It was a normal day in the Sanctuary for Dr. Helen Magnus. She had done all of the expense reports and was now on the after action reports. Reading about missions and the like always made her miss being in the field. But she knew in her heart of hearts that she was doing what she should by staying hidden and working on keeping the Sanctuary Network alive. She marveled that what took over a century to build was so easily destroyed. The re-building was going well but she still had much to do. It was moments like this when she would get lost in thought that she would think of Ashley and how much she missed her. "Ashley, my love, I hope you have found peace" She whispered to no one. Little did she know that someone very important had heard her almost silent request…
Just as she would getting back to the task at hand, her door burst open reveling a slightly out of breath Will, huffing "come quick, its Tesla. He's really lost it this time.""What had he done now?" she asked in exasperation. "Well, as much as it pains me in saying, it wasn't something he did." Will hedged. "Explain" Helen said, fed up with the uselessness of the conversation. Will paused for a moment and began to explain the rather shocking yet disturbing news. "Well, it would appear that Tesla had a girlfriend, for lack of a better word, in 1988 named Mary Lisa Courtney" "Stop!" He was cut off by Magnus's outburst. "What are you going on about Will; Nikola has never had a friend much less a relationship outside of me and the Network. You must be mistaken; he would have told me if he had." "Well, apparently he has his secrets because he was just given notice of her death and some other shocking news" said Will in an attempt to get the conversation back on topic. Just then a knock and a faint cough were heard from the door. They both turned to see the red faced and devastated looking Nikola. Helen rushed toward him just as he began to waiver. All Nikola saw was blackness and silence while he contemplated how nice it would be to just never leave this quiet black place.
He let the grief overpower him and let himself be vulnerable for the first time in many, many years. Helen, he needed Helen to help him get through this. Just as he was thinking of his Helen, he heard her voice. Was she singing? No, Helen Magnus may be known for many things, but singing was not one of them. But the more he thought about it, he could swear she was singing in his native tongue of Serbian. It was a song his mother used to sing to him when he was a child when he was sad or sick. "Povej mi, zime, ko sem zaspal" Helen sang. She tried to keep the tears out of her voice as she sang the song she had heard Nikola sing to Ashley when she was a year old and having a very hard time cutting her baby teeth. "Povej mi meglene belih planin tako strmih, Poj mi čutno, sladko uspavanko, Poskrbite, pesek in slastni navlažite suho, Poj z menoj hladno v tem strašne vročine, Ice gor za mojo znoja in sneg na mojih nogah, Daj mi piercing, zimska poljub, Sprejmejo vse smog stran, razstrelili mi nekaj megle; Megla dih srbskega kralja, Debela v njem gostote, zamrzovanje znotraj. Primi me za roko in me nežno pesmi, pojejo S seboj vse srbske belino. Crown me vaš ljubimec, potem uspavati me spati, Šepetajo prepir iz bledo gorskih vrhov." When she was finished, she looked down and saw the most beautiful blue eyes looking back at her with such love and wonder and at the same time pain and sorrow. It broke Helen's heart to see someone so strong and unwavering so broken and alone.
Translation: Tell me of winter as I fall asleep, Tell me of misty white mountains so steep, Sing me a sensuous, sweet lullaby, Make the sand luscious and dampen the dry, Sing to me coldly in this dreaded heat, Ice up my sweat and pour snow at my feet, Give me a piercing, wintery kiss, Take all the smog away, blow me some mist; The mist of the breath of a Serbian king, Thick in it's density, freezing within. Hold my hand softly and sing me the song, Bring all the Serbian whiteness along. Crown me your lover then lull me to sleep, Whisper a breeze from a pale mountain peak.