This is, quite literally, the first thing I ever wrote for Sanctuary. Naturally, it's been an ongoing project over the past few months but the first few chapters especially are a bit rough because, in the time since I wrote this, my writing style has changed quite a bit.
This is set late in season three, after Awakening but before the second Hollow Earth incident so, you know, spoilers... Oh, and pretty much everyone makes an appearance in this and while I am an self professed Teslen shipper, should you dislike that concept (shame on you :P), you'll be easily able to overlook it, I think. And there will be bits you love :P
There's a bit of everything in here, from romance to adventure with a little angst thrown in for good measure as well as, prepare yourselves, an original character! I know, bold move, yeah? But I just thought I'd give everyone a heads up in case it's not your thing :)
Ideally this is part one of a three part series that I've actually got all sketched out and while I've started the other two, we'll see how this one's received before I commit to two more rounds of insanity...
One chapter per week I think ought to do it, if only so I can properly edit and make a start on the next one. When/if finish the next one, I'll speed up the updates a bit :)
Also, the title comes from the WWII song, 'We'll Meet Again' sung by Vera Lynn. Not essential listening but I'd thoroughly recommend it.
Also, I don't own Sanctuary. So don't sue. You'll get a vast collection of Teslen stories but not much else. Oh, and a set of Stargate coasters but I don't think that's really worth the effort.
And I promise there will be no more ridiculously long A/N's.
Let me know what you think!
xx
"Are the Aussie's always this demanding?" Will asked, scrubbing a hand over his face as he dropped the file back to onto the desk.
"They often feel they go unheard," Helen said diplomatically as she scanned over the request form that was the source of too many of her problems of late.
"And so they make the most noise," Will surmised and Helen was unable to hold back a chuckle. Letting out a groan he swiped up his coffee cup and took a swig of the cooling liquid. They'd been working through the piles of paperwork for hours now and sadly getting nowhere. While field trips might make for an interesting change, Will was quickly realising that the days that followed them were almost always painful, cracked ribs aside.
"Next time I suggest we go to Egypt in search of an abnormal with the ability to heal anything, remind me of this moment, will you?"
"Is the backlog of paper work too much for you?" Helen quipped, not looking up from the document she was signing.
"You're enjoying this," Will accused playful, catching sight of the smirk on her lips.
"Just a little," she agreed with a small smile. "But can you blame me? Every time any of you suggest a 'field trip' this is what happens."
"You have my deepest sympathies," Will said mockingly in his very worst British accent as he grabbed the file again. Helen chuckled again but said nothing.
Just as he began to read again, the door to Helen's office swung open and a rather sodden looking Kate and Henry came trudging in.
"Here's your mail," Kate grumbled, dumping a thankfully dry stack of letters on the desk before shooting Henry a dark glare.
"And, uh, I think I've fixed the last of the bugs in the mail system," Henry stuttered, trying not to look at Kate's murderous face.
"What's with the water?" Will asked, edging away from the puddles surrounding them.
"It's not water," Kate hissed angrily, crossing her arms.
"So don't want to know," Will said, holding up his hands in defeat.
"Perhaps, next time, you could wait until the mail system is broken before attempting to fix it," Helen suggested carefully and Henry blushed.
"Yeah, of course Doc, it's just that, well, at the moment it all funnels into one-."
"Shut it Hank. You owe me a new leather jacket," Kate said, cutting him off. Henry opened his mouth again to protest but Kate's icy glare helped him to stay quiet.
"Don't you already have like six of those?" Will asked absently as Helen began to sort through the letters, ignoring the banter before her.
"7," Kate corrected. "But this was my favourite. And it's vintage. And it's ruined." With the last word she turned again to look at a sheepish looking Henry who smiled tentatively.
"I already promised to buy you a new one," he argued meekly.
"You should know better than to get between Kate and her jackets," Will joked, happy to be out of the immediate line of fire.
"I've lost my best three in the past six weeks," Kate complained, glaring at Will who, seeing the murder in her eyes, was beginning to regret getting into this fight.
"They weren't all my fault," Henry protested, drawing Kate's wrath back to him. Certain that he wasn't about to be belted around the head with a ruined leather jacket, Will felt a little better.
"Hey Magnus, isn't there some kind of leather jacket remuneration fund or something?" Will asked with a smile, turning back to face their boss whose face was now creased in concentration. "Magnus, is something wrong?" Will continued, now on high alert. In front of here were two piles of letters, one opened and the other not. In her hand was a single, small piece of heavy looking paper, a crisp crease running down the centre of it.
"It can't be," Helen breathed, eyes glued to the note in her hand.
"What is it?" Will asked urgently, leaning over to try and read the note upside down. Helen's fingers traced across the pink scrawl on the paper and, even if he'd been able to read the elegant script upside down, she folded it up again and Will had to resort to other means to find out what it said.
"What's up?" he asked again as she stood up. She grabbed an envelope of a similar style to the note she held before thrusting her hand out to Will, brilliant smile on her face. Noting the giddy look of excitement on her face, Will took the letter proffered to him and read it quickly.
Helen,
Incoming
x
PS: Black, three sugars.
It was short and to the point, words written in an old fashioned script that reminded Will of her own. The front of the letter bore nothing more than Helen in the same pink and cursive script of the letter and, as when he flipped it over, Will was just as confused as before. He looked up to further question his enigma of a boss but she'd already begun to stride towards the still open door.
Tossing the letter to a confused looking Henry and Kate, Will began to hurry after their boss.
"Magnus, what does it mean?" he called as she rounded a corner. Picking up his pace, Will almost ran into the back of her as he too rounded the corner.
"Are the other's coming?" she asked, sounding a trite impatient.
"Ah, I think so," Will answered, turning around in time to see his perplexed looking colleagues hurrying after him.
"Uh, guys?" Henry asked nervously as Helen once again took off at a clip, the others following in her footsteps. "What is this?"
"Yeah, who's coming?" Kate added on as they approached the stair case.
"Wait," Will yelled, starting to get desperate. "What is this? Who is it from?"
Still without an answer, the four of them began to descend the stairs to main entrance hall. Helen paused for a moment to look down at her watch, causing the others to run into her. After regaining her balance, she turned to face them, small frown in place.
"Really," she chastised lightly, "there was no need to run." With that she turned from them and kept walking down the stairs.
"But we still don't get it," Kate said, hurrying after the boss, trying not to leave too many puddles behind her. "Who sent this? What do those numbers mean?"
"It's the time and date," Helen said over her shoulder, waiting patiently for her team as they reached the ground floor.
"So, what? 9:21 on the 9th of the 21st, that doesn't make sense?"
"No, 9:21 on the 21st of the 9th," she replied patiently.
All three looked down at their watches.
"That's, well, that's now," Henry said, running a hand through his hair. "But I still don't-," he started but Helen was already heading over to the vast front door. With one swift movement, she pulled open the door and a wide smile appeared on her face and her happiness was infectious.
"It's about bloody time. I thought I was going to have to knock!"
Helen shook her head slightly but smiled at her guest before stepping back, opening her home to someone Will could only assume was an old friend. The guest stepped over the threshold before throwing back the cream hood on her cloak, smiling as she surveyed the room. Her light brown hair was pulled him into a high pony tail and her brown eyes were sparkling mischievously as she smiled at those in front of her. The girl was young, her round face and plush lips contradicting the way she held herself. She looked so confident and it was not a confidence born of naivety but one of experience and knowledge, Will noted. With her creamy skin, marred only by a light dusting of freckles over the bridge of her pert nose, Will couldn't help but feel, regardless of whatever keen intelligence the girl clearly held, in comparison to many of Magnus's other old friends, she was rather plain.
"Must you complain?" Helen asked, trying to hide a smile, "I'm right on time."
The girl scoffed. "Look at your watch Helen," she advised in her clipped British accent as she pulled off a pair of white, roughly woven mittens. Helen, much to the surprise of her team, did as instructed, her brow furrowing.
"You can't have been out there for more than a minute," she said finally, looking the smaller woman in the eye.
"Doesn't change the fact that you were late," the girl responded before tartly. There was a brief pause as the two women tried to suppress the smiles that were playing with the corners of their mouths. The younger woman cocked her head the side and, in response, Helen raised her eyebrows.
The younger woman laughed heartily. "It's good to see you too, Helen," she said warmly before launching herself into Helen's arms. Helen laughed too as she hugged the smaller woman tightly, smiling happily.
"Rosie?" Henry questioned, understanding dawning over his face. Will and Kate looked at each other in confusion as the girl, Rosie, broke away from Magnus and turned to Henry.
"Henry," she said happily before throwing her arms around his neck.
"I can't believe it's you," Henry said as he released Rosie from his hug.
"It's wonderful to see you again, darling," she said warmly. "Though I am wondering why you are so thoroughly drenched." Her tone was teasing and Henry blushed. Rosie smiled once more at him before turning to Kate and Will. Helen stepped forwards and gestured to the girl, standing in front of them.
"Will, Kate, this is Rose."
Rose reached out her hand to Kate. "It's wonderful to meet you," she said warmly.
"You too," Kate said uncertainly, answering the other woman's smile tentatively.
"And I'm Will," Will said, holding out his hand, still feeling a little confused at Magnus' actions.
"Rosi-," the girl started before her eyes glazed over, her grip on Will's hand tightening. She seemed to sway for a moment before snapping out of it, the breath rushing out of her quickly. She looked up into Will's eyes, her gaze reminded him of Magnus when she was trying to solve a puzzle.
She remained frozen in place for a second before she stepped forward, letting go of Will's hand instead grabbing the front of his shirt as she pulled his lips down to hers for a bruising kiss. Fire swept through his body as Will unconsciously started to kiss her back, his hands moving to hold her shoulders. Suddenly, Rosie stepped back, her eyes wide, breathing heavy as she gnawed on her bottom lip, looking a little sheepish.
"Of course," Helen said, rolling her eyes. Rosie turned to her, eyes flashing mischievously, the corner of her mouth twitching as she held back a smile, previous embarrassment gone in the blink of an eye.
"I'm sorry, Will," she said, not looking away from Helen's gaze. "That shouldn't have happened, I apologize." Helen let out a chuckle as she watched her dumbfounded protégé.
"So, tea?" Rosie asked hopefully, looking between the stunned group.
"Ah, well, there wasn't enough time," Helen started, drawing the girl's attention. Rosie's face fell before she crossed her arms.
"I sent that letter weeks ago Helen," she muttered darkly, her disappointment showing.
"Unfortunately, I received your letter only minutes before your arrival," Helen said, not looking at Henry's now guilty face.
"Oh," Rosie said, face falling as she took in what anyone would have thought to be catastrophic news. Of course, Will mused, if she really was as close to Helen as she seemed, a lack of tea really could be a crushing blow. Rosie glanced back over to Will momentarily, her mouth quirking into a smirk for a second before she turned back to Helen.
"Marcus said to say hi," she said enthusiastically and, while Will and the others were confused, Helen's face lit up. "I ran into him while I was in the Himalayas, hence the dress," she continued, gesturing to the long white, silk dress that was barely visible under the cloak she wore. "He was about to attack us and then I remembered that thing you told me about calming him down so I started singing and dancing and everyone thought I was completely crazy but then he stopped and just stared at me and then we got to talking and-."
Dropping off midsentence, Rose spun on her heel to face the archway on one side of the room, her excitement at her story turning to fury in an instant. Her body shifted slightly, muscles tensing as a low growl slipped through her teeth. Stretching her neck slowly, her eyes flamed with anger and her mouth curled into a deadly sneer. Animosity was rolling off her in waves and Will immediately began to worry.
"Why is he here?" Rose asked, her voice lethal and a fresh batch of shivers rolled down everyone's spine.
So, do you hate me? Do you hate Rose? I know I do most of the time...