Summary: Months after the destruction of her sanctuary, Helen is on a rooftop staring at the wreckage, only to feel she is not alone.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sanctuary
Rating: T
Pairing: Helen and John
LOVE RETURNED:
Helen Magnus, leader of the Sanctuary Network, founder, and immortal stood looking out at her city from some unknown rooftop gazing at the ruble of her former home. Loneliness tore at her heart as well as despair. For weeks her soul had been crying out for the one touch in all the world she desired above all others. Montague John Druitt still owned her body and soul, his heart was still connected to hers, and it was his heart she longed to hear beating. She craved the feeling of his lips crushed to hers, the pleasurable way his fingers would dig into her hips when he pulled her close. To others he was the Ripper, a killer, but to her all she saw was the man she loved. She would always love him no matter the body count he held. In the end, Helen was no saint either. Blood painted her hands. In this place, in the middle of the night, Helen could let his name fall from her lips. "John, where are you?" she asked the night not truly expecting an answer as he right hand covered her heart that beat only for him. Her heart skipped a beat as a feeling rippled along her spine. There was this sense that she only ever carried in regards to John. Spinning on her heels she surveyed the rest of the roof looking for him. Helen almost grew discouraged when she saw some of the shadow's shift. "John!" She called out nearly getting her hopes up, but the universe rewarded her this night with the return of her heart.
Montague John Druitt, teleporter, former Jack the Ripper, and immortal stood in the shadows watching the love of his life move through the night as if she had no tether to the mortal coil. Every step she took was heavier than the last. It killed him to see her so disconnected to everything around her. He knew that he was partly to blame for Helen's current state. John had cut himself off from her to protect her, to protect himself, but all he had done was more damage, caused more heartache and suffering. Now it was time to make it right. Using his abilities he found her in the same spot she came to week after week to gaze upon the ruble of her former home. As always he stood in the shadows to watch her, to breath in the scent of her on the air. His heart beat only when he was near her, beat only for her. John needed the warmth of Helen against him, need the taste of her lips to fight back the wave of anger that was ever present in his mind. He needed her. He yearned for her. John was ever wanting for the promise of tomorrow from Helen's embrace. She was his life. She held his heart in her hands. Helen was his freedom and she was calling to him. Stepping from the shadows John made his presence known with a soft smile and loving gaze, "I'm here." He confirmed. Helen took a tentative step towards him as he did to her.
Helen felt weak in the knees seeing John immerging from the shadows. Her heart raced and her breathing faltered. She couldn't believe that he was actually there, in the shadows, he had come to her. Helen couldn't take another step towards him without the feeling that she would crumble to her knees. Though, it didn't matter. Gravity weighed down upon her and to the rooftop she went. "John!" She called out again and he was there, his arms around her, and his lips pressed to her forehead. So much emotional anguish had been repressed in regards to him that the moment he touched her, he held her close; she was crying a torrent of tears as she pressed her face into his chest. Against her cheek she felt the strong beat of his heart confirming that he was alive. More tears flowed as John continued to hold her, to rock her back and forth. Over and over he placed gentle kisses to her brow; further proof that he was flesh and blood, not a figment of her mind. Helen continued to cry in his arms feeling immense relief that he was there.
John held Helen close rocking back and forth while she cried. Helen was strong, she was independent, and she was a survivor. When the emotions hit her, made her falter, she needed someone equally strong to hold her and remain silent and vigilant when she couldn't be. John was just that man. He knew to hold her with a gentle embrace and whisper to her in a soothing voice. "I'm here," John muttered against her furrowed brow. "Feel me holding you." He kissed her temple. While she poured out her emotional torment, he rocked back and forth with her under the light of the full moon. "I'll never be far from your side ever again." John swore to her. His heart, and hers, could no long tolerate the distance between them. "I am yours to do with as you please." He told her. "I love you, for all eternity."
Helen should feel elation over John's whispered words to her, but for the moment they inspired true anger. Forcefully she pounded her fist into his chest and raged, "Where have you been?!" Her chest rose and fell unevenly at the weight of the emotions settled upon her chest. "I searched for you!" She continued to shout even as he was so close to her. John said nothing pulling her back in against him. Her arms wrapped around his back, this time, halfheartedly she hit him with her closed fist. The tears had yet to abate. "Where were you?" She buried her face in the crook of his neck trying to calm her raging emotions. John, for his part, remained silent affording her the chance to regain control.
When Helen's assault to his back died down, John tightened his hold on her marginally. He breathed deeply her scent and rested his chin atop her head. Right now all he could do was wait, ride out the storm of her anguish her relief. Helen Magnus was a woman of powerful emotion when she had no other alternative to keep them contained. He adored that about her. A few minutes later and Helen's shaking had stilled. A few minutes more had john pulling back to look at her. Her cheeks were tears stained with eyeliner. With tenderness he cupped her face and used his thumbs to wipe away the dampness. "What can I do?" He asked resting his forehead to hers. Helen said nothing as she brought her hands up to cup his face as he was doing to her. "Helen, say something."
"I've missed you." Helen confessed in a single breath. She cupped John's face, the thumb of her right hand touching the scar she had gifted to him all those years ago. "I didn't know where you were." She mumbled biting her bottom lip. All of her nights spent from him had finally taken its toll on her heart, on her soul. The one thing she wanted in this world, more than the return of her daughter, was the return of the man she loved. And here he was before her. "I…" Helen clamped down on her sudden rise of fear to say the words that were always on the tip of her tongue, "I love you." She took her hands from his face, draped her arms over his shoulders and held him close to her. For the first time in months, Helen felt steady in the deepest part of her soul. "I will never let go of you again." She promised, pulling back to set her gaze to his. "Never again."
John smiled a real smile like he thought himself no longer capable of. Then again, when he was with Helen anything was possible. More than anything he wanted to angle his head, to take her lips, and to show her just how much his heart had missed her. He wouldn't give in, not until Helen was ready. The last thing he wanted was to push her past a line that she wasn't ready to walk over. "What would you have of me now?" He asked hoping she wouldn't cast him from her side. In her eyes he saw something that he had longed to see; playfulness.
"I'm going to take you home." Helen held tighter to John. "Teleport us to the supply tunnels of Hollow Earth." John said nothing about their destination. He dropped his hands from her face and wrapped them around her waist. Together they stood with Helen trusting John more than she had in the past. He pulled her closer still so their lips barely had a breath between them before she felt his power flow over her skin and they were taken from the roof to her new home of Hollow Earth.
John felt the ground beneath his feet and even before he opened his eyes he knew the stone walls that would greet his eyes. He was reluctant to let Helen go as he drew in a deep breath, but he relinquished his hold upon her, taking a step back to look at the tunnels where he had traveled with Adam Worth in an effort to save Helen, only to wind up a prisoner and nearly eaten. "This is where you make your home now?" John questioned looking at her. She was still wearing a light smile; a sign she was not angry with him. Helen didn't answer him as she took his hand to lead him through the dark. The next sight he knew they would see would be the waterfall, the same one he passed the last time. John heard the rushing of water and knew they were heading in the right direction. "I take it there are no long any pale cannibal's lurking in the shadows?" He asked scanning the darkness looking for them.
"No, very few abnormals live in the outer areas of Hollow Earth." Helen answered squeezing John's hand harder. "This place has changed since I've come to live here." She looked at him while they kept walking. Then she stopped and turned to him, "John this new Sanctuary, I built it to help you." She confessed stopping John dead in his tracks. His look of guarded happiness melted away into pure shock. John was shocked to the point he couldn't look at her and he let go of her hand. "John? What is it?" Helen moved to him, placed her hands on his back feeling him shaking under her touch. "Talk to me."
John rounded on Helen, his hands coming to her face, His intent was not to harm, but to show her how had never dared to dream of his freedom from the energy elemental plaguing his soul. When he had given the creature what it wanted, John thought his body would burn, his mind had been severed from his control. He was a slave, bit the creature had other plans. It had taken John to safety and then ripped free of his mortal shell leaving only John in command of his being once more. He had been barely alive, barely able to heal, until one day he woke to find himself in a haven for his kind. There he had been nursed back to health with still a long road to travel. Knowing that Helen had constructed this place with him in mind touched his heart. "You built this new Sanctuary with me in mind?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes," Helen answered truthfully and without hesitation. "I wanted this place to be where your life could begin anew, where you could finally know freedom." John kissed her brow, the top of her head, her temple, and her left cheek before he looked at her again. They shared a breath, their lips barely touching. Helen had come this far, "Kiss me." She said. His kiss was that of the gentlemen he used to be; a light brush of lips. That was all she wanted; the spark to be lit once more. It was how they had come to be together the first time. John had stolen a kiss and she had been lost to him ever since. Falling back into the person she was when she was alone with him, Helen joked, "I hope you don't think me too foreword, but I want to take you to my bed."
John threw his head back and roared with joyful laughter. "Why, Miss Magnus," He fell in step with her teasing tone, "I would love to be taken by you." John claimed Helen's lips in a powerful kiss showing her how much he could still love her. She clung to him, her hands fisting in the front of his burgundy dress shirt. He broke the kiss as quickly as he started him. "Let's go home." Helen struggled to bring in air as she nodded. Although it would be romantic to make love to her by a waterfall, John wanted to see her new Sanctuary, a haven she had built with him in mind. She took his hand and led him into the heart of the reconstructed Hollow Earth that he had hand in destroying.
SANCTUARY:
Helen let John on the path that ran in between the ultra-sleek, ultra-modern research/resident rooms that she had constructed in favor of taking him to the stone steps beyond that led to her private rooms built into the cliff face. When Helen had imagined the new Sanctuary she had wanted to have her private residence away from her work. She wanted a place of solitude and relaxation. Now it could be a place she could share with John; a place for them alone. She took another step with John pulling her to a stop. Helen turned to him to see he was smiling at her. She didn't have the chance to ask him if he was alight with where she was taking him when he kissed her sweetly. Like many times before, Helen melted right into him.
John was overwhelmed with so many emotions. Helen had devised the perfect gift for him; freedom. She had put thought into this, put her life on the line to make this place a reality. John broke the light kiss suddenly in need of air, "I dared not dream of my freedom." He confessed slowly dragging his gaze up to look Helen in the eyes. In her smoky blue depths he saw understanding and he still saw her love for him. She once more cupped his face and John knew he was not getting his hopes up. Before any more time could slip away between them, John had to tell her what happened to him after the last time they were here. "But I should tell you…" She stopped him, hand covering his mouth. No words were to pass from his lips until they were inside. John kissed the palm of her hand letting her know he understood.
Helen took John's hand once more and led him up the stone stairs to the front door of her private residence. He stopped her before she could open it to him. John did the honors in pushing the large wooden door open and waited for her to step inside. Helen kissed his cheek, lingering against him for seconds. It felt so good to be able to freely touch him without the threat he would harm her. He slid his hand easily into her that had Helen smiling broadly. She took a deep breath and then said, "Welcome home." Turning to him, Helen draped her arms over his shoulders. John looked around seeing the natural stone walls that were offset the dark toned wooden floors. The main living space was primarily an open concept space; the living room, the dining area and the kitchen all fed into the other. This was not the part of her residence she wished for John to linger in.
John followed Helen through the open concept main floor to the back were another set of stairs waiting. Before he knew it they were at the top, standing on the second floor landing that was just one large room. His heart skipped a beat at seeing the open space. Immediately in front of them a large couch rested flanked by two overly stuffed arm chairs, a coffee table, and yet another fire place. Stepping from her side her surveyed this room noting that to his right her desk sat in front of floor to ceiling wall of glass that looked out over the new Sanctuary buildings where no doubt her lab was. To his left on the other side of the room a large platform bed sat in the middle of the sleeping area and was set close to the second set of floor to ceiling window. He went to see what view was offered and saw a sprawling garden below them. "This is truly a wonder to behold with ones own eyes." John muttered seeing Helen's reflection in the glass as she stood behind him.
Helen slid her arms around John's waist resting her cheek on his right shoulder blade. Having the feeling of him once more did much to erase the longs years the endured apart. "This is where we can start again, where we can be happy." She wanted that more than anything. John was her life; her past present and future. John took her hands from his wait, drew them up and placed them over his heart. "I've never wanted anyone but you." She had put her wants, her deep desires, on hold for too long. Now it was her turn to find some measure of inner peace, of happiness with the only man in the world who held deep meaning to her. "John, I…"
"Helen," John sighed stepping from her arms. "I am forever moved with what you've done, this place..." He started to say and then saw her expression change, "I come to you now as a free man. My torment is long over." John willed her to understand what he was saying. It was time he explained. "The last time we were here hunting for Worth, after I fed that creature, and before the explosion it used my abilities one last time to take to it, and me, to safety before it shed the use of my body." John said sighing and going to sit on the edge of the bed. "I was injured, barely alive when I was taken in and nursed back to health." To give proof to his words, John unbuttoned his shirt showing her the slow fading burns to his chest left behind by the creature upon its violent exit of his body. "The massive feed gave that demon enough energy to create its own physical form. What use did it require of me?" John scoffed letting the burgundy shirt fall from his shoulders to pool around him on the bed. Looking up at her, he said, "I thought I was going to die with you hating me" The force of his emotions strangled his voice cutting off all the other words he wished to speak to her.
Helen stared at John's ravaged chest feeling her heart clenching in pain. Guilt tore at her for not finding him sooner. She went to him, stood between his parted knees, and reached out her right hand slowly to touch the closest scar. "I should have…" She shook her head knowing that she couldn't close her eyes to the evidence of his final abuse by the hands of the energy elemental that had turned him into a violent killer. "What can I do?" Helen asked setting her gaze to his, her hands resting lightly to his shoulders. John wrapped his arms around her hips, resting his forehead to her abdomen. She held him as he held her; gently. Tenderly she drew her hands up and down his back for as long as he held her. Tonight, there was no rush, no expectations. All Helen wanted was for John to be with her, and he was. He was here in front of her, holding her, and his heart was beating strongly in his chest.
John looked up the line of Helen's body. He always held desire for Helen, a burning need to be sated, to be entwined as only lovers could be. Tonight, the hunger simmered inside of him, but he found he wanted something far more intimate. Keeping his eyes to hers, John set his fingers to the bottom button of her black cotton shirt. One by one he freed them and revealed her silky skin that he had longed to feel once more, but he stopped when he reached the button below her breasts. He waited for her to give him leave to continue. Helen only smiled at him leaving John to finish his task. His fingers reached the hollow of her throat, finally freeing the last button holding her shirt to her body. With great ease he slipped his hands under the shirt and worked it from her shoulders, down her arms, and pulled it from her to set the fabric on the bed. "I wish to feel you in my arms." John finally answered her question.
Helen set her hands on his chest and replied, "I would like that very much." She knew nothing sexual would happen between them, not yet. This night was about the tender comfort of flesh to flesh. John had his hands to her hips giving her the stability she needed to work free the boots she had worn. Helen backed away from John so she could move her shoes. Then, once she stood before him, she gently pushed him so he sat back on the bed. Helen knelt in front of John and removed his tailored Italian loafers. She set his shoes by the foot of the bed and then stood once more, this time she collected their shirts and moved them to the closet. Helen wanted to prolong the moment all the more, wanted the anticipation to build. The last time she had been in a bed with John had been when he was unconscious, detoxing, in Cambodia. She had felt the draw of the familiar comfort and she had taken it. Helen had curled into his arms feeling the simple connection lift her spirits.
John watched Helen with full knowledge of what she was doing. She was making him wait, making him yearn for her touch all the more. He stood up and pulled the covers back before he stretched out to wait for her. Except the moment his head hit the pillow, exhaustion clawed at him. He had failed to mention that he was not completely healed. John forced himself to remain awake, forced his eyes to track Helen's every move as she dimmed the lights around them. He watched her as she walked to the bed, her tumble of dark brown curls falling over her shoulders, framing her face, and her skin glowing in the low light. She was still his angel of mercy. John moved to lie on his side as Helen crawled in next to him. His torso touched the cool skin of her back and it was like an electric shock. So much time apart, but his body never could forget the luxurious feel of her against him. With his left hand John pulled the covers over them to encase them in warmth.
Helen didn't stay with her back to John under the covers. Carefully she rolled over, she wanted to touch him chest to chest, hip to hip, and she wanted to have his legs tangled with hers. She wanted to tuck her head under his chin and have his arms wrapped around her. This was more of a homecoming than she could ever imagine. All the pain, all the doubt she harbored just vanished. Being with the one man she loved had the ability to make the world fade away. Nothing mattered except him, except the feeling of his body against her, the heat of him. "This is what I've missed the most." Helen admitted quietly. Lightly, she kissed the nearest burn on his chest feeling the new scar against her lips. John said nothing as his breathing evened out. Helen pulled back slightly, John's arms tensing in response, and she angled her head. His eyes were closed and he was fast asleep. She held tight to this moment as she followed John into sleep.
THE END: