Written for the Teslen July challenge Nikola's birthday on GW. I haven't written anything in ages, so it's not my best, but hopefully not too much OOC.

Set AU after Sleeper but Nikola stays at Sanctuary - I seem to like this time frame :)

Unbeta'd, I don't own anything, please enjoy :)

Birthday Blues

Helen stood outside Nikola's door, parcel in hand. She was dithering about whether she was actually going to knock. Nikola hadn't left his room since last night and Helen thought she knew why. Wanting to cheer the desolate mortal up she'd concocted a plan. Now she was about to implement said plan she wasn't sure if her idea would just upset him even more.

She was just about to turn away when she heard Will's footsteps coming down the corridor. Not wanting to be stuck in another conversation about her well-being – she had been pretty distracted all day because of Nikola - Helen turned back and knocked.

There was no answer: the footsteps were about to turn the corner. Making a split second decision Helen quietly opened the door and snuck in; just in time as Will's distinctive 'Magnus' drifted past.

Helen turned away from the door to find Nikola seated at the desk, his top half sprawled across it, like a jellyfish on dry land. If it hadn't been for the haggard expression on his face as he looked up she would have found the sight almost amusing. As it was his face was pale and drawn, black circles prominent under his eyes. He looked completely drained.

Helen had been expecting something like this but seeing him in this condition was still a shock. She'd been right to come in.

"Nikola?" she hurried over, placing her parcel on one corner of the table and kneeling next to him. She took one of his hands in her own, unconsciously reading his pulse as she did so – it was normal. "Nikola?" she called again, having received no answer. His eyes flickered briefly up to her own before he slumped back across the table.

"Go 'way," he muttered. "I'm being depressed."

"I can see that." Looping an arm around the front of his neck she hauled him back up to sitting, keeping her hand on his shoulder to stop him flopping back down again. When he realised what she was doing, he slumped backwards instead, letting his head loll before Helen pushed that up too. To prevent him moving any other way – God forbid downwards – she placed both her hands on either side of his face, keeping him steady.

Nikola suddenly noticed that Helen's face was really close to his own. "If you're going to kiss me I suggest you do it quickly; you know, before I die..."

It was all the confirmation Helen needed; she had been right about what was wrong, now she just needed to cure him.

"Nikola, I need you to stop this."

"Stop what?" was his childish reply.

"Moping."

"I'm not moping."

"And I'm not concerned."

Nikola opened his mouth to reply, but then stopped, replaying their conversation. Looking up into her eyes he could tell she really was worried – typical Helen.

"Helen..." he whispered. She tried not to react when his breath ghosted over her face; maybe this position hadn't been such a good idea after all. "You shouldn't be."

It took her a couple of seconds too many to even hear what he had said, and few more to understand. She hoped he hadn't noticed the effect he was having on her as she struggled to form sentences at the usual rate. "Really?" She pulled away slightly, and moved her hands from Nikola's cheeks to his shoulders, distancing them a bit. Having regained her equilibrium, she carried on. "Because from the state that I found you in when I came in, I think I have every possible reason to be concerned!"

Nikola deflated slightly, realising that she did have a point.

"You seemed to be doing so well Nikola; I thought you were adjusting."

He sighed. "I know Helen, I know. And I was...it's just...today..."

"Reminds you of the harsh reality of exactly what it means to be-"

Nikola held out his hand to cut her off. "Don't say it."

"Mortal!" she snapped, losing patience. She'd pulled her hands away from the ex-vampire and waved them around to emphasis her point. "Just like everybody else!"

Nikola clenched his jaw. "You didn't need to say it."

"Yes, I did. But it's not true, and you need to see that. You never were just like everybody else, even before the source blood. You were never average Nikola, not to anyone, and certainly not to me."

Nikola softened slightly, sensing something – a meaning – behind her words that he hadn't heard before. "Helen..." he said softly.

"I'm not done yet." He raised an eyebrow and settled back in his chair. She continued, determined to put these points to rest once and for all. "Being mortal doesn't make you any less special than you were, if anything it makes you even more extraordinary. All being mortal means is that you have a less time and there are ways to prolong that time – take Watson for example. But being mortal also means that everything is slightly more beautiful; you can't take things for granted anymore, and you need to live everyday properly – because it could be your last." Her voice had softened considerably, and she was looking straight into his eyes. "Today is meant to be a celebration – that you've done it, you've lived, that you're succeeding with what you're doing...you can achieve so much – think about what you've already done. You can't spend your days sulking Nikola, it's not fair on everybody else – all those lowly mortals, on yourself...on me..."

"But it...it means I'm...aging!" Nikola wasn't quite ready to give up yet.

"You're one day older than you were yesterday Nikola. You get older by living, not by counting the seconds; but by living well, you stay younger for longer."

Having said what she wanted to say and quite a lot more, Helen started leave. Nikola saw what she was planning and sprang up, catching her by the arm and twisting her back towards him. Her momentum meant they ended up slightly closer together than he had bargained for, and he momentarily forgot what he was going to say, especially as Helen seemed to be staring at his lips...

"You've always been beautiful." Nikola blurted out; it wasn't quite how he'd planned to go about this, but it was too late now.

His hurried words pulled Helen out of her trance, and she quickly berated herself for being distracted. "What?" She asked once she'd processed his words.

Nikola grinned and placed his other hand on her cheek, his thumb absently stroking circles across her skin. "You said," he took a deep breath, "that being mortal makes everything more beautiful, but you've always been beautiful Helen, ever since I met you. And probably before." His brow furrowed. "Hopefully before; unless you invented the face transplant a century or so early..." Nikola gave a small grin, even though he noticed he'd started rambling.

Helen smiled; glad to see the man she'd always known starting to poke through again.

Having realised he'd deviated from where he was meant to be going, Nikola sighed. Deciding to bite the bullet, he moved the hand on her cheek further round so only his thumb was left on her face: that done, he slowly leaned forward until their lips met briefly. In some ways it was much like their kiss in Rome; relatively innocent and short, neither relaxed into it or deepened it, but it was also very different. This time there had been no trick and Helen didn't reject him; in fact it was Nikola who pulled back. He met her eyes to try and gauge her reaction, but Helen quickly looked away, blushing, though with a hint of a smile on her lips. It was Nikola's turn to smile; she hadn't pushed him away, hadn't scolded him, and hadn't rejected him. He was satisfied with that, for now at least.

Suddenly something caught Nikola's eyes. His disentangled himself from Helen, and pointed. "What's that?"

Quickly regaining her composure and becoming herself once more, Helen looked over: a small box covered in brown paper was sitting on the corner of the table. She'd forgotten all about it and her plan, but it seemed to have worked anyway. "Open it."

"Just like that? What if it's dangerous? Remember I'm mortal now Helen; I have to be more careful."

For a second she thought all her hard work had been for nothing; then she saw Nikola's grin. "I promise it won't kill, maim or make you ill...at least not intentionally."

Nikola rolled his eyes and plonked himself back in his chair, pulling the parcel towards him. A few seconds later he was lifting the lid off a small white cardboard box.

One eyebrow shot up.

"Cake?"

Helen laughed.

"Happy Birthday Nikola."

Fin

I hope you enjoyed :) Reviews and concrit appreciated.