have under that is a thin white shirt that is positively..." he trailed off, realizing the point she was making. His eyes widened.

He quickly jumped to his feet, shedding the jacket and vest. Helen tried not to stare at him, but he might as well have been topless, and his daily swimming routine kept him in good shape. He caught her admiring his body and smirked.

"Fair is fair," He said, pulling her to her feet. She made the obligatory attempt to protest as he unbuttoned the two buttons on the front of her black jacket, slowly pulling it off her shoulders. He didn't try to hide his admiration as she was left standing there in her pencil skirt and white silk sleeveless blouse, which was soaked through, very clearly showing the piece of white lace she wore underneath it. And, as Helen confirmed with a glance, everything beneath the lace, as well. "Now, isn't that better?" He said, huskily.

She tried to back away from him, but he held her in place, gently but firmly. Helen instinctively reached up and pressed a palm against his damp shirt. "Let me go," she insisted, half-heartedly.

"Say it like you mean it," he teased, tilting her chin up with the hand that wasn't holding her arm. Without telling it to, Helen's free hand moved from his chest to around his neck, pulling him closer. Their faces were inches apart when Nikola closed the distance, kissing her softly.

Helen knew should be protesting, that this was all kinds of a bad idea. Her body betrayed her, however, as she deepened the kiss. He finally let her other arm go, and it snaked around the small of his back, pulling him closer to her. She moaned softly into his mouth when she felt him press against her. She was suddenly, painfully aware of how much clothing they were still wearing.

Nikola, as always, was a step ahead of her, searching for buttons, laces, anything that provided a way to remove that close fitting blouse. Helen broke their kiss, giggling and gasping for air. She raised her arms straight into the air, and Nikola finally saw the hidden zipper running up the side. He made short work of the garment, taking a moment to stare at the useless white lace bra underneath. While he was otherwise distracted, Helen deftly unbuttoned his shirt. He tossed the garment aside and kissed her again, hungrily, hands wandering freely. When they finally needed air, he gasped out "Are you sure about this?" She hushed him with another kiss.

"I don't start things I'm not interested in finishing," she told him with a grin. He answered her grin with a wide smile as he searched for the zipper on her skirt and she fumbled with his belt. They didn't even notice the lights come back on as they continued to remove clothing.

They also didn't hear the library door open. "Hey, Doc, all systems look good now that the-AUGH!" Henry fled as quickly as he had entered.

The couple sprang apart like someone had fired a gun. "Bloody hell," Helen muttered, observing the clothing tossed haphazardly around the room and, for the first time, consciously realizing their state of undress.

Tesla cleared his throat. "Wolfgang should knock."

"Didn't expect us to be going at it in the library, did he?" She retorted.

"Well, it shouldn't really surprise him," He said, moving back to where she stood. "It's clear how attracted to me you are," he teased.

"Cheeky bastard," she muttered. He grabbed her close and kissed her again. She couldn't believe how quickly her brain stopped working when he did that. "Let's look on the bright side," she muttered, "He won't be back for awhile…"