AN: This is a fic written for icarus_chained, who was having a bad week and needed some hurt/comfort fic. Then I bugged Shadadukal until she agreed to co-write a longer story with me, and we added the two opening sections.
Spoilers: Well, none, really. The story takes place in a mythical land where John, Helen and Nikola are living happily ever after, and weirding out the children.
Disclaimer: We should be so lucky!
Characters/pairing: Nikola, Helen (with references to Helen/John/Nikola, Kate, Will & Henry)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nikola is on familiar ground, with a ruined experiment and chased by an unruly mob, but the circumstances are a little different this time.
Cat's Paw
Nikola pelted down the alleyway, trash cans flying through the air behind him as he sought to evade his pursuers. It was absolutely ludicrous, he spared a moment's thought, that he was in this ridiculous position, fleeing for his dignity, if not his life, through the back ways of Old City. All he'd wanted was a moment to himself, outside the walls of the Sanctuary and away from the prying eyes and questioning glares of the other residents, to run a few private experiments, and this mess was what he got for his trouble.
He reached a metal gate across the alley he'd fled into. Under different circumstances, it might have stopped him, or at least slowed him down as he paused to wrench the gate off its hinges and throw it up against the brick wall. In his current state, though, it was easy enough to squeeze through the bars and keep going. He knew that his chasers would have as little problem with the gate as he had. What he needed was a place to hide.
Nikola turned the corner, and saw a possible means of escape. There was a large dumpster up against the wall, a hundred metres or so down the alley. He ran towards it as quickly as his legs would carry him, a fraction of the speed he'd been able to manage in his old vampiric state, but still faster than his pursuers, and by the time they came around the corner, he had already started to move the dumpster into their path.
His brow furrowed in concentration and he resisted the urge to gesture in order to facilitate the dumpster's movements. That had, after all, been the whole point of this field trip in the first place, and there was no point in it being a complete wash. Nikola raised his chin and the dumpster lifted slightly off the ground. He was going to have to tip it all the way over; he wanted to contain his pursuers not kill them, and that might take more time than he had. Blasted humanitarian phase.
It was harder than usual to move the dumpster. He didn't think it was because of the size of the object. It was more likely because he'd been out on the streets for a couple of days now, less than a week, he was sure, and had fallen back on his old habits of losing track of time while he was working. He was reasonably sure he'd had breakfast the day he left, but he was less certain that he'd eaten anything since then. He'd had a few opportunities, of course, but Nikola Tesla did not eat street meat, no matter his current state.
Exhaustion or no, he was going to have to invert the dumpster sooner rather than later, or his brilliant plan would result only in sapping the last of his strength and leaving him at the mercy of his attackers. It was a frustratingly familiar situation. Nikola planted all four paws firmly on the pavement, so caught up in his task that he didn't see the splinter of glass until he'd stepped on it. He yowled in pain, and the dumpster teetered on an edge before tipping over and trapping the feral alley cats who had given him such a chase.
Nikola couldn't understand the precise meanings of their yelps and howls, being no more cat-brained than usual, but he got the gist of their intent. The alley cats were not pleased, but they were restrained. Nikola decided he would send Henry back to right the dumpster once he reached the safety of home, and started limping back to the Sanctuary.
Nikola made it all of one block before deciding that he needed to turn back to his human form, public nudity be damned, and pull out the splinter. Walking on it was nearly impossible, and he kept making the most wretched noises. While he appreciated that his cat form had finally given him the impetus to learn how to use his magnetic powers without waving his hands around like a carnival charlatan, there was something to be said for having hands. And opposable thumbs.
He managed to find a darkened doorway that looked like it hadn't been used in a while, and settled in to make the change back to human form. It was, all things considered, fairly easy most of the time. After their initial transformation, Helen had assumed they were back in human form for good. This had been proven incorrect a few days later when Nikola had woken up first, allowing him to observe both John and Helen as they drifted up from sleep. Well, Helen, anyway. Because he had only finished thinking how very much like a cat she looked when she was stretching when he was engulfed in a warm black darkness.
"Nikola!" Helen had shouted, which was what had woken John. And then Nikola had squirmed out from under the duvet, once again in the form of a seal point Siamese. Nikola had been very, very close to panic, though of course he denied that later, but Helen's suggestion that he think himself back human had worked, and the crisis had passed.
After that, of course, he had had quite a bit of fun. Henry, in particular, seemed to be extremely uncomfortable with the idea of Nikola pacing around the small weapons lab in his cat form. Kate, of course, didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, which was not something he was eager to explore too closely. And Will seemed to be overly fascinated by the part where they all kept their human brains when they were in their animal forms. It meant that Nikola couldn't speak cat any more than he could speak Swahili, but it also ensured that when in cat form, he always had a way back to himself.
It didn't work out when they were tired though, as they had discovered after an afternoon of romping in the garden. And Nikola and Helen both had to resist the temptation to nap in the sunny pools of light in any of the well-cushioned window wells on the upper stories. A temptation Nikola couldn't resist when he was particularly bored, and just went and lay in them anyway, and lost entire days to catnapping. As he crouched in the filthy doorway, he could only hope he wasn't too tired.
"I am Nikola Tesla," he said, very well aware that what came out of his mouth was more "Meow" than anything else. He concentrated on his human body, willing himself back into it, but it simply wouldn't work. He was too tired. Splinter or no, he was going to have to make it back to the Sanctuary like this.
It was slow, painful going after that. He avoided all other animals, in no hurry to repeat the cultural misunderstanding that had led to the territory spat that got him into trouble in the first place. He also avoided humans, having no wish to be picked up and coddled by some well-meaning child who might later decide to dress him up in some humiliating fashion or another. To add literal insult to his literal injury, he was forced to walk through several large, muddy puddles, and he couldn't stop to wash himself.
At last he could smell the river and knew he was getting close. He slid through the bars at the front gate, and made his way up the drive as carefully as he could. It was too much to hope that someone would see him on the security monitors and come open the door for him, so he was forced to use the cat-flap that Kate had installed with no end of mirth the day after he'd shredded her favourite leg holster.
The Sanctuary was quiet. Now that Nikola was focusing, he seemed to recall something about a mission or a convention that had been in the works. All he could do was find Helen as soon as possible. She, at least, might take him seriously.
Helen had the house to herself, a rare occurrence these days. Kate and John, who worked surprisingly well together, were on a mission. Henry and her manservant were off to some convention again, using up vacation days. Will had gone on a date and had made it clear he wouldn't be back until the following day. She hadn't seen or heard from Nikola for a few days, but she hasn't worried. He was either locked in a lab working on goodness knew what or he had again left without saying goodbye and would be back in a few weeks.
Coming back to her office with a steaming cup of tea, she moved from her desk to the couch to read one final report for the day.
She was so focused on it that she almost started at the soft meow coming from the doorway of her office. She got up, leaving the report behind on the sofa.
There was a cat, two feet inside the room, a seal point Siamese that had clearly been on the street for too long, his fur muddy and matted.
"My goodness, Nikola! What happened to you?"
She'd be able to tell him apart from a herd of seal point Siamese cats.
Nikola limped forward, gingerly putting his left front paw on the floor.
In two steps, Helen was near him and crouched in front of him.
"You're too exhausted to shift back, aren't you?"
A plaintive meow was her only answer. She took Nikola in her arms, taking care not to apply any pressure on his injured paw.
Nikola launched himself in a series of meows. Helen had no idea what he was telling her. He could have been thanking her or complaining about his misadventures. In all likelihood, it reassured him to be talking to her, even if she couldn't understand him.
Once in the medical lab, she lay Nikola down on his side and instantly began to examine his swollen paw. She sprayed some water on it to clear the mud away without rubbing at it. It took her a couple of minutes to find what was wrong.
"Nikola, you have a splinter in the pad of your paw."
"Meeeeeooooooooow."
"Hush, it won't hurt that much for me to remove it, and it's better out than in."
A soft, desolate meow came from Nikola.
"Hold still."
Afterwards, Nikola meowed loudly at her as she blotted away the small trickle of blood.
"Do you need pain killers or anti-inflammatory medication now? I can adapt some of what I have for a cat metabolism if you're in too much pain."
"Meow, meow."
"No medication?" she sought confirmation, wanting to be sure his two meows indeed were a negative towards the drugs, as per Henry's "one meow for yes, two for no" code, which he had come up with when they had first transformed.
"Meow."
"Are you hurt in any other way?"
"Meow, meow."
"You're fine?"
"Meeoow."
"In need of water and food?"
"Meow."
"Off we go then."
Scooping him up in her arms again, she took off in the direction of the kitchen. She put Nikola down on the counter, mentally wincing at his muddy paws but, with her around, she knew he'd rather be up there than down on the floor. She filled a dish with water and put it down before him. He started lapping at it eagerly while she opened a can of tuna fish for him. He devoured that as well, as if he hadn't eaten anything in three days, which might very well be the case for all she knew. He cleaned the plate in no time and then drank more of the water. He moved away once he was satisfied, yawning up at her.
"A shower before bed, don't you think?"
"Meow."
She carried him again on her way to her bedroom.
She put him down in the tub and turned the water on. Nikola walked under the tap. She helped him get the mud off by running her hands in his fur. He meowed a protest when she tugged on clots of mud too strongly.
"Sorry."
Once she was satisfied all the mud was gone, she went to fetch a towel, wrapping Nikola in it before she took him out of the tub.
She set him down on the mat to dry him properly.
She couldn't help but laugh. A wet cat was such a comical sight. Nikola pouted with an affronted meow and escaped her, sending droplets of water flying as he ran towards the bedroom.
"Nikola, really!"
She found him near the fireplace, clearly expecting her to light a fire. He kept his injured paw up in the air, shaking it, as if that would somehow help get rid of the discomfort he had to be feeling.
"You should be more careful."
Nikola settled down in front of the fire once she had a good blaze going. She left him there, wanting to clean up and dress for bed.
Once she got back to Nikola, she found him lying on his back, four paws up in there, purring softly. She couldn't help giggling a little at the sight.
Nikola heard her and rolled back onto his side, staring at her.
"Bed?"
"Meow."
She made sure the fire would safely burn out before taking Nikola in her arms once more, causing him to purr louder in response.
"You're impossible," she told him, shaking her head at him with fondness while scratching under his jaw. "Don't think for a moment you'll be getting out of telling me what happened to you!"
She settled under the covers, drawing them up to her waist. She pushed Nikola aside when he tried to climb on top of her to sleep on her stomach. He curled up against her side instead, his purring gently lulling her into sleep.
The following morning, Helen woke up to a lean human arm wrapped around her waist, and soft kisses on her neck, Nikola's warmth across her back, his legs tangled with hers.
fin