This is basically an example of what happens when you see Unending and think of a Sanctuary version of it...I personally like my other story better, but I like this one as well. Beware of spoilers for Sleepers! And it would probably be a good idea to see Pavor Nocturnus too, just to understand the story better-although I conviniently changed the powers of the Abnormal from PN.
I don't own anything Sanctuary.
Nikola Tesla didn't like hospitals at all. Especially now, since he was mortal again, and hospitals always reminded him how vulnerable humans are. But now, he had to stay there, because the only one who had ever loved was lying there, being in a coma, for almost two years now.
Helen Magnus…the only human he had ever admired, the only woman who managed to exist for 100+ years in his dreams, even if she was always a thorn in his side. Every time he had tried to revive vampires, she was always there, she had always stopped him. But he couldn't hate her for this. Not when, as much as he hated to admit, she had changed his life. She was the one who had the idea of experimenting with the Source Blood, she was the first that had the courage to test it on her…And Nikola knew that she was also the reason for which he joined The Five.
Nikola puffed in disgust when he reminded of The Five. A bunch of humans, who only wanted power, weak, a little intelligent, but nothing compared to him. Why would he ever want to be part of their group? But Helen…Helen was another story. She was the only one who was thirsted by knowledge, the only one who wanted to know the world as it really was, the only one who understood him after all. Nikola knew very well that the only reason he joined The Five was to be around her, to watch that sparkle in her blue eyes whenever she discovered something new, to touch her hand as often as possible, even if only for the few seconds that took him to give her a syringe…
Nikola smiled when he remembered the night that changed both of their lives. He was the one who injected her with the Source Blood, he was the one who held her hand during the process, fearing that he'll lose her forever and he was the one that was always there for her. Not Druitt. Then why the heck did she engage that monster?! "Because you never asked, you idiot!" The answer to a question he was asking himself for over a century simply popped into his mind. Maybe she loved him, maybe she would have even married him, but he was always so busy with his work he never noticed. Now all the moments he shared with her started to get another meaning…
The day in which she asked him to join The Five…he thought she was asking him because she knew how intelligent he was- but why would she ask a physician, no matter how smart, to join a group of biologists?
The day which she discovered the truth about Druitt…he wanted to be around her, but she said they have to split up…he thought that she loved Druitt and she was so hurt she didn't want to see anyone who reminded her of that monster…but now he realized that she was trying to protect him…
And even their meeting in Rome…when he finally confessed his feelings…she was shocked, yes, but not angry. Yes, she called him an obnoxious ass, but only after he denied his feelings…because she was furious that he had lied to her and not only because he had tried to kill her.
And then, Bhalasam, when he joked and told her that he knows about her feelings for him, hoping he was right…he now remembered her reaction very well…"You tried to kill me!"- did she say "You're an idiot, I don't love you?", no, that was the fact, she never denied her love for him- of course she hadn't admit it either but no answer was much better than a denial, now he realized it.
Not to mention their last meeting…when she was tied up, and he couldn't help being cheeky about it, when her lips were so close to his, but he still hadn't kissed her, she told him to focus- but it was something in her voice and in her look that time- and it was very close to regret, regret that they had other things to do and couldn't forget about everything and let their feelings do the talking…
So many times he was alone with her, and so many times he failed to use this opportunity…They were always chased by the Cabal, by other vampires- and it was always his fault. And when they were finally alone, and she seemed to feel sorry for him, enough to kiss him maybe, he just stood there and played with that stupid metal platter. Why did she roll her eyes then? Because she had had enough of his arrogance and she knew that this new power of his would make things worse or because he didn't take advantage of the fact they were finally alone?
"Mr. Smith?" a voice called. Nikola didn't answer. "Mr. Smith, are you asleep?"
"No, I was just…thinking." Nikola replied, finally recognizing the fake name he had given the nurse, which was now trying to talk to him.
"She is awake."
These three words were enough to make the Serbian genius jump to his feet and storm into Helen's hospital room.
"Helen, are you alright?" he asked, fearing that everything was just a dream and his angel wouldn't reply.
Helen Magnus opened her eyes, trying to get used to the unusual amount of light in the room.
"I think so." She replied in a small voice. "Who are you? Who am I, for starters?"
"You don't know who I am?" asked Nikola and Helen had the courage to watch him in his eyes. She didn't know who that man was, but his messed up hair, his beautiful blue eyes and his impeccable suit gave Helen a very familiar feeling- she didn't know what it was, yet: respect, friendship or…love? "No, I'm sorry." She replied.
"My name is Nikola Tesla. You are probably suffering from amnesia. You don't remember me?"
"No. I don't even remember what my name is." she replied.
"You are Helen." he said, focused on an exact place in the floor. When she didn't answer, he lifted his eyes so that his look was now locked to hers.
"Helen…?" she asked in expectation.
Nikola hated himself for this, but the opportunity was just too good to miss it. He approached her bed, leaning so he could get close to her face, and whispered in her ear:"Helen…Tesla."
Helen threw him a frightened look, and for a second he thought she had recovered her memories and will hate him for this all of her life.
"Does this make you…my brother?" she asked frightened.
"No. I am your husband." Nikola replied, not daring to watch her in the eyes.
To his astonishment and relief, Helen smiled. "Good." she said. "Because I may be suffering from amnesia, but I clearly remember something before I went in a coma."
"What?" Nikola asked, half scared and half curious.
"The burning desire to do this." she replied, slowly pressing her lips against his. When he didn't react, because he was too surprised, her tongue licked his upper lip, trying to get entrance. Nikola finally managed to overcome his surprise and he opened his mouth, enjoying the kiss he was receiving. Helen passed her hands through his messed up hair, slowly pulling him closer to her, and he kissed her even more passionately than she did, knowing this could end in a split of a second if she reminds the truth.
"Well, one thing is clear about me." she said after their lips had split up. "I don't have bad tastes as far as men are concerned."
"No, you don't." he replied smiling. Druitt was a very unpleasant exception from this rule, he thought. But that life was gone for her. He couldn't let her remind about anything. Maybe he'll tell her the truth- some day. But he needed something to give him hope for that day. "Are you sure you wanted to kiss me before you went into coma?" he asked.
"Of course, you silly. I wanted to kiss you since the first moment I saw you."
"That's…interesting."
"Why? I mean, you are my husband, right?"
For a second, Nikola wished she had her memories back. He wanted so much to enjoy this moment, the final confirmation of her feelings, and he had to remain quiet and rejoice on the inside, because if she knew the truth…He didn't want to think about this. Not now.
"I see your wife is fine now, Mr. Smith." the nurse said, entering the room. "I think we can let her go home, but only after we make some tests."
"Thank you." Nikola replied.
"Mr. Smith?" Helen asked. You said your name was Tesla!
"Yeah…that's a long story."
Their discussion was interrupted by three armed men that entered the room and shot the nurse.
"Do not move, if you want to live!" yelled one of them. "I see you've woken up, Miss Magnus. Our boss will be pleased to hear about this."
"What's happening?" Helen asked, naturally frightened. "You have the wrong girl, I'm not Helen Magnus."
"Shut up if you want to live!"
Nikola knew that there was only a solution to their problem. He knew that using it will spoil everything, but having Helen alive was more important than everything. "Don't move. Whatever you do, don't move." he whispered to Helen. Then he yelled at the three:" Go ahead. Shoot us. We don't care."
"Nikola, what the hell are you doing?" yelled Helen, but it was too late. The three men pointed their guns at them and started shooting. Helen closed her eyes, knowing that she was about to die in a matter of seconds, but the bullet that was going to kill her didn't hit her. She opened her eyes and saw over twenty bullets floating in the air around them. Nikola was sitting right besides her, with his eyes closed and looking as he was concentrating very hard on something. Then, without any explanation, one of the three men dropped his riffle, which floated in the air for a second and then shot his owner and the other two right in their hearts.
Nikola opened his eyes, looking worried." Let's go. There we'll be more soon." He took her in his arms and then they both ran away, out of the hospital and arrived in the street. There, Nikola was able to find a place to hide, on a dark alley, and laid her on the pavement.
She was so beautiful when she was asleep, but she seemed so…vulnerable. As much as he enjoyed the little lie that he told her about being his wife, he realized that wasn't Helen. Well, not the Helen he loved. He had to help her remind the truth. Even if that meant losing her forever. He kissed her eyes and she opened them and smiled.
"What happened? " she asked. "How did we get away?"
"Helen, I have to tell you something. It will shock you, but you have to know the truth. You are 160 years old. You used to run a facility called The Sanctuary, where you host…well, unknown beings, which are hunted by people, misunderstood and feared."
"That's impossible." she replied. Nikola couldn't help smiling, because he didn't know the meaning of this word. He used to know it, but forgot it the moment he had met Helen.
"Helen, you've just seen me stopping three people to shoot us with my bare hands. Do you really think that you being 160 years old is that impossible?"
"So you are one of these…beings too?"
"Yes. I have magnetic powers. And electric, well, those are limited, but I have them too, I recovered them slowly after I was de-vamped- you'll know what I mean after you get your memories back."
"How old are you?"
"155 years old. I was a vampire once. But now I'm human again. I age, unlike you. But I'm still in pretty good shape as far as I'm concerned."
"You'll have to help me get my memories back."
"I've kept this. For the moment you will recover." He pulled out Helen's 9 mill from one of his pockets. "Take it. It's yours."
She took the gun in her hand and pointed at a building. "Yes, I remember something, but not much." she said.
"You'll probably remind more in the future." Nikola said. "But we don't have time to wait. We'll have to do it the hard way. You don't have amnesia. You have been brainwashed. And there is a single solution to that. Electric shocks. I will do it."
"Do you want to electrocute me?!" asked Helen, frightened.
"I don't want to, but I have no choice. However, you'll have to give me that gun. It's safer for me."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because you will want to use it on me when you find out the truth. "he said smiling, then kissed her. Embracing her, he sent tiny electric shocks through her body, slowly increasing their intensity. He didn't know if this was going to work, but it was their only hope. The Sanctuary Network was in danger, and she was the only one who could save it.
After he finished, Helen laid helplessly in his arms. He placed her on the ground and she opened her eyes. In a split of a second, she took her gun from the floor, stood up and pointed it too Nikola, immobilizing him against a wall.
"Nikola Tesla" she said, holding her finger on the trigger, and the other arm pressed against Nikola's neck. "Did you just pretend I was your wife to have an excuse for kissing me?! Twice?!"
"I see your memory is back." he said smiling. "It's nice to have you back again."
"You didn't answer my question, Nikola."
"Well, I kissed you once. The first time at the hospital you were the one that kissed me, and I thought it is not polite to refuse…" he said smirking.
Helen looked angry at him. Why the hell did he always have to smirk in a way so sexy she was merely able to resist? Why the hell he was always so smoking hot? And why the hell did his voice make her tremble every time she heard him? Wait a minute- did she just call him "smoking hot"? She must have still suffered from amnesia.
"So, are you going to shoot me?" Nikola asked, moving as close to her as her hand allowed him too.
His lips were now a few millimeters from hers. Damn, she thought, why do I always end up in circumstances like these? It was just like their last meeting…in that closet, but then she was accompanied by Will and Kate and she was able to resist the temptation of kissing Nikola. And now she realized that without "the children", resisting him was an incredibly great task.
She was now fighting on the inside, equally wanting to slap him and to kiss him and not knowing what to do. Then, she finally decided. She lowered her weapon, dropping it on the ground, but still held him against the wall with the other hand. With the now free hand, she slapped him on the face, as hard as she could.
"This", she said, "Is for lying me." Then, slowly covering the distance between their lips, she pressed her lips against his, and then bit his lower lip. When their tongues finally met, passion exploded inside them. Their lips, hungry for each other, refused to split for a couple of minutes.
"And this," Helen said, after they finished, almost breathless, "is for being stupid enough to think lying me is necessary."
"You mean you love me?" asked Nikola, fearing that the answer won't be the one he hoped for.
"Of course I do. I always have. But you were too arrogant and too cocky and I was too stubborn to admit." Her confession was sealed with another kiss, even more passionate than the first one.
"Not that I would want to interrupt you." whispered Nikola, "but do you think you could take your arm from my neck? You don't have to do that to leave me breathless, your kisses are enough."
"Sorry. "she whispered, blushing. She stopped kissing him and sat down. "Now, what had happened? Because I still don't remember anything after going to meet an ex- Cabal contact."
"What do you say we kiss now and save the world later, huh?" Nikola asked.
"I'm sorry. The world can't wait."
Nikola smiled. This was the Helen he knew and loved. "That contact wasn't exactly ex- Cabal", he replied. "It seems, well, from what I was able to find out, that it was a shape-shifter. It brainwashed and then shot you, thinking it killed you. Then it took control of the Sanctuary Network, pretending to be you. The thre idiots at the hospital were sent by him."
"What happened to Will, Kate and Henry?" she asked frightened.
"They bought the whole thing. At first. After that, however, they started to have doubts and the shape-shifter killed them. One by one. It then brought its own friends to rule the Sanctuary. They've been using this power to sell Abnormals on the black market."
"That's awful! We have to stop that bastard!"
"How? You think I didn't try while you were in a coma? I didn't manage to get 50 meters close to the Sanctuary the alarms went off. I merely escaped."
"Yes, but you didn't have me." Helen said.
"Now who's arrogant?" Nikola asked smirking.
"I built it, Nikola; I know how to get in. But I'll need your help."
"I thought you won't ask. And after we take the Sanctuary back?"
"We will need to go to Honduras."
"That sounds like a romantic destination. And I would love to go at the beach with you…"
"Focus, Nikola. In Honduras there is an Abnormal that can manipulate time. We'll ask him to change the future so nothing ever happened, to get back Will, Henry and Kate."
"It won't be necessary. The shape-shifter holds that Abnormal at the Sanctuary. He wanted to take something the Abnormal was guarding and supposedly offered longevity and when the Abnormal refused to give it to him he locked him up."
"Did he get what he wanted?"
"No, he was never able to open it."
"Good. Because if he did, we would have had much bigger problems. Let's go then."
Helen and Nikola ran through the night and soon arrived at the Sanctuary.
"Now, how do we get in?" Nikola asked.
"There is a system of catacombs that leads to my bedroom. The entrance should be around here."
"I so wish I had known this earlier…" Nikola said.
"Can you please focus on what we are doing, Nikola? We have to save the world, remember?"
"Sorry. But the idea of a tunnel that leads to your bedroom is…well…tempting to say the least."
Helen only rolled her eyes and pulled Nikola by the hand in front of a door.
"This it. But it's locked and I don't have the key."
Nikola smirked. "Genius, remember?" he asked, then got closer to the lock. He circled it with his fingers, until he heard a tiny "click". Then he opened the door, and said "Over here, m'lady!"
"Nice trick." Helen replied. "How did you do it?"
"A lock, my dear, is just a group of pieces of metal. It took me three seconds to tell them how to move"
"Impressive." Helen said. "You are magnetic. Literally and figuratively. Especially figuratively."
"Now who's the one who's not focusing?" he asked, smiling.
Following the tunnel, they arrived in Helen's bedroom. The bed was messed up, like someone had recently slept in it.
"Bastard!" the two yelled at the same time.
"Why did you call him a bastard?" Helen asked. "It's not your bed he slept in."
"No, but he slept in a bed I was trying to get into for over a century now."
"A vampire doesn't need to sleep, Nikola. Why would you try to get into a bed?"
"Not a bed, Helen. Your bed. And who said anything about sleeping?" said Nikola, smiling devilishly.
"You really enjoy getting on my nerves, don't you? Where do you think is the shape-shifter?"
"I don't know. Maybe we should try searching."
"Bad idea. However, if I use my laptop, I might be able to log into the security system and search him through the cameras." Saying this, Helen took her laptop, which was hidden under her bed, and started to tap the keyboard. There were a few firewalls and passwords she had to defeat, but this only took her a few seconds.
"Voila." she said. "That bastard is in the laboratory, trying to convince the Abnormal to talk."
"You're a total computer geek." Nikola said. "But I like it."
She smiled and headed to the laboratory, with Nikola following closely on her trails. In the laboratory, the Abnormal was tortured by the shape-shifter.
"Stop it! Now!" yelled Helen.
"Miss Magnus…nice to see you. I mean, nice to see Me." said the shape-shifter.
"You're not her!" yelled Nikola. "You just look like her, but that doesn't mean you're Helen."
"Mr. Tesla…Nice for you to join the party. However, you were not invited."
The shape-shifter pulled out a gun from his pocket and pointed it at Nikola. Naturally, the Serbian genius used his magnetic power to disarm him, and then jumped on the shape-shifter, trying to kill him. However, the shape-shifter took Nikola's form.
"Shoot him!" one of the two Teslas yelled at Helen.
"I don't know if you are the real Nikola." she replied. "But then again, I don't have too." She pointed her gun at them and fired a single shot. The bullet flew to one of the Teslas' faces, then stopped and hit the other one in the forehead. The shape-shifter, which now looked like a monster, was lying dead on the ground.
"Nice work." said Nikola. "How did you know he didn't steal my power too?"
"I didn't. I took the risk. Now, what will we do?"
"I'm going to fix everything up." the Abnormal said. "You killed the shape-shifter here, in this time period, but this doesn't change anything. I will travel back in time and meet you before you went to meet the shape-shifter and tell you not to meet him."
"And this means that the last day…" Helen started.
"… Will never take place." the Abnormal replied.
"I'm sorry for this. Nikola, even if you will never remember this anymore…"
"…I know. You love me. And whatever happens, I want you to know that I kissed you because…"
"…I know." she said smiling.
They both closed their eyes, holding each other's hands, and kissed for the last time, before everything was covered with darkness.
*
When Helen opened her eyes, she found herself lying on a sofa, in the Sanctuary.
"Hey, doc." a very familiar voice called her. "Are you asleep?"
"No." she replied, smiling to Will, who was the one that asked her. "Where are Henry and Kate?"
"They are fine. Henry is in his laboratory and Kate went out. Why?"
"Curiosity." she replied. "However, I think I am going to bed. I am a little tired."
Heading to her bedroom, Helen realized that, strangely, she remembered that day in the future. She remembered everything…the hospital…the coma…the fight…and especially the taste of Nikola's lips. Crap, she thought, what if he reminds everything as well? Because, even if her feelings for him were extremely clear now, she didn't want to admit them now that it wasn't necessary anymore. Because he was always trying to get on her nerves, and she was so afraid of what his arrogant words would be if he found out what happened that day. She won't ever tell him. Not until she is sure that he loves her.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard somebody humming a Serbian folk song from inside her bedroom. She hesitated, but then opened the bedroom's door, knowing exactly who she'll find there.
And there, on her bed, lied Nikola Tesla, smirking, and her stomach made a flip. He knows, she thought.
"It took you a while to wake up." said Nikola.
"Nikola Tesla, what are you doing inside my bedroom?!" she yelled, trying to look surprised.
"That sweet little Abnormal of yours can't only manipulate time, but minds too. I've asked him to record our memories from that day and put them back into our heads after he changes the timeline. I figured out he was a telepath and I tried to convince him through telepathy. That's why you didn't know."
"How very gracious of you." Helen muttered. "Did it ever occur to you that I don't want to remember that day?"
"Hmm…I never thought of that. But I thought you should know how I got into your bedroom, because otherwise you would have probably shot me. But anyway, you want to remember that day."
"No I don't. "she replied, with all the determination she could gather. It was quite a few.
"Maybe this will change your mind." said Nikola. He got off the bed and moved closer to Helen, holding his lips inches away from hers.
"I hate when you do this." she sighed, then kissed him. She couldn't help it, his lips were simply too tempting.
Nikola took her in his arms and laid her gently on the bed, and then he laid next to her, kissing her on the neck and slowly climbing to her mouth.
"Watch it, Nikola. The others don't know you're here."
"Well then, I guess we'll have to be quiet, won't we? We don't want to wake the children."
"No. This will be our little secret." she replied, and before he could answer, she silenced him with a kiss.