Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay with PoT and Lab 327, they're both on their way. (Lately when I'm not drowning in work my muse abandons me to go play video games.)
In celebration of Tesla's birthday today, I wanted to write up a quick one shot of him and someone who we were sadly deprived of seeing him get some screen time with. (Who also isn't available as a character tag, LAME) Anyways, I'm convinced it would've been hilarious. Also, I took some small liberties based on what I remember reading in a Tesla biography.
It's set a few months after SFN2 in New Sanctuary. (Note: Can be considered cannon with Lab 327)
Enjoy!
Nikola Tesla could hear someone pacing outside his laboratory door. They weren't just standing in place and shifting their weight, oh no, they were actually pacing.
Five steps. Pause. Four steps. Pause.
And they were loud too; it sounded like they were stomping around in steel-toed boots.
Five steps. Pause. Two steps. Pause.
Perhaps they were trying to send him a message in Morse code through the floor.
Four steps. Pause. Three steps. Pause.
He was sure it wasn't Helen because her steps were much lighter, and she certainly wouldn't waste any time pacing by a closed, but unlocked door.
Two steps. Pause.
If it wasn't Helen, he didn't care who stewed out there.
…
Had they finally gone away?
...
Nikola was about to return to his work when a time series of knocks came from his door. His very much unlocked door. He couldn't think of anyone polite enough to actually knock before entering after making such a fuss outside, but walked acorss the room to open the door, the source of the noise instantly becoming clear.
The sight of a very pregnant, very nervous HAP greeted Nikola.
"Um, Mr. Tesla, could I…. um… come in?" Her voice was surprisingly timid; Nikola couldn't help but wonder what horror stories Henry had told her about interrupting his work. But she clearly had something on her mind, and it was quite a walk from the main building out to his lab.
Drat, what was her name again? Right, Erika, Erika... Myers.
"Of course Dr. Myers." He opened the door wider and stepped back, gesturing for her to enter.
"Oh, please, call me Erika." After she walked in, he quickly closed the door then escorted her over to where he had several large comfortable armchairs. As she settled into one of the chairs, he could see the relief wash over her face; the poor girl had been in her third trimester of pregnancy for almost half a year now, even walking was becoming difficult for her.
"Well then, Erika, I can't help but notice that it took you quite a bit of effort to venture down to my neck of the woods." They had been introduced, of course, when Erika was brought down to New Sanctuary from the London branch, but they had not interacted much since then. He couldn't begin to think of a reason for her to seek him out, but here she was.
"Oh! Right. Well… I was hoping... I could… hide out here." Erika blushed as she finished her statement.
Nikola was becoming more and more confused by the second. "Hide? From whom?"
"Henry." Nikola couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. Erika's face grew redder, "He's just become so, so… so clingy! He's so worried about me all the time, he treats me like I'm made of glass, it's unbearable, and I just thought, well, that he wouldn't look for me here or ask you if you'd seen me."
Nikola chuckled at that, pleased to see it wasn't just him driven up the wall by the pup's antics. Henry had been overflowing with nervous energy since Erika had moved in. The boy had knocked over a lovely bottle of Chateau Miraz yesterday in Helen's office, ruining both his and Helen's shoes in the process, all in a rush to hand over some completely pointless paperwork.
"Well, I'm a bit short on non-alcoholic drinks, but there's a spare laptop on the other work bench if you like. As long as you don't plan on having the baby in here, I don't mind sharing some Foss-free space." Nikola said with a wide grin as Erika's face immediately broke into a smile.
"Oh, thank you. But please, don't say that last bit again, I don't want him getting any ideas just yet." She patted her stomach gently, her voice changing to a more friendly tone now that she was convinced he wasn't going to throw her out.
Erika began stopping by regularly, popping in for a few hours of time, curling up in chair with her laptop or a book, and leaving as quietly as she came in. Nikola barely noticed anymore, and no one else in the Sanctuary seemed to have any idea about the arrangement.
A few weeks after her first visit, Erika asked if she could play some music, for the baby to listen to. He had responded by saying the Mozart Effect was rubbish. She had agreed, and fessed up that her headphones were just horribly uncomfortable.
Soon enough Frank Sinatra and Chopin were making their way through the room's speakers, and Erika was giggling over Nikola's "truthful" account of night out at a dance hall where he and Helen made a bet with a lovely duo named Fred and Ginger….
Erika was pacing again, except this time, she was actually in the room, so it was even louder.
Two steps. Pause. Three step. Pause.
Did she just glare at him?
Four steps. Pause. One step. Pause.
She had practically stormed into the lab about a half hour ago, saying nothing. Now she was stomping around the room, eyes mostly fixed on the door except when they swung in his direction.
Three steps. Pause. Two steps. Pause.
She was definitely glaring at him this time. He met her eyes and raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes, and turned around. Nikola could've sworn he heard her mutter a very impolite word under her breath.
"Erika, I can't help but notice you seem to be mad about something, but I'm fairly certain of the British women in the Sanctuary, you are not the one I most recently offended."
He hadn't meant to cut off hot water to the residential corridors yesterday; it honestly had been a bug in his modifications to increase the efficiency of the power distribution. And really, why else had Helen been taking a shower at 5 in the morning if not to cope with a very… enjoyable dream?
At least Helen hadn't slapped him for saying so. That was progress.
"Oh, haha, very funny Tesla." Erika practically snarled at him.
Erika resumed her pacing, back and forth across the room. He was about to make a quip about sparing the poor floor when she stopped suddenly.
"Remember the first day I showed up?" She seemed somewhat less aggressive, more pointed, but he had no idea where this line of questioning was going.
"Yess…"
"What would you do if I went into labor here? Like, water broke, contractions, all that mess." She said it with a completely straight face, no hesitation or timidity in her voice this time. What on Earth?
"I'm afraid I'm going to need a little more context for this hypothetical mess I suddenly seem to have gotten myself into." Nikola couldn't really see where this was going, or how it explained her apparent foul mood.
Erika let out a sigh and threw up her hands. "Uh, aren't you supposed to be a genius? Are all men seriously that completely clueless?!"
Ah, at last, some clarity. This had nothing to do with him; Henry had managed to do something stupid again. He didn't really care about helping the lad out of whatever hole he dug himself into, but Nikola was not getting the peace and quiet of his lab back without at least some catharsis.
"What did Wolfgang do?" She shot him a death glare for the nickname, but seemed desperate to vent.
"I had contractions this morning, little tiny ones, barely noticeable, and when I told him he flipped out about the baby being early and tried to convince me to go the infirmary. I'm not due for another TWO MONTHS. Magnus totally told us this would happen and not to worry but he was just totally useless-" She continued on in a similar vein for a few more minutes, until she finally seemed to calm down.
She drew a few breaths, before weakly smiling. "Um, well, I suppose it's not your fault…. Sorry about that…. Pregnancy hormones are rather dreadful."
"Indeed, they are one of the few things that remain terrifying in any century." Nikola chuckled, and Erika's eyes went wide.
"What? Oh! I, um, well, they are? I mean, oh, I've never asked have I? But, what I mean is, have you – " She was stuttering now, part embarrassed, and part immensely curious. "Have you had children?"
Nikola couldn't help but laugh at her discomfort. All of Helen's "children" seemed both incredibly curious and simultaneously uncomfortable asking about his life outside of the Five. He never really refused to talk about it, but despite her colorful tales of adventure Helen could be somewhat taciturn about parts of her past. Perhaps they assumed the same about him.
"No, I haven't, but I did have three sisters who all married incredibly boring, normal men and produced a veritable litter of nieces and nephews. Plus, who do you think helped Helen freeze Ashley 's embryo decades before cryogenics left the pages of science fiction? Don't tell Helen I said this, but her first few weeks were absolutely terrifying. James and I were in constant fear of upsetting her; to this day I have never apologized so much in so short a time."
Erika began to smile, sparing the floor at last by moving back to her chair and sitting back down.
"Thank you, Mr. Tesla… really, you've been quiet kind to me."
"Your welcome. And you can call me Nikola, or at least drop the 'Mr.', please."
"Alright."
"Oh, and Erika?"
"Hm?"
"You don't have to worry. I did grow up in a 19th century village, you know, with farm animals and such. Even helped once when a horse gave birth, I'm sure it's similar to–"
WHOMP. Erika's aim was dead on, hitting him squarely in the face with one of the rather thick couch pillows.
"Next time I'm aiming for that very expensive bottle of Montra Riesling. And, Nikola?"
"Yes?"
"If I go into labor, you bet your arse you're going to message Dr. Magnus and Henry and get me straight to the infirmary."
"Yes ma'am."
That's it, short and sweet. Happy Tesla Day! :)