Sequel to At Niagara Falls and After Niagara Falls. Sorry if it seems kind of rushed or whatever, I had some issues after the news yesterday. I swear I think I heard a piece of my heart break off :( But that's why we have to keep writing stuff, so here's this. Oh, and I've officially decided that this series is in the same timeline as my story "The Question" so for those of you who read that, yes, Henry and Nikola's conversation is referencing that. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own Sanctuary. Dane, the bird, and the plot are mine. Everything else is not mine.
Arriving Home
Four days after they had been reunited, Nikola, Helen, Dane, and Henry returned to the Sanctuary. As they were about to walk in, Nikola suddenly stopped, a look of fear and uncertainty on his face. Helen stopped and turned to him, looking worried.
"Henry, can you take Dane inside and get him lunch please?" she asked without turning away.
"Of course, Doc," Henry responded, taking his almost-half-brother's hand. "Come on, Dane. Maybe we can get the chef to make you some mac & cheese." The two walked off together, heading towards the kitchens, while Helen moved closer to Nikola, who seemed frozen to the spot.
"What's wrong, dear?" she questioned, reaching up to cup his face.
"I-I fed on people, Helen," Nikola stated. "What if I do it again? I shouldn't be around this many people." He began to back up, shaking his head slightly. "Coming here was a bad idea." He started to turn as though to leave, and Helen placed herself in his way with a familiar "don't mess with me" look on her face.
"If I thought you shouldn't be here, you wouldn't be here. I trust you. We'll get you back on your medicine and you'll be fine." She took his hand and led him towards the door, but he stopped again, his eyes troubled.
"I'm scared, ljubav," he finally admitted, looking at his feet and blushing faintly. Helen's eyes softened as she wrapped him in a hug.
"It'll be alright, darling." She kissed his temple, and they stood like that for several minutes until Helen pulled away, taking his hand again. This time, he followed her into the Sanctuary, his hand tightening around hers. They went straight to the infirmary, where Helen gave Nikola a double dose of his medicine. Once that was done, they moved to Helen's office so Helen could get some work done. Nikola sat on the couch in the center of the room, staring at the fire.
The next day, Nikola went to his lab, and it was there that he spent most of his time over the next few days. A week after they returned, he allowed Henry in with him. This was the first time he'd been alone in a room with anyone other than Helen, and he was noticeably tense as they walked towards his lab together. Originally, Henry had argued against being the one to work with Nikola; he did have his own lab to run, after all. However, as Helen had pointed out, Nikola needed someone he could trust with him, and besides Helen and Dane, Nikola trusted Henry more than any of the other people in the Sanctuary. Finally, Nikola's tenseness began to make Henry uncomfortable, and the HAP turned to the vampire just outside the door to the lab.
"Look, you don't have to be so nervous. I know this is the first time you've been alone with a person who isn't Helen, but it's just me," he stated, reaching out to lightly put a hand on Nikola's arm.
"Are you saying you're not a person?" Nikola teased, and though it came out sounding forced and the accompanying smirk looked more like a grimace, Henry smiled at the attempt.
"Of course not. Look, remember when you told me you wanted to ask Helen to marry you, do you remember what I said to you?" he asked gently. Nikola furrowed his brow as he tried to recall the event.
"You said I shouldn't be asking anyone for their blessing," he finally replied, sounding confused. Henry sighed.
"I also told you that you would be a good step-father to have. And you are. And I trust you completely. So come on already." With that, Henry opened the door and they walked into the lab. As soon as he walked in, Henry realized that not a single thing was different than it had been the last time Henry had been there a month ago. Nikola seemed to realize that Henry had noticed this, and he stared at his feet, something that they had all come to learn meant Nikola was scared or nervous about something. Helen had told him that he had done it during their days at Oxford, but the last time she had seen him do it was when Gregory picked John over him. She usually tried to talk out his fear, but Henry preferred to just drop the conversation and move on, which is what he did now.
"So, the Doc wants us to build an electric barrier in the front gate that can be turned on and off, as an extra security measure," he told Nikola as he approached a computer. Nikola followed behind him, though he still didn't look up.
"Do you think I'm a good inventor?" he mumbled after a few minutes, during which Henry had been typing away at the computer, already working out the math for their project. He looked up in surprise. He had never known Nikola to care about his opinion.
"Why do you ask?" he finally inquired, turning away from the computer.
"They-" Nikola began, his throat catching. Talking about his time in captivity was always difficult for him. "They told me I was one of the worst; that no one even remembered who I was." He suddenly turned away, blushing. He started to question why he was even telling Henry all of this. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that if he ever recovered from this, Henry would most likely never let him forget these vulnerable moments. At the same time, however, he almost craved Henry's approval and attention, which he definitely thought was a result of his captivity. Then he realized that while he had been thinking this, Henry had been speaking, and he hadn't heard a word of what the HAP was saying.
"Dude, are you with me?" Henry was asking, waving a hand in front of Nikola's face. The vampire shook his head slightly and looked up, meeting Henry's confused and concerned gaze.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Nikola asked, giving Henry an apologetic look.
"We've talked about this, Nikola. Whatever they told you there was a lie. You are one of the best inventors I know. Without you, none of this would be possible. Now we have an electric gate to build fir the doc, so let's get to work." Henry clapped Nikola on his shoulder awkwardly before turning back to the computer. Nikola went to the computer as well, and they began to work on designing the gate.
When Helen entered the lab just before dinner, Henry and Nikola were bent over a piece of metal which had wires attached in random places. She would have thought it looked like old times, except every time Nikola did something, he turned to Henry for approval. To his credit, the HAP went along with it, assuring Nikola that he was doing perfectly. In fact, he seemed to almost enjoy it, happy to help his friend. Nikola glanced up and noticed Helen, and he jumped, dropping the wire he'd been holding onto Henry's hand, shocking him. The shock and pain caused Henry to momentarily transform, and Nikola apologized once and ran out of the room.
Helen found Nikola in the gardens, next to the pigeon coop, watching the birds morosely.
"They are afraid of me. And they should be," he remarked as Helen walked up. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing the back of his neck gently before resting her chin on his shoulder.
"No one is afraid of you, love. We all trust you and know you'd never hurt us," reassured him, her lips directly next to his ear. He leaned into her, closing his eyes.
"I hurt Henry," he remarked, placing his hands over hers.
"You just startled him. He's fine. Little shocks like that happen all the time." She tightened her hold, trying to get him to relax. He turned in her hold so he could face her, his hands moving to hold her waist.
"What if I hurt you or Dane next?" He demanded, his eyes worried. Helen leaned up and pulled him into a kiss, which he responded to immediately.
"You won't, Nikola." She pulled away and took his hand, leading him over to the pigeon coop. She opened the small door and reached in, allowing a mourning dove to hop onto her hand. She lifted it out and held it up for Nikola.
"Take her," she instructed. Nikola looked up at her in surprise, but he extended his hand. The bird cocked its head at him before hopping onto his hand, letting out a coo as it did.
"See, Nikola. She's not afraid of you. And you once told me that birds are never wrong about a person." Helen smiled at Nikola, who had a look of utter joy on his face as the bird moved to his shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately. "Dane found her out here one morning, and thought it would be a good present for you." Nikola reached up and gently stroked the back of the bird's head, taking a few seconds to process what Helen had said.
"Can…can I keep her with me?" he asked, looking towards Helen. She smiled at him.
"She's yours. You can do whatever you want with her," she responded. Nikola's face lit up again, and he moved forward to embrace Helen tightly. After that, Nikola took the bird everywhere with him. It seemed to function almost like a security blanket for him, and with it around he seemed to become less cautious and nervous. Although he was still insecure and unsure of his abilities, he became less afraid that he was going to hurt someone.
A month after they had returned, Nikola and Helen were standing in the door of the sitting room, watching Henry and Dane read a book together. Nikola had his arm wrapped around Helen, and she was resting her head on his shoulder. His bird was on the opposite shoulder, watching everything with a cocked head. Henry turned to face them, a smile on his face.
"Dane is a brilliant kid," he told them, walking over while the child continued to read quietly, his mouth moving as he worked through the words. Helen was about to say something, but she felt Nikola take in a breath to speak.
"Of course he is. He's my son," he remarked, a hint of pride and confidence in his voice that they hadn't heard once since he'd been back. Helen and Henry both looked at him in surprise, and Helen was clearly close to tears. Nikola looked at them in confusion, and just like that the uncertainty was back. "Did I do something wrong?" He furrowed his brow, and one hand immediately went up to touch his bird for reassurance. Helen took a step forward, cupping his cheek.
"No, darling, no," she assured him. She leaned up and drew him into a kiss. When she pulled away, he tightened his grip on her and rested his forehead against hers. Henry awkwardly went back to sit next to his brother, knowing that the couple would want some privacy.
The next day, Helen, Will, Henry, and Dane were in the private dining room eating breakfast when Nikola walked in. The three adults looked up at him in surprise, while Dane hopped out of his chair and ran over to his father to hug his legs. Nikola squatted down and returned the hug, kissing his forehead before standing again. He took in the surprised faces in front of him, and a moment of uncertainty crossed his face before he managed to hide it.
"What is it?" he asked, walking over to peck Helen on the lips before taking the empty seat next to her.
"Where's your bird?" Henry questioned, looking around as though the mourning dove was hiding somewhere in the room.
"She's out with the other birds. She is happier there," he replied, shrugging.
"And what are you doing at breakfast? You haven't been here since-" Will began, but was cut off quite suddenly when Henry slapped a hand over his mouth. It was common knowledge that bringing up his time in captivity usually sent Nikola into a wave of depression that usually resulted in him locking himself in the wine cellar. Helen had gotten pretty upset the last time this happened, since Nikola had spent three days in the wine cellar.
"Well, William, if you must know, I came to spend time with my family," Nikola responded, lifting a grinning Dane onto his lap. The boy straddled Nikola's leg and began eating the small pieces of fruit Helen had placed in front of him. Nikola kept his hands on his son's waist, balancing him as he ate.
"Nikola, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take Henry back. Will that be okay?" Helen questioned, placing one hand on the vamp's arm. Nikola hesitated a moment before answering.
"Y-yes, it'll be fine. I thought perhaps I would bring Dane with me today. I set up a small area that will be safe for him." He tightened his hold on Dane slightly, and Helen smiled.
"I might join you two later, once I've gotten Henry and his team going," she remarked, ruffling her son's hair. Dane giggled, a grin on his face.
"Tata, can I learn what you do?" he asked, looking up at his father hopefully. Nikola chuckled.
"Not just yet, Dane. Maybe in a couple of years." He tapped the boy's nose, causing him to giggle again, and both Helen and Nikola smiled. Across the table, Henry and Will watched with matching smiles on their faces. It had been so long since Helen, Nikola, and Dane had looked like such a together family, and the fact that they did now was proof that Nikola was well on his way to recovery.